Kalius

## Before season 3

Kalius never met either of his parents. As a newborn baby, he was left on the doorstep of a mage school in Koruthar by his mother, along with a note saying "This is the child of my sin. I cannot look after him, but it is my fault and not his. I cannot leave him at a church, for they would surely not take him in. Please do not let him die".

He was found by a mage called Asriel, who took him in and gave him food and a place to stay. Feeling sorry for him, he paid for his education and named him "Kalius", which means "Hope" in his native language. However, Asriel could not show any favoritism at the school, where he was also a teacher, and was almost never home, and so Kalius was very lonely growing up. He was the only tiefling in the school (in fact, the only tiefling he had ever known anywhere) and the other kids usually stayed away from him because they were afraid. Asriel used to tell him there were others like him, but to Kalius it was all the same. There might be others somewhere out there, but he was still alone.

Eventually, Kalius started hearing tales of the mighty Lads, including Koltar Raniac, who he came to idolize. He was a tiefling hero, and everybody loved him. He was exactly what Kalius aspired to be. He started trying to act more and more like Koltar in his daily life, and he took every opportunity to talk to someone about how amazing Koltar was. However, the other students at the academy mocked him relentlessly, saying Koltar was probably embarassed by being of the same race as a lowlife like him. Kalius believed them, and eventually stopped talking about Koltar. In fact, he stopped talking to anyone about anything. He began to think the only way to not say anything people would mock him for is to not say anything at all, and so he established himself as a loner, someone who not only didn't have any friends, but actively pushed everyone away. He never mentioned Koltar again, even to Asriel.

Eventually, he found a pamphlet advertising that the Lads were hiring for the Vulcan Team, a new task force of the Ladian Empire. He wouldn't admit it even to himself, but a tiny spark of hope had begun to form in his heart. Could this finally be a way for him to be a hero like Koltar? He would be working for the Lads, so maybe he would even get to meet him? All these thoughts raced through his mind in a fraction of a second, and he shoved them deep into his subconscious. Hope leads to pain, and believing in things only leads to disappointment. Not everyone can be a hero. But after all, why not go to Koruthar and apply? He'd go see the world and practice his magic. Nothing wrong with that, right? He wasn't going to be a hero, of course. But the spark remained.

## After the battle in Noctia

Kalius couldn't sleep. He had been staring at the ceiling of the SGE bedroom for what could have been half an hour or 4 hours. The sun wasn't up, so there was that. Maybe he'd still get some sleep. Then again, everyone else was still afflicted by the madness, so they had to stay in Consenti a while longer. Tomorrow would most likely be spent just resting as well.

He sighed and sat up. He'd never had trouble sleeping, especially not when he was this exhausted. The past few days had felt like years. They had gathered not only the Tops but also a beacon. They'd become Sailor Girls. And, of course...

The image of Koltar hugging him came to his mind.

"You're one of mine, aren't you?"

He still couldn't quite believe it. Admittedly, Kalius didn't know what to expect when he stepped forward to talk to Koltar, but another slap was definitely higher on the list of expected outcomes than a hug. He seemed to barely even question it. Of course, Kalius had heard of Koltar's ability to read minds, but...

Kalius buried his head in his hands, and felt the cold metal of his ring against his forehead. He raised his head and looked at the ring.

"Color Crocodile, huh?", he mumbled under his breath.

What would Dundee have thought of all this? Kalius smirked.

"He would have eaten a month's worth of SGE food after this", he thought. As he smiled, tears started rolling down his cheeks.

"We won, Dundee", he whispered. Dundee had never seen a proper victory. The missions before Rodrik joined the team had been tough. They had taken a toll, both physically and mentally. But they had won this one. They had rescued the Tops. They had secured the beacon. And they had all made it back.

Kalius buried his face in his hands again and cried. Dundee wasn't here, but the Vulcan Team was. While they lived, Dundee would never truly die.

Eventually, Kalius fell asleep with his face in his hands.

He woke up with the rising sun, his face still cold from the tears. He looked outside and took a deep breath. He wondered what herbs grew in the woods outside Consenti. Well, only one way to find out. Kalius got dressed, picked up his bag, and headed towards the door. There would be more victories. But he had to be ready.

## After waking up

The SGE throws a massive comeback party when everyone wakes up from the coma. At night, the sailor girls sleep with their respective partners, which means Kalius rooms with Paleturquoise. There is only one bed, which Kalius gives to her, choosing to sleep on the ground. During the night, Kalius hears a familiar voice in his mind.

"Kalius?"

"What's up?", Kalius replies in his head.

"We hardly ever talk like this anymore"

"Yeah, I guess it just reminds me of..."

"Oui. I know."

Paleturquoise pauses for a bit and then turns around on her bed to look down at Kalius.

"Can you come here please?"

Kalius gets up and lays down next to Paleturquoise. He looks into her eyes and speaks in her head again.

"I miss you too, Polly."

Kalius brushes Paleturquoise's hair out of her face and she grabs his hand against her cheek.

"You can read my mind, oui?"

"You can read mine too."

"So you know what I am thinking."

Kalius kisses Paleturquoise slowly and pulls back. She smiles.

"Oui, that was it."

She kisses him back and (SEX).

Shortly after they're done, Paleturquoise falls asleep. A while later, Kalius goes outside and gets something to drink. As he is coming back, he runs into Bliz Hard coming back from the bathroom.

"Hey", Kalius whispers.

"Hey. So, couldn't sleep either?"

"Yeah. It's tough sometimes."

"Same here." She pauses for a moment. "You know..." She hesitates again, before turning around and opening the door to her room. "Nevermind."

Kalius takes a step towards her and grabs the door before she can go through.

"Come on. Whatever it is, just say it. It's better than avoiding me all the time."

"I'M the one avoiding YOU? Oh yeah, sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I... Why didn't you want to stay with me?" She looks towards the ground.

"That's what this is about? Paleturquoise is my partner, it's normal that..."

"I know. It's just... I'm sorry. I felt guilty for writing all that bad stuff about you in the book."

"And what, you thought you would make it up to me?"

"No... it's not like that." She looks at Kalius.

He grabs her neck and kisses her. They close the door and kiss for a while. Bliz Hard pulls away to catch her breath, then kisses him again.

Then, Kalius hears Paleturquoise's voice in his head.

"Why are you two having all the fun out there? Come to bed."

Kalius pulls away and grabs Bliz Hard's hand.

"Come on." He takes her into Paleturquoise's room and closes the door behind them.

(MORE SEX)