A/N: This is my contribution to reverb 2015. It's been a long ride, and it's been hella stressful and I could not have gotten through it had it not been for Ness, my wonderful beta and, of course, Puppy, the incredible artist who came up with the original idea. There's a link to her art in my bio, I highly recommend checking out that beauty!
"Black Star, you can't do this." Soul heard Maka speak firmly.
"Maka, we've been over this. He deserves punishment for his crimes, and it's our job to carry it out. You should be with me on this. You've always said to do the right thing, no matter how hard it may be. What's changed?" the voice of her companion came back with equal firmness.
Soul wished they had their conversation somewhere else. It was not like a simple tent and some rope around his wrists would affect his ability to hear them talking. Especially if they were right outside the tent.
"'What's changed?' You're actually asking me that? Oh, I don't know, maybe a certain death has changed my opinion on some things." Maka retorted.
Soul knew that Black Star had nothing to say to that. He did not know the man at all, but he could still perfectly picture his solemn expression at her words.
"Look Maka, I know how you feel about this but-"
"No you don't know how I feel about this. I feel a lot of things, and I've only made one thing clear which is you can't do this."
"This is the only thing we can do. We have to, and you know that. You've always taught me never to let someone talk you out of things that you feel an absolute need to do. I'm doing this for you, Maka."
"Black Star, you… you can't." Maka's voice was soft and Soul could almost hear the beginnings of tears in her words.
Soul shut his eyes so tight that it hurt. He didn't want to hurt Maka. He would not have cared less about his fate if it weren't for her. How could she possibly have come to care for him so much after all that happened?
Nothing has really changed, has it?
That cursed voice came into his head again. The voice that was smooth, but gritty, the one that sent chills throughout his whole body every time it uttered a word.
"A lot has changed," he whispered aloud to the voice.
You're running away. Losing the only person you care about. You're running away. And thinking of how much the people around you will miss you. No one will. Just because you care about them, does not mean that they care about you.
"No. All that she said to me. All that we've been through. All that we've shared."
Right, all that you've been through. Meaning all that you did to her? You think she's forgiven you? You honestly don't think she was trying to deceive you so that you would let her go? You know how people are. They're untrusting. They're deceptive. They're liars. Just like you.
Soul wanted to claw out his eyes, tear off his ears, do anything to stop the words from coming or lessen the pain of them. But the voice was a constant and nothing he could do, even if his hands were free, could stop it. The only thing he could do was listen to it like he had been doing for who knew how long.
You've been through it all before. You know how it goes, and yet you still want to believe things will be different? Pathetic!
The last word was spat out at him, every bit enunciated right down to the last letter.
As much as he wanted to believe that it was different this time, that he might have changed, that maybe just maybe things would work out, but after all he did to her, and all that had happened, there was only one thing he knew for sure;
The voice was right.
The winter was harsher than normal. There were fiercer winds, stronger snowstorms, and colder temperatures. Even with three layers underneath his thick, heavy winter cloak, Soul still was not warm enough. And on top of all that, animals were scarce in such weather, which meant a very low supply of food.
This winter was not going to be fun.
Soul stopped at his favourite tree to rest for a moment. He was still a ways away from his cave, but he had been walking for quite some time, and he did do a fair bit of walking the previous night with the added weight of his latest… catch. So his fatigue was justified.
He climbed up to the lowest branch of the tree and sat there, trying not to think of his current predicament.
What he did was not illegal, he merely helped a poor creature in need. She was hurt and he brought her to shelter. Was there anything against providing help and comfort for someone who needed it?
He leaned his head against the tree and shut his eyes so tight that it hurt. That was all bullshit and he knew it. Of course he could not let her go, but if he kept her then he would be a criminal.
What was he to do?
The best quality of Soul's home, in his opinion, was the fact that it was hard for others to find. There were vines and moss covering the mouth of the cave, and the greenery allowed for more camouflage to hide from predators. Or people. Which, in Soul's mind, were the same thing.
At first it was just a place to hide out during storms, but soon after, it became a home for him. The ceiling was about twice as high as he was, and then the cave led into a large area that had a ceiling five times that height, at least.
He parted the vines that fell over the mouth, and walked inside. He made his way over toward the large open area to check on the animals in cages hanging on long chains from the stalactites on the roof of the cave.
Soul noticed the animals seemed more restless today; they were noisier, and the air of the cave felt off, amiss, just... wrong.
He reached out a hand to calm a griffin he had named Westley. It was his favourite animal, but he hated the name. It got its name one night when Soul was shouting to himself, and somehow the name slipped out of his mouth and the griffin responded to it. It was the only animal in his whole collection that actually had a name, and he supposed that was probably a good thing.
Westley nuzzled his hand and Soul felt his mouth twitch into the faintest of smiles. This was his favourite animal in the cave, but it still wasn't anything like his hippogriff. Everything he had done for the past who knew how long, bringing in all the animals here all trying to replace Griff, didn't even matter, because nothing could ever come close. He never knew how rare hippogriffs were until his was gone.
There was a loud metal clang that startled Soul. He turned around to see the source of the noise. It came from a small scared creature he had brought back the night before hiding in the corner of her cage. He easily looked over this one on his way inside the cave, as he was not yet accustomed to the darkness.
She was holding her head, and her face looked pained. She was a beautiful creature, blonde with the greenest eyes he had seen and her wings as pure and white as snow. She was nothing like the animals he had in his collection. She had striking beauty, and it pained him to see her eyes filled with such fear at the sight of him.
She pulled her gaze away from him, with a hard jerk of her head. He let out a sigh and walked past the cage to his old tattered couch, to grab a blanket, muttering, half to himself, half to the new creature.
"You look cold, I should go and grab-"
"N-no, I'm not."
Soul stopped dead in his tracks. That was a voice. Not a voice inside his head, not demon haunting him; possibly a hallucination, but he doubted it.
He turned around to look at the cage. Was it her?
"D-did you say something?"
She nodded in response.
"Y-you… you speak English?"
Another nod.
Soul was surprised, shocked, completely dumbstruck by hearing an actual voice. A voice speak his language. A voice that wasn't a screech of an eagle, or roar of a griffin.
"Are you sure you're not cold? There's a blanket right here?" he sputtered out. He was not used to actually interacting or talking with anyone. It was all so new to him.
She shook her head to tell him she was fine.
Obviously, she didn't want to speak. Maybe she didn't know much English. Maybe she was shy. Soul shook his head. Maybe she was terrified of being captured by some crazy, white-haired lunatic with demonic red eyes and sharp fangs.
He didn't know what to do. What should he do? He was terrible at conversation, and she clearly did not want to talk to him. Knowing she could understand what he says meant that he couldn't talk his troubles out. Maybe he could-
"Who are you?" Her voice spoke out again. Her voice was small, a little high, and it had a very nice melodic sound to it. He liked her voice, although he was not accustomed to hearing voices that didn't resonate inside his head giving him a migraine."Who are you?" She repeated, firmer this time.
Soul was taken aback by the authority in her tone. He gulped and answered, "My name is Soul. I-I'm… I don't know who I am, to be quite honest. Just, my name is Soul."
She nodded, seeming satisfied enough with his answer.
"D-do you have a name?" Her head shot up, surprised at his question.
"Maka."
Maka. It was a nice name. He liked it. He had never heard it before, and yet, he knew it was somehow made just for her. It was perfect for her. Now knowing this name, her face and eyes just whispered softly, Maka.
She turned her gaze from him, and he suddenly realised how long they had been staring at each other. The way her head turned away towards the floor of her cage reminded him of her… his… their situation. She was still a scared creature, there was no escaping that.
"I'm… gonna head out. See if I can find some… firewood." She nodded in response and he left quickly, thankful for the fact that he had not yet rid himself of his winter layers.
He took off in a sprint; running as fast as he could until he slipped on the snow and fell, tumbling down a small hill.
He pounded his fists against a tree, spewing every curse word he knew at himself.
He shouldn't have done this. What was he going to do?
She could talk, understand him, have a conversation. What else could she do?
You've finally done it, haven't you?
The voice in his head came back. Gritty, smooth, it felt like fingernails digging at his skull and he hated it.
There's nothing you can do now. You're a criminal now.
No. He jammed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He didn't want this.
You stole an angel.