It was festival day, and the camp was bustling with excitement. The men and women alike were ready to let loose and have fun, and some even had plans to spend time with their special someone, or the person that they wanted to become that someone. The mood was bright overall, but the one person who would normally be having the most fun was having a terrible time.
"Stupid Henry." Nowi mumbled from her spot on the floor of Cherche's tent, where she sat frowning with her knees hugged to her chest. Cherche finished fixing up her hair in preparation for her date tonight and looked over at Nowi with concern in her eyes.
"Oh, Nowi, my dear. You shouldn't let this spoil your night. Henry must have a good reason for his actions." Cherche said, a small smiled crossing her face.
"What reason does he have to just avoid me completely? It doesn't make any sense!" Nowi exclaimed, pouting as Cherche crouched down next to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Nowi had been trying to talk to Henry to tell him how she really felt about him, but he was very obviously avoiding her. Usually when the army stopped marching to make camp, Henry would waste no time in seeking her out to goof off with her. Lately however, Nowi could never find him at those down times, and even when she did find him, he would quickly disappear, leaving her hurt and confused. She couldn't help but feel like she had done something wrong.
"You should seek him out tonight. Maybe you can catch him while most of the others are gone to the festival. I am hopeful that things will work out for you two." Cherche said, standing back up as she offered a hand to Nowi. The manakete sighed and managed a small smile as she took Cherche's hand and was helped to her feet.
"Thanks. I hope you're right." Nowi said, wrapping her arms around Cherche and giving her a big hug. Cherche hugged the smaller woman back, and Nowi was glad that she had Cherche to talk to about her problems.
Nowi bid Cherche farewell after wishing her luck on her date with Kellam, and she set off to hopefully find Henry, corner him, and finally get him to explain himself. She walked slowly through the mostly empty camp, her eyes scanning the rows of tents for any sign of the white-haired man she was looking for.
Out of the corner of her eye, she finally spotted his familiar Plegian robes and she turned around. He was heading out of camp, towards the lake that was near the village holding the festival. Nowi's brow furrowed as she frowned, and she quietly followed him. A nervous pit formed in her stomach, for she really didn't know what she was going to say once she confronted him. He wandered to the edge of the lake and stood gazing out onto the calm water. Nowi pursed her lips and her eyes set into a glare as she stalked up to him.
"Henry!"
Nowi watched as he flinched as she shouted at him, before he slowly turned around. That stupid, goofy grin was still plastered on his face, and it was making her more angry than she already was.
"Oh, hey short stuff! Wha-" Henry began, but was interrupted when Nowi stalked up to him, standing up on her tip toes so that her face was very close to his.
"Why have you been avoiding me, Henry? You big jerk!" Nowi yelled, giving Henry an angry shove. Henry stumbled back a bit, his narrow eyes widening with shock. The grin on his face shrunk slightly, and Nowi wished that she could wipe it off of his stupid face completely.
"D-did I do something wrong? I just...I miss you, Henry." Nowi said, tears welling up in her eyes as she lost control of her emotions. "I...I've been trying to tell you that...that I love you. So why..." She trailed off as the tears spilled down her cheeks, and she covered her face with her hands.
"Nowi, I..." she heard Henry said, his voice quiet. She moved her hands from her face and instead reached out, grabbing the front of Henry's robes. She looked up at him with watery eyes, her lip quivering as she threatened to break down into sobs again.
"Do you hate me, Henry?"
Something seemed to snap in the dark mage, because he suddenly jerked backwards, like he had been hit by a wind spell. His eyes were filled with conflict as he cringed, as if he was trying to keep the smile on his face, and he was failing miserably. It only made her angrier, and she clenched her jaw.
"Do you think this is funny? The pain that you're putting me through? Stop smiling!" Nowi yelled, her hands balling into fists as fresh tears spilled down her face. Henry inhaled sharply and he raised a hand to his face, and Nowi realized suddenly that his face was also stained with tears, and her anger suddenly faded and was replaced with shock and guilt.
"T-this isn't how this was supposed to go, n-nyaha..." Henry said, his voice cracking as the mask hiding his true emotions crumbled. The grin finally fell from his face for the first time since Nowi met him, replaced by a look of pure sorrow. He couldn't hold back anymore as he broke down sobbing, anguished wails escaping from him between sobs.
Nowi was dumbfounded, and immediately regretted everything she had just said. "Henry, I..." she began, but she was interrupted as she started sobbing, overcome by the uncharacteristic emotions Henry was showing. Sure, she had wanted to get him to express these kinds of emotions before, but not like this.
With trembling arms, she reached out and gently placed her hands on Henry's shoulders. He was shaking violently with each sob, and he did not pull away when Nowi wrapped her arms around him. She felt him lean against her as his legs gave out, and she managed to support his weight enough to ease both of them gently to their knees. Henry buried his face in Nowi's shoulder and continued to sob, letting out all of his pent up negative emotions. She gently rubbed his back and she sniffed, trying to stop her own tears from flowing.
She didn't know how long they sat clinging to each other, but by the time Henry stopped shaking with sobs, the sun had set and the moon bathed them in a gentle light. Henry panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath, and when he finally pulled his head from Nowi's shoulder, she saw that his eyes were red and tired from his crying, and a weary sigh escaped from him.
"Are...Are you okay, Henry?" Nowi asked softly, looking at him with concern and deep regret in her eyes. Henry gulped and took a deep, shaky breath, letting it out slowly as he nodded.
"Nowi, I-I don't understand...I never wanted to hurt you. But no matter what I do, I will end up hurting you." Henry said softly, his gaze lowering to the ground.
"What are you talking about?" Nowi asked as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Well," Henry began, his gaze drifting back up as his purple eyes locking with hers, "I-I love you too, Nowi." Her eyes widened at the confession, and her cheeks flushed. "I was told that if you love someone, you should want to make them happy for the rest of their life. I know that I can't do that for you."
He paused as he sighed deeply. "I thought that if I stopped hanging out with you, I could avoid having to hurt you. But I just ended up hurting you anyway." Henry continued, his hands slipping from her back. Nowi caught his hands with hers, and his brow furrowed as he gave her a quizzical look.
"Henry, you dummy." Nowi said, pouting as she gave his hands a gentle squeeze, "This whole mess could have been avoided if you had just came and talked to me about this, gods." She sighed warily and rolled her eyes.
"I have been alive for a long, long time. I know what being a manakete means for my relationships with humans. I have had many human friends outlive me, and I know how to deal with the loss and move on. And you, Henry, you are the first person that I've ever truly loved. I really haven't felt this way about anyone before. I have learned to live for the present, and not worry about what the future holds."
"I'll gladly face whatever pain eternity has in store for me, with the knowledge that I loved and was loved by the most wonderful person that I'd ever known."
Henry was silent as Nowi finished speaking, and a smile slowly spread across his face, this one much more genuine than the one that he normally wore, as the happiness seemed to radiate from his eyes as well.
"Nowi, I'm...really happy to hear that. Um, I'm sorry for avoiding you and making this a big mess, nya ha ha!" Henry said, and his small laugh cause a broad grin to spread across Nowi's face. "So, Nowi, will you stay with me, forever?"
"Oh, yes Henry! I'd really love that!" Nowi said, giggling as she jumped to her feet, pulling a laughing Henry up with her. She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back.
"Nya ha! Excellent! A lifetime of fun and games, coming right up!" Henry said, grinning as he took her hand in his. She smiled and entwined her fingers with his.
"I'm looking forward to it!" Nowi said. She turned her head towards the village, where it seemed that the festival was still going strong. "C'mon Henry! Let's go see what's so great about this festival!"
"Alright! Oooh, I hope they have some fun stuff to do!"
"Me too!"
Hand-in-hand, they ran off towards the village, laughing as fireworks suddenly went off in the sky above, sending rainbows of color in all directions. Nowi knew that her eternity was shorter than Henry's, but she would be sure to make the most of it, and she was nothing but excited for what was to come.