Are You Really Human?
Dedicated to Wandering Cat. My friend, my penpal, my contant reviewer- thanks for everything. This story is for you.
Also dedicated to Lemurian Girl, who has reviewed each of my first pairings without fail. Thanks for the suggestions, the advice, and the reviews.
Nino stared out at the water sadly. The sun was beginning to set, and the golden rays reflected off of the ruins of the Water Temple. Within that crumpled structure, lay the deceased body of Sonia, the horrible morph that had impersonated her mother. Nino was fervently glad that Uncle Jan had gotten out alive . . . and he had given her the pendant.
The mage held the necklace in one hand, admiring it. The gold chain that circled around her neck and connected with the locket reflected the last rays of the sun, and shone a fiery aureate.
The girl rubbed a tear from her eye. These people had suddenly popped up in her life. Lyn, and all her friends . . . and they had helped her. Sonia would have sent Nino to her death, and she almost did, if it hadn't been for Jaffar.
"Nino." said a quiet voice behind her. The young girl jumped, but a conforting hand was placed on her shoulder.
"Oh, hello Jaffar." she said, trying to perk up her voice, for him. The assassin raised a curious eyebrow at her voice, and Nino tried to keep eye contact. She smiled sadly, and turned back to watch the sun set over the lake.
Jaffar brushed his cloak out of the way and sat down on the dirt, also staring out at the ruins. The green-haired girl watched him curiously, before sighing and going back to her previous activity.
"Don't dwell on that woman, Nino." Jaffar said quietly. "That woman brought only sadness . . . suffering . . . she gloried in it when she was alive. Her memory will bring hatred, contempt . . and sadness for you. Do not dwell on her." Nino turned to look at the Angel of Death, surprise shining through her tears.
"But . . . Jaffar . . she was my Mother. Maybe not my true Mother, but she filled the space . . . even though she hated me." she wept. Jaffar felt awkward- he could 'eliminate' a man fifteen ways without the use of his daggers, but when it came to matters of the heart . . . his eyes widened slightly. Could it really be . . . ?
"Jaffar?" Nino asked. The assassin didn't move.
"Jaffar?" she asked again, deciding to procede anyway. "My Moth-Sonia, I mean . . . she wasn't human, was she?" The ex-Four Fangs member stared resolutely ahead. Nino felt she had to elaborate, and the girl felt tears well up again behind her eyes.
"I mean, I know she wasn't human . . . she had yellow eyes. And the way she talked . . . there was no expression. And her blood . . . it wasn't red, it was black . . ." A terrible thought struck her.
"Jaffar . . . are you human?" He turned to look at her, his cold eyes dim and blank; typical of the Angel of Death.
"What?" he asked, unsure of the question. Nino sniffed, and continued.
"Jaffar . . . are you human? I know you've changed, but the things you did, the way you talk . . ." Nino felt a tear slip from her cheek and fall onto her purple robes. What she was saying, it tore her up from the inside. Her brothers, Lloyd, Linus, they'd been there for her. They were the ones who had held her as a little girl, crying when her mother had snapped harshly and unnecessarily. And Jaffar had always been there too, even if he was just watching from the shadows.
But now Lloyd was dead. Linus was gone, and her adoptive father, Brendan Reed, had perished within the Water Temple.
Nino reflected on the things she had asked Jaffar. 'Are you human?'. His eyes, they were always cold, lifeless. He never spoke with any passion, it was always just the scary monotone that her Mother- that Sonia had used. Nino dreaded the answer.
"Are you human?" she asked again. Jaffar stared back over the water, seemingly pondering that very question.
He turned back to her, slowly and purposefully. Jaffar reached down, towards his belt, wrapping a hand around one of his exposed daggers. Nino gasped.
"Jaffar, please . . ." she wept. "Those people, they helped us . . . please, don't kill me . . ." The assassin gave her an odd look.
"Nino, I would never kill you. I couldn't. I l-" he paused. Carefully, he placed the dagger in the palm of his hand, the sharp of the blade pressing against his flesh. Nino bit her lip, and Jaffar jerked his arm, cutting deep into his hand.
Slowly, he opened his palm and showed her the wound.
"I am human. I bleed, I eat, I sleep." he said stonily. Nino shook her head.
"No, Jaffar . . . are you human? Are you really human? You've done so many things in the past . . . you've killed so many people . . ." she wept.
"Don't you feel compassion?" she wept bitterly. "Don't you feel mercy, kindness, pity? Have you ever felt those things? Have you ever even felt!" she cried, growing more and more distressed. Finally, she calmed down, and looked him in the eye. Surprisingly, she saw fear in the cold orbs.
"Have you ever loved someone?" she asked, her voice shaking. Jaffar met her gaze, ad Nino could see that she had shaken him. He was coming out of the shell, little by little. And she was destroying him.
"Are . . . are you really human?" she asked, suddenly feeling fatigue wash over her. She slumped over, just slightly, and started to lean towards the assassin. Jaffar watched her carefully, and . . . he felt. He felt.
"Nino." he said quietly. "I've done things . . . committed crimes . . . killed people. They were my orders, and at the time, I knew of nothing else but to obey my orders." Nino nodded sadly, the salty tracks of tears shining on her face.
"Until I met you." he whispered. The mage girl looked up in shock, and Jaffar tried to smile. He didn't make it; it faded out to a twitch of the corners of his mouth.
"Nino . . . you taught me to feel. You gave me a soul . . ." he said, and to Nino's delight, tears came to Jaffar's eyes, and he smiled freely this time.
"Nino. You taught me to love . . . and I love you."
The green-haired girl smiled happily, and laid her head on Jaffar's shoulder. She yawned, and Jaffar smiled gently, placing his arm around her.
"I love you too, Jaffar . . ." she said sleepily, before drifting off to sleep.
Jaffar watched his sleeping friend fondly, and stared back out over the lake. the sun had half-set, and the water was a cascade of fiery gold and soft red. The sky itself seemed to be rejoicing.
'Are you really human?' Nino had asked. Jaffar kissed her softly on the cheek, content with the knowledge that he could answer that question:
And that the answer would forever be 'Yes.'
Closing comments? Well, I figured it was time to let loose another one of my almost-famous 'First Pairings'. This one, however, has a happy ending, and it made me smile while I was writing it. Reviews are greatly appreciated, they make me a better writer. Wandering Cat encouraged me to write this- "Write on, my friend. Just let it loose." So I did.
A reminder to read and review.