So...dat last chapter, right? I should've named it Gore Galore. Bwahah. Okay I'll stop laughing at myself.
Review responses:
Zarabethe: CONFLICT RESOLuti-oh, you all already said it. Aw man. xD
Kintaraheart: I KNOW RIGHT?! 8D
Noriana26; Oh, dude! If I decide on it, I'll need to PM you about something involving Alayurea in these next chapters... I may or may not message you about it, depending on if I do end up choosing to do it or not. That's a little cryptic, but I don't want to spoil anything, so yeah. :P
ChelinkatheArchmage: Bwahaha it was creepy xD Nyela went super-psycho huntermode. As for the university thing, whoo! Fingers crossed! :D
Lady Pixi: I like how two different people reviewed *heavy breathing* in a row... xD That made me laugh.
The Corrupted Typer: Thank you so much for that awesome review! :D And Fenris is awesome... He knows it, too. Heheh.
FreakinGodzilla: Hey thanks! :) And oh yes he did. Freakin' Ephraim. Urgh.
Guest: Nyela power! I'll get that tattooed. Hehe. Kidding.
Ophianara Blade: Unaril's body... We'll find out all about that in coming chapters ;D
Impsy Locke: Full of surprises and a little bit of psychotic rage, yes. Hahaha.
Shion Rasenka: Whooo! Oh man I almost forgot about the massive Garrosh fight scene in Breaking Faith. That definitely was epic. I'm glad this one was just as exciting.. ;D
Cherry Mountain: Oh yeah, Raphael's got some emotions to sort out. He's having some difficulties. xD
Kirara-sama Bakinha x3: Oh yes, graphic violence out the wazoo bwahaha. It was actually a lot worse, and when I edited it I was like, 'HOLY HELL this is intense. Tone it down, Feff.' So I toned it down. xD
Darkblight the Hunter: Well, if it's any help, Ephraim thrives on lying. So... ;) Also when I pronounce Nyelael it sounds like I started to say her name and then got something on my tongue. Bwahaha.
Gamer Girlfriend: I think you review posted twice :O But Sarion will find love. ;)
Anywho, thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! You're all awesome. :)
It was almost surreal, walking through the now-healing forest that had only an hour ago been nothing but dust and death. The trees had filled out their leaves over the past hour, becoming denser and greener in their leaves, and now, after the sun made its descent, the bioluminescent vegetation had begun sprouting in the night.
Lighting up pathways and making the trees seem to glow, the mosses that wove their fingers into the bark of the trees and gave off a glimmering, cool shine, mirroring that of moonlight itself. Many insects and animals had already returned, even in such a short amount of time. Nyela hadn't seen any forest in such a perfect state.
Part of her was abundantly joyful, radiant almost, that this forest was healed. They'd brought Julian back about thirty minutes ago; apparently their father had set a portal into her grandfather Edoril's home, which was more of an estate than anything else just outside of the city, with a small plot of land and paid servants and everything. He'd taken in all the Druids who had come knocking, and had watched over his ailing grandson like a hawk.
Edoril had told them, as he brought the other Druids back as well, that Julian had started improving exponentially, just out-of-the-blue, and now he'd even gained some color and had lost the dark circles dragging under his eyes. He still wasn't awake, but everyone was hopeful. He wasn't dying; it didn't take an expert to know this. Nyela had gotten a glimpse of him, still sleeping, when they moved him back in. He was still ridiculously thin, gaunt, but he was so much better than she'd last seen him.
So she was ecstatic, yes, that all their hard work to bring this forest back had, against the odds, worked. Furthermore, she was also mildly sated that it'd been her who shot that arrow through Ephraim's skull.
But another part of her was bitter.
They hadn't even needed Unaril's body in the first place. His death had been for absolutely nothing. Not only was he murdered, but now it felt like he'd just been cast aside. All this effort, all the pain the two had gone through to accept it, had been pointless. He was dead, apparently burned to ashes by the man who'd killed him, on another continent. All alone, he'd died. Surrounded by people who wanted to hurt him, who hated him. What had been his final thought? She'd felt what he'd been feeling right before he had been stabbed that second time. As she thought about it now, it hurt to remember. He'd been worried. Distressed. Frightened, even.
Nyela sighed a bittersweet sigh. It still hadn't sunken in yet, all of this. Ephraim, dead. Her home, restored. Unaril, gone. It'd probably take quite a while before it did sink in, really.
Now, though, everyone was starting to recover.
She approached the main tree, where the Druids and a few Priests had set up a makeshift medical station outside of it. Rogues were sitting about everywhere helping out. Lucian was running the healing, for the most part. Various people were being brought in with anywhere from needing nothing more than a quick heal on some cuts to others who were on the verge of death.
One example of the latter was poor Tiberius. He'd taken a throwing knife to the stomach, and then whatever it was he'd done with the mind control had seriously messed him up. He wasn't just drained, he'd almost died. As soon as they'd all realized that the threat was over, as soon as the shock wore out, a few people, including Sebastian, ran to Tiberius and began to administer aid in attempts to preserve his life, anywhere from bandages to spells.
It'd been close, extremely so, but apparently now he was okay, thanks to Lucian's healing expertise. He had been placed in a cot in the base floor of the tree, out cold for now as he recovered.
Sarion, however, was a different issue. He'd had his hamstring, along with pretty much the entire back of his knee, sliced by one of the Rogues; they'd missed the right one, but his left leg had received the full attack, and it was apparently in such bad shape that Lucian feared if he tried simply healing it, it'd heal the wrong way, and Sarion might never have use of that leg again. He'd have to go in manually and connect the tendons and ligaments all back into place, one at a time.
Nyela sought Sarion out, past everyone and into the large tree. Just outside, she'd overheard her father speaking to a Priest woman she didn't know, talking about administering a sleeping spell to Sarion while he performed the healing procedure. Apparently it would be ridiculously painful if Sarion was kept awake.
She found him lying on a flat, table-like surface that jutted out from the living wall, one that was normally used for eating at. He was somewhat motionless, with his leg propped up and still tourniqueted above the knee. He hadn't noticed her come in yet, and she observed the way he stared up at the ceiling in deep thought, his intense brows tight as he chewed the inside of his cheek. Her heart softened when she looked at him, lying there peacefully. He was still handsome as ever, still looked like her Sarion, the man she did, after everything, still love dearly.
"I heard my dad mention you're getting surgery?" she asked him softly so as to not startle him.
His head craned toward her from where he lay on the table as she reached him. He lost his thoughtful expression and shrugged wryly.
"Yes, well, I guess a bunch of important bits in my leg got all disconnected and what have you..." He let out a breath. "Not to mention this hurts like hell."
Nyela glanced at his leg and immediately regretted doing so. It was all exposed and red and beyond painful-looking, a big gaping gash behind his knee. She was pretty sure she just saw bone. Or was that a tendon? Either way, it wasn't where it was supposed to be.
She closed her eyes abruptly and inhaled. "Oh my goodness."
She heard him chuckle quietly. "I know, right? Lucian disinfected all of it and sterilized it for now, but... It still sucks."
"That's an understatement!" she finally opened her eyes, screening out the wound as best as she could and focusing on his face.
He just sent her a half smile, and then, after studying her a moment, spoke up. "So, about you pulling that move against Ephraim."
"What about it?"
He just offered an amused look. "It was insane, Nyela. Where in Azeroth did you learn to do that stuff?"
"Which stuff?"
He laughed. "All of it! Where do I begin? How about you shooting those exploding arrows, or what about teaming up with your wolf and taking out possibly the most dangerous guy in the vicinity, or perhaps best of all what happened afterward, when you used the staff and turned this place into a damned graveyard? You gotta admit, that was pretty terrifying."
"I think it was just luck," she shrugged carefully, smirking. "Sorry if it freaked you out. It was kind of weird, I guess."
He actually let out a loud chuckle, and then winced as the movement jarred his leg. He let out a pained grunt and then recovered quickly. "No, Nyela, it was extremely fucking cool, that's what it was. You'll have to teach me that trick someday."
Again, he winced at the pain in his leg. She sighed impatiently. Lucian needed to hurry it up and tend to him.
A moment of comfortable silence passed, and then he spoke again, this time a little quieter and less playful.
"So, a lot happened these past months, didn't it?"
She sort of tensed up at the words, but she wasn't sure why. Maybe just because they were forcing her to bring up once-joyful memories that were now painful to relive.
Sarion picked up immediately into her pain and cleared his throat. "You don't have to talk about it, Nyela, I understand."
"No, it's okay," she choked. A few seconds ticked by, and she finally got her bearings. "Yes, you could say that." She had to let out a subtle laugh in order to keep her composure.
"And…" he began, even quieter than before. "You're…pregnant, I take it? I mean, as long as that's what you and Lucian were fighting about. I don't know what else that whole conversation between you two could've hinted toward."
A nod came in response.
He looked thoughtful, the side of his jaw pulsing once. "Wait, it is Unaril's kid, right?"
She laughed. "Yes, Sarion."
The corners of his mouth tugged upward. "Then that kid is going to be a handful."
Nyela pursed her lips. "I have no idea what I'm doing; having a baby, raising it… I don't know the first thing about parenthood."
She felt his fingers slip around her own and flicked her gaze to his. He was regarding her intensely, though his eyes held a tender touch to them.
"You won't be alone in this, Nyela."
She hesitated, watching him for a moment. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean if there is anything you need, I'll provide it." He stared at her. "Anything."
The two were suddenly interrupted when Lucian came in with a few helpers at his side, discussing what he needed.
Nyela wiped her eyes quickly and sniffed a few times, letting go of Sarion's hand as Lucian came around to them and stopped by the table. He looked at Sarion a moment, speaking brightly.
"Ready to get fixed?" he asked humorously.
Sarion snorted. "I sure as hell hope not."
Lucian laughed aloud. "Teasing.. Anyway, I'm gonna give you a sedative spell so you won't feel any of it. Sound good?" He spoke continuously as he began running cleansing spells on Sarion's leg, sterilizing the area.
Sarion grimaced. "I don't need a sedative. Just heal it."
Lucian's hands paused, and his eyes flicked up. "Sarion, this is going to be arguably the most pain you've ever felt. I've literally got to fry the torn parts of your leg back together. The nerve reconstruction alone is going to be so bad, it'll end up making you pass out anyway."
"Well shit!" Sarion exclaimed, grunting once as Lucian had to shift his leg. Nyela winced when she saw him tense at the pain elicited from the action. "Thanks for terrifying me!"
"Trust me, I'll be doing you a favor, kid."
Sarion finally sighed. "Alright, fine. Knock me out. Anything's better than…that."
Lucian appeared to already have the spell on hold, because after only a brief moment, he reached out and tapped two fingers to Sarion's temple, and Sarion's eyelids immediately closed.
Lucian turned to Nyela momentarily. "You'll probably not want to be around for this. It'll be boring. And a bit gruesome."
She didn't take any more convincing, and, not wanting to witness Sarion's leg brutally reshaped and magically sewn together, she left the massive building, passing by a sleeping Tiberius as she did so.
When she got outside into the night air, she took a deep breath. It smelled fresh, far too fresh to still be winter, but that was probably because this entire orchard had just been regrown.
As she'd stepped outside, she received an immediate cheer from a nearby Rogue, a woman who came straight up to her and patted her on the shoulder cheerfully, saying a few words of gratitude and praise before leaving her alone. Nyela had lost track of how many people had done this in the past hour. Apparently they were all pretty pleased she'd killed Ephraim. She was pleased, too.
She heard Raphael's voice come from the right.
"Damn good fighting you demonstrated back there."
She turned and smiled at him. "Mmhm. And, thanks to me, you aren't off sacrificing yourself."
"In all honesty, I'm a bit let down that plan didn't pull through." He smirked at her, and she frowned, walking over next to him with her arms folded. The two of them stood there beside the tall tree, watching everyone around them bustle about.
"I still don't get why you were willing to do that," she murmured.
He looked like he was trying to choose his words, thoughtful, if a bit sheepish. A while passed as he sorted his thoughts.
"I suppose after you've been around for as long as I have, you start to lose faith in the world. This was my chance at being legitimately useful for the first time in…centuries."
He sounded almost depressed in saying that. She felt sympathy well up, and she wasn't even sure why. She knew he wouldn't appreciate consolation, though, so she kept it simple.
"How old are you?" she asked him curiously.
He winked at her. "Old enough."
She just smirked. After another pause, Raphael broke the silence again.
"So I heard your father saying it might've been a streak of luck that it was you who healed the orchard."
Nyela lifted her brows. "Oh?"
"Yes. He was speaking to Edoril; Edoril thinks your blood had something to do with the reversal."
"My blood?"
Raphael just laughed and shrugged. "I don't know specifics of how this all started in the first place, but it sounds to me like Unaril and his brother were brought back with a blood spell, yes? Your blood? I overheard Lucian say that it may have been a hidden variable, something that could've ended up very confusing if not for you having been fortunate enough to have already drawn blood during the spell. For all we know, it might not have worked without your injury. Not to mention if things went differently, if Ephraim hadn't come here and I couldn't find Unaril's body and we ended up using me… And then I'd die, Lucian would try to use the staff, and nothing would happen. So we're lucky you did that."
Nyela's brows arched. "If that's the case, I hit the luck jackpot tonight."
Raphael laughed. "Yeah, something like that."
She smirked back, staring out at all the Rogues and others in Raphael's guild. She pursed her lips. "Is it just me, or are there a lot of your people here?"
"More than what we started out with, actually," Raphael said humorously. "It's always a little strange going into a fight, and then coming out of it with a bigger army."
Nyela snorted. "How'd that happen?"
He held his hands out in a shrug. "Beats me as to why they did it, but many of Ephraim's people started taking their tabards off and switched sides halfway through. Some of the people I see here, I'd never have pegged them to be against him."
"I like that you even managed to steal his guards," she began laughing.
He laughed as well, the sound warm. "Indeed. One last insult to his authority before you snuffed him out, yes?"
"So what are you going to do now that you've been unanimously dubbed the leader of your guild?"
A moment of thought passed. "Preferably start off with a major purge. Filter out all of the people I don't trust. Reduce the numbers to under one hundred. It may take a few years before it's finally taken care of, but I can do it, I think. That's if I do choose to be the leader."
"At least now you've got something worthwhile to work on, though. Something to keep you busy and focused," she murmured.
A smirk pulled at one corner of his mouth, his curled mustache shifting as well. He eyed her sideways and ducked his head toward her jokingly when he spoke, like what he asked was some sort of unmentionable secret. "Is this you worrying about me?"
"Maybe," Nyela hummed. "I'm just saying…no one healthy wants to sacrifice themselves."
She expected him to give her a smart-ass retort, but when she looked at him, he was staring off ahead; his eyes pointed subtly downward, mouth forming a slight, pondering frown, deep in thought.
"You're right," he said after an excruciating silence. "When I first saw you and Unaril together, it sort of brought me out of a rut I'd dug for myself after years and years of backstabbing and lying and killing. I don't know what it was. I mean, I've seen people in love, and I was always quite cynical about it, always mocking and scornful toward those who thought they were happy."
She wasn't sure where he was going with this, but she just let him talk.
"Something about seeing you and Unaril so content though, and even more so when during a time when everything was working against you, and when I saw how you still managed to find happiness in the world through each other… It gave me hope."
He sighed, inserting a lengthy pause before finally completing his thought.
"But then he died. As goes the way of the world. I saw the way it broke you, and seeing that pain made me begin to shut down again, to start closing off and reverting back to my…darker…thoughts. And I didn't want to be that person. So I decided that rather than living for who knows how much longer as someone I hate, why not die as someone I can be proud of?"
Hearing him say this, Nyela wanted to cry. She'd never have guessed Raphael to be so conflicted like this, emotionally. To hear him open up like this, and with everything he said, it was heartbreaking that he'd gotten to the point of where he basically just confessed that he was suicidal. As more of a martyr, but still…
She wiped her eyes frantically and, with nothing else to do, just scooted closer and encircled her arms about his ribs, hugging him close. As she hugged him, she noticed that he was, other than the Strom boys, one of the only men she was almost as tall as. Unaril, Sarion, her brother, her dad, and just about every other man in her tribe were all at least a head taller. Raphael had her beaten only by about an inch, maybe two. This hug was totally different because she didn't just press her head on his chest, she could actually hug him. Like a normal person.
She heard him chuckle next to her ear and felt him hug her back.
"No sympathy allowed," he snickered. "I'm not about to go off on some dying tangent. I've got a guild to run, now."
She pulled away. "So you are going to for sure take the leadership position?"
He smiled at her, his eyes sparking. "It's a good cause. I say why not?"
She smiled back. "Good."
From the main door beside them, she saw her father emerge with the other two priests. She turned to him, as he hadn't seen her yet.
"How is he?"
Lucian glanced toward her and sent her a peaceful smile. "He'll be fine. We did our best to mend everything in place, but I'm afraid it's going to give him trouble for quite a while. It didn't heal smoothly; some of the torn muscles and ligaments didn't fuse to the bone perfectly, so he may have a limp in that leg. Not enough to impede everyday stuff, but it'll get worse as he ages and with barometric changes."
"You mean he'll have a limp…always?" Her eyes were wide. That injury was worse than she'd thought, and that was saying something.
"Probably won't even notice it, really… It's just healed in such a way that he won't be able to use the leg entirely normally, not like he used to. He's lucky; if the cut had been deeper by even another centimeter, it'd be a whole different scenario."
"Is he asleep still?"
"Yep. You could go try to wake him, though; the spell has worn off."
She chose not to; it was nighttime already, and he needed a good night's sleep after this. She changed the subject.
"And what about Julian?"
"He's a lot better. We got some food in him and he's sitting upright."
Nyela's heart leapt. "Wait, he's AWAKE?!"
Her dad laughed hesitantly. "He's been awake since the minute we brought him here, Nyela, I thought you knew."
"No, I didn't know!" she squeaked. "Where is he?!"
"In our tent, goofball."
Nyela didn't give a second of hesitation, and she bounded off toward the tents, sprinting past everyone on the pathways. When she reached her parents' tent, she yanked the door open and burst in. The sight that met her immediately caused joyful tears to spring from her eyes.
Julian was sitting upright with a hot mug of what smelled like tea in one hand, and blankets over his legs. Norivana was beside him cutting up what looked like a small chunk of light yellow cheese, and beside her was a good-sized hunk of bread.
Both he and Norivana jerked their gazes up at her when she burst in, and Julian held out his mug in a mock-salute toward her.
"Welcome to my humble abode," he announced cheerfully. His voice was deeper than she remembered it being. She saw him take in her appearance. She still hadn't changed out of her armor, which had some dried blood on it, not to mention she probably looked like she'd taken a romp through the mud from all the fighting. He swallowed. "Holy… what happened to you?"
She let out an overjoyed sob and blundered over to him, throwing her arms around him. She vaguely noticed her mom grabbing his mug of tea from his hands so it wouldn't spill, but all Nyela did was cry and hug her little brother tightly. She heard him laugh, and he curled his arms around her too.
They didn't release the hug for a long, long time. Nyela couldn't help but cry in her relief. He was awake. He was alive. Speaking. Recovering. This almost overrode the pain she'd felt these past days. Almost.
"So I heard you saved me," he said as she finally pulled from the hug. She still couldn't believe he was actually awake. This all felt a bit surreal.
Her eyes were still streaming, and she wiped her cheeks and sniffed, laughing a little. "I'm so glad you're okay. I can't believe how much better you are from just a few days ago."
"Well you'd better believe it," he said, taking the tea back from Norivana, who also handed him a little plate with cheese chunks and a thick, sweet hunk of bread. "Man, I've never been so hungry in my life."
Nyela sat down beside him. "You're in luck. Now that the orchard's back to normal we'll have a lot more food."
As he chewed a bite of his food, he cocked his head. "About that… Dad said the orchard tried to kill me."
"It did."
"And you stopped it?"
"We all did," Nyela shrugged. "It was a team effort." A moment passed, and she smirked. "Julian, we fought a freaking war for you."
His eyes widened in appreciation and surprise. "Really?"
She nodded. "You have no idea how crazy it's been this past year."
"Well what exactly are you wearing? Is that armor?"
"Mmhm. I got it in Dalaran City."
His eyes widened. "You went to Northrend?"
She grinned. "Let's see. After you collapsed, I became a proper hunter, went to Northrend, teamed up with outlaws who just so happen to be our cousins, got married, wore makeup, crashed a party in Silvermoon, robbed that party's host, and then killed him…" She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders for effect. "It's been a long year."
As she spoke, Julian's excitement increased, but then began to fall. By the time she finished, he was giving her a dull look.
"You're lying."
She laughed aloud. "No, I swear I'm not."
"You got married?"
"Yeah, sorta."
"To whom?!"
"Unaril Dawnstar."
"The blue-haired twin?"
She nodded, trying to mask her disappointment that that was the only thing he'd picked up out of everything she'd said.
"For some reason I always thought you'd go for the other one, the black-haired guy," he murmured.
She shrugged. She hadn't known Julian knew Sarion at all. She didn't know if they'd ever even spoken before.
He then spoke louder, more exited. "So wait, I have a brother now?"
She chewed her lip, sending a quick glance to her mom before looking back at Julian. "Unaril was…" she trailed off, afraid that if she talked about it she'd start crying, and she really didn't want that to happen.
Norivana cut in, thankfully. She spoke softly, "Unaril was killed recently."
Julian's entire expression fell, and he watched Nyela with somber eyes. "I'm sorry."
She forced a weak smile. "Enough of that. I'm just happy you're awake. And alive, for that matter."
"Me too," he grinned at her, popping a hunk of food into his mouth. "So, back on what you said," he spoke as he chewed. "You killed a guy?"
"Actually that happened a few hours ago. That whole war I mentioned…it was more of a sudden skirmish. And it happened tonight."
"So that explains your bedraggled look."
"Bedraggled?" she snorted. "I look awesome."
He snickered, taking another bite. "Yeah, you kinda do."
Words couldn't encompass how happy this made her, just speaking to him. As much as they used to bicker, she adored her brother, and it'd been hell this past year without him. Now he was back, and he was his old self. It felt unreal.
Nyela smiled, standing up from where she'd been sitting near him. "I'm going to go wash up and sleep, then. Promise me you won't fall in another coma before I wake up."
"I promise!"
"Good." She reached out and ruffled his long red hair. "Goodnight, Julian."
"Night," he smiled at her sincerely.
She nearly made it to the door and then stopped, turning back around. "Oh, by the way, you may end up getting a brother anyways." She saw her mom smirk, and saw Julian furrow his brows in confusion.
"What?"
"Mom's pregnant." She sent her mom a mischievous wink, and promptly slipped out the door.
Sarion
Nearly a full week had passed since Lucian had fixed up Sarion's leg, and yet it was still giving him trouble. He did his best to hide this fact, doing so solely out of his own pride, and so far he'd been somewhat successful. As much as he needed to, he avoided limping or favoring the leg. But there were times, if he had been sitting for a while or had let it slip his mind, when he'd stand up too quickly or forget to step down properly, and he'd break the act, whether it was a wince, or a cringe, or a limp.
He wasn't sure how long this would last. It was like all the tissues in that leg were rioting; they refused to work the right way, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide it when every time he stood up he'd grit his teeth in sudden pain. Lucian had said it'd get better, and Sarion hoped it was just a matter of time. One of the only things that didn't really bother his leg was shifting into his bird form, as well as swimming.
Of course, all of this was mildly exaggerated; he could walk just fine, could do everything normally; it was just impeded by random, sudden pains that went as soon as they came.
Currently, he was sitting alone outside the large tree doing nothing in particular, just watching the forest teem with life. The birds' songs all came together into one complicated melody, the various different species unintentionally harmonizing with one another. It was a spectacular sound, and Sarion had to admit he'd never heard something more beautiful, other than the song of the crystals in the inanimate forests beneath Dalaran.
He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the bark and resting his elbows on his knees. A pain in his heart suddenly hit him when he felt longing for his brother's company. He wished he could've had one more conversation with him, just one nice, normal chat. It'd been a lifetime ago since he'd been fully clear of the corruption. The last time he'd spoken to Unaril had been in the vault, when the two of them and Seth had gone on ahead down one corridor to take out any wandering guards. They'd had about five minutes between going down that corridor and getting caught by Ephraim and his unexpected mob of followers.
In those five minutes, Unaril and Sarion actually had conversed with one another, short as the conversation may have been. They spoke while they'd been waiting, shifted, stealthed, at the end of the hallway after they'd killed any guards they found.
Sarion pulled at his mind to remember what his brother had said to him. His memories while corrupted were foggy; he remembered certain major specifics, as well as all conversations he'd had, but it'd take him a while to recall them.
He remembered something Unaril had said. It was about Nyela. He'd wanted to discuss what would happen if they really did need to use his body for the orchard spell.
Sarion closed his eyes and relived the conversation as it all came pouring back to him.
"Any others?" Unaril asked, slightly out-of-breath after the short fight against a guard who'd been standing at the end of the hall. Sarion padded over next to him in silence, shaking his large feline head.
"Seth is using wide-radius spells out there that'll catch any Rogues who may try to slip past," Sarion replied simply, sitting down on his haunches. The blue-furred panther beside him followed the lead, sitting down and curling his tail around his side, the tip of it twitching up and down almost like a house cat.
Unaril let out a sigh. "I wonder how they're doing."
Sarion snickered as well as a cat could. "They probably already got the stupid thing and left us."
"Nah," Unaril shook his head, stretching his paws out forward and yawning once, his sharp claws scraping against the stone floor. "I can't peg any of them doing that. Not even Raphael. He's a good guy, you know."
"And you know he's after Nyela, right?" Sarion retorted. "He told me himself."
Unaril just shrugged. "And so what if he is? I trust her."
Sarion quieted for a while, and then Unaril spoke again.
"So if they can get this crest, they'll have full staff soon enough. Which means you could be cured, and it also means we'll have our chance at healing the grove. I know you're against them using me for the spell, and I am too, especially after recent events. But it may end up that I'll have no choice but to do it."
He was about to say something else, but Sarion cut him off. "You always have a choice."
Unaril hesitated for a moment, and let out a sigh. "Sarion. Hear me out."
Sarion just stared ahead, so Unaril kept talking.
"If that happens, I just want to know that I'm not leaving Nyela and our..." he broke off, like he almost said something he meant to keep a secret. "I'm not leaving her all alone. I know somewhere deep down in that heart of yours you love her."
Sarion resisted letting out a snort.
Unaril continued, "I'm doing you the same favor you did for me when you had to leave her." A pause. "Just...take care of her for me. Soon you'll be cured, and you'll have a different opinion."
"Unaril this is a pointless conversation," Sarion grumbled.
"Perhaps right now it is. But I just had to say it to you once. A year from now, she'll really be needing some support. I know she'll get it from her family, but..."
"And what makes next year any different from this one?" Sarion questioned sarcastically.
Unaril was going to speak, but a loud explosive bang came from the other hall where Seth was, and both Druids were on their feet, dropping the conversation to be finished another time.
That time never came.
Sarion braced his knuckles to his forehead, resisting the pain of the memory. He'd been so thoughtless in that conversation. He wished he'd just have one more chance to see his twin.
Even so, it was for some reason easier to accept Unaril's death than it'd been the first time. Maybe because it'd already happened once before. Like he was growing an immunity to Unaril dying.
However, at the same time, something deep inside his mind kept telling him it wasn't true. Something else was at work here. Something in him gave him a sense of hope that maybe his twin wasn't gone.
That could be denial talking, or perhaps it was brought on because he personally had not seen him die this time.
Either way, though, he still held an unreasonable faith that somehow, in some way, Unaril wasn't dead. He hadn't been burned to ashes. The loss Sarion had felt the first time Unaril died had been so bad he couldn't function. This time, it was excruciating, yes, but at the same time, he found it hard to believe it was real. This wasn't him denying the death; it was him taking everything he knew and applying it as logically as possible.
Something told him Unaril wasn't gone forever.
"How is that leg of yours faring?" came an unexpected voice in moderate proximity, and Sarion lifted his head, looking in the direction of the speaker. It was Raphael. Truthfully, Sarion wasn't all that interested in talking to the guy right now. They had a rocky past, and although Sarion didn't hold a grudge against him, he didn't really appreciate his company all that much.
But, he still engaged him normally. "It's good as ever," he lied.
Raphael's brows lifted, and he joined Sarion's side, sitting down beside him. Sarion resisted scooting away. Raphael cocked his head at him. "Really? I spoke to Nyela and she said it's bothering you."
Sarion just smirked sarcastically, but avoided rolling his eyes. Of course she'd pick up on his discomfort. And of course she'd go telling everyone. She didn't seem to understand personal pride all that much. Sarion didn't even know why he had an issue telling people he was in pain, but he did. He didn't like showing weakness, even to those closest to him. And especially not those like the rogue sitting beside him.
"Well, anyway, that's not what I came to speak to you about," Raphael hummed, reaching out and picking a small violet flower from the dense foliage they sat in and twirling it between two fingers. "I sent some of my people to Ephraim's manor to investigate what really happened to your brother."
Sarion felt his interest pique, and he gave Raphael an expectant stare.
Raphael scratched the tip of his own nose and sniffed. "The servants there gave us some very peculiar news."
"What did they say?"
"Well, from what I can gather after hearing their stories…" He looked at Sarion, giving him a contemplative stare. "I'm beginning to doubt if Unaril really is dead."
Alright!
This chapter here is the end of the main plot line. Everything after it is either tying up loose ends, depressing angst, or cheery fluff.
All chapters post this one are basically extras that may or may not keep your interest. :P For those of you who are really immersed in the story, it'll be interesting. To those of you who aren't, I won't blame you if you skip forward or stop here.