Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING!! (except Stormie, Oriole, Grayfall,
Faith, Xavier, Mitayo, Bailey, Desma, Desiree, and I think that's it... So,
maybe I do own some things!)
Nuclear Pudding: Grayfall is going a little delusional - or is he?! lol Anyhow, yes, the whole Stormie and Knives thing was semi-pointless fluff, but if other people thought it was cute, than hey, that's a good thing! Keep on reviewing!
DuesExDream: Stormie goes back and forth between being goofy and sad, from being strong to being weak. What will her mood be tomorrow? Not even she knows! And Grayfall...his whole life is a drama. Haha, anyhow, thanks for the review, and the song really is cool, if you like the techno-ish flavor to it, that is. ^_^
Zetsumei: Gah! Now look, I've got grass seed all over me! *brushes it off* WHY?! Sorry if the last chapter was too fluffy - and I'm working on Diets, Night Lights and Packing Peanuts, honest! It's just coming along slow since I've got like three other fics going at this time! Look at me, I multi-task! Woo hoo! ^_^
Vakanathestorm: Wheeee! Almost professional? Cool! What a compliment! Yup, if you've read up till here, keep on reviewing! I'll try to read one of your stories, but I'm soooo busy - it's not even right... *grumbles*
Kamazova: Just knowing you enjoyed it is nice!
Raditz: Don't worry! This is almost finished! Oh, and I wouldn't mind Midvalley being resurrected... Hehe - I have a soft spot for saxaphone players.
Hello_lola: Yay! Knives isn't OOC!! And here ya go, I've updated!
Sami: Hehe...I like your little advertisement for Knives there. And yes, Stormie is rather nutty, isn't she? Crazy girl - she's an OVA short of a series! (that's from a Shinesman commercial I saw! lol) I'm really trying to continue Of Diets, Night lights, and Packing Peanuts, but it's hard to get back into it! Any ideas? Keep reviewing!
Kuja's Swan: So, when will your dad get a scanner? Ah, cool! I personally liked the short-haired version better once the idea occurred to me - lol. Keep on reviewing!
~~~~~
"Why are you crying?" Legato slanted a sideways glance upon his son, a curious frown twitching at his lips.
Tears were streaming down Grayfall's cheeks, staining his tan face. Weakly, one hand grasped at the curtains shading the windows, the other hanging limply at his side. "I'm not sure," he replied softly, his voice choked with emotion. "Maybe it's because I'm here with you, my father...and everything is so surreal."
Legato chuckled softly, running a hand through his thick, pale blue hair and letting it freeze halfway, revealing both golden eyes in a moment of rare humor. "Yes, but you miss your real life, don't you?"
"No, not yet."
"You will. And you won't be sad when you leave here."
"When will that be?"
"Not much longer."
They stood there in silence a while longer, reflecting over their short amount of time together, over the conversations and the thoughts they had shared with one another. Deep in their contemplation, it never really occurred to the other that their positions were strange, that they had been absent from one another's lives and only met in dreams. That they were father and son.
"When are you to be married?" Legato interrupted the silence with a dull question, though it sounded as if it was vaguely concerned.
"Oh. It was supposed to be last week, actually, but we had to push it up again because of Stormie and now that this has happened..."
"When is it?"
"Next month."
"You'll be well enough; don't worry."
"Ok."
"Her name is Oriole, no?"
"Oriole. Yes."
"I rather like her."
"Th-thank you." Grayfall turned his head to look over at the other man, smiling but still unsure of himself.
Outside, the birds began to chirp, and Legato's attention became completely captivated once more by the falling leaves. He frowned. This signified all was coming to an end. A troubled feeling flitted through his mind before he shook it off and discarded his troubles, easing his tension and letting it slide off with a roll of his shoulders. He turned to Grayfall one last time and reached out a hand to touch his son's shoulder, a light, ghost of a brush, and in a voice that seemed much more frail than before, he bid the young man good-bye.
~~~~~
Oriole wrung her hands nervously as she ushered Stormie into the room, but there seemed to be no need for the woman after all. Vash, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, looked up at their arrival and frowned, commenting, "He stopped crying. Now he's just lying there."
Oriole shuffled over to where he lay, still burrowed under the covers, and sniffled slightly as she pulled back the heavy blankets to reveal his curled up form. Tenderly, she brushed the back of her hand over his burning forehead, pushing the hair back just in time to reveal the golden eyes as they fluttered open. A surprised gasp escaped her. "He's awake!"
Grayfall brushed away her concerned hands, feeling crowded. "I - I," he tried to form a coherent sentence, but failed. He settled for holding a hand to his face and sighing, trying to steady the rapidly spinning room. He was so out of it that he didn't even realize Oriole's arms were around his shoulders, embracing him tightly, until she laid her head on his broad shoulder. "How long was I out?"
"A couple of days." Vash shrugged. "You were going on almost a week."
"Wow." He shook his head slowly, allowing Oriole to cling to him with only a faint acknowledgment. "Wow."
"What did you dream about that made you cry?" she asked, finally pulling back but remaining close, one hand pressed to the flat of his chest and the other cupping his cheek.
Their eyes locked as he smiled a little, replying quietly, "My father likes you."
Silently, from her corner of the room, Stormie envied their ability to be so close and to be so free with each other. To be so comfortable.
Vash slipped past and tripped out the door, whistling as he went out to the kitchen to finish his box of donuts. He'd been polishing off the last few when Oriole had come flying down the hall, worried about Grayfall and begging for his help. He had complied, only staring longingly after the pastries, but now he was taking the first opportunity to get back to them.
Without Grayfall and Oriole even noticing, Stormie dissolved from the room as well.
~~~~~
Knives was already asleep, sprawled out on the bed in an almost comical position, limbs thrown here and there. His short blonde hair was a dim platinum in the dark, lips parted as he breathed in and out softly, chest rising almost imperceptibly with each inhale and exhale.
Stormie watched him from the doorway, frowning, brow furrowed. "This is what I've wanted for a long time," she said to the room in a rather listless tone. "It's all I've dreamed about."
She could almost see Desma, the weapon experts who was not most likely being held captive in some plant, standing before her, his blonde hair dyed an unnatural red. "Then why don't you look happy?" he teased lightly, smirking at her.
"Because I'm not," she told the figment of her imagination. "I don't think I can make him happy because I can't be what he wants me to be. I don't think this is right. Maybe I should just stop trying. What's the use of trying to do this when it only hurts?"
"What you gonna do about it?"
"I don't know. It's not like I'm gonna leave him though." She stared blankly at the sleeping man lying atop her covers, one arm flung over his chest and the other pillowing the back of his head. She could've been dramatic about it - she could've cried for him because she didn't know what to do with her love. But she didn't feel anything, so she followed up on that, not moving in the very least. "Geesh, he's beautiful, you know?"
"I wouldn't go that far," whispered the little voice of the rapidly fading Desma. "Do you love him or not?"
"Love him - hate that I can't feel comfortable around him. And I think I know why."
"Naoshi?"
"Deeper than that. There are a few things I have to do before I can be at peace."
"Can he help?"
"I don't think he'd want to. He's not the one I need right now anyway."
"Will you explain?"
"Of course not. He'd never let me back into the house."
Knives stirred now, noticing her eyes heavily placed upon him, and she didn't look away, only maintaining her deadly serious facial cast. "What are you staring at?" he grumbled, rubbing at his eye with one of his fists.
"Knives, we need to talk..."
~~~~~
"He gave it to me as a gift, you know."
Oriole peered over at Grayfall in surprise, not comprehending what he meant by the last nonsensical phrase. He'd been talking about visiting with his dead father for the past half hour, and she, not wanting to upset him in his shaky state, had not questioned him.
"What?" Her soft voice rang loud and clear in the otherwise quiet room.
"The Death Song. Legato gave it to me. To protect me because..." He hesitated. "Because he was never there to save me in the first place."
She moved a little closer to him, peering into his deep, honeyed eyes. One finger touched a deep scar on his abdomen, trailing over the rigid markings. "Your father is the secret behind the Death Song?"
"Ironic, isn't it?"
She chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead as her hand tangled in the silver chain around his neck and felt the heavy cross that hung there. She loved that cross, and she never had figured out why. "Your DEAD father gave you the Death Song?"
"Yes."
"It is ironic."
They settled closer together in comfortable silence, lying there and basking in the warmth of the other's companionship. These moments only occurred when one was especially troubled, when they needed reassurance to get through the night. Oriole's hands had a habit of playing across the thick scars that littered his body, testimonies of her half-brother's cruelty.
"Hey...."
"What?"
Grayfall shifted away a little and reached behind his neck to unclasp his cross necklace. It pooled into a snaky ribbon of glinting silver in his hands and he suspended it in the air between them, letting her get a good look at the swinging pendent. "I want to give it to you."
"What?"
"It's like a...sort of a wedding gift." He thrust it towards her, expression serious. "Go on. Take it."
She gently plucked it from his hand, smiling a little. "Thank you."
He nodded. "It's over now, Oriole."
"I know. It's what we've been waiting for, isn't it?"
Suddenly, Grayfall shot up in the bed, seeming to be listening intently to something. Oriole could almost see his ears perking up like a dog's, the look of concentration scrawled across his features showing just how troubled he appeared to be. Slowly, he swung himself over her and onto the floor, walking in long, hurried strides to the door.
"Wait," she said urgently, immediately at his heels, "what's go-"
But she need not finish. The noise had escalated so that even she with her horrible hearing could pick up on it. Apparently, a man and a woman were fighting, their voices raw with pain and disbelief, and from the way the volume was constantly increasing, they were fast approaching.
Grayfall flung open the door just as Stormie dashed by in a rage, Knives stalking after her.
"What's going on?" demanded Vash, who was still sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water, obviously perplexed by the commotion.
"Stop it!" Stormie whirled on Knives, almost in tears and definitely guilty looking. She had stopped just by the front door, her back pressed nervously to it. "I know this isn't fair! I'm sorry I can't explain this to you, but you had no right to say those things to me either!" Her face softened. "Knives...you know what you say means a lot to me...so why would you use petty insults like that...?" Then, turning to look at Vash, she implored, "Watch Faith for me?"
He choked on his water. "Where are you going?!"
"I've got some unfinished business." Shooting a glance at Knives, she growled, "I will come back. Now that Naoshi is gone, I am strong enough to handle whoever else might be out there. Humans are easily dealt with - trust me, I've killed my share. And besides, I'm not going too far. Just into town. Don't worry."
"Naoshi," he snarled. "Is that what this is all about?"
"Don't start that again," she groaned.
"Mom!" Faith came flying out of her room, running to her mother and clinging to her. "Mom! What's going on?"
Xavier stood behind her, looking slightly disinterested. After all, the boy was used to such traumas by now.
Stormie's gaze softened at her child's appearance and briefly she cursed herself under her breath before answering, "Faith, I'll come back for you, I promise. Stay here with Vash. He'll take care of you."
"What's going on?" Grayfall called out above the confusion, repeating the question everyone had already asked but had never received an answer to.
"None of you can help me with this because...I'm going to prove myself once and for all that I am capable of standing on my own too feet without Knives or Grayfall or Vash or Oriole or anyone catching me. I'm going to finish what I started a two years ago, and I'm going to prove to everyone here that I am not just a screw up!" Stormie looked at the crowd gathered around her, the angry and pained look in Knives' eyes and the confusion inscribed in the rest of her friends' voices and faces, at the fear and tenseness of all those who sensed impending doom. Then, shaking her head in dismay, she cast one apologetic glance all around and whispered, "I'm so sorry... It's not what you think, but I don't want to tell you now because you'd all want to come..."
"We don't know now," Oriole said quietly, "and we still went to come."
Stormie laughed a little. "It's no big deal. Let's not dramatize it now. I will have help."
"From who?"
"I don't have time to explain."
Knives' hand was suddenly clamped around her wrist, tightening painfully as he urged her in a husky voice full of suppressed anger, of terrible love and loathing and a million other emotions, "Don't you dare leave like this!"
She ripped away from him, adjusting the strap of her back pack as she bolted out the front door and began to run across the front yard, through the sand, over the first dune in a blind panic, tears streaming from her sapphire eyes and stinging as the cold wind bit into them. His words from the bedroom echoed after her, hissing in her ears. Harsh words. It was why she didn't want him to come. He couldn't understand this last task, the way he had lashed out at her only moments earlier proving it...
It'd really cut deep.
She never glanced over her shoulder, but she knew, she just KNEW that Knives was standing in the doorway, watching with a steely-eyed gaze as she slowed to a walk and continued to make her way across the desert.
"Don't you leave me!" he screamed after her, almost a threat. "Stormie! Don't you walk away!"
She sniffled, swiping her sleeve across her nose. During their argument in the bedroom, she had hastily thrown on her traveling clothes, not even caring anymore if her saw her changing. Her legs already ached, the bruises and swellings on them protesting with each movement.
"I HATE YOU!" he cried, this time sounding close to a breakdown. "YOU ALWAYS RUN AWAY!"
She let the wind be her answer.
"You fool! You'll die, leaving like this all by yourself! Do you want me to come after you?! I won't chase you forever! I'm sick of your games!" Silence for a few moments, and after that, fainter, "TRAITOR!"
And then, as she disappeared over another dune, she imagined him turning and walking, defeated, back into the tiny house and taking off his wedding ring, throwing it across the room with nary a thought for what the others would think.
~*~It's ok, Knives,~*~ her mind soothed from afar, her invisible mental caresses brushing at his angry tears as he sunk against the wall in the hallway, crouching there and choking back angry, frustrated sobs. ~*~We both feel betrayed right now, but I'll come back to you soon - I promise. Wait for me, ok?~*~
~~~~~~
It's not what you think guys - so don't flame me! Stormie isn't going to go do something stupid all alone - she'll get help from some other people. The reason she didn't want Knives to come she'll explain in the next chapter, and the things he said to her in the bedroom will also be explained. Hehe....next chapter might finish it up and I might add an epilogue or something too so I dunno... Anyhow, review!
Nuclear Pudding: Grayfall is going a little delusional - or is he?! lol Anyhow, yes, the whole Stormie and Knives thing was semi-pointless fluff, but if other people thought it was cute, than hey, that's a good thing! Keep on reviewing!
DuesExDream: Stormie goes back and forth between being goofy and sad, from being strong to being weak. What will her mood be tomorrow? Not even she knows! And Grayfall...his whole life is a drama. Haha, anyhow, thanks for the review, and the song really is cool, if you like the techno-ish flavor to it, that is. ^_^
Zetsumei: Gah! Now look, I've got grass seed all over me! *brushes it off* WHY?! Sorry if the last chapter was too fluffy - and I'm working on Diets, Night Lights and Packing Peanuts, honest! It's just coming along slow since I've got like three other fics going at this time! Look at me, I multi-task! Woo hoo! ^_^
Vakanathestorm: Wheeee! Almost professional? Cool! What a compliment! Yup, if you've read up till here, keep on reviewing! I'll try to read one of your stories, but I'm soooo busy - it's not even right... *grumbles*
Kamazova: Just knowing you enjoyed it is nice!
Raditz: Don't worry! This is almost finished! Oh, and I wouldn't mind Midvalley being resurrected... Hehe - I have a soft spot for saxaphone players.
Hello_lola: Yay! Knives isn't OOC!! And here ya go, I've updated!
Sami: Hehe...I like your little advertisement for Knives there. And yes, Stormie is rather nutty, isn't she? Crazy girl - she's an OVA short of a series! (that's from a Shinesman commercial I saw! lol) I'm really trying to continue Of Diets, Night lights, and Packing Peanuts, but it's hard to get back into it! Any ideas? Keep reviewing!
Kuja's Swan: So, when will your dad get a scanner? Ah, cool! I personally liked the short-haired version better once the idea occurred to me - lol. Keep on reviewing!
~~~~~
"Why are you crying?" Legato slanted a sideways glance upon his son, a curious frown twitching at his lips.
Tears were streaming down Grayfall's cheeks, staining his tan face. Weakly, one hand grasped at the curtains shading the windows, the other hanging limply at his side. "I'm not sure," he replied softly, his voice choked with emotion. "Maybe it's because I'm here with you, my father...and everything is so surreal."
Legato chuckled softly, running a hand through his thick, pale blue hair and letting it freeze halfway, revealing both golden eyes in a moment of rare humor. "Yes, but you miss your real life, don't you?"
"No, not yet."
"You will. And you won't be sad when you leave here."
"When will that be?"
"Not much longer."
They stood there in silence a while longer, reflecting over their short amount of time together, over the conversations and the thoughts they had shared with one another. Deep in their contemplation, it never really occurred to the other that their positions were strange, that they had been absent from one another's lives and only met in dreams. That they were father and son.
"When are you to be married?" Legato interrupted the silence with a dull question, though it sounded as if it was vaguely concerned.
"Oh. It was supposed to be last week, actually, but we had to push it up again because of Stormie and now that this has happened..."
"When is it?"
"Next month."
"You'll be well enough; don't worry."
"Ok."
"Her name is Oriole, no?"
"Oriole. Yes."
"I rather like her."
"Th-thank you." Grayfall turned his head to look over at the other man, smiling but still unsure of himself.
Outside, the birds began to chirp, and Legato's attention became completely captivated once more by the falling leaves. He frowned. This signified all was coming to an end. A troubled feeling flitted through his mind before he shook it off and discarded his troubles, easing his tension and letting it slide off with a roll of his shoulders. He turned to Grayfall one last time and reached out a hand to touch his son's shoulder, a light, ghost of a brush, and in a voice that seemed much more frail than before, he bid the young man good-bye.
~~~~~
Oriole wrung her hands nervously as she ushered Stormie into the room, but there seemed to be no need for the woman after all. Vash, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, looked up at their arrival and frowned, commenting, "He stopped crying. Now he's just lying there."
Oriole shuffled over to where he lay, still burrowed under the covers, and sniffled slightly as she pulled back the heavy blankets to reveal his curled up form. Tenderly, she brushed the back of her hand over his burning forehead, pushing the hair back just in time to reveal the golden eyes as they fluttered open. A surprised gasp escaped her. "He's awake!"
Grayfall brushed away her concerned hands, feeling crowded. "I - I," he tried to form a coherent sentence, but failed. He settled for holding a hand to his face and sighing, trying to steady the rapidly spinning room. He was so out of it that he didn't even realize Oriole's arms were around his shoulders, embracing him tightly, until she laid her head on his broad shoulder. "How long was I out?"
"A couple of days." Vash shrugged. "You were going on almost a week."
"Wow." He shook his head slowly, allowing Oriole to cling to him with only a faint acknowledgment. "Wow."
"What did you dream about that made you cry?" she asked, finally pulling back but remaining close, one hand pressed to the flat of his chest and the other cupping his cheek.
Their eyes locked as he smiled a little, replying quietly, "My father likes you."
Silently, from her corner of the room, Stormie envied their ability to be so close and to be so free with each other. To be so comfortable.
Vash slipped past and tripped out the door, whistling as he went out to the kitchen to finish his box of donuts. He'd been polishing off the last few when Oriole had come flying down the hall, worried about Grayfall and begging for his help. He had complied, only staring longingly after the pastries, but now he was taking the first opportunity to get back to them.
Without Grayfall and Oriole even noticing, Stormie dissolved from the room as well.
~~~~~
Knives was already asleep, sprawled out on the bed in an almost comical position, limbs thrown here and there. His short blonde hair was a dim platinum in the dark, lips parted as he breathed in and out softly, chest rising almost imperceptibly with each inhale and exhale.
Stormie watched him from the doorway, frowning, brow furrowed. "This is what I've wanted for a long time," she said to the room in a rather listless tone. "It's all I've dreamed about."
She could almost see Desma, the weapon experts who was not most likely being held captive in some plant, standing before her, his blonde hair dyed an unnatural red. "Then why don't you look happy?" he teased lightly, smirking at her.
"Because I'm not," she told the figment of her imagination. "I don't think I can make him happy because I can't be what he wants me to be. I don't think this is right. Maybe I should just stop trying. What's the use of trying to do this when it only hurts?"
"What you gonna do about it?"
"I don't know. It's not like I'm gonna leave him though." She stared blankly at the sleeping man lying atop her covers, one arm flung over his chest and the other pillowing the back of his head. She could've been dramatic about it - she could've cried for him because she didn't know what to do with her love. But she didn't feel anything, so she followed up on that, not moving in the very least. "Geesh, he's beautiful, you know?"
"I wouldn't go that far," whispered the little voice of the rapidly fading Desma. "Do you love him or not?"
"Love him - hate that I can't feel comfortable around him. And I think I know why."
"Naoshi?"
"Deeper than that. There are a few things I have to do before I can be at peace."
"Can he help?"
"I don't think he'd want to. He's not the one I need right now anyway."
"Will you explain?"
"Of course not. He'd never let me back into the house."
Knives stirred now, noticing her eyes heavily placed upon him, and she didn't look away, only maintaining her deadly serious facial cast. "What are you staring at?" he grumbled, rubbing at his eye with one of his fists.
"Knives, we need to talk..."
~~~~~
"He gave it to me as a gift, you know."
Oriole peered over at Grayfall in surprise, not comprehending what he meant by the last nonsensical phrase. He'd been talking about visiting with his dead father for the past half hour, and she, not wanting to upset him in his shaky state, had not questioned him.
"What?" Her soft voice rang loud and clear in the otherwise quiet room.
"The Death Song. Legato gave it to me. To protect me because..." He hesitated. "Because he was never there to save me in the first place."
She moved a little closer to him, peering into his deep, honeyed eyes. One finger touched a deep scar on his abdomen, trailing over the rigid markings. "Your father is the secret behind the Death Song?"
"Ironic, isn't it?"
She chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead as her hand tangled in the silver chain around his neck and felt the heavy cross that hung there. She loved that cross, and she never had figured out why. "Your DEAD father gave you the Death Song?"
"Yes."
"It is ironic."
They settled closer together in comfortable silence, lying there and basking in the warmth of the other's companionship. These moments only occurred when one was especially troubled, when they needed reassurance to get through the night. Oriole's hands had a habit of playing across the thick scars that littered his body, testimonies of her half-brother's cruelty.
"Hey...."
"What?"
Grayfall shifted away a little and reached behind his neck to unclasp his cross necklace. It pooled into a snaky ribbon of glinting silver in his hands and he suspended it in the air between them, letting her get a good look at the swinging pendent. "I want to give it to you."
"What?"
"It's like a...sort of a wedding gift." He thrust it towards her, expression serious. "Go on. Take it."
She gently plucked it from his hand, smiling a little. "Thank you."
He nodded. "It's over now, Oriole."
"I know. It's what we've been waiting for, isn't it?"
Suddenly, Grayfall shot up in the bed, seeming to be listening intently to something. Oriole could almost see his ears perking up like a dog's, the look of concentration scrawled across his features showing just how troubled he appeared to be. Slowly, he swung himself over her and onto the floor, walking in long, hurried strides to the door.
"Wait," she said urgently, immediately at his heels, "what's go-"
But she need not finish. The noise had escalated so that even she with her horrible hearing could pick up on it. Apparently, a man and a woman were fighting, their voices raw with pain and disbelief, and from the way the volume was constantly increasing, they were fast approaching.
Grayfall flung open the door just as Stormie dashed by in a rage, Knives stalking after her.
"What's going on?" demanded Vash, who was still sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water, obviously perplexed by the commotion.
"Stop it!" Stormie whirled on Knives, almost in tears and definitely guilty looking. She had stopped just by the front door, her back pressed nervously to it. "I know this isn't fair! I'm sorry I can't explain this to you, but you had no right to say those things to me either!" Her face softened. "Knives...you know what you say means a lot to me...so why would you use petty insults like that...?" Then, turning to look at Vash, she implored, "Watch Faith for me?"
He choked on his water. "Where are you going?!"
"I've got some unfinished business." Shooting a glance at Knives, she growled, "I will come back. Now that Naoshi is gone, I am strong enough to handle whoever else might be out there. Humans are easily dealt with - trust me, I've killed my share. And besides, I'm not going too far. Just into town. Don't worry."
"Naoshi," he snarled. "Is that what this is all about?"
"Don't start that again," she groaned.
"Mom!" Faith came flying out of her room, running to her mother and clinging to her. "Mom! What's going on?"
Xavier stood behind her, looking slightly disinterested. After all, the boy was used to such traumas by now.
Stormie's gaze softened at her child's appearance and briefly she cursed herself under her breath before answering, "Faith, I'll come back for you, I promise. Stay here with Vash. He'll take care of you."
"What's going on?" Grayfall called out above the confusion, repeating the question everyone had already asked but had never received an answer to.
"None of you can help me with this because...I'm going to prove myself once and for all that I am capable of standing on my own too feet without Knives or Grayfall or Vash or Oriole or anyone catching me. I'm going to finish what I started a two years ago, and I'm going to prove to everyone here that I am not just a screw up!" Stormie looked at the crowd gathered around her, the angry and pained look in Knives' eyes and the confusion inscribed in the rest of her friends' voices and faces, at the fear and tenseness of all those who sensed impending doom. Then, shaking her head in dismay, she cast one apologetic glance all around and whispered, "I'm so sorry... It's not what you think, but I don't want to tell you now because you'd all want to come..."
"We don't know now," Oriole said quietly, "and we still went to come."
Stormie laughed a little. "It's no big deal. Let's not dramatize it now. I will have help."
"From who?"
"I don't have time to explain."
Knives' hand was suddenly clamped around her wrist, tightening painfully as he urged her in a husky voice full of suppressed anger, of terrible love and loathing and a million other emotions, "Don't you dare leave like this!"
She ripped away from him, adjusting the strap of her back pack as she bolted out the front door and began to run across the front yard, through the sand, over the first dune in a blind panic, tears streaming from her sapphire eyes and stinging as the cold wind bit into them. His words from the bedroom echoed after her, hissing in her ears. Harsh words. It was why she didn't want him to come. He couldn't understand this last task, the way he had lashed out at her only moments earlier proving it...
It'd really cut deep.
She never glanced over her shoulder, but she knew, she just KNEW that Knives was standing in the doorway, watching with a steely-eyed gaze as she slowed to a walk and continued to make her way across the desert.
"Don't you leave me!" he screamed after her, almost a threat. "Stormie! Don't you walk away!"
She sniffled, swiping her sleeve across her nose. During their argument in the bedroom, she had hastily thrown on her traveling clothes, not even caring anymore if her saw her changing. Her legs already ached, the bruises and swellings on them protesting with each movement.
"I HATE YOU!" he cried, this time sounding close to a breakdown. "YOU ALWAYS RUN AWAY!"
She let the wind be her answer.
"You fool! You'll die, leaving like this all by yourself! Do you want me to come after you?! I won't chase you forever! I'm sick of your games!" Silence for a few moments, and after that, fainter, "TRAITOR!"
And then, as she disappeared over another dune, she imagined him turning and walking, defeated, back into the tiny house and taking off his wedding ring, throwing it across the room with nary a thought for what the others would think.
~*~It's ok, Knives,~*~ her mind soothed from afar, her invisible mental caresses brushing at his angry tears as he sunk against the wall in the hallway, crouching there and choking back angry, frustrated sobs. ~*~We both feel betrayed right now, but I'll come back to you soon - I promise. Wait for me, ok?~*~
~~~~~~
It's not what you think guys - so don't flame me! Stormie isn't going to go do something stupid all alone - she'll get help from some other people. The reason she didn't want Knives to come she'll explain in the next chapter, and the things he said to her in the bedroom will also be explained. Hehe....next chapter might finish it up and I might add an epilogue or something too so I dunno... Anyhow, review!
