Ophilia walked up the stairs towards Therion's room. She stood in front of the door silently, questioning whether or not she should knock on the door. Therion had locked himself in his room for a day now and everyone was starting to get worried. Should I leave him alone? Is he even hiding in his room? Or is he hoping that I think that he's not there, so I leave him alone? Ophilia mentally slapped herself and she focused herself. She knew she had to talk to Therion, so she gathered her courage and knocked. Silence. She knocked again. Silence again.
"Therion, if you're in there, can you open the door?" Ophilia asked politely before knocking again. She could hear some shuffling coming from the other side. She put her hand over the doorknob.
"Therion I'm coming in." Ophilia turned the handle and walked inside. Inside, everything was neat and tidy, almost like it was never used. There was no trace that Therion had ever walked in his room, except for the open window at the very edge. Ophilia walked towards the window, the cool evening breeze brushed against her cheeks as she stuck her head outside and looked outside.
Ophilia let herself get lost in her thoughts. There were so many questions in her mind about the black market. Everyone had noticed something was off with Therion. Everyone believed it was because he failed to capture the third emerald dragonstone. However, Ophilia noticed he looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. She was tempted to follow him upstairs at first, but Primrose had grabbed her wrist and shook her head. Ophilia started to get worried when he hadn't come down for dinner earlier.
"What actually happened in the black market Therion?" Ophilia said looking at, what was left of, the sunset. The bright reds and oranges from the sunset slowly mixed with the dark blues and purples of the sky. With the change of color, the liveliness of Wellspring faded too. Merchants packing their wares, children going inside for dinner, and the soothing sounds of the wind blowing the desert sand. Occasionally, there would be folk songs playing everytime the tavern doors opened, and sometimes, there would be loud, boisterous singing from the patrons. What felt like minutes later, the sky darkened and Ophilia decided to head back to her room for the night, not before lighting the small lamp next to the bed. As she was walking towards the door, she heard someone enter the room.
"What're you doing here?" Ophilia froze in place and slowly turned around. Therion looked at her with a slight scowl, which wasn't far from normal, before he started walking towards the corner of his bed, taking off his scarf and poncho and placing them on the floor. Ophilia found herself staring. Oh Aelfric, what has she gotten herself into! Should she leave? Clearly she doesn't have a reason to stay anymore, she can see that Therion is right there in front of her, so maybe she should just…
"Phili...you're staring." Ophilia let out a little 'eep' and started to stutter uncontrollably as she walked backwards towards the door.
"Y-you know, I-I sh-hould g-ge-get going!"
"Umm, Phili?" Ophilia started to walk faster.
"S-sorry for c-coming in u-un-unannou- OOF!" Ophilia's back slammed against the doorknob. She rubbed her back to ease the pain. Therion sighed and shook his head slightly.
"You'd make a horrible thief," Therion remarked as he went towards his bed, sitting down, patting the empty space next to him. Ophilia slowly walked over to the empty spot.
"You know, I didn't come here to be made fun of." Ophilia said as she plopped down on his bed, leaving a sizable gap between them.
"I know, but you didn't answer my question!"
"Oh right…that." Ophilia let out a slight nervous chuckle. She stared at her feet and fidgeted with her thumbs. Oh Aelfric this is hard, just say it Phili before things get more awkward! Ophilia took a deep breath to calm down her raging thoughts.
"What...happened yesterday?" Ophilia asked softly. Everything was quiet and what little eye contact they made was instantly broken. There was no sound in the room, other than their breathing and the candle jumping as the wax melts. Ophilia slowly looked towards Therion. His downcast eyes looked like there was no life in them, his breathing quickened and she heard a small glup coming from him. He looked… tired.
"Ophilia," Therion started before taking a deep, shaky breath, "what would you do if… someone you cared about...betrayed you?"
"Like Lianna?"
"It doesn't have to be her, but yeah."
"Well," Ophilia paused to collect her thoughts, "I guess I would forgive her if she did. His Excellency taught us both not to hold grudges, so it seems only right to do so."
Therion laughed a little, "of course you'd say that. Why'd I think you'd understand?"
"I'm sorry?"
Therion didn't look at her. Ophilia shifted closer to him and tried to look him in the eye, but he kept moving his head away from her. She reached out her hand to try to force him to look at her, but he swatted her hand away and sighed again, "forget it."
"Therion, you invited me to talk but now you won't listen to me! That's your problem, you won't list-"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Therion yelled.
The tension was so thick that not even the Unbending Blade of Hornburg could cut it. Ophilia could feel angry tears forming in her eyes, but she forced herself not to cry. The window was still open. Has it always been? The cold Sunland's wind brushed against Ophilia's bare arms and she shivered. It was starting to get on her nerves. Everything was, from the cold wind, the unbearable silence, the deafening noise from the tavern from the increasing number of drunkards, and him… Therion. Before she did anything she would regret in the morning, Ophilia stood up and walked towards the door.
"I think we both need our rest," Ophilia said as she rested her hand on the doorknob, "goodnight Therion." Ophilia slowly opened the door, closed it, and then walked back to her room. It wasn't a far walk from Therion's room, but her racing thoughts made the walk seem ten times longer. Each step she felt closer and closer to crying, but she didn't want the others to hear her. Ophilia knew she shouldn't have lashed out the way she did and thought about turning around, apologizing to Therion and making some 'I'm sorry' apple bunnies together.
After the most agonizing thirty seconds of Ophilia's life, she stumbled upon her door. When she entered her room, she laid on her bed and cried into the pillow. She cried and cried until her eyes felt heavy and she fell asleep.
Ophilia awoke to the sun shining in her eyes and faint yelling. She cursed herself for not closing the door. Maybe she could've spent more time in bed and less time in her thoughts. She braced herself for another long day of travels and intense heat. She put on her cloak and gloves and headed down the stairs, rubbing her eyes and yawning a little bit.
"Who the hell do you think you are!" Ophilia turned her head and saw Primrose slap Therion, and it sounded hard too. Ophilia stood on the middle steps of the stairs and quietly watched.
"Do you have ANY idea how worried we were yesterday?! We all gave you your space, but that does NOT give you a reason to lash out at us!" Primrose was starting to get louder, and scarier. Alfyn and Tressa calmly chimed in.
"Therion, buddy, we're pals. Ya' can trust us!" Alfyn said with a wide smile. He walked up to Therion and placed an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a tight hug. Therion was struggling to escape from Alfyn's tight grip.
"C'mon Therion, we can still get the dragonstone back together! We'll come up with a plan, but first we gotta know wher-" Tressa was interrupted by Therion pushing away Alfyn and straightening his scarf. Ophilia could immediately sense the growing tension in the room.
"You know, I didn't ask to be a part of this!" Therion exclaimed and the cheerful demeanor of Alfyn and Tressa faded. Olberic chimed in from his seat.
"Therion, that wasn't necessary." Olberic said nothing else. He got up from his seat and walked outside.
Primrose sat back down in her seat and folded her arms. She was facing away from Therion, "You didn't have to come with us."
Ophilia couldn't take the turmoil anymore and continued walking down the stairs. She put on a smile and waved at everyone. Immediately after seeing Ophilia, everyone smiled and waved back, well almost everyone. Everything was awkward and tense. No one said anything and no one moved. It stayed this way for, what felt like, hours before Cyrus got up from his seat and spoke.
"We should make our way back to Bolderfall."
The journey to Bolderfall was long, quiet, and tense. Of course Alfyn and Tressa quickly recovered from earlier, but they were clearly avoiding Therion. Primrose was quiet the whole way. She was walking at a quicker pace than normal and Ophilia could tell that she was starting to get tired. Ophilia caught up with her and gave her a plum from her pouch. Primrose gave Ophilia a small nod and ate the plum. Cyrus, H'aanit, and Olberic walked silently. They could sense the tension between the younger four party members, at least that's what Ophilia thought, and decided to let them deal with their own problems themselves. Cyrus would occasionally break the silence to lecture the group about the fauna in the area, only stopping when he realized that no one was actually listening. Then there was Therion. The most stubborn member of their party, other than Tressa. He was keeping his distance and hiding from anyone. Ophilia would come up to him and offer him some food, but he wouldn't acknowledge her at all. The tension was starting to take its effect on her, so she resigned herself to the back of the group and silently walked along.
This was all her fault, right?
The group arrived in Bolderfall two days later. Therion made his way towards Ravus Manor, while everyone else checked into the inn and rested in their rooms. Ophilia, however, took a walk outside to clear her mind. The sky was cloudy. The town felt empty. No one, other than the occasional traveler, was wandering around. Did she bring this energy, or did Bolderfall always feel this empty? The lower level felt no different than the mid level. Usually, thieves would be seen walking in and out of the tavern, either very, very, drunk or picking a fight with one another. However, the tavern was quieter than normal. There wasn't any music playing inside either, only the occasional sound of the tavern doors opening.
Ophilia soon found herself walking up the stairs and walking back towards the inn. She climbed over the fence that surrounded the inn and laid down in the grass, looking at the gray sky. The green grass felt soft and comforting when compared to the empty, unwelcoming atmosphere of the rest of the town. There was a light wind blowing the grass and it would tickle Ophilia's arms. It lightened her mood. After days of awkwardness, discord, agitation, and many other words Ophilia could list that could fit the mood, this was the first moment where she actually felt… peace. She closed her eyes, breathed in the dusty Bolderfall air, and fell asleep.
When Ophilia awoke, she saw Therion leaning on the fence posts surrounding the grass. He was slouched over and looking down, clearly deep in thought. Ophilia stretched her arms and back and got up off the ground, brushing off any blades of grass that were on her dress. She slowly started to walk towards him.
"You'd still make a horrible thief." Therion remarked, not moving from his position.
"I know," Ophilia said as she stood next to him, "but I can live with that." Ophilia had a smug grin on her face and let out a little laugh. Therion turned towards her and smiled, just a little bit.
"You're finally looking at me. For a second there I thought you couldn't turn your head!" Ophilia jokes slightly nudging Therion's arm, almost asking him to laugh at her horrible joke. He let out a weak laugh, then he shifted his eyes to look away from Ophilia, sighing.
"Phili I," Therion started, fidgeting with his thumbs as he struggled to find the right words, "how do you trust?"
"Umm… isn't trust something natural?"
"Well, yeah, but… how do I know I trust someone?" Ophilia was speechless. She's always trusted everyone around her, so she never really knew how to feel trust. Is it something you can feel? Ophilia tapped her index finger against her cheek, thinking of a way to describe something she couldn't fully describe herself.
"Well… I'm not entirely sure myself," Ophilia told truthfully, "but you will know it's there. It's an indescribable feeling, at least, to me it is." Cyrus would be able to answer his question in a way that doesn't lead to more questions, or, knowing him, he would ramble on and on and on and on. Therion folded his arms and looked up at the sky, obviously deep in thought. Maybe she had confused him with her answer, but then again, she was never very good with words. Ophilia turned her head to face away from Therion, mimicking his posture.
"Sorry for not being much help," Ophilia said as she looked down at the grass. She was gripping her arms tightly and tears started to form in her eyes. Ophilia tried so hard to not let Therion see her cry, but the tears fell on their own anyways. She let out a little whine and immediately put her hand to cover her mouth. All of her bottled emotions exploded right then and there and she fell on her knees, crying louder and louder. Therion lowered to his knees and placed his hand on her face, trying to comfort her in the best way he can. Ophilia looked at him. She couldn't stop the tears from freely flowing down her face.
"Don't be sorry, I'm the asshole who made you cry." Therion said as he tried to wipe away Ophilia's tears. Ophilia let out a loud, congested sniff before looking straight at Therion's eye. His eye was starting to turn red and puffy. Tears were starting to form, but he used his other hand to wipe away any evidence that he was about to cry. Therion's hand was stroking her cheek and she rubbed her face into the palm of his hand. She was still crying. Snot was trailing down her face as well, landing on her lips. Ophilia sniffed again.
"Phili, look I-I," Therion said, shakily breathing in and out, "I-I'm sorry that I yelled at you. You w-were so kind to me and I… I…" They both were crying now. Whatever walls they kept up were quickly torn down as soon as they threw their arms around each other, burying their faces in the other's clothes. They gripped the other tightly, almost begging them to not let go, while also circling their hands on the other's back to comfort them. No doubt they both looked like a mess, but neither of them cared. They only sought the warmth and comfort the other brought.
Finally, they both calmed down a little. They pressed their foreheads together, letting their shaky breaths brush against the other's face. Ophilia pressed her hands against Therion's chest because if she didn't, she felt like she would fall. Their eyes were closed, but it felt like they were staring into the depths of each other's souls. Ophilia and Therion opened their eyes slightly, just looking at each other. They were dangerously close, but all they could muster was each other's name. Both of them slowly leaned closer, to close the small gap that was keeping them from each other. It was agonizingly slow, but eventually, their lips brushed lightly and gently. The kiss was quick. Therion pulled away with a shaky breath and pressed his forehead against Ophilia's neck. Ophilia rubbed circles on Therion's back as she pressed small, comforting kisses on his head.
"Did I just steal a kiss from the master thief himself?" Ophilia jested. Therion let out a shaky laugh, sitting up to look at Ophilia.
"No you didn't,"
"But I think I did."
"I was first,"
"No you were not!" They both paused before starting to laugh uncontrollably. Soon, their laughter was the only thing that was heard throughout Bolderfall, or, at least, to them. At that point in time, they didn't care about any onlookers staring at them, even if it was their own party members.
They spent the rest of the evening outside, chatting with each other about anything and everything. Once the sun had set, they both walked inside the inn and to their respective rooms. Ophilia laid down on her bed, thinking about the next step of her journey. Goldshore was the next stop before she could return home, finish the kindling, and reunite with her family. Of course there were going to be obstacles, pain, and sorrow, but that's a part of the journey. She knows that, but maybe it doesn't have to be so bad.