Author's Note 1: Well, I did it. I wrote my 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo this year. I thought I might be able to finish this fic in its entirety in that month, but I didn't even finish Part 1. (And that's out of 3 parts.) At the moment, I'm in the process of editing what I do have written, and it's a slow process unfortunately. There's some good stuff and some bad stuff, and it's taking a while to sort through it. But I hope to steadily update. I've spent far too much time staring at this chapter, and I'm still not incredibly happy with it. I feel like it could be better, but at this point, if I fiddle with it anymore, I'll never finish it. Enjoy!
Fire Emblem: From Dusk Until Dawn
Chapter Two: Reminiscence
"I found her outside of Nevassa yesterday. I believe her group has slipped away unnoticed, but you know as well as I do that Jarod won't allow his forces to forget a mistake like this. Would you like for me to continue pursuing her?"
"Watch her. Nothing more. It is better if she handles her trials alone. If you coddle her now, she'll never… No never... "
"Milord?"
"I want to see how this plays out. Only intervene if you think they might kill her. When the time is right, push her. Now, I know for certain she would break. So not yet. Not until she's stronger… Much stronger. You will know when."
"...Of course, milord."
"What was she like?"
"I haven't spoken with her yet. I thought my presence might spook her, so I'm afraid there isn't much I can say."
"Then what was your impression of her?"
"She's tired."
"As expected. People like us are born tired. We live that way for far too long. And we inevitably die of fatigue. I wanted better for her. But it seems it's too late."
"You're not to blame."
"You couldn't possibly know that. You're far too young. ...Keep watching. I don't want any harm to come to her."
"Yes, milord."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Is he awake?" Leonardo peeked his head into the makeshift sick room prepared for Edward with borrowed blankets and a fire Nolan had birthed through a battle of wills against the temperamental furnace. They tolerated the stale stench it produced only because the man had labored for hours to find a structure with four walls, a roof, and a corner warm enough to keep Edward alive in. He was lucky enough to have known a guy who knew another guy who had a friend who remembered his wife's uncle had passed away, and the family allowed his cabin in the woods to deteriorate into a moldy, forgotten monument. A perfect temporary home. Though looters and bandits had gutted its interior, the structure itself remained unyielding to the elements.
"Not right now." Micaiah answered him without lifting her eyes from the swordsman's sleeping form. She had always thought his eyes were what gave Edward his eternally youthful appearance, but she had watched him sleep long enough to decide that it was the delicate but not quite emaciated structure of his body that stunted his aging. Almost like a child who had died too young. "He's looking...better, but I'm not sure how he would fare if I didn't offer him some of my own strength every few hours." She rubbed at her eyes. "...please don't tell Nolan."
The archer merely nodded, looming beside her like a shadow. She reached out to caress the heavy creases along his brow. A new one seemed to appear every time he entered this corner of the world, and the oldest ones had grown deep enough to expose his innermost worries.
"Has he awakened at all today?"
"For a few minutes about an hour ago. I'm not sure if he'll remember, but he was asking about you, and the shot you made. He's still rather impressed."
"You promised to retrieve me when he awakened, Micaiah."
"I know…but you had just fallen asleep. Nolan made the call. Not me."
"I need to talk to him. If there's a chance that he won't wake up again… There are too many things I've left unsaid. He needs to know-"
"He won't die. I won't let him. And more importantly, he won't give up." Edward shuddered in his sleep, and Leonardo held his tongue, but his friend merely caught his breath and fell back into a restless slumber.
"He's stupid." Leonardo coated the concern in his voice with a layer of venom that cracked as he forced out that last syllable. Micaiah watched as the shield shattered, but it was subtle. The archer had only ever expressed true fear in two ways. "I've never met someone more foolish in my entire life, and I doubt I'll ever meet someone who has less sense than him. If he had waited a second longer… I should kill him for doing this." He wrung his hands as if his friend's blood was still on them. He noticed the trembling after Micaiah did and shoved them into his pockets. "It's cold."
"There's nothing in this world that could have made him wait. I've played the scene over and over again in my head, but no matter what we do, Edward always charges forward like that." He wasn't a knight or a rook or a pawn on a chessboard. He wouldn't allow such rules to guide his energy, so he chose to become a rogue element; one that accepted the danger that came from acting first and thinking later. This was the sort of trouble she should have been predicting, but she didn't control what the goddess let her see. At this point, she didn't even control when she got to sleep.
Leonardo couldn't muster up another few words without betraying the poor state of his emotional shield, so he merely offered a deceivingly thoughtful nod.
"Do you want to sit with him for a while?" Micaiah asked. "Maybe if you scolded him, he'd be quicker to recover. He seems to listen to you a bit better than the rest of us."
"That isn't saying much, Micaiah."
"But do you?"
Leonardo dipped his head in thanks to the young woman and kneeled down beside her and his friend. He reached out for Micaiah's arm as she rose. "You're not staying?"
"I…need some fresh air. Just a little bit. I don't think I can take too much more of being cooped up like this. I need to sleep…and dream."
"You haven't had any visions?"
"No. I just sense danger, but I'm not sure from where or from whom." She pulled back her hair into a lopsided ponytail and drew the hood of her cloak over her head. "But the feeling doesn't go away, and that's...bad. But if I told Nolan that…"
"He wouldn't make us move. He cares about Edward's health."
"Yes. But he might make me leave. I'm the one they want. The posters talk about our group, but I'm the only one people recognize. We're all in danger if I stay."
"We'll stick together," the archer stated. "We've been together this long. Why stop now?"
"That's a good question. I have a lot of answers for it as well, but I'm afraid they're not the ones you're looking for."
"We're not scared of Begnion. Maybe they'll cut us down eventually, but we'll go down together. That's all that matters."
She took his hand from her arm and cradled it between both of hers. His fingers were as delicate as a woman's, but the tips were worn and calloused beyond repair. Despite her best efforts to warm him, his hand continued to tremble even as he pulled it away. "Don't tell Nolan…" he whispered, shoving them back into his pockets.
"Of course not." She left a kiss on his forehead as a parting gift and hurried away from his side. Leaving the sickroom reminded her of how cold Daein could be even during autumn. The chill wormed its way through every imaginable flaw in the building's structure intent on smothering any semblance of life. She pulled her cloak around her shoulders and wandered the empty halls until she spied Nolan's shadow on the front porch, axe by his side. He held a lit pipe in his hands and blew rings of smoke from his mouth.
"I didn't know you smoked."
"I try not to around you kids," he answered with a grin. "I don't like it much. It makes me feel fat and blind like my old man. I only have this because it was his anyway."
"That's no reason to smoke, but it's still very pretty."
Nolan held it up for her to get a better look. The wood had been whittled away and sanded down by hand so it was completely smooth and rounded. The same careful hand had carved a forest around the rim, almost like the one they were sitting in now. "He smoked too much. I think that's what killed him in the long-run. One day he started coughing and never stopped. But it always feels like he's here with me if I give it a try."
Micaiah sat down beside him, smiling as she hugged her arms for warmth. "If you ask me, it looks like you're trying to make excuses for a bad habit."
"I've been around for almost forty years now. I'm allowed to have my vices. Between you and the boys, my hair's turning grey a lot faster than it should."
"I thought I spied a few."
He blew a ring of smoke in her face, causing her to cough. After a few more thoughtful puffs, he set the pipe down and arched back to watch the ever-grey sky. "How's he doing?"
"Which one?"
Nolan rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Leo needs Eddie to wake up soon. He's been driving himself crazy these past few days. If Eddie doesn't start to get better, I may have to go kidnap a priest. You're killing yourself trying to help him."
"I know my limits," Micaiah answered.
"That's a lie, and you know it."
The light mage chose not to respond, fixating her gaze on the mostly frozen ground in front of them, She wondered how the birds survived in the cold. Humanity was so fragile that it was almost as if the goddess expected them to die. If the rest of her creation didn't kill them, they would certainly kill each other.
"I remember when I saw you for the first time in Nevassa," Nolan continued. "You were the one thing that didn't fit in with the rest of us."
"I told fortunes. That wasn't exactly an honorable occupation. Not even among bums and thieves."
"Well let's take a second and look at the big picture." He sat up to full height. "I was and still am an ugly, hulking brute. I spent most of my free time swindling money from soldiers. Oh…and let's not forget that I have a smoking problem. When most people I'm around are exactly like me, and I suddenly see a pretty thing spending her free time trying to un-gut dead prostitutes...I say that's something that doesn't fit into my extremely narrow world view.."
Micaiah didn't look up. "Her name was Jess…"
Nolan crouched back down, his eyes soft again.
"I shouldn't have brought that up."
"No. You're right. I push myself too much. I'll try to be more mindful of my actions."
Nolan snaked an arm around Micaiah's shoulder and pulled her in close against him. Somehow, his body fought against the cold and won, emitting soft warmth unlike any fire. "You shouldn't take everything so personally. If you're always thinking about what has happened, you'll always be miserable. There are a lot of things I could have done differently with my life. I could've been a rich merchant. I could've had a family. But if I think about that, that makes my life right now pretty miserable, don't you think?"
"It's not exactly an ideal life."
"No. It's pretty awful on days like this. But there's no telling what would happen to Eddie and Leo if I didn't drag them out of trouble half of the time. And there's no telling what would have happened to you if…well... Point is, we're all here for a reason. What's your reason?"
She twisted her body, so she could hide her face in the warmth of his chest to forget about the inevitable snow. "Am I meant to answer this question now?"
"I'd love it if you tried."
"Well then…I'm here for Daein. I've seen people suffer here for as long as I've been alive. For once, I want to see the majority thrive. It seems like a reasonable request, but for some reason, those in power always want to keep all the happiness. And they don't make it for themselves. They take it from others."
"The world's a tough place."
"Then I want it to be a little easier."
"I think that's fair enough. It'd be nice to see this place looking a little more vibrant. It wasn't terrible when I was a kid…at least from what I remember. My folks stopped smiling before too long though...Ashnard had something to do with that."
"And after that, I just want to hide without worrying that someone terrible might find me. Somewhere bright and quiet."
"Sothe might have something to say about that. There's not a corner of this world you could hide in where he won't find you. And you better believe the rest of us will follow."
"I don't mind if he finds me. I'd actually prefer it if he stayed."
She exhaled into the cool afternoon air. It wouldn't snow yet, she decided. Not for quite some time. But they wouldn't last for much longer in weather like this. "We need to put as much distance between us and Nevessa as we can."
"That's a good idea. I've been keeping an eye out for soldiers, but I think we lost them. Either that or Sothe's been giving them a good run for their money. He should be back soon if he found my message."
"After we clear some things up, maybe we can start work again..."
"You think we're ready?"
"If we stop, people might think we let Begnion scare us off. We have to do something, even if it's little. You know Edward won't sit still once he wakes up."
"I'll look into what we can do in the surrounding area. We just have to be careful, Micaiah. We can't afford to have this happen again. If it had been you-"
"We'll all be careful. I won't make anymore foolish mistakes. I promise."
Nolan sighed, finally releasing his grip on her as her frail shoulders began to tense up underneath his firm hand. He gave her one last thoughtful pat on the back before standing up, groaning a bit as he stretched his legs out underneath him. "I'm be too old for all of this. And the lot of you are too young. There's just no winning for any of us."
"There aren't any winners in war. We all lose something."
"Begnion didn't lose much."
"They lost more than we ever will."
Nolan pondered her thoughts for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't understand, and I won't pretend I do. I went to school for numbers, and that's probably all I'll ever be good for in the long run. I'll leave the philosophy to you kids and the priests."
Micaiah cracked a smile at him. "You're good for a lot more than numbers."
"You flatter me, little lady. I suppose I can catch some good birds. I should probably go ahead and do that or else we won't have much to eat tonight. Leo hasn't been up for hunting, so I guess I've gotta' pull some extra weight. And you should-"
"Sleep. I know. I think I will." Micaiah offered the man a kiss on the cheek even though she had to stand on her toes to give it to him before heading off somewhere a little warmer to sleep. She supposed it didn't matter much where she slept. Edward's room was the only one with any sort of fire going, and she wasn't about ready to disturb Leonardo. He needed some time to worry on his own.
She passed the sick room as she headed towards the stairs and paused just a moment to watch the archer. He sat with a rigid back and a trained, unblinking gaze. But she could still see him trying to stop the trembling in his hands. He would flex and tense them over and over again, hoping each release of pressure would fix them…but it didn't. So he kept at it, squeezing his eyes shut in frustration. She wanted to reach out and touch him and tell him that everything would be just fine, but she didn't know that. Of all the things she knew for certain, their survival wasn't one of them.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Crap...it feels like something's going to tear open my stomach, leap out, and devour a couple of faces before Nolan kills it…" Edward still managed to take a few steps using Leonardo as a crutch. But even if some of the color had returned to both of the boy's faces, there wasn't enough of a glow between them to create even one living being.
"You probably shouldn't push yourself yet. If it were up to me, we would be here another week," the archer said. "Maybe a month...wounds like this need time, or they can reopen."
"Thank you, Doc. Very insightful stuff. But Nolan said he saw soldiers in the forest. We shouldn't stay if it means we might get into another fight. Face it. You guys would need me in any sort of condition to pull out a victory. Some Edward is better than no Edward."
"Hardly. If I needed someone to bleed all over the battlefield I'd ask an enemy to do it. You bleed enough for both parties."
"Hey-"
"He has a point, Edward," Nolan scolded as he entered the room, shaking mud and crushed pine needles from his boots.
"If my Ma could've fed me better, maybe I'd've been a tank like you, old man."
Nolan shook his head and sighed for the umpteenth time that morning. "I'll see if we can get a horse from the next town. Until then, looks like I'm going to be giving you a lift."
"Can't you just leave me behind? I'd rather keep my pride intact."
"You still have pride after all of this?" Leonardo raised an eyebrow.
"I took my punishment like a real hero and didn't cry like a certain blonde-haired beauty."
"I didn't cry!"
"I heard you. You guys aren't subtle with your mourning. Next time, make sure I'm dead before you start wailing like banshees. Though I have to admit that the attention is nice. I wouldn't mind a little more of it."
Leonard released his grip on Edward and let him fall to the ground with a thunk. Edward groaned, clutching his side while the archer merely ignored the melodrama oozing from his friend's lips. "I say he's fine after all. No need to fuss over him anyway. I'm sure he could walk on his own"
"Leonardo…" After picking Edward up off the floor and setting him back down on his makeshift bed, Nolan ran a hand through his rusty matted hair. "We're not going to head too far yet, but I expect you boys to be serious about all of this. We absolutely cannot pick anymore fights with others or each other." He glanced over at a rather distracted Micaiah as he finished his thought.
"Do you have any idea when Sothe will return?" she asked after noticing his gaze.
"None at all," he told her. "If he's tried to contact us, I wouldn't know. The best we can do is leave him another message here and hope he catches up."
"I see…"
"If something had happened to him, we would know about it. We don't need any tears over uncertainty."
"Yeah. Leo's done more than enough of that!"
"Hush," Leonardo tightened his fists when Edward winked in his direction.
"Let's get a move-on, lady and gentlemen. We need to pack up, and I want to find somewhere safe before it gets too dark. I know a pretty nice village not too far from here."
"Of course you do," the group droned in unison.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Nolan's endless resources unfortunately failed to procure them a horse, so Leonardo took turns with the axeman helping Edward limp along until the swordsman's pride crumbled, and he allowed himself to be carried. He complained at first, but secretly he seemed relieved that he didn't have to walk. But he remained oddly quiet after giving up. They reached a fork in the road before too long, and while Nolan struggled to remember which direction the village was in, Leonardo noticed some lightly carved symbols etched into the sign at the center of the fork.
"I think these are meant for us" he said, squinting to read the symbols along the wooden pole.
"You sure?" Nolan asked. "I can't imagine who'd need us out here."
"Maybe the village you're trying to find. We had a full moon…two days ago, right?" He traced his forefinger over a rather hastily sketched circle beneath a sun surrounded by ten stars.
"Sounds about right. What kind of job are they looking for?"
"I'm not too sure. But the sun is asking for our aid. The moon and stars indicate that the request was made two days ago this month. But I have no idea what this mark means." His finger lingered over a giant X, the grooves in the symbol much deeper and jagged than the rest of them. "It's not any of the ones we see regularly. If Sothe's system wasn't so confounded-"
"It's not a request." Micaiah edged up next to Leonardo. "It's a warning. It means to stay away…"
"Stay away?" Edward echoed. "Why? No one's ever given us a warning like this before. You sure they didn't make a mistake?"
"No." Micaiah shook her head. "When I traveled with those fortune tellers during the war, we saw this one a lot. Usually, it was a warning for laguz. Daein was dangerous regardless, but some places meant certain death.. It was usually to warn them of the whereabouts of the…real threats."
"Like Petrine," Edward said.
"Yes. Like her."
"Unfortunately, we might need to check it out anyway," Nolan said. "We can't be out here after dark, or we'll freeze to death. They might be willing to house us if they think we can help chase off a few threats."
"But we can't," Leonardo said.
"We'll do what we can and nothing more. I'm more willing to trust in the kindness of people than the predictability of Mother Nature."
"At least Mother Nature isn't unnecessarily cruel. What you see is what you get," Edward added. "Doesn't mean you have to like it, but I've never known a tree to lie to someone."
"People and nature are both equally complicated. They come from the same source. So we're all screwed in the end regardless of what we do. Lovely, huh?" Nolan took charge of the group once more and started off towards the town.
Micaiah thought about the stillness of the world they were entering. Compared to Nevassa, everything around them had halted as if the earth were holding its breath as they passed. She could hear the echo of her footsteps against the partially frozen earth, each crunch just as incriminating as the last. She could see the autumn breeze flowing through their group, ruffling clothes and air. But she didn't feel any of it.
She imagined herself sitting atop the world, watching everything unfold. The texture of the earth beneath her boots, the crisp air, the heavy silence… She could remember what those things were like, but she couldn't grasp them. She couldn't even feel her own warmth. This is just a dream, Micaiah.
I'm not dreaming. She couldn't remember falling asleep.
Wake up. Wake up. Hugging her arms, she concentrated on the cold. There were goosebumps along her arms. Her bare hands trembled as they fought to warm themselves up. She knew what cold was like. Stiff. Stuffocating. Stinging.
Humans are strange and terrible creatures.
All of us are. Of course, mortals were capable of great kindness, but that didn't stop them from doing equally terrible things. When it came down to it, they all had a choice. Tell the truth or lie. Help or hurt. Us or them.
They'll leave you. And if they don't, you'll leave them.
"You're awfully quiet back there, Micky," Edward called back to her. "Tired?"
"A bit," she answered. Leonardo shot a glance in her direction, and she looked down. "Something feels wrong, but I don't know what. I must be paranoid."
"I have the same feeling, so at least we're in the same boat," Nolan said. "Does that make you feel any better?"
"Probably not. I'd be pretty bummed if someone compared my mental well-being to a crazy old man's."
"Don't make me drop you."
Micaiah felt the stinging caress of the wind against her cheeks. I'm awake.
And then she dry heaved. Now doubled over, she felt Leonardo's hand on her shoulder, trying to shake her out of her thoughts. She cleared her throat several times, tasting imaginary bile on her tongue. But every time she tried to catch her breath, a distant memory kept battering itself against the cage she had trapped it in long ago.
"That village much be burning something," Leonardo stated, covering his nose with a rag.
"...bodies," Edward answered. "A lot of 'em."
Nolan wordlessly pushed their group forward towards the front gates.
Gasping for fresh air, Micaiah allowed Leonardo to lead her along. She scanned the area for any sign of color, but as civilization came into view only the dying fire still smoldering at the center of the blackened town square littered with mangled bodies provided any sign that life still existed or had existed. Every last square inch of what she could see was black. Black from burns. Black from ash. Black from the night. An inky hand had reached down from the heavens and stolen everything from them, even the light of the day. And the fire that remained wasn't a light of hope, just a cruel reminder of what it illuminated. Their silence felt as black as the hearts of those that had done this.
"...what's that say?' Edward asked, breaking the silence once more. He pointed a bony finger towards a wall, scorched but still standing among the debris where letters etched in red appeared when the flames danced close enough to it. Nolan squinted, taking a few steps forward.
"'YOUR NEXT!'"
"Begnion," Micaiah stated flatly.
"We don't know it was them," Leonardo returned. "The inaccurate grammar suggests bandits."
"Then it was Begnion's job to stop this from happening. At this point it isn't the presence of the soldiers that's killing us. It's their apathy."
"We should keep moving," Nolan offered as he juggled a squirming Edward on his back. "If I remember correctly, there might be a barn not too far from here… We can stay there for the night and move bright and early before anyone wakes up."
"The dead do not normally awaken." Leonardo pointed out.
"Only on special occasions." Micaiah's eyes were hollow as she spoke. Leonardo nudged her, but that didn't change a thing. "We can't leave them like this."
Nolan shook his head. "Micaiah...trying to fix the dead won't help the living."
"These people aren't dead." They'd wake up the next time she closed her eyes.
"We could bless the place, couldn't we?" Edward offered, eying Micaiah carefully. "Throw some salt around, say a few prayers, throw together a shrine… That shouldn't take long."
Nolan shook his head again. "We don't have any salt, Edward,"
"Two out of three isn't bad."
"It would be smarter to move." A tall young man, his face and hair smeared with ash, materialized in a nearby tree. The group jumped in unison, but Leonardo was the only one to reach for his weapon.
"Some reflexes, guys…"
"Sothe?" Micaiah's eyes filled with color for a moment as she clutched at her chest, her heart threatening to leap out. The rogue jumped down from his perch and let her embrace him. And she didn't let go.
"So you found your way to us?" Nolan asked, trying not to let his surprise show, but he was having trouble getting a good grip on Edward again after having almost dropped him.
"I made it back to Nevassa about a week ago," he started. "I saw that you had left, and on my way to you, I found some jobs. One of them looked simple enough, and I figured it might get Begnion off of your backs if I caused trouble elsewhere. My contacts ended up telling me that a little village was looking for some help. Simple stuff, get the guards to leave. I figured I could handle a few of them on my own."
"But this happened…" Leonardo mused.
"I didn't get here in time to stop this. There were a few children and a homeless guy that had survived, but that's all. From what I can tell, the soldiers were looking for resources. And they met resistance with...this. I've been cleaning things up since yesterday."
"And the soldiers?" Nolan asked.
"As far as I can tell, they returned to Nevassa. They've leeched this area dry. Probably better that they return. I doubt they could get away with this in the capital."
"Hm...of course…"
"What are you thinking, old man?" Edward asked.
"This might be the safest place to stay for the night. If we wander too much, we'll risk running into soldiers. We can stay at least until sunrise and try to help Sothe tidy things up a bit, maybe sleep a little. But it would be foolish to wander."
"There's a tavern that they left mostly untouched. The building, not its...resources. That's where I found the kids. Why don't you head there, and we'll catch up?" He squeezed Micaiah's shoulder to get her attention, and she nodded in agreement.
"Don't wait out here too long," the axeman warned. "I mean it. It's too cold for philandering."
"Of course not. We'll just be a few minutes." He watched as Nolan and the boys headed into town, mindful of the carnage strewn about.
Sothe held Micaiah at arm's length to get a good look at her, but she closed the gap between them and took his face in her hands. Rubbing her thumb across his cheek, she tried to scrape away the layer of ash with little success. "You should have come back sooner. We've been worried."
"Is that why you haven't been sleeping?" He took her hands and rubbed his own over them, trying to warm them. "You need to take better care of yourself. You know I can get myself out of trouble, so you really don't need to worry like this."
"It's not just you, Sothe. I don't sleep because I can't...because things like this happen when I do. And they'll happen even if I don't. But sometimes the things in my dreams are worse than this." She pulled her hands away from him and rubbed at her eyes. This was real. Sothe was real."There has to be more we can do...to stop things like this."
"Maybe there is, but this isn't something we should talk about right now." He pulled her close, holding her in a tender embrace. "I worry about you too, you know?"
"You smell like smoke." Her voice cracked, and he pulled away from her. "H-How many children did you find?" She covered her face with her sleeve, muffling the sound of her shrinking voice.
"Five. And one man. They're good kids. And they'll take care of each other. I took them to the city north of here. Left them with a friend. They'll be fine."
"...good." She swallowed the word, mouth now dry and lips trembling. She felt Sothe's arms around her once more, and even though she cherished his touch, she wasn't sure she could tolerate his smell or the smell around them..
"You can cry if you need to."
She shrunk down to the ground with him by her side, shriveling underneath the weight of mortality's ugly nature. She breathed in and out in short, painful spurts all in vain. You need to wake up."Don't tell Nolan."
"Of course not…" He ran a hand through her tangled mass of hair. "But he wouldn't stop you either. He's seen all of us at our worst."
"...please don't tell him."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Nolan blew on a set of dice, eliciting a giggle from one of the prettier bystanders. Much to the dismay of the frustrated soldiers around him, he back-pedaled into her direction and held them out for her to blow on as well. "I could always use a little extra luck." She giggled again when he winked, obliging him with a shy puff before retreating to her gaggle of friends.
"All right, gentlemen," the axeman continued. "Let's see if I can make a little comeback. You're the ones that brought this on yourselves."
"Just get on with it!" one of the men shouted.
Nolan let the dice fly. They bounced around for awhile, eventually revealing a beautiful snake-eyes as they settled. "Well look at that. I guess I win after all…"
"You're a dirty cheat." The soldier kicked at the dice, tossing dust into the air. Nolan blinked, and much to his surprise found the man's fist right in his face. The blow was enough to knock him off balance, sending him sprawling onto his back. To be honest, he expected worse, but luckily the soldiers seemed to have something better to do than beat up on an old, homeless man. Once they had left, he pulled himself off of his back and rubbed at his throbbing cheek. Nothing broken. He hoped. The priests wouldn't be happy to see him back at the church again…for any reason.
He pulled himself back up to full height, shoving his hands into his pockets as he ventured deeper into the maze of alleys at Nevassa's heart. He had found that if he wandered long enough, he would never get out. But still he spent more and more time wandering the alleys. Too much time. He leaned against a wall and sighed. He had enough coin to last him a few more days probably, But if he didn't find work soon…
Too bad he wasn't pretty enough to be a prostitute. Terrible work, but the money was usually pretty good. There were some things people always wanted. But a crusty, bankrupt merchant wasn't one of those things. He'd have to stick to his own vices and see if he could find someone gullible enough to actually give him the money after he finished a round of dice. It was still too early to try the tavern, but at this rate, he supposed he didn't have much of a choice.
He pulled up the collar of his shirt to guard him from the chilliness of the evening air as he pushed through the maze. He recognized each mark left on the walls. The urchins had their own language, and while he wasn't the best at memorizing pictures, he knew what he needed to. A fox. They were talking about some trouble. An eye. Keep out of sight if you can. A pair of figures. Don't be alone at night. Apparently things were happening that he kept missing, but then again, he tried not to be around this place if he didn't have to be. Well, he didn't have to be now, and he didn't want to be… What the hell was he even doing with his life? That was the only answer he could think of, and he supposed it made sense. No one chose to be a bum.
A flash of light caught his eye. He figured it could have been a firework or thief aspiring to be a mage. Who knew with these kids anymore? But it intrigued him. It shouldn't have, and he knew it, but he just had to know what it meant. Maybe it was the sign he had been looking for. Or maybe someone would finally kill him. More than likely, he just wanted to delay another failed round of dice. Cautiously, he edged forward and peered around a corner. He expected soldiers or thugs or skinny kids trying a little too hard to entertain themselves.
But there was a girl.
From the glow emulating from her hands, he could see tears pouring down her face almost like starlight. Her hair was like the moon. Her face was like the sun. Everything about her glowed in a way, and he couldn't help but stare at her and her alone. It took a moment for the awe to wear off, and then he noticed a second girl, naked except for a thin shawl draped haphazardly over her emaciated frame. She was covered in so much blood that he couldn't tell where the origin of it was.
Then the light in the girl's hands flickered and began to fade. She tried desperately to push herself creating sparks and then nothing, but Nolan saw a look in her eyes that was all too familiar. He rushed forward and pulled the girl back just in time for her to vomit all over the bloodstained ground. She didn't resist against him, but she didn't seem to have the strength to do so anyway. "…I can help her…" she slurred, her eyes fighting to stay open.
"She's gone," Nolan said. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but there's not a force in the land that can bring back the dead."
"…he can. And he will. Sooner than you might think…"
"What are you even talking about?"
The girl heaved again, and this time, Nolan held back her silver hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other. "Look…if you stay here, someone's going to think you're looking for trouble. You got a friend to help you out?"
"…s-sothe…"
"Okay. We'll look for him then." He dragged her to her feet and she tried to tug away from him back towards the dead woman. He wasn't about ready to let her. She grabbed onto the wall, seeming to notice for the first time that she was covered in blood."She's dead, sweetheart. You can't fix dead."
"Why?"
"Get in line...plenty of people ask that question, and no one has an answer. If you can figure it out, I'd love to know the answer. I'd also love to know how the hell you did a little magic trick like that. I don't see a tome or a staff on you."
"Why her?" The palm of her hand fell, creating a streak of blood on the wall. She raised it again and let it fall, completing an X. Nolan grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her away.
"Why anyone? Everyone dies eventually. ...You see what happened to that girl?"
"...yes."
"You gonna' tell me what happened?"
Tears brimmed in the girl's eyes, and he groaned. "None of that. I can do a lot of things, just not that. Yeah, you're having a rough day, but what's new? The only way to have a good day is to take it from someone else. You just save the tears for when we find your friend."
The girl nodded, her body limp like a doll's as he dragged her along. Every time she breathed, Nolan heard her swallowing back a sob. Once again, he groaned and slowed down enough to pull her onto his back. "If you're going to cry, do it. Just be discreet. I don't wanna' know."
He felt her nod, as she buried her face in the warmth of his back.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"Just...don't make a habit of it. I've got more important things to do than tote kids around."
Author's Note 2: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm always open for comments and critiques, so please let me know what you think, especially if you believe there's something I can improve upon. I'll go ahead and ask again about the length. I hate reading long chapters myself, but these chapters just turn out rather lengthy. I'm sorry about the general lack of action here as well. I promise things start to pick up soon.
