((Sorry for the long wait. I'm very busy with university recently, so I'm having trouble writing this. I'm also finding it a bit hard to figure out exactly where this is going, with EP being such a complex anime I don't feel like just writing on a whim and spoiling such well made characters. So, bear with me if updates are a little slow coming.))
Part 7 – Worry
13th day since Romedo. PM.
It has been two days since Vincent told me he wanted to leave this commune. He's been growing more and more impatient with each hour that passes. His usual placid self is verging dangerously close to the taunting persona that once dared me to kill him. I thought that he was over this, but maybe I was wrong. I still haven't asked him anything about what happened up atom Romedo, through fear that I wouldn't even understand.
He visits me often, asking if I'm ready. In truth, I've been ready to leave since he first asked. But I'm not sure I want to go. It's not that I enjoy things here, but I worry about what lies ahead. Not so long ago I felt I was infused with all the bravery in the world but now it only seems as though I'm running from the unknown. Maybe I'm just seeking some calm amidst this storm that's been plaguing me ever since I encountered Proxy. Maybe it's something more?
Whenever Vincent isn't with me, he's up high on the hillside, staring northwards. I'd of never of guessed he had such an affinity with other Proxies before, but it just goes to show what little I understand about the man who is Vincent Law. And this proof of my own ignorance only seeks to unsettle me even more. If I know nothing of him then why do I feel how I do? Why am I drawn to him almost on impulse? Why am I so scared that if we go north, I may lose him? I sound like a child, I can't even believe myself. I've changed, but I don't want to admit it. Not yet, not to anyone. For now I need to keep my shell on. He has enough to worry about.
"Re-l?"
She slapped shut her diary quickly, and rolled over onto it hastily to be sure to obscure it from view. Her blue eyes glanced upwards to the figure in her doorway, staring sternly at Vincent. He smiled faintly at her, before stepping inside and sitting on the floor before her cross legged.
"Re-l, we have to leave soon… if we leave it too long it's going to be too la-!"
"I have things to do. I haven't finished earning our supplies, Vincent."
"I did it. I've taken care of what we need, Rose says we can go if we want. She's been saying it since yesterday."
"I can't just leave what I started!" Re-l sighed deeply, unpinning her hair and casually tossing her diary aside into the dark corner. A silence hung between them; a silence that felt unusually awkward. After travelling together for months Re-l had felt that they were close enough to live with silence. That time together was just as well spent when nothing was said. But for once, this was different. It was as though she could feel his suffering and longing stretching through the tense air and piercing her heart. She watched him shift his gaze to the floor as a frown crept over his timid face.
"Do my hair." She tossed him her comb.
"Sure… Re-l."
The two sat silently again as Vincent gently combed and styled her hair. It was something she could easily do her self, and had done for quite some time since she'd lost Iggy, but it was the least she could do in such a situation. She couldn't let her guard down; she wasn't ready to let him inside. At least with this, he was kept close for that little bit longer, and the trip northwards would be put off if only for a while.
