Hard Truths.
A cool breeze comes through the window, blowing across the man and shaking the tuft of hair hanging over his brow. The chill of the air is welcome on an afternoon as warm and sunny as this bright summer day. The man is awake, but he sits still and rests his eyes, enjoying the quiet company of the sleeping woman.
Her eyes part slowly under the beams of the afternoon sun, a bright light calling her to wake up. She sits up in the bed and stretches her neck over one shoulder and then the other. Without thinking, she stretches her body up straight before recoiling from the sharp pain in her healing side.
"Careful, young one…" the man says tenderly as he reaches out to support the injured woman.
She waves him away with a smile. "I'm fine, old man. Don't worry," she says and gives him a warm expression. "How long have you been here? Don't tell me you've been sat there since I passed out this morning?" She asks with a concerned annoyance.
The man rubs the short blue-grey stubble on his chin and smiles. "No, no. I attended to some things I'd been neglecting after you went to sleep. I stopped in about a half hour ago to see if you needed anything. I found that you were still sleeping and I felt a little fatigued myself, so I rested my eyes a bit."
"Eyran… did you get any sleep last night?"
He moves the dangling hair away from his face. "Some yes… You know I worry…" he says and his smile disappears.
Marin carefully moves her legs off the side of her bed to face the man. "I know…" she says, reaching out and giving the troubled man's hand a reassuring squeeze. She sits back and looks out the window. "Did the Guardian turn up while I was out?" she asks, doubtful but optimistic.
Eyran breathes out a small huff. "No. He and his ship have still been gone since the night before last. I'm starting to feel he may have… moved on… His people may have had other matters for him to deal with." Despite his obvious attempt to speak with neutrality, his words hide little of his true feelings.
Marin does not say anything for a moment. She looks out the window and listens to the children playing nearby. "… He didn't say goodbye," she says, just more than a whisper.
"I'm sorry, child…" Eyran sits next to her on the bed and opens his arms warmly.
Still looking out the window, Marin leans into the man's embrace and rests her head on his shoulder.
"I know you care for him… and in his own way, I get the sense he… cared for you as well," the bitter Awoken says with a little difficulty. "But you must know, Lightbearers are not like us… With the kind of power they possess, it is impossible to coexist harmoniously with normal people like you or I."
Marin says nothing. She turns her eyes from the window and looks at the old hand canon, proudly on display in her room. Not much later, she closes her eyes and turns her head into the man's shoulder.
Both sit there wordlessly for a time.
"I believe it's time to change your bandages, young one," Eyran points out in an attempt to change the subject.
The woman says nothing. She breathes quietly and rubs a hand across her eye.
"I understand you are hurt, Marin. I know that you know the mind requires healing just as the body does. So how about after we change your bandages, the two of us have a picnic nearby? It would be a good way to enjoy the day," the fatherly man suggests.
"…Yeah, that sounds-" the disheartened huntress stops herself upon hearing the familiar creak of the hall's main door opening quickly.
Muffled through the bedroom's closed door, a voice can be heard as someone enters the building. "Eyran!? Eyran, are you here!?"
Marin's eyes shoot open and she sits up swiftly when she recognizes the voice.
Eyran stands from the bed and runs a hand slowly over his hair. "Let me see what they want. I'll just be a moment-" The Awoken is interrupted as the bedroom door flies open in front of him.
Klutz stands at the threshold with adrenaline pumping through his veins. "There you are!" He says relieved.
Marin stands up and looks at the Guardian with a strange smile. She soon notices the distressed state of his outfit. His robes are singed and burned on parts, and ripped and torn on others. "What happened to you?" she asks broadly with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't really have time to explain. We have to get going!" the disturbed Lightbearer replies.
"What do you mean 'get going?' Is there something wrong?" Eyran asks, understandably confused, and somewhat annoyed, by the situation.
"Yes," Klutz answers, while catching his breath. "We can talk as we go, but I need you to gather everyone. There is an emergency and we'll only have a chance to be safe in the City."
"Absolutely not!" the Awoken barks at the suggestion. "'Emergency?' What kind of emergency would put us all at risk? Even you? With your abilities?"
"The Fallen are advancing on us. I saw a few Skiffs not far away when I landed. If we don't start moving… it won't be good…" the Guardian explains, seemingly losing hope with every word.
"A Fallen raid?" Marin asks with surprising poise.
"More than just a raid," Klutz clarifies. "Seems like an all out attack on Humanity… They're coming for the Traveler."
"W-wait, wait a minute," Eyran stammers. "I need to think." He wipes his hand over his face. "Maybe the fiends will be so focused on your Traveler that they will pass right by us? Maybe it's best if we try to hold out here?" he proposes in a panicked voice.
Klutz looks at the frightened man. "That's not a risk we can afford to take. Our people's lives are on the line."
Eyran looks at him wide-eyed and then looks at the injured young woman to his side. "…You're right," he says. "Marin, grab anything you will need and meet us outside Darja's home. It will be a long walk to get all of us to… the City, so prepare accordingly. The Guardian and I will gather everyone and meet you there." He gives the woman a firm hug. "Good luck, my child." He rushes out the door.
"Started to think you weren't coming back," Marin says in a low voice.
"Told you I'd stop by, didn't I?" A pleasant smirk crosses the Guardian's face.
A palpable tension fills the room for a time. A warm, almost physical tension. Like a volcano about to erupt. Marin lets the magma flow as she lunges at the man, pulling him into a deep, tight embrace.
Klutz raises his arms in surprise, then he rests one around her shoulder and the other around the small of her back.
They stay that way for a few seconds. Enjoying the fact that they have each other to hold, even just for a short time.
"Sorry to interrupt," Spark apologizes awkwardly as she appears next to the pair. "I'm happy to see you as well, Marin! Although we don't really have time for pleasantries…"
"Right…" Marin releases the man and adjusts her messy hair. She gives the Ghost a guilty half smile, then she turns back to the Guardian. "You gotta help Eyran gather folks. I just have to grab a few things real quick and I'll join you."
"Alright… No risks, okay? I don't want to see you get hurt again," Klutz says with a troubled look on his face.
"Eh, playing it fast and loose has got me this far," Marin jokes while she holds a hand near her sore wound. "Let's just try and make sure no one else gets hurt, huh?"
Klutz's smile is outweighed by the worry in his eyes. He nods to his Ghost before she dematerializes and he makes his way to the front door.