It was pouring when he first arrived on Earth, but it didn't really register, not until later. Electric shocks of pain ran through his back, as if he had metal rods poking out just enough to attract it. Each breath, even the most miniscule of movements, sent screaming tendrils of pain clawing down his spine, overwhelming him, making it impossible to focus on anything else. All he could do was curl up on the cold ground, let the rain pelt his body and soak through his clothes and skin, trying in vain to shake off the rhythmic convulsions of agony that swept through his frame.
He didn't know how long he laid there, shaking, rain soaking through his hair, his skin, seeping into his aching bones. Soft, clacking footsteps broke through the haze of pain and cold that fogged his mind, coming steadily closer. He lifted his head from the ground, forcing his eyes to focus on the blurry figure approaching. All he could make out were a pair of blue heels standing inches from his face.
"Poor thing, you're just a mess, aren't you?" a voice murmured. It was wisened, rough. Wil wondered idly if they had a pack a day habit. His head sank down again as his strength failed. His sight was fading again. Shit.
A hand touched his cheek, wrinkled and gentle, blissfully warm. "Don't worry, soon you'll be right as rain."
He didn't respond, his eyelids growing steadily heavier. Right as rain, huh? He let out a weak laugh as darkness claimed him again.
It was surely raining, but nothing felt right at all.
…
Like the summer showers that burst into existence with a clatter of thunder and luminescent fissures in the sky, their entrance into this new world was filled with light and two figures tumbling through a portal. It snapped closed, disappearing as quick as it had come, and they were left there, one figure clutching another close. Dark hair fell in rivers around a lithe body, already beginning to get soaked through. The weather had turned and there was a torrential downpour, dousing the earth in the life giving element. Merli couldn't be bothered with it. Rain did not matter to her, none of it mattered, just the person in her arms.
She slept peacefully, unaware of the events that just recently transpired. Hard azure pools warmed, filling with grief and regret. She didn't want to have to do it, do any of this, but if this was what it took to bring back her sister's sweet smile, then so be it. Let her be a deserter, a kidnapper, a villain. All of it was fine, if for her sister's sake.
Merli tightened her grip around her sister's sleeping form and curled into a corner of the alley, shielding the girl from the icy rain with her own body. She just had to wait for it to stop, keep Lapis safe and as dry as she could, because right now there wasn't much else she could do. Inwardly, she kicked herself. It was stupid not to do research first, not to find them a place to go before fleeing to the human world. Fool… Idiotic, reckless fool.
She continued muttering soft curses at herself as the rain began coming down harder, the relentless patter of water pouring upon the sidewalk drowning out all other sound. Water soaked into her clothes, her hair, dripped on her dark skin and seeped into her bones. Her shivers made her teeth clatter, though it was just what she deserved for being such an idiot.
She didn't notice the soft footsteps approaching her, didn't hear a soft murmur of surprise. Her azure gaze flicked up from her sister's sleeping face only when a shadow loomed over them, the rain suddenly not pouring over her every pore.
A green umbrella, held up by a dark, calloused hand. Her gaze followed the hand, up a corded arm coated in swirling black ink, past a broad shoulder. Merli's eyes trailed over the neck and up to the face, before widening into twin azure saucers. Words escaped her as she met the warm jade irises that still haunted her dreams.
"Well, fancy seeing you here," Wil greeted, the ghost of a smile playing upon his lips.
Merli remained silent, still arched protectively over the sleeping Lapis.
Her former commander crouched down, still holding up the umbrella as he peeked beneath her. Staring at Lapis. He was quiet, pensive as he analyzed the girl. Merli wanted to scream, but the words were caught in her throat.
Why are you here? How are you here? I thought you were dead. Why aren't you dead? Where in the gods' names have you been for the past fifty years?
Instead, she stared at him, taking in the changes that half a century made. His hair was short now, grey-black locks barely reaching the tips of his ears, when once it had been worn proudly to his knees. The years had softened the hard lines of his face, smoothing the rough edges; he looked… kinder. It was a stark contrast to the midnight swirls of ink that twirled and curled over the dark skin of his arms, starting at his wrists and climbing upwards to disappear under his shirt sleeves. He was so different, but so painfully familiar that it made her heart hurt. Questions buzzed in her mind, one after another, but she couldn't say a thing. Her body was at war with her mind, making her unable to relax and pull herself from the tense coil she had wound herself in around her sister. She just stared, bright eyes wide and shocked.
"...Mind telling me how you got here?"
Wil's deep voice broke her from her reverie, and she felt herself crouch down further, pulling Lapis as close as possible to her person. Everything came rushing back and she felt the paranoia rise, her senses on high alert. She kept her mouth shut, no sound escaping from her. Wil watched her, waiting for a reply that wouldn't come. Eventually, he let out a deep sigh, shutting his eyes and facing towards the gray sky. The rain was beginning to lighten, just a little bit.
He stood up and offered her a hand. "It's not good to stay out in the rain like this. My place isn't far, you can stay there for tonight, at least."
Stay at an unknown place, in an unknown area, in an unknown world, with someone she had thought to be six feet under for fifty years? It didn't sit with her well in the slightest, but she needed somewhere dry, not for her, but for the frail girl clutched so tightly in her arms.
Gods, she was desperate.
She cast another weary glance around the area around her and stood, ignoring Wil's outstretched hand, Holding her sister bridal style, she spoke not a word, but with her actions alone, let him know that she was ready to leave. Wil's ghost of a smile didn't falter, and he held the umbrella out so that she and Lapis would remain covered, even as the rain soaked through the thin fabric of his shirt.
"Come on, let's go. It's only a few blocks. Then we can get you two dried off and you'll be right as rain."
Merli didn't voice it, but as the rain continued to fall from the sky, soaking the earth under her feet, she felt a small kindle of hope spark in her chest.