[A]ddiction
By MargaritaDaemonelix
Chapter 3: Dedication
Dedication(noun; plural: dedications) (Deh-dih-KAY-shun)
4: Self sacrificing devotion.
Days like this made Ara feel right at home.
The sun was shining, birds were chirping and landing on her collar and hairpin. When she managed to ignore Eun's complaining, she almost felt like Snow White. Except she was wearing black, and she kinda skipped on the whole red part of the outfit.
That said, there were apples in her bag that could have made up for the lack of rouge.
She and Add had settled into a whole new lifestyle, after a lot of organization on Eve's part(that nasod was a lifesaver, thought Ara) and some tips from Chung. Ara did the shopping, because Add apparently was a vampire and couldn't go into the sunlight, but Add cooked because Ara managed to overcook and undercook eggs at the same time. They always slept in separate beds, because sleeping in the same bed was for married people, and when there was only one bed, Add slept in the chair by the desk and left the bed for Ara.
It was strange. Life was strange.
Heck, even the errand board was strange.
In every town in Elrios, there was a message board that displayed people who were willing to hire. The two of them actually got most of their jobs from the board, the bloodier ones at least. Most wouldn't know how to find those jobs on a public message board, but after a little digging, they were able to find something.
The board was also home to a lot of wanted posters, those of the most dangerous criminals in Elrios. There were the petty-like Banthus-and then there were the just plain evil-like Ran. Ara couldn't help feel a little smug every time she saw one of her brother's wanted posters.
As she was browsing the wanted section on the board, it became clear that no new posters had been tacked up since the last time she'd been at the board. Just when she was about to leave, a smudge of a familiar purple caught her eye.
"Oh?" She pondered, tugging it out from underneath posters of Banthus and Ran and some lady named Ignia. It took a few tries, but the moment she freed the thin sheet of paper from its hold, her jaw dropped.
Staring back at her from the photo, captured in his maniacal laughter, was Add. The Lunatic Psyker, it read in big black lettering. $1 million, dead or alive.
Part of Ara was sure that this was just some random person who wanted Add dead for some reason-revenge, jealousy, spite, the classics. As she turned the page over, though, her face only fell as she saw the imperial seal of Velder.
What did Add do to cause this? She thought, mourning slightly to herself in her mind. He was just a wonderful friend, and a powerful partner. Sure, he was a little cray-cray sometimes when he hit one of his "inventing highs", as Ara liked to call them, but overall, she couldn't think of any reason why he'd be a wanted criminal. He was very careful, after all, to harm as little people as possible when they set out in their missions.
On the other hand, it explained his vampire-like tendencies.
She shook her head. "First things first, I need to get back to the inn," she muttered. "Add still hasn't eaten yet, and neither have I." As if to prove her point, her stomach gurgled loudly. Some people stopped and stared at her for a few moments before continuing on.
The inn wasn't too far away from the shop where she got her groceries. She was up the stairs and knocking out a brief three taps on the door within ten minutes. A buzzing click signalled that the door was open, and Ara knew instantly that Add had unlocked the door with one of his Dynamos.
Which only meant that he was sitting at the desk, working, yet again.
"Add Kim!" She gasped playfully, stomping into the room. "You get your velvet-covered arse out of that swivel chair before I decide to whoop it to next Tuesday! You know the human body can't take long periods of sitting down! Sitting is the new smoking, Add."
The scientist groaned and turned around in the chair. "Damn you, Haan," he complained, getting up to rifle through her haul. "I was actually getting some progress in with my new gloves."
Ara sat down on the only bed and swung her legs around, unzipping the side of her boot so she could slip it off. "Tell me about it."
Add rolled his eyes. "You want the long version or the short version?"
"Short version, please," Ara shot back.
"I can now get my Dynamos to go where I want by only moving one finger," explained Add, returning from his raid of the grocery bags with an apple. Without washing it, he bit in. "You see this? This is an apple. Now watch."
He picked up the glove and slipped it over his slim fingers. Ara wondered whether he'd played piano in the past, as he placed the apple on the top of her head and pointed his index finger(the one she'd repaired, mind you) at it. Immediately, three of his Dynamos flew over to scoop the fruit off her head. "See," he boasted, "science. Way better than mag-"
Ara snapped her fingers, summoning a few curious animal spirits and directing them at the Dynamos. Instantly, the generators straightened up, letting the apple drop unceremoniously on Add's head with a rather satisfying thwonk.
Add stared at Ara as she giggled. "It's not funny, Ara. At least I have control over them now. You should have seen what happened when I put the controls under my toes…"
"Yeah, sure. Hey, grab those boxes of sushi, would you?" she said, patting the bed beside her. "Let's watch some TV or something. Maybe Eve's giving a speech or something."
Shrugging, Add plucked the sushi out of the bag, handing one to Ara and keeping one for himself as he sat down next to her. Ara turned on the TV, flickering between the children's channel to Altera News to the updates on Hamel's current condition. Somehow, despite Hamel's invasion by the demons, nothing had interfered with the television. Possibly because the only secure part of Elrios, Altera, ran the whole TV station.
As Ara somehow predicted, Eve was giving a speech. Chung was nowhere to be found, because the rest of the world thought he was dead, but as Eve spoke into the microphone on the podium, standing meekly in her flared black dress, Ara saw her pause every so slightly before every carefully enunciated word.
"It is my duty as the standing ruler of our island empire of Altera," said Eve, "to attempt to establish good relations with other countries and kingdoms in Elrios. I will not tolerate inhumane treatment of any given party, however." A pause. "In the best interests of Alteran Empire, as well as all of Elrios, the current takeover by the demons must stop. Lives are being taken, innocent lives that had plenty of potential."
"What about you, your majesty?" Asked someone in the auditorium. "What role will you play?"
Eve glared at the audience, directing her laser-like eyes at the offending person. "I will provide the Alteran palace as refuge for anyone fleeing the demons," she said haughtily, pausing for a moment; "and in the scenario that all hope is lost, I will stand in front of the palace myself with an armed guard, and we will defend the people of Elrios with our lives."
Add squinted at the screen, which was about the size of a frame made by four of his Dynamos. "I think she's got someone giving her a script via speaker," he noted, pointing at the young queen as she took a moment to breathe. "Ten cents it's Chung."
When Ara glared at him, he wilted. "Alright, guess we're not betting cash. Whiskey's still out there."
She sighed, letting her head fall onto his shoulder. "Can you put on something from channel nine? They always have good movies."
As Eve's highly diplomatic "maintain peace while asserting authority" buzzed out, the sound of one of Ara's favourite old films from long ago, about a world without the magic or technology that graced Elrios, began to play. Unfortunately, it was the ending theme-the movie had ended, leaving Ara thoroughly disappointed.
"Well, we should be getting to sleep," she muttered, pulling the covers out from underneath them and feeling a little dejected. They had plans for the next day, and they needed sleep.
Add began to get up, discarding his now empty sushi package on the nightstand. "I'll go sleep on the desk tonight-"
With a swift motion, Ara pinned him back down on the bed. "Oh no you aren't," she exclaimed. "You've been sitting in that stupid chair for nearly a day now. I'll take the desk."
It didn't occur to her until much later that their faces were barely ten centimetres apart.
"Hey! I actually know what it's like to sleep on that desk! You don't," Add began to argue, but Ara put her index finger over his lips to shut him up and gently pushed him under the covers as she herself began to slip out, sitting on top of the fabric.
She didn't know any mind magic to instantly knock him out(aside from maybe giving him a swift smack to the head) but she did know how to sing. As Add tried to rise again, Ara parted her lips and let the sound flow.
"Moonlight, stars shine
Let your glow go on
Starlight, midnight
I'll be home before long
And even if we fall
We'll get through it all
Midnight, bright light
In the path of day
Sunshine, day life
I will take the right way
And though it's too good to be true
I know you'll always love me, too…
Moonlight, midnight
Two hearts as one
Starlight, dark night
I still believe you're the one."
At first, Add stopped struggling. After a while, he didn't even react when she started patting out the beat gently on his shoulder. By the last verse, he was fast asleep, curling up against Ara's body and wrapped up in the blanket like a kitten.
Ara sighed, stroking his hair softly. "You never brush your hair, Add," she whispered. "You should take a little more care of it. You'd look nice with your hair down flattened down… Maybe it'll be long enough to pull into a ponytail, even."
It was peaceful watching his chest rise and fall with his breathing, almost therapeutic. She could hardly believe that this sleeping man was a wanted criminal by the Velder government. Just what had he done to deserve this?
"If Add is a wanted criminal, then… What does that make me?" She dared to ask. Somewhere in her mind, Eun snorted.
Someone who's harbouring a wanted criminal, no doubt, said the kumiho dryly. Or, if you want to put it differently, someone who's protecting a wanted criminal.
Somehow, it made sense. "Yeah," murmured Ara, gently caressing Add's hands in her own. "I'll be his protector. The Velder police aren't getting anywhere near him while I'm here with him. I'll tear them all to pieces with my bare hands if I have to."
What is that term you kids these days use? Chill, Ara. I'm sure he can handle himself just fine. If he's been on the run this long and hasn't been caught, I'm pretty certain he'll be fine.
Still not convinced despite the kumiho's words, Ara leaned down, feeling his warm breath wash over her. Without any hesitation, she pressed her lips to his forehead softly. "Sweet dreams, little one," she sighed, standing up to get off the bed and sit back down on the swivel chair.
"What do you know, it's actually quite comfortable here," she murmured, propping her feet up on the desk before leaning back and falling fast asleep within a heartbeat.
Three days had passed since Ara discovered Add's wanted poster. They'd taken on odd jobs here and there to kill time until Friday, when all the good jobs came up. By the time Friday rolled by, Ara's hands were covered in burns, something that hadn't happened since she'd escaped the ruins of Farhman's Peak, two years ago.
But it was finally Friday, and they were headed towards the job board once more. Ads of people trying to sell all sorts of equipment and food and services were plastered all across the front of the board, but the two of them made their way to the back, where a handful of blank sheets of paper were tacked up.
Normal people would just return to the front, but Add flicked a very sore finger at the board, sending a Dynamo at it. The diamond-shaped gadget shone a black light on the paper, revealing the text that was written meticulously in invisible ink.
Looking for: Someone who is willing to take on Nemesis
"Okay, not that one," muttered Ara under her breath. "I don't think we could take on Eve, emotionally or physically."
Looking for: Someone who can kill the dark earl
Add shrugged. "We're kinda already doing that. Besides, usually those ones are just traps. They'll get you to do it and take all the glory from Velder. You see, they don't even list a prize!"
Looking for: Someone who can lend me a thousand dollars… Someone who isn't female and is willing to get their hands dirty… Anyone good with a weapon who can get into Hamel…
Ninety percent of the jobs posted on the board were nigh impossible or just plain ridiculous. Many of these employers were simply trying to trap people with high talents for their abilities, so they could take the glory when it all boiled down. Some of the "jobs" were outright impossible, asking the potential employees to kill politicians and people that were simply too well guarded or too powerful to kill.
Looking for: Someone who can get rid of Chloe
"Hey Add, I think this one's okay," she said. "There's a pretty nice reward, and all we have to do is take down this one lady named Chloe."
The scientist turned from another disappointing poster to look at the one Ara was gesturing at. "Chloe?" He echoed, ripping the page from the pin and examining it under the light. "Isn't she the dark elf that literally took over Velder's capital within three days of arriving there?"
Ara flushed a little. "I was wondering why that name sounded so familiar," she muttered. "Anyways, we can take her on together, right…?"
As her voice trailed off, out of the corner of her eye, Ara spotted an emblem that used to be a source of comfort to her, but now brought nothing but bad premonitions of the future. The "V" shape that identified the symbol so clearly was curled and stylized, which could only mean that this was a special officer.
The Velder Police.
Without a second thought, Ara grabbed her companion by the arm, dragging him into the shadows. "Hey! What the f-" Yelled Add. Ara slapped her hand over his mouth before he could spew out a train of profanity.
"Shh," she told him, summoning her spear from the shadows. Spirits under the earth rumbled, asking her for direction. She gave them clear instructions, and they obeyed.
KABOOM.
While the Velder officer was occupied with examining the explosion, Ara continued running, dragging Add behind her, all while he spouted a list of very colourful words that would no doubt earn him a hard slap across the face from Eve. She dashed on through the suburbs, not caring that people were staring at them. As long as Add was wearing his hood and no one could see him, they were safe.
Nearly a kilometer outside the suburbs of Velder, Ara slowed down enough for Add to hop off his Dynamos and drag his feet in the ground, braking them. He grabbed her by the shoulders and began to shake her violently. "WHAT THE FUCK, HAAN?" He barked, looking a little wild. "That was the most insane thing I've seen you do since you blew up half of-"
"Now, now, Add," chided Ara, "we don't talk about Bethma. Besides, it's not really my fault they keep piles of flame powder everywhere."
"That still doesn't explain why you dragged me two kilometers!" Wailed Add.
Ara sighed, realizing that she needed a good excuse and fast. "I saw an old flame," she lied, "who tried to kill me and is not aware that I am alive." Really, she'd been with so many people that Add had learned to stop questioning these things. They both ran risky businesses, and Ara was fond of having connections to people, but not all of them went well.
Ran being the prime example.
Add didn't look completely convinced, but he took it well. "Remind me to beat up the little shit next time we see him," he told her, putting a hand protectively on her shoulder. Ara felt something in her heart twinge as the pain from having to lie to Add hit her, but she managed to conceal it with a huge grin.
"So, are we taking this job or no?"
As it turned out, they did end up taking the job, and suddenly they were back in Velder, and Ara was feeling very wary of her surroundings. Every corner they turned, she was looking first, then walking when she felt that the coast was clear of police and Velder officials.
Add was trying to be helpful, offering to help her look for this fucking douchebag but ultimately being turned down. "You know, if you'd just let me help you, we'd finish this stupid job in half the time," he complained.
Ara didn't say anything for a few moments. "Just let me handle it," she murmured afterwards. "He was my problem, not yours."
Her companion grimaced in defeat. "Touche."
It was getting pretty late, and they were nowhere even remotely near the stronghold that everyone said Chloe had set up camp in. It was also getting a little chilly, so both of them were wrapped in dark cloaks from head to toe. "Add, can't you just search up where the capital HQ is with your Dynamos and just take us there using that?" She pointed, flicking one of his gadgets playfully.
"Good point," he said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "but we're still going to probably have to take all night to just get there, considering we don't want to get caught, and the fact that Velder is still partially in ruins. I can send one ahead, and we can go in the morning, and actually have a plan."
Ara considered it for a moment. "Plan sounds good," she agreed. "Let's find a shelter for now."
After Add sent off one of his Dynamos to locate the demon stronghold, the two of them pawed through the rubble of what was once a mighty city, eventually finding what might have been an aqueduct. It was tall enough for Add to stand up in, and just as wide, so after finding some firewood and drilling a hole in the top of the pipe, they moved in.
"You want some garlic bread?" Offered Ara, heating some up by the small fire they'd managed to build. She never went anywhere without it-her garlic bread was the staple of her diet.
"Uh, I'll pass. You want some grilled meat?" Replied Add, cautiously searing pieces of meat they'd bought at some random butcher's place a few days prior. It was still fresh, despite having travelled through hell at the bottom of Add's bag.
"I'll take a piece, please, waiter Add," she joked. Add grumbled, but handed over the alien meat anyways. Ara beamed at him before tearing off a piece with her teeth, savouring the crisp edge against the juicy flesh. "I always wonder how you manage to grill meat so well."
Add laughed dryly. "That's a Kim family secret. How do you always have so much garlic bread on you?"
Ara shrugged. "That's a Haan family secret. Now, tomorrow, we need plans-"
Suddenly, Add lunged at the fire, dumping the sack of somewhat-clean sand they'd brought with them on the flame. "Shh," he whispered, pointing at the roof, where there were sudden footsteps.
Something had caught on to them, without ever letting them notice.
Add pointed at the ends of the pipe, which were blocked off by the rubble. Slowly, they inched their way to one end of the pipe, not daring to breathe.
Silence.
Then, the footsteps began to echo farther and farther away. They were safe-for the time being.
"That was close," whispered Add. "We really shouldn't be lighting fires in the middle of enemy territory. Maybe-just maybe-the sparks might have travelled to something and it caught on fire. We've got to be careful. Don't want the douche to catch us," he added.
Instead of nodding like she wanted to, Ara's mind began to race. This is all a lie, she wanted to say so badly. I just want to protect you, to make sure no one ever catches you and sends you to prison or kills you or even tries to hurt you remotely-
She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him in a firm hug. "Please tell me you aren't going to just leave me alone on that battlefield tomorrow," she whimpered, burying her face in his chest. "I've lost my parents, my brother, all my friends-I can't lose you now, too…"
Add awkwardly patted her back before pulling away from her and pressing his lips gently to her forehead. "I won't," he promised. "I'll keep us alive, no matter what."
His broad grin only made Ara even more wary. "Alright," she sighed, pulling her arms away from his. "We really should get some sleep," she mumbled, sitting down.
Yet Add sat down next to her. "You helped me sleep a few nights ago," he reminded her as he wrapped his arms around her. "At least let me repay the favour."
That night, Ara fell asleep on Add's shoulder, hoping that their attack would result in victory.
"Kim! To your right!" Yelled Ara over her shoulder as she slammed her spear into another demon in the throng. The scientist didn't reply, but turned around to knock the back of his hand into the glitter's face, sending it barrelling back into the fray.
Two hours. It took them two hours to get to the flippin' Hope Bridge, less than a kilometre away, if only because it was still ablaze from the sparks last night. Glitters of all shapes and sizes were rushing in from all directions, and it was driving Ara mad.
"Suppression Energy," she muttered under her breath, slashing aside another glitter as she cast the incantation, willing a miniature black hole into existence. Hundreds of glitters flew towards the hole, until Ara couldn't sustain it anymore, at which point it exploded into bits of black glitter blood and black-stained patches of leathery skin.
"Ara! Someone's coming!" Yelled Add, his Dynamos releasing a shockwave that Ara barely just avoided by summoning some spirits to protect her at the last second.
"More demons?!" She shouted back, wondering how he'd be able to tell.
Add shook his head. "No," he replied, "it's the Red Knights!"
Sure enough, Ara could see the red tabards and dark metal armor that were tell-tale characteristics of the once Hamel-based military division. "For Hamel!" Yelled their leader, the knight Penensio. Still ever an idiot, but nonetheless a cutie. "Hey, you two. Name and allegiance?"
"Ara Haan and Add Kim, we're fighting against the bedamned demons!" Yelled Ara. "Why else do you think we're blasting them to high heaven?!"
Penensio flinched for a moment when Ara mentioned Add's name, but Ara didn't catch it. "Good point," he yelled before a swarm of glitters flowed over him and another began racing towards Ara, forcing her to turn her focus away from the commander.
Slash. Stab. Spin. Smack. The same movements, repeated over and over. The waves of demons seemed endless; however, they were in the demon stronghold, after all. Occasionally, when there were just too many demons surrounding her, Ara would leap out of the way and chant an incantation, bringing the Haan family's ancient magics to the party.
A scream suddenly echoed through the air. Someone had been hit unexpectedly.
Another scream. Then, another. Ara felt her spine tingling and raised her spear instinctively as the blinding flash of a silvery knife clashed against the blade.
"CHLOE!" Hollered Penensio, hacking his way out of a pile of demons. "You're going down, for once and for all!"
The dark elf smirked, twirling her knife in one hand and a short bow in the other. "Well, well, what do we have here?" She teased, tossing her cotton candy-pink hair over her shoulder. "If it isn't Ran's baby sister. How delightful."
Ara felt the blood rushing to her face instantly. "For the last fucking time," she snarled, feeling the spirits under her feet, "I AM NOT RAN'S FUCKING SISTER!"
Ara, calm yourself-
Without even bothering to heed the kumiho's words, Ara leapt into action, catching Chloe with her spear as the elf tried to leap away.
"Rakshasa, path one!" She yelled, firing her spirit energy at her opponent. Chloe screamed as the spirit energy hit her and began to drag her back towards Ara, who muttered "path two" under her breath and sent an entire wave of the orbs at the elf.
"Path three!" As Chloe stood up painfully, the ever-familiar circle of shadow spears came crashing down around her, trapping her within the circle. A silhouette of Ara suddenly zipped through the ring of spears, pushing through Chloe and forcing her down yet again.
The spirits rumbled at Ara's feet, shooting Chloe four metres into the air and dropping her back down in the middle of the battle with a terrifying thump. Almost instantly, Ara dropped to the ground, gulping in air and pressing her hand to her chest. "Eun…" She whispered.
I was afraid of this. Ara, listen to me. You've overexerted yourself. You're not going to make it out of this alive.
"NO!" She yelped, clutching her chest even tighter as the pain suddenly hit her harder.
LISTEN TO ME, CHILD. El dammit. I have a plan. I need you to gather as much spirit energy as you possibly can, okay? This is the only way I can keep you alive afterwards.
Shuddering, Ara nodded, forcing herself to stand up and leaning on her spear. "Eun, for the record, it was nice knowing you," she muttered as she drained demon after demon of their souls. "Also, if I don't make it out, please, tell Add-"
Something sharp pierced her in the back, shooting spasms of pain up her spine and through her every limb. A scream escaping her lips, Ara fell to the ground once more as someone planted their foot on her back. "I'm not done with you yet, little girl," sneered Chloe, armed with nothing but her now bloody knife. "Time to say goodbye."
OH EL THIS IS GOING TO BE TIGHT. ARA, REPEAT AFTER ME.
Above her, Chloe laughed, raising the knife once more. Eun frantically recited a string of words that Ara was only barely able to make out. "... Yet till the last ray of sunlight… Shines upon me… I will stand… And fight for justice…"
As Ara finally dared to close her eyes, a splash of colour danced across her thin band of vision. Somehow, she knew that she'd wake up safe and sound after all.
"When are you going to wake up, Ara? We won."
The sound of a soothing voice barely just shook Ara out of her slumber. It was a familiar voice, but Ara wasn't ready to wake up just yet to talk to this person, however kind he was. She kept her eyes closed and attempted to steady her breathing.
"Ara, I need to change your bandage, so I'd appreciate it if you'd wake up now."
There it was again. This time Ara was certain that it was Add. Who else would be comfortable enough to change a bandage for her?
Come to think of it, why did she even have a bandage?
A sigh. "Alright, if you're not going to wake up, I'm going to have to resort to extreme measures."
Do what you will, thought Ara giddily, I'm not waking up.
"Here goes."
The moment Add put one fingertip on Ara's stomach, she squealed and instantly sat up to batter at Add's face. "It's not funny!" She wailed, trying to shield her stomach. "You meanie! Using my ticklishness against me, an innocent girl?" She pressed her hand to her chest. "I'm hurt, Add."
Add chuckled, sitting on the bed next to her and wrapping his arms around her. "You are hurt, Ara. Please be careful. I have to rewrap your injuries now," he said softly, in a voice that Ara had never heard him use ever before.
"Where do I have injuries?" She murmured, looking down at her body. She wasn't clothed in her fancy black dress anymore-hopefully Add had the common sense to get a female to undress her-and now sported a simple white tunic that was more of a tube with sleeves than anything. All the cuts on her arms were bandaged up, yet, but none of them had soaked through.
Add cleared his throat. "It's the one on your back," he said in a very small voice. Ara could feel the waves of awkward radiating off him.
Shrugging, she pulled the covers up before finding the edge of the tunic and pulling it over her head. The strain from moving her back hit her as sour pain, but she ignored it, trying to cover her chest with the blankets as Add moved with the roll of bandages to examine her back.
"Well, on the upside, it's stopped bleeding, so I don't have to give you another blood pack," he dictated, removing the old bandages slowly and wrapping Ara's midsection in new ones. "On the downside, you'll be a little sore for a few days."
He stepped away from her. "All done," he said, tossing the tunic back to her and turning away. "What I don't get is how you're still alive," he admitted while she slipped the garment back on. "When I got to you, you had no pulse, but by the time I'd hauled you off the battlefield, you were breathing again, albeit knocked out cold."
Ara grimaced. "Well, Eun came to the rescue," she said, picking at a scab on her arm. "She gave me an incantation that let me live on. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be using it again anytime soon-it's too volatile and destructive to use often-"
Her words drowned out as Add leapt onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her tightly, like she had the night before(or was it? She'd lost track of time.). "I promised I'd never leave you," he said, trembling, "and yet I left you alone and you died, Ara. You actually fucking died. I wasn't there for you when you needed me, and look what happened now."
Ara ran her hand down his spine softly. "It's alright," she replied. "I guess I kinda didn't uphold my end of the promise, technically. I did leave you for a while there." She let out a short laugh. "I'm sorry I broke my promise."
Only then did she see the clock on the wall.
It wasn't the time that surprised her. Rather, it was the giant Velder insignia in the dead centre of the timepiece that worried her.
"Add…" She began, pulling away from his embrace. "Are we… In Velder?"
Solemnly, her companion nodded. "I know, your ex is here and it's not safe-"
"NO!" Ara screwed her eyes shut. It's now or never. "It's all a lie. I did date Penensio for a while, but we broke up on amicable terms. It's not about me anymore, Add… Please, just let me protect you-"
"Wait." The scientist's eyes widened. "How much do you know?"
"Add, please-" Add tore himself away from her as she laid her hand on his shoulder. "Fine. I just know that you're wanted by the Velder police. No, Add, please," she begged as he turned away from her, "I just want to protect you, please Add, you've got to listen to me-!"
"Ara." Somehow, Add was managing to keep his voice steady. "If our experiences from the past few days have been any indication of my abilities-no, my inabilities, I am a hundred percent certain that I am not fit to be your partner. I wasn't there when you died and somehow used magic to resurrect yourself. I hurt a lot of people once, and I don't want that to happen again. Get back in bed, you're still injured!" He snapped as she stood up next to him.
As he turned back to her, Ara could have sworn he was fighting back tears. "I wish the best for you, Ara, I really do. Maybe… Maybe that just won't be me," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Without another word, he flicked his hand at the window. A Dynamo forced the window open as he ran towards it. No, thought Ara frantically as he glanced back at her a final time, like he was trying to bring the memory of her along with him. Add, no please come back you're the best thing that has ever happened in my life-
But then he was gone, disappeared into Velder. It wouldn't be long before he probably disappeared from the face of the planet. The only friend Ara had ever truly known was gone.
Oh bloody hell. Ara. Ara, listen to me. Hello? Earth to Ara?
She didn't feel sad, or lonely, or mad, or heartbroken, or whatever people were supposed to feel after a friend left them like in cheesy fairytales and fanfiction.
She just felt...
A/N: You don't really need to know how she felt yet~ trust me, it will all come together next chapter.
The lullaby Ara sings is one of my own creations. I used it in a short original fic on Fictionpress, but I really don't go on it anymore.
FINALS ARE GOING TO BE THE END OF ME. Please bear with me~ I promise I will have Blink up soon, here and on AO3!
-Marg
PS: plz go see what is going on with ElswordImagines over on tumblr I swear it's hilarious and horrible all at once be ready to kinkshame