Automne in a groggy and pained state as sleep slowly abandoned him, tentatively opened his eyes only to be blinded. The fluorescent bulbs clinging to the ceiling had already been ignited. Their wretched sterile light scorched Automne's bare skin and left him groaning in agony as he attempted to shield his eyes from their toxic luminescence. Exhausted he gave off a pained groan.
"It's ten forty-seven; you overslept." The familiar, dry voice of Sienaerde welcoming Automne back to consciousness.
"If this is what a hangover feels like, then I swear I am never going to drink again." Automne grumbled shoving his palms into his eyes. "It feels like someone's hitting me with a pipe made of the worst sound in the world." Automne paused for a moment, his own voice reverberating through his body. "I also feel like I need to throw up."
"How unfortunate," Her simple responses coming from outside Automne's limited field of vision.
"Seriously," Automne said, rising to a seated position in his bed. "It's like someone tried to push a metal rod through my hea-" Automne paused abruptly to peep down at his coarse bedsheets. His senses soft beneath the volume of his headache he stared down at his abdomen curiously. Where he usually felt the gentle pressure of a waistband clinging to his hips, he currently felt nothing but the fabric of his sheets. "Uhm, did I-"
"Yes, you stripped down last night in your drunken stupor." Sienaerde's curt reply finally drawing Automne's eyes to her. Already dressed, she sat on the edge of her pristine bed, attentively lacing up her brown combat boots. "And to answer your follow-up question: Yes, I saw."
"Oh," Automne groaned weakly, embarrassment driving out some of his fatigue. "Umm… I'm-uh sorry about that."
"As you should be."
Automne's chest, stiff from nausea, warped uncomfortably as his emotions became muddled. He was no stranger to Sienaerde's pithy remarks, but in this instance Sienaerde's tone felt unusually distant. And as Automne looked her over he couldn't help but feel as if she were avoiding eye contact in its entirety.
Nervous, Automne swallowed the vile, malodorous spit that had accumulated in his mouth while he slept, pulled his bedsheets up past his naval and tried to proceed forward with an air of maturity. "Sooo…" His eyes holding on Sienaerde as he forced a smile, his head throbbing all the while. "Umm, sorry about last night… again. I –ehm didn't mean to get naked; I actually don't even remember that happening. It's not an excuse, but after a certain point everything is kind of just… blurry, and… hazy."
Sienaerde didn't respond. She didn't give any indication that she was listening to him. Silently she sat tightening the laces on her boots.
"Did I… did I say or… do anything wrong?" A tiny bit of fear creeping into Automne as he tried to deduce why exactly everything seemed so awkward. "Because- I- I don't remember doing anythi-"
"Nothing happened," Sienaerde said. Her gaze still not meeting Automne she lowered her pant-legs overtop her boots and rose to her feet. Turning to face the wall – her back to Automne – she silently began to tend to her clothes.
Automne's stomach relaxed for a moment just to tense up a fraction of a second later. His forced smile weakening Automne quickly wracked his aching mind until he was able to muster an idea. 'Let's just make small talk. Let's get past all the weirdness… and then grab something for this headache, because this is absolutely unbearable.'
Automne glanced Sienaerde up and down for a minute before he was able to think of some small innocuous thing he could comment on. "Heh," He started nervously. "You know I feel kind of dumb, because of your whole height thing. I really thought you and I were about the same height." A small smile emerging on his lips as he stared at her boots fondly.
"Yes, the whole thing certainly speaks volumes about your abilities as a Huntsman." Sienaerde said, her back still towards Automne as she adjusted her jacket.
Automne's smile died as he stared at Sienaerde's back, her face hidden from him. "Siena, ar-"
"My name is Sienaerde. Refrain from addressing me by your pet name."
Automne gave a weak sigh; his insides churning. "Sienaerde, did I say anything or do-"
"I already answered this question." Sienaerde's voice dry as she stared down at her clothes. "By repeating it you're insinuating that I just lied to you."
"I'm not saying that. I just think you're not telling me something."
"Your ineptitude towards basic vocabulary is astonishing." Without another word Sienaerde quickly spun ninety-degrees and made for the door.
"Sienaerde," Automne croaked.
She paid no mind to him and continued forward.
"Sienaerde, please!" With one hand holding his sheets against him Automne hastily jumped from his bed and, outstretching his arm, took Sienaerde by the wrist.
Sienaerde tensed for a moment, ready to rip her arm away, but instead slackened. Letting her wrist hang loosely in his grip she stared forward at the door, only half of her face visible to him.
Automne's head throbbed mercilessly and chills ran up and down his bare body as he stared at Sienaerde. His skull pulsing and his body overcome with aches it took almost all his energy just to keep his hand tensed around her wrist. And although his grip was weak she looked as if she were in pain.
"Sienaerde, what happened last night?"
Her expression did not change. Sienaerde's eyes sunk to the floor and in a soft, dead voice she said, "I cried…"
Automne's grip weakened.
"I cried and you held me." She paused, her eyes glistening slightly beneath fluorescent lights. "Nothing more."
Automne struggled with her response, something wasn't right. Calmly, he asked, "What else happened?"
There was a brief, but excruciating pause as Automne waited for Sienaerde's response. His hand around her wrist he stood there anxiously. The cool air gently caressed his bare body and the ceaseless buzzing of the lights filled his ears as a numbness began to overtake him. Focusing had become a painful struggle which dulled his senses until he could barely feel Sienaerde between his fingers.
So, when her response came it was relieving in the most melancholic way.
"I realized last night that I never thanked you for helping me reach sobriety. The reason why I didn't thank you back then was because I hated you. I thought you were absolutely selfish. You knew absolutely nothing about me, and yet you decided that I'd be better off clean than dead. Because of that I hated you so much, and I thought you hated me too."
Sienaerde's wrist shifted in Automne's hand as she glanced back at him for a brief second. Her brown eye sparkled miserably before it averted itself from Automne. "Baula wants to speak to us. You should get dressed."
Automne stared at her unsatisfied. "Siena, you're not telling me something."
Sienaerde gave a long pause. "You didn't finish that bottle last night. I'm afraid I might lose myself in it. Please dispose of it." At that Sienaerde lightly tugged her wrist away from Automne and left the room without glancing back.
Automne stood naked at the center of the room. His head throbbing painfully he cast a glance over to the bottle of rum which still sat upon the folding table giving off a seductive glimmer to all those who needed comfort. He held his eyes on the bottle; his body lightly shaking as the fluorescent lights sapped at his spirit. His emotions a mess, he stood naked at the center of the room, lonely and unhappy.
Mindful of her volume Eve slowly opened the bedroom door, sending a soft click through the air. Her eyes were still puffy from her weeping, but as she had hoped the absence of light in the apartment mostly covered this. Uneasy, she took a breath to steady herself before she shuffled out past the threshold on bare feet. The dry carpet gently rubbing against her cold soles she made her way out into the living room where she looked around.
In an armchair, positioned near a sofa on her right, Petunia sat. Her face illuminated by blue and white light, she stared at a laptop with baggy eyes. Eve watched her from the hallway, unsure of how she should make herself known. Every introduction she thought of felt inappropriate, and as the seconds passed by awkwardness started to weigh upon her.
"You're up." Petunia said, her sudden dry, emotionless response made Eve flinch.
"I," Eve started before choking. Her throat was sore, and her sounds came out with a soft rasp as she struggled to form words. "I-um… I'm kind of hungry. Do we have any food?" She said weakly.
There was a pause. Petunia's eyes never left her laptop, she just stared through the screen. It was a solid minute before she half-heartedly pointed off to her left. "We have beef jerky and bread in the kitchen. Don't eat too much; we need to ration it."
Eve's eyes followed Petunia's finger to where the carpet gave way to a small, linoleum floored kitchen. Wordlessly, Eve shuffled across the carpet and over towards the kitchen. Her eyes – low to the ground as she stepped off carpet and onto the freezing cold linoleum – stumbled across a small rectangular piece of paper lying near the base of the refrigerator.
Curious, Eve stooped and picked up the paper only to immediately realize it was a photograph. The dim light, mostly coming from dull rays that managed to sneak into the apartment, made it difficult for her to make out anything in the picture. Undeterred Eve stepped further into the square-shaped kitchen towards a window that sat above the sink. Holding the picture up to an intruding beam, that stealthily slipped between the blinds, she was able to see the image clearly.
It was a simple portrait of two women wearing sundresses in a park. One of the women, with shimmering orange hair and a face that radiated warmth, had her arms lovingly draped over the shoulders of a younger looking purple-haired girl.
Eve strained her tired eyes examining the purple-haired girl. She was almost certain that it was Petunia, but the hair color paired along with a pure, care-free face lessened the resemblance. Although, given that the picture was in Petunia's apartment it was less of a question of "Is it Petunia?" and more along the lines of "When was this? And what happened?"
Gently brushing her thumb against the waxy corner of the photo Eve gave it a few more seconds of fond examination before she slowly set it down onto the counter. Placing it in partial shadow she was only able to make out the couple's silhouettes before she turned away. Hard-pressed on not turning back to the picture Eve removed it from her mind and set about making herself a meal.
At one corner of the counter there laid a loaf of white bread and beside that a few bags of beef jerky. Her appetite coming and parting in small waves she decided to only take a couple slices of bread and a handful of jerky.
With food in hand Eve made her way back towards the living room, but as she reached the edge of the linoleum a paranoid thought occurred to her. Wary from Petunia's earlier responses, Eve decided to look her over cautiously before marching right on over to her couch.
Carefully Eve panned her eyes across her partner, concern slowly mounting as she realized just how troubled she appeared. And, on most occasions, Eve would be the one to take it upon herself to comfort Petunia, and bring her back to her former self. All her pep and perk however were lost somewhere within her, and as a result her bruised heart couldn't find the strength to help.
So, unable to help her friend, and not willing to risk aggravating her any further, Eve decided to avoid sitting too close to her.
Eve briefly glanced around the room. With no spots other than the sofa in sight she quickly abandoned the idea of sitting somewhere comfortable. With a silent sigh she meandered over to where the carpet met the linoleum, and sat herself there. Her back against the cool wall and her rear placed on carpet she settled herself with another silent exhale.
Eve slowly began to pick apart her bread and lift small portions into her mouth. Her taste-buds rejoiced and swelled after being parted with food for what felt like eternity. Chewing, and allowing herself to savor every bite, Eve set her mind adrift. Mindlessly chewing, her periwinkle eyes began to glaze over as her tongue adapted to the food.
The inside of her mouth softened as she began to think about how bitter her food was. It was all she had to eat, but she hated the taste. It was too bland; too flavorless for her weathered tongue.
Eve slowly stiffened as her mouth recollected the taste of Automne's meals. She winced as she remembered dish after dish of sweet and savory foods, all served to her with an affectionate smile.
Desperate to rid her mind of his image Eve turned to Petunia. Panicking as the sound of his voice began to ring in her ears Eve forced a stray thought from her lips.
"Petunia, who was-"
'Stop!'
She paused abruptly.
In her desperation Eve was going to ask about the picture in the kitchen. Naturally, its peculiarity made her curious, but Petunia had never said a word to her of that hidden past. And through a quick simple deduction Eve had concluded that this exclusion must have been intentional. Fearing that she may be invading Petunia's privacy she quickly changed her question. "I-uh… I meant, is-is this place… safe?"
Petunia, who was staring at Eve with rapt attention, took a moment before she responded. Her eyes stayed on Eve for a couple long seconds before turning back to her laptop. Petunia gruffly asked, "What do you mean?"
"I was just-" Eve fumbling her words. "I'm… How have we not been found yet? You said this was your apartment, so why haven't the police come here?"
Petunia paused before half-heartedly directing her attention to a gray wall. "I don't own the apartment… my Ex does."
Eve took a moment to try and come up with an appropriate response. When no obvious responses came and when Automne began to reemerge she gave a quick reply. "I saw a photo in the kitchen. The one where you were in a sundress. Was the other girl in the photo your Ex?"
Eve's question was met with a harsh silence. Petunia refused to look towards her, but the vacancy in her stare told Eve that she was listening. "No offense Eve, but that's none of your business."
Eve went silent; her mind still buzzing softly she sank back against the wall knowing that she had overstepped.
Her mind trailing away from the brief conversation, Eve stared down at the small portion of food left in her palms with mild disgust. Sulking, she solemnly shoved it into her mouth and chewed it in silence. As the taste of peppered jerky and bread swirled in her mouth she began to tense her muscles for the short walk back to the main bedroom.
Placing her bare hands on the ground she made to push herself up when the front door gave a sudden click.
Quickly entering and shutting the door behind him Ty propped himself up against the entrance.
Surprised by Ty's sudden appearance, Eve calmly lowered herself back to the ground and watched him anxiously.
"I found a lead." Ty said, his voice hoarse and the bruises on his face darker than when he left.
Silence followed.
Petunia stared at her laptop – languid, but visibly angry – while Eve just watched him nervously.
Time trickled on, and as the silence showed no nearing end Ty decided to continue. "I tracked down that guy I knew from Vice squad. He is working with Baula and Arsenic."
Eve's refreshed stomach churned. Her body struggled to accept her leader's tone. Solemn and weary, it reminded her of their defeat and the fact that they had misplaced their trust.
"The name of the woman who runs The Oasis is Rouge. She's one of Baula's Generals." A soft, bitter hiss trailing Ty's words. "She's supposed to meet a couple of cops at one of their warehouses tomorrow night."
"So," Petunia said, a bit of energy audible in her dour voice. "What do ya' wanna do?"
"I want to surveil the meeting. They don't know we're still alive, and I want to know what they're planning right now."
"Is that it?" Curiosity mixed in with Petunia's unease.
"The warehouse is supposedly filled with weapons, dust, and narcotics." Ty continued, his voice tired and his eyes glazing over. "Once the meeting ends, I want to scuttle everything."
Eve flitted her eyes between Petunia and Ty. With her back against the wall she drew her knees in close and crossed her arms over her chest. A painful wave burst through the bruises near her heart.
"Alright," Petunia said, some positive energy in her whisper. "I'm in. I'm tired of just sitting around; I wanna make 'em hurt. But, if we're going to give 'em hell we'll need an exit strategy. I'll see if I can come up with one."
"I'll look into getting us some ammo. Eve," Ty's voice barely drawing her attention. "Do you need any medical supplies?"
Eve was silent for a moment. Her fingers weakly squeezing her biceps. "No,"
Her miserable, weak voice barely touching his ears Ty examined her intensely. "Eve, we need you on this one. You had issues with this in the past, but right now we are the only ones standing between Baula and Vale. If you don't have your head in this-"
"Ty," Eve said. "Baula is bad, and if we don't do something people will get hurt." Staring through her knees Eve closed her eyes and gave a large sigh. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to stop him."
"Are you sure? Because we're relying on you, and if you can't do this-"
"I'll be fine." Eve lied.
Her heart beating slowly in her chest she didn't even bother to look up at Ty and give him a reassuring glance. She kept her eyes in her lap.
Ty gave a small sigh, clearly not assured. "If everyone's good, then I'm going to get some sleep." Shuffling towards the couch he pulled his weapon from his jacket and laid down. "Wake me in a couple of hours."
'I don't like this.'
The cold air nipping her skin Eve held herself tighter. The remainder of her friends sinking back into isolation she was once again left with herself.
'I don't like this.'
A shiver rolled through Eve as the slow, sad throbbing of her heart sent pulses of pain through the bruises on her chest.
Tears threatening to roll into her eyes Eve tightened hands around herself.
'I don't like this…'
Hi everyone, I'm glad to be back and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
This chapter took me quite a bit of time (Over four months to be exact), and honestly my inclement anxieties may have gotten the better of me on this one. That's not to say I don't like this chapter, and it definitely doesn't mean that I think it's bad, but at the end of it all this chapter just failed to give me that moment of visceral satisfaction that let's me know it's complete. I'm not certain whether it was the dour tone which always prevented me from feeling positive or whether it was just the fundamental things like the character interactions which I always felt uncertain about, but either way something still doesn't sit right with me personally. I rarely give my perspective in these notes, but given the unreasonably long hiatus I felt a bit of explanation was necessary.
I'd really like to know what you thought of this chapter. Whether you loved it, hated it, or just felt bored I want to hear your perspective on this one. Please leave a review if you have the time. Even if you have, like, five words to say I really want to hear what you thought. I accept all constructive criticism in the sake of helping to improve the story for all of us.
Thanks for sticking with me everybody, I really appreciate it and I hope you'll stay with me a while longer.
Stay tuned, there is more to come. Until then, peace out.
-CS