So, how was the cliff hanger? Fun, eh? *laughs evilly* I'm in love with this not-really-elvish translator that I've found. (Typing in video game characters names into it is really fun and time wasting.) I cussed out some girl in my mish-mash elvish the other day, it was fun. a couple people asked for more of Seaspeach a while back, so I decided to include a bit of Allen's language in this chapter. I don't want this story to be like LOTR-you shouldn't need a Seaspeach dictionary at the end to be able to enjoy it. However, if you guys tell me in your reviews that you like it, I can include more, perhaps put in some notes as to what certain things mean. I'm not gonna have Allen precisely translate and explain all the grammar rules for Seaspeach in the text, because nobody really does that. Otherwise, it will just be an interesting side note and mostly unimportant to the story.
I could have made a long awkward reunion, but both Lavi and Allen missed each other so much, so there wasn't any point. Also, none of the three main characters cry, ever. (Except maybe when somebody dies.) Allen tears up sometimes, but he never lets his tears fall, and each of them has a front to hide their emotions behind. Working around those barriers is gonna be tough. I'm still trying to figure out if Innocence is going to be a thing. I'm not quite sure yet.
By the way...do any of you have a tumblr? I've gotten kind of obsessed with it. I'm using at as a platform to promote my art, post the stupid sketches that I would never put on devart, little fics and rambles, and also selling the jewelry that I make. If you do have a tumblr, let me know in a review, so we can be friends! (Lol, you'll know it's me, cuz my tumblr name is the same as my penname and pretty much all my other names. I'm not very creative.)
I haz beta naow. Beta be good to me. I wuv yew, Tomoyo-chan284.
"Shaer taer cestal!"
Lavi froze in his tracks when he heard the desperate shout. He knew those words. They were ones that he'd never forget.
'It's not true. It can't be true. I can't feel him, I can't feel his magic. It's a trick.' Lavi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'But...nobody else would know to say that.'
Slowly, he turned around, hoping desperately that he wouldn't be let down again.
'Allen, if I turn around and it isn't you, I don't think I can take it. It's been horrible being around him, knowing that there's no magic, no merman. Please be you, Allen. Please. Don't get my hopes up for nothing.'
Lavi squinted at the stranger in the chair, trying to see beyond the appearance that had been trying to trick him this whole time, trying to find something that was uniquely and undeniably Allen.
The legs, short hair, bruises, bloody nose, and most of all, that horrid scar tried to tell Lavi that this was not who he was looking for. But the boy's eyes told a different story.
Twin grey depths were dark and stormy, but a small flicker of hope flared in them once Lavi had fully turned toward him. He knew those eyes. Those eyes knew him.
"Allen?" Lavi whispered, daring to believe that maybe, just maybe, the lack of magic didn't matter. Maybe this was who he'd been searching the horizons for every day without consciously knowing it.
The darkness in his eyes faded and the last bits of a stranger fell away and all that was left was a person he knew very well.
"Allen?" Lavi repeated, a bit louder this time.
And then, he smiled that smile as bright as the sun, and it was him.
Lavi wasn't quite sure how, but all of a sudden, he was across the room, kneeling in front of the chair and throwing his arms unabashedly around Allen's neck.
"It is you!" Lavi rejoiced around the strange lump in his throat.
The merman nodded into his shoulder, whispering strangled words in that beautiful crystalline language that made Lavi feel like he'd come home after a storm.
"Jhalai, ai shar mai masaer. Air'm shael mai cas eil ai cyrn ai tyr's pai air shia teiraer. Ai ber por's cyrn ais o vaelia caraer ti, ai por's cyrn shar sai pai, eil ai-"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down. I can't understand you." Lavi pushed Allen to arm's length, keeping his hands on the white haired youth's shoulders.
"Tell me why you're here. In a language I can comprehend, if you please."
Allen nodded, but then his expression grew grim.
"You didn't really mean what you said, did you? About me being a monster?"
The red head felt a sick twisting in his gut at the merman's words.
"No, no." He said quickly, "I just...I was trying to keep you away from me. It was hard being around someone who looked so much like you, but wasn't actually you...I guess the joke's on me, huh? Jeez, Allen, I'm so sorry. If I'd known..."
"It-It's okay. I understand." Allen beamed at him, but now that the shock was beginning to wear off, the effect was a bit dampened by the blood and bruises.
"Well," Lavi smiled, and it felt like the first genuine one in a long time.
"How about you tell me what's happened while I take a look at your wounds?"
The merman smirked. "I thought you weren't qualified?"
"I'm not. But, I'm more than happy to pretend I am for a bit."
"You just take a sadistic pleasure in poking and prodding me."
"Well, there's that too." Lavi laughed.
"So, let me see if I've got this straight," Lavi began, dabbing at the blood on his counterpart's face, secretly thankful that they'd finally been able to staunch the flow. Seeing that much blood come out of the merman was a bit...disconcerting.
"You got home just fine, fed your family some fake story, and they sent you back to finish what you started, this time the victim of a spell that gave you legs and took your magic. You've got a year to figure out a way to get out of this mess without killing someone, being stranded on land and killed yourself, or bringing shame upon your kind.
"Actually, I'm down to about eleven months now. And it's not so much shame, as it is the need to continue our race. I'd also like to skip being socially ostracized for being a failure."
"I honestly don't know what to say. Why go to such drastic measures?" Lavi asked, standing up.
"Children are important. Every single one helps keep up going. It's not a simple survival measure, it literally breathes new life into the ocean, into our community. Children give us a reason to soldier on." Allen sighed.
"I want to give my people that. I just...I can't. I'm not ready or willing to pay the price required. I won't take your life."
Allen looked at the red head with intensity in his eyes, and Lavi found himself a bit uncomfortable with the pleasant warmth pooling in his stomach. He looked away, trying to keep the blush off his face.
"Glad to hear it," Lavi dropped the handkerchief he'd been using unceremoniously to the floor. "You may as well spare Kanda while you're at it, even though he's a vengeful bastard." The teen would be having some choice words with the swordsman over the treatment of their guest later.
Allen smiled a bit sadly.
"He's certainly not the most even tempered person I've ever met, but I kind of deserved it. I got upset at him for no reason."
"I'm surprised you didn't snap at him sooner, honestly. I'd be really on edge, if I were you. Leading a dual life must be tough."
Strangely, Allen looked a bit unsettled at that.
"It's...not as hard as you might think."
Lavi opened his mouth to question the merman further, but Allen swiftly changed the subject.
"So, why are they keeping me here? What exactly does that Order want? What is The Order? Everyone around me has obviously been ordered not to speak about lots of things, and it's really starting to bother me."
"Yeah, I guess they are keeping you in the dark, huh? Well, I can explain some stuff to you, but we should find a better time and place. The Inspector will be coming to pick you up soon."
"You'll help me get out of here, won't you Lavi? I really need your help."
The man with the eye patch nodded. "I'll do my best to come up with a way. It could take a while though. The first thing we need to do is come up with a more regular way to see each other, so we can discuss things. I doubt Kanda will be eager to continue your 'training'."
"Why don't you become my teacher?"
"Heh. I could, but being the Heir to the Bookman Legacy kind of puts me on the outskirts of their tolerance..."
Allen just cocked his head to show his confusion.
"Look, don't worry about it. I'll come up with a way. For now, I need you to worry about keeping up this impressive act of yours. Lay low for a little while, stop throwing yourself at lunatics who want to beat you to death."
"But I want to see you. I don't feel safe here. Ever. I feel better when you are around."
The red head was momentarily stunned by the blatant honesty in those words. He shook it off though, and gave the upset boy a soothing smile.
"I know. And we'll see each other soon. I promise, I'll come up with a way within a couple days."
Allen nodded worriedly. The merman stood (which was odd for Lavi to think about) and embraced the taller man.
"Thank you, my friend." Allen murmured softly. For a moment, they stood like that, and Lavi was unsure of whether or not he should return the hug. But, the chance never came, because footsteps were sounding down the hall and Allen was pulling away.
The Inspector came through the door.
"Are you quite finished with this nonse-" He stopped speaking upon seeing the bruises that were very obviously beyond what this sparring session should have given. "What happened?"
"I fell. I bet it looks awful, huh?" Lavi glanced at Allen. His face was generally the same, but this was not the same person that had been standing there a moment before. His back was ramrod straight, his smile too formal, his speech too sweet.
'Damn, Allen really is a great actor...'
For a moment, Howard Link simply looked at him. When he opened his mouth to speak, Lavi expected a flurry of questions, but all that came out was, "Huh."
The blonde man turned around and began to walk out. "Come along then. We'll find someone to tend to you properly." Allen scurried over to his keeper like a stupid puppy, and it kind of made Lavi want to laugh at him for acting like such a lap dog.
"Lavi."
"Hmm?" The red head looked up from the book he'd been reading, unused to interruptions while he was in the library. Most everyone around here knew to leave the Bookman and his apprentice alone when they had their noses in a book.
It was just Krory, the tall man looking awkward as ever while outside of combat.
"Hey, Crow-chan. What brings you here?"
"Inspector Howard Link is looking for you. He asked that I come find you."
Lavi made an assenting noise, and dogeared the page, knowing that it would annoy the hell out of Bookman.
The two walked in a relatively comfortable silence through familiar hallways, until they came to the Inspector's temporary study. Krory nodded and went on his way, Lavi waving cheerily behind him. The red head kept the smile in place, though he sure wasn't feeling it as he opened the door and stepped in without pretense.
"You called for me?"
"Yes. I'd like for you to explain what happened yesterday." The man was looking out the tiny window, and hadn't bothered moving.
"Yeah, I figured that's what this would be about."
Lavi had been thinking a lot about what had happened and what he'd learned during that little episode, knowing he'd have to cover for Allen and figure out a way for them to see each other more often.
"Yuu-chan got a little...out of hand. You know how he can be. I think Neah annoys him."
"I see."
"I don't think it's a good idea for them to have sparring lessons anymore. Maybe afternoon tea or something, but not sparring. Obviously, it's a bit to violent for someone like Neah."
"I agree. Yuu Kanda will be reprimanded for his actions."
"By the way..." Lavi began, hoping that his plan wouldn't backfire. "Neah was asking a lot of questions the other day. About the Order. He's getting curious. We're not going to be able to keep withholding information and still have him be cooperative for very much longer."
The Inspector heaved a little sigh and turned around, eyes downcast. He looked tired. Lavi almost felt bad for him, until he remembered that Link was one of those sniveling Vatican worshipers.
"I am aware of that. It would be best if we could keep him as he is for a bit longer. Our superiors still haven't quite decided what to do with him."
"We could give him something else to focus on."
Link looked up.
"Like what?"
"Well...he seems to be the inquisitive sort. If we begin to teach him things voluntarily, he'll likely trust us a bit more. And if we actively educate him on some things, we can monitor the information he takes in and make sure he doesn't get into anything...off limits."
"I suppose that makes sense..."
"Let him come to me for a little while each day and I'll show him picture books or something."
"Are you suggesting we teach him to read?" Link raised an eyebrow with a look that said 'Are you crazy?'
"No, no. But it'll probably be interesting enough to take his mind off of other things, right?"
"I guess it could work for a while, but..."
"Look. At this point, I don't know of anything else we can do, short of locking him up. I'll try and keep him occupied while you try to hurry along the people at Central."
Link still looked skeptical, but eventually he nodded. They discussed 'appropriate' learning materials for a while, then Lavi was dismissed.
As the red head turned to go, Link called out to him.
"Junior," Lavi glanced over his shoulder. "Please remind Bookman that we must find a solution for the original problem as well."
Lavi just nodded grimly.
To My Reviewers:
Alissa Lee- The words were a reference to Chapter 7.
Hanashi no inu- T-The best? /blush/ Allen said something he'd said back at the end of chapter 7.
Krystal Nite- Lol, glad you like it. Allen will get laid once somebody decides that sex is necessary...As for the Neah thing, originally, it was just a lark, but then I decided to make it more of a prominent thing.
Oaken Wren- Awww, I'm sorry you felt bad! *pats* Hot boys always make me feel better.
Tintaglia In Flight- Wow, thanks for the long review! Those are my favorite! Yeah, Kanda does turn Allen into a 'meanie-beast'. In fact, early on in the original series, Kanda was the only ally who could get a fiery reaction from Allen. It's one of the things I like best about them. As for the relationship thing...each of them will have some degree of emotions for the others. Kanda tends to focus on physical things, true, but that doesn't mean the relationship is meaningless to him, no matter how much he tries to convince himself otherwise.
AzureKurashin- Really? Golly...thanks. / I wuv you too.
blackirishawk- Of course Kanda kicked his ass! Kanda was giving us the precious gift of Battered and Sweaty Allen to be all rag-dolled upon. *cuddles*
Kayday- Aww, poor Allen, his fans are wishing harm upon him. Lol.
scrletfyre- What can I say, Kanda likes it rough.
Hinata's Shadow1- Thanks. I'm glad you like the multiple POV thing, I think it's fun to get to wirte different perspectives.
TotalAmuto- I KNOW, RIGHT? BUT IT'S A FABULOUS ASS THOUGH!
Conrii- I'm sorry you were in the hospital! I'm glad you liked the update though!
Just Being Em- Aw, why'd you stop? And I'm glad you like my story.
xx-Yuu-Chan-xx- Check chapter 7.
Strawberry Leather- OMG, I love your site name! AWWWWW, LEAVE ME A LONG REVIEW, THEY ARE MY FAVORITE! *drool*