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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 12, 2010 20:41:59 GMT -5
It was the middle of Spring by the time they got anywhere near Cressa. The sun was shining brightly and there were blossoms on almost all of the trees as they passed on horseback, pastel coloured petals being carried through the air on the warm, gentle breeze. It still wasn't too warm, but Phoenix didn't feel the need to wear his coat anymore, the garment folded and put in his pack. The middle of Spring. It had taken a long time. They were moving at a steady pace today, not too quickly. You'd have thought that now that Cressa was almost completely on top of them they'd be tearing it up as they rode onwards. The Segaland was on one side, glittering in the light and sending all manner of vessel bobbing out into its depths, to the rest of Syrunn.
But Phoenix knew that if they rode too fast he'd throw up, and he didn't particularly want to go through that again. He'd learned his lesson. The thief was hungover, a pretty common occurance since they had begun their trip. It wasn't so surprising, really. When he wasn't drunk, he was hungover. He was sober when they were on horseback for longer than a day, and those days were the worse, when the thoughts started to sneak up on him...
Miles had died in the winter. Now Spring was in full thrall and he was only just getting back to deal with it. He couldn't believe it was so late. Layla and the rest would probably have already been given plenty of time to gain closure and move on, and his appearance might not necessarily be a welcome one. That thought bothered him most of all, that he was still trying to get his head around the news and he had been dead for perhaps months. What if Layla didn't want to talk about it, or think about it? People were forced to move on pretty quickly in the slums. He'd deal with that when they got there, however. If she wouldn't speak to him, he'd simply ask where his friend was buried, and then he'd leave.
He was slumped in the saddle, the reins held loosely in his hands. His gaze was on the floor, as usual, and his hair was ruffled up, a sure sign that he was hungover. As soon as they had set out on the trip and he had first seen a tavern he'd known how he would be spending his time. He could very well be an alcoholic by this time, he didn't know. Ha. He guessed he had turned into his father after all. The thought killed him inside. He wrinkled his nose and threw it away. Something else. Think of something else. Women. They were a nice thought. Hm...
Needless to say, whatever feelings he'd had for Rory had been shoved to the back of his mind while they travelled back to Cressa. Phoenix may have felt more for her than he had for any other girl he'd met who didn't happen to be his friend, but he didn't need love right now. He needed a distraction, and that was something that Rory couldn't provide him with. His womanising behaviour had been hidden from the princess so far, but as of the beginning of their journey that had swiftly changed. Every night that they weren't travelling was spent with a different girl and drunk into oblivion until he could barely remember what had happened, which was generally why he had to go and do it all again a day later.
It was also why the days he spent sober were the worst days. It was then when he couldn't use alcohol to help, and he turned right back into the Phoenix that had just been told his best friend was dead. He tried hard to stop himself, but he needed Rory on those days.
Needless to say, the Princess was a guilty subject when it came to Phoenix, right now. He was a complete bastard to her, he knew that. He was drunk and fucked anything that moved and practically ignored her unless he was sober and faced with his grief. This guilt coupled with the guilt he felt for Miles had put him in a pretty bad place, even now that they were only a hair's breadth from his home.
It was visible in the distance already, and it was only a few minutes more and then it was upon them, as grand as it had ever been. The Great River ran right through it, and the palace could be seen, perfect as usual in the North of the city. The slums were visible too, Phoenix lifting his gaze for the first time in hours to take in the sight. He swiftly pressed them shut again. He'd missed Cressa. He couldn't deny it. But coming back home didn't stand for anything good, like he had hoped it would. And this would only cause more problems, he could tell. The Knights would know he was back, undoubtedly, and it wouldn't be long before they were on his neck, and he'd have that to deal with all over again. He would try and hide his face for as long as possible. But it would be so hard, once he was around such familiar sights.
They had joined the other traffic at this point, queueing to get through the gates, the thief pulling his horse to a stop. He reached into his bag for a moment or so and drew out a cloak, throwing it around his shoulders. He didn't know how they were going to get through the gates. He didn't suppose it mattered.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 12, 2010 21:23:30 GMT -5
By the time they began to draw close to Cressa Rory was totally and utterly miserable, she no longer had the energy to hide it, nor did she care to try. One glance at her and you would know that something was wrong, something more than having spent the last God knew how long travelling. She looked exhausted, tired to the core, her eyes dark and heavy, the optimism that used to light them gone. She had taken to wearing her cloak most of the time, her hood pulled up to cast her face in shadow, the only attempt to hide that she could make. Not that it mattered, why would it matter? At the moment, nothing seemed to matter. Everything had changed and she couldn't adapt. She was miserable, and there was nothing that she could do about it.
She could barely recognise Phoenix. The first few nights it had hurt, hurt like something that she couldn't even begin to explain as she watched him drink, watched him with the women. It was more than she could bear. She had thought that maybe they had something, but she had obviously been deluding herself. It was sometime later that she supposed that the pain was heartbreak, and that was why she could no longer look at the theif, nor could stand to be in his presence while he was drunk. Nothing that she did or said altered his behavior, nothing made a difference, so she had given up, withdrawing from Phoenix almost completely. The only time they really spoke was when he was sober, and that was only fleeting. Phoenix sober never lasted long.
She knew that he had lost his best friend, but, right now, it felt like she had lost hers to. Phoenix had turned into someone that she didn't even recognise.
The change in the Princess was noticable. She barely spoke, barely slept, barely even seemed to have any will to do anything. Phoenix was the only reason that she was holding it together, and even that was starting to slip. She had promised him that she would be there whenever he needed her, and she would be there, she just couldn't promise that she would be the same person. She felt like she had at the palace. Everything was hidden away again, Rory seeming almost aloof, but that was only because she was tired of being hurt. She wasn't sure how much more she could take. They were almost back home, back at Cressa, but this didn't feel like the end of the road, it just felt like the beginning, and everything already felt as thought it were lost.
Her gaze was on the palace as they approached the city, her expression closed, impossible to read. Even Chris couldn't tell what she was thinking, well, other than she was brooding. He couldn't leave her like this. Phoenix was dragging her down with him and she couldn't see it. He needed to do something, anything, to get her away from the theif before he destroyed her. Rory was already starting to lose everything that had made up her personality, all that optimistic, naive charm was gone, replaced by a listlesness that could only be attributed to Phoenix.
"He doesn't care about you, Rory." He made no attempt to lower his voice to prevnent the thief from hearing, though the storyteller did seem annoyed to be using her nickname. It wasn't safe to be using her correct name so close to the city, but still, it didn't seem proper. "Has he not proven that ten times over? More even? If he cared at all about you then he wouldn't be with a different woman every night." He was trying to make her see sense, trying to get her to go with him back to his house, trying to get her to let him take her away from the harmful influence of the thief. It wasn't working.
"Stop, Chris." She mumbled, her gaze dropping to the ground as she shook her head. He hated to see her like this, but perhaps it was the only way.
"No, I won't. He's made it clear that you are nothing to him, all you are is someone to run to on the occasion that he is sober and needs distracting." He frowned, disliking how harsh these words sounded. It had to be said. "Leave him, Rory. Come back with me and we will sort this mess out. He is just going to abandon you in the slums, and then what are you going to do?"
"Be quiet, Chris." There was an edge of anger to her voice now, her eyes closed.
"You are being idiotic! Chasing a man that cares more about his alcohol than he does you. Once he is in Cressa, he doesn't need you anymore, and you will just be extra baggage that can be cut loose."
"SHUT UP!" She had taken enough, she couldn't hear any more of this. "I am here on my own choice. Clearly you are too blinded by jealousy to see anything past this grief." She didn't mean for the words to come out, but she just couldn't stop them. "I am not blind, nor am I a fool, unlike you. I don't need you, I never needed you. I would rather pitch my luck with him than have to spend a moment longer breathing the same air as you."
Neither had noticed that Phoenix had stopped his horse. They had been riding a little way behind him, Chris having been hoping that they could just turn around and leave without him noticing, obviously Rory wasn't going to allow that.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 12, 2010 21:46:20 GMT -5
It wasn't very often that words tended to penetrate the layer of depression around Phoenix, but the conversation going on behind him had managed to light a spark of anger in him. He didn't know he was capable of still feeling anger, but all of Chris's words were like daggers piercing his skin. His grip on the reins grew stronger, he scowled and he gritted his teeth. How dare he? How dare he talk like that, making assumptions about Phoenix not caring about the Princess. As if he didn't feel enough like crap without Chris voicing all of those things in his annoying, pompous noble way. The fact that he had used her nickname was annoying enough. The thief was hungover, tired, raw and angry enough to not be able to let his go.
He had stopped, and they had kept riding, putting them next to him in only a few moments. As Chris rode past his hand shot out of nowhere, shoving the noble forcefully and angrily clean from the horse. Phoenix hadn't even had to look at him. He slipped from his horse without a word, circling around the animal to lean down and drag the story-teller up by the scruff of his shirt, narrowing his eyes at him. He was hungover and at the end of his tether, but he was pretty sure he could still take on the noble. Which was exactly what he did.
Phoenix only smacked him once. That's all he would allow himself, even though he could happily do it all day. Just one punch, that's all, and he let him go to stagger away or fall over or punch him back, whatever he wanted. "I'd shut your mouth if I were you." he growled, glaring at the noble now. "You haven't got a clue. Do you know me? Do you have the slightest idea of what's goin' on in my head right now? I'll openly admit that I've been a bastard, but having YOU accuse me of it is somethin' I'm not gonna take lying down. I do care, I care more than you ever will. You spend all of your time chasin' someone else when you've got a wife at home wondering where you are. At least a slummer like me would make a commitment and stick to it. I got all the way to Marmosia taking care of someone I supposedly don't care about, didn't I?" he was shouting now, without realising it, and threatening to move in to punch the noble again.
"I'm in a really shit place right now, I'm not gonna lie. I've acted badly and I'm still actin' badly. But the bottom line is I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that a good man, a man who was worth his fucking weight in gold is dead, and YOU are still around, you waste of breath. I'd trade you in for him any day, no matter the consequences. I'd do it in a second. I wish I could." he moved to walk away, before suddenly turning and smacking the noble again.
"And that was for Rory. If you're ever the reason for her raisin' her voice and getting angry again, I swear to God I'll show you just why us slummers have a bad reputation. It's bad enough that I cause her pain without your contribution." he growled.
With that, he turned to mount his horse, lifting his gaze to Rory's face briefly, before he rode towards the gates.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 12, 2010 22:06:50 GMT -5
If Chris had noticed just how close he had come to Phoenix he would have been a little more careful, or at least watching out for some violence. However, as it was, being shoved from his horse took him totally by surprise, the noble landing in the dust with a heavy thump. He hadn't even had time to catch his breath by the time Phoenix hoisted him up and punched him, leaving his head spinning, his mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood. By some miracle, he stayed on his feet, avoiding further injuring himself, but he was furious, that was obvious.
"Of course, you care so much that you made her cry a million times over since we left Handel." He was yelling too now, unable to help himself, unable to control the anger that was bubbling inside him. "You left her to get in the state she's in now, because you care so much?" He actually laughed then, though that could have been a touch of hysteria. He was expecting to be beaten to a pulp because of this, but he couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "You do this to her. You know what, it would have been better if you had died."
He stumbled back again as Phoenix hit him for a second time, spitting a mouthful of blood to the ground, fists clenching as he watched the thief. Fighting back wouldn't help, it would just aggirvate the situation, but he was so temped.
Rory watched all of this with such a casual disinterest that you would assume that she knew neither of them. She merely blinked as Phoenix hit Chris for the second time, no hints of emotion registering in her features. She should have been against this, she should have been yelling at them to stop, and yet she did nothing. Oh, she would end up hating herself by the time this was all done and over with.
She turned away from Chris as Phoenix remounted his horse, gently encourage her horse to follow the thief's without a word to neither him nor the story-teller. She didn't even glance back at Chris as she rode off. She was done with him, done with him telling her what to do. If she was making a mistake then she would do it on her own. At least Phoenix had shown some spark of emotion, some hint that he actually understood what was going on and what he was doing. That, at least, she was counting as a promising sign.
Chris was left glaring after them, wiping his mouth on his sleve before moving to take ahold of his horses reigns. This had all got out of hand. It was about time things were put straight, that things were returned to how they should be. Phoenix would end up getting Rory killed, and he just culdn't let that happen.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 13, 2010 18:59:36 GMT -5
Phoenix didn't think that Chris's words would have stung him as much as they did. It wasn't just the things he said about Rory. The things about dying had affected him as well. "I wish I had died in his place." he muttered, his voice barely audible as he rode away from Chris towards the gates. "I really do."
Getting through the gates was a complete blur to the thief. They let him straight through, announcing his reasoning for being there as 'personal'. Clearly, he simply didn't look as though he was in the mood to deal with anyone right now, in particular a figure of authority. Indeed, the guard gave him a strange look at first, as though he had recognised him, but by the dream-like look in his eyes, Phoenix's utter lack of interest and his loose grip on the reins, he was in the streets of Cressa in no time. He hadn't even realised that Rory was following him; he figured that Chris had more than gotten his point across and that she'd be following him back to Marmosia. He didn't really mind, actually. Perhaps the Princess was better off without him. Especially judging by his behaviour lately.
His expression was almost one of pain as he cast his eyes around at the familiar sights, everything bright from the sunny day and new blossoms sprouting on all the trees. He sighed, pulled his horse to a halt, and dismounted it. The hood of his cloak was pulled up instantly to conceal his face - that guard had almost recognised him, which didn't really matter, but there were people here who could get him into a lot of trouble. There were people he could get into a lot of trouble just by being here.
Phoenix had taken the pack from the horse, fussing about for a few moments to sort it into a bag and sling the bag onto his shoulder before looking around to find the best route into the slums. He avoided looking at the people, the buildings... even looking at the floor was kind of difficult, he knew it so well. He was home, but it didn't feel anything like home.
It was then when he noticed that Rory was still there, flinching as though he hadn't expected to see her face, tilting his head. "You..." he began, and closed his mouth again. Did he really need to say anything? He waited for her to dismount her horse before he led his own steed into a stable, throwing the stable-boy a couple of coins for them both. Then he headed out again. "This way." he murmured quietly, sweeping off down the main-street. They were right in the middle of Cressa. It would take a little while to get to the slums.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 13, 2010 19:29:08 GMT -5
Of course she had followed, she had come this far with him, why would she leave now? After everything, why would she leave him? Rory had made him a promise, and she kept her promises. The only reason that she would leave would be if he told her to go and meant it, really meant it. Until then, she would follow him to the ends of the earth, and wait, or rather hope, that there would be a time that he would want her as a friend again. Until then, she just had to cope.
She kept her head down as they passed through the gates, the guards allowing her to follow Phoenix without stopping her. From their matching expressions, it was clear that they were traveling together. Rory's gaze was on Phoenix's back as they rode, watching his carefully. Normally she would have thought that Chris's words would hurt, but she wasn't sure if they would penetrate the haze of grief that he had surrounded himself with. Did anything get through to him anymore? No, she doubted it. Hopefully Layla would know what to do, or someone here would know what to do, to bring him around, to bring back Phoenix and get rid of this person that had replaced him.
She dismounted shortly after he did, without a word turning to transfer the things that she needed into a bag before slinging it over her shoulder. "I came, of course I came." She nodded, her voice only quiet, barely loud enough to be heard over the noise of the city. Without another word she turned and took the reigns of the horse, following him into the stables, passing the reigns of the horse over to the stable boy.
She wasn't as affected as the city as he was, she didn't know it as well as he did. She only knew the area of the slums direcly around Layla's inn, she would feel it more when they were there. For now she just moved to trail along behind Phoenix, keeping her head down, hood in place so that her face was cast in shadow.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 13, 2010 20:38:27 GMT -5
Phoenix's hands were buried in his pockets as he trailed through the city, for the first time in his life blending in completely, like a stranger. He didn't know if he'd be able to leave again for a while now that he was back. But he didn't think that the White Knights would make it possible for him to stay. If they knew that he was back... oh, Phoenix didn't even want to think of what would happen to him. He didn't know if they'd kill him straight away for evading them, or applaud him for managing to get away and stay out of their clutches for so long. Personally, he didn't care to find out.
You could practically see his stature change as they moved into the slums. Now the nostalgia was really getting to him, and this coupled with his grief made him shuffle and keep his head down, none of that easy confidence in his stride that had always been there before. He was a broken man, coming back here and not being able to banter with Miles, who would have welcomed him back with a playful punch on the arm and a few words of wisdom, before they settled down in a tavern somewhere and he got interrogated on everything he'd done, what had happened with Rory, what he planned to go next and all the rest of it. It was a conversation that would never happen.
The thief lifted his gaze as he made his way through the market, recognation flickering through his eyes. He recognised people, lots of people, and children too... although there were fewer children than there had been when he and Rory had seen them in the streets that time. The girl Rory had given the sunflower to, for instance, was missing. It seemed that Miles hadn't been winter's only victim. Phoenix's breath caught in his throat as he caught sight of Kade, his old boss, and he quickly averted his gaze and swept away, through the alleyway towards Layla's inn. He didn't like to even look at the older thief, with his little group. It would remind him of who was missing; he and Miles both.
But the sight of the inn was what shocked him most of all. It looked even more run down than usual, hints of attack evident on its frame; a window had been broken and boarded up and there was a scorch mark that led right up the wall towards Phoenix's old room. He faltered. The inn door was closed. Suddenly, he didn't think he could do this. He had spent so much time drinking and fucking away the reality of what had happened, he didn't think he could finally face up to it. What did he do? Knock at the door? Walk straight in? He could run now, if he was fast enough, and nobody would ever know. He turned, as if to do just that, and almost walked into Rory.
"...I can't..." he whispered, shaking his head.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 13, 2010 20:55:01 GMT -5
It wasn't until they reached the slums that a hint of recognition crept into Rory's eyes, her gaze straying from Phoenix to linger on familiar sights, familiar people, and the familiar noise of the slums. Why did this feel like coming home? This wasn't her home, Rory didn't have a home, but returning here felt right, comfortable almost, if it weren't for the circumstances. Mile's death tainted everything, Rory avoiding the gazes of the few people that she recongised, not allowing her gaze to linger anywhere for too long out of the fear that she would notice just how much things had change. The winter had been hard on the slums, she could see it in people's faces, she recognised the tired grief in their eyes. They were, however, beginning to recover. For Phoenix...well...she didn't know if being back here would help or not.
The princess paused just behind Phoenix as he looked up at the inn, her gaze tracing the scorch marks on the walls; so the Knights had visited. She had to hope that no-one was inside when they had turned up. However, she was distracted from those thoughts as Phoenix suddenly turned, her gaze snapping to him. He was turning away? No, no he needed to do this. He had come all the way to do this. If he ran away then she would knock on the door and tell them that he was back, somewhere.
"Yes you can." Her voice was only gentle, the faintest of smiles touching to the edges of her lips, the closest that she had come to a smile since they had left Handel. "I will knock for you if you like, but you aren't turning away." She shook her head, hesitating for a moment before reaching out to take hold of his wrist, moving to walk past him towards the inn, as though she planned on draging him there if she had to.
Once they were on the doorstep she didn't hesitate, didn't give him room to change his mind and run. She lifted her hand and knocked firmly on the door three times, her grip on his wrist tightening just a little, as though to warn him against trying to turn away. He owed it to Miles to come back, as well as to the others. Time didn't matter, he had come as soon as he had. What mattered was that he was there, surely they would see that.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 13, 2010 21:20:37 GMT -5
Phoenix felt as though he was choking on the air he was breathing as she grabbed his wrist and walked them towards the inn. No. No, he didn't want to. His fist clenched, as if he was planning on ripping his arm out of her grip and fleeing back through the alleyway. But he didn't. As though he could do that to Rory. Anyone else, anyone in the world, and he'd be off like a rocket. But what Chris had said and thrown him back to reality, crashing and burning, and he couldn't do anything else to her, not like that. But he hadn't expected her to just reach out and knock the door like that. What was she doing? "Rory!" he hissed, taking a step back. He hadn't been ready for that. In reality, he never would be.
His heart was hammering in his chest. He felt dizzy and sick. But then there was a soft click, and the door opened up.
Layla peered out slowly, cautiously, as if she wasn't expecting company, and the only people who knocked the door were bad people. Behind her, the inn could be seen to be desolate and practically empty, nothing like the bubbly place it had been before. Only a few people could be seen sitting inside, almost as if something had scared the rest off. Layla's face was thin and drawn, the girl's beauty masked by her pale, tired looks and her nearly defeated expression. Her long blonde hair had been cut short; ridiculously short, in fact, like a boy's, and she narrowed her eyes at their cloaks suspiciously. "What." she demanded in a low, weary voice.
Phoenix was utterly gobsmacked at he looked at her. What... what had happened here? What the HELL had been going on here?
Without a word, he reached up to tug his hood down, suddenly not caring who saw him and what it would mean. His red hair glinted in the light. Even with his hangover and the deep marks of grief in his face, however, he still looked a lot healthier than Layla did. Hard to believe that he had looked exactly the same this time last year, thin and tired from the winter's hardship. "It's... it's me... I came back..." he mumbled.
The girl's eyes grew as wide as ever and she staggered back a step or two, covering her mouth with her hand. Her eyes briefly flickered to Rory, guessing who it was under the other cloak, before they swiftly returned to Phoenix. They filled with tears. "Oh, God..." she whispered, rushing forward all of a sudden to wrap him in a hug. "It's really you...?"
Phoenix didn't quite know how to react, but his reception was a lot warmer than he'd expected, and he pressed his eyes closed as Layla enveloped him in her hug, the thief's arms moving around her. "Miles is... he's..."
"I know, Red. I know. C'mon, you've gotta get inside before someone sees you." she nodded softly, offering Rory a watery smile and walking the thief inside, waiting for her to follow before clicking the door shut.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 13, 2010 21:42:43 GMT -5
"Would you have knocked?" She questioned, her voice sharper than she had intended it to be, but the sentiment was clear enough. She had knocked to save him standing on the doorstep, racked with indecision, worrying about what kind of reception that he would recieve. This got that all out of the way in an instant, now all they had to do was wait for someone to answer the door. Rory was simply too tired to explain all of that reasoning, too tired to argue with him about this. Hell, she hardly spoke anymore, since getting back to Cressa she had probably said more than she had in their whole trip. Right now, the fewer words the better.
Rory was shocked by the sight of Layla, but she hid it well enough. She had been expecting the same bubbly, confident woman to answer the door, for the inn to be noisy and lively behind her, but this, this was awful. She looked so tired, one look at Layla and it was obvious how difficult the winter had been, and everything else. And her hair, what had happened to her hair? Why would she cut it so short? Especially in the winter, it made no sense. None of these questions were appropraite right now, the princess remaining silent as the pair greeted each other, mentally sighing with relief. That had gone better than she had expected, which was good for Phoenix. She doubted that he would have been able to cope if the reception had been cold.
Rory nodded to Layla in greeting as she looked to her, moving to slip through the door after Phoenix, waiting until she was inside to push her hood back and let her hair fall freely over her shoulders. Her gaze flickered around for a moment, taking in the strange yet familiar surroundings, before moving back to Layla and Phoenix.
All of a sudden, she felt as though she were intruding. Phoenix had been away for so long, they needed time to talk, about Miles and everything else, they needed time on their own, and she wasn't quite sure what to do. Maybe she should go up and wait in Phoenix's room where she would be out of the way? Give them a little space. She felt as though it wasn't her place to sit in on this conversation.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 13, 2010 21:58:17 GMT -5
Layla was crying quietly by this point, Phoenix's face kept carefully blank as he held her, the thief leaning back against the wall. He watched Rory for a moment or so, the guilt in his eyes so obvious now it was almost painful to look at, but he gazed down at his friend with empathy and sadness. This, however, had to wait a while. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. "Layla... I'm sorry but... please, can we talk later?" he asked quietly, the girl looking up to him, seeming to realise that he must have just gotten back at this very second, nodding quickly.
"Of course, how stupid of me..." she murmured to him, wiping her eyes and releasing him.
"Where is... I mean, where did Miles..." he mumbled. Layla understood immediately, leaning forwards to whisper the location into his ear. Phoenix's eyes widened with realisation, and a light smile even lit up his face briefly. "By there...? That's... that's perfect." he nodded, brushing his bangs out of his face and heaving a deep sigh. "I'll go there first. Sorry for leavin' so quickly. I'll be back." he assured her, and she nodded.
"Take your time. Don't be seen, 'kay?" she mumbled, running her fingers through her short hair out of habit more than anything, but the movement looked pretty adorable and punky on her. She might get used to it being short... one day. Hah. That was a laugh.
Phoenix was already at the door again, tugging his hood up again and looking at Rory imploringly, the first hints of his old self breaking through for weeks and weeks. "Do you wanna come...? I know you didn't know him so well, but... well... the offer's there." he murmured, clicking open the door.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 13, 2010 22:10:14 GMT -5
Rory had already lifted her hood back into place by the time that Phoenix reached the door, seeming to be planning on following him even before she was invited. She answered his question with a small nod, moving to his side as he clicked the door open, casting Layla a glance, as though to tell her that she would look after Phoenix. Rory was used to looking after Phoenix, she just hoped that he wouldn't decide to stop off at a tavern on his way back from his visit to Miles's grave. She knew by now that she couldn't stop him drinking, and she really didn't want to have to fetch Layla to stop that kind of thing. The girl had enough on her plate. Hopefully his hangover was enough to dissuade him from drinking any more yet.
She paused as she reached him, her gaze actually lifted to his face, the princess faltering at what she found there. Was that...it was. There, in his eyes, he looked like himself again as he looked back at her. It was only slight, only a hint, but it was something that she had never thought that she would see again. He was still in there, somewhere, which meant that he could come back. Oh, she felt like crying, she couldn't explain how relieved she was feeling right then.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 13, 2010 22:24:26 GMT -5
He started at the look in her eyes, scowling ever so slightly in confusion. He hadn't intended to make her sad, what had he done? Oh, crap. Had he gone and upset her even worse? The pang of hurt from this assumption just had to wait in line, he guessed, he had bigger things to deal with at this moment in time. Once that was over with, then he could deal with everything else. He swept out of the inn without a word, then, trusting Rory to follow him and Layla to lock up behind him. "It's a fair walk... should get there soon enough if we're quick, though." he mumbled, and began to stride off through the slums.
The walk in question would take little under half an hour, Phoenix weaving hisway deeper and deeper into the slums, where the buildings were even more decrepit and burned out than where he usually lived. He didn't seem to be heading for anywhere in the slums, however, and as he skirted around a few buildings and hopped over a wall onto a carefully concealed dirt path, the Segaland Sea was visible, sprawling away to their left. You could see Cressa's port below them, and the merchant ships and the other grand vessels sailing through the deep blue waves. It was beautiful, even if it was the height of the slums.
The thief continued up the dirt path, which was on a slight incline, circling around after a while so that they almost came back upon themselves, emerging at the crest of the smallest, hidden little hill, overlooking the port and the sea. At the top of the hill, which almost led out onto a rocky cliff, stood a crooked wooden crucifix, and several trinkets, undoubtedly placed there by Layla or Big J or the other thieves. Phoenix paused for a second, caught his breath, before pulling off his cloak, dropping it to the ground and approaching the grave. His footsteps were light and careful, and he could practically feel his heart stop as he paused a few feet back from the crucifix. Flowers had already grown over the grave-site, and he gazed at the cross. 'Miles' had been chipped onto it, followed by a strange symbol, which was undoubtedly what he had used to sign things when he knew nobody would recognise his signature.
Oh... no. It was real...
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 13, 2010 22:36:56 GMT -5
Rory had no idea where Phoenix was taking them, nor did she question him. She had never been this far into the slums before, and she was quite surprised as they came out by the sea. She had been assuming that they would be going to a graveyard, so she was surprised as they arrived at the little hill, spotting the crucifix at the top. Oh, this must have been a favourite place of his, he must have been burried here at special request. It was a beautiful spot, far nicer than the dusty tombs her relatives were burried in. It was a good place, she decided, by the sea and under the stars, it was a perfect spot.
She held back at first as Phoenix moved forward, unsure of what to do. Should she let him do this alone, give him time to say his goodbyes to his friend, or should she follow him, make sure that he was alright? She opted for the latter, pushing her hood back and stepping over his cloak to follow him, her footsteps light and quiet. She didn't have the right words for the occasion, wasn't even sure that there were any words which would be suitable. Instead she laid her hand on his arm, as though to comfort him, lifting her gaze away from the grave to look up at Phoenix, checking to see how he was doing.
"I'm sorry, Phoenix."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Jan 13, 2010 23:01:21 GMT -5
He glanced up at the feel of her hand on his arm, gazing down at her momentarily. The look on his face was unreadable, and he sighed as he turned back to the grave. "...My best friend is dead, Rory." he begun in a soft voice, "He... he taught me everything I knew, at first. He's under here... somewhere..." his voice cracked. "He's under here, Rory, right under this dirt, and I wasn't even around to see him get buried. I can't even remember the last words I said to him. Were they good words, I wonder? Did we argue? Fuck," he tried to wipe the tears from his cheeks, but they were replaced by fresh ones, "Why can't I even remember? How do I even know he's down there!?" he fell silent for a few moments, falling to one knee and touching his fingers to the grass, as if he expected to feel Miles's hand, or some sign that he was there.
There was nothing.
"Why couldn't he just go and stay put, and stay warm, like I always told him to!?" he shouted, throwing the bag from his shoulder where it landed with a thump. "He was always tryin' to do things for everyone else, ALWAYS. If I had been here, I'd have been able to talk him out of it, I always do, I always do!" he repeated angrily, hiding his face in his hands. He didn't even seem to care that Rory was witnessing this; this was the result of all of those weeks of travelling, or trying to keep himself together. This was solid evidence of Miles's death, something he couldn't even get away from, as hard as he tried. "You fucking bastard!" he was cursing the grave now, as if to drag his friend back up so Phoenix could give him the thrashing of his life for being so stupid.
But it was pointless, and he knew it.
The thief was pretty inconsolable by this point, his head resting in his arms and his chest heaving as he wept, almost sprawled on the hilltop. No matter what he did, nothing would make Miles come back to shout at him for being such a sap, or for making such a big deal. The thief was in the ground. And he was never coming back.
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