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Galathan · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 12:33 am Post subject: The Truth

The worn-down wooden chair creaked hazardously as Galathan leaned back, his feet sitting atop the equally worn wooden table. He was only vaguely conscious of the dark tent flap waving in the Umbran breeze, or of the proprietor who was gleefully rending meat from bone with a large butcher knife over in the far corner. A most peculiar something laid flat on his mind like so many bricks, and it was eating at him on the inside. It felt as if a multitude of tiny Solen were clawing away at his corporeal self.

He was also vaguely aware that the chair he sat in was Daeynaries’ usual chair. With his eyes closed, he could picture, and even feel, their last encounter in that very spot. He had to stop thinking such thoughts, though. It was not his place to think them, nor did he want to think them. One part of his brain promptly stomped on another, telling it to be quiet and quit thinking of Daeynaries’ short (but mostly adequate) skirt.

With the more primitive and unwanted region of his mind beaten down for the time being, his thoughts turned to the task at hand. The purpose that he was there. The reason why he was sitting and waiting for Daeynaries in the Umbran tavern, such as it was. Even after frequenting the dark tent on more than a few occasions, it still felt cold and uninviting. The icy wind plunged like forks into his skin in spite of the fact that the tent walls were firmly staked to the ground. It was like they weren’t even there.

Daeynaries stopped in the entrance to the tent tavern, her hair awhirl as if being played with by some wind spirit. Galathan made sure not to notice how the spirited wind also played with the bottom hem of her skirt, or how the front of her thin shirt plunged like a canyon down from her neck. A brief look of surprise crossed her face, but melted into a coy smile. Her hips moved in a rythmic slink, which was not entirely necessary, before she sat in the chair opposite of Galathan, the smile never leaving her full lips.

“I could get used to sitting in this chair. Though, my legs don’t look anywhere near as good as yours so it would be doubtful that I would attract as much business.”

Daeynaries giggled, folding her hands neatly in her lap. “So what does bring the handsome one to town? Oh, have you seen Jovrick? It has been a couple days and he was to meet me last night, but never did.” A tinge of remote desperation leaked into her voice when she asked the question.

He played absently with the edge of a goblet sitting on the table for the better part of a long moment in silence. He knew what he wanted to say, but it felt like there was a wall in his throat that the words could not get through. She continued to look at him expectantly.

He finally forced the words past his lips. “There is something that I feel the need to tell you.”

Daeynaries’ head cocked to the side slightly, an elegant brow arched. “What is it? Is everything ok? Is Jovrick ok?”

“Yes, yes, Jovrick is just fine. It’s not that.” Galathan paused for another long moment as she looked at him in almost frustrated impatience. He was not quite certain how to broach the topic at hand, so instead asked a simple question. “What is it you want out of life?” It was the same question he asked Jovrick.

Her teeth shone in the dim candlelight as her lips formed a smile once more. “Riches, power, the usual stuff.” Her answer was nearly identical to Jovricks’.

“So your goals in life are to obtain power, riches, and the like?”

Daeynaries nodded.

“Would you give up Jovrick if it meant obtaining those goals?”

Her smile slipped from her and she looked puzzled. “W-what?” It seemed to have caught her off guard.

“Let me put it a different way. If Jovrick asked you to give up everything for him, would you?”

She deliberated on that thought for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip. Her fingers stroked the sides of the locket dangling in the center of her chest absently. “I . . . I guess if he asked, I would.”

“So riches and power and all that are not what you seek out of life after all, it would seem.”

Her eyes locked on to the table, as if it was the most interesting thing in the whole wide world, and her gaze did not shift. It was as if a stark realization had enveloped her.

“It’s not a bad thing, by any means. It just means that you have compassion. You would give up what you thought was important for another person. That is one of the greatest kindnesses bestowed upon one person from another.”

She shook her head lightly and looked up into his eyes. “What are you getting at, anyway?”

“Well . . . How should I put this?” It was Galathan’s turn to bite his lower lip. “Let’s just say that after an extensive ‘conversation’ with Jovrick, it turns out that he does not have as much compassion as you.”

Her brief look of puzzlement mutated into what one could consider to be anger, or even a sort of rage. Her brow scrunched and her eyes lit like a fiery hot torch. But she was silent, waiting for Galathan to continue.

“And how do I know this, you might be asking? Well I will tell you. Jovrick, after some strenuous convincing, stated that he was using you to control Euphoria and the money. You are an investment to him. He told me everything that I wanted to know after some persuasion from a good friend of mine.”

Her small hands clenched into fists and they landed with a loud bang on the table, sending the goblet jumping into the air, as if in shock. Her teeth gritted and her eyes narrowed. She was ready to ask a question, but Galathan spoke once more.

“I even know about Emerald, now.”

All of the redness of anger drained from her face, leaving her a milky white pale. However, the torches in her eyes only blazed higher. “What were you told about Emerald?” Her voice was like a sword grating against rock. A rather sudden and chilled gust of wind tore into his skin, sending shivers and goosebumps up his torso. The sound of the proprietor's butcher knife clinking against raw bone echoed in the silence before the answer.

“I know that Emerald is, in fact, your child. I also know that you have not seen Emerald in a very long time.” Galathan stated simply, shifting a bit uneasily in his chair.

Tears formed in her eyes and she stood. Her chest heaved wantonly and her teeth sounded about ready to crack from the pressure of grinding them together. Finger nails dug deeply into the skin of her palm.

Galathan couldn’t get comfortable in his seat. He didn’t want her to be upset, but he felt it was his duty to tell her what he knew.

“You can believe me simply by looking at what I have to gain from telling you this.”

“You have nothing to gain by telling me this.” She muttered through tears and tension.

“In fact, I am very well going to be losing something because of this.” Her eyes softened if but a little. Galathan continued. “I made a deal with Jovrick. I would give him access to some of the people that I know who do things that most others don’t want to get their hands dirty with. In exchange, he gets me all of the Euphoria I need, from you. I guess I told you this simply because I felt it was the right thing to do.”

“You care enough about me to tell me the truth even if it meant losing something?” She asked, almost incredulously.

His gaze left her face and settled on the tavern entrance. The flap was still flitting in the wind like a forlorn kite, and the murky grey skyline was clearly visible beyond. Luckly, he did not have to answer that question. He really didn’t want to. Part of his brain kicked the other part once more for good measure. Daeynaries turned around on one heel and strided towards the entrance.

“Thank you. I need to go speak to Jovrick now.” She left, her fists clenched and her eyes alit with fire.
_________________
Galathan
"Survivor of Ormus"

NOT Malorn · Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 3:32 am Post subject:

Malorn strutted brazenly into the Black Adder tavern, as though he were on top of the world. He was released, there was a new deal he had to think over, and it didn't even cost him all that much. He stepped through the doorjam and found a seat right across from it. And then he waited. He was certain Daeynaries would be along and he had a nice story conjured up to tell her. He was certain it would ring true enough, and with a certain level of obligatory pity. He sat back on the bench, cool and collected.

She walked in very calmly... almost too calmly to be seeing him for the first time since he was taken. She sat down across from him with a shocked look.

"Ah! Jovrick! I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Hello my dear, wonderful to see you." He replied sincerely.

She gave him an odd look and then set on her master plan.

"I have made a decision. I'm quitting!" He was astonished, he was not sure anything would move her to end her jeopardization of the opperation through the consumption of her own product, and here, after his release and fortune, she was telling him she was putting an end to her endangerment of the system. He was truely lucky, everything was working out.

"Well, that's wonderful Daey!" He responded with enthusiasm. "That is absolutely amazing, I'm so happy for you!"

"There's more, Jov. But first, before I make this other decision, I need to know something. Do you truely love me?"

With a sincere look he states "With all my heart."

"What would you say if I asked you to go away with me. Give up all the fame and fortune you seek and we run away together, just you and I, and just... be!"

He thought fast, the possiblities rushing to his mind... could it be happening? Had she spoken to Galathan? Would he reveal what he had said? He had been a fool. But it was too late. He spoke quickly without a second thought, no clue of how to scavenge this... or if he'd even be able too. "I think it would be grand!", he blurted stupidly.

She struck him low, "Then let's do it!"

He just grinned at her and nodded a few times.

"But a question I have been pondering... how did you hear about my daughter?"

His eyes move to the table, the possiblities infect him. Thoughts of where to go and what moves to make surge his mind... all of them as useless as the last. His facade was falling.

"You lying bastard!!! I know all about what happened, I know everything you said." She continued on and he listened keenly, thinking of any way through this, desperately clawing and scratching his way to a suitable means of escape, one that would keep all his work entact. He could find none.

"You exploited me Jovrick. And that night... when you lifted your mask and kissed me... That face... it was not even yours. You're not even human!"

"No. I am not a human." He replied queitly and calmly, completely collected, in accpetance of his slip... his miscalculation. He had promised himself it would never happen again, and yet... here he was. He proved himself the fool and with more at stake.

"Though... I do love you Daey, however for reasons I likely should not. No appology in the world will ever make that right." He continued calmly as he stood before her.

"Why do you love me then? For what I can give you?"

With a shake of his head, he prepared his retort... he saw his chance and dove. "You are the only person in the world to have ever shown me compassion."

"Your lies wont work Jovrick..." She hesitated.

"You are the only human... or anyone, to have ever granted me love. If I had told you the truth you would have done what all others have done... run from the monster. Is that what you would have done!"

"I would have accepted it, and love the man I fell for, and love the man I still see before me! Whatever he may be!"

"Then love me!" He was failing... it was apperent. He was losing his touch, and it was costing him dearly.

"No... not after what you've told me, not after what I've heard. But I deserve one thing at least... Admit to all the lies. Admit to everything now. You owe me that much. I want to know all of it."

He slowly took his seat as he spoke, evenly, with a bit of sadness.

"You know all the 'truths' and you'll imagine you know them thusly. However there is one... One truth you should rightly know." He paused and reached for her hand. She recoiled and gave him a look of disgust. He was really a sort of a monster.

He continued shallowly "I've known only this for so long. It's all I knew I could be accepted as, to be human. I fell in love with it, just as I fell in love with you. And through it all... I was so afraid. To afraid to tell you."

"I'm a drug addict Jovrick! Who am I to judge!" She retorted quickly and sternly. "Who and what are you!"

"I am a doppleganger of sorts. I can change my shape... hair, teeth, size, weight, look... all of it, I can change at will... All of it except my eyes. They are always the same disgusting pukely reminder of what I am. This constant sick and putrid yellow."

"That is a blessing, Jovrick, not a curse. You have the power so many wish to have. You can -be- anything you wish to be."

He interupted her quickly "Except my -self-! There is nothing so horrible in this world as to have no face... no -identity-. No... if given a day this "gift" they would loath it. My heart is the only thing real... and I am a coward, to betray that as well." His voice broke as he finished his monologe. His emotions were begining to be laid bare, his -real- emotions.

"Your heart... I was told about your black heart."

He shook his head a few times, tears streaming down his cheeks. For the first time in so long, he was shedding real tears.

"I may be an addict, but I'm not stupid. Face it, you're slipping up Jov!" There was something very cold and hateful in her voice... a tone he was familiar with. She knew all to well what she thought she knew... and he would be hard stretched to make her change her mind.

Malorn stood up and backed away from her. He reached into his pack and took out a small explosive, about the size of a dime. Placing it in his mouth he swallowed it and looks to Daey pleadingly stating blankly "You're right... I slipped." There was a small rumbling in his stomach and a loud echo emmitted from his throat, and he tumbled to the ground, motionless.

With a scream she ran to him and kneeled by his side. "Jovrick... please wake up!" Her voice was full of sorrow... desperation. She beat his chest over and over screaming for help before collapsing into him, tears pouring from her cheeks.

Daeynaries · Adventurer Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 21

The explosion rang through the building like a cannon going off in her head. Was this really happening? Had he really committed suicide? Was he dead? She instantly went to his side, weeping in remorse. "What have I done!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her tears dropped like soft rose petals on his leather tunic. She pounded her tiny fists agains't his chest, trying to wake him up. Her attempt was futile.. He was gone, and at her hand. If she had only seen, if she had only known. His lies were all to protect her from his own emotional desecration. The face-less man that she loved so dearly had no identity, thus his love meant so much more. They say one can only love if one loves themselves, Jovrick had proven them all wrong with his display that eve. Tears still ravishing her cheeks as she pulled a dagger from her side-pouch and held it in her slender hand. She had been wrong.

She was a drug addicted, manipulative, harlot, who fed off mens emotions only to lead them to addiction for her own personal gain. It had to stop now, with Jovrick. Without so much as a thought, Daeynaries plunged her dagger into her belly-button. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she pulled the dagger from her wounded flesh. A million images flowed through her mind, Emerald being born, a beautiful baby girl, she held in her arms for the first time. Her first word rang in Daeynaries head. "Pow-der". Running on the beach of Vesper attempting to catch Emerald as she giggled gleefully. Alen... staring at her with cold eyes as he carried her daughter off, Emerald kicking and screaming, reaching out to her. Euphoria, its lavish smell, her first snort, the rush that her body felt when she first took the substance. And Jovrick.. the man -behind- the mask. Her love, no matter what form he may show her. Her life flashed before her in only a blink of a teary-eye.

She was losing blood and fast, just as she wanted to. She had dreamed of this day and it was as it should be. Daey slumped and fell over across Jovrick's chest, her eyes staring at him. True love was shown this night and the price was paid. Her eyes slowly closed and her heart-beat became sluggish. "I loved you Jovrick, whoever you may be.." She whispered and went unconscious, laying across his chest.
_________________
Deadly Vixen
Dark Knights of Chaos, (DKC)

Poshe · Adventurer Joined: 10 May 2006 Posts: 36

Vash witnessed the entire event. He had fallen for Daey in many ways. he had vowed to protect her. But he had never expected he had to protect her from herself. From the shadows as he watched, a single tear ran down his cheek as she confessed her love for Jorvick.

As it sunk in, he stood there for a few moments not making a sound or movement. He only looked down, knowing the feeling that he felt used. This was the second time in Vash's life that love had cost him dearly. He left Jorvick and Daey as they were and returned to his room. He locked his bedroom door behind him and sat at the edge of his bed. For hours he would watch the fire burn in his fireplace, with his own dagger resting beside him.

He was suicidal, he had attempted it before. But for the first time in his life, he wrestled with the idea of buring his dagger into his chest. Without Daey, he had nothing to live fore anymore. He didn't understand why he had to wrestle with the idea. He had the Black Adder, but it ment nothing to him. It was built for her.

In anger, he begins to rampage all around his room. If it wasn't nailed to the floor, it was tossed or overturned. He sank to his knees in front of the fireplace and took hold of the dagger that now rested on the floor before him. It looked tempting but he would continue to wrestle with the thought of taking his own life.

Daeynaries · Adventurer Joined: 14 Jan 2007 Posts: 21

She dreamt.. Leaves whirling together, colorful.... She stood with her arms out, as leaves fell from the sky. They danced around her, this was a happy dream. Her dream changed to that of Jovrick's face as he wept and pleaded for her to believe him. He kneeled down next to her and tried to take her hand, but she recoiled. He took something out of his backpack and consumed it, a dark cloud of smoke came from his mouth as he crumbled to his feet. When she ran to him it wasn't Jovrick anymore but Vash, laying on the wooden tile, bloody. Her dream switched again to Galathan. He was speaking to something on his shoulder, laughing and carrying on. Then he saw her, and glared hatefully. His icey cold eyes seemed to peer right through her. Her dream flipped again to Galathan dancing with a tavern wench in Umbra. He was ever so charming and gallant as he pranced around, chuckling happily. He carried on as if she wasn't there. The dream switched again and Daeynaries laid in the Sanctus healers hut, her arms were bound to the bed. There was no roof to the building and a enormous hand loomed over where the roof should be. As it reached towards her, she screamed.. and began to wake up.

Daeynaries eye-lids fluttered, even though the room was dark it seemed as bright as the sun to her. She had been sleeping for what felt like days and her eyes would not seem to adjust. She saw a flash of blonde hair and called out, "Galathan? Is that you?"
_________________
Deadly Vixen
Dark Knights of Chaos, (DKC)

Galathan · Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2007 6:07 pm Post subject:

The piece of parchment felt weightless between his fingers. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The piece of paper, the situation, any of it. He wasn’t sure just what it was he was feeling at that point. Anger? Confusion? Surprise? Perhaps a twinge of despair mixed with a flood of relief? He couldn’t sort any of it out.

He read and re-read the writing on the parchment until the letters themselves seemed ingrained in his head. The penmanship was elegant and precise. Each letter looked more like a small ink drawing than a linguistic symbol. He continued to sort through his emotions. Relief stood out the most from the rest, he decided, but he wasn’t entirely sure why. And still, there was something else gnawing at the back of his neck like a diseased tick. Affection, perhaps? But why should he feel that?

“You’re going to go see her, aren’t you?” Bubbles asked quackingly, his little duck voice muffled by the folds of Galathan’s cloak. Judging by the tone of his voice, he didn’t sound too surprised.

Galathan ran his fingers through his golden locks of hair before folding up the piece of parchment neatly, and delicately placed it inside of a pouch hanging from his belt. The familiar warm ocean breeze swept across him, surrounding him like a long lost intimate. The faintest scent of salt carried itself on the wind.

“I suppose I will. What of it?” Galathan knew Bubble’s answer before the little duckling even said it. He was all too aware of the implication himself.

“Such . . . Attachment, as it is, is not healthy. You of all people should have figured that out by now.” Bubble’s head poked out from the folds in the cloak. The breeze ruffled his dark green feathers, but he seemed to enjoy the warmth of the sun.

“The letter stated that she was nearly dead. At the very least, I should go and check on her.”

“Suit yourself, but you know what lays at the end of the path that you are about to travel. It is the inevitable conclusion, as you have well learned by now.”

Galathan nodded and listened to the whispers on the delicate air. He knew the outcome of the situation, but that didn’t seem to make much difference.

* * *

Silky red hair framed her face, casting soft shadows over her closed eyes. Her red lips were slightly parted as her breath danced across the sterile-white pillow delicately. Occasionally her eyelids would flutter, her lashes shaking in the cool air. She was dreaming.

Galathan sat on the bed opposite of hers. They were inside of a small healer’s building built of sandstone and nature. Large sprouts of leaves and vines covered the second floor balcony, dangling like a canopy over the entranceway. The balcony offered a view of Sanctus a short distance to the south; the towers of Castle Blackgard punctuating the skyline imposingly. The building was small, quaint, and the entire first floor was filled with books. Galathan nearly broke his neck stepping over the heaps of books. The second floor is where she lay like a fallen angel upon one of the extraordinarily clean-looking beds. Galathan didn’t see anybody on the first floor, or on the second floor either. He looked around for the healer who wrote him the letter about Daeynaries, but found none.

He watched the blanket covering her lift and fall in time with her breathing. It was a slow, steady breathing. That was a good sign. She was stable and safe, Galathan surmised, drawing upon much of the knowledge he had soaked in at the Lycaeum. He reached out and felt the material of the blanket between his fingers. Soft, warm, light, and comfortable. His grip tightened on the edge of the blanket that was pulled up to the base of her throat, and he gracefully pulled it down, revealing her.

A large white bandage was wrapped around her torso. Where her bellybutton should have been, there was a small red dot of blood that had soaked through the otherwise immaculate bandages. They looked fresh and clean. Probably not changed more than an hour or so previous.

He put the blanket back in its original position deftly as possible. The back of his fingers touched her jaw as he pulled the covers up and, for a second, he froze. The sensation of her skin shot up through his hand and arm, giving him goosebumps. Then her eyes opened.

“Galathan . . . Is that you?” Daeynaries’ voice was small and fragile. Weak.

He withdrew his hand and promptly sat back on the bed opposite of her. He felt chilly in the healer’s hut, and wrapped his cloak about him.

“Yeah, it’s me.” He sucked his lower lip in between his teeth. He wasn’t really sure why he went to see her, other than certain nagging emotions bid him so. Amidst the confusion inside him, his heart gave a swift boot to his lungs. He was happy, in some way, on some level, that she was alive and well. Not the sort of happiness that most people feel when relieved of a stressful situation, but a more true and primal kind of happiness, if but a tiny piece of it. Such happiness was dangerous.

“W-water . . . Please.” She struggled to sit up slightly, motioning towards the bedside table where a glass of pristine water sat. Galathan obediently brought the water to her and helped her drink from the glass. Her hands were too weak and shaking to hold it steady by themselves. The two sat in a silence for a moment. She gathering her strength, and he debating on what to say.

Finally, he broke the silence. “What happened?” A simple enough question.

“Jovrick . . . He . .. He killed himself.” Tears started to form in the corners of her crystalline blue eyes. She struggled for a minute, composing herself, before telling Galathan of what happened. She told him about how Jovrick had taken his own life, and how she felt she had nothing left and decided to take hers as well. It seemed a bit strange that Jovrick would take his own life after what he had told Galathan. It didn’t seem to make much sense. Why would a man who professed his love for power and wealth over that of some girl take his own life for that girl? It didn’t add up. She stated all of her story like it was some sort of stark realization, that her eyes had been closed off from the truth of all things up until the point of her near death. She sounded as if she had found a piece of truth floating forlornly atop an ocean of deceit and lies and clutched onto it for dear life.

“So,” Galathan began at the end of her story, “I guess the big question now is this. Where do we go from here?” He quickly recognized a flaw in his wording, and hoped that she would not pick up on it.

“We?” She did pick up on it. That one word in the sound of a question dug into his skin like a white-hot blade, for some unfathomable reason that only the very bottom depths of his mind knew. He had to cover his tracks or risk something dangerous.

“You, I meant.”

“Well, I have been wondering that myself. I really don’t know.” She laid her head back against the pillow, looking up at the ceiling. Her eyes shifted from the wooden striations adorning the ceiling to Galathan’s eyes, locking him in like some sort of predator stalking its prey. But at the same time, there was a gentleness and unique understanding in those eyes.

“You must be running low by now.” She motioned towards his belt pouch. The one with a pinch of white powder sitting lonely at the bottom of it.

“I didn’t come here to get more.”

“Then why did you come?” A small impish grin crossed her lips. He was treading dangerous territory, he knew. He decided to take a safer route.

“I just wanted to make sure you were ok.” He lifted himself from the bed, wrapping his cloak tightly around him to shield himself from the cool air. The sun was setting off in the distance, casting long shadows across the beds and floor, threatening to swallow up everything.

“You should get some rest.” He added, as he walked towards the door.
_________________
Galathan
"Survivor of Ormus"

NOT Malorn · Posted: Sat Feb 24, 2007 7:42 pm Post subject:

Malorn stepped into the room that morning with an empty feeling which dejection didn't quite adequately to define. Stretching his back, he looked to the bed. He gasped audibly. No one was in the bed. Looking about frantically, he began to get a bit nervous. She must have woken up while he was out. His chances were hurt, but not devastated yet. To gather his thoughts, he sat down.

Everything had gone so wrong so quickly and he had made so many mistakes. He could not seems to gather the magnitude of the situation. He was a ghost of past, and should always remain as such. Breaking character was the grandest sin of the actor, and he would pay for it dearly. And what was more; why couldn't he turn his back on her the other night? He should have cut his losses and found something new. He should have left her to die. Why could he not?

Nothing was adding up for him. And there was a nagging ache in the pit of his stomach, a pain not caused by his charade. He was horribly confused. He was certain it was over, though for the moment, he needed to see her.

---

The healer seemed the most logical place to begin his search and he made his way there.

Vash saw him along the way, with a look of surprise. Malorn made notice of him but said not a word nor made any acknowledgement. They walked on together in silence.

Arriving at the healer for him was almost as though he were meeting his fate. He felt an unmovable angst all of a sudden; his shoulders were heavy and his stomach fluttered breezily. His legs took the stairs with the greatest of difficulty, wobbling like gelatin. And, upon cresting the steps and seeing her, his heart sank like a ship.

Vash moved ahead of him and began speaking with her, while he stayed back, staring at her wordlessly. His thoughts floated about in his mind, tickling his senses and playing at his emotions. He was paling, and he began tugging at his collar, the heat becoming an annoyance.

They chatted on for a time, Vash silently signing his words to her, she responding oddly all. After a short while, Malorn revealed himself. He smiled weakly at Daeynaries and said his greetings. His voice sounded as though he was soon to parallel Vash. Barely a sound emitted, and his voice was dry and defeated.

Daey turned to Vash and asked him to leave, and with a nod, he was off. Malorn approached cautiously, somewhat expecting another assault after not so much disbelief. But she was in no state to fight with him.

“I thought you were dead, Jovrick. How could you have lived through that?”

“It was not so terrible as it looked” he responded with a small, uncertain smile.

“So you never meant for it to kill you, you knew it wouldn‘t? Galathan said something was odd with this, and he’s right.” She was right. He never meant for it to kill him, or harm him. It was a clever diversion, but why did he react? He could have been done with his lose right there. Maybe he could still have what he thought he wanted.

He never responded, and instead offered his apologies, something he felt compelled to do, even though he was certain it would lend no aid. She gave him a weak look of despair though he continued on. “I have been thinking Daey, and I feel there is something I need to do for the better. There is no way I can ever expect you to trust me if I cannot trust myself.”

“So you’re taking the coward’s way out Jov?” She retorted with a smirk.

Sighing, he continued on, crestfallen and weakly nearly in a whisper, “I don’t want to hurt you again.” A single tear rolled down his cheek and he looked to the ground. “We both still have a lot to learn, and… some growing up to do.” He looked back to her and she made motion to her locket.

“I understand. I still want you as my business partner, you know.” She gave him a small smile and waited for his reaction.

He offered his hand with a smirk, small tears still rolling down his face, and she took it to shake. “It’s a deal.” The two gave each other a nod and Malorn made his way slowly out the door, with, for once in his life, no idea as to where to go from here.