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 Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:29 pm
"Nothing," said Ian truthfully, and his tone was flat and emotionless. "Nothing at all. That's the point to all of this. Nothing happens, and nothing should happen, because that's better than something happening. That's better than having everything happen."
The emotions were there, barely concealed behind the dam. Ian stood up abruptly, swaying a little, and gestured to Oliver.
"Come on," he said roughly.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:38 pm
Oliver stood up as well, but his tone was a little bit... defiant. If it were at all possible, there was a hint of it right there in his voice. "Nothing doesn't make a guy go out drinking like this." Ian might have been gesturing, but Oliver pretended he didn't catch the drift and stood right where he was. He had already accepted his death, if Ian was going to hit him right then and there he wouldn't protest.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:47 pm
Ian turned slowly to look back at Oliver. He almost felt sorry for the kid; for his pale, freckled face and his pink cheeks and the hint of stubbornness he could hear in his voice. It was perhaps that stubbornness that made some of the tension ease from Ian's shoulders.
"I broke up with my boyfriend and my best friend is dead," he said flatly. "Happy?"
He gestured for Oliver again.
"Now come on."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:55 pm
In an instant Oliver had reverted back to the nervous little puppy of a trainee. "W-what?!" He scrambled after Ian. "A-and you s-said that was nothing?" He didn't know anything about boyfriends. Or girlfriends. Or... that stuff. But he did know about death. His own painful memories still lingered, the shock and emptiness, the pain later, and being all alone with his own thoughts as his father drank and isolated himself. " A-are you t-trying to forget them?" He asked in a tiny voice.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:12 pm
He kept walking, back in the same direction they'd come from, the half empty bottle of booze clicking against Ian's leg with every gesture. "I came here to teach you how to drink, kid," he said, with a terrible lack of emotion. "If you're going to be a hunter, you've gotta learn how to drink."
He lifted his own bottle and took a huge swig. They were almost at the portal now.
"Forgetting is easier."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:23 pm
" That would be the worst..." Oliver said quietly, with a note of pain in his voice. He followed a step behind Ian, and then two steps, and finally he was just standing there, bottle in one hand, rubbing at his eyes with the other sleeve. His eyes were watery. If Ian forgot... wouldn't his friend just disappear? It was a horrible thought, Oliver didn't even know this person, but the thought of them being completely forgotten stirred up all sorts of pain. And if it hurt him so much, he could only imagine what it was doing to Ian. The kid sniffed loudly, and rubbed tears from his eyes.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:41 pm
He was deliberately not looking at Oliver as they stepped up to the portal; and it wasn't until he turned around that he realized the other hunter was still several feet behind him, his barely drunk bottle of liquor still held in one hand, his eyes red and welling with tears.
Ian stared at him.
"Don't...cry," he said finally, gritting his teeth together. "Hey. Come on, you can't cry on Deus, you'll get your a** kicked."
He backstepped and reached for Oliver's arm, tugging the boy along.
"Like I said, kid - forgetting is easier."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:50 pm
Oliver resisted the tug, and rubbed his eyes. "Y-you can't," he protested miserably, trying to step back. Ian was a lot stronger than he was though, and he only got tugged forward. "They n-never go away. Y-you can't just abandon them and pretend they were never there!" It was a good thing they were off the main street, Oliver was making enough of a fuss to to get them both into trouble. Despite Ian's warning, he couldn't hold back the tears.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 8:54 pm
Ian's grip wasn't painful, but considering both his height and his stature were bigger than Oliver's, the poor kid was forced along with him as Ian half dragged him back towards the portal.
He was beginning to think this had been a bad idea.
"Well, why not?"
The shout broke free of him, angry and fierce. Ian whirled around to face Oliver, and his cheeks were red, his face flushed.
"Why the hell can't I pretend that they were never there?" he snapped. "It's a hell of a lot easier to pretend that I never even knew them than to feel the absolute agony that I'm feeling at this very second; like I'm drowning, and there's no way to get air."
His chest felt tight as he heaved for breath, Ian slowly reeling himself back in. The outburst, though small, was still mentally exhausting, and already the stiff mask was being pulled back into place.
"Come on," he said dully. "I'll take you home."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:04 pm
Oliver whimpered, and appeared thoroughly cowed as Ian finally let his feelings out. Tears leaked out from tightly closed eyes. He should have just run through the portal and cried all the way back to his room, but he wasn't going to go just yet. "Y-you'll n-never... N-never stop drowning if you t-try to forget it all!" Oliver somehow managed to reply in an uncharacteristically loud voice. His head was still down, and he didn't look up at Ian at all during the whole exchange. If he could have, he would have hidden his face completely rather than just obscuring it behind long bangs.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:19 pm
What was it about this kid, anyway? It was like he felt all the emotions that Ian felt, except when Ian didn't show them, Oliver did instead. A strange sort of pity overtook him - but was it really pity? Maybe it was something else, something he didn't want to name.
Ian's shoulders slumped a little.
"Come on," he said finally, and this time he really did pull Oliver through the portal.
They came out on the other side, Ian stumbling slightly. He stood there for a long moment in silence, his fingers still curved around Oliver's upper arm; but then he slowly slid his hand away, dropping his arm back to his side.
"I'm always drowning, kid," he said quietly. "No matter what I do, if I choose to forget or remember, it doesn't matter."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:35 pm
Whether it was in response to Ian's truthful admission, or just the quieter approach the older hunter had taken, Oliver's sniffles lessened. His eyes were still wet and his cheeks were red, but there were no fresh tears. At least not for the moment. " I-it feels a lot like that..." Oliver said, almost to himself. Then he looked away, rubbing his nose again. "Even i-if they aren't here, t-tell them how much you miss them anyway."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:37 pm
He turned to look at Oliver, bemused.
"What do you mean, tell them how much I miss them? They can't hear me."
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:47 pm
"I-it doesn't matter. Tell them anyway." Oliver said, snuffling into the sleeve of his jacket. He still refused to look up at Ian.
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Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2014 9:53 pm
Ian sighed.
"Fine," he said. "Fine. I'll do it your way."
There was a small pause, and then, turning to walk away, Ian paused for a moment, his shoulders hunched. After a moment he said, a little quietly, "I think she would have liked you."
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