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The memory figment of Zaul waved back but had a somber smile himself. That was coming from Azriel's own feelings.
"Yeah, she hopes so too. We actually haven't been able to see each other in 'bout a little over a year."
One last memory started to play.
In this one, Zaul and Azriel appeared to have met again in Izoold one afternoon and spent the rest of the day reconnecting. This time, Azriel was looking much closer to her present self, with the mismatched wings. This implied that Zaul was among the few other people who knew about Chiaro and Oscuro. As for himself, he was actually looking rather sickly, which is why the day's activities were rather light. He was holding his chest most of the time as if there was a lingering pain there he didn't feel comfortable letting be.
When it got to the dead of night and absolutely none of the town's residents were out and about, they were standing upon a pier staring thoughtfully out at the starlit ocean.
"It's been great catchin' up with ya, Azzy. Sorry it couldn't exactly be like it used ta...."
"Oh, it's no problem at all! I hope I wasn't pushing you too hard..."
"It's fine, but...okay, I'm gettin' into th' meat 'f th' matter now. I have ta lie low fer...shucks, I don' even know how long. All I can say is, I think I messed with somethin' I really shouldnt've. I genuinely wanna tell you ev'rythin' an' it hurts that I can't, but it's very, very important I don't until th' right time. Just...gotta wait fer things ta blow over. But I promise I'll come clean."
Azriel turned her gaze from the ocean to him, looking crestfallen. Disappointed, but also worried. After a silent pause, she spoke up. "I...I understand. But most importantly...you will be much better than you are now...right?"
Zaul turned his head to meet her gaze, mustering a grin. "Ah yeah, I'm sure 'f it! I was in a lot worse condition after the, uh...event in question went down. That was jus'...maybe three weeks ago, I reckon. So don' sweat it, alright?"
In another quiet moment, Azriel slowly returned Zaul's grin with her own smile and extended her hand toward him. Albeit, her smile was still kind of a sad one. "'Til next time, then?"
"Always 'til next time', never th' finality 'f 'goodbye'." He took up her handshake and they pulled close together in a friendly hug. After pulling away, he held her at arm's length with that brotherly kind of head pat, lightly scruffing her hair. "You take care now, y'hear? You too, Chiaro n' Oscuro. Don't you go wearin' her too thin upstairs, there."
Azriel looked out the corner of her eye, seeming to wait for something. "Aaaand...cue the arguing about who's more at fault about that!" She jovially pointed finger guns at Zaul, and the both of them burst into hearty laughter.
Until there came a mysterious glow at his heart, and a flare of pain that he groaned at as he clutched at his chest. "Nnngh. That means I best be hittin' th' dusty trail already. Sorry ta part like this." He began to walk away from her.
She called out to him one last time. "I hope you can resolve things sooner!"
With their business done, Azriel began walking in the opposite direction, contemplating a place to safely conceal herself seeing as this was a time Oscuro would want to go soul-hunting. But for a moment, she looked back to see if Zaul was really doing alright.
But he was just gone.
Something felt off about that; how was he gone already? She didn't hear rushing footsteps and he didn't seem to be in any condition to do some sprinting anyhow.
She began to wonder if what he messed with was some kind of ominous magic.
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