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 Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:26 pm
Guinevere alighted in the Sanctum, looking around as she landed with a guilty thump.
It had been a long time since she'd been here, what with one thing and another, and now that she had to go here to further her research, she snuck in like a spy. She had forgotten, she knew, and with any luck she wouldn't run into, well, him. Nikolai.
On a scale of one to ten, she was somewhere between 'traitor' and 'worst friend ever'. She just hoped he was still alive to be avoided as she skirted through the Sanctum, paper in hand to map out some of the territory for her own reference. If she didn't explore, she was no sort of researcher, and it might be useful for later.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:34 pm
The grass had grown long in places over the large hilly field, concealing places that were a bit deeper than others. It was almost akin to risking stepping into a snowbank in the middle of winter. Laying in a place where the grass concealed him and the wind couldn't reach Nikolai was contented to watch the clouds overhead traveling at a snail's pace.
The sound of feet in the grass was no different than the noise of wind to the boy's ears, and it wasn't until someone rather large stepped on his wing that the boy cried out and sat upright quickly. Grasping hold of his wing where it'd been stepped on, the boy looked to his unaware attacker with a frown before realizing with a gasp who it was.
The color that clung to Nikolai's hair had drained to just the ends for the time being, the stars haloing his head twinkling all the more brightly at his surprise. The glowing feathers of light on his wings were even more whispy and ethereal than ever before as well. The Sanctum had changed him a bit, but he was still well aware as to who stood before him.
".....Guin?"
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:42 pm
Speak of the devil, thought Guinevere, irony unintended.
She had seen Kotatsu die, accepted that she was never going to come back, but seeing Nikolai rise from the grass was like seeing a ghost. unnerving and strange, and it made Guinevere feel vaguely guilty for things never said. He was so small, was he always so young looking? Or was she the one who had been growing? "...Hi, Nikolai." she mumbled.
Introductions were the hardest part, and somehow acknowledging him made the ghost more real. Like a resurrection, someone coming back into Guinevere's life just like Aaron had. And when she remembered how Aaron had just left, she felt a rush of panic, reaching out and throwing her arms around Nikolai in one irrational leap just to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. Her guilt was briefly forgotten as she tried to make sure that someone else from her past didn't just vanish. Not again.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:52 pm
The boy stared ahead of him, looking over Guin's shoulder. Shock had settled on him at seeing Guinevere again and he could not bring himself to embrace her as she had him. The cold that clung to Guin from the human world made him shiver and the boy felt tears gather in his eyes.
This was all too much; he had only a short time ago pined for the company of his old friends and no here Guin was hugging him as if nothing had happened. With a quiet hiccuping sob Nikolai bowed his head as tears started rolling down his cheeks. Still he wouldn't return the hug, nor could he pull away or look Guinevere in the eye. She had left him and now she thought she could come back so easily? How could she be so cruel? Despite how angry he felt, the sadness and something akin to bittersweet joy caused him to reach up to grasp hold of her sleeve as a sort of life line.
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:12 pm
Guinevere's mind caught up with her body, and she pulled herself back, all the guilt that was wrakcking her brains when she entered the Sanctum returning to her like a cat that had found its master.
"Uh, so..." she said, biting her lip, "I know I haven't been around in a long time." She felt the childish urge to say it wasn't her fault, because it wasn't, she had been grounded and then...
Well, and then everything else had happened, and what with one thing and another, there had always been something wrong, and she had never had the time. And then Kotatsu had died, and suddenly she just had to keep busy, keep moving as fast as she could and get distracted.
And here she was, and here he was. "I'm sorry." she said, biting her lip. "I honestly didn't mean for it to be like this."
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Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 10:21 pm
The boy's grasp still held fast to Guin's sleeve but he finally did look up at her when she was at arm's length. Tears streaked his face and the boy was nothing more than pitiful as he whimpered there in front of Guin. Nikolai didn't answer with words, and in the end bowed his head as his shoulders shook with sobs.
This was more painful than he'd ever imagined it would be to see Guin again. His feathered wings fluffed up a bit before sinking low once more. She thought a simple sorry would make up for leaving him there alone?
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