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 Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 12:09 pm
This RP is backdated to June 28th, 2014
Once he'd left Hvergelmir behind, Finn made his way to the nearest bus stop. “Hello?” he said to the warm night air. Of course there was no reply. The inside of his head felt magnificently empty. The euphoria of his ceremony with Cosmos and of his accomplishment was fading fast now, leaving in its place a profound sense of loss. There was only one person, he thought, who would understand what he was feeling right now. Elke.
He rode the bus until the neighborhood looked more familiar, giving way to the quiet rows of townhouses where Aysel was renting. He climbed the back wall on his own strength, feeling too tired to power up, and perched carefully on the window ledge. He’d guessed right, and Elke was sleeping in the room behind the glass.
Finn carefully tapped on the glass. Then he tapped a little louder.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:01 pm
She hadn’t been asleep, actually. She’d been staring at the wall on the other side of the room, thinking. Mostly because doing more than thinking was strenuous, and bothered her stomach. A lot of things had, lately. Even her favorite tea did nothing more and nothing less than make her want to retch with its rancid yogurt flavor. So was it any surprise that she ignored the raps on her window?
They didn’t go away, though, so she rolled over and--“Finn,” she hissed, scooting out of bed, scattering the sheets and blankets around her. She opened the windows, swinging them inwards and stepping out of the way to let him in. “You’re… you’re not glowing anymore. Does that mean…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
Instead, she said, “You look better. I heard you weren’t doing too well.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:02 pm
Finn scooted gratefully through the window, dropping to the floor a little more heavily than he’d meant to. Hopefully he wouldn’t wake Aysel up. “Elke,” he breathed happily, standing up and closing the windows behind him. He turned back around to face her, and wrapped her in an exuberant hug. “Elke, I thought I’d never see you again. I was really sure I was a goner.”
He stepped back and shrugged tiredly, the euphoria vanishing quickly again. “Yeah, he’s gone.” There was so much space inside his head that it was incomprehensible. His skull felt like a stretched out sweater, his ego swimming in too much fabric. “Hvergelmir took me to her wonder and called Sailor Cosmos for us. She was so brave. And then, you know, Cosmos showed up, we said our goodbyes, and off he went.”
He sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s weird having him gone,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be, I thought it would just be like going back to normal, but I feel so lonely inside my head. I didn’t want to be alone tonight.”
In the darkness, his eyes still glowed faintly blue.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:02 pm
She was normally all for hugs. Hugs were great! But today… she pushed gently at his stomach, feeling her own roil unpleasantly beneath her ribs. “Finn, I’m sick,” she said, “I don’t want you to catch it.” Really, for his own health, she should send him off. She’d been stewing in her room all day, miserable and unwilling to expend the effort necessary to get up out of her bed. Instead, she skittered back into her bed, perched uneasily against the headboard, one side left empty in clear invitation.
Elke looked down at her hands. “I’m glad,” she said, even though her voice betrayed her for the misery she felt. He was gone now. As gone as Aly, though less permanent in the long run. She would not see Menachem again for a thousand years, if she ever did again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help more.” She rucked her pillows up behind her, tucked her legs up to her chest, and considered him, blowing blonde hair out of her eyes. “I’m here. You don’t have to be alone, Finn. Virgo and Babylon have always been friends and allies.” As long as there was a Virgo in Babylon.
Tentative, she held out a hand for him to hold, as if he would want to. “I’m glad you’re alive,” she said. “I would have missed you if you were gone.” Missed them both. God, she couldn’t even imagine.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:03 pm
Brow crinkling in concern, Finn stepped back. He decided not to investigate any further, however, having learned the hard way the Elke’s privacy was to be respected at all costs or bad things would happen. He wasn’t sure how that worked with her letting him sit on her bed, but, again, not questioning Elke. Finn sat down, careful to give her some space, and then after a moment he shifted so he was lying down.
“You helped a lot,” he said, holding his hand out to her. “He was so happy these last two weeks. He was so happy when we met Sailor Cosmos. You were a big part of that. He got closure.” That was really the best thing he could imagine for his ancestor. In their line of work, they were more than likely to die suddenly, without being able to resolve things. Maybe he was even a little jealous of his ancestor for that.
“I’m glad I’m alive, too,” he said, laughing a little. He could laugh, now that it was over. “I’d’ve missed you, too. I’d’ve missed a lot of people. I’m glad we can still be friends, even though I’m not your Babylon.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:03 pm
Elke twined their fingers together, carefully, and rolled onto her side. It was easier to feel good when she was horizontal and sideways--less easy when she was flat on her back. And Finn smelled good, anyway. Part of that was probably association with Menachem, she knew. She had slept curled up against someone who smelled like this, whose eyes glowed a brighter blue than Finn’s watery echo. A few blinks, to keep back the tears, and Elke said, “You are my Babylon,” her voice just a touch watery. “We’re friends, aren’t we? You’re just as important to me as Menachem. Only in a different way.”
She was so sentimental lately, she thought. “I love him,” she said, closing her eyes. “I love you, too. Differently. And… and I’ll see him again.” Sooner rather than later. He had asked her to promise to live a long life, but--there were ways to shorten that without directly taking a blade to herself. It was so easy for a Zodiac to die, and in so many ways, Elke deserved it… living itself could be a crime, when your Captain was gone…
“Everything tastes weird lately,” she complained to her pillow. “I suppose that’s petty of me to say. Did you know your eyes are glowing?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:03 pm
Finn rolled over, his arm slipping easily over her. He’d woken up in this position a few weeks ago, in her dorm room that smelled like sex. This was less charged. It was nice. “I’m glad to be your Babylon,” he said. Her hair smelled sweet, the way it ought to smell. “Even if I’m not him. I guess - we make the best of the time we have.” If he were to reincarnate in about a thousand years, too, would he be born as Aria and Menachem’s child, heir to the city?
“Huh,” he sighed, leaning his face against her blonde curls. “Maybe it’s that thing you’re coming down with. Maybe it’s messing with your sense of smell. Have you been stuffed up?” He was too tired to actually have a conversation about this, but couldn’t just leave it alone.
“No. I didn’t know that,” he said, blinking at the back of her head in surprise. He supposed it was lit faintly blue. “They are?”
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:03 pm
She kissed his knuckles and sighed. “You’re wonderful,” she said. “Don’t ever doubt that.” He probably heard it every day. If she had the chance, she would certainly remind him of it… over and over. But she didn’t love him the same way she loved Menachem. Not even in a less valuable way, just…
Why was she thinking about this? “No,” she said. “Just nauseated. All the time.” She sighed again, a little huff of air. “And yes. They’re glowing. A very pale Babylon blue.”
Elke tucked herself back against Finn. If he was going to get sick, then he was going to get sick; there was no two ways about it. “You should stay the night,” she said. “If you wake up and need a friend, you won’t be alone.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:03 pm
To Finn, it sort of sounded like - no. He wasn’t going to bring that up, not even as a possibility. It wasn’t his place to suggest that sort of thing and he didn’t want to distress Elke over what was probably nothing more than a stomach bug. “Oh, wow,” he said about his eyes, but didn’t want to get up from this comfortable position to go look. “Do you, um, like them?” Maybe they’d fade. But on the other hand, it was kind of cool having something magical in his appearance!
“Thank you, Elke,” he said, his eyes drifting shut. “I’d like that a lot. Thank you.”
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