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 Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 1:27 pm
Who: Anastacia and Iorek
When: September 13th, 2014
Where: Iorek's home; Isle de Gambino
Weather: Sunny and in the high seventies; a last blast of summer before fall takes hold
Anya had to check the address again when she saw the house.
No, that was wrong. It wasn't a house. It was a bona fide mansion, the likes of which had made the Widow ogle the exterior and question her own handwriting upon a torn off corner of scrap paper. The number matched. The street was correct and the town most certainly was the right one. Still, it was hardly what she had been expecting. When she had made the decision to pay a visit to Iorek, she had pictured...something smaller. A two story home, perhaps, or a condo like she and her Guardian lived in now. Maybe even an apartment, but most certainly not a mansion.
Well...He lives here and that's that.
Crumpling her address-marked scrap and slipping it into her bag, Anastacia opened the front gate and let herself through. It had been just over a year now since she had seen the Gargoyle and they had not parted on the best of terms. Anya winced a little as she thought about that but unlike the long months before she did not let any of those seeds take root. That was past, she was better now, and it was time now to pay a visit to the last member of their ill-fated team to see how he was faring. If there was a higher power in the world as so many religions believed, Iorek would be like herself, Zeke, and Cesc. If not, well...
I'll see that for myself.
Anya looked for a doorbell and pressed it when she found it. She heard the chime go off inside and pulled back from the door, straightening her outfit as she did so. The day was sunny and warm - one of summer's last days before the chill of fall and the iciness of winter - but the Frei had still dressed as though expecting the sun to vanish behind a cloud and the cooler temperatures to descend at any moment. She was comfortable and chic in a long sleeved black shirt, over which she had put a sleeveless dark blue knit top with an argyle pattern in the middle. For an added touch of class she had wrapped a knit shawl around her neck and shoulders and had her black purse hanging from her shoulder to compliment. She had liked the look well enough when viewing it in her mirror today, but came to love it entirely after styling her hair. Tied up tight in a messy half-bun, a section was braided - for again, a touch of chicness - and on the opposite side she had left a long strip of her lavender locks free to dangle down her front. It was a new style for Anya and a gamble when she started, but by the end she felt she looked damn good and that alone was a far cry from the baggy hoodies and lank, unkempt hairdo she had been sporting this time last year.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 10:12 pm
Anya could hear a sudden amount of shuffling on the opposite side of the door after she hit the doorbell but no one actually answered it. A few barks and pacing sounds just added to the fact that no one was home but the dog.
But before Anya could leave the yard and be on her way, the raevan she was looking came into view just as floated around the home from the beach. He was preoccupied chewing on a rock until his eyes moved away from his quick meal to the person at the front door. Suddenly his treat must have been on fire because instead of finishing it up and greeting Anya, Reks chucked the unfinished bit as fast as he could into a nearby bush.
He wiped his hands over his messy shirt and gave his frizzy-from-the-heat hair a good pat down.
"H-Hey! Uh...A-Anya." He did a little wave before his voice caught in his throat and he had to cough it back up.
When he was back in control, Iorek drifted over and tried his best not to look too surprised. But seriously, he was not expecting to see her here. Sure, throughout the year after the events that had occurred they said in passing that maybe they should get together. But those were flimsy dates that were easy enough for both sides to cancel on. So to actually see her in the flesh after all this time how could he not be a little flabbergast.
They hadn't left on the best terms but a year had gone by and if there was some weird grudge or any kind of bad blood between them it would of come up before now. Without anything like that he just kind of thought they'd go their separate ways.
Iorek tried to mentally stop himself from being so surprised. This was a great thing! Anya had come to see him and that was definitely something to feel happy about.
"Oh...wow...You look beautiful, Anya." He smiled earnestly at her when he got close enough to look over her outfit. Iorek may not have been born as a stylish individual but after living with Lillian for all these years he knew when to appreciate a lovely look.
Iorek looked down at himself and flushed in embarrassment. He had been out on the beach changing his training area around. It was a messy job that clearly did not help someone's looks.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 10:57 am
She tilted her head at the sound of a dog barking within. That was...rather odd. A manservant to answer the door would have been more in line with what she had been expecting. Either way, no one answered. Idly she started to wonder if she had come at a bad time and from there her thoughts stretched to leaving for now and coming back tomorrow. The weatherman had said the warm temperatures and sunny weather were going to stretch into next week so there would be ample opportunity.
All the same...She had wanted to see him sooner, rather than later.
She had started to turn away when Iorek called out to her. Her pivot became a 270 degree turn that ended with the spider queen staring right at the Frei she had come to see. Of course everything her thoughts had played out to her on how this was going to go didn't exactly happen. First off, she found her words had left her for the moment.
The last time she had seen Iorek, she had been chasing after him after a failed attempt to punch the Gargoyle during a hunt for a spectral hunter that had wronged them both. It felt like forever ago and some strange, alien thing. Which it was! But then again, so was this.
"Thank you," she finally said in reply to the compliment. Her gaze turned all over the other Frei, looking for...anything, really. Any sign that he was in as dire straights as she had been or even a breath's width close to such a low. She found him frizzy-haired and covered in dirt but no worse for physical wear; at least until he broke eye contact.
"You look...fine." She couldn't help but sound as surprised as she looked by all of this.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 2:18 pm
"Well thanks. I um...try. Well, no, this is not trying at all really." Iorek smiled gently and patted down his messy shirt. He really wished he looked better than this but guess this was just how it had to be. The princess and the pauper...hoo boy.
"How um...how have you been?" And why are you here? Reks wanted to add but decided to stick to being positive and chipper. He was trying to be happy again. The year had been extremely rough and his temper was not as under control as he wanted it to be but right now he was in an okay place. He just got done practicing some moves and felt a whole lot better than he did a few hours ago. Hopefully there would be no eruptions.
The gargoyle looked around and arched a brow to see that not only was Anya here at his home but she was alone. Wow. She really did this all by herself.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 2:58 pm
Her wings and crown relaxed at his stammering but the surprise at his physical well being was still apparent. House aside, she hadn't been sure of what to expect from the Gargoyle. Coming out covered in dirt and looking like he was just working on something in the backyard wasn't one of them, but then again, maybe that look was a good thing. By her own comparison, if this was what he was doing now, perhaps he was more in league with Cesc than he was with her after the fact.
She opened her mouth to reply to his question, but closed it immediately. There were many ways to answer that and some were longer and more detailed than others. She didn't know this member of her ill-lucked team like she did Cesc and without a solid judgment of how he was one way or another, perhaps the shorter response was best. For now, anyway.
"I've been well, Iorek." She spoke the words and fifty more were added on in her head. A few were allowed to slip out into existence. "I guess I should say 'better', really." That was the truth of things. She was indeed better.
"I know it's been awhile, but I...I wanted to see how you were doing after..." She could say 'you know' and dance around the subject, but what good would that do? It would be like throwing down a welcome mat to the negativity she had finally freed herself from and she was past that, dammit. If she couldn't bite the bullet for two words, how would she be able to face anything Iorek possibly had? "After the jungle."
She stopped her words there, watching and waiting. Not knowing how he would take it...Did he even remember? She couldn't see how someone could not, but maybe someone or something had blessed the Gargoyle with amnesia for anything around the summer of last year.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 5:09 pm
"Well I'm glad to hear you're better after all of...that." He really disliked thinking about their experience in the jungle. It had been a piece of Hell he surely never wanted to revisit again. The horror, the pain, and all the grief that place cause him and his friends...it should of been burned down the moment they were out of it.
His shoulders tensed when she finally said 'the jungle'. He sputtered for a moment and had to work a little bit to get him back on track. Although the wounds he'd receive physically had healed and scarred from that place, mentally he wasn't quite there. He was certainly getting 'better' but had yet to reach a proper a'ok.
"I'm still messed up." There. He said it and to Anya of all people. But rather than scream and shout like he would of done a year ago now he felt like it was okay to talk about which was a huge leap for him.
Iorek weakly laughed and ran a hand gently through his messy hair. It was little motion he found that relaxed him when he felt like he was going to have a breaking moment. "I gotta say, I'm glad we didn't meet up til now. I've honestly been a huge wreck these last few months. That jungle..." He paused and closed his eyes as it flashed past his eyes, "..really screwed me up."
"Did it...did it to the same to you?" He and Cesc had worked it out their own way but Iorek had wondered exactly how well Anya held up. He really hadn't talked about that place with anyone but his guardians, Shep, and Cesc. Probably was for the better to talk with someone else, especially someone who had gone through the exact dramatic things he had.
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 6:05 pm
"Thank you, again."
This Frei was full of surprises. She had figured him to wave it off or maybe change the subject, but even with a weak laugh and nervous gestures, he still spilled some of the beans without a - seemingly - second thought. It threw her off balance at first.
"I feel the same," she said in reply to his comment about not meeting again until now. She inclined her head when he mentioned the jungle screwing him up and her shoulders rose and quickly fell with a slow, deep breath when he questioned her about her own experiences. To see Iorek and check up on him would mean revisiting the past. It was behind her, of course, and could not hurt her anymore. Cesc had shared with her and she with him. She could do the same for Iorek and leave the door open for him too. Nothing would come of retelling her tale to this Frei but relief. The past was past.
"Is it alright if we sit down?" The air was still hot and the sun was directly on the two of them. Floating in the midst of both was not exactly the best place for serious discussion, especially for Anya who was both wrapped in thick material and fed partially off of heat. She would get fed to the point of feeling sick at this rate if they didn't move out of the way.
To the side was a bench in the shade of several palm trees and tall shrubs. Anya gestured to it and floated over first, taking as much of a 'seat' as a Frei could upon it. She waited for Iorek to join her, then finally nodded to answer his question.
"It did. I was...'screwed up' as you put it for a long time after everything happened." She folded her hands together, looking down at them as she rubbed one thumb over the other. "I uh...I wasn't in a good place because I thought I was a monster. After everything that happened there, I felt like I was some ticking time bomb waiting to go off. I hid away and I lost pretty much everything that meant something to me and I refused to get help. Until Cesc showed up, that is."
She looked back up at the Gargoyle. Her face was placid but all six of her eyes were bright.
"He helped me to see that I wasn't bad and that I could get out of the mire I was stuck in. He even helped me start to knit again." She thought of the afghan she had given the Stag just a few days ago and how he had looked upon receiving it. He had given her a wonderful gift too, but his look alone after she handed over the thing he had helped her to start was priceless treasure. "It hasn't been easy, of course, but like I said, I'm better than I was before."
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 3:59 pm
"Oh of course!" Iorek nodded and quickly followed her over to the bench. Funnily enough, she picked his favorite bench in the yard. It was in the perfect spot to admire the house and the beach.
He plopped down onto the bench but still gave Anya plenty of space.
"Wow..." Reks blinked in surprised as she told him about what she went through after the jungle. Looking at Anya was like looking in a mirror. He went through the exact same thing as her. While the effects still lingered, at least they were both on the road to repair.
It seemed like a certain family was to credit for the two of them being where they were today. "You and I are a lot alike...in what we went through."
He sunk back into the bench and closed his eyes. "I had terrible rage issue and pushed everyone away from me. I couldn't control myself. Just like you I thought I had become a monster."
And the fear of still becoming one was there but at least it wasn't as terrible as it had been. "That jungle...I never thought such a place could exist. It changed us."
But it didn't feel like the change was for the better, at least on his part. He opened his eyes and looked at Anya with a sincere smile. "Oh...I didn't know you knit? What do you make?" But Iorek realized his curious question was not exactly on topic. "Ah, sorry, not what we're talking about. But again, like you, Shep came over and helped get me out of my rut. With some tough love he got Cesc and I into training everyday. Got my mind off of things and was a way to express my anger. Feels good to really hit something, ya know?"
He adjusted in his seat. This felt good, talking with Anya. Although he was on the road to recovery he had pretty much isolated himself from the lab for months now. It was nice to chat with someone he hadn't seen in so long. "I'm glad you're better and that place hasn't kept you down."
Reks looked down at his shirt and picked at a clump of sand. Since they were being honest with one another he felt this was a good time to really talk."I don't think I'm really out of it yet. Better than I was before but I still have dreams. They feel so real. I'm chasing that creep, the hunter, and when I get to him and he turns around suddenly the one I'm lunging at is either Cesc, or you, or Zeke, or someone I love. It's terrifying. I wake up and my pillow is demolished. I've uh...had to buy a lot of pillows within the last year." Reks gently chuckled, "I still have waves of anger too. I don't know. It's weird."
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Posted: Fri May 22, 2015 11:54 pm
It was surprising to hear him say that, that they were a lot alike in their experiences. Just being alike in any sense of the word was something she had never thought would have been possible. She had been quick to judge Iorek on their first meeting as a big dope, someone she had been 'stuck' with rather than she would have chosen outright. But, as she was quickly growing to find, first impressions weren't always the best picture of a person.
And they were liable to change.
"I do," the Widow confirmed when asked about her reclaimed hobby. She also crocheted, sewed, and embroidered but Iorek was quick to cut the tangent short before she could add those on. That was for the best for now; after all, there were more pressing things to discuss.
"Feels good to really hit something, ya know?"
She listened patiently to him up until that point. His question made her wince visibly. Anastacia bit her lip, fingertips finding the faint scarring on her knuckles where she had made contact with the Gargoyle in the jungle oh so long ago.
"N-Not...not really." She could have stayed mum but perhaps doing so would have been worse than speaking. Time would tell but then Iorek spoke of the dreams. Anya was quick to latch onto that topic in order to avoid this meeting turning into something unpleasant and more awkward than it had to be.
"Those go away. The nightmares, I mean." She could speak from experience on that. "I had them too, but different than yours."
She released her hands from their entwinement and turned bodily so she faced Iorek on their chosen seat. It was different, being on this side of things. To be the one to listen and offer advice, rather than be the one to pour everything out. She wondered if Cesc had felt like this when she had finally bust her dam and let everything out. It was a strange sensation, but she knew she could do it. She had to do it. Despite his smiles and gentle laughter now and again, there was still a hold on Iorek that remained, that much was certain.
"Mine were like a movie that I couldn't turn off. I'd see everything that happened and everything I'd done played over and over and I couldn't do a thing to stop them. Every time I closed my eyes it'd start up again and that made me sink farther and farther down on myself. Once Cesc helped me start helping myself, they slowly went away.
"Of course...it wasn't easy. It took a long time to get out of the jungle's clutches and I had plenty of days where I felt down or sullen or what have you for seemingly no reason. Once in awhile I still have them even now but the nightmares? All gone. And I realize a little more every day that those bad days I have, they don't happen as often as they used to."
So much had happened between Cesc's first visit and the second which had taken place only a few short days ago. Big things, little things, but no matter the size they had all been a part of her recovery. There was probably still a ways to go - 'better', after all, was not 'fully healed' - and she had lost a few things along the way but in the end? Anastacia could most certainly say she was happier, healthier, and living with the jungle fully locked away in the past where it belonged.
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