Beyond festivities

[Acies ab Vesania]

Chaflin sat back against the wall, his mind a whirlwind of new ideas and thoughts, a hurricane of awareness violently whirling as his consciousness tried to apply its new knowledge with the old. He stare straight ahead, eyes staring straight through whatever lay ahead of him, focused not on the present world but the future spilling out before him. Chaflin’s heart raced with excitement and apprehension all in one, fluttering and pounding as if it were trying to escape his chest. Lost in his thoughts as he was, Chaflin failed to notice the quickly approaching Donavan, nor acknowledge him as he came to skidding halt beside him, clearly eager to know what profound effect Chaflin’s view of the stars had on him. Only when Donavan gave a playful slug, did Chaflin stir from his deep reverie pull himself back into reality, just seconds before Shay fell to the floor.

“It was… amazing. I have never seen anything like it before, nor ever known what lay beyond this world. It makes everything seem so different, our world so large by our comprehension, so insignificantly small in the greater scheme of things. We live in something much vaster than I ever knew, what my fellow people knew, something far more complex and… beautiful, than what we ever dreamed of; I…”

The sounds of shattered glass and the slim form of a young woman falling atop the recently fractured pieces cuts Chaflin off from expressing his revelation, snapping his attention from his recent observations to her accident. Seeing her fall to the floor, overtop of broken beakers and other sharp objects, Chaflin springs to his feet with an amazing amount of explosiveness for someone of his size, a talent that would some day serve him well. Though Chaflin hardly remembers, he once sprang like this when facing a simulated enemy in his live combat class, a deeper connection to the workings of his body making a brief but profound showing for just a moment, as it did just now. Hardly aware of his actions before he took them, Chaflin made several long strides across the room, gliding across the floor to where Shay fell, clearly worried about his new friend.

The sight of blood catches his attention first, streams of crimson trickling down her arms, pooling at her elbows and dripping to the floor. Fortunately, Chaflin’s days on the farm included slaughtering livestock and butchering the carcasses, so a little blood was certainly beyond a troubling thing for him to view. What became his immediate concern were the shards of glass protruding from her arms, some shallow and others deep, all of them a potential source of infection. Again, as an act of instinct that took place before he could even process his actions, Chaflin slips the tiny woman into his arms, gently cradling her as he lifts her from the ground like she were nothing more than a bundle of feathers. Turning towards Donavan, whom undoubtedly would have followed Chaflin to his injured significant other, Chaflin quickly says,

“She has a lot of glass in her arms, who knows what was on it or the floor. Let’s get her to the infirmary. I am not sure how to get there myself, you lead, and I’ll carry her.”

Chaflin’s tone is assertive but not commanding, more of a statement action than a demand for one. It is a surprising side to him, calm, almost confident, as if the moment of crisis compelled him to forget temporarily his worries and anxieties.

In fact, that was exactly what happened.

[Alexei]

Her voice gave her away, her fingertips more so. He would sit silent, and still, dark eyes watching the scene of stars, moons, and meteors. The artificial noise to give life to the moving images was odd. There could be no noise in the dark, cold void of space. He found it all impractical. He would not turn to look at her, knowing full well she was unclothed; the cloak in his lap was enough proof for that. Silently he still sat, staring at the images. “I suppose you could be right. Though, I find nothing particularly beautiful about spheres of gas or rock. Be they images, or the real thing." A light shrug would coincide with his comment.

“No, they do not. Is there a reason they should?” The question was thoughtful, but held no weight. Understanding others was not something that came easy to him. It didn’t matter how long he talked to them, people, were a mystery. His own voice had been as quiet as usual, though hardly a whisper. He talked low enough that his words did not reach across the room, but only to Liyah’s ears. Placing his elbow against the arm of the seat, he would rest his chin on a closed fist. “Let me rephrase my earlier question. Why do you find it so beautiful?”

For the boy, stars were only useful for directions, nothing more. His eyes not once, turned from the images that moved before them. If there was a blush at the knowledge of her nudity, it was well hidden. The very fact that she was, still made him somewhat uncomfortable, but he pushed it aside. He found it better to accept it, than to constantly worry about the strangeness of it. He would go quiet as he waited for her answer.

[Faustus]

No sooner did glass touch and break upon firm ground than Donovan's attention was summoned to the very spot. It was instinct. Pure reflex acting on the very nerve. Refined faculties that registered the sound, identified it, contrasted the sample against prior knowledge, including such details as prior location, Shay's point of origin and expected resting point in the elapsed time, and arrived at an array of possibilities. The most obvious was the most likely; by the time he brought his eyes to rest on Shay he not only guessed the commotion but had taken it a step further.

"You're very clumsy Shay. First your hand, and now your arms."

There, Donovan thought to himself. Now that she knows she's clumsy, she can stop that nonsense.

This he uttered and thought while the shock and consequence of Shay's whimsy kept her silent, just moments before pain brought to bear the grunting animal buried inside all human beings.

Chaflin was by Shay's side before Donovan. Impressive, considering Donovn's long and frequently proven trait of agility. Less so when one considers that Donovan moved with no particular urgency. He kept a good pace mind you, but did not arrive at the wailing, weeping Shay until well after Chaflin had hoisted her and called out with a stiff spine.

Donovan knew that within the grounds of the academy one's only real fear was death by massive hemorrhage. The Gaians were natural and talented healers, and the infirmary was staffed by somem of the most gifted among them. Cuts, bruises and infections were trivial matters within the Academy. An irony, considering that just without the limits of the schoolground lay a graveyard with bones the size of houses and a passageway into the Underdark.

"I'd be happy to lead the way. Take her downstairs and I'll meet you there, I'll let the others know."

Donovan patted Chaflin on the back, fixed Shay with a most indescribable look of sympathy and pity (the poor thing!) and then rounded the corner.

"Hey! Shay cut her arms. We're going to the infirmary!"

Then Donovan turned about-face and went back into the observatory. He then proceeded to execute a phenomenal feat with minimal fanfare. For example he did not cast his eyes about to make sure none watched him, so the boy was not so impressed by his own feat as to be furtive about it. And neither did he assure himself an audience, so he did not consider it particularly worthy of praise. He treated leaping bodily out of a window as just another thing to do, and landed four, maybe five, stories down with a soft thud and a slight bend of the knees.

Less than a minute later, Chaflin and Shay stepped from the mouth of the building. Donovan led them through the great hall, taking care to avoid the great core of party-goers, and brought them to exit through the main entrance. A slight turn south-west took them on the path to the infirmary.

"Lemme ask ya Shay. If your arms scar up, are you going to get those loooong, elegant looking elbow-length gloves?"

[Fallen Joy]

Liyah considered the man under her folded hands and body with a moment of silence, musing lightly yet seriously on his question as she gazed at the twinkling projections. Why did Liyah think the projections were beautiful…well they were beautiful because they reminded her of stars, so the real question was why the shape shifter found stars beautiful. Alexei had a point, it was nothing but a sphere of burning gas. Her muse lasted not but five seconds before a light chuckle slipped from her lips. Alexei leaned on his fist causing a slight cant in her posture as well, her chest compressed against the wide spread of his shoulders, one of her elbows slightly elevated and her chin upon her fingers.

“When you look at the stars you see gas, color, and lights surrounded by a cold vacuum of space, but take a moment to imagine a child’s eyes. Children can look at a star and see a wish, their last hope, perhaps the only flicker of it in their lives. Millions of dreams are cast upon stars every night. Perhaps that’s what makes stars beautiful to children. To lost travelers, it is the way home, a constant guide to lead them to where their heart is. To those scared of the dark, or never see the Sun…the stars and Moon may be the only light they ever see. Maybe the most beautiful thing in the world to them.”

Liyah paused, exhaling lightly and staring at the floating lights. A hand unclasped from his head, extending out to ‘hold’ one of the floating stars under two of her fingers—above Alexei’s head and beyond his sight.

“To the people that built this place…it’s a piece of their lives, their dreams made real, filled with more and more veracity each time they discover something new. To an artist, well…it’s just beautiful to look at. To me?” Liyah paused, closing her eyes and smiling widely. “It’s just a new world. It’s mystery, adventure, and another chance for me to well…discover what I—you smell that?”

Liyah fell into a silence, the sound of her sniffing suddenly filling the air. Her keen sense of smell was very sharp and amazing, even from way down the hallway, the aroma of Shay’s newly spilled blood was easily captured. The scent was familiar to Liyah; the same memorable scent that leaked from the open wound of the girl’s palm.

“Shay’s bleeding. Pretty badly. First Syrica then Shay, Don-key seems to have an attraction for damsels in distress, doesn’t he?” With a quick movement of her arms, the cloak and groves were snatched from the man’s lap. The sound of it flaring out and wrapping around her body was heard. “Shall we find out what happened?”

Liyah walked into his view, pulling her second glove onto her hand.

[circa.cipher]

Feeling hands scoop her up, Shay struggled immediately, trying to get him to let her go. It took her a moment to realize he wasn't trying to hurt her, a scary thought towards Chaflin. What reason would he have for hurting her? Still desperately confused and attempting to find answers, Shay looked at her bloody arms and Donovan's consequently bloody shirt as the observatory moved around her and Chaflin.

Once they reached Donovan outside, Shay relaxed a bit. She focused on him, seemingly the only thread to reality she had as her mind shot through confusing memories, relative to pieces of a puzzle she'd done before, but had no recollection of tearing apart. Reaching out for Donovan, she wished she could touch him, make sure he was material in all this, but she could rely only upon her faith, for it took a while before Donovan even turned around to see her, joking about the situation. It would be at the minimum embarrassing to Shay if she weren't so lost, but for now, she failed to see the humor in it and only reached out for him more.

If he touched her at all, she would calm down quickly, her memories recollecting as she examined something she knew was real, but if he evaded her hands, whether intentionally or not, she would cry out in agony of losing the one thing that could have given her a chance out of this mess for right now. She would then, if left without comfort, turn her face towards Chaflin's chest and resume her terrified and pained crying.

[Alexei]

Her words gave him pause for a thoughtful silence. His dark eyes looked straight ahead, no longer seeing the images there. Such strange sentiments people seemed to have, he still couldn't see the point in it all, or rather, the beauty. He thought on it, and though more as she spoke, his expression still neutral, but his eyes showed his thoughtfulness. Her sudden question piqued his curiosity enough to snap him from his thoughts. The smell of blood was light in the air, the sound of him sniffing gave away his curiosity. He knew nothing too serious happened. “Yeah, I do.” He would nod in affirmation.

“I couldn’t say pretty badly, nothing a good salve and some bandages won’t fix. Maybe a few stitches.” He was not surprised when Liyah snatched up her cloak and quickly dressed herself. He would stand, keeping his back to her until the sound of rustling stopped. He did not comment of Donovan’s need to rescue, though the two boys views were opposite. “I suppose, there’s no sense staying in here.” He would turn to face her. He would follow if she chose to lead the way.

[Acies ab Vesania]

Chaflin’s world underwent changes that night, from meeting new people who took a genuine interest in the young man, to viewing the expanse of the universe and all of its stars; now, a moment where he acted without thinking, to alleviate pain and injury of another. He carried Shay with great care and gentleness, smoothly traveling behind Donavan as he led the way to the infirmary, almost unaware of the surroundings as he kept his focus on Donavan, Shay and keeping his pace steady. To some, his actions may seem like actions of a person showing the immensity of their strength, or the greatness of their character, yet Chaflin acted without thought or regard for what others may think, simply because he acted on instinct alone. Chaflin is a strong man, but boasting of his strength never occurred to him, for it never came to mind that others might find it impressing. He never acted kindly out of self image, because to do so is a motivation Chaflin is without, you act in kindness because of kindness, not its added depth to perceived character.

As he walked, he could feel blood seep from her wounds and wash over his arms, adding to the sense of urgency he felt, worrying that the cuts may be more than just superficial wounds. He felt wounded by his inability to move faster, to get her to the infirmary sooner, so that she can receive proper care and alleviation of pain that much quicker. Chaflin knew he did the best he could, only he feared if the best he had to give is not enough, and worried that he may disappoint others and let the poor girl down, his worst fear of all. His heart ached in worry, his stomach wound itself into knots once again, deeply riveted fear twisting in his guts. If something were to go wrong, he would bear the burden of responsibility, and knowing that made him that much more fearful; failure in his basic duties as a fellow human being, it scared him.

Shay buries her head into his chest, and within seconds Chaflin feels an awkward shift in his feelings, a stirring he had not felt in some time. Though he knew, she belonged with Donavan, and felt not intention of doing anything to interfere with that, his body became aroused, a reflexive response of a young man. Feelings birthed of hormones came and went for him just as they did with any other young male, but to feel them come around because of the girl in his arms made him feel immensely guilty, embarrassed, and somewhat dirty. At a time that he should worry of her welfare, carrying a woman clearly enamored with another man and because of so, no interest to him beyond friendship, he felt his body change despite his internal protests.

Fortunately, his arousal came mostly of mind, though some in feelings within his belly and other parts, but more common and potentially embarrassing physical reactions did not follow as he came upon the doors to the infirmary, though his face did redden slightly. At least it is easy to pass that off as a reaction to the strain of carrying a person over campus a fair distance and not necessarily attributed to the shame and guilt he felt. Why such feelings had to stir, he could not understand, nor did he truly want to either, hoping he could just bury the reaction to carrying the young woman.

[Faustus]

Donovan buttoned his lip when Shay did not respond to his question. The austerity lining Chaflin's features, Chaflin's countenance calm and collected but otherwise clearly concerned for the care of his young charge, slapped Donovan in the face with the gravity of the situation. Not that he feared for Shay's life any more than he had a moment ago but that perhaps he needed to show Shay he cared for her beyond the simple recognition of life or death.

She reached out to him. Tears cutting clean streams down her cheek and a silent, interminable grief welling up behind beautiful sienna eyes. That look spoke to him. Called to him. Yelled at him wordlessly. Told him more in a second than words ever could. His heart leapt in response, reached out to her and used Donovan's arm as its mechanism of action so that his hand found hers and tarried there a while.

Then the boy frowned as, in a flash of intuition, he understood his purpose with full clarity.

He took a breath and was gone just like that, kicking up a brume of dust that led the way to the infirmary, easy enough for Chaflin to follow if he made a quick pace and reached the place before the dust settled. When he and his package arrived, things were already in place. The nurse was waiting patiently by the doorway to led them to a private room.

Nancy Newman, the Nagging Nurse

"Aww! Willya look at that poor thing! But in the hands of that bull of a young man! Young man! Young man! Please be gentle, gentle! Lay her down on the bed, gentle! Then go and get me my bag. It's there on the high shelf. What's it doing up there? Couldn't tellya but it's important, get it get it get it!"

Nancy was more animated than Donovan remembered, and he remembered her well having found his way in here a number of times when he was a teacher's aide in Live Combat. Oh he didn't mind the bruises or the bloody noses much, having learned combat triage in his internship at Artifacture, but it put people off to see a kid coming their way, nose poking in three different directions and smiling wide at them with broken teeth.

"In my bag there's a roll of gauze. Fetch that for me, be a dear. And the green jar of sticky stuff while you're at it.

[circa.cipher]

After Donovan held her hand for a moment, she calmed down, her crying somewhat stifled now that she'd been reassured that she was indeed still in reality. Her cries transformed into muffled whimpering, her cradle in Chaflin's arms providing an unexpected amount of comfort. Generally, Shay kept to herself, and so she didn't often feel the comfort of a friend's arms.

Once they reached the infirmary, she was feeling dizzy. Chaflin likely set her down on one of the infirmary beds and then went off to help the nurse who was ordering both of the boys around. She held her arms out awkwardly away from her body as if she were waiting for a hug from someone. Blinking a few times, she urged the white spots dancing in her vision away. Thankfully, the nurse placed a wet washcloth on her forehead, a comfort that led Shay to sigh in relief.

Unfortunately, it was short-lived. The glass had to be removed and replaced by stitches, and therefore, there was a lot of pain yet to come for the poor, clumsy girl. The nurse got to work, urging the boys to comfort her or hold her there if necessary. Certainly, Shay wasn't too excited about the next hour's work, and she attempted to squirm away, only to be brought back by the hands of Donovan and potentially Chaflin, if he hadn't found it too difficult to remain there and subject her to more pain at the nurse's helping hands.

Eventually, when the work was done, she fell straight asleep. Exhaustion from fighting against Donovan, crying from the pain, and just experiencing the pain itself had knocked her straight out. Curled on the bed with bandages covering her forearms and face no longer covered by her hat, she slept, peaceful at last.

[Fallen Joy]

“'To the infirmary,' he says, like I know where that is.”

Liyah had long left the planetary room, with Alexei trailing behind her, clinging to the scent of Shay’s wounds like a bloodhound. She had paused momentarily to look at the mess of which was made by Shay’s most clumsy actions, a pile of shattered glass and sporadic spots of blood. Disappointed by her deduction of what occurred, for she had hoped for something more intriguing, Liyah was no longer in a hurry to investigate and opted to clean up the mess left behind. Shaking her hands of excess water and replacing her gloves after washing away the patches of blood left on her hands from the clean up, Liyah took another whiff of the air to rekindle her hold on Shay’s scent. The others were moving well away from the observatory, which caused a bit of a groan from Liyah’s more lazy nature, and she followed. Liyah was just that nosy.

“So where did you come from anyways? Before this academy.” Liyah glanced back at Alexei, face hidden but voice curious. “I get this feeling that you were bit of a…what’s the word Don-key used…vagabond? Yeah that. Yet it’s pretty obvious you fight. So, you some sort of vagabond fighter? You wander around, beating up people?”

She laughed. Liyah made a lot of curious assumptions, often sparked from how a person smelled, and was not ashamed of overtly expressing them for clarification. Some viewed her lack of decorum rude, impulsive, and immature—but when it came down to it, Liyah was simply an animal, despite what people assumed to be inside her cloak. She continued walking as she awaited Alexei’s response, every so often forced to stop and sniff once more when a passing wind or crowd of party-goers distorted the invisible trail. It was not long before they reached the threshold of the infirmary, by this point Liyah’s keen hearing had picked up on Shay’s subtle moans, and the high pitched voice of the lively nurse. Instead of entering, Liyah, quite disliking the smell that came from within, leaned just outside the room and conversed with Alexei. Absent-mindedly [maybe], she listened in on whatever happened on the other side of the door.

“Oi, I hope I never have to go in there. You wouldn’t believe the amounts of needles I’ve had encounters with as a child. I hate the smell of these places.”

Her shoulders hunched and her head lowered, a disgruntled gagging sound escaping the darkness of her hood.

"Yuck."

[Alexei]

"Well, yes, I'm a vagabond. As for beating up people, I’ve only done so in self-defense.” Those were the words he used to answer her question. He did not find her curiosity rude, but intriguing. Mostly, because he felt no need to know what other’s did, or their reason why. He followed alongside Liyah, hands in his pockets, his eyes straight ahead. When the night air brushed across his face, he took a deep, quiet breath.

Once they reached where the others were, he would stop. Mainly because Liyah wasn’t about to enter, and it seemed she never would. He too, but for other reasons, his presence wasn’t needed and by the sounds of it, more than enough people were inside. Shay’s moans of discomfort reached him, and his head tilted in curiosity. “Too soft to have been so clumsy.” Came the quiet words. Planting his back against the wall, he would look at Liyah.

Her gagging gave him cause to look at her, chestnut hues settled on the petite figure. “Smell may be bad, but they have to keep it clean.” He’d reply, almost abstractedly. “How about yourself, you don’t seem to be the type to stick around in the same place."

[Acies ab Vesania]

Chaflin did as asked by the nurse on duty, he used to taking orders from assertive women, as any farmer’s wife could belt out orders to young charges with the best of them. Chaflin did his best to stay out of the way, standing anxiously to the side, watching the procedures with concern and empathy, not pity, that looked like foreign features on a man of his stature. He wrung his hands together, trying to keep his anxiety and worry in check as the nurse meticulously removed each piece of glass. He frowned sadly each time Shay whimpered and tried to squirm away from the firmly resolved clinician, flinching during the worst of it all. When the nurse completed her care, he watched as she drifted off into sleep, clearly much more comfortable than she was during the removal of the glass pieces.

Chaflin felt the rough texture of his shirt plastered against his skin, coated in sweat and in blood, though the stains appearance told a story of wounds much worse than they were in truth. He runs his right hand through his hair, pulling away damp clumps of hair from his face, finally calming from his dizzying experience, feeling the weight of his most recent moments fully setting in. Caught in maelstrom of emotions so vastly varied and only in the span of briefly passing night, Chaflin felt overwhelmed, exhausted, confused. Awe still stuck with him, in spite of the whirlwind of events taking place soon after his exposure to the expanse of the world and the universe cradling it. His muscles ached from carrying the young woman across the grounds; his heart ached from the guilt of unwanted, uncontrolled feelings temporarily passing through his consciousness.

Tired but electrified, physically and mentally depleted yet still not ready to wind down, Chaflin felt strangely capricious in opposition to his normally calm demeanor. He felt like walking, taking in the fullness of this day and letting it continue to wash over him, growing with the changes, processing the new. He knew he could not lie down now, for his mind would never cease to think about everything he experienced this day. He needed time to go over it all, to piece it together and allow it to become a part of him, for he could never reject something as wonderful as what he saw that day, nor could he ignore the feelings he felt, no matter how terrible it made him feel. Good or bad, all experiences carried their value and had something to give, if only one were willing to stop and listen to its silent wisdom.

“I think, I am going to go for a walk. I am glad that she is going to be okay.”

Chaflin turns and departs through the door, leaving quickly but not necessarily hurriedly, simply taking his leave with a sense of contained enthusiasm.

He had much to think about.

[Faustus]

Nancy nagged.

"You haven't much to worry about deary, not much at all. I could take these shards out clean as a whistle so you don't feel a thing. But procedure dictates that the first few times we do it the old way. The memory of the pain keeps you careful, you know? Donny can tell you all about that can't you Donny?"

Donovan smiled, blushed slightly, but did not let his rosy cheeks and Nancy's surprisingly pleasant aesthetic drive him towards shame or embarrassment, instead opting for a quick quip.

"Yeah I sure can. I can also tell you about how they call her Nancy the Nightmare when she's not looking. They say she likes the old ways a bit too much. Like take last week when you was resetting my nose! Smarted like the dickens and I didn't even get a candy afterwards. What a gyp."

"Oh hush now boy. Doesn't count. Donny here is a repeat offender. Anyways I promise I'll be nicer next time. Especially with you little one." Nancy patted Shay gently on the shoulder. "Well. Unless I see you around here a little too much. A little reminder never hurt did it? Oh, well, I guess this one would. Hah."

Nancy bid them all adieu, nagging the boys with a wagging finger that they must be very quiet and not disturb Shay as she rested. Chaflin made to exit a little while after but Donovan a laid on Chaflin's upper arm and bade him cease.

"I want to thank you Chaflin. I'm not sure what you did, I'm not even sure what's different now compared to before, but you showed me something. Something in your eyes I guess. That life isn't just some big game, some story scrawled across the pages of some guy's T.R.I.M.M. . We're more than just characters on a page."

Donovan paused. Mused.

"It's interesting how pain can break one bond, but strengthened another. I'd hug you right now but you're pretty much covered in blood. I'm sure you understand. I look forward to seeing more of you Chaflin. I think we just became really good friends. Thanks again."

Donovan patted Chaflin on the shoulder and settled himself comfortably in a chair beside Shay's bed.

[Acies ab Vesania]

The Gala would be a night to remember, so much occurring within the twilight hours of evening, events that shook the foundations of some and even stirred the basis of those less involved. What seemed like an ordinary night of celebration and social calling, a chance to meet students and professors alike before the education of the academy began, already a small handful underwent lessons one cannot learn between walls of stone and mortar, nor within pages of paper bound by leather. Not scrawled in ink nor passed on by word of lecture, only through the wisdom of experience can someone gain these insights and carry them henceforth in their lives as days of youth come and go. For two young boys, still on the journeying to find what it means to be men, each act as the catalyst for the other’s greatest change. Having truly met this night neither can walk away the same as they were before, neither can look at life through the same eyes again.

Donavan’s words touched Chaflin, more so than the former probably realized, but it is just as well, for Chaflin felt embarrassed about that he should be so touched to have someone call him a true friend. All the same, Chaflin too sees the world in a new way, having even briefly experienced inner strength he never knew he had within himself, a strength that showed itself in a moment of trying. Perhaps there is more to him than he ever dreamed giving himself credit for, and it is that realization that allows him to feel a little comforted, knowing that when the time comes, he may be prepared to take a stand after all.

In addition to the newly realized aspects of himself, Chaflin found the world difficult to view in the same way as before, knowing just how vast the world was in comparison to him, and just how small it was in the greater scheme of all things. How he could have lived within such a protected bubble of existence for the firs part of his life, blissfully unaware of the size and beauty of this universe surrounding them, it was something almost shame worthy, yet understandable nonetheless. Farm life is nothing easy, and every meal put on the table took a great deal of work to sustain and even more so to prepare. In that life, you do not have time to observe such wonders, to ponder the greatness of black canvas that holds the painting of the night. There is no time to stop and be in awe of the portrait of beauty that exemplifies their lives.

It made him feel an even greater admiration for his late good friend, for she alone took such time to wonder about the world around them and dream of traveling its roads. She spoke to him of these hopes many nights and he listened to every one, fascinated but sure that he would never be a part of that fancy. Never did he realize just how deep it all went- just how right she was, that there is so much more to this life than getting by and keeping up with your needs. It made his aching heart lighten for a time; the anxious butterflies always fluttering within his belly sit still for a few moments, when he thought of the vastness of this world, and the places he may someday see. Through his eyes and through his deeds, Renai would still get to see out her dreams.

***

Chaflin nods and smiles at Donavan, his actions brief, but well enough to state all that had to be said. He acknowledges the declaration and gives understanding for the lack of hugs, for his shirt is quite sodden with Shay’s blood. He looks over at Shay one last time, sleeping on the table, worn out from her experience. He feels a sense of calm, a bit of confidence in knowing that on her night of need, he was able to be there for her. Perhaps some day, he would be able to say the same for another.

All these thoughts in mind, plus thousands more generated by questions and wonderings brought on by all that happened tonight, Chaflin departs the infirmary, and wanders into the night.

/Exit Chaflin


(Off topic, but awesome fun RPing with you guys on this one. Hate to pull him, but it is a logical and fitting place to do so. :D )

[circa.cipher]

Donovan and Shay will continue on to http://www.valucre.com/showthread.ph...237#post194237