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esp_dragonFandom: Original
Summary: The world of Torpin is open, dragging in xeni from other worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the xeni that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human xeno drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: MA
Notes: Dead bodies. Lots of blood. Swearing.
I think I overused the dash here. XD; Same with the ellipses.
I also think the epilogue is wrongly placed, but eh.
Haaaaahaha. And I thought I'd need to bring in my next plotpoint/idea to make this past the 50k mark. *facepalm*
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 6,088
Total word count: 95,985
Status: Complete (Yesssssssss!)
Ronthar had somehow not even gotten a single drop of blood on him, but it wasn't like Marland knew what Ronthar's magic did. Even then, the blood around the woman's body wasn't any different – it was dark and quickly spreading across the white floor. The smell of blood was overpowering – it was all Marland could smell, and it even felt like he could taste it on his tongue it was so strong.
Marland couldn't hear any approaching footsteps at least and he really hoped there wasn’t a button on the controllers that raised an alarm.
There…wasn't any point in trying to hide the bodies. Even if they did, it would take up time just trying to move them and with that amount of blood on the floor –it was still spreading- they wouldn't be able to clean it up without leaving marks.
Ronthar was leaning on the wall, taking deep breaths, his whole body shaking. The shackles clinked together with every movement. When he saw that Marland had seen him like that, he smiled at him weakly. "I've killed people before, but that had been when we were defending ourselves. We've never-" He broke off, looking away.
Marland didn't know what to do; he didn't exactly have a lot of experience with comforting people. He had also gotten used to killing xeni a long time ago and he couldn't remember what he had felt the first time he had killed a xeno. He could remember doing it, but not much more than that.
"…We should go," he eventually said, staring down the corridor. He could see that there was a line of smaller blood marks on the ground that weren't from the fight. He followed the trail up with his eyes – there was always an equal distance between each mark, and they looked similar every time. He remembered what he had just seen coming down that corridor and tried to see if that would fit. If one of the wheels of the trolley had gotten some blood on it…
"Yeah," Ronthar said quietly as he pushed himself away from the wall. He was still trembling but he took a deep breath and then eyed Marland. "You're…going to need to wash that blood off."
Marland looked down and winced, his ears flattening. He hadn't realised just how covered in blood he was and it showed up starkly against his green and gold scales. Ugh.
He flicked his eyes at the plaques next to the doors that surrounded them; they looked like they were all personal offices and Marland didn't want to waste time searching in each one, hoping one might have a bottle of water.
He futilely tried to rub it off with a hand – all it did was smear across his palm and he still looked like he was covered in blood.
"If we pass a toilet, I'll clean myself there," he muttered. Maybe someone would think he was supposed to look like this. It would just be better if they didn't pass anyone, but the way their luck had been going lately, it was doubtful that would happen.
Ronthar nodded, taking a few steps away from the wall before he hesitated, glancing back at the woman. "Do you think we should…use their cardkeys instead?" he asked hesitantly.
Marland mulled it over before he nodded. Their cardkeys had to be working – it had been a couple of days –nearly a full week now?- since he'd taken the guards' cardkeys and he didn't want to risk something bad happening because he'd used a cardkey that didn't work or something.
Breathing through his mouth, Marland went through the man's pockets, trying to not look at the ragged slashes across his neck. He found the cardkey in the man's breast pocket.
When they confirmed with each other that they each had a cardkey, they walked away from the bodies, Marland holding the chains of the shackles taut in his hands – it was annoying having them jingling all the time, and it made him paranoid that he might not hear someone coming because of them.
It wasn't long before Marland saw the toilet sign – for women, but that really didn't matter to him. He ducked into it, glad that it wasn't locked. He headed straight for the sink and ran the tap, hearing Ronthar follow in after him.
He cleaned his hand and claws as best as he could, and then splashed himself with water and looked around for something to wipe himself with. There wasn't anything. There were air hand dryers if the understood the pictures on them but he didn't want to use them, in case they were loud. Inside the cubicles though, he found toilet paper so he took a bunch and started to clean himself up. When he pulled the papers away, they were bright red. Looking away from them, he threw the papers in the toilet.
"I think," Ronthar said slowly when he grabbed another handful, "we need to talk about what signals mean what."
Marland glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, wondering what he was doing. They should be quiet, but he'd be able to hear someone coming towards them before they did. It was a welcome distraction though for both of them – he could hear that Ronthar's voice wasn't that steady either.
"Don't think we'll need to use that again."
Ronthar shrugged, the shackles clicking against each other. "We may; we don't know."
He snorted softly as he threw the next batch of toilet paper down the toilet. "What other signals do you know?"
"I don't," came the wry reply. "But we should at least know when someone is giving a signal."
"So we just stick with tapping the shackles," Marland said with a shrug. It had worked, even if it had taken a while for him to understand it.
He peered down at himself again and saw that the blood wasn't as obvious anymore and with one last wipe to dry himself off, Marland dropped those papers in the toilet, flushed it and stepped out of the cubicle.
Ronthar hummed as he looked at the door, a small lilt to his lips. "What if we're not in shackles at that time?"
Marland just stared at him, not bothering to think of an answer.
With a short chuckle, Ronthar headed towards the door and Marland followed after him, shaking his head. He really didn't want to think about when they would need signals like that again.
They were quiet as they started following after the blood trail again, Ronthar also holding his chains so that they made less noise. It wasn't long before the trail stopped at a door and Marland and Ronthar stared at it before they looked at each other. Marland glanced around them and felt that where they were standing was familiar, possibly the same place that they had been made to do their magic.
"Ready?" he murmured, keeping his ears in constant movement, far too aware of the silence.
Ronthar took a breath and then nodded. Marland swallowed and then swiped the card. It beeped and did nothing else. They shared another look and then pushed the door open.
The smell of blood assaulted Marland's nose, mixed in with the scent of burnt flesh. He reeled back, eyes widening; he then shook his head and pushed the door open.
The magic circle was there, but it looked different from when Marland had last seen it. What was hanging in the air was transparent and looked like someone had bent a thick glass rod into place rather than moulding something to look like fire. He couldn't see if the circle on the floor was different from usual because it was covered in blood, the splatters reaching from edge to edge.
In the centre of the circle was a bright sparking ball of light about the size of a dinner plate that didn't stay still, but it couldn't get out of the middle, no matter how much it bashed up against what seemed like an invisible wall. The air felt different as well – Marland felt more pressure on his wings; it must have been because he was standing on the outside of the circle this time, instead of in it. Maybe that was why they had stood in that room when they were…
Marland spun to check the small room, berating himself for getting distracted.
And Balt was there, walking out of the small room, an easy smile on his face.
"It's good to have you back in my possession again."
Marland snarled at him, baring his teeth before he stopped himself. Balt wasn't carrying a controller, but Marland could see something in one of his pockets.
What the fuck were they going to do? They'd walked right into Balt and they didn't know where Fion was!
"What did you do to him?" Ronthar asked darkly, glaring at Balt.
Distaste crossed Balt's face. "Nothing. The magic refuses to accept a host. It can't leave the circle without a host and any person I introduce to it, it kills."
Ronthar clenched his hands into fists before he shook his head. "I told you that would happen."
Balt's smile turned lazy. "You also told me that it was impossible to remove a 'laknur' from their host."
Wait, that ball of light was Fion?
The smile turned into a frown as Balt flicked his eyes at Fion, a considering look on his face. "I do think, however, that it was easier to remove the magic than it is making it accept a new host." He slid his eyes to them. "But if the magic knew that its previous host was dead, it may be more amicable to trying a new host."
Marland stared at him, his eyes wide, as he mind tried furiously to process that. If Fion thought Ronthar was dead then-
He shoved Ronthar out the way as a bullet sang right where they had been standing, his ears buzzing with the bang.
"Fion," Ronthar breathed, his attention taken by both his lak – magic and the gun in Balt's hands.
Marland pushed past the initial reflex of expecting pain and flung a fireball in Balt's direction. Ronthar knew Fion more than him and they would be able to fight better together. Trying to even his breathing, Marland concentrated on stopping Balt from firing again, hearing Ronthar scrambling behind him.
He couldn't stop himself from balking slightly every time he called his magic, giving Balt that extra second to move and aim. The gun also had a much faster firing rate than he did.
He wasn't able to make Balt lose his grip on his weapon, or even make him stumble either. Marland's ears were flat from all the noise that was echoing around him and he had no idea how many more bullets were left. At least he was able to keep Balt's attention split between-
Ronthar screamed.
Marland snapped his head towards the sound in time to see Ronthar fall, blood already spreading on his side. He was so close to where Fion was, and Fion was hovering near the ground, as near to Ronthar as he could get.
Marland couldn't breathe as his focus zeroed in on what he was seeing. He couldn't think and it felt like his legs had just had the strength yanked from them.
He heard Balt sigh and he slowly raised his head to glare at him, baring his teeth, a growl in his throat.
"If you're injured," Balt said, aiming for him, "you're less likely to fight back; your scales will protect you from being hurt too badly."
Marland roared, feeling his magic come at his call without hesitation and he threw it at Balt. Who dodged it and fired at him.
He snarled in frustration as Balt continued to shoot at him; he couldn't get closer to him and he couldn't hit him either with his magic. He didn't really care about his own safety; he just wanted Balt dead - but he wouldn't be able to do that if he was hurt. Especially if he was wearing a working collar.
There was suddenly a flash of light and Marland stumbled for a few steps and then kept moving, just in case Balt continued firing. He didn't, and Marland hesitated, not wanting to run right into Balt's line of fire or into a wall.
His eyesight came back far too fucking slowly and all he could hear was quick breathing and scuffed footsteps. As soon as he saw a Balt-shaped blur, Marland raced for that, hoping he was still distracted.
Balt wasn't – Marland heard and felt something clip his ear but he didn't stop and continued forward.
He could hear something else running alongside him but he wouldn't tell what it was – the light had grown again, but he was dimly aware that whatever-it-was was on four legs.
He hit Balt a second after a bright something shot ahead of him, snarling. Balt was already falling over, screaming, when Marland reached him, his claws out, and he suddenly hit by the smell of burning flesh. Now he wouldn't miss.
No time to double-check where the neck was and he might not make a fatal hit if he aimed for the torso, so Marland called his fire to him and shot it straight down, knowing he wouldn't hurt himself doing that.
Balt screamed again, louder this time, before it was cut abruptly short, and Marland could hear a growl that wasn't his own beside him.
He stumbled as he felt teeth grasp his wrist and started to tug him towards where Ronthar had fallen. His heart clenched and his stomach fell. Who and what was-
-'Hurry!'- Marland stumbled again as he recognised that voice. -'Ronthar's hurt and I don't-'- Fion stopped talking, a high whine in his throat as he continued to tug him forward. Marland eventually growled, squinting in the direction of Fion.
"Could ya lower your brightness or somethin' so I can see?"
-'Oh.'- Fion didn't stop pulling, but Marland found the world slowly stopped being a white haze. He then he nearly tripped over Ronthar's body.
Ronthar was still breathing, harsh and quick, and he waved weakly when Marland stooped over him. His other hand was wrapped around his side, blood seeping through his fingers. Shit. There was fuck all he could do for bullet wounds-
"Just," Ronthar said, wincing, "give me – something to cover it." He took another sucking breath. "It hit my side – nothing important."
Relief crashed into Marland. Good. It wasn't great, but it could have been a lot worse.
There wasn't anything they could use…apart from Balt's clothes. Which was currently burning. He hurried to Balt's body and patted down one section, ignoring the mess that was Balt's face and the stench that was emanating from him, ripping off a section with the help of his claws. Apart from one black edge, it seemed like it would be all right to use.
He quickly got back to Ronthar's side and shoved it under his wet fingers, making sure that the black edge stuck out and didn't make any contact with the wound.
"Thanks," Ronthar murmured, his jaw clenched. His breathing had evened out slightly, but not by much. "Let's go."
Definitely. Marland grabbed Ronthar's offered hand and gently pulled him up. Ronthar leaned on his arm once he was upright, shaking with his head bowed. He didn't look like he was going to collapse but he was pretty much putting his full weight on Marland.
He knew what it was like to get up after being injured though, so he let Ronthar get used to being upright. While he waited, he studied Fion, his head cocked to the side slightly.
Fion stood at about stomach height on all fours, fox-like with a triangular head but was stockier with thicker legs. His fur was long and wild, and it moved like it was in an invisible wind. His tail looked huge, a long fluffy thing that was a straight line from his spine.
Ronthar sighed deeply before he put more weight on his own feet. He wobbled for a second, and then leaned on Marland's arm again. Looked like he was going to have to support him while they escaped.
Fion stood by Ronthar as he walked past and Ronthar took his hand away from Marland's arm and brushed it through his fur before he placed it back on Marland's arm. Fion then bounded off towards the door; he scrabbled at it for a few seconds and then looked at them over his shoulder.
-'How do you open it?'-
Fion didn't seem that different from the last time Marland had seen him.
Marland dug into his pocket and pulled out the cardkey. Fion came over and plucked it out of his hand with his teeth and went back to the door with a flick of his tail.
Fion nosed around the panel and then there was a beep. He went onto his back legs and pushed the door open, holding it there with his body while Marland and Ronthar made their way over, painfully slow.
As soon as they cleared the door, Fion dashed off ahead and Marland stared after him, wondering if he should call after him, or if that would be too loud. Except he couldn't hear anyone coming towards them, even after all the gunshots.
"It's all right," Ronthar breathed, wincing. "I'm telling him – follow the blood. He's…making sure – no-one's around."
Okay. But there were a few questions on Marland's mind. "How're you doing that?" And: "I thought you two couldn't separate." His ears flattened when the questions slipped out. Ronthar should be focusing on breathing and moving, not answering his questions.
Ronthar huffed, a breathless laugh escaping his lips. "Puzz and I… we're connected in our minds."
Oh. That… Marland had no idea if that made sense.
Fion continued to guide their way, poking his head around a corner to check on them every once in a while.
Marland didn't hear anyone as they moved; he didn't hear much apart from their footsteps and their unsteady breathing.
"Being shot," Ronthar said haltingly at one point, "looks easier on TV."
He snorted. "Crap movie, remember?"
Ronthar suddenly stumbled and Marland used his other hand to keep him up. Ronthar stared up at him, his eyes unfocused, a confused expression on his face.
Shit. "Ronthar!" Shit! He couldn't be-
"Oh," Ronthar said faintly, his eyes going wide. "Oh. Marland, I'm so sorry."
Marland's ears went flat. He wasn't going to-
"I remember being Shodin."
What? Marland gaped at him, his mind stuttering. "And Ronthar…?" If Shodin had forgotten being Ronthar the first time, and Ronthar had forgotten being Shodin…
Ronthar nodded shakily, squeezing his eyes shut. "Everything. I remember everything."
Marland's brain shut down again as he stared at him. He remembered…everything?
-'What's wrong?'-
Ronthar shook his head.
Fion hummed. -'Okay.'- …Had Ronthar just said something to Fion? Fion wasn't in sight so he couldn't have seen Ronthar shake his head.
-'…There's dead bodies here.'- Fion sounded disturbed.
There was another pause. -'Really? Oh.'-
Ronthar took another deep breath. "Fire exit again?"
Marland snorted. "Yeah. I wouldn't be able to find our way back and we can't drive a car." He didn't want to see what Fion thought of being inside a car – he wasn't shaped to drive them either.
Ronthar wheezed a laugh.
Marland wasn't sure how long it had been since everything had started, but Fion herded them from place to place, warning them when someone was coming their way.
It was slow going, and Marland heard only one-half of the conversation as Fion and Ronthar chatted with each other. He could make a good guess what Ronthar was saying though. He had to digest that Ronthar had regained all of his memory anyway, so he didn't mind – Ronthar talking that way didn't waste his breath either.
-'It was a green light above a door, wasn't it?'- Fion asked while Ronthar rested on a wall, his eyes closed, his forehead beaded with sweat. Marland had been flexing his arm, trying to get rid of the sore feeling of being tensed for too long.
-'I've found one?'- Another small pause. –'It's close.'-
And there hadn't been any trouble. Marland was getting a little paranoid, but…Fion had been helping, and his ears were all right, so between them, they'd seen and heard anyone who had been moving about at this time and been able to avoid them. It had still been easy though and he kept expecting something to crop up that ruined everything.
The door they were lead to, Marland wasn't sure if it was the same one but that didn't really matter. He just hoped it didn't lead to the main street.
Fion rolled his head at them in greeting before he turned around to face the door. –'So you open it like this…?'-
Marland only realised what Fion was doing and what that would mean when Fion went back on his hind legs and pushed the bar down. Oh, shit. "Wait-!"
The door swung open and Marland's ears snapped down just as the alarm started blazing around them. Fuck. How had he forgotten that?
-'What's going on?'- Fion demanded as he span around, trying to find the source of the racket.
Marland didn't bother to answer, and just hoped Ronthar was able to explain; Fion would at least be able to hear him. They stumbled their way towards the exit, Fion ducking in and out in a flurry.
-'No-one's here,'- Fion reported as they made the last couple of steps towards the door and Marland breathed a shaky sigh of relief at the cool night air.
Now they just had to fucking work out where the hell they were and how the hell they were going to get home.
Marland lifted his head at the sound of someone running towards them, their shoes thumping on the pavement.
Fion poked his head around a corner. -'Someone's coming!'- he yelped.
Yeah, he knew. He tugged Ronthar in the other direction but Ronthar froze, resisting him. Wha – why…?
"Wait," Ronthar strained. "It's-"
Marland's ears flicked towards the sound of someone walking towards them. They were caught between two people and…Ronthar said to wait.
"Dammit," a woman growled. He blinked as he recognised the voice. Hela glared at them as she came into view, her mouth a thin line and Marland looked over his shoulder to see Dinnow come up behind them. "Move now before we go deaf from the bloody alarm." She came forward and nudged Marland away from Ronthar. As soon as she could, she slipped under Ronthar's arm, keeping a hold of his hand on her shoulder. They moved slightly quicker as they crossed the street – which Marland was glad for – he could hear a couple of people coming out already.
"How the hell did you-" Marland shook his head. Why the hell did he keep asking questions now? Except, look at what had happened when he hadn't asked questions.
"Inside," Hela bit out. Inside where? "And I don't suppose you come with a dimness switch or something?" she asked pointedly at Fion, who cocked his head at her.
-'Huh? 'Dimness switch'?'-
Hela stared at Fion, and then sighed.
-'Oh,'- Fion said quietly. –'I can – yeah, I will.'- Fion nodded once and then padded over to Ronthar. While Marland watched, Fion's shape wavered, like his whole body was slowly becoming more like his hair, before he began to go transparent the closer he got to Ronthar. When he was only a step away, Fion had gone completely from their sight.
"I hope no-one was recording that," Hela muttered.
Ronthar chuckled and then winced. "He's too big…for the van."
Marland heard a 'click' and then a door of a nearby van swung open. Nillos' head popped out, the bandages around his head standing out in the night. He smiled, taking them all in and then climbed half out, keeping an eye for anyone coming up behind them.
Marland eyed the small space while Hela and Dinnow helped Ronthar into the back of the van. He didn't care to hold onto the seat again, and after all that had happened, lying on the floor wasn't as objectionable as it had been. He didn't want to be lying at anyone's feet though.
He clambered in, ducking his head under the roof and tucking his wings in. He used the wall to help with his balance as he walked down the van and when he was far enough along that he could lie down on it without having to pull himself up to fit, Marland lay down on the long seat.
As soon as Nillos had sat down in the front seat, even before he had shut the door, the van was already moving and Marland lay his head on the seat when it didn't stop.
Hela peered at the bloody fabric clenched between Ronthar's fingers. "You're going to have to go to a hospital," she informed him, and Marland's heart sank. He wouldn't be able to go with him, or be allowed anywhere near the hospital.
"But what are we going to tell the doctors?" Dinnow asked.
"Someone thought… I was a xeno?" Ronthar joked.
Hela snorted. "That'll work – they hear that all the time."
They lapsed into silence and Marland let the sound of the engine rumble around him. He wanted to ask how they knew where they were, why they had been waiting there, but he suddenly felt so exhausted, like all his strength had just been burned out of his body in one go.
-'Ronthar wants to know how you found us.'-
Marland twitched when Fion's voice jerked him back to alertness – he hadn't even realised he'd begun to doze off.
"Laris gave us a licence plate and a direction." Hela shrugged. "We followed them here and then waited around."
Oh. That didn't explain why they'd done it, but maybe he should just stop thinking about that. People did things that Marland didn't always understand, and if they wanted to do it, he couldn't stop them; that was just what they did because that was who they were.
"Just, sleep for now, all right?"
The world had already been going hazy, and Hela's voice had been like Marland had heard it through a long tunnel. He closed his eyes and fell straight to sleep.
Epilogue
It had been a couple of days since Ronthar had been admitted into the hospital and Marland hadn't seen him since then. Not that he expected to, and he wasn't expecting to see Ronthar after he had been discharged either - he had his memories, he had Fion, so why would he need to visit him? Apart from collecting his clothes, Marland amended.
Marland hadn't realised the flat was so quiet without another person there, and he realised he missed that the first night he'd woken up in his own bed and didn't hear Ronthar wandering around or watching the TV.
Pai had upped the number of times she visited him, coming back as soon as she was comfortable to be in the city again. It was nice seeing her so often, but when she wasn't there...
One thing that Marland hadn't expected was when he had bumped into Kendal on night after he'd gone shopping (he'd had to throw nearly all the food out in the fridge when he got back home – most of it had spoiled and the fridge still lingered with that off smell); she'd grinned and told him she needed to give him something, but she didn't have it on her, and she'd feel better if she brought it directly to his house. Feeling bewildered, he'd given her his address and then left, wondering what it was exactly. He hadn't left any anything at her house, so what was it?
A few nights after that, Marland was startled when the buzzer had gone off when Pai was already over. They looked at each other and Marland had been about to ignore it as someone getting the wrong number when it buzzed again. He sighed as he walked over and hoped the person wouldn't be stubborn or drunk – except given the time, that didn't seem that likely.
"Yeah?" he grunted down the intercom.
"Yo. 'S me, Kendal."
Marland blinked at the receiver and then brought it back to his face. "Uh, it's open – I'm on the third floor." He opened his door and listened for the front door opening. When he heard the echo, he put the receiver back on its cradle.
It didn't take Kendal long to get up and Marland eyed the plastic bag in her hands. Whatever was inside it, there was a lot of them but they were kinda small as well. She held it up for him to grab before she turned to start going down the stairs again, waving a hand.
"It's all yours; have fun with it!"
Marland continued to stare until she was out of sight, though he could still hear her footsteps. Okay…? He opened the bag as he closed his door and Pai peered at it as well.
-'What is it?'-
There was a lot of envelopes, all looking full to the brim. Marland pulled one out and opened it. He gaped, his mouth dropping and his ears flattening when he saw what was inside it. He opened some of the others to see what was in them – they all had money in it.
"How is this mine?" He had been paid for every xeno he'd called in, and he hadn't been hunting since he got home – he'd been too tired and his reserves were fine for the moment.
Pai cocked her head to the side. –'How big was the reward for you and Ronthar?'-
Marland thought it over and then stared down at the bag again. He could not be carrying that amount in his hands right now! "Kendal called it in – the money's hers."
-'And if you didn't agree to be handed in, she wouldn't have it. And,'- she added, before Marland could argue that point, -'even then, she can spend or give it how she wants, right?'-
He sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't go out and give it to her – and he wasn't going walk around with this amount of money on him on the off-chance he would bump into her again. Marland saw that there was a couple of papers nested between the envelopes and he pulled it out.
It wasn't a note addressed to him like he expected, but it was a form to register for a DT. Except she'd given him two by accident. Taking a deep breath, not even attempting to name the swirling emotions in his stomach, Marland went over to the table to start filling it in.
* * *
A few days later, Pai had gone home and Marland hadn't quite finished filling out the DT forms yet. Not that the questions were hard to answer, but he knew he was just putting it off as an excuse to not get back to work again. He'd been getting exceedingly listless and he really doubted going out and killing xeni would help.
The buzzer rang and Marland flicked his ears towards it, debating if he should answer it – it was too soon for Pai to come back and he doubted Kendal would come around for a social visit. But, it would give him something to do other than feeling his brain become more and more numb in an attempt to save itself from the plotless movie he had started to watch.
"Yeah?"
"Yo. Got something else for ya." Marland cocked his head to the side when he recognised the voice. What else did Kendal have for him? He let her in and listened for her coming up the stairs.
She came up carefully and Marland felt a little worried at the time it took her. If she'd been injured, why hadn't she asked someone else to bring it up?
He waited as Kendal took every step and paused in some places, a plastic bag rustling with every step. Eventually, Marland stuck his keys in his pockets and went down so she didn't have to come up any further than she had to.
Marland froze when he saw who it was.
It wasn't Kendal that was coming up the stairs; it was Ronthar.
"Hey," Ronthar said with a small smile, waving with his free hand. He looked paler than the last time Marland had seen him and he had dark smudges under his eyes.
"…Hey." Why was he – right, he was to get his clothes back. That was why he had a bag with him. Marland shoved the hurt and disappointment right down with clenched teeth. He didn't get why someone else hadn't collected Ronthar's clothes for him though.
With a shaky breath, Marland asked him, "Do you need some help?"
Ronthar nodded, the smile turning wry. "I'm not really supposed to exert myself that much."
Marland held out his arm and Ronthar held on to it while they made their way up the stairs in silence.
When they were inside the flat, Marland didn't look at Ronthar as he held the door open and waited for him to head straight for his room. Which he didn't. He glanced at Ronthar when he stayed where he was; Ronthar had an amused expression on his face as he leaned on the back of the couch.
"Ronth…" Marland started, but stopped himself when Ronthar shook his head.
"Shodin."
Marland stared at him. What?
The smile widened. "I want to be called Shodin."
What?
"It's…" Ronth – Shod…Shodin? blew air through his teeth, the smile staying in place. "It's a new start – a new world, a new name. I think – that's how I want to be called from now on."
"But," Marland spluttered, "why do you want to called after a tree?"
Ronthar snickered. "As I said, it's a new start, so it would make sense to also have a new name."
"You already have a life here." Marland pointed out, not understanding him. With the woman with the red hair.
Ronthar shook his head as his smile faded slightly. "I wouldn't be able to find Saisha's house again and…I would prefer to stay here. I like it."
"Why…?" He didn't know what his question was supposed to be as his mind whirled. Why was he telling him this? If he was just going to leave…
There was a growl in his mind. –'He just said because he liked it.'-
Ronthar chuckled and then rolled his eyes. "Fion, shush," he chided.
-'It's not hard to understand,'- Fion grumbled. –'You want to be called Shodin and stay here.'-
"You…want to stay here?" Marland repeated weakly, his eyes wide.
Fion made an exasperated noise. –'Why else do you think we're here?'-
"Fion." When Fion didn't say anything else, Ronth…Shodin huffed. "He doesn't always understand that some answers to situations aren't as simple as 'yes' or 'no'."
Was this one? Marland shoved all his other thoughts to the side, especially his expectations – they were always wrong when it came to…Shodin. It was a bit of a struggle to stop them from colouring his views but…it really did all come down to one question: did he want Shodin to live with him?
The answer was yes.
He took a deep breath and closed the door. Shodin's eyes lit up and a bright grin that Marland hadn't seen for weeks widened across his face.
Shodin walked carefully to the kitchen and got a glass with easy familiarity. He made a face as he filled it with water and pulled out a small box from the plastic bag he was still carrying.
"My painkillers," he explained as he popped a white capsule out of the foil packaging. After he eventually swallowed it, he made another face. Huh. Their medicines really were similar then.
"So," Shodin said slowly as he turned his attention to the TV, "what're you watching?"
"A crap movie," Marland deadpanned. Even though Marland had no idea what had happened in it, the prospect of watching the movie no longer seemed so bad as it had been a couple of minutes ago.
Shodin snorted softly and they settled down to see if they could wrap their heads around the non-existent plot of this movie.
THE END
_________________________________________________
Pfft, like I'd actually do a bad ending after putting Marland through all of this. XD
Damn, Fion's voice is really high and child-like in my head when I write him, and I'm not sure if he's supposed to have that. XDD;
How did Marland get back in his flat without keys? …He asked his landlord?
Well, I thought the epilogue was going to be several scenes long. XD In the end, most things made it in in condensed form.
Not quite sure how to character tag this. XDD Not to mention, it's a spoiler if I tag this 'Shodin'?
Haaaaahaha. The Romance AU was affecting me while writing this, because I kept wanting to end this with a hug. *flails at them* XDD
One 'missing scene' of the epilogue:
Shodin: Hm~ Kendal said you had my forms?
Marland: ?
Marland: No…? The only forms she gave me were-
Marland: O________o;;
Summary: The world of Torpin is open, dragging in xeni from other worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the xeni that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human xeno drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: MA
Notes: Dead bodies. Lots of blood. Swearing.
I think I overused the dash here. XD; Same with the ellipses.
I also think the epilogue is wrongly placed, but eh.
Haaaaahaha. And I thought I'd need to bring in my next plotpoint/idea to make this past the 50k mark. *facepalm*
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 6,088
Total word count: 95,985
Status: Complete (Yesssssssss!)
Ronthar had somehow not even gotten a single drop of blood on him, but it wasn't like Marland knew what Ronthar's magic did. Even then, the blood around the woman's body wasn't any different – it was dark and quickly spreading across the white floor. The smell of blood was overpowering – it was all Marland could smell, and it even felt like he could taste it on his tongue it was so strong.
Marland couldn't hear any approaching footsteps at least and he really hoped there wasn’t a button on the controllers that raised an alarm.
There…wasn't any point in trying to hide the bodies. Even if they did, it would take up time just trying to move them and with that amount of blood on the floor –it was still spreading- they wouldn't be able to clean it up without leaving marks.
Ronthar was leaning on the wall, taking deep breaths, his whole body shaking. The shackles clinked together with every movement. When he saw that Marland had seen him like that, he smiled at him weakly. "I've killed people before, but that had been when we were defending ourselves. We've never-" He broke off, looking away.
Marland didn't know what to do; he didn't exactly have a lot of experience with comforting people. He had also gotten used to killing xeni a long time ago and he couldn't remember what he had felt the first time he had killed a xeno. He could remember doing it, but not much more than that.
"…We should go," he eventually said, staring down the corridor. He could see that there was a line of smaller blood marks on the ground that weren't from the fight. He followed the trail up with his eyes – there was always an equal distance between each mark, and they looked similar every time. He remembered what he had just seen coming down that corridor and tried to see if that would fit. If one of the wheels of the trolley had gotten some blood on it…
"Yeah," Ronthar said quietly as he pushed himself away from the wall. He was still trembling but he took a deep breath and then eyed Marland. "You're…going to need to wash that blood off."
Marland looked down and winced, his ears flattening. He hadn't realised just how covered in blood he was and it showed up starkly against his green and gold scales. Ugh.
He flicked his eyes at the plaques next to the doors that surrounded them; they looked like they were all personal offices and Marland didn't want to waste time searching in each one, hoping one might have a bottle of water.
He futilely tried to rub it off with a hand – all it did was smear across his palm and he still looked like he was covered in blood.
"If we pass a toilet, I'll clean myself there," he muttered. Maybe someone would think he was supposed to look like this. It would just be better if they didn't pass anyone, but the way their luck had been going lately, it was doubtful that would happen.
Ronthar nodded, taking a few steps away from the wall before he hesitated, glancing back at the woman. "Do you think we should…use their cardkeys instead?" he asked hesitantly.
Marland mulled it over before he nodded. Their cardkeys had to be working – it had been a couple of days –nearly a full week now?- since he'd taken the guards' cardkeys and he didn't want to risk something bad happening because he'd used a cardkey that didn't work or something.
Breathing through his mouth, Marland went through the man's pockets, trying to not look at the ragged slashes across his neck. He found the cardkey in the man's breast pocket.
When they confirmed with each other that they each had a cardkey, they walked away from the bodies, Marland holding the chains of the shackles taut in his hands – it was annoying having them jingling all the time, and it made him paranoid that he might not hear someone coming because of them.
It wasn't long before Marland saw the toilet sign – for women, but that really didn't matter to him. He ducked into it, glad that it wasn't locked. He headed straight for the sink and ran the tap, hearing Ronthar follow in after him.
He cleaned his hand and claws as best as he could, and then splashed himself with water and looked around for something to wipe himself with. There wasn't anything. There were air hand dryers if the understood the pictures on them but he didn't want to use them, in case they were loud. Inside the cubicles though, he found toilet paper so he took a bunch and started to clean himself up. When he pulled the papers away, they were bright red. Looking away from them, he threw the papers in the toilet.
"I think," Ronthar said slowly when he grabbed another handful, "we need to talk about what signals mean what."
Marland glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, wondering what he was doing. They should be quiet, but he'd be able to hear someone coming towards them before they did. It was a welcome distraction though for both of them – he could hear that Ronthar's voice wasn't that steady either.
"Don't think we'll need to use that again."
Ronthar shrugged, the shackles clicking against each other. "We may; we don't know."
He snorted softly as he threw the next batch of toilet paper down the toilet. "What other signals do you know?"
"I don't," came the wry reply. "But we should at least know when someone is giving a signal."
"So we just stick with tapping the shackles," Marland said with a shrug. It had worked, even if it had taken a while for him to understand it.
He peered down at himself again and saw that the blood wasn't as obvious anymore and with one last wipe to dry himself off, Marland dropped those papers in the toilet, flushed it and stepped out of the cubicle.
Ronthar hummed as he looked at the door, a small lilt to his lips. "What if we're not in shackles at that time?"
Marland just stared at him, not bothering to think of an answer.
With a short chuckle, Ronthar headed towards the door and Marland followed after him, shaking his head. He really didn't want to think about when they would need signals like that again.
They were quiet as they started following after the blood trail again, Ronthar also holding his chains so that they made less noise. It wasn't long before the trail stopped at a door and Marland and Ronthar stared at it before they looked at each other. Marland glanced around them and felt that where they were standing was familiar, possibly the same place that they had been made to do their magic.
"Ready?" he murmured, keeping his ears in constant movement, far too aware of the silence.
Ronthar took a breath and then nodded. Marland swallowed and then swiped the card. It beeped and did nothing else. They shared another look and then pushed the door open.
The smell of blood assaulted Marland's nose, mixed in with the scent of burnt flesh. He reeled back, eyes widening; he then shook his head and pushed the door open.
The magic circle was there, but it looked different from when Marland had last seen it. What was hanging in the air was transparent and looked like someone had bent a thick glass rod into place rather than moulding something to look like fire. He couldn't see if the circle on the floor was different from usual because it was covered in blood, the splatters reaching from edge to edge.
In the centre of the circle was a bright sparking ball of light about the size of a dinner plate that didn't stay still, but it couldn't get out of the middle, no matter how much it bashed up against what seemed like an invisible wall. The air felt different as well – Marland felt more pressure on his wings; it must have been because he was standing on the outside of the circle this time, instead of in it. Maybe that was why they had stood in that room when they were…
Marland spun to check the small room, berating himself for getting distracted.
And Balt was there, walking out of the small room, an easy smile on his face.
"It's good to have you back in my possession again."
Marland snarled at him, baring his teeth before he stopped himself. Balt wasn't carrying a controller, but Marland could see something in one of his pockets.
What the fuck were they going to do? They'd walked right into Balt and they didn't know where Fion was!
"What did you do to him?" Ronthar asked darkly, glaring at Balt.
Distaste crossed Balt's face. "Nothing. The magic refuses to accept a host. It can't leave the circle without a host and any person I introduce to it, it kills."
Ronthar clenched his hands into fists before he shook his head. "I told you that would happen."
Balt's smile turned lazy. "You also told me that it was impossible to remove a 'laknur' from their host."
Wait, that ball of light was Fion?
The smile turned into a frown as Balt flicked his eyes at Fion, a considering look on his face. "I do think, however, that it was easier to remove the magic than it is making it accept a new host." He slid his eyes to them. "But if the magic knew that its previous host was dead, it may be more amicable to trying a new host."
Marland stared at him, his eyes wide, as he mind tried furiously to process that. If Fion thought Ronthar was dead then-
He shoved Ronthar out the way as a bullet sang right where they had been standing, his ears buzzing with the bang.
"Fion," Ronthar breathed, his attention taken by both his lak – magic and the gun in Balt's hands.
Marland pushed past the initial reflex of expecting pain and flung a fireball in Balt's direction. Ronthar knew Fion more than him and they would be able to fight better together. Trying to even his breathing, Marland concentrated on stopping Balt from firing again, hearing Ronthar scrambling behind him.
He couldn't stop himself from balking slightly every time he called his magic, giving Balt that extra second to move and aim. The gun also had a much faster firing rate than he did.
He wasn't able to make Balt lose his grip on his weapon, or even make him stumble either. Marland's ears were flat from all the noise that was echoing around him and he had no idea how many more bullets were left. At least he was able to keep Balt's attention split between-
Ronthar screamed.
Marland snapped his head towards the sound in time to see Ronthar fall, blood already spreading on his side. He was so close to where Fion was, and Fion was hovering near the ground, as near to Ronthar as he could get.
Marland couldn't breathe as his focus zeroed in on what he was seeing. He couldn't think and it felt like his legs had just had the strength yanked from them.
He heard Balt sigh and he slowly raised his head to glare at him, baring his teeth, a growl in his throat.
"If you're injured," Balt said, aiming for him, "you're less likely to fight back; your scales will protect you from being hurt too badly."
Marland roared, feeling his magic come at his call without hesitation and he threw it at Balt. Who dodged it and fired at him.
He snarled in frustration as Balt continued to shoot at him; he couldn't get closer to him and he couldn't hit him either with his magic. He didn't really care about his own safety; he just wanted Balt dead - but he wouldn't be able to do that if he was hurt. Especially if he was wearing a working collar.
There was suddenly a flash of light and Marland stumbled for a few steps and then kept moving, just in case Balt continued firing. He didn't, and Marland hesitated, not wanting to run right into Balt's line of fire or into a wall.
His eyesight came back far too fucking slowly and all he could hear was quick breathing and scuffed footsteps. As soon as he saw a Balt-shaped blur, Marland raced for that, hoping he was still distracted.
Balt wasn't – Marland heard and felt something clip his ear but he didn't stop and continued forward.
He could hear something else running alongside him but he wouldn't tell what it was – the light had grown again, but he was dimly aware that whatever-it-was was on four legs.
He hit Balt a second after a bright something shot ahead of him, snarling. Balt was already falling over, screaming, when Marland reached him, his claws out, and he suddenly hit by the smell of burning flesh. Now he wouldn't miss.
No time to double-check where the neck was and he might not make a fatal hit if he aimed for the torso, so Marland called his fire to him and shot it straight down, knowing he wouldn't hurt himself doing that.
Balt screamed again, louder this time, before it was cut abruptly short, and Marland could hear a growl that wasn't his own beside him.
He stumbled as he felt teeth grasp his wrist and started to tug him towards where Ronthar had fallen. His heart clenched and his stomach fell. Who and what was-
-'Hurry!'- Marland stumbled again as he recognised that voice. -'Ronthar's hurt and I don't-'- Fion stopped talking, a high whine in his throat as he continued to tug him forward. Marland eventually growled, squinting in the direction of Fion.
"Could ya lower your brightness or somethin' so I can see?"
-'Oh.'- Fion didn't stop pulling, but Marland found the world slowly stopped being a white haze. He then he nearly tripped over Ronthar's body.
Ronthar was still breathing, harsh and quick, and he waved weakly when Marland stooped over him. His other hand was wrapped around his side, blood seeping through his fingers. Shit. There was fuck all he could do for bullet wounds-
"Just," Ronthar said, wincing, "give me – something to cover it." He took another sucking breath. "It hit my side – nothing important."
Relief crashed into Marland. Good. It wasn't great, but it could have been a lot worse.
There wasn't anything they could use…apart from Balt's clothes. Which was currently burning. He hurried to Balt's body and patted down one section, ignoring the mess that was Balt's face and the stench that was emanating from him, ripping off a section with the help of his claws. Apart from one black edge, it seemed like it would be all right to use.
He quickly got back to Ronthar's side and shoved it under his wet fingers, making sure that the black edge stuck out and didn't make any contact with the wound.
"Thanks," Ronthar murmured, his jaw clenched. His breathing had evened out slightly, but not by much. "Let's go."
Definitely. Marland grabbed Ronthar's offered hand and gently pulled him up. Ronthar leaned on his arm once he was upright, shaking with his head bowed. He didn't look like he was going to collapse but he was pretty much putting his full weight on Marland.
He knew what it was like to get up after being injured though, so he let Ronthar get used to being upright. While he waited, he studied Fion, his head cocked to the side slightly.
Fion stood at about stomach height on all fours, fox-like with a triangular head but was stockier with thicker legs. His fur was long and wild, and it moved like it was in an invisible wind. His tail looked huge, a long fluffy thing that was a straight line from his spine.
Ronthar sighed deeply before he put more weight on his own feet. He wobbled for a second, and then leaned on Marland's arm again. Looked like he was going to have to support him while they escaped.
Fion stood by Ronthar as he walked past and Ronthar took his hand away from Marland's arm and brushed it through his fur before he placed it back on Marland's arm. Fion then bounded off towards the door; he scrabbled at it for a few seconds and then looked at them over his shoulder.
-'How do you open it?'-
Fion didn't seem that different from the last time Marland had seen him.
Marland dug into his pocket and pulled out the cardkey. Fion came over and plucked it out of his hand with his teeth and went back to the door with a flick of his tail.
Fion nosed around the panel and then there was a beep. He went onto his back legs and pushed the door open, holding it there with his body while Marland and Ronthar made their way over, painfully slow.
As soon as they cleared the door, Fion dashed off ahead and Marland stared after him, wondering if he should call after him, or if that would be too loud. Except he couldn't hear anyone coming towards them, even after all the gunshots.
"It's all right," Ronthar breathed, wincing. "I'm telling him – follow the blood. He's…making sure – no-one's around."
Okay. But there were a few questions on Marland's mind. "How're you doing that?" And: "I thought you two couldn't separate." His ears flattened when the questions slipped out. Ronthar should be focusing on breathing and moving, not answering his questions.
Ronthar huffed, a breathless laugh escaping his lips. "Puzz and I… we're connected in our minds."
Oh. That… Marland had no idea if that made sense.
Fion continued to guide their way, poking his head around a corner to check on them every once in a while.
Marland didn't hear anyone as they moved; he didn't hear much apart from their footsteps and their unsteady breathing.
"Being shot," Ronthar said haltingly at one point, "looks easier on TV."
He snorted. "Crap movie, remember?"
Ronthar suddenly stumbled and Marland used his other hand to keep him up. Ronthar stared up at him, his eyes unfocused, a confused expression on his face.
Shit. "Ronthar!" Shit! He couldn't be-
"Oh," Ronthar said faintly, his eyes going wide. "Oh. Marland, I'm so sorry."
Marland's ears went flat. He wasn't going to-
"I remember being Shodin."
What? Marland gaped at him, his mind stuttering. "And Ronthar…?" If Shodin had forgotten being Ronthar the first time, and Ronthar had forgotten being Shodin…
Ronthar nodded shakily, squeezing his eyes shut. "Everything. I remember everything."
Marland's brain shut down again as he stared at him. He remembered…everything?
-'What's wrong?'-
Ronthar shook his head.
Fion hummed. -'Okay.'- …Had Ronthar just said something to Fion? Fion wasn't in sight so he couldn't have seen Ronthar shake his head.
-'…There's dead bodies here.'- Fion sounded disturbed.
There was another pause. -'Really? Oh.'-
Ronthar took another deep breath. "Fire exit again?"
Marland snorted. "Yeah. I wouldn't be able to find our way back and we can't drive a car." He didn't want to see what Fion thought of being inside a car – he wasn't shaped to drive them either.
Ronthar wheezed a laugh.
Marland wasn't sure how long it had been since everything had started, but Fion herded them from place to place, warning them when someone was coming their way.
It was slow going, and Marland heard only one-half of the conversation as Fion and Ronthar chatted with each other. He could make a good guess what Ronthar was saying though. He had to digest that Ronthar had regained all of his memory anyway, so he didn't mind – Ronthar talking that way didn't waste his breath either.
-'It was a green light above a door, wasn't it?'- Fion asked while Ronthar rested on a wall, his eyes closed, his forehead beaded with sweat. Marland had been flexing his arm, trying to get rid of the sore feeling of being tensed for too long.
-'I've found one?'- Another small pause. –'It's close.'-
And there hadn't been any trouble. Marland was getting a little paranoid, but…Fion had been helping, and his ears were all right, so between them, they'd seen and heard anyone who had been moving about at this time and been able to avoid them. It had still been easy though and he kept expecting something to crop up that ruined everything.
The door they were lead to, Marland wasn't sure if it was the same one but that didn't really matter. He just hoped it didn't lead to the main street.
Fion rolled his head at them in greeting before he turned around to face the door. –'So you open it like this…?'-
Marland only realised what Fion was doing and what that would mean when Fion went back on his hind legs and pushed the bar down. Oh, shit. "Wait-!"
The door swung open and Marland's ears snapped down just as the alarm started blazing around them. Fuck. How had he forgotten that?
-'What's going on?'- Fion demanded as he span around, trying to find the source of the racket.
Marland didn't bother to answer, and just hoped Ronthar was able to explain; Fion would at least be able to hear him. They stumbled their way towards the exit, Fion ducking in and out in a flurry.
-'No-one's here,'- Fion reported as they made the last couple of steps towards the door and Marland breathed a shaky sigh of relief at the cool night air.
Now they just had to fucking work out where the hell they were and how the hell they were going to get home.
Marland lifted his head at the sound of someone running towards them, their shoes thumping on the pavement.
Fion poked his head around a corner. -'Someone's coming!'- he yelped.
Yeah, he knew. He tugged Ronthar in the other direction but Ronthar froze, resisting him. Wha – why…?
"Wait," Ronthar strained. "It's-"
Marland's ears flicked towards the sound of someone walking towards them. They were caught between two people and…Ronthar said to wait.
"Dammit," a woman growled. He blinked as he recognised the voice. Hela glared at them as she came into view, her mouth a thin line and Marland looked over his shoulder to see Dinnow come up behind them. "Move now before we go deaf from the bloody alarm." She came forward and nudged Marland away from Ronthar. As soon as she could, she slipped under Ronthar's arm, keeping a hold of his hand on her shoulder. They moved slightly quicker as they crossed the street – which Marland was glad for – he could hear a couple of people coming out already.
"How the hell did you-" Marland shook his head. Why the hell did he keep asking questions now? Except, look at what had happened when he hadn't asked questions.
"Inside," Hela bit out. Inside where? "And I don't suppose you come with a dimness switch or something?" she asked pointedly at Fion, who cocked his head at her.
-'Huh? 'Dimness switch'?'-
Hela stared at Fion, and then sighed.
-'Oh,'- Fion said quietly. –'I can – yeah, I will.'- Fion nodded once and then padded over to Ronthar. While Marland watched, Fion's shape wavered, like his whole body was slowly becoming more like his hair, before he began to go transparent the closer he got to Ronthar. When he was only a step away, Fion had gone completely from their sight.
"I hope no-one was recording that," Hela muttered.
Ronthar chuckled and then winced. "He's too big…for the van."
Marland heard a 'click' and then a door of a nearby van swung open. Nillos' head popped out, the bandages around his head standing out in the night. He smiled, taking them all in and then climbed half out, keeping an eye for anyone coming up behind them.
Marland eyed the small space while Hela and Dinnow helped Ronthar into the back of the van. He didn't care to hold onto the seat again, and after all that had happened, lying on the floor wasn't as objectionable as it had been. He didn't want to be lying at anyone's feet though.
He clambered in, ducking his head under the roof and tucking his wings in. He used the wall to help with his balance as he walked down the van and when he was far enough along that he could lie down on it without having to pull himself up to fit, Marland lay down on the long seat.
As soon as Nillos had sat down in the front seat, even before he had shut the door, the van was already moving and Marland lay his head on the seat when it didn't stop.
Hela peered at the bloody fabric clenched between Ronthar's fingers. "You're going to have to go to a hospital," she informed him, and Marland's heart sank. He wouldn't be able to go with him, or be allowed anywhere near the hospital.
"But what are we going to tell the doctors?" Dinnow asked.
"Someone thought… I was a xeno?" Ronthar joked.
Hela snorted. "That'll work – they hear that all the time."
They lapsed into silence and Marland let the sound of the engine rumble around him. He wanted to ask how they knew where they were, why they had been waiting there, but he suddenly felt so exhausted, like all his strength had just been burned out of his body in one go.
-'Ronthar wants to know how you found us.'-
Marland twitched when Fion's voice jerked him back to alertness – he hadn't even realised he'd begun to doze off.
"Laris gave us a licence plate and a direction." Hela shrugged. "We followed them here and then waited around."
Oh. That didn't explain why they'd done it, but maybe he should just stop thinking about that. People did things that Marland didn't always understand, and if they wanted to do it, he couldn't stop them; that was just what they did because that was who they were.
"Just, sleep for now, all right?"
The world had already been going hazy, and Hela's voice had been like Marland had heard it through a long tunnel. He closed his eyes and fell straight to sleep.
It had been a couple of days since Ronthar had been admitted into the hospital and Marland hadn't seen him since then. Not that he expected to, and he wasn't expecting to see Ronthar after he had been discharged either - he had his memories, he had Fion, so why would he need to visit him? Apart from collecting his clothes, Marland amended.
Marland hadn't realised the flat was so quiet without another person there, and he realised he missed that the first night he'd woken up in his own bed and didn't hear Ronthar wandering around or watching the TV.
Pai had upped the number of times she visited him, coming back as soon as she was comfortable to be in the city again. It was nice seeing her so often, but when she wasn't there...
One thing that Marland hadn't expected was when he had bumped into Kendal on night after he'd gone shopping (he'd had to throw nearly all the food out in the fridge when he got back home – most of it had spoiled and the fridge still lingered with that off smell); she'd grinned and told him she needed to give him something, but she didn't have it on her, and she'd feel better if she brought it directly to his house. Feeling bewildered, he'd given her his address and then left, wondering what it was exactly. He hadn't left any anything at her house, so what was it?
A few nights after that, Marland was startled when the buzzer had gone off when Pai was already over. They looked at each other and Marland had been about to ignore it as someone getting the wrong number when it buzzed again. He sighed as he walked over and hoped the person wouldn't be stubborn or drunk – except given the time, that didn't seem that likely.
"Yeah?" he grunted down the intercom.
"Yo. 'S me, Kendal."
Marland blinked at the receiver and then brought it back to his face. "Uh, it's open – I'm on the third floor." He opened his door and listened for the front door opening. When he heard the echo, he put the receiver back on its cradle.
It didn't take Kendal long to get up and Marland eyed the plastic bag in her hands. Whatever was inside it, there was a lot of them but they were kinda small as well. She held it up for him to grab before she turned to start going down the stairs again, waving a hand.
"It's all yours; have fun with it!"
Marland continued to stare until she was out of sight, though he could still hear her footsteps. Okay…? He opened the bag as he closed his door and Pai peered at it as well.
-'What is it?'-
There was a lot of envelopes, all looking full to the brim. Marland pulled one out and opened it. He gaped, his mouth dropping and his ears flattening when he saw what was inside it. He opened some of the others to see what was in them – they all had money in it.
"How is this mine?" He had been paid for every xeno he'd called in, and he hadn't been hunting since he got home – he'd been too tired and his reserves were fine for the moment.
Pai cocked her head to the side. –'How big was the reward for you and Ronthar?'-
Marland thought it over and then stared down at the bag again. He could not be carrying that amount in his hands right now! "Kendal called it in – the money's hers."
-'And if you didn't agree to be handed in, she wouldn't have it. And,'- she added, before Marland could argue that point, -'even then, she can spend or give it how she wants, right?'-
He sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't go out and give it to her – and he wasn't going walk around with this amount of money on him on the off-chance he would bump into her again. Marland saw that there was a couple of papers nested between the envelopes and he pulled it out.
It wasn't a note addressed to him like he expected, but it was a form to register for a DT. Except she'd given him two by accident. Taking a deep breath, not even attempting to name the swirling emotions in his stomach, Marland went over to the table to start filling it in.
A few days later, Pai had gone home and Marland hadn't quite finished filling out the DT forms yet. Not that the questions were hard to answer, but he knew he was just putting it off as an excuse to not get back to work again. He'd been getting exceedingly listless and he really doubted going out and killing xeni would help.
The buzzer rang and Marland flicked his ears towards it, debating if he should answer it – it was too soon for Pai to come back and he doubted Kendal would come around for a social visit. But, it would give him something to do other than feeling his brain become more and more numb in an attempt to save itself from the plotless movie he had started to watch.
"Yeah?"
"Yo. Got something else for ya." Marland cocked his head to the side when he recognised the voice. What else did Kendal have for him? He let her in and listened for her coming up the stairs.
She came up carefully and Marland felt a little worried at the time it took her. If she'd been injured, why hadn't she asked someone else to bring it up?
He waited as Kendal took every step and paused in some places, a plastic bag rustling with every step. Eventually, Marland stuck his keys in his pockets and went down so she didn't have to come up any further than she had to.
Marland froze when he saw who it was.
It wasn't Kendal that was coming up the stairs; it was Ronthar.
"Hey," Ronthar said with a small smile, waving with his free hand. He looked paler than the last time Marland had seen him and he had dark smudges under his eyes.
"…Hey." Why was he – right, he was to get his clothes back. That was why he had a bag with him. Marland shoved the hurt and disappointment right down with clenched teeth. He didn't get why someone else hadn't collected Ronthar's clothes for him though.
With a shaky breath, Marland asked him, "Do you need some help?"
Ronthar nodded, the smile turning wry. "I'm not really supposed to exert myself that much."
Marland held out his arm and Ronthar held on to it while they made their way up the stairs in silence.
When they were inside the flat, Marland didn't look at Ronthar as he held the door open and waited for him to head straight for his room. Which he didn't. He glanced at Ronthar when he stayed where he was; Ronthar had an amused expression on his face as he leaned on the back of the couch.
"Ronth…" Marland started, but stopped himself when Ronthar shook his head.
"Shodin."
Marland stared at him. What?
The smile widened. "I want to be called Shodin."
What?
"It's…" Ronth – Shod…Shodin? blew air through his teeth, the smile staying in place. "It's a new start – a new world, a new name. I think – that's how I want to be called from now on."
"But," Marland spluttered, "why do you want to called after a tree?"
Ronthar snickered. "As I said, it's a new start, so it would make sense to also have a new name."
"You already have a life here." Marland pointed out, not understanding him. With the woman with the red hair.
Ronthar shook his head as his smile faded slightly. "I wouldn't be able to find Saisha's house again and…I would prefer to stay here. I like it."
"Why…?" He didn't know what his question was supposed to be as his mind whirled. Why was he telling him this? If he was just going to leave…
There was a growl in his mind. –'He just said because he liked it.'-
Ronthar chuckled and then rolled his eyes. "Fion, shush," he chided.
-'It's not hard to understand,'- Fion grumbled. –'You want to be called Shodin and stay here.'-
"You…want to stay here?" Marland repeated weakly, his eyes wide.
Fion made an exasperated noise. –'Why else do you think we're here?'-
"Fion." When Fion didn't say anything else, Ronth…Shodin huffed. "He doesn't always understand that some answers to situations aren't as simple as 'yes' or 'no'."
Was this one? Marland shoved all his other thoughts to the side, especially his expectations – they were always wrong when it came to…Shodin. It was a bit of a struggle to stop them from colouring his views but…it really did all come down to one question: did he want Shodin to live with him?
The answer was yes.
He took a deep breath and closed the door. Shodin's eyes lit up and a bright grin that Marland hadn't seen for weeks widened across his face.
Shodin walked carefully to the kitchen and got a glass with easy familiarity. He made a face as he filled it with water and pulled out a small box from the plastic bag he was still carrying.
"My painkillers," he explained as he popped a white capsule out of the foil packaging. After he eventually swallowed it, he made another face. Huh. Their medicines really were similar then.
"So," Shodin said slowly as he turned his attention to the TV, "what're you watching?"
"A crap movie," Marland deadpanned. Even though Marland had no idea what had happened in it, the prospect of watching the movie no longer seemed so bad as it had been a couple of minutes ago.
Shodin snorted softly and they settled down to see if they could wrap their heads around the non-existent plot of this movie.
Pfft, like I'd actually do a bad ending after putting Marland through all of this. XD
Damn, Fion's voice is really high and child-like in my head when I write him, and I'm not sure if he's supposed to have that. XDD;
How did Marland get back in his flat without keys? …He asked his landlord?
Well, I thought the epilogue was going to be several scenes long. XD In the end, most things made it in in condensed form.
Not quite sure how to character tag this. XDD Not to mention, it's a spoiler if I tag this 'Shodin'?
Haaaaahaha. The Romance AU was affecting me while writing this, because I kept wanting to end this with a hug. *flails at them* XDD
One 'missing scene' of the epilogue:
Shodin: Hm~ Kendal said you had my forms?
Marland: ?
Marland: No…? The only forms she gave me were-
Marland: O________o;;
no subject
Date: Jun. 8th, 2011 06:28 am (UTC)And I thought I'd need to bring in my next plotpoint/idea to make this past the 50k mark.
*looks at word count* You almost doubled that. =P This so could have gone over 100k, omg!!
We've never-" He broke off, looking away.
D:
Interesting detail about the blood marks on the ground...
"You're…going to need to wash that blood off."
That's so not going to be an easy feat.
Ah, so new cardkeys. Guess they didn't need the old ones!
I keep feeling that they shouldn't be spending time washing off blood in the bathroom... would that really help? :O
"I think," Ronthar said slowly when he grabbed another handful, "we need to talk about what signals mean what."
Ahahaha. Maybe, but then they probably don't need the signals again...
It was a welcome distraction though for both of them – he could hear that Ronthar's voice wasn't that steady either.
KLAD;FA Unsteady voices. Oh gosh, the two of them. I wish they didn't have to be in this situation!
"It's good to have you back in my possession again."
In his... possession. Wow. He's pretty sure of himself there.
Wait, that ball of light was Fion?
XD; Ball of light makes me think of Navi from Zelda... except Fion's so much bigger than that. =P
"But if the magic knew that its previous host was dead, it may be more amicable to trying a new host."
0___________0;; TWISTED LOGIC.
He couldn't stop himself from balking slightly every time he called his magic, giving Balt that extra second to move and aim.
D:
Ronthar!!!!
Fion! \o/
"Could ya lower your brightness or somethin' so I can see?"
Ahahaha. XD
Ick, using Balt's clothes...
Oh. That… Marland had no idea if that made sense.
XD;
"Being shot," Ronthar said haltingly at one point, "looks easier on TV."
lkj;adkfa; I don't know if I should be amused. I am amused, but nooo Ronthar, save your breath! Don't go all reminiscing...
AAAHHHHHhhhhh I love this next bit with how Ronthar starts with "Oh" and then apologizes. And then he drops the bomb about remembering being Shodin. =P This part is so much love!! \o/
It was slow going, and Marland heard only one-half of the conversation as Fion and Ronthar chatted with each other.
Heh, only hearing one side of the conversation. :3
Ahhhh, fire alarm. But hey, looks like no one's coming after them...
"And I don't suppose you come with a dimness switch or something?"
XD;
Oooooo, Fion and Ronthar... merging or something. XD; Too big for the van. XD
"But what are we going to tell the doctors?" Dinnow asked.
"Someone thought… I was a xeno?" Ronthar joked.
Ahahaha! The irony!
Oh Marland. Of course your flat is quiet. You're all by yourself. ): Pai! Didn't feel her presence much in the second half of the story. I...almost forgot about her.
Haha, Kendal. So amusing. XD;
Except she'd given him two by accident.
Hm, two? By accident? XD;
She came up carefully and Marland felt a little worried at the time it took her. If she'd been injured, why hadn't she asked someone else to bring it up?
Ohoho~
Eeeeee, Ronthar! I knew it. =P
Ahaha, and now Marland is jumping into assumptions about Ronthar coming to get his stuff back. =P
"I want to be called Shodin."
^_________________^
"But," Marland spluttered, "why do you want to called after a tree?"
HAHAHAHAHA. Maybe because you were the one who gave him the name
The answer was yes.
<33333
The ending is so, so cute. XD; It's... warm. Fuzzy. XD; I certainly felt like this ended with a hug!
no subject
Date: Jun. 9th, 2011 01:38 pm (UTC)XDD Well, yeah, it's your birthday!
"This so could have gone over 100k, omg!!"
With the next round of edits, it might! Aaaaah! :O
"Interesting detail about the blood marks on the ground..."
*innocent eyes*
"Ah, so new cardkeys. Guess they didn't need the old ones!"
XDD That's why Marland's not keeping the first set now (plus, if they did try to use the old ones, that would have set off some sort of alarm, since they know Marland has the cardkeys and yeeeeeeah.)
"I keep feeling that they shouldn't be spending time washing off blood in the bathroom... would that really help? :O"
Not really, but they need to calm down a bit and get their bearings again after what happened.
"Maybe, but then they probably don't need the signals again..."
Who knows - they might in the next novel (can't think of a situation, but one could happen. X3)
" I wish they didn't have to be in this situation!"
D: Same!
"In his... possession. Wow. He's pretty sure of himself there."
*grins* And I never did explain this - the reason why Balt doesn't try the controllers here is because he already did when they entered, while he was in the small room - Marland didn't see him do it. So Balt already knew that Marland had his magic and the guards aren't there with them either... Since he knew Marland would be bluffing with not being able to magic for a bit, well. ^ ^
"Ball of light makes me think of Navi from Zelda... except Fion's so much bigger than that."
XDD
"0___________0;; TWISTED LOGIC."
Just a bit. *dry*
"Ronthar!!!!
Fion! \o/"
Eeeeeeee! *loves your reactions*
"Ick, using Balt's clothes..."
D: Yeah.
"I don't know if I should be amused. I am amused, but nooo Ronthar, save your breath! Don't go all reminiscing..."
*laughs* He's succeeding in lightening the mood though.
"I love this next bit with how Ronthar starts with "Oh" and then apologizes. And then he drops the bomb about remembering being Shodin. =P This part is so much love!! \o/"
\o/ I had been waiting so long to write that bit! Yeeeey!
"Ahhhh, fire alarm. But hey, looks like no one's coming after them..."
It's after working hours, so it's mostly security. There was going to be another scene just after Marland's cleaned himself up but they haven't left the toilet yet that someone came across the blood trail (They were also going to try and stash the bodies but uuuuuh, the blood trail is kinda obvious so it was a waste of time and energy) and...doesn't do anything. Because someone else has seen this and reported it in already, right? I'm just going to go really fast just in case the whatever-it-was is still lurking around.
"Ahahaha! The irony!"
XD Yep! *has just realised that this has multiple levels of irony* Pfffthaha!
"Didn't feel her presence much in the second half of the story. I...almost forgot about her."
XDD Oops. I really need to make Marland think about her abit more but it doesn't quite fit and gaaaaah. >(
"Hm, two? By accident? XD;"
*innocent* Oh yes, completely by accident. *nods*
"Ahaha, and now Marland is jumping into assumptions about Ronthar coming to get his stuff back. =P"
He is sometimes a very slow learner. But I guess he's had a couple of weeks so slowly slide back into pessimism.
"Maybe because you were the one who gave him the name"
Ahahahaha! Choose a better name next time, Marland!
Except Prince already knows his name and oooooh jeez, this could be all sorts of hilarious"The ending is so, so cute. XD; It's... warm. Fuzzy. XD; I certainly felt like this ended with a hug!"
HUGE. MASSIVE. GRIN. Eeeeeeeeee!