The next day, in the hunter guild, the start of a new meeting
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He was tired. The meeting was delayed until late afternoon. It was from trying to get everyone together. It seemed Tanya was missing…
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He assumed she was playing coy to mock them for not taking her seriously. From the last few meetings, the mayor was here, and so was Justin for trades, and he was here to oversee the hunts…
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Yet no guild mistress to give us her opinion once more on how we need to do more. The room felt emptier now watching her empty chair, where before he always looked with annoyance at her smugness; now he wondered where even the shadow of her was…
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They waited twenty minutes before getting tired of waiting. They tried to show respect as a friend and respect for her position, but this was a bit much and petty… They already delayed the meeting to past noon, and matters still have not been settled.
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“Let us proceed forward."
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"I fear Tanya is too annoyed with us to even show,” I stated to get things moving. It was how I really felt. I was worried, but I would let her know she was winning if that was her game.
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“Or she pops from the shadows! She’s good at that…” The mayor spoke mildly annoyed and also glanced around, fearing her calling him on those words.
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Justin just nodded, also tired; it seemed this was wearing them all down.
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The talks remain mostly focused on how the village was taking it; there were mixed results at best, with most accepting rumors from taverns as truth, as most gossip tends to go.
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It was calm at first, when news was spreading of the ogre and its attack on the two random hunters. People were even hopeful, as they remembered the hero party incident taking down the giant boulder monster. What could one random ogre beast be when the professional hunters were already hunting it?
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Then the weeks passed, with no result and random injuries to even his teams.
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Now talks stayed more whispers, and fear was growing… He knew why Tanya pushed herself more but failed to see they were doing the same…
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They were not playing games.
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It's just that the beast was so elusive, and it could change realms and mask its presence, adding tension they never had to face before; every action had to be weighed and judged, so time slipped by with indecision and a beast that waited on the edges of their reach…
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He looked to the side once more at Tanya's empty seat… Even if we disagreed, we needed her support and insight. They knew she was a hidden blade for the king at one time. The other two council members even hunted with her before I joined them as a team, yet she was always so aloof it was hard to take her seriously… He stared at the other empty chair where he wanted his son to be…
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Wanting to train him to overcome things like this…
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But he knew his son was part of this mess, even if inadvertently, and could not risk him rushing to make it better…
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No. There was truth in Tanya's words; he will apologize to her today if she chooses to slink from the shadow, making her point…. Maybe tomorrow, and she was just testing their resolve today.
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She never was petty. Well, she was never petty for more than a day.
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"Suddenly, the meeting room door was flung open, and a breathless figure stood in the doorway."
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We all turn, wondering why this person came… It was a scout from one of my teams. He wasn't sure which one; they'd been rotating team members but knew the man well as he watched him trying to catch his breath.
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“Report, It can’t be good if you’re rushing in like this vs. sending word… or in a letter." I knew it before he spoke; it was bad. I train them well… So who died…
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“Sorry, sir, I came after we left her at the church for healing it, the guild mistress.” They stop mid-speech, covered in sweat, trying to catch their breath more.
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Yet for us, with those few words, they might as well have said we lost this war with the ogre, as we all knew what she could do, and even alive, thank the gods, the fact she was hurt meant we would fare no better. no worse…
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“I was told her injuries, while not minor, should not have left her in that state. We think the ogre did something to her, as we found her deep in the dungeon, but we don’t know what…” The report finally concluded they bowed as I dismissed them, thanking them for the words as they left…
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Mixed with the bad news was a glimmer of hope; it left her alive to prove a point, but it did not bring her outside the dungeon.
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It did not leave the dungeon even after going out of its way to keep her alive as a message…
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That means it can’t.
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There’s no way the ogre would risk letting her die in an unknown place just to be forgotten in a random dungeon and us never getting that message….
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No, it was trapped.
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The bad news is it can take down a legendary assassin who rumors said cannot be touched… None of them had her skill or power, and she lost. Alone, true, but not weak…
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So that means it is at least equal to her in power for it to even secure this form of victory and feel it can risk letting her live and us not follow it with worse threats….
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Or maybe it's a clever ploy to try to get the real prize? Our children….
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He looked up to see the mayor holding his head in his hands and even Justin seeming forlorn, lost in thoughts. He never was part of their group with Tanya; he joined later when she retired to be guild master and helped them found this town later…
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So while he felt for her and respected who she was, it was not as deep.
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“It seems we must close the dungeon. The beast is playing new tactics. I fear hunting it directly is no longer a safe option. We need to regroup…” I tried saying it cautiously, not wanting to mock their grief, but we still needed to address this.
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“Agree,” the mayor said in a low voice. “She was always the one who would lead, even when we thought she was playing. She helped us do what was necessary.”
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The mayor went on while staring beyond as if remembering times he knew not of, “She loved teasing me, saying, ‘You’re too short to see what the blade does.’”
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“I always tried blasting her with wind in retort, but it just ruffled her hair at best…”
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“So how in the gods' name did the beast stop that?” He looked at me as if I knew a hidden truth and kept it a secret at that…
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“She went alone. I assume the beast probably set a trap, maybe in level four or five, depending on how deep she went chasing after it.”
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“We always stop in three. We never knew what to expect. She… would not have stopped.”
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The mayor nodded as if it answered that known things were beyond us and things we did not know…
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Justin did not say much, but I saw it was hurting him too. They were friends for years before all settled, so there is a past even if not spoken.
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The meeting drew to a close much more somber than the day before. It seemed Tanya's ill omen was a self-fulfilling prophecy. She said we did nothing and someone would get hurt and then threw herself in the jaws of the beast, proving just that….
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It was why he and his men moved slowly and carefully, trying to avoid that she would not have the same care….
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The last ordeal was who was going to tell her kids… As nobody was really a messenger for something like that, they got a runner. It may seem callous, but they would visit her in time and did not need to add tensions by interacting with her kids in a fragile time like this…
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Later that day in the church
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Arlin and Ziala heard the news and came to see their mother at the church. Arlin was finishing his shift as a guard, and Ziala was working at the guild. Neither was happy to hear what happened to their mother, yet, shocking to the runner who brought the message, neither was surprised.
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She made it clear the night before an event would happen; she just made it seem like she'd come back the victor, not the one broken in defeat…. Arlin thought as he watched her sleeping in the bed…
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There was plenty of room now that they fixed the sickness curse. Plenty of people helped too, yet all they wanted was to be alone…
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Ziala left shortly after visiting, choosing to work instead of grieving for a mother they could do nothing for. Bishop Light healed her as best he could but said it was her mind that needed rest now, not her body needing healing, so he could do little to aid her.
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Nobody knew what happened; the only reports were of a shadow shifting near the door of a random dungeon realm. Even now, she could sometimes shift and not be there, just darkness in a bed. He felt more alone in those moments, yet he was able to hold her hand even then, and she came back, his sleeping mother once more…
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“You were a fool, Mom.”
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“Trying to tell us everything will be fine, but I knew better.”
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“I did nothing to stop you…. But I knew.”
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“I suppose you did too, or you wouldn't have gone there… alone.”
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“But it was never you it wanted, was it? That's what the thing is saying, isn't it?”
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He wasn't sure how to feel talking to her sleeping body. He looked to the small table nearby, a pitcher of water next to a mage light and the fragment of her broken pipe…
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He hated that thing; it was honestly the only way he ever knew she was there. That smell—he knew she was trying to quit and knew the beast made her seek its comfort once more. He would need to get her a new one once this was all over…
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He wasn't sure what to think. He remembered Leena looking so brave after she almost lost her brother and later even when she almost lost her sister, yet now, as he watched his mom, he felt the tears start to fall. He only had fear; he wanted it all to go away.
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His old life back, his friends, his boring job—let me be free; let me have my mom back.
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Yet she wasn't gone, thank the gods for that, just broken.
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The beast broke her, and she did it for them, and they still weren’t free; they were still hunted, and the message it sent was, how long are you going to keep waiting for others to save you?
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Two days later in the church.
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Many people stopped by, and many people gave condolences or wanted to pay respect to the Hidden Blade. It was the first time he ever heard that name. She was a big shot and never told me…
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Yet still she slept, and still we were hunted.
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It was late into the new day that Leena finally was able to talk to me. She stopped by before, but I did not see her, not really, nor any of my friends that tried to comfort me. I finally got the attention I always wanted, but I just want to be alone and for Mom to wake up.
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Yet Leena had something to tell me, and regardless of what I wanted, she would have me listen. I suppose that's why she ended up leading us as a team while I quietly faded into submission.
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“Arlin I would heal her if I could, but she is not broken—well, her body is not, but her mind is…” She tried offering comfort.
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“I know Bishop Light already told me he did what he could. I doubt you've done any better.” Wincing, he regretted his word choice; she was comforting him. Luckily she rolled with it and went on.
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“I’ve been there more than once with my family, so I understand how it breaks you mentally. You’re not weak for whatever you feel here.”
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“You do know we're all here for you, right? Terra keeps wanting to visit but fears it will make things worse, not better, so she stays away.”
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He hated even now how he did not want Terra's affections and saw her sympathy as a burden. How petty could he be? Even now he was drawing lines in what love he accepted from people caring…
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He sighed, closing his eyes and rubbing his face. Leena rubbed his back. He even felt the light flow through him, and he wanted to laugh. Was she trying to heal him? Did she think I was broken and that she could fix me…?
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Thinking back, he remembered when he first saw her, which was when her brother was here like this, when the only thoughts he had were of his crush on her and how he could not wait to find a way to get closer. How shallow was he now that he was on the other side, knowing what she felt…
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“Thanks, Len… for everything.”
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Enjoying the moment, finding peace, he felt maybe things were not so bad; maybe he could be happy.
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Yet Leena's voice broke that truth with the words that came from out of nowhere.
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“I want to hunt the beast,” she said bluntly.
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breaking whatever solace he found as everything just stopped; he could not even feel her touch anymore, and even his mother seemed to fade into darkness with those words slowly reappearing…
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“Why?” I whispered between breaths I could barely take.
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“Arlin.” She paused, knowing this wasn't the best place to speak, yet the words needed to be said.
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“It is hunting us.”
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“People are getting hurt trying to defend us; it will end with us…”
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She said it like it was a good thing for us to offer ourselves to the beast like tribute. Thanks for not killing anyone else! Here, kill us instead.
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He clenched his fist, trying to find the word to respond, yet could not as she went on once more.
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“Your mother was not wrong; she would have won if she went as a team. She—”
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“Don’t mock my mother.” I kept watching my mother's sleeping form, not liking where these talks were going.
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Yet after a brief pause, she went on once more as if I said nothing….
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“She was brave and did what was right….” A brief sigh brushed my ear from Leena. She was still by my side and was trying her best, though I did not feel like she was.
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“But she needed help; we all do, Arlin.“
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“It’s why I trained all these months; it’s also why I tried to get us to fight like a team. I knew—”
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“You do not know anything.” I was tired of this false sympathy…
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“Any more than us”
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“It was a freak chance this stupid beast could think.”
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“And for saving this town, HELPING YOUR BROTHER.”
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“WE GET HUNTED AND JUDGED.”
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“Arlin, your mother is sleeping….” Her voice retorted calmly, as if I was wrong and forced my view on her.
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“She’s not sleeping; she’s broken, like we will be if we fight or worse…”
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Watching her even now sleep as if nothing happened, no words were spoken. I knew I was wrong; I knew Leena was right.
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but I can’t….
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Still holding Mom's hand, I never let go, even as the shadows swirled gently around both of us.
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“Ok,” the voice of Leena is so clear even now. I wonder if things were different if I would share her view…
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“I understand,” she went on between my musing.
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“We already plan to face it anyway.”
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“WHAT?” I turn to face her, shocked by what she said, seeing her glare at me for still yelling.
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“Since when?” Her eyes showed a resolve. I never felt how she was so calm even when she was running into the mouth of a beast.
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“Yesterday…” she replied coolly, never wavering, never flinching, even as I could feel the cold sweat building with each word she spoke.
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“I went to talk to the team, giving you time and space. It's why Terra wanted to see you, to let you know she would fight.”
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Even Terra? Madness! Why would she throw herself in danger? Why was he the only voice of reason? This was not a game…
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“It doesn’t matter; they won’t just let us enter. I bet it’s on lockdown.” I was grasping for whatever I could to deter this stupid plan.
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“It is, Coby confirm it with his father. It is why we wanted to plan.” She said, somberly watching me, which I could not just stare at and not retort.
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“To what?"
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"Play heroes and die?" It broke my mother, who had years of experience fighting these things…”
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“Yea, I brag I killed monsters, and you hunted a few, but not like this, not this…”
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Leena said her piece, and he said his; neither was closer to an end point yet. When he stared at her, he saw no fear, no doubt, just a truth she would fight.
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So the question was what mattered to him… his friends, his mother? Or his fear of facing a beast and not caring if he was a coward…
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He chose.
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“I already told you I never wanted this…”
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“I fought to help others. I bled and killed out of need, not desire…”
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“I found happiness being a nobody, not a wannabe hero…”
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“I don’t want… this.”
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He did not want to look at her; he knew they had already made their choice, yet her hand once more offered warmth. He did not even notice when she pulled it away. Before, among the talks, yet he felt it clearly now.
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“I tell you these things because we are here. You, Arlin, don’t have to follow us…” a silent pause; if not for her hand on my back, I would not be sure if she was still even there.
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“You helped me and my family when I had nothing, no power, and felt alone, so now that I’ve found some strength, I won’t judge you for choosing not to be there where we choose to go.”
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“You’re my friend, Arlin. Thank you for being there, but we are going forward with this.” The resolve in the voice was a cold truth about how far she was willing to go.
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Of course you are, he thought with a sour taste in his mouth. Her hand left, and with it her light, leaving him only darkness. He wondered if his sister knew. Was that why she stayed away to give him time to choose, or maybe she felt it was already decided and did not want to see how it ended?
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He watched his mom sleeping, unsure where to go from here.
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“I already know what you would do, Mom… You made that clear.”
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“But I fear if I follow your path, there’ll be no coming back here…” He squeezes her hand, hoping she’ll give him a sign, anything.
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Yet the only thing there was a very soft flow of shadows, hers and his, a truth they both shared, and he knew she wanted him to become so strong even the darkness would fear him… Yet he ran from their…
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But maybe.
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He got up, not with tears, just a truth: Everyone else had chosen their path. Now, it was time for him to choose his, and he did want to keep being weak, hiding, and being a shadow who did not care.
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so he made a choice.
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He was there when the beast went mad.
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Now the beast they thought was gone is back once more, so he will be too.
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Even if it means they're not coming back, he will go from there…
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he knew he told Len one thing while now he plan another, but he had a some time. They would not rush of today and he could worry about it tomorrow...
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Later that night in the guild hall
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Arlin came home late. He shifted between shadows, avoiding the eyes of staff. He did not want to see their fear, their pity, or their despair.
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He went to his sister's room and saw her there writing to Rock. It seems even now she still reaches out to her other brother… her real brother.
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“Hey, sis.”
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She flinched, and he saw the surprise in her eyes. He smiled, happy he could still slip by her senses as she frowned, not sharing his amusement.
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“You smell,” she said bluntly, going back to writing.
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He laughed, feeling a bit free for the first time. She looked confused, as if he had gone mad. Maybe he had. He smelled his underarm and gagged.
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“Ok, yea, I do. I was kind of stuck there.”
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“No, you chose to stay there like a pig. You could have left and bathed at least once…”
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“That’s a bit harsh, but I do agree with you. Are you writing, Rock?" enjoying the light atmosphere
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She gave a half shrug.
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“He’s been responding a little more since he heard about the rumors…” His blood chilled hearing his sister's words. He knew enough time had passed that rumors would spread, but all the way to the city?
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She looked at him with a bit of concern. “He worried.”
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I scoffed, “He worried for nothing. You’re safe, I promise.”
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“No, for you.” She stared him in the eyes as she said it, and he could not move. It was an odd twist to know he still cared. He never wrote him back; he just assumed they drifted apart, and that was that.
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She went on, “He said, ‘Boss will do something dumb; keep him safe.’”
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“I have not told him what happened to Mom yet. I was doing that now.” With those words, they both knew what was implied: he would try to play hero to help, and that was before Mom. Now?
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He watched as she quietly wrote. He saw the flower he got her so long ago, a mix of shadows and light. He was happy the magic never let it wilt. It meant no matter what happens, she would always have the gift.
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“You know…”
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“You know I love you, right?”
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“And no matter what happens…”
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She got up and held him, and he could say no more as she cried into his chest. He felt better about his choice now. Being loved meant a lot to him; it was something he could protect, something worth defending.
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He was a coward who wanted to be free while everyone else chose death.
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But maybe if he helps this one last time, they will fix the mistakes of their past, and they will finally be free, assuming they live to see it.
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“Do you have to go?” she finally asked between tears.
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“Yea…”
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“Leena told me you guys would fight.”
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“I wanted to believe.”
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“It was all a dream that you guys would not be rushing to face some unknown beast.“
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“Before Mom, Leena was talking to me….”
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“I talked her down a few times at least before when she wanted to, hun…”
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“Now?”
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He knew the unspoken words: even he was going to go now….
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“Hey, Arlin?"
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"Yeah?"
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"You still smell….”
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“I know.”
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As she held him tighter and he held her, tomorrow will be a day he won’t be able to come back from, but for today he was with his sister back in the alley when they had nothing, when they tried to be a family of rats with nowhere to go, and he said he’d make it ok.
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So, like that rat he was, he would move forward to face what he must to make it all ok.
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It was a while before she was calm enough to release him, and he did not push her away. He finally got the bath and felt he washed away a lot of that which held him back, not the chains that bound him to this, but the doubts. They did wash away, at least a bit.
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She met him later in the hall, handing him a potion. He wasn't sure where she got it.
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“Mom left me a note. Short and to the point, it just said, ‘For your brother.’”
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He saw it was one of her rare potions, and he wanted to laugh. She refused to use it to save herself but assumed he would run off and need it… Well, it was partly true, yet he wondered, did she set herself up for failure by not taking it?
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“Thanks, sis.“
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He raises his arm to her face. “At least now I don’t smell,” she gently pushed him away, smiling.
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“You do smell, like my brother…”
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He wasn't sure if that was an insult or kindness, so he kept quiet.
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“I won’t lie and say everything’s okay like Mom, but I won’t act like her…”
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“I know.” She was not looking at him, both just accepting it was happening and knowing nothing would change.
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“I won’t ask things I know you can’t promise…” She said carefully.
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“But please try to be careful, ok?” I gave her my most smug, proud smile I could, full of boast I did not feel, and spoke.
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“Calm on, who do you think I am?”
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“Len, trust that we can win. We got this…” I gently rubbed her head and went to bed.
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I felt death was waiting for us, and even if Len was the light, all I felt was the darkness as shadows wrapped me in warmth, and for the first time in a very long time, I wished I could just be darkness and be free.232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnm2JNN47ML
and then Add to home screen.