Xoris

Chapter Twenty Two

When had only seeing with two eyes started to feel so limiting? The scope of his vision felt uncomfortably narrow by the time he arrived at the fort, the grey building of stone showing tall in the distance. Before, what lay behind him had never been a thought that crossed his mind. It was something he never could have imagined with the small, Human scope he'd had, but now that he'd begun to see everything at once, holding his eyes closed now felt like a wave of darkness washed over him. It was like ignoring what he knew was still out there, waiting.

Even so, Xoris didn't feel right greeting the Warden, or anyone else, looking any differently. He'd already spent the entire way doing nothing but running his speech through his mind again and again. How would they react? What would they even say? Whatever it was, he'd accept it. He wasn't coming here for validation or love, only to update them, and leave, no matter how much it hurt.

His head spun a bit as he raised a hand up to knock, the blackness that hung in his vision almost closing in. With a jerk, he snapped himself out of the stupor before it pulled him away completely. He looked down at himself. I look like a mess. A ragged cloak, blood dripping down his neck, crusted onto the silver of his armour... Wait, the blood!

He was determined to explain himself before they caught any sign of him being Stained. He couldn't afford to be kicked out in fear before he'd said what he needed to. Frantically, he darted his eyes around, before catching sight of a well in the yard behind him, full of filtered water.

"Thank goodness," he whispered aloud to himself before making his way over. The bucket felt extremely heavy as his sore arms yanked the rope, drawing it up to him, but he managed to pull it over the edge. He splashed the liquid all over his neck and shoulder, twitching uncomfortably as it ran under his armour, warming up the skin-tight clothes beneath. It hurt to feverishly scrub at his skin, almost causing him to pass out again, but he kept at it until every dried flake had been removed. Sore as it was, the cut on his neck had faded into a scar at this point, and as long as he kept it closed like all the others, it was inconspicuous enough.

He brought himself back to the door. It took him a moment to gather his courage back enough to knock, but once he had started pounding against the firm wood, he wasn't able to stop. It probably sounded desperate, but with the amount of encounters he'd had with soldiers in the past day, he felt it was necessary. He just prayed they wouldn't think to look here, at least for a turn or two. Really that was all he should need.

A young, dark-skinned girl swung open the door, the force of it causing her long black locks to shake. She squinted at him, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "...Xoris? Is that you?"

"Ifeh! I missed you!" The sight of the first of the twins almost made him forget about the despair that had felt like it'd settled into him for good. He didn't know if it was right for him to hug the teen like this, after all he'd done, but he'd missed her. What had it been, five Withers since he had moved out? Travel was a dangerous thing, and once he'd had his own apprenticeship and place, he hadn't done much more than letters. "You've grown so much!"

"Xoris! You have armour! It hurts please-" Her voice sounded strained, and he quickly let go. She glanced up at him, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I... missed you too. You look different."

"What? I think I look very normal at the moment. Nothing different, for sure." He glanced down at himself. He thought he'd had everything out of sight. He even had his gloves on to avoid any mistake, so what did I miss?

"...I'm simply not used to seeing you in armour. I thought you were a scribe," she stated blankly before leaning her head into the building. "Luina! Everyone! Xoris is back!" Xoris winced at the sudden volume. His mind was too muddled to hear anyone be that loud.