The Stars: CVI
"Where are you running Enah?" The same night, the same dreams. Markos frantically raced through the halls of the manor desperate to just keep himself away from her until the morning.
"This is not real.. This isn't real.." He kept chanting over and over again. Regardless of how many times he said it, he could never shark the feeling that it might be real. Why were these halls so familiar and twisting? Not that of TrollSkul manor, but of something else, one he hadn't seen yet. "You're fine.. You're fine.." He shook around one corner, "d-didn't I make her happy..? D-"
"You did!" She whipped around the corner with such force and speed, an unnatural method to movement proving the lack of reality in her every step. "Good job!" She cheered, every fiber of his being cried out in tandem when the body appeared in the halls. He was faced with her, forced to see her. No longer a far whisper in his mind- no she was here. Markos's vision drifted up, far from the tall figure until he met those violet eyes and bolted awake.
"AH!" He sat up in his bed feeling sweat trickle down his forehead, fear radiated from his form he clenched his teeth trying to push her smile away from his mind. It was dark outside the windows he suspected that it was still the middle of the night.
"Hey, you alright man?" Herod was sitting in the corner of the room reading a book. Markos's short-term memory was a tad foggy... They had... Killed the cultists and headed back home to sleep.. He raised his eyes carefully not wanting to meet Herods, was he ok?
"Y-yeah.. I'm fine." He felt saddened, now that Herod wasn't sleeping these nights would only start to get worse. "I'm gonna go.. For a walk.. Or something." He pushed the covers off of himself, realizing he would most likely not fall back to sleep for a little while. He made his way out of the room. He took several deep breathes, everything was ok.. He was going to be fine.
'Will it be fine? Or should we kill more to please her?'
'Shut up.. Please shut up,' Markos begged his brain. They were already starting; he was out of sleep for only three minutes and the voices were already beginning to run upon him. He felt the cold hardwood under his feet on the third floor's landing. Walking out into the landing he spotted the library to his immediate right and Adleths's room directly in front of him. Markos pulled his black clothes up a bit. Perhaps.. He could go in there? He stared out the window to his left admiring the city's lights, but he longed to stare at the stars. Maybe she wasn't so bad? The truth laid up there or potentially did.. Maybe he should just get a drink. He weighed his options.
*Knock- Knock* he was careful to be as quiet as possible. Adleth's dark oak door was like everyone else's, standing there with bated breath he mulled to realize she was most likely asleep. He felt silly, pushing his problems on to someone who was just trying to rest- However just as he turned to leave the door swung open. "What the fuck do you need?" Adleth was dressed in a pale green tunic and black pants, her red auburn hair was made a mess and brushed all to her right side. She clearly wasn't dressed for bed.
"I uh.." Markos worried, what did he want again? Oh right. "Could I.. use your spire?" He pointed to the spire on her back right. Her room was laid out as a rectangle with a circular structure on its left, the spire tower in the home was only accessible from her room. She smacked her lips and frowned.
"Why?" She asked. Her face was scrutinizing and judgemental Markos could only compare it to the look Andraste had given him that other night. No. No this one was more curious not simply hostile.
'Oh someone wasn't thinking, Oh! Orphanages burn-'
"I wanna go stargazing?" He suggested he looked at the window watching those tired purple eyes glow back to him, he was miserable and desired sleep but he wouldn't impose on Herod.
"You? Stargazing, really?" The elf laughed. Markos shrugged in response.
"Hey, what part of me makes you think I don't look at stars?" He protested. Markos bit his bottom lip and slowly looked up not really wanting to deal with any problems head-on. 'She won't let me.' he thought bitterly.
"Everything," Adleth replied without skipping a beat. "Literally everything."
"That is- a.. Compelling argument." He muttered, "How about I.. give you ten gold?" He pleaded a little bit, he was desperate for something nice after so many nights of pure torture. The elf smiled in response.
"Fifteen."
"Ok," he whispered. She stepped aside and he walked in but couldn't shake the feeling he was being.. Watched. Her room was a lot tidier than he expected. Hardwood had a few carpets over it, especially the entrance ladder to the spire. The spire itself was located on the outer portion of the home in its left-hand corner. Below her room was the den so its entrance was similarly shaped and looked like the den. Markos gripped either side of the ladder and hauled himself up feeling Adleth's eyes on him the entire time. "Wow.."
'If you collect eighty-three chairs then you'll have one extra chair after you start the apocalypse!'
"I've got alcohol wanna come up with me?" He offered innocently. He honestly didn't expect her to say yes but he figured it was the nice thing to do.
"Oh yeah, I'm coming up with you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you think I trust you?"
"Oh.."
"Move." Markos nearly jumped seeing Adleth make her way onto the spire. The tower room was mostly glass on every side with a red carpet for the floor above him was the large cavernous roof. "If you think I'm trusting the 'Chaos' part of our 'Keepers of Chaos' name alone on my spire you are very mistaken." Adleth pushed her way onto the landing, her soft red hair was thrown in every which way.
"Ok.." He muttered. Adleth had a fierceness to her, a clear dominating personality... Oh, and she was also pretty. He took a seat against the soft carpet watching Adleth a little bit in the corner of his eyes. He stared up to the stars fulfilling what he promised to do. Who.. was that promise to again?
'The stars are wrong!' Thank you voice.. He thought, or perhaps that was his thought? He sighed wishing he could know the difference between his own thoughts and the voices in his head. Did it have to do with the pitch?
"Do you... ever use this thing?" He quizzed, he bit his lip. What the hell was he doing? Trying to make friends..? Let Zorret be evidence against that.
"I mean, I climb up here every once and a while," Adleth responded. "But I don't really like heights." Heights.. He wondered how far up she'd ever been.
"r-Really?" He was surprised, she wasn't someone he'd peg for having a fear of heights.
'Hurl her off the spire! Death by fear!'
"Yeah." She chuckled. "I'm a five-foot elf what part of this would make you think I like heights? I prefer to spend my time on the ground." He nodded setting his head against the glass of the room. It was cold and rather nice.
"Do you want a parachute?" He reached behind him and procured the parachute he'd been given by the House of Inspired hands after killing the Nimblewright. "You don't have to worry about heights when you have a parachute.. Or can't die." Adleth squinted at him she leaned back on her palms looking behind him, what the hell was she looking at?
"Why do you have that? Do you even know how to use that?" Adleth criticized, Markos, shrugged. "Also where were sto-"
"I know how to use it." He looked back to the stars' constellations.. So beautiful.
"Sure you do. I can see the headlines now, Markos falls to his death." She chuckled. If only it were that easy.
"Hey! Fuck off!" Markos squeaked. He let the long silence punctuate his stargazing.
"You confuse me.." She admitted. He frowned, he confused himself.. "Why are you up here? Just to look at the stars? You don't strike me as a stargazer Markos." He thought of lies. What should he say?
'Tell her about the Dreamer!' Oooo good idea number five-hundred and seventeen.
"When the dreamer rises.. The stars must be right for him to be at full strength and so-"
"Oh shut up." Adleth shot. He felt jarred. "For the love of fuck thas not your reason. If it was you'd be outside with a map and pencil." He looked at her stunned, surprised at what she was willing to say. His jaw was a little bit open, she saw through him in seconds.
Adleth reached out her hand, cupping his chin gently she pushed his mouth shut, giving him a comedic smirk. He looked down at his hands.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say. "That one." He leaned forward and pointed at one of the constellations. It was a new one.. One that isn't taught about. "I call it Faybia.." The stars he stared at made up the vague shape of a woman if you looked at it right. "After.. A friend.." He muttered. He was nervous.
"Your old girlfriend?" She teased, Markos wanted to laugh. He knew the girl for six months..
"No.. definitely not.. Just a friend.. Who's dead now." He added. He expected her to be surprised or maybe even a bit curious, but she simply nodded.
"Lots of people die around you?"
"I.." His voice trailed off; well that was a good question. Did a lot of people die around him? Or did people die to him..
"Not something you can answer.. Makes sense. So what is it like to be fucking crazy huh?" Adleth yanked free a dagger instinctually; he recoiled, but she simply began to flip it in her hand. He opened his mouth to answer but again couldn't find anything to say. "Huh.. so do you talk or?"
"I didn't expect you to be up right now.." He admitted, feeling this odd swell in his chest. He looked out the window into the dark. The night caused his reflection to show in the windows revealing dark eye bags. Adleth seemed to have no such issues despite being up so late.. Or early, depending on how you saw it.
'I've had three weeks, right? That means death!' What the hell..
"And?" Adleth inquired curiously. "What you think I'm a prude like Andraste? Bold of you to assume I stick to a sleep schedule." She snatched up a bottle of whisky in his hands and took a drink. Markos hastily tucked the cups back into his bag. Apparently, they were unneeded.
"I'm just trying to be nice.." He grumbled. Markos pushed a hand against the glass, watching the imprint melt away.
'Break the glass and use it to carve an x for the treasure!'
"And I." Adleth grinned wildly; she waved the bottle in front of his face. Markos frowned. She gestured for him to drink it. Fuck. Hed brought the bottle for her. He was.. Not much of a drinker. He took the bottle and cringed while tilting it back. "Am giving you genuine responses.." He couched a bit, setting the bottle back in her hands.
"Do you have a favorite constellation?" He tried hopefully. He wasn't going to sleep that night, so he figured talking would let him feel at ease.
"Ha." Adleth scoffed. "I don't have a singular clue what the fuck is up there," She admitted while taking a drink.
"Infinite potential.." He murmured. "I like Fabia cause I saw it when it forme- or.. I was shown it when it was formed.." He recollected the day Uheo showed him stars, it was so cold and terrifying, but worse things would happen if he didn't watch. "Thank you.. For this moment." He sighed. His right arm was hurting again, and he was pretty sure it wasn't broken. Adleth was silent for a time, leaving him only with the sound of his heart beating.
'Silence bad?' not you.. He told the voice.
"You must live a very sad life, Markos." She said finally. He felt a tinge of pain but nodded. His lips trembled. She was right.. He did live a sad life. The redhead looked at him with pretty emerald green eyes, not in judgment but perhaps sympathy? He grabbed the bottle and titled it back, taking a long, very long gulp. The alcohol burned his head but did little to dull the pain. Adleth looked shocked at his insolence. Oh.. he felt dizzy and a bit buzzed.
"Not.. that sad.. Just.. lonely.." He begged himself not to cry. Damnit, he'd known this was his life, so why was it so hard to accept? "Enough about me." he closed his fist, begging for the pain to stop. "If we're going to be living in this house together. We might as well get over that whole stabbing me in the foot thing.."
"Oh yeah!" She chuckled. "That was fun; I'd do it again." Before he could protest, she waved a hand in the air and took a drink. "Calm down, I'm kidding.. Mostly."
'And In that great place, he waits slumbering... waiting for you.'
"Do you.. Have any siblings?" The second he asked the question he regretted it. Adleth's face went from bemusement to downright anger. He shut his lips and steadily looked away.
"Did you?" She gritted through her teeth. Markos mulled it over.
"Yeah.. I do.. I've got six.. All adopted siblings from the marrow war.." He replied. "My uh.. Siblings.. Not all of them saw Cthulhu when he woke, so they aren't all.. Like me.. Just two of them.." He wondered what Kalyea or Thomias would say to him if they were there. Would they even look at him?
"Why did you really come here, hm?" Markos raised an eyebrow, but she seemed not to be buying his excuse. Markos wanted to laugh. "And if you give me another bullshit cultist excuse, I will cut you." He leaned his head against the spire's side. Exhaustion consuming him, but he didn't want to sleep.
"I.. can't sleep.. Herod doesn't sleep anymore.. And I.. I have nightmares when people aren't sleeping near me.. Nasty ones much worse than normal." He struggled to put the words out. "Did you know deep speech's written form is like elvish?"
"An answer and then a dodge.. You're different Markos." Adleth concluded. "I can see Herod's lack of sleeping has become my problem.. Should I just hit you over the head and see if you pass out?" She chuckled curiously. Markos giggled a bit, man. The dreams would probably be so horrible if that happened.
'You are hopeless! Capture the squirrels for hope!'
"What were you before you came here.." He mumbled. The cold glass kept him awake, but his fear of getting stabbed kept him conscious.
"Same thing I am now. A thief, got into trouble with the wrong people and had a debt.. Paid it back. So now I'm here." Adleth didn't seem like the sharing type.. That was ok, Markos promised himself he'd get to know her. She was one of the few party members whom he didn't really.. Get. he felt so tired.. He wished he still had Asher. "A brother." She said at last.
"Huh?" Markos leaned forward.
"You asked if I had any siblings.. I'm answering. I had a brother." She paused for a second. Reaching out a hand, Markos gently picked up the bottle, feeling himself get a little bit red trying to drink from it again. "Correlon, you look like a pix. Just fucking drink it." she spat, gripping the bottle and pushing it against him. He blushed, setting it back down.
"Oh.. thanks." He smiled at Adleth, and she just stared at him for a second. She raised a hand like she was going to touch him. She drifted over, but he instinctively flinched away. Her fingers recoiled from the direction of his face. Pursing his lip, he slowly leaned back a little bit, staring at her curiously. "You're interesting.." He leaned against the spire again, setting his head to it. Adleth studied him with her intense emerald green eyes. He frowned but simply accepted it. "Thank you for this moment.." He whispered again, he wasn't sure what to say to her he was just.. Not sitting in the dark alone, it was better. Adleth shook her head and grabbed the whisky bottle taking a few sips. He felt sleepy.
"You're welcome dumbass."