Six months later.
A lone figure hurried along the docks, looking nervously over his shoulder as he went. The sky was just an inky swirl of darkness, no stars in sight, and the lamps that lit the long stretch of rickety, sun-bleached wood floated like orange spirits in the misty air.
He was a thin man, with pale skin and straw coloured hair, and he was ill-dressed for the chilly night with only a thin blue windbreaker over his tee shirt and jeans. Pale blue eyes darted quickly from shadow to shadow - the feeling had nagged at him for days, but now it was aggressively clear that he was being followed.
Tyler didn't know who was following him, or how on earth they were. He had been careful leaving Feloix Felaii - he'd left in a cover of darkness, under the guise of an escort for a bunch of elderly goblin women who were visiting relatives. He'd left them as soon as he could, their angry cries following him into the night. He was sure they'd be fine - he'd left them in a part of the woods that thieves didn't frequent as often. It was enough to clear his conscience.
But now, miles away in the UK, Tyler felt eyes on his back no matter where he went.
He almost jumped out of his skin when a sad looking dinghy creaked morosely against it's moorings. It was like most of the boats tied to the dock - old and repaired countless times, and looking as if it might sink to the bottom of the sea at any moment. Tyler searched for one with a decent looking motor - he was sure their human owners wouldn't be too angry to see such sad looking boats go, whichever one he chose.
Spotting one that looked decidedly more reliable than the rest, Tyler hurried over, taking his hands out of his pockets as he reached for the rope eagerly.
There was a whistle of movement, and Tyler reached back just in time. A dagger had flown right through where his hand had been not a second before, and it was now embedded firmly in the worn wood by his feet.
He looked back fearfully to see a hulking shape at the end of the dock, it's huge figure as still as stone. Another dagger winked in his giant hand, and Tyler's heart skipped a beat in terror.
"Stay back!" He called back, his voice shaking. "I don't want no trouble."
"Neither do we."
He jumped at the new voice, turning to see a figure sitting in the very boat he had been planning on stealing. This figure was much smaller than the figure at the end of the dock - she had a warm cloak thrown over her petite body, and cold blue eyes appraised him in contempt.
"Tyler Wickam, am I right?" Eisla drawled, sweeping the edge of her cloak back to reveal the long, thin sword sheathed at her hip. "It's best if you come with us quietly."
Tyler backed away, his eyes flickering between the sword and the elf's face. "Who - who sent you?" He stammered, flinching when his foot hit the mooring post behind him.
"It does not matter who sent us." The huge shape had silently approached while Tyler was focused on Eisla, and he saw with terror now that the shape turned out to be a formidable mongool. Guo looked down at the small man calmly, unaware of how menacing his glittering weapons belt was in the orange light of the lamps. "It does not change the fact that you must come with us."
Tyler looked between the two trackers, his face betraying all of his panic. "Sc - screw you!" He choked out, before turning on his heel and sprinting down the docks.
Eisla rolled her eyes as she climbed to her feet. "Throw some more of your daggers, Guo."
"He's not to be killed though - "
"I didn't say anything about killing him!" Eisla groaned, climbing out of the boat with surprising grace. "He'll still be alive with some flesh wounds, is all I'm saying."
"It looks like he's shifting." Guo said, tranquil as he watched Tyler run.
Eisla followed his gaze to see that he was right. Tiny pops and cracks rent the air as Tyler's skeleton rearranged itself; the two watched as yellow fur began to bloom in patches over his body as he ran.
Eisla cursed, beginning to run. "Daggers won't do hell if he's in wolf form." She muttered in annoyance. Behind her, Guo's huge feet thundered behind her.
"I thought you didn't want any trouble!" Eisla hollered after him as they got closer.
"Is he trying to swim away?" Guo wondered aloud. The man was now in full wolf form, and it looked back and bared it's teeth at them as it reached the end of the dock.
"Looks like it." Eisla replied grimly. Guo would be useless in the water, and her leather armour would slow her down. "Don't even think about it!" She yelled angrily at the wolf.
But it ignored her. The two watched in dismay as the wolf launched itself into the air, it's piercing howls sounding like gleeful laughter. Curses flew from Eisla's mouth as she and Guo skidded to a stop at the end of the dock, watching as the light coloured wolf soared out into the sea.
Before it could touch the water though, a light coloured shape collided into it with a thud. Eisla and Guo watched in bemusement as the two figures struggled, and then they were heading towards them.
The wolf hung limply from Riedrus's arms as he drifted towards them, and Eisla rolled her eyes again. "Decided to show up, didn't you?"
"Hey, the job's done, isn't it?" The faerie replied cheerfully. He landed daintily on the dock, letting the wolf slide into a heap at his feet, and his delicate wings fluttered to a stop.
Guo leaned down and prodded the wolf gingerly as Eisla glowered at the faerie. "Is he dead?"
"Of course not, those weren't our orders." He smiled and winked down at Eisla, making her grimace and turn away in disgust.
"Whatever, just get him in the bag so we can get out of here." She ordered curtly, beginning to stride away curtly.
"Your welcome for not letting him get away!" Riedrus called after her, chuckling as he watched her retreat. He looked down to see that Guo was patiently pulling out a kalleb woven bag from his satchel. "How did it end up that she was the boss? You could beat her any day."
"I have no wish to beat her." Guo replied calmly as he began to stuff the unconscious wolf into the bag.
Riedrus lowered himself into a crouch so that he was level with the mongool. "I've been with you guys for weeks, and I can't figure it out." He tilted his head curiously as his brown eyes looked into Guo's yellow ones. "What is it with you two? Are you in love with her, or do you just like being bossed around?"
Guo smiled lightly at that, looking down as he neatly knotted the opening of the bag closed. "I do love her, but not how you are implying." He rose slowly to his feet, and Riedrus followed. "Eisla is like my family. We work well together, and I respect her immensely. The reason she makes the commands is because she is good at it, and I have no wish to do so. Satisfied?"
Riedrus shrugged and smiled in defeat. "For now, I suppose." He began to walk away, but a reptilian hand on his shoulder stopped him.
He looked back with raised eyebrows to see Guo looking at him seriously. "What is it?" The faerie asked.
Guo paused before he answered, gathering his thoughts. "We have been with you for weeks, but I can't figure it out." He said slowly, mirroring the faerie's earlier words. "Why are you letting Eisla think you were fired from the guard?"
Riedrus blinked in surprise before smiling ruefully. "That didn't slip past you, huh."
Guo shook his head solemnly.
Riedrus sighed, looking away from him. Eisla was pacing at the far end of the docks from them, skipping rocks from the looks of it. "I quit the guard because I couldn't stand to be down in Wistoniya." He said quietly. "There were evil men down there, but some... some of them were just desperate. Some of them had families, or they were just trying to do the right thing. I decided I didn't want to be part of a system that locked up good people."
Guo nodded in understanding. "That doesn't answer my question though."
"Yeah, of course you'd catch that." Riedrus laughed. He sombered quickly though, looking at Guo from the side of his eyes. "The only way she'd let me work with you guys is if she thought she owed me. That's why I'm letting her think they fired me for letting her go."
Guo frowned in confusion. "Why do you want to work with us so badly?" When the faerie didn't answer, his eyes widened in understanding. "Ah." Guo breathed, smiling lightly. "You love her, don't you?"
"I wouldn't put it like that." Riedrus said quickly, but his cheeks flushed. "It's just... well, you see - "
He stopped to watch Eisla far down the docks. His eyes softened. "I guess you can say that I'll follow her anywhere." He looked back at Guo. "Satisfied?"
Guo nodded, still smiling. He clapped the faerie on his shoulder, making him stumble a bit from the force of it. "Your secret is safe with me."
"It better be." Riedrus gave him a stern look, and the mongool let out a deep, rumbling laugh.
"Hey!" They both looked down the docks. Eisla was standing with her hands on her hips, her face no doubt twisted in irritation. "I know you two are having a lovely time, but can you get down here already?"
"Yes, ma'am." Riedrus called down the dock, making Guo chuckle. Even from all the way down the dock, the faerie could feel the force of her glare.
The mongool began to walk down the dock, the bagged wolf swinging from his shoulder. "Come on then, loverboy." He called back to Riedrus, his voice so serious it was comical.
Riedrus groaned as he began to follow. "You're really a bastard under all that zen crap, aren't you?" He was already regretting confiding in the soft-spoken mongool.
Guo's only reply was a soft chuckle, and the sound floated up into the dark sky as the two made their way to Eisla.
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A day later, Felix Fleur emerged from a meeting with his client, wearily adjusting his tie as he sighed. The Council Chambers were as busy as usual - magical people bustled around the silver eyed shifter as he paused at the side of the great lobby. He looked around passively, watching as people made their way around him. He used to love the business, but now he just felt exhausted.
"That bad, huh."
He glanced over to see Eisla walking over to him. People were giving the leather clad elf a wide berth as she sauntered over to him, glancing wearily at her pierced ears and arrogant expression.
"I beg your pardon?" Felix asked in confusion.
"Tyler Wickam." She nodded to the door he'd just emerged from. "The damn fool tried to swim into the ocean to escape us."
Felix smiled wryly. "Well, I'm sure you still would have brought him back anyways."
"Of course we would have." Eisla smiled sweetly before frowning. "What did he do, anyways?"
"He's a key player in a smuggling ring." Felix told her, glancing at his watch as he spoke. "There's an operation moving little witch girls into South America, and he's the only one who could give peacekeepers the locations."
"Ah, that's why you wanted him alive." Eisla shot a disgusted look at the closed door. "Did he give them up?"
"After some persuading." Felix grinned humourlessly. He flexed his fingers absently. "Thank you again for bringing him alive. Is not killing your targets suiting you?"
"You know what's crazy?" She chuckled, looking back at him. Her eyes twinkled. "It's remarkably easy to not kill somebody. Who would've guessed?"
The two laughed lightly before sobering up. "But yes, it is suiting me." Her hand came up to play with one of her piercings, her eyes drifting away. "Killing isn't as easy as it used to be."
"I'm glad to hear that." Felix told her sincerely, touching her arm. "I really am."
Eisla smiled at him, patting his hand gently before he pulled it away.
Felix cleared his throat. "So did you stop by because of Tyler Wickam, or do you need something from me?"
Eisla grimaced. "I'm that obvious, aren't I?"
"Well, you could have asked about him yesterday, but you didn't." Felix replied.
"True." She sighed, watching the bustle of people around them. After a moment, she looked back at the shifter. "I wanted to ask about Roan." Her voice was quiet.
Felix pressed his lips together into a hard line. "What about him?"
Eisla sighed again, and it was her turn to touch Felix's arm. When he tried to lean away, she circled her hand around his wrist firmly. "I know you're still mad at him, but he hasn't been around for a couple days. Guo and I have been worried, Felix."
"You're not his parents." Felix told her icily.
"You think I don't know that?" She hissed. "He's our friend, Felix. He's your friend, no matter how much you try to deny it. I know you can't forgive him for what happened, but he really tried his best. He's broken by this, just as you are."
Felix grit his teeth, staring stubbornly over Eisla's head. After several moments, he sighed and looked down at her. "I know." He said simply, his voice tired. "I know all those things, Eisla. It's just... it's still hard for me."
She squeezed his wrist gently. "I know." She told him softly, her beautiful eyes gentle. "But keep working on it, okay? Like you, she was the only one he ever loved in the world."
Felix nodded with some difficulty, blinking back the moisture in his eyes. "Yes, alright." He conceded.
"Good." Eisla let go of his wrist. "Let me know if you hear anything, alright?" She began to walk away.
"Eisla." Felix called, making her turn around. His eyes were sad. "He's in Greece."
She blinked. "What?"
"He's... he's visiting where she died." Felix said with some difficulty. "He invited me to go with him, but I... I declined." Visions of the argument they'd had several days ago flashed through his mind.
Eisla digested this, staring at Felix squarely. "You should have gone with him." She said quietly.
Then she was walking away again, leaving Felix alone in the bustling crowd.
-------------------------------
The same time Eisla and Felix were speaking, Roan was sitting on the shore, staring out at the ocean. It was a sunny day, the sky a bright and spotless blue, and the waves winked and shone like starlight. A warm breeze ruffled his light hair and made the tall grass behind him wave.
Beside him, curled up on his trusty suede jacket, Bono was watching Roan closely. A pile of nuts in front of the sugar glider went ignored as he waited patiently waited for Roan to come out of his stupor; he'd been sitting in the same position for almost an hour, his golden eyes absent and faraway as he looked out at the water.
The island was beautiful, something Roan had never seen in the light before. It was uninhabited and rocky in a lot of places, and the only building was an opulent summer cottage that was slowing sinking into decay. Its windows were dark and empty, and Roan had avoided looking at it for too long when he first arrived. Nothing moved on the island except the grass and the flowers, and the wind whistling through sounded quite like lamenting cries.
The sun was warm on Roan's skin, but he barely felt it. He was remembering the night Emery died, how the waves had swallowed her up and taken her away. The sight of Apollo's ocean drenched back, starkly alone as the waves receded, had snapped something in Roan. Emery was really gone, and she wasn't coming back. The realization had ignited fury and hatred in him so powerful it was almost all consuming.
He sighed, making Bono jump. Roan smiled in apology, looking down and patting the sugar glider's head. "Sorry, buddy." He said quietly.
Bono squeaked up at him, his eyes imploring.
"Yeah, yeah, I know why I came here." Roan told him, his forehead wrinkling into a frown. "It just feels stupid, you know?"
Bono squeaked again, more insistently this time. He stood up on his little hind feet, staring Roan down with his giant eyes.
Roan snorted. "You've gotten pretty attached to Lilah, huh? I know it's a good idea but..." His eyes drifted away again, to the waves. "It feels wrong talking to her when she can't say anything back." His voice had lowered into a whisper.
Bono squeaked in annoyance, skittering into Roan's lap and up onto his shoulder. Roan looked over, bemused, and found himself nose to nose with the sugar glider. Bono's luminous eyes seemed to be glaring straight into his soul.
Roan sighed, smiling wanly. 'You're not letting us leave until I've said my piece, aren't you?"
Bono shook his head vehemently.
"Alright, alright." Roan grabbed him and set him firmly back on the sand. He looked down sternly at the small animal. "I don't want you listening though, okay? Go explore this stupid island for a couple minutes."
Bono squeaked happily in agreement and immediately scampered away. Roan turned to watch his little body hurtling away, his eyes settling on the building further in. It stared back at him with its haunted windows, its depths an abyss that threatened to swallow him up.
Roan shivered and turned around again, climbing reluctantly to his feet. Dusting sand off from the seat of his jeans, he kicked his shoes off and began walking towards the water. The sand was warm on his soles, but the water was cold as he walked into it. Roan blinked rapidly as he watched the waves wash lazily over his ankles before rushing away again. He didn't know if he would ever be able to look at the ocean the same again.
Looking up, his eyes roved over the horizon. Far into the distance, Santorini glittered in the sunlight. Roan suddenly felt piercingly alone as he stood in the water; the day was warm, but he felt as cold as ice.
He swallowed the lump in his throat with difficulty. "Hey... Hi Emery."
Roan paused, hating how ridiculous he felt. Lilah meant well, but what did she know? The person she loved was right next to her - Apollo would probably be next to her for the rest of eternity. Even now, they were probably happily planning their wedding, which Roan was dreading going to. Both of them were blissfully unaware of the kind of grief that tossed in his heart everyday, and he prayed they never would.
He sighed, rubbing his temple unhappily. Taking a deep breath, he began again. "Hi Emery." Her name on his lips felt like ashes. "It's been a while since you... since you left, and I... I really miss you."
He smiled sadly at the lame sentiment, ignoring the moisture that was welling up in his beautiful eyes. "I can still remember the day we met. Do you? I mean, wherever you are. In heaven, or wherever the hell people go. Do you remember the day we met?"
He took a deep, painful breath. "I thought you were amazing. You threw a damn apple at that thug, and it was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Waste of an apple, in my opinion." The first of his tears began to fall. "I'm no good at this, Emery, I'm really not. I just - I just hope you knew how much you meant to me. I fell so hard for you, so fast, and I'd never felt so alive in my life!" He laughed, the sound hollow as his tears fell. "Isn't that crazy? I was trying to save your life, but really you saved mine. I told you I wanted to protect you, but you never needed me, not really. You're a badass on your own, that's the truth. I just didn't want to see you run off into the world, and have there be no guarantee that I'd ever see you again. You thought I was this selfless, amazing person - but all I wanted was to keep you to myself. That's the truth of it. I'm so glad I took that alley that day, I'm so glad that stupid witch tried to beat me up. Cause I wouldn't have known you any other way."
He paused, gasping as the air tore in and out of his lungs. The ocean sparkled back at him, mocking how dark he felt.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you." He whispered. "It kills me that I was out cold while that monster was killing you. I... I was there, right there, when he was... when he was stabbing you." He choked, remembering how her blood dripped. "And you were never mad at me, not once that night. I let him hurt you, and you didn't blame me. You were dying, and you still saved me. What's up with that? I was supposed to protect you, not the other way around."
Roan dragged a hand through his hair, kicking at the water in frustration. "It's even worse that you can't even hear me right now!" He was suddenly shouting, the words hurtling from his lips into the air. "You said that we would work through the hard stuff together, but you're not here! I'm here, and I'm alone, and it sucks so much. This is the hardest thing I've had to go through, but you're not here!"
He ran into the water, drenching his jeans, until it was up to his waist. The water lapped eagerly at his torso, and he rubbed angrily at his tears.
"I miss you so much." He sighed wearily. "God, I miss you. I wish you were here and... I wish you weren't dead, Emery. I really do. Cause what's the point?" He laughed again, weakly this time. "What's the point in loving you if you're not here anymore? It just hurts too much, Em, it's too much."
Roan was quiet for a long time, staring out at the water. It was quiet except for the quiet crashing of waves on the shore, and the beating of his heart.
"I love you, Emery." Roan said, his voice breaking. "I love you so much, and I'll never stop."
Swallowing hard, he turned abruptly and began heading to shore. His heart hurt too much now; this was a stupid idea from the beginning. Coming here so soon when his wounds were so raw didn't help at all. All he wanted now was to get away, as far away as possible.
"Bono!" Roan yelled as he trudged onto the shore. His sopping jeans slowed him down. "Let's get out of here, buddy - "
There was a deafening crashing sound behind Roan, and he turned in shock at the sound. His golden eyes widened in amazement and fear at what he saw before him.
The only way to describe it was as some sort of sea monster. It was huge, towering several hundred feet above Roan, it's long, and scaly body shimmering a myriad of different colours. It's head resembled that of a dragon's, but deep, hissing gills marked it's long neck several feet down from it's huge head. Roan couldn't even begin to imagine how long it's body was beneath the waves, it was that big. Giant, piercing green eyes looked down at Roan imperiously, and as Roan stared at it in shock, it let out a screeching, deafening roar.
Roan stumbled and fell at the sound, struggling to comprehend what he was seeing. There was nothing about such a creature in the information networks, if he survived this it would a huge addition -
Roan paused at that thought. Would he survive this? The creature was looking directly at him, and it looked less than happy to see him. Roan's hands tingled with the fire that came with the adrenaline pounding through his body - there was no way he could beat this creature, not with his flimsy fire balls. What was to become of him?
As the panicked thoughts rushed through his mind, the creature roared again and began to slowly lower it's head. Roan began to crawl backwards desperately, wondering why it was taking so long to attack him. He was cursing himself for coming here again; it was obviously a huge mistake, in more ways than one.
Roan was contemplating sending a couple tongues of fire out to blind the creature, when something caught his eye. The creature's head was still lowering, about a dozen feet away from him now, and a figure was emerging from behind the creature's reptilian ear. As Roan focused in on the figure's face, his heart thundered to a loud stop in shock.
She smiled apologetically. "Sorry if we scared you." She called out. Her voice hit Roan like daggers. "Daisy sensed you on shore, and she got curious."
Roan was speechless. The girl standing casually on top of the creature's head was smiling encouragingly down at him, tucking sopping tendrils of dark brown hair behind her ear. It looked like she was wearing a white one piece bathing suit under a pair of denim shorts, but Roan's eyes were locked on her eyes.
They were a dark, bottomless, beautiful shade of blue.
"Emery?" He gasped in disbelief.
She tilted her head in confusion. Roan watched as she whispered something into the creature's ear, and it obligingly lowered its head even more until it was almost lying on the sand. The girl climbed off easily, padding over the remaining distance to Roan with a quizzical look on her face.
When she was right in front of him, she crouched down until she was level with him. Roan felt like his eyes might pop out of their sockets - she looked exactly like her; the curve of her lips, the line of her nose, and those beautiful eyes. Could it really be?
She was searching his eyes, half confused and half suspicious, but she was silent. Roan couldn't take the silence any longer.
He reached out a hand slowly, carefully. 'Emery, it's me, Roan - "
She slapped his hand away, and he blinked at her as his hand stung.The girl was frowning as she stared him square in the eye.
"Who are you, and how the hell do you know my name?"
The End.
Hello everyone! This is not a joke, this is literally the end lol. Thanks to everyone who stayed so faithfully with this story, I can't stress enough how much I appreciate it! You guys are the best (':
If you want to know what happens next, stay tuned for the sequel!