[PP-NK-F5] A Long Time Coming (Teion)

[Endilix 0]

The wind whirled and danced around the man as he stood in front of the quaint little shop in the blazing sun. Wind and sand in equal measure blew his crimson hair one way, only to change its mind and flow the other direction, occasionally landing a speck in his eye. And yet, the man still did not move, not even for the small sting of the shifting sands. Not even for the scorching rays playing across his arms and face. Not even as he told himself that this was the right thing to do.

In truth, the man was afraid. His natural smile played across his lips, making him look just as normal and happy as he had always been. But in his heart, he shook. A deep fear that he dare not let surface. Just smile. Always smile. No matter how hard it gets. No matter how much you want to give up. Just smile. But would she be smiling? That's what the man feared the most. That she wouldn't be. That she had no reason to smile.

The wind played across his drab tunic, as he stared at the door. Occasionally, a patron would enter, and others would exit. Those that exited would pause, and look at him, holding the door open as if they expected him to enter. The man simply stared back at them in return, just as curious about them as they were him. But they would eventually move on in what felt like hours, but in truth was only seconds. The man would let his mind wander, curious about the conversations she had with them. Curious if she was smiling and happy.

Occasionally he would shake some of the dust from his ragged pants, fraying at the edges. His black boots kicked away the dust, only to have to settle back into the sand once again, submerging themselves in the growing tides of yellow particles. It had been a long time since he hadn't worn armor. Longer still since he felt safe enough to do so. Would it be safe with her? Would she welcome him and make him feel at home, like a long lost friend? Would she smile at him?

The fear throbbed in the man's heart again. He realized he had missed her. He had missed that smile. And that was why he was so afraid. Was he too late to ever see it again? Had it left in his absence never to return? Or was it still there? The unknown was the hardest part. But the man knew one thing. He would smile, even if she didn't. Smiles were contagious, and even if it was gone, maybe it would return. That was all he could hope for.

And so the time came. It was time to stop drifting. Time to stop being alone. Endilix looked around to make sure nobody else was coming towards the shop, before pressing his palm against the scalding wood and moving forward. His feet barely carried him, as his fear almost made his knees buckle. But he had to do this, he had to face her again. He pushed his way into the shop, and tried his best to smile.

[Teion 0]

Today, like all others, had been a long one. And it wasn't even noon. Teion had received a more or less steady stream of business since reopening her shop. What had it been, a couple of months now? She lost track. Either way, the hustle and bustle certainly wasn't like it used to be, but she felt that was a good thing. She didn't need the stress on dealing with people on such a regular basis. Regardless, she found ways to keep herself from idling during the long days in the desert.

In the single back room to her shop, the woman lifted up a rectangular crate filled with half a dozen identical straight swords laying stacked together. Holding the underside of the bulky wooden crate with both arms, Teion pushed against the small door that led to the main shop area with her back. Turning herself around to face forward once she'd cleared the doorway, her eyes fell upon a lone figure on the opposite side of the room.

It was as if a stone golem's hand was gripping her by the heart, holding her in place and refusing to let her go. At the same time, she felt her own grip weaken, and in response the crate in her arms met the floor with a loud crash. The steel weaponry lay scattered across the cracked stone floor beneath her, but the noise didn't cause her to so much as flinch. Her eyes were locked on the redheaded man, a familiar face that suddenly felt so unfamiliar, with a look of only shock across her features.

'The White Knight.'

The words in the monster's voice played back in her mind, and a hint of fear flickered in her eyes at the memory. Why, of all the memories she held of the man standing before her, was that monster the first thing to surface? Perhaps because it was the most recent, and one of the reasons she carried herself so devoid of emotion in the past months. It felt like an hour had passed since she'd stopped in her tracks, when reality only brought her forward a few seconds. Staring at Endilix blankly, Teion couldn't will herself to speak. Even if she could, she wouldn't have the words.

[Endilix 0]

It was, as he feared. There was no smile. No warm greeting. Just utter, and complete shock. Endilix barely registered the thud of the crate on the ground. Barely felt the wind and sand blowing in from behind him as he stood in the half open doorway. Barely noticed the stark contrast of cool air mixing with scorching heat on either half of his body. All he noticed was the wide-eyed shock of the woman he had so dreaded, and yet desired, to see most. The girl he had called his best friend, utterly shocked by his existence. But who was to blame for that? Only himself.

The fear that throbbed deep within his heart left him, replaced slowly at first by a tightening pain. The longer he stared at the woman in front of him, the more the pain grew. The longer he stared into those stunned eyes, the harder his chest tightened. This was his fault. It was his fault from the very beginning. The one person who had trusted him most, Endilix had betrayed not once, not twice, but three times. Endilix searched those eyes for forgiveness, but in her shocked state there was no way for him to tell if it was there.

But standing here staring at each other would do nothing. Endilix took another step to fully enter the shop, letting the door close behind him. In one swift motion, Endilix fell to one knee, his head hung low, eyes tightly shut. What came next wasn't simply a statement, but a pledge:

"A true knight is nothing without someone to protect. And through that protection a bond is formed, one that cannot easily be broken. Through loyalty, a knight works to atone for sins. Though a sinner a knight may be, that does not make him evil, but simply misguided."

Endilix pressed a fist against his chest, white-knuckled as he lifted his eyes to look at the woman across the shop. The emerald orbs searched hers once again for understanding, before he finished, "Though misguided I have been, one thing has always remained true. I am a knight. And my loyalty to you has always been one of atonement. But now, I come to you not only to atone..."

And then it broke. Endilix's serious mask seemed to almost melt away as he smiled, and then gave a short laugh, waving a hand as he covered his face and looked to the side. "I'm sorry... I had that all thought out in my head. All this serious knight business where I pledge myself to you and promise to never hurt you again..." Endilix closed his eyes and sighed, his hand falling to rest on his knee as he spoke, "I meant it, every word I just said, and wanted to say. But the long story short is... well, I missed you. And that I'm truly sorry."

[Teion 0]

What felt like an eternity passed as Teion's blue eyes locked with Endilix's green. Neither of them spoke or moved, frozen in place as their presence fully sunk into each other. The redheaded knight was the first to disrupt the silence that had blanketed the room, and as he stepped forward with a fluid motion to kneel, Teion couldn't help blinking in further surprise. She flinched as his voiced reached her ears for the first time in so long, but the words he uttered seemed to pass through her. What was he saying? She tried to comprehend the sounds that left him and register them in her mind, but her efforts were in vain.

The man before her was so familiar; an old friend with an aura of nostalgia surrounding him, but at this moment Teion felt like she barely recognized him. Where was Endilix? The goofy, carefree grin that she'd grown so used to seeing? The woman's arms relaxed at her sides as she watched the knight. When his head lifted and their eyes met again, she tensed slightly. He looked as though he was searching, hoping for something as their gaze locked again. Then he continued speaking. His words reached her now, but the blacksmith still couldn't understand. Was this the man Endilix had been replaced with? Was she just as changed--a hardened warrior that had been so easily molded by this place?

Then she saw it. Though it was small, embarrassed, and a bit awkward, the smile that passed over Endilix's features caused her heart to flutter with a familiar happiness. The man promptly averted his gaze, and when he spoke again his words seem to echo inside of her. When he fell silent, a small, stifled sound escaped the violet-haired woman. With a suppressed chuckle, her lips had curled into a smile that was hiding behind the hand she brought up to her face. In contrast, involuntary tears welled at the corners of her also-smiling eyes, threatening to spill over with the strong mixture of emotions now hitting her with full force. Her wall had finally been broken, and on the other side was possibly the only person capable of doing so.

"Stupid..." The word left her weakly, as if it was all she could manage. She forced whatever courage she could find to the surface, continuing with only a few more words--a phrase that she didn't realize she wanted to say so badly until now. "I missed you, too."

Edited July 16, 2016 by Teion

[Endilix 0]

Endilix watched her every movement, searching her reactions for the woman he had so badly wronged and the one he feared had went away. She had looked so serious when he had walked in. So forlorn. Yet even for a moment, that woman still remained, and the facade cracked, and fell away in pieces as her smile, returned, and the weight of the world appeared to be lifted from her shoulders. Her hard features grew soft once again as Endilix stood before her. Admittedly he wasn't used to being eye level with someone he was talking to, as almost everyone he had come into contact with recently was either shorter or taller than the knight. But here she was, eye to eye with Endilix, and what he hoped was heart to heart.

"Honestly, if stupid is the worst you've got for me, then I'm going to have to say that you're letting me off to easy," he said, staring at Teion, continuing to search for the girl he had been such close friends with. Checking to make sure that the momentary smile and emotions flowing throughout her weren't just a fluke. That she was still really there, and not just a ghost. "I deserve far worse insults than that. Both for what I did in and out of this game. Things I never really answered for, or properly took punishment for. Something you may not even blame me for, but that I blame myself for."

Endilix sighed, his smile flickering for a moment as he looked around the shop. It had grown considerably more stocked, though it didn't appear to contain the same fervor and heart that her work had previously contained. It was all cold steel, crafted for necessity rather than art. But Endilix tried not to think too hard about that, as he approached things as carefully as possible, "If you'd like me to leave, I understand. I'm not here to make a purchase, and this is your normal business hours. No sense in me being a bother."

[Teion 0]

Teion watched, vision blurred, as the redhead before her spoke. She almost replied, but her voice was caught in her throat. Bringing a cupped hand to her cover her mouth instead, she let the man continue. His next words were honest and filled with regret, causing her chest to tighten. She didn't want to think about those things anymore. She'd spent so much time running away from the pain in their shared past, pushing away and ignoring as many emotions as she had to just to keep pushing herself forward. She wondered, during the months they'd spent apart, if there had ever been a time when Endilix left her thoughts completely. But even though she ran, he came to her.

'Being a bother...?' The words echoed in her mind, and in reaction the tears that had formed at the corners of her eyes now streamed down across her flushed cheeks. The woman brought her hand back down to her side, fingers clenching into tight fists. Wrenching her eyes shut and tilting her head forward as she willed the rest of her body to move, Teion closed the distance between the two players with a few quick strides. Coming to a stop just a few feet in front of the knight, she brought her right arm up and quickly extended it out to deliver a punch directly at the man's chest. Despite her original intent, however, her fist only nudged against Endilix in the most half-hearted of blows. Holding her arm extended and knuckles lightly pressed against his clothing, Teion finally opened her eyes and lifted her head to look back into his eyes, tears continuing to flow. "I-I just said... I missed you." She managed, her voice breaking slightly.

Her body felt frozen in place, but the woman managed to pull her arm back to hold her curled hand in front of her own chest. She dropped her gaze, unable to look into his bittersweet eyes any longer. Shoulders trembling and shifting with her sobs, Teion forced herself to speak. "You probably...think this i-is all your fault." She choked the words out with a sniffle. "but I'm sorry, too. I've just...been a coward. I tried to be strong...on my own..." She seemed as though she wanted to say more, but either couldn't find the words or could no longer speak through the emotions.

Edited July 25, 2016 by Teion

[Endilix 0]

Endilix wasn't entirely certain how to react to the half-hearted punch that landed on his chest. He had deserved it, no doubt. He had deserved the blow at full force. He deserved the pain that it encompassed, and the lingering spirit that held that pain close to its heart, and for some reason had never had the opportunity to let it go. But in that single, weak blow, Endilix saw a release. The woman before him hadn't meant to cause pain to him, only to make the man before her realize how stupid he was, though Endilix was still trying to figure out where his true stupidity lied.

When the girl finally spoke again, it broke Endilix's heart. She had been sad, and despite her claims, he knew that he was at least partially to blame for that. It was clear that she didn't want him to leave. And so he did the next best thing, and made it plain as day that he planned to stay. Instinctively, Endilix reached for the girl before him and pulled her into a hug, pulling her head against his shoulder, and lightly patting her back. "Alright, I understand. I apologize for suggesting that I leave," Endilix said, as he let the girl's emotions run their course. He hadn't meant to make her cry, and in fact had expected more anger than anything. But it appeared that Teion hadn't held onto that nearly as much as Endilix had believed. And as the man considered this, he realized that perhaps he hadn't been paying enough attention to Teion, to realize that the anger wasn't what would eat her, but her sorrow and loneliness.

"I should've been a more understanding friend, and known what the absence of those you cared about would do to you, rather than wandering off like I always seem to do. Not that you've ever held that against me, or even stopped me." Endilix sighed and rubbed the woman's back idly as he hoped she would calm down, before continuing, "But maybe you should have. Maybe you should have asked me to stay sometime. And I would have." Endilix looked over the woman in his arms, her purple hair flowing about her person, masking her face from him in the position they were in, though he could still feel the spasms of her tears. "For what it's worth, I think you did a good job. Holding your own. But you don't have to be alone, or stand up to the world by yourself. I'll stand beside you. All you needed to do was ask."

Endilix had kept a light smile on his lips, but it faded as his own emotions took over, and the man seemed to suddenly feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. "That advice applies to myself as well... I should have asked for you to stick around. I should have asked to have you beside me sooner. The fault is just as much my own."

Edited July 25, 2016 by Endilix