Dyslexia and Disappointment

Evan wanders back to the settlement gradually, taking his time, watching the night sky light up as the white sun settles below the western treeline. Stargazing has become his new hobby since coming to Fallen, so much so that he occasionally ducks out of conversation to go outside and look at the sky for awhile.

Tonight his eyes wander over the strange details of Fallen's Dusk Sister, the reportedly barren world orbiting the star only a few hundred thousand miles behind Fallen itself, in nearly the same elliptical path. It's visible during the early evening, then rotates away behind the sun a few hours later. It's a reddish world, with no visible water or greenery, marked with glowing orange and red lines and remembers someone mentioning these grooves, saying they were probably cracks in the planet's crust, exposing rivers of magma.

One way or another, it seems like a pretty unpleasant place. Evan wonders if there was any chance of landing there, instead of Fallen, while he somehow traversed the galaxy at the moment of his original death. He shudders. The heaven and hell myths of Earth's religions suddenlt make an eerie sense... which brings up an even more upsetting question.

Can people go back? If, for some reason, people saw these two worlds and thought heaven and hell, it must mean someone had seen these places and somehow returned to share the story. Evan experiences a moment of trauma as he imagines waking up back there... back among the seemingly endless misery and paranoia that was his family, back among the half-dead trees and grass of New England, back underneath the almost empty night sky, where the stars were nothing but cold specks and the worlds invisible, where only one kind of person walked the planet and seemed united only in destructive machinations...

A sort of emptiness takes him. The idea of leaving this place is more than he is able to handle. He starts to walk back to town, suddenly purposeful, no longer wanting to be alone. The sky has taken on a threatening aura tonight, the suggestion of a home that was never a home to him. The idea of going back moves his feet and darkens his thoughts.

The idea of never seeing Aelia again...

Now why, he muses, is that particular idea so repellent? Compared to anything else, at least? Naturally he'd miss the people of Fallen badly, but he realizes it's her face that floats through his thoughts and disturbs him the most to lose.

Her luminous gray-blue eyes...

And all at once he realizes what he managed to miss only an hour before; she'd taken his bag and mentioned getting “moved in,” she must have decided to let him stay with her!

He supresses his excitement. He's been living with her the entirety of his short life here, there's no reason to suspect it would mean anything more than familiar living arrangements. She probably wouldn't even sleep in the same room as him, particularly with the aloof way he's been acting. He hasn't shown the slightest interest, aside from that conversation they'd had on the deck of the Gantrillian last night.

But then, his mind argues, that was only just last night. And today's been busy; perhaps she's wanted to talk all day and just hasn't had the chance. They haven't been alone, have they? Not for a moment. And then he'd gone tramping into the woods by himself for no apparent reason, leaving her behind to do... what?

Evan finds himself in the little square, in front of the middle of the three houses his party had been granted. No lights are on in any of them, and for a moment he considers channeling to figure out where people are. He only decides against it because someone might see him, see he's wearing a sword and glowing at the eyes, and decide there's trouble. Not worth it.

He takes a deep breath and steps forward, knocks the door of the middle house. A yelp comes from inside, followed by some giggling, and seconds later a poorly-covered Kari opens the door just far enough to peek outside. “Oh, it's only you.”

“Only me.”

She opens the door the rest of the way, revealing herself to be wearing nothing more than a hastily-arranged throw rug. “Something wrong? It's kind of late and we were... sleeping. Soundly.”

“Sorry. I just got back, don't know where I'm staying. Did... Aelia say anything?”

She regards him with an expression like pity. “Not to me. I think she's over there, though.” She points to the left-hand house. “Um... yeah. Think so. Anything else I can help you with?” She hikes up the rug, looking impatient. Good-naturedly impatient, of course.

“Nah, go back to bed. Sleeping. Thanks.”

She almost finishes saying “No problem,” before the door is shut, leaving Evan on the step. He laughs to himself, feeling a bit of jealousy. Oden and Kari. They seem to have it all figured out. Of course, “it all” seems to consist largely of sneaking off and leaving the Gantrillian on auto-pilot, and pining for each other even when they're just a room apart... but still. Between borderline-pathetic devotion or confused loneliness, he knows what he'd choose.

With that choice in mind, along with a dozen possible opening lines, he heads to the left house and knocks on the door.

There's no answer. He waits a moment and knocks again... and nothing. She must be asleep, he decides, or... his blood gets uncomfortably cold, maybe she's with Sebastean. Somehow it makes sense to his somewhat irritated mind. He's known her longer... maybe she's mad at Evan, or annoyed, or just bored, or maybe she just feels safer with a more experienced fighter in a strange place...

When you're upset enough, even the most bizarre ideas take hold and drive you a little crazy. Evan shuffles across to the right-hand house and pulls the door open, not at all surprised to find it unlocked. Naturally. There's no one here.

He sleeps, face-down on a couch, without a blanket. Without removing his armor or boots. The island's cool tropical night seems uncomforably warm.

For the first time since coming to Fallen, he has nightmares that he won't be able to forget in the morning.

* * *

Aelia rushes out of the bathroom, pulling on a robe as quickly as she can, channeling the water from her hair. The shower still runs in the small bathroom, and anyone but her would be slipping on the puddles she leaves tracked across the cabin's floor.

By the time she pulls open the front door, feeling frantic, nobody's there.

She thought she'd heard a knock, but maybe it was just the rarely-used water pipes in the house making funny noises. Probably Evan was over in the other house with Sebastean, telling manly stories and drinking, or else practicing his sword fighting, which never seems to improve, or any number of things.

She'd been hoping he'd come here tonight.

With a sigh, she closes the door and flops down on the cold, unfamiliar bed. Sleep comes eventually to save her from her thoughts.

* * *

And Dackorec Seraph stands at a viewscreen, watches his b*****d grandchild crumple under the effects of coma-gas, smiles with satisfaction. Turning to an aide, he calls for a map of Nostlack island and points to one of the few clusters of glowing dots on the display.

“There. Send your soldiers to arrive at dawn, place charges on their ship, and surround the houses they're staying in. Kill the four who came with them.”

“Father, we anticipate resistance from the Pteros miners. They wake before dawn for the morning shift, and they seem to take the safety of their... guests very seriously.”

Dackorec considers this for an instant. That's what makes him a leader, he takes a second to reflect, he can come up with plans in the space of a heartbeat. That and his ever-vigilant faith.

“Blow the ship just before dawn, but just after the shift change. That will bring the Pteros workers to the landing area in droves, and if I know humans, they'll have spent the whole night fornicating and drinking themselves stupid. They'll likely still be asleep when your soldiers arrive, and there will be a minimal guard.”

“A masterful idea, Father.”

“We are blessed in these times of trial, Brother. The gods do everything they can for us, including inspire our minds to victory. Be thankful.”

“And you as well, Father. I will report to you when we have them.”