(disconnected!)Aftermath

This is after the events of Cain's father being put to death by the mysterious Disciple of Ragnarok.

“After the loss of his father, Cain is left contemplating what he should make for a next move. When will he snap out of it to handle the real threat at hand?

in this bit, it is night time, the same day as the events of the following chapter. The party has already performed a proper burial for Ethan, with the help of Cecille. Everyone is still in low spirits and decided to make camp a little ways out from where the burial occurred, in hopes of being able to pick up the pace of their true objective. As most of the group is sitting besides the fire in silence, Cain is off by himself at a nearby pool, deep in thought and alone. The party decided it would be best to leave him for now.

All they can do is sit around, waiting for their leader to bounce back into reality. What else could they do? He was their friend after all. Naomi is with the rest of the group, keeping her eyes on Cain. At this point she is forming a conversation in her mind to help him out.

This, is where we begin.”

There was so much silence that filled the air that night, you could practically hear the heart beat of the person next to you. The only noise was the crackling of the nearby fire. It wasn't a silence which was calming in any way at all. Everyone could only feel helpless at this point. Even Vella, who always had some sort of uplifting statement to make was all out of words to use at this time. She shifted the brim of her hat slightly so it tilted down, and closed her eyes to rest up a bit. At this point it wouldn't matter what was done. Naomi was their last card. Only she would have any chance of getting through to him.

Naomi had almost finished up wording things in her head by now. She had formed imaginary conversations with him in her head. Dozens, maybe even hundreds of outcomes and scenarios. She sat by for what seemed to be like days, making sure to get it right. She knew however that all of the preparation in the world wouldn't guarantee a predictable outcome, however the longer she spent thinking meant that she would have far more confidence in the situation.

Right then, she decided she was ready to confront Cain. Opening her eyes, she kept a steady pace towards the broken man that lay ahead of her. The small expedition seemed to take far longer than how far it truly was, but in due time she made her way to his side.

He didn't so much as acknowledge her presence, and continued staring off into the distance. He was right in front of her, but she knew Cain had been far off in some other place. It was up to her to bring him back, dragging him ruthlessly by the feet if she had to. After a long pause, she began to form words.

“You're worrying everyone Cain.”

There was a long silence following her statement. It appeared as though he had completely blown her off. In time however, without turning his head, he responded: “Can you honestly blame them?”

This puzzled Naomi to a small extent, for she had no idea where he was going with this.

“A leader should be strong, dependable, and someone to rely on. I've proven myself to be lacking these qualities.”

He threw out a light sigh that was hardly noticeable before continuing.

“A leader is supposed to protect what he is leading. That is my job Naomi.”

Suddenly he turned to face her, and stared her straight in the eyes, with his usual nonchalant look. This one was slightly different however, and seemed hollow in nature.

“All my life I had searched for the strength to defend what I care about. To defend things in life. I thought this was my reason for existing. It was my drive, my inspiration throughout my life. It was one of my main values, yet I could do nothing to save my own father. I couldn't even return the same favor he once gave me. What kind of leader is that?”

Naomi waited a moment before she decided to speak. The words were already forming in her head and were weaved together in her mind.

“And do you really expect to do that yourself?”

Cain sat there in thought. His eyes drifted to the side, without turning his head. He had no response for her question.

Naomi continued: “I figured you of all people would understand that you can't do it all by yourself Cain.”

“I don't quite understand how you of all people would be telling me that. You've been by yourself for as long as I can remember, single handedly completing tasks that I can only dream of accomplishing.”, he retorted.

Naomi looked up at the sky and took a sort breath.

“I suppose you got me there. We both have problems when it comes doing things on our own, and biting off more than we can swallow.”, she said with a slight smirk.

“You can do anything you can set your mind to. You have the strength that I lack. This is where we differ.” In saying this, Cain looked up as well.

Without as much as changing her view or expression, Naomi stated: “No, that's where you're wrong Cain. With all the strength I have, It had take a long time to come to realize that I failed long ago. Something so simple and obvious, but I couldn't see it.”

“I suppose some mistakes can't be fixed once they have been made.”, he said while dropping his view back over to the pond. He was beginning to slip back into his despair.

“Don't blame yourself for this Cain. Keep your focus on the man who did this. You are not to blame for your father's death, it was something that was going to happen no matter what had been done.”

This statement triggered a nerve in Cain, and then his grief began to surface.

“There must have been something, anything that I could have done to prevent this. There's no way that this was the only outcome.”, he said in a low tone.

Naomi then interjected: “What would you have done differently then?! Honestly, tell me Cain, because I'm dying to hear it.”

This was clearly heard by the entire group, and they all had turned their attentions over to the arguing duo. Neither Cain, nor Naomi seemed to care that they were now being watched.

Mildly shocked by her exclamation, Cain merely sat there and said nothing.

“Exactly. I can understand your pain for your father, I understand your situation. You can't just continue to focus on the 'what if's' of the situation. Focus on now, and what you intend to do about it. Good or bad, the things that happen to us are ultimately what make us what we are. If you focus on how you could have made a better outcome it will destroy you. Your father wouldn't want this for you.”, she stated in a loud manner.

This was what did it. Something inside of Cain had snapped, and out flowed all the grief, the anger, the guilt of everything that happened. All of the emotions that he had kept bottled up within his heart flowed out in one single torrent of emotion. He angrily exclaimed: “How in the hell would you know what my father wanted?! You don't know my father any more than I do Naomi. How the hell would you know anything?!”

In a split second, just like lightning itself, Naomi swung her hand straight at Cain's cheek. It let off a thunder clap that echoed for what seemed like miles. It was clear to him at that moment that what he said was too much. Cain had stepped straight over the line at this point, and he was well aware. At that moment, his sanity had returned. He was now in his right mind, but now he had another problem to face. His emotions had put himself in a bind with the person whom he was closest with in this world. All these thoughts passed through his mind at an instant, just as his brain had processed that he had been smacked. The tensity of the situation made it so he hadn't even felt physical pain. Only the feeling that he had messed up, and big.

With her hand still raised, she dropped her arm. Her eyes had a pure unsatisfied look in them. Oddly enough she didn't seem angry, but rather hurt.

“I would know exactly how your father felt. I left that orphanage years ago to find a strength of my own to defend the only person I cared about. The same person your father dedicated his life to protect. I understand both you and your father's situation far more than you would think, because I have lived them. So next time choose your words more carefully before spouting your mouth off. It pains me to have someone else tell me that I have no idea what I'm talking about.” Her eyes began to water, and she turned her head to hide this.

“Especially from you..”, she continued.

Naomi turned around entirely at this point and then walked off in the opposite direction. Her pace slowly picked up into a slow jog, and eventually into a sprint. Cain wanted to do nothing but stop her, but the shock of the situation paralyzed him. He could only sit there and think about how severely he had messed up. He had hurt his childhood friend, the most important person in his life, and he only realized this when it was too late. Why did I just do that? These where the only words that echoed throughout his mind.

He settled the tension of his muscles and took a deep breath. Slumping his shoulders, he was then back into his laid back self. He turned to the group, who was still staring in his direction. They then returned their attentions to the fire, and spoke quietly amongst themselves with inaudible voices. Not that it mattered at this point, Cain didn't have a care in the world about what they were saying.

He began to walk over to everyone else slowly. He stopped beside Vella for a moment. After a short pause he said: “I screwed up pretty big.... didn't I?”

She had one last remark she wanted to use, in hopes of making him feel better. Even if it were only a little bit.

“Nah, she'll be back. You'll see.”, she stated with a mischievous tone.

Without so much as a nod, he continued a short while before sitting in the grass, up against the nearby tree. He closed his eyes and began to slip away into a deep sleep that he needed for the day ahead. The rest of the group had continued with their minor conversations, piecing together what the next thing to do was. Sol and Waverly made opposing bets on who would be the first of Naomi and Cain to speak with one another. The meek little Cecille simply sat awkwardly listening to the idle chit chat. The situation was almost in a successful state of repair.

Off in a nearby woods, Naomi was wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Damn it why the hell did he have to go off and say something like that?!”, she said to herself.

“He's such an idiot sometimes....”, she continued.

Naomi was never skilled in expressing her emotions as it was. Taking the path of a Dark Knight had only made it harder since then¹. The emotions she had felt were overwhelming, and she wasn't too sure how to deal with it. Both reluctant to blame him for his reaction, and yet she was enraged by it. She suddenly grasped her chest right above where her heart lies.

“Damn.... it hurts........ why does it hurt?”

1. To be a Dark Knight, the person must part with half of their soul which will reside inside the weapon that they wield. It makes it so that the weapon itself gains strength as emotions stir within the individual. As a result the wielder is often either unfeeling in nature, improperly expresses emotion, or even both.

Author's Note

It hasn't quite been edited yet. Please by all means rip apart any and all errors in spelling and/or grammar.