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Post by Lea on Oct 11, 2011 19:43:54 GMT -5
He found himself standing at Aya's door sometime later that night, not really sure how he'd got there or what had brought him except that her offer kept nagging at the back of his mind, and the fact that he desperately needed to talk to someone, even if they wouldn't understand...
...and maybe, just maybe, she would. He didn't know.
Before he could talk himself out of it, he rapped twice, hard, on her door.
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 11, 2011 20:01:32 GMT -5
I got out of my bed, grabbing my bath robe when I heard the knock. Whoever was at my door better have a good reason for being there. I slowly walked towards the door and opened it.
"Lea?" I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked up at him again. This is what I get for going to bed earlier then usual. "Come on in." I figured he was there because of the crossing earlier and I suppose that's good reason. I sat down on the couch and gestured for him to sit as well.
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Post by Lea on Oct 11, 2011 20:18:10 GMT -5
He walked in, noticing she was in her bathrobe and not really caring; he felt... numb. He vaguely remembered finding an alley somewhere off out of the way, where no one could find him and no one would be hurt as he vented his anger and frustration in a conflagration that didn't end until he literally felt like there was noting left inside him to burn. He sat down next to her and put his head in his hands.
"I.... I'm sorry to bother you so late," he said, and it was all he could think of to say. So many things were swirling around inside his head right now...
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 11, 2011 20:51:20 GMT -5
I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. It's not like your a salesman trying to sell me something I don't need." I glanced around the room for a few moments, just realizing the mess it looked like but right now it didn't really matter, how often are there guests here anyhow? Hardly ever. I shook the thought out of my head and looked at Lea. "So, who's Ifrit?"
The name has stuck in my memory so I decided to ask about it but the second I said the name I regretted it to a point. Oh well, no turning back now so I sat back and relaxed, watching for his reaction.
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Post by Lea on Oct 11, 2011 21:21:55 GMT -5
He physically flinched, but it was more a flinch from remembered pain than from anything she'd said.
"Ifrit," he whispered, as if caught in another place and time. He shook his head. "....Ifrit is..."
He struggled, struggled to find the words. That struggle found him on his feet, pacing. "Ifrit is a demon lord," he said, finally, settling on a truth that wouldn't say too much, bring up too many bad memories. Not that it did much good.
He sighed, clenched his fists. "...he's also the Master of a Halfer camp," he finished, grating out the rest of the story.
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 11, 2011 22:18:21 GMT -5
I moved around uncomfortably on the couch before settling. Unsure whether to believe him, I eventually just nodded, figuring that he'd say something more if he wanted to. Besides, he could be telling the truth after all... Right?
"I see." I played with one of my earrings, trying to search for something to say. "You were in this Halfer camp, I take it? At one point or another." The thought of a halfer camp terrified me. My family was probably in one somewhere.
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Post by Lea on Oct 12, 2011 7:00:08 GMT -5
He nodded.
"I..."
It was difficult; instead, he brought the topic in a different direction. Maybe, just maybe, if he wasn't talking about himself, it would be easier to say.
"...you were raised on Earth, right?" he asked. "Do you... know what it's like, in the Camps?"
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 12, 2011 12:00:16 GMT -5
I nodded. "Yeah, I was raised in a town just north of here actually." I stood and went to grab a glass of water. "I have a vague idea but I've never actually been to a halfer camp. If I'm lucky, I'll never wind up there." Frankly, this isn't about me so I wondered why he was asking about me, either way though I let it slide. "Let me guess though, terrible place, halfers get used practically as slave labor, not exactly the happiest place in existence?" That's what I've heard about them at least.
I sat back down on my couch and played with the straw in the glass. "What do you think it's like?"
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Post by Lea on Oct 12, 2011 12:18:58 GMT -5
He shivered; he didn't think. He knew.
"The first time I ever sat in a history class," he said, "the teacher spoke about Hitler and the Holocaust. The way the Jews were kept in bunkers that were little more than cages, and worked until they either starved to death or became too old or sick to work, and the Nazis carried them off to the ovens and the gas chambers. If they were smart, they survived, bartering with each other and the guards for food and lenience, giving away the few treasures they had left to ensure that they lived until the Allies rescued them, and they lived that way for an eternity that lasted six years."
He shivered again, carefully keeping his back turned to Aya so she wouldn't see his expression.
"They showed us pictures of those camps, Aya, and it felt like I was staring at a memory. On the other side, Halfers live out their entire lives in camps like those, only ten times worse - because there are no Allies coming to rescue them, and there is no escape except back into the hands of slavery - and, if you're lucky, a quick death, instead of a slow one."
His fists clenched, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I lived that hell, Aya," he ground out, somehow, unable to stop now that he'd started. "I lived it from the time I was three years old to the time I was thirteen, and I managed to force a Crossing and escaped Hell for good." His fists clenched harder, so hard that his claws dug trails of blood into his own palms.
"And now," he said, "Hell has come back to fetch me. Ifrit wants his toy back."
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 12, 2011 18:16:35 GMT -5
"Huh, so that's where they ended up..." I muttered under my breath and looked at Lea.
I watched as the blood began to show and stood up and walked over to him. "Well, you are free for the moment..." Watching his eyes for any sign of emotion. "And we're just going to have to keep it that way." What was I promising? I couldn't make a promise I couldn't keep yet somehow I found myself doing it either way. "You don't belong to anyone anymore. I'll help make sure of that."
I shut myself up after that. I don't know why I kept promising that, he wasn't my friend, he was an ally sure but everyone out there is looking out for themselves. Allies included. "If ever you need a safe house or a place to stay though, my door is open I guess." The weight of the world felt like it was pressing down on the room, crushing me for making such promises. I focused more on my breathing, staying calm. I can get all neurotic after he left.
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Post by Lea on Oct 12, 2011 18:23:54 GMT -5
He'd been taught harsh lessons by life. Most people didn't mean a damn thing with promises like the ones she'd made; but then, he'd learned a few things in the four years he'd lived since breaking out of the Otherworld, and that was that some people did mean something when they made promises like that. He forced himself to meet her gaze, his eyes full of raw, repressed emotion, glinting with the promise of unshed tears. Life had made him old, but in this moment, with his guard down, he was just a teenager, who'd been through more than ever he deserved.
"Really?" he asked, and he cursed himself for letting the word slip out.
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 12, 2011 18:36:01 GMT -5
"Yes really. You don't belong in Hell anyways, at least not from what I've seen." I searched for more words to say but was unsure if there was anything left. Either way, I figured I'd try to keep this promise. He seemed like he belonged out here in the normal world with freedom, not trapped in Hell waiting for something that's never going to come.
"Quick question though, why does Ifrit want you? Can't he get a new plaything?" That would make sense to me. Lose one, gain another, unless Lea here was special.
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Post by Lea on Oct 12, 2011 19:01:57 GMT -5
He managed to keep himself from wincing, this time. Special? A little bit.
"Demons are possessive," he told her. "Like a dog with a favorite toy, they'll search forever for it until they tear it to pieces. Until that happens, no amount of fancy new playthings will suffice, because what they lost, belonged to them." He sighed. "...Also, I'm... strange enough to pass for a demon. That's somewhat rare in halfers who still have human intelligence, and so people like me are valued as enforcers. Oftentimes, they trade their service for a privileged life; Ifrit's doubly interested because he offered that to me, and I refused."
He did, however, wince at the memories that that brought up.
"....remind me someday to show you the scars he left when he tried to 'convince' me otherwise... and later, to prove what happens to 'uppity' Halfers who think they're above their station."
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Post by Aya Brea on Oct 12, 2011 19:15:48 GMT -5
I bit my lip and nodded. "I see. Makes sense they'd be like that." As he continued to explain, I listened. "No need to show me any scars. I believe you." I held up my hands to help emphasize my point. Taking a deep breath, I wandered around the room. I felt like I should share something more about myself but I figured it'd be a mistake. He might think I'm cruel or cowardly for abandoning my family to Hell. I took in another deep breath. "I'm being a poor host aren't I? Drink?"
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Post by Lea on Oct 12, 2011 19:24:23 GMT -5
He chuckled softly.
"I'm being a poor guest, pouring all my troubles out like this," he told her. "I wouldn't mind having something to drink, though... what do you have?"
Maybe something to wash all the memories away.
He couldn't really believe he'd gone on like that. Nobody needed to hear about that stuff - he didn't even talk to Neku about it very often.
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