Hello, everyone! after dealing with real life and the other nonsense of living, panny and i have decided to bring back war of change. give a round of applause. we’ve worked through all of the information and hopefully improved coherency and cohesion; however, tell us if we missed something. eventually, we’ll announce an event to celebrate the re-opening, so look out for information on that. -RAIDNE, THE HEAD ADMIN
From the moonless night, screams of terror and fear resound, spreading across the world and infecting the masses; however, those sleepless nights occurred years ago. A new era began with the fires of war, and with no end in sight, the residents of Selene Isle trudge through life, basking in the momentary peace. Despite their prayers for continued monotony and peace, a storm brews, stirred to life by the continued presence of Rapture and Wraith. And as we set our sights on the seemingly peace laden isle, we must ask: how shall this tale end?
As the years passed, the number of true pairs increased; however, they continued to live in the shadows, catering to the whims of the mundane. Seven Moons kept watch over them all, instructing them and assisting them, but for many, the attitudes and ideals of the organization were smoldering, suffocating. With Seven Moons and the mundanes, they could not grasp the freedom, the power dangling before their eyes. In the beginning, rebellion was a dream, a fantasy, a figment—developed by the repressed and carried forward due to the nature of humanity. No one expected the call to sound, and no one expected the call to be answered. However, it happened.
It was a bad night. She had made a rookie mistake and banged her ankle. The girl thought she could endure it, but in the span of half an hour, it had swollen to the size of a tennis ball and she was blinking away tears of pain. Though she loathed to, Regel had been forced to end her shift early and sit at the bar for the rest of the night nursing her ankle with an ice pack and her head with alcohol wondering how she was expected to get home.
Hobbling back by herself was probably not the brightest idea she ever had, but she was getting tired of the endless wave of seedy patron after patron to come up to her, tipping fedoras and offering help. Chasing the last of her alcohol down with water, she around the back room for packaging tape. Fixing a fresh ice pack around her ankle, she decided to brave the night on her own.
Shadows had never scared Regel but here she was, helpless and alone. It felt like some stupid horror movie and something was going to jump out at her and carry her away. Senses on high alert, not that that was doing her much good. She was defenseless as a newborn chick. Readjusting the shoulder strap of her duffel bag, Regel wished she had tied her hair. Naturally, her hair ties had all walked off to some derelict corner and strands of long pale hair spilled over her shoulders. The night was cool, possibly even chilly with the crisp wind that wafted down the street. She was glad for the turtle neck she wore.
By the time the apartment complex came into view, light was turning the sky a pretty shade of navy blue. Her journey home, which normally took an hour and a half, was elongated by frequent rests. It must have been a strange sight to see. At night, Crescent Moon was one of the most popular places on the island. But as the wee hours of the morning came in, the place became gradually more deserted until it was just the lone girl slowly making her way home.
Regel was glad she made it out of her ordeal unmaimed. Dropping her baggage down on, she slowly eased herself onto the bottom step. Her final rest, then it was only a short trip up to her apartment. Her ice pack had become a pathetic little plastic bag of water, and the condensation had soaked through her sock and shoe. Regel gritted her teeth as she pulled it off, too exhausted to even feel the tears springing into her eyes. The sacrifice felt more exhausted than she had in a long time, leaning over to rest her head on the rail. Idly scrutinizing her foot, she noticed with an internal groan that the swelling had gotten worse. Her bad night had turned into an equally bad morning. Perfect.
the light breaking in through the window was not at all what nimat had been hoping to wake up to that morning; the slats in the shades lined up with his eyes in such a way that the sun was able to greet him much too personally. though shocked out of sleep, the boy was not yet willing to lift his head, still having failed to shake the exhaustion. his back hurt. his head hurt. as he regained his lucidity, it quickly became apparent to him that he was not in his bed, and the events of the previous night made their way back into his realm of awareness.
he had been doing schoolwork, obviously. the last time he had looked at the clock it was just after 4:30, and with the way the sun shone still so aggressively just over the horizon, he assumed it couldn't have been later than six. an hour and a half. it'd work. finally mustering the energy to peel his face off of the open page of his math textbook, he began his day with a series of discontented grunts. had he the sense to go to bed last night he might have been able to catch another hour or two, but there wasn't much to do about it now. if he laid back down, he'd never be able to bring himself to get back up again.
early wasn't necessarily bad: disappointing, but not bad. his morning hadn't quite been ruined yet; at least with this, maybe there would be time to get coffee and some fast breakfast on his way to his first class, if enough money still lined his pockets. being able to take his time for once was a pleasant thing in its own right, too. he went through his morning routine with a rare but gratifying sluggishness before getting his things together and setting out at a leisurely pace.
as he was about to leave, however, he stopped all at once between the two sets of doors leading out of the apartment complex. on the stairs leading down to the street was a young woman, he believed, though it was difficult to tell at this distance. initially, he felt frustration; he hadn't expected to see anyone else out this early, as hypocritical as that was, and the urge to go around and take the long way through the back door was real.
something about the situation was compelling, though, which made him all the more uncomfortable on some level. he gave it much more consideration than he normally would have: maybe she was waiting for someone, or she lost her key in, not that either of those things would have been his problem, but something felt wrong about turning away. drumming the pads of his fingers worryingly against the push of the door, he hesitated for a moment before making his way out, against his better judgment.
his descent was a slow and cautious one, giving him a few extra seconds to think and observe, not that he needed to look particularly hard to see the massive grapefruit that was growing on the girl's ankle. he quickly said goodbye to any hope he had for a coffee run; it was obvious at this point that what he was about to involve himself in was going to be more involved than getting her through the door.
She must have been more exhausted than she thought. At the sound of a voice, golden eyes fluttered opened, squinting at the sudden light flooding her vision. Regel didn't remember dozing off. With consciousness slowly returning, Regel was made aware of her body's protestations. Most loudly was her ankle; with the effects of alcohol wearing off, it felt like fire was searing through her limb and even minuscule twitches of her toes made her wince.
The glance that Regel shot at the boy turned into a long stare. She was not sure what she was looking for. "Yeah," she answered after a moment, "What time is it?" She thought for a fleeting second that maybe she should examine him more closely but the dancer was quick to brush the thought away. He was not anyone dangerous and she had more important things to worry about. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes, but Regel figured she had better get out of there before anyone else showed up.
Deciding that home was much too close to go through the torture of putting her shoe back on, Regel unzipped her duffel and unceremoniously shoved her damp shoe and sock into the bag without much thought for its contents. After a moment's hesitation, she dumbed the remnants of her ice pack into a near by bush and jammed the plastic in an outside pocket. One hand on the strap of her bag and one hand griped tightly to the railing.
Despite taking a deep breath and clenching her teeth, nothing could have prepared Regel for the pain that shot up her leg when she stood up. Normally pain was not such a big deal to the dancer but it had been a long while and she was bone weary. Instantly, tears sprang to her eyes, welling up and threatening to spill as she eyed the steps before her. Just five simple steps. Normally, they were a threshold of a sorts to her. Crossing them, she shed the persona of the entertainer, the dancer whose body and seduction brought men to her feet waving cash; and became the young woman who just wanted to set her life straight. Never had they been such a challenge before. She bit her lip and hobbled up the first step.
watching the girl's eyes come open, the urge to apologize was immediate and hard to resist. had he woken her? she couldn't have been dozing off outside, right? was she homeless? no, she looked like she had herself together at least that much. what a stupid idea. of course she lived here, he had just never crossed her path before. he opened his mouth to voice his apology, but her ongoing stare caused it to catch in his throat.
had he done something? maybe she really was angry to have been woken up, he shouldn't have done that. when she didn't break eye contact, he did, diverting his line of sight off to the side and suddenly seeming very interested in the mundane bushes lining the walk. they darted back to her only for a moment when he heard her ask for the time before he turned his attention to retrieving his phone from his pocket. "half after six?"
by the time he said it, it seemed as though she wasn't even paying attention anymore, which was as good as it was bad. he felt strange and out of place watching her wordlessly get her things together and go through the motions, but there wasn't a whole lot else to do at this point, and there hadn't been enough closure for him to leave, either.
still, watching her stand up on her own made him wince sympathetically; he wasn't about to grab someone he had just met, but the inclination was absolutely there, evident in his instinctive lunge forward. hover-handing over her back and the shoulder closer to him, he spoke with some sympathetic urgency.
"ah, really, you should—" he hadn't put a terrible amount of thought into this, "do you, uh, need help?" he hoped for the sake of himself that she would accept, watching her try to make her own way with that pained expression made him sick to his stomach. "the elevator, it's undergoing maintenance, so..."
The boy flew forward to help her. What a knight in shining armour. Regel paused on the first step to let the pain subside. She chose instead to study the boy (young man rather, but the pair of ears on his head made him look rather innocent). He was close now, hovering by her in obvious concern. If she wanted to, regel could have reached over and touched him. She could have leaned forward and rested against him. The urge caught her unawares and she found herself beginning to lean towards him. Trying not to come off as weird, Regel forced herself up another step. "It's okay; I'm okay," she tried to reassure the stranger. Her lie didn't sound convincing. Not even to her.
The elevator, it's undergoing maintenance, so...
She almost tripped mid-step but managed to catch herself, dropping her duffel bag to grab hold of the railing in both hands. Three more steps. She cursed herself for picking a room on the seventh floor. The view would be nice, she told herself at the time. To be completely truthful, it was nothing special. A sea of urbanization and a green speck in the distance. She could use the exercise getting up and down the stairs, she had assured herself. But most days she took the elevator to get down faster on her way to work; or she was too tired to even think of more than just the five steps infront of the complex; or she was loaded with things that stairs weren't even an option.
Regel was ready to give up and be defeated by a couple of mundane stairs. She was ready to just hobble over to the grass and throw herself down until she healed or the elevator was running again; whichever came first. She probably would have, if no one else were present, but this boy came out of nowhere and didn't seem to be leaving any time soon. Regel briefly wondered if it would be appropriate to send him up to her room to retrieve the bottle of vodka she had tucked away for dire situations. Probably not. "Can you pick up my bag?"
not long after his initial helpful response he was recoiling back again, ever conscious of the fact that he had definitely invaded her personal space, and breached the comfort of his own. the look she gave him was a repellent, but on top of that, he was far from unaware of the glance she had thrown at his ears, which twitched and began to flatten based on his emotional response alone. the girl made it known that she wouldn't accept his help, and he was grateful for the further permission to reapply the distance between them and reestablish his boundaries.
his concern hadn't swayed, though, and he was involved now, whether he wanted to be or not; he had the opportunity to back out before he had even gotten his toes wet, but there he went anyway. as confusing and difficult as this was turning out to be, he didn't have anyone to blame but himself. he felt particularly bad to break the news that the elevators had gone down; the girl looked like she might have fallen over in defeat, had it not been for the railing she was already supporting herself with.
it wasn't his business to continue pressuring her, or to offer any advice at all really; leaving it on her terms, he reached down and hoisted her bag onto his free shoulder, the other on which he supported his own. it was a bit of a precarious arrangement, but fortunately, whatever was in her's was an awful lot lighter than the textbooks and drawing materials in his own. it was bearable.
he couldn't just leave it like that while she dragged herself all the way to her room, though. hovering a safe distance off to the side, he put some thought into it, and after not too long he formed something in his head that at least resembled an idea.
"uh, stay put, one second," he recognized his own lack of sensitivity within seconds; with swelling like that, it wasn't as though she was going anywhere. "or uh, yknow, just— i'll be right back."
he bounded up the steps and back through the doors of the building; if memory served, around here, there should be— ah, there. awkwardly, so as not to drop anything, he pulled an umbrella from the designated bin by the door, jabbing the handicap accessible buttons on his way out to make for a slightly easier ride.
"you might— do you think you might be able to support yourself better with this?" he felt like an idiot. it was a plausible idea—the thing was basically a cane—but he felt like an idiot nonetheless, waving an umbrella around at a time like this. entirely useless.
Stubbornness carried her onwards. Without the weight of her bag, Regel felt lighter and a few deep breaths brought her painfully up to the third step. Two more to go. Resting in-between steps gave her the opportunity to observe her rescuer. He seemed to shrink with every look she gave him. Watching his ears flatten against his head, Regel felt bad. There had been enough silence between them that it would be weird to venture some form of small talk or even a word of thanks. She just made a mental note to repay him later when she didn't feel like each step she took was a step further into the mouth of hell. Regel felt worse as she watched him balance her bag with his. It looked like a heavy burden and he wasn't exactly a body builder.
For a moment, Regel lamented that her rescuer could not simply just pick her up and carry her up seven flights of stairs to home. The frivolous thought caught her by surprise. It was something that hadn't crossed her mind for a long time -- not since she was young. A flurry of memories followed it. Unwelcome ones where her brother carried her to bed when she accidentally fell asleep on the couch (she was half asleep then but she clearly remembers him chastising her for being careless).
Another step forced the thoughts from her mind.
Looking up briefly at the stranger to process his words, Regel watched him run off, not caring that her possessions were going with him. She didn't care about the hundred or so dollars she had made about the beginning of the night or the clothes that she had splurged on so she could be comfortable. She was too tired to care. Not waiting for the pain to subside, she clenched her teeth and made it to the top step.
An hour ago, this might have been victory for her. She might have been home. However, there was still a ways to get into the building and a ways still to get to the stairs on the far side. the railing had ended with the stairs so Regel found herself balancing precariously on one foot, trying to work out a way to hobble so that she wouldn't just fall flat on her face. The pain in her ankle was more intense now, and she wondered if she should just sit down and wait for the elevator to be fixed. It wouldn't be more than a day or two right?
The sound of mechanical doors caught her attention and she watched the boy rush. Gratefully, Regel accepted the umbrella from him, this time remembering to offer a smile and a word of thanks. She cautiously leaned as much weight on it as she dared and thankfully, it held up. Regel took a precarious step forward. Yes, this would work.
nimat was glad that she accepted at least the umbrella from him, and more glad that she didn't think he was a total fool for it. after their disconnected interactions thus far, what caught him even more off guard was the smile and the thanks he received afterward. ears swiveling forward alertly, eyes widening just a touch, he hesitated for several seconds before figuring staring wasn't his best response and giving a few quick nods. after all of the disinterest he had perceived from her, just that much was enough to further wind the knot that had been tightening in his gut, and just for a second, the corners of his own mouth twitched up too.
the situation quickly turned stressful again, though, when she went to put her weight on the thing. he knew they weren't necessarily built to handle a person's weight like that, but he hadn't really considered the possibility of it breaking until she was already trying to put his plan into action. it did work, though, and maybe it was just a projection of his own optimism, but the few steps she took afterward did seem somewhat less forced.
still, having seen her struggle with just the stairs up to the entrance so far, he wondered just how much farther she had to go. if just those few steps had been so terribly difficult for her, he hated the idea that she might have to climb several flights, even with the small amount of support he had provided for her. regel wasn't the only one thinking about how much more convenient it would be if he could just pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, but he wouldn't have dared to try.
"what floor do you live on?" the question was abrupt, too straightforward, and immediately after he said it he was picking himself apart for it. he considered clarifying that he wasn't going to use it to stalk her or anything, but he had at least enough social sense to know he'd just be digging himself into a deeper hole with that. "or, just, would it be better to call an ambulance?"
thinking about it, he probably should have made that suggestion to begin with. nimat didn't know if it was a twist or a sprain or a break, but with anything that painful and burdensome, medical attention was probably more than advisable. "what's wrong with it, anyway?"
Moving was still slow but the umbrella helped. Her pace was faster than the slow trudge from Crescent Moon to home. Though quicker, their pace was still a halting one, stopping every feel steps to wait for the pain to abate before moving on. Regel did not want to think about how walking on it would probably make it worse. She did not want to think about how many days she was going to take off work.
She briefly considered the slew of questions from her companion. It did not take long to decide they were harmless enough to answer, "Seventh floor," saying it out loud made her feel more sluggish than before. Hearing the words made getting back to her apartment seem more and more like a lost cause.
"It's just some swelling. No need for an ambulance," the last thing she wanted from this ordeal was hospital bills. The thought gave her a little shudder, "Hopefully just a sprain." Regel did not want to think it was more than that.
The short conversation was refreshing. Not her topic of choice, but it made her painfully slow pace and the agony in her leg feel better somehow. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself," she said, hoping it wasn't weird, "I'm regel."
terrible. she was legitimately thinking of walking all that way? horrible. though not his intention, the look on his face was incredulous. that was probably... not going to work. he didn't want to say so, he didn't want to bring morale down with his pessimism, but he almost wondered if it would be more cruel to let her start without voicing his concern. he kept his mouth shut for the meantime; there had to be some way to figure this out and be done with it, but nothing came to mind.
thinking about it, she was probably right about it being a sprain. he felt dumb for thinking it was a break in the first place; it would look a lot worse than even that, probably, and walking on it would be impossible. that isn't to say that she was having a walk through the park at the moment, but it was true that she wound up with the lesser of two evils, at least. in response to her statement, he gave a few thoughtful nods in agreement, and then left the subject alone.
sorry i didn't introduce myself.
after the brief silence, the unprompted conversation pulled his attention back in a moment, and he was pleasantly surprised with what it yielded.
i'm regel.
the way he was standing, he was pleased to know that his tail was hidden practically parallel to his back, concealing the way the tip twitched excitedly at the interaction. exchanging names was next to minimal in terms of intimacy, but it was more than being two strangers passing on the sidewalk, at least. he wasn't consciously sure how to feel about that at this point, but regardless, he responded.
"it's fine— priorities and all. nimat." nailed it.
Watching the boy perk up was cute. His ears made him an open book. She couldn't help but let her eyes wander to them every few seconds. Though remembering his reaction from earlier, tried to be as inconspicious as possible. The last thing Regel wanted was for him to be uncomfortable. She still lamented losing hers from time to time. If any one asked, her excuse was that the air of innocence would be a greater draw to customers.
The conversation was nice. It made her painstaking foray a little bit more bearable. She wondered how she should keep it going. The next question was usually something like 'what do you do for a living' but Nimat's heavy backpack already told her he was a student of sorts. Regel took a moment to turn his name over in her head, working out a meaning for it in a language that she seldom used. "Nimat's a pretty name," she mused, "It means blessed, right?
By now they had reached the front doors of the complex. It was a simple matter to reach over and hit the handicap buttons. Regel tried not to think about how she still had seven flights of stairs to climb. Five steps had been an agony. She wasn't sure she had the resolve to endure the rest of the way.
Something she never really thought about and had always took for granted were the couches in the lobby; something she had always been dismissive of because she thought she didn't need them. Right now they were a blessing. Making her way over to them at the pace of an ailing old lady, Regel eased herself down onto the seat, "Thanks for your help Nimat. I think I'll stay here until the elevator's fixed," she offered what she hoped was her friendliest smile, "I owe you one."
as time had passed and nimat had progressed with his life he had gained new insights and learned plenty of things he had only grasped at before: this had been his pursuit, the ideal. but on the other side of the same coin, old memories had blurred and certain things had been left behind. nimat didn't mind this, for the most part; there were plenty of things he would rather forget about anyway, but whenever he realized he had lost something about his mother, it felt as though something had been taken from him all over again.
it means blessed, right?
her compliment hadn't gone over his head, but what followed it swaddled him in nostalgia. her blessing, his mother had called him, among many things, several in a language he had only ever barely grasped and had since forgotten. a few specific occasions came to mind, though not totally: the sound of her voice, the feeling of her arms wrapped around his shoulders. "'blessings', i think. thank you."
he was surprised, though relieved, when his conversational partner dropped onto one of the seats in the entryway. waiting it out would probably be the better idea in the end, and it saved them both the trouble of having to drag her up to her room. he felt strange just leaving her there to wait, but if it all dragged on much longer, he was all too aware that he would be late to lecture.
"don't mention it," he responded, tail flicking contentedly back and forth. in most other situations, he would have been dying for that way out; he himself was confused about why he felt the need to go the extra mile, but he had a few more minutes, and he could at least make the wait more comfortable for her. plucking a few throw pillows from the surrounding couches, he wasn't about to manhandle them under her leg, but he set them beside her for her to use on her own time. "you should elevate it, i think, and uh," there was something else he was forgetting about, too, until he remembered her dumping her used ice into the bushes out front, "hang on, one minute."
he set both of their bags down beside her on the couch so he wouldn't have to drag them up the stairs with him before making haste back to his room. ice pack, ice pack... frozen corn would have to do it, in addition to the ibuprofen and sports bandage he pulled out of the neglected medicine cabinet in his bathroom. awkwardly balancing it all in the bend of one arm, he took the stairs back down two at a time, setting it all down on the nearest end table and gathering up his bag again.
"i've, um— i've got to go, i've got class. is this good?"
after sprinting the six flights to and from his room, even in his state of health, he was winded, breathing very deliberately so as not to give it away. he had come too far to start looking uncool again now,
Having interactions that were not for the sole purpose of making money, where her conversational partner was not eyeing her like a piece of meat the whole time, felt good. Really good. Regel found her lips lifting upwards automatically. For once, another's concern for her was not an annoyance, but a welcome surprise. She had forgotten about the tears that had sprang into her eyes. Without noticing, they had welled up and threatened to spill; so when Nimat turned around, Regel took the opportunity to soak them up with her sleeve.
The throw pillows that he brought her was a welcome sight. Carefully, Regel maneuvered her leg up on the couch, leaning forward to brush dirt away from the bottom of her foot before carefully easing a pillow under her calf. It felt like her heart throbbed in her ankle, but slowly the pain ebbed until it was just a steady thrum like the loud music they played at the club.
"Hang on, one minute."
Regel found herself craning to watch Nimat disappear up the stairs. For some strange reason, she was sad to see him go and the realization that she was alone hit her like a sack of bricks. Nimat had places to be, she couldn't hold him up here all day to keep her company. It dawned on her that in the time it took for him to help her into the building, she had grown attached. That in itself was a strange, almost jarring, thought. She had not been attached to anyone since her brother left. People in her life had come and gone but never once had she been bothered to see them leave like she had just now with a boy she met less than an hour ago.
It did not take long for Nimat to reappear. When she saw the things he was carrying, Regel could have wept with happiness. She kept her posture though, as she gratefully accepted his offerings. The bag of corn immediately went on her ankle. It was not much but the relief it afforded her sent her to the fourth dimension.
"I've, um— I've got to go, I've got class. Is this good?"
There it was. He had to go. Regel decided to keep her sentiments to herself. "Yeah..thanks -- thanks a lot. Don't let me hold you up." She didn't bother to hide her glance this time, memorizing his features so she didn't forget him. Regel owed this guy a huge one.
seeing the relief wash over her when she got the cold on her ankle provided him with some strange sense of second-hand satisfaction. he had poured a lot of valuable time into these interactions, and while there was a good chance he'd be late anyway at this point, he didn't particularly feel as though any of it had been wasted. on the contrary, even now, he hesitated to leave, and if not for his sense of duty when it came to his schoolwork, he might even have stalled a bit longer.
"it was no trouble," and he meant it, somehow. he knew their interactions were coming to an end, and though there was no urgent subject on his mind, he felt as though he should have much more to say. the idea that he could walk away and they could very well never exchange words again nagged at the back of his mind, but he couldn't very well stick around. he couldn't. no reason but his own satisfaction came to mind, and he had somewhere he needed to be, but still, the knot he felt earlier only grew more tight.
he wouldn't leave it just at that, though. standing around awkwardly for a moment, he managed to wring out a few more thoughts.
"good luck with the elevators, and— i hope that all heals quick. see you around."
it was nice. the simple phrase wouldn't mean much to anyone else, but to be able to say see you around instead of goodbye was something important. he didn't like the hope that he had assigned himself with the phrase at all, but oh, it was there.