tampered | [log] [ongoing]

Current Mood: calm

[log] [ongoing]

When; April 23, evening
Rating; PG
Characters; Jowy [

bright_shield]
Summary; Free of the influence of the Bright Shield and Black Sword runes for a day, Jowy and his friend, Riou, meet once more as they were, or rather, close to it.
Log;

It had felt like years since he last saw Riou, or so he felt. He supposed the same went for Riou himself. In the war, they had transformed into almost completely different people; Riou the leader of the remnants of the Jowston Alliance and him, the King of Highland. They had made choices, separate paths, and the runes had been part of those choices. It drove them. It influenced them in ways Jowy could not possibly even begin to explain.

For today, those runes were absent, and more than once, Jowy had raised his hand to examine the vacant space on the back of his hand.

It was simply a day, and clearly from their exchanges over the network, not much had changed, but Jowy felt emboldened to try and fix their tattered friendship. This was, possibly, his only chance. And even if he failed, for a day, Jowy wanted to relive life as it was before.

He wondered if that was even possible.

Xanadu; a place of great beauty and serenity. Jowy had come here because he thought if there was anywhere else Riou could be, it would be here, and he was right.

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Riou looked up into the depths of the giant oak tree that towered above him. It was very much like the one behind their house back home. How long had it been since he had seen it, had been there? Over a year, it must have been by now, since that day he and Jowy had been mistakenly labeled traitors. Not a mistake, but an outright lie, created by the mad prince they had been sworn to serve, even as mere youth brigaders.

And in the end, he had truly become a traitor, hadn't he? Completely in his heart. Had abandoned Highland and everything within it, had truly become the leader of the New Alliance Army and dedicated himself to Dunan, the new country he had helped form. You can't ever go back.

But that wasn't right. He must return one more time. For her sake at least. While he had truly come to love that castle within Dunan, he knew that Nanami had never considered it home, had always held out hope that they-- and probably Jowy as well-- would one day return to that house in Kyaro. So, she shouldn't be buried there, within the castle walls. He would take her home, one last time at least, to where the grave of their adopted father, Genkaku, waited.

A wind whispered through the trees, blowing leaves across the ground with a rustle and playing across the strands of dark hair that fell across his eyes. The feathers within his newfound wings rippled with the movement and with one final flex Riou allowed them to dissipate. He didn't really need them anyway, with the curse upon the city at midnight, he had already figured out how to fly before he even knew he could even manifest wings.

He rather liked this curse... he always did like the ones where he could fly. And this time he didn't even have to be changed into a dragon or a swan to do it. It would have been perfect, if only he didn't have to worry about those who had been given Bright Shield-- and Black Sword-- for the day. But they were angels, weren't they? They should be fine, should have more than enough willpower to keep the two rune halves in check for just one day.

Riou held up his right hand before his eyes. It was odd-- no need for a glove, just a normal unmarred hand. For just this one day he was a completely normal sixteen year old boy once again, not the bearer of Bright Shield, not the leader of Dunan and the New Alliance Army, just Riou.

Okay, maybe that still wasn't very normal at all, but...

Jowy noticed the way Riou stood and followed his gaze to the sturdy tree that looked so familiar. Ah, that tree. He approached the brunet silently and only when he was a mere several feet away did he open his mouth to greet Riou.

"It makes you think back to Kyaro, doesn't it?" was the first thing that came out of his mouth.

Riou didn't even give a start at the sound of a familiar voice speaking so closely over his shoulder.

Of course.

When he had first been pulled into the city, he had decided that the safest, most logical course of action was to completely avoid the bearer of Black Sword Rune until he found a way back home. That had lasted all of two weeks before a curse struck, erasing his memories of the past year, and sending him in a beeline straight for Jowy.

And then they had reverted back to their childhood forms and spent an entire week in each other's company for nearly every moment, waking or otherwise. Regaining their memories after that had been... tumultuous, to say the least.

"...it would probably be wise... to avoid being in each other's physical presence, at least."

"Agreed."

That was what they both decided. And then they had proceeded, within the vast expansive miles of the sprawling city, to repeatedly run into each other every couple days. Forest, gardens, random city street...

Damn you fate which I don't even believe in!

Well, at least at this moment they couldn't instigate the duel to the death for the Rune of Beginning, even if they had wanted to.

"...yeah, it looks like our old tree in the back of the house," Riou replied without turning around.

Jowy stepped forward, not closer to Riou, but close to the tree. He pressed his hand against it and looked up. "It does," Jowy affirmed. "The view is different though-- but it's enough to make you nostalgic, doesn't it?"

"... you might say that." Riou's gaze dropped from the tree and the heavens beyond it back down to the ground.

Nostalgic and melancholic. Being drained in all his quiet moments over the past few weeks... it had sapped at Riou's emotions as well as at his energy. Anger, hurt, regret... all of it blurring together into the gray of some other more quiet emotion. Some faint longing...

Riou closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. But he wasn't being drained right now. He should at least savor that in this moment.

Nodding slowly in agreement, Jowy found he had nothing to say really. What was there to say? He knew there was so much unspoken between them, but even without the runes, he knew it would be much too naive to hope the absence of the rune would magically mend their fractured friendship. He was afraid and loathe to ruin the silent and peaceful moment with an ill-timed conversation starter.

He gave Riou a slight gaze before turning away briefly. He clenched and unclenched his right hand, almost missing the phantom hiss and burn of the Black Sword rune. There was nothing to stop them, nothing to remind their of their obligations or destiny right now, and yet, he could not quite find how to properly make use of this moment.

Finally, he sighed and dug his hands into his pockets. He opened his mouth too, but closed it, choosing to purse his lips and continue in silence.

The silence stretched on between the two past friends. It wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence, yet still, Riou felt as if he should say something. He just-- wasn't exactly sure what yet. Not anything about their runes or the war or Dunan or Jowston or Highland, most certainly, as he had no wish to get into another shouting match at this time.

Riou turned around and rested his back against the rough bark of the tree trunk, finally slightly facing Jowy if not exactly looking at him. "Why did you come here?" he finally asked.

The blond's lips curved into a slight smile. A cool breeze blew through them and unconsciously, he lifted his left hand and used it to keep his hair from billowing in the wind too much. A small sigh. I thought I'd find you here were the words in his head, but instead, he said, "It's nice here. Quiet... and beautiful."

"It is. I saw this tree when I was flying above and..." What a strange conversation. The overhanging branches of the great oak shivered slightly in the wind. Riou's gaze wandered over to Jowy through the corner of his eye. "So you've been flying around too?"

They had exchanged powers with two angels. Siblings or something such, from what he understood over the network. One with the element of water, the other with fire and light. Always opposites. It was so ironic... the city deities certainly seemed to have a sense of humor.

When had their paths begun to divert? For the longest time in his youth, they were kindred, almost one, breathing the same air, sharing almost the same thoughts, the same wishes. They had differences; Jowy disliked carrots, Riou rather liked their sweetness for example, but those differences had mattered little then.

When, then, had it begun to?

Was it really the moment they stood high above the river at Tenzan Pass? The moment they were forced to part? He remembered preparing what he would say to Riou should they meet again. He didn't want to apologize, rather, regret the choices he had made. And still, he didn't. Too many words.

Words worthy of being said only at the face of the end.

"I was- with Kamui and Lyra," Jowy admitted with a smile. "Kamui has wings, you know...? It was pleasant."

"Does he? For today or naturally?" Riou replied.

It had nothing to do with him. He had already taken a chance and warned Kamui. Whatever they decided to do after that, it was between the two of them-- Jowy and Kamui. It would... probably be all right. There was no Highland here, no armies, no Luca Blight... and the Black Sword Rune should pose no threat to Kamui.

Riou ignored the faint pang in his chest.

Jowy found the strength within him to give Riou a smile. "Naturally, he says. They look like bat wings, dark and mysterious-" he laughed a bit. "It doesn't fit his character the least."

He turned his gaze to the tree once more, and then to the ground, before the smile on his lips turned slightly melancholy. "Assuming-" Jowy began tentatively. "Assuming we were still friends in that way... as a friend, Riou, do you like Kamui?"

"I envy him," said Riou. "He sounds a bit like the wingers back home. I didn't realize back then, how it would feel to fly..." His words trailed away and Riou gave Jowy a strange look after the other boy's latter words.

A pause. And then another, longer one.

"I don't know him very well..." Riou finally began. "But he seems to be... very kind. And he cares about you quite alot."

"He's a bit more grander than that, really-" Jowy paused to search for the right words to describe it. "To say his wings are like the devil's would be too much, but it's not far off anyway- it's still majestic."

Really, he had no idea why they were talking about Kamui's wings, but the words came easily, and Jowy would rather fill the silence with rambling than leave it be.

He sighed. "He does." He pursed his lips and closed his eyes. "He makes me feel better about living."

"So a devil and an angel today, huh," said Riou and then fell silent at Jowy's last statement.

How do I reply to that? He was--- feeling...

"...you were... feeling badly about living?" he finally asked quietly.

Jowy blinked. How had Riou taken that? He gave Riou a blank look before pursing his lips into a thin line. "Not like that--" He hadn't enjoyed living with a father and step-brother who couldn't care less about him, a family that for the most part didn't want him and whose association with him ensured it was difficult to have friends around Kyaro. That, with the help of his mother, had not affected his will to live as much as... his actions did.

"He--" he finally said after several moments of contemplation. "He's given me a bit of a reason to go on."

"...you didn't have one before?" Riou asked. Had the fall of Highland affected Jowy that much? He had been it's King and-- that would make sense-- with the war and... Jowy couldn't go back to what had been any more than Riou could, he realized.

Riou could sense the growing discomfort in the other boy. He should probably let this line of conversation drop. If it continued... well, he knew where it would eventually end.

The blond hummed and then smiled slightly. "Maybe not... but things were different then."

He didn't know Kamui then, and when he had traveled to the Tenzan Pass, he was well aware of the dying state his body was in.

The odds were against him, he was going to die anyway then.

Another gust shook the tree. Fallen leaves swirled around them as the breeze tugged at their clothes and hair. Not even May yet and the air still held a chill to it. Riou held down his scarf as it fluttered around him.

Branches clattered and rattled above.

"So it was--" -- and then something dark, warm, and furry slammed unto Riou's head-- "--WHA??"

The sharp cry coming from Riou had Jowy spinning around, alert, to see what had caused it. And when he finally realized what it was, he stared, and stared--

And then broke into laughter.

"Squirrel... squirrel boy--" he could be heard saying in between his laughter. It was just too ridiculous.

Riou lunged away from the tree, half circled about, and tilted his head up. But he couldn't very well see what was on top of his own head. He reached up with both hands and was clawed for his efforts. Damn it, the one time his gloves would have come in handy! Something was whuffling and scrabbling around up there...

And what the hell was Jowy cackling about? Squirrels?

Finally finding in himself to stop laughing, Jowy sighed. Then he shook his head and stepped closer. "Keep still, Riou--" he said, placing his hands on Riou's shoulders. "It won't let go if you're going like that- ah there, look?"

"That... will be rather hard at this point," Riou gritted out and waited. The thing--squirrel?-- went still on top of his head. He felt it shift it's weight, chittering, paused, and then-- he sneezed.

The squirrel went wild, flailing and clawing, and then grabbing unto his hair with a death grip, it felt like.

"Ow...ow...ow...ow... don't dig for acorns on top of my head!"

"Hush--" Jowy carefully touched the squirrel, aiming to pick it up and let it loose on the ground. It stopped to look at him quizzically before biting him in the finger.

Jowy winced but the pain was absent from his face. After that, he was able to get a firm hold of the little squirrel. It looked at him helplessly but he smiled at it.

"Next time, pick a softer ground to pick," he told it as he let it loose on the ground. It was an obvious jab at Riou's stubborness.

Riou watched as the squirrel zigzagged back over to the oak and nimbly began running up the tree trunk. It paused in its upward spiral to stare back at both them, chittered loudly, and shook one paw before it disappeared back up into the foliage above.

"That is not what I had in mind when I said I was considering a pet," Riou muttered and gingerly patted at his sore head, smoothing down the tufts of hair that were now sticking up.

Well, he had mentioned the idea of getting a squirrel but... that thing was no Mukumuku! Half his hair felt as if it was yanked out of its scalp as it was!

"And that reminds me..." he said. Riou reached over, grabbed Jowy's ponytail, and yanked. It wasn't quite the tonfa upside the head he had promised but... one made due with what one had. "Who are you calling squirrel boy, carrot boy?"

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