Common Vani Nari
65th of Winter, 514 A.V.
Continuation of...
Continuation of...
"I still can't believe it." Gale shook his head with a startled smile, watching the elderly man walked slowly, using his third leg the guide him across the ground. Not only was he bewildered by the possibility of having a father that's not a Nuit that makes one murder people, he was also baffled at just how... old he was. Of course he couldn't be young if he really was his father, but Gale didn't see too many elderly. It was a rough world, and especially during times like this, as sad as it was to say, the elders didn't really last very long. He wasn't trying to make them sound weak or anything but... they were weak. It's just a fact, so whenever Gale managed to meet an elder, he found himself intensely humbled and have great admiration for them. He always assumed they were much more wise in their actions, and it seemed Austin only proved such, which only made them seem ever more laudable. And having such a strong and wise man as his father was just... He could hardly stand it.
"I can tell." Austin chuckled with a sincere smile. "You said that about five times already."
"I apologize, but this already happened to me once before, and it wasn't nearly as pleasant." Gale chuckled, trailing off with a chuckle. He eyed the buildings that passed by, finding them all familiar, which wasn't unusual. He had walked up and down these streets all his life. But this particular path seemed a little too familiar.
His head lowered and his eyes watched the ground. His feet passed through his vision, one almost dragging behind compared to the other. At least from that perspective. It wasn't actually that bad, but looking straight down at it made it seem amplified. He also felt taller.
"Happened before? Why on Mizahar would this happen before?"
Gale let out a breath with a smirk. Why would that happen? It was only clear that Ignotus just wanted to use him. "It's a long story." He finally brought his head back up, his hand running along his neck and shoulder. Austin simply snickered, carefully making his way down the street.
The two eventually turned down a particular lane which made Gale raise his eyebrow. This was the street that Hana had lived on. His shoulder lowered as they went further down the street, Gale looking at the buildings but with a distant look on his face. It had been a long time since he had been down this particular lane. He generally avoided the Filks as much as possible, including not venturing too close to where they resided. They were like a hibernating bears. Once awoken, you'll never hear the end of it, and he rather would avoid being told he was a tramp and a filthy, no good piece of shyke. But coming back down the road that lead to what used to be Hana's doorstep was uplifting, yet disintegrating.
Gale grew more fond of the area the longer he walked in the area, but his slouch worsened as they walked on. Neither Austin nor Gale noticed, Austin leading the widower to where he lived. Austin had insisted that he come to his house for supper, completely ignoring Gale's offers. It was generous of him and all, but he didn't want the poor guy to cook him dinner or anything. That was acting too much of him, he felt like, but Austin wouldn't hear any of it. They simply kept walking to his house.
The murderer's eyes set his sights on a particular small home. One that had a couple of flower boxes in the front which had been dead for years. He expected the plants to be nothing more than ash by now, seeing as he remembered them being there since Hana's passing. It appeared that they were passing by the house, so he took the few moments leading up to the house to glance over the flowers. But they weren't flowers anymore. There were ferns.
That was different.
He attempted to shrug it off, seeing as the old hags could have simply figured it was time to rid of the dead ones. It wasn't important anyhow. They neared the house, Gale's eyes now fixed on the elder as he turned to the doorstep. All he was able to do was smile at first, finally able to see his home. But his eyes glanced back down to the flower boxes. Ferns, huh? He looked back up at Austin. He started opening the door. Wait-
"You live here?" Gale's face drastically twisted into one of disgust and confusion.
"Yes, I live here." Austin turned around to look at Gale. His smile faded. "Is there something wrong?"
Gale found himself simply staring with his mouth open. His dad... lived where the Filks lived? Did the Filks move out? "Do you live here alone?" He pointed to the door.
"No." He frowned.
"Who lives with you?" Please don't say Traven. Please don't say Traven. Please don't say Traven.
"I live with an old friend of mine." He blinked at the blonde. "I'm sure he'd be fine with you coming over, if that's what your worried about."
Gale blinked back at him. Lived with an old friend. That could be anyone. It could be anyone, it didn't mean Traven. It was fine. Besides, his In-laws couldn't seriously have lived in the same house all these years. Why would they? After all, that's all they could talk about after Hana died. How much it reminded them of their little girl. It probably wasn't Traven.
Inhaling a breath of frosty air, Gale shook his head, shutting his eyes. "Yeah, sorry. " He plastered a smile on. The two starred at each other for a few more moments before Austin waved his hand.
"Come on. It's too cold to stand out here." Gale nodded and followed in after him.
