If Memory Serves (Hadrian, Markus)

[Hadrian]

Hadrian kept his hand on Kendall's shoulder, because he saw courage flare in his aura when he did so. His colors and patterns seemed to soften and brighten with hope and a bit of happiness at this encounter, so Hadrian wasn't going to do anything to get in the way. He was not the jealous type, which was probably an odd thing. Other aspects of his personality might lead one to believe he would be jealous, but they just didn't know him well. Nobody really did, though Kendall had done a good job of jimmying the door to his heart open and getting a foot in. After all, he was thinking to travel to Ravok -- Ravok, of all places -- to keep the slip of a blond man whose soul was a girl he had fancied safe. Then his Auristic gaze turned studiously upon Markus to observe him, to learn the way his mind and emotions worked. If he saw even a hint of violence, member of the Order or not, he would protect Kendall.

[Markus Andres]

Markus raised an eyebrow. Animator. How? Markus didn't understand it, he just stared at the ex girlfriend turned ex boyfriend. He didn't even want to think of how it could happen. He really didn't even want to think about it at all. The whole concept. The whole idea. Everything about it revolted him. It didn't help either that the last verges of doubt left his mind, as he told them of their first meeting. Even remembering the name of the thug Markus had made her believe was behind the mouse. "And went swimming..." Markus said lowly. Confirming the story, mostly to himself. Markus didn't have many fond memories of Zeltiva. Kendall had been one of the only truly fond ones, along with his mother. But every time he thought of his mother, the memory of tarnished with her death. Now. The memory of Kendall had been tarnished as well. It had been the last good untarnished memory before Syliras. So if anyone was watching Markus with a good auristic vision, they would see the anger seething in the young squire, only suppressed by his disciplined mind. The young squire contemplated running away. Just running. Get away from this scene that was tearing his memories a part. But something made him stay. Something he couldn't quite explain. How could something like that happen? He remembered seeing Nidassasyae change from a human girl to a big cat and back again. Could Kendall do that too? Could she transform back into a woman? "Is it permanent?" Markus finally asked, in a voice barely louder than a whisper, after a long silence from him. Not even considering if Kendall wanted to change back.

[Kendall Saarinen]

This clearly had been a mistake. No good was going to come from this. His soft and reminiscent smile seemed to fade when Markus answered. If it was not for Hadrian standing at Kendall's side the blond would have broken down on the spot. He still wanted to cry. He felt embarrassed in front of his oldest friend. "Yes, swimming." A blush colored Kendall's cheeks as he tried to calm himself enough to calm the tears that were threatening to spill onto his cheeks. He wanted to be normal again. He had dreamed of the day he would see Markus again and he never thought it was going to be like this. The words seemed to catch in Kendall's throat as he tried to answer Markus. "Yes… it is permanent." He knew that this was not the answer Markus was hoping for. He hated to ruin the squire's memory even further but he could not lie to him. His mismatched eyes looked over Markus as he let his auristics work their way into his vision. He was still not extremely skilled in the art but he wanted to know what Markus was feeling. He had never shared to much as a child and Kendall knew now would not be much different. The aura that seemed to hug Markus' frame seemed to shine with a bit of emotion, or more emotion than the man was letting off. It was anger. Kendall stepped back a bit, moving closer to Hadrian. He looked to the mage for comfort, possibly even a bit more than he should have. He looked nervously at Markus. "Oh…, this is Hadrian." He could not meet the squire's eyes as he introduced Hadrian. Instead he looked sideways to the ground. "We went to the University of Zeltiva together but we never talked until we ran into each other here." Kendall's mismatched eyes looked up at Hadrian as if he was trying to find courage in him. "He is going to try and help me get back to normal." The words seemed all jumbled up and messy in his mind. There was so much he wanted to say to Markus. He wanted to tell him how much he missed him, how he worried about him nonstop after he left Zeltiva. He had practiced what he wanted to say to Markus when they found each other once again but now the words seemed to escape him. "Hadrian, this is Markus. We were best friends when we were younger." Everything in him was screaming to just stop talking and walk away from Markus. Hadrian would hopefully follow if he did. He couldn't though. Not to Markus. "I'm really sorry we are meeting like this Markus. I'm sure this is odd… and confusing."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was pleased to see the man's discipline keeping those flashes of red anger down to a smoldering, though with Kendall around, one never knew what deep-seated feelings would be loosed without one's control or consent, even though it often ended up to the best. It made him wonder, the gift of the Azenth. They often pulled bottled up emotions out of people, and while it was what those people most feared, they were happier once the pressure was released. Perhaps the Valterrian, devastating though it was, served a similar purpose. They had no way of knowing what might have been, but perhaps the gods did. Markus looked younger than him, closer in age to his brother Verus, who was also a squire. Hadrian was taller, but nowhere near as well-built as the squire, whose life was spent in martial training now. He put out his hand to make the man's acquaintance formally. "Hadrian Aelius," he said, though he did not apologize over the circumstances of their meeting. What was the point? He had no control over that, but only a chance to make things better for Kendall by going with him to Ravok and teaching him to Morph.

[Markus Andres]

Markus' spirit dropped further when she confirmed it was permanent. He would never see the girl he had once loved, grow up into a young woman. In her stead. Stood a man. Almost a mockery of his memory. Markus nodded. His eyes looking at the blushing blond male. Kendall began to introduce the two to one another, but Markus hardly listened for he saw the way she looked at the other man. How she could not meet his gaze. It made things quite clear to Markus. Markus knew the woman in front of him. Or he had known her, but some tells never change and Markus suspected something more than friendship between the two. His suspicion would immediately cause a reaction in the young squire that was hard to contain once begun. Markus did not hear the part about the other man was there to help her return to normal. For when the man raised his hand for a shake. Markus raised his own left hand and pointed directly at the dark haired man and two words left his mouth. Spoken with a harshness and anger Markus had not felt in a long time. "Shut up!" His dark green eyes shifted from the stranger named Hadrian to Kendall. As Markus looked into the different colored eyes. Looking at the blue one and feeling like destroying something. He wanted to scream directly into hear head. He wanted to punch something. Her. Hadrian. But when his gaze changed to the green eye. "I am too..." The squire said before he just turned and walked away. His hands still clenched so tightly Markus nails were digging into his hands. But he barely noticed.

[Kendall Saarinen]

The way Markus looked at Kendall bothered him. He did not seem like the same boy that he had spent so much time with as a little girl. He seemed closed off and more so, he was judging Kendall. The blond could tell just by the look in his eyes. They knew each other well, even though they had been friends so long ago. Kendall was aided by his gnosis now, an advantage he had not had back when they were ten. The Azenth could feel the anger and the fear radiating from Markus. He feeling was strong but suppressed and thanks to that Kendall did not need to exert his Djed to find out what he was feeling. The fact that Hadrian was being friendly made Kendall calm a bit. Markus didn't reciprocate, instead yelling at the mage. "Markus! He didn't do anything!" His mismatch eyes searched Markus, trying to figure out why he would react so rudely. He felt angry, although for a different reason than Markus. He thought nothing would stop his friendship with Markus. Like Hadrian always told him, he was still Kendall, he just was in a different body. As Markus turned to walk away Kendall looked up at Hadrian, tears starting to form in his eyes. "I'm really sorry he did that." Kendall reached out for Hadrian's hand but pulled back. He knew that the mage did not want to be showy with their closeness and Kendall respected that. He wanted comfort so badly as he watched his friend walk away. Instead Kendall moved closer to the tall mage, looking up at him sadly. "I… maybe I shouldn't have talked to him." He tried to hold back the tears as he watched Markus walk away. The tears fell anyways, reddening Kendall's mismatched eyes. "Markus…" Kendall was scared to say what he was thinking but he continued to call after his friend. "I know you are scared and confused but if you walk away now I'll never forgive you." The tears were still streaming down the blond's cheeks but he did not skip a beat. "You've changed too and I am not walking away from you." Determination burned bright in Kendall. He felt as though he was not just talking to Markus but his family back in Zeltiva as well. "I am still me and if you can't see that you are petching blind."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was surprised to find that the squire's anger didn't faze him, that he was not frightened by the threat of physical violence. And that anger dissipated enough with a few unkind words that Markus was able to turn tail and run away, or stalk away, but it amounted to the same thing. He watched the would-be knight go for a moment before looking to Kendall, who was apologizing for himself (herself?) and the squire in question too, and when he realized how his own barriers were causing Kendall problems, he slung his arm around the other lad, a gesture companionable and intimate without indicating anything untoward. "Let him go," he suggested softly. "It is a lot for some people to take in. Let's go." And they did. END

[Growl]

Appreciation Time! Name: Hadrian Experience: +2 Rhetoric, +1 Interrogation, +1 Auristics, +1 Observation Lore: Thinking of Ravok, The Art of Scowling, Reminding Kendall to Let Go Name: Kendall Experience: +2 Interrogation, +3 Rhetoric, +1 Storytelling, +1 Auristics, +1 Observation Lore: Thinking of Ravok, What it's Like to be Judged, A Reunion Gone Bad Name: Markus Experience: +2 Interrogation, +2 Rhetoric, +1 Observation Lore: Hearing Your Name, Meeting the New Kendall, Kendall's Accident (Basic), Can't Stand the Change Additional Notes: PM with questions or concerns.