Who We Are
Story by LauraAshden on SoFurry
Context for the future : Chapter 6
I've had this chapter sitting on my hard drive for about a month now; I haven't posted it due to being unhappy with the chapter regardless of how many times I edit or rewrite it. Ultimately I decided to just leave it as-is for the time being.
I've also been feeling worse in general; it's easy to fall into a pattern of following the path of least resistance, though I guess that's another thing entirely.
I thank you: the half dozen or so people who read this for hopefully enjoying the story despite my excuses.
=====[Chapter 6 - Who We Are]=====
It was nearly evening when Seth began to stir.
“Why?...” he mumbled, blinking away the sleepiness as he took in his surroundings; noticing that someone had covered him with a blanket “Why do I... why does this keep happening?...”
Shakily he stood, the pain throughout his body making standing an unpleasant experience. “...Toren’s room?” he asked himself tiredly; glancing around the familiar interior “Why did he...” pausing as he noticed a set of clothes folded neatly on the bed beside him, alongside a plate of food and his journal. “Damn it Michael...” he thought bitterly, walking towards the mirror and washbasin set on one side of the room, grimacing as he realized Michael had given him a black eye “You’re only giving me clothes to make yourself feel better”
After washing his face and wiping the worst of the grime off his body Seth began to slip into the clothes left for him: reluctantly poking at the food while thinking over what had happened “Twice... he drugged and raped me twice and thinks this is an apology” Seth thought, feeling some amusement at the absurdity of it despite his anger.
After eating Seth thought about what to do next: destroying the last pieces of Toren’s work would make the most sense, but that would take time he lacked, and he wouldn’t be able to fully hide the entrance behind him. He already failed to deceive Michael once, and knew that trying a second time would be folly. “Master kept a gun up here...” thought Seth, kneeling to look under the bed and finding nothing “I wouldn’t need to shoot him necessarily, I could just...” he sighed, quickly discarding the idea of trying to threaten Michael into leaving “No, I can’t let sentiment hold me back this time...”
It didn’t take much longer for him to find it: a quaint musket and cartridge box tucked into the back corner of Toren’s wardrobe. With trembling hands he knelt down and set the weapon on his lap, tearing open one of the paper cartridges before clumsily ramming it down the barrel of the gun, cocking it and bracing the weapon against his shoulder whilst pointing it towards the door “As soon as it opens, I just have to pull the trigger- that’s all” Seth whispered to himself.
After what felt like hours of waiting Seth heard it: the sound of someone turning the doorknob caused him to pull the trigger; his heart skipping a beat as he saw the hammer fly forward and-
-do nothing.
*click*
*click*
*click*
“Why..?” Seth whimpered as one of the last people he expected to see stepped inside.
“Seth?” asked Joey, just as surprised to see the fellow pointing a gun at them “How long have you?...”
“F-Forgive me!” cried Seth, dropping the musket and scrambling away “I-I thought you were someone else!, I didn’t intend to shoot anyone!, I-I was just going to-” he paused, freezing as the Seelie knelt to pick up the old gun.
“It’s okay” said Joey, looking over the weapon “It isn’t even loaded, so no harm done”
“...What?” asked Seth “It... it isn’t?...”
“There’s no primer or flint” said Joey, putting the weapon aside before looking back at Seth “Name’s Joey, we spoke a few times down by the Custom’s Office- remember?”
“We did?...” asked Seth, thinking for a moment “You’re Luthay’s friend right?, y-you’ve grown out your hair since last I saw you” he added before shaking his head “But why are you here?”
“Well our dear Lulu’s been looking out for you, he sent me and Louis to escort your new master over here and help keep an eye on things” said Joey, peeking through the gaps in the boarded up windows “Oh, and don’t worry; this guy’s way nicer than Kunzes”
“...New master?, I... didn’t think it would be this soon” said Seth uncertainly, hugging himself “You mean Toren’s assets have been claimed already?”
“Yep, he’s actually the same elf that you met earlier” said Joey, giving a reassuring smile “He’s an abolitionist in the making, and best of all he’s got no ties with the Unseelie or other factions”
“The Seelie I met earlier?... Rowan?” asked Seth bewildered, unsure if he had misunderstood something “Toren told me he had no family left...”
“Well either he was wrong or Rowan’s a master of forgery” replied Joey with a shrug “That’s not even the weirdest part: it seems he got the message a couple weeks before Toren died”
At first Seth said nothing, fists clenched as the puzzle pieces began to fit in his head “I... need to speak with Rowan alone” said Seth, voice cracking slightly as dread began to creep into his voice “Please, I-I know you can’t trust me after running away and nearly shooting-”
“It’s fine really, go ahead” Joey interrupted, waving their hand dismissively “He’s up on the roofwalk right now, been waiting for you to wake up”
“I... alright” said Seth, feeling little relief “Thank you”
...
“I’m definitely selling this place” thought Rowan as he looked out over the city “Even if it weren’t for everything I’m getting into, I still couldn’t see myself living here”
Though he could see well over most of the other buildings in Xander’s he couldn’t help but feel boxed in: with many of the trees outside the city walls being taller than anything built within them, leaving the only clear view out of the city facing east towards the ocean.
“I wonder if all their cities are built like this” wondered Rowan, taking care not to lean too hard against the decrepit railing in front of him “All the apartments and workshops are too close together; living down there would drive most people mad if it were fully inhabited”
Soon after he finished that thought Rowan could hear the sound of someone opening the trapdoor behind him, turning to see Seth pause his climb up “I didn’t expect to see you up so soon” said Rowan, offering a hand “...Though to be fair, you probably weren’t expecting to see me again either”
“I really wasn’t” answered Seth softly, uncertainty clear in his voice as he reluctantly took the Elf’s hand “I- forgive me, I’m finding all of this hard to process”
“Glad I’m not the only one” said Rowan with a small smile “Hard to believe it’s only been half a day since we met huh?”
“It... really is hard to believe” said Seth quietly, standing warily in front of him “Are you angry with me master?, please-”
“Don’t call me that” interrupted Rowan more sharply than he intended, feeling guilty as Seth broke eye contact and took a step back “I’m not mad at you; just don’t ever call me that again, please”
“I... yes sir-
“Please just use my name, it’s Rowan if you’ve forgotten” said Rowan exasperatedly, putting a hand on Seth’s shoulder; much to the latter’s discomfort “I’m not going to harm you; I only want to help, okay?”
Seth said nothing for some time, weighing his options before speaking “...I’m not sure I understand” he said at last, gently brushing Rowan’s hand aside “What do you mean by helping me?, my injuries?... freeing me?”
“Both, whatever you need help with really” replied Rowan, noticing Seth’s uncertainty he added “Is there anything I can do to make you trust me?” immediately regretting his choice of words as Seth’s look of uncertainty turned to suspicion “Right... I wouldn’t be very reassured if I were you”
Taking a few steps back Rowan knelt to sit cross-legged in front of Seth, gesturing for him to do the same “We’ve got a fair amount to catch up on; how about I start from right after we passed each other earlier?”
“Alright...” said Seth, still unsure of the Elf’s intentions as he sat opposite to him “That would be fine... Rowan”
...
...
...
“Rough night?”
Michael glared at the Acturan, curious as to how hard he could beat his dumb face without killing him “Don’t start on me Esko, I’m not in the mood” he said, taking a fistful of useless notes he’d taken from the manor out of a coat pocket and handing them over “Copy these in something I can read; now. Then come up to my room afterwards”
“As you wish” replied Esko, smugly adding as Michael walked away from him “More romance this time?”
At first he said nothing, stopping to turn and stare daggers at the insolent creature before speaking “Is this your way of saying that you want to go back to the sulfur mine?” asked Michael coldly “I told you not to start shit”
“Aw, it was an honest question” said Esko with mock sadness “Considering you told me to paint myself to look more like-
Several loud thuds could be heard by everyone in the neighboring rooms, frequently followed by pained cries that slowly grew weaker.
Michael had decided to sate his curiosity.
...
It was hard for him to relax without something to indulge in.
The medicine he’d injected earlier had worn off for the most part; he could function without it of course, but it was hard without something to focus on besides his thoughts.
“Stop, observe, follow, stop again” thought Michael, looking out of a window at the dark trees leering over the walls of the city “They’ve been doing that as well haven’t they?, waiting to reclaim what’s owed”
His musings were interrupted by a couple of soft knocks on his bedroom door “Enter” he said dismissively, activating an oil lamp set into the wall; casting a soft amber across the room’s interior “And stay”
Slowly Esko opened the door, the eye that wasn’t bandaged downcast “I’ve finished translating the notes...” he said quietly, a small stack of papers in his hands “There isn’t much to talk about; there’s quite a few different topics they cover, but it’s almost entirely made up of things I’ve already copied...”
“You said ‘almost’ entirely” said Michael, crossing his arms as he looked over the Acturan “What’s different about this one?”
“This one?- oh, these are...” Esko started, looking away “I... misspoke; there isn’t anything substantially different, I-I’m sorry”
“Whatever, put it on my desk and lie down” ordered Michael, locking the door before turning to watch him undress “You’ve colored yourself like I asked” he added plainly, brushing a hand over the speckles on Esko’s face “It’s a shame you’re only half Minth, the other half being... Bersan?”
“Bersanese... sir” said Esko softly, having to make a conscious effort not to recoil at his touch “My father was Minth, I-I didn’t know him well”
“So it was your mother who gave you that stupid name?...” said Michael more as a statement than a question as he also began to strip “I’d have probably preferred your father regardless”
Esko said nothing, laying on his side and trying his best to think about happier things than the present as he felt Michael begin to spoon with him, whispering in his ear “Do you ever enjoy it, love?”
“No” replied Esko quietly.
“Then that makes two of us”
...
...
...
“Please... don’t play with my emotions” said Seth, having a hard time accepting what he just heard “...Why do you want to help me?”
“Because you’re suffering” said Rowan softly, moving closer to him “Do I need a reason to have empathy?”
“No... I guess not” sighed Seth, giving him a weak smile “I just can’t figure out if I’m the luckiest fool in the world, or if you’re lying; and I’m the stupidest”
“Well, if ignorance really is bliss you should be happy either way” said Rowan with a grin, slowly frowning as he realized how his words could be taken “Sorry, I didn’t mean-
“Haha, no I get it” interrupted Seth with a smirk, tail thumping behind him “Though if that is the case then we’ll both be happy”
“Fair enough” replied Rowan with a laugh, looking out east towards the moon rising over the ocean “So where are you from?, Luthay said he lived east across the pond originally; did you come from a similar place?”
“Me?, no I... I’d rather not think about it” said Seth, his smile fading for a moment “...So you said that you’re from Laumonix right?, what is it like over there?”
“Oh, it’s okay I guess” said Rowan, resisting the temptation to pry further into Seth’s history “Island, some cliffs, warmer than here but not as hot as Abradal”
“...Abradal?. Oh!, I saw a map of that once” said Seth, trying to remember details “Everything was named strangely,.. It’s across the ocean, southwest of Acturon right?”
“Yeah, it’s closer than Liskia but that’s not saying much” said Rowan “The colony on Laumonix is right off the coast by contrast, only takes a couple hours to get ferried over” looking west at the trees he added “Odd to think there’s another coast just a few dozen miles that way huh?”
“Yeah, I suppose” said Seth, frowning “I thought about running west to Lempan originally, but I heard they have a shoot-on-sight policy for all Acturans”
“That... are you sure?, they were a bit rude when I passed through but...” said Rowan uncomfortably “Wouldn’t it be more pragmatic to arrest and sell off any they come across?...”
“It would be if they were interested in slave holding” answered Seth with a sigh “But they profit off artisans mostly; they have little use for manual labor and would rather kill any of us they come across than go through the trouble of detaining runaways” glancing away he added “As if their xenophobia wasn’t bad enough... that’s probably why you never met an Acturan despite living so close”
For a while they were both silent, Rowan wasn’t sure what to say while Seth didn’t want to say anymore; leaving each of the two to their own thoughts as they found themselves watching the moon rise through the clouds, with only the sound of the breeze to break up the silence.
Eventually, Rowan could hear his new friend let out a soft hiss; turning to see what was the matter he saw the Acturan unwrapping the crude dressing covering his burned and bloodied hand “Are you okay?” he asked worriedly, only now seeing how bad the damage looked “What happened?, do you know any doctors around here?”
“I’ll... be fine” replied Seth with a pained expression, stretching his fingers “I can still move them... even if I shouldn’t be... can still do this though-” he added, flexing his middle-finger with a forced smile “I’ve been through worse; hell, I’ve been shot twice and I was fine”
“That isn’t very reassuring...’ said Rowan, standing up “There should be clean water and something better to wrap it in back inside, and it’s getting late too; you should probably sleep more after everything you’ve been through”
“I’ve been sleeping almost all day” muttered Seth, standing up as well before squinting at the burn marks running up his forearm “But it would be a good idea to clean and dress this properly” after lifting the hatch to climb back inside he paused to look up at Rowan, giving him a genuine smile before adding “Thank you, I-I really don’t deserve such kindness”
“It’s what any decent person would do, you don’t need to thank me” said Rowan, enjoying the gratitude regardless “You’re welcome though”
While Seth went to clean his wounds Rowan took a moment to speak with the custom’s agents, finding the pair downstairs playing cards “You’re back” said Louis with a yawn “I think we’ll be heading out now, one of the others dropped by and said Kunzes’s followers don’t seem to be planning anything; we’ll still be keeping an eye on them of course, but our job here’s been done for a while now”
“Yeah, he’s right; although if Luthay had his way we’d probably turn this place into a fortress” said Joey, standing and stretching “As fun as that would be he knows that the commander will already disapprove of his personal interest in this mess”
“But isn’t there anything else you can do?” asked Rowan “He threatened to kill us earlier!”
“He claimed that he could” said Louis dismissively “He was just posturing, it’d be stupid for him to try anything right after making such a scene”
“But still...” started Rowan, sighing “...Never mind, you’re probably right; I did offer to negotiate later on, and as far as he knows I’ve got no dog in this fight”
“Just keep your doors locked and a weapon at the ready” suggested Joey as the two of them headed for the door “Oh, and it wouldn’t hurt to keep close to Seth; strength in numbers and all that”
“Yeah... I’ll consider that” thought Rowan as the two custom’s agents left. Now alone he laid down on the old sofa, beginning to consider his plan moving forward “I still don’t know where and what Toren’s creation is... And if I ask Seth, what are the chances he’ll trust me enough to say?; considering how important this is to him, the question itself could ruin whatever faith he has in me”
It wasn’t long before Seth came down as well, Rowan could see that in addition to wrapping his forearm in fresh bandages he also took a moment to brush his hair; looking much neater than before “Sorry if it took me a while” said Seth, pausing in front of the chair opposite to him “...May I sit here?”
“What?... I mean- sure?” said Rowan confusedly “Why would I stop you?”
“...Never mind that” said Seth, taking a seat “So... do you like it here so far?”
“Well, the sofa’s comfy” replied Rowan, looking at the ceiling “The decor is a bit odd though, did Toren collect ceramics or something?; I mean there’s crates of the stuff...”
“Oh... the flasks?” asked Seth, a hint of apprehension in his voice “It’s porcelain made with bone ash; master Toren believed it could be used for Thaumaturgy...” he trailed off, looking away “Want to guess where the bones came from?”
Rowan grimaced, hoping this was just the buildup to a sick joke.
Seth let out an uncomfortable laugh, feeling as if he had a lump in his throat “I got off luckier than the others; didn’t I?”
...