What Shadows May Lie

[Lion]

It was a peaceful rest, as if a burden had been lifted from him and Ghanon slept quietly, if uneventfully.  He never dreamed, so he just sank into the emptiness of his own mind, the void.  No glare of stars, no push and pull of contrasting pressures.  Even in his physical state, bound the mortal coil once again, Ghanon remained connected to everything, like he was listening to the heartbeat of the universe with every passing breath.  There was a weightlessness here and he was drifting along, no worries, no pain, no love, no fear, no anger.  Nothing.

That burden that had been lifted however, had drifted along to Lana, fitful in her sleep, tormenting her with the same unrest Ghanon had experienced during his long travel to the tundra village.  And when dawn was rising, Ghanon felt himself slip out of that state of apathy, completely rested, but not fully restored...  That would only come this evening...with hope.

Ghanon fluttered his eyes open and swung his legs over the edge of the bed sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  The bed wasn't wholly comfortable and his back ached in some places, but at least he hadn't slept on the floor.  His clothes had dried by this time, or at least he assumed they were and he reached for his trousers, slipping them on as he saw Lana drinking water.

"Good morning," he said with a shimmer of a smile.  "Goodness...I haven't said that...since...I left my old life...  But it's nice, for once to say it again.  Good morning, Lana.  So...what kind of plans do you have in mind today?  Exactly what sights are there to see around here?  I don't recall ever visiting this place more than once...twice at best."

[Anonymous]

Ghanon's slow awakening had startled her, but only slightly, and her back remained to him as he spoke.  She took another drink, closing her eyes to gain some semblance of composure and raised the water to her forehead to further wake herself.  The cool water swept over her face and dripped down her neck, a sweet sensation of chilled fingertips tickling her skin.  She stood and still did not face him, but gave away none of her feelings of disturbance.  She hadn't even begun to think of what might occupy their time in the next moment, let alone the morning.  Her body ached for more sleep, her eyes heavy and burning after a night of unrest.  However, the uneasiness was slowly, ever so slowly slipping away, and it wasn't worth occupying their short time together with anything unpleasant.  

Lana put on a smile and turned to face him, running her fingers through her long, tangled hair.

"Unfortunately, it's so cold that there isn't much greenery or life to see, but what little there is would be in a clearing in the nearby forest.  I have gone there for peace and quiet, and found that if you're still enough, it comes to life."

[Lion]

Ghanon chuckled and took a seat on the bed, putting his boots back on, restrapping the buckles and clasps.  Damn...how long had it been since he'd been here like this, dressing himself back up by hand.  The solid way his boots felt in his hands, the leather all too real.  Now instead of being just apart of him, his clothes felt like accessories.  They were no longer apart of his being as they once were, no longer something that changed as much as he did...  They were just clothes now, plain ordinary clothes.

He frowned but slipped on his other boot anyway, a better revelation dawning upon him.  Well, less of a revelation than it was a drawing fear.  Was it too late for him now?  Was he fully mortal now?  He felt his gut grow cold and churn inside itself at the very thought.  He looked distressed for a moment, but he kept his head faced down toward the ground so that Lana could not see his expression.  He sighed it away...  No, no, it wasn't too late.  There was still time.  He was the keeper of time...he had it in excess...  He had all the time he would never need.

After Ghanon finished trying his boots on, fingers find the supple leather far too real, he stood and reached for his tunic and belt, that he put on quickly with a shuffle of cloth and a click of a buckle.  He stepped toward her and put a hand on her shoulder and cupped her face gently.  "That'd be lovely to see.  I can't say I've been connected with life in a long time...  I think you're helping me see the world in a different way."  He ran a stray hand through the softness of her hair and nodded. "...Is...something bothering you, Lana?  You look very tired," he noted, furrowing his brows in concern.

[Anonymous]

It was strange for her to see him donning his clothing just as it was strange for him, however, he managed it very well, as if not a day had gone by since his mortal life had ceased.  She admired the way he owned his clothing, every bit of cloth perfectly suited to him, his belt fitting him perfectly, his boots worn from travel but sturdy and with many years of use left in them.  It was, however, a little saddening to see that he was beginning to be encumbered by the nuisances of human life that often mortals didn't even pay mind to.  She was glad to see that he was in a light mood none the less and smiled as he cupped her cheek in his palm.

Again, she was resolute that nothing should interrupt their day together.  Everything had gone so well as it was, and memories like these were so rare in life that she wanted desperately to preserve them.  

"I'm not tired.  If I am, I don't notice it.  Maybe because it's so cold."

She knelt down and pulled some crisp, white clothing from a drawer by the stove and dressed herself appropriately for the winter.  Almost everything insulating that she wore was made of fur, in the end making her look something akin to a winter wolf.  She turned and grasped his hand in hers, willing herself to forget the swimming feeling of danger within her, and it was beginning to work.

"It's still a bit dark out, so you'll be able to see the forest awaken with the sun."

[Lion]

If there was one thing Ghanon had nearly forgotten most, had been out of touch with more than the simple heaviness of body that was his own, it was the mortal nature to tire, to feel exhausted beyond recover, to feel yourself deteriorate before your very eyes.  While Ghanon could adjust easily the constant fluctuations of his own ever-changing state, to suddenly be this stagnant, stuck in a form so fragile and weak, this was something he'd been severely unprepared for.

But like any mask he ever wore, he placed on this crude form, this aching weariness that felt pricked and pained where the hardness of the bed had pressed into his side.  If he had been mortal once, he could suffer though it again, no matter the cost.

Ghanon tilted his head and stroked her cheek, knowing full well that she was lying to him.  The cold didn't affect her like this.  In fact it almost seemed a part of her, so for her to blame it on the weather made him know that it was more than what she claimed.  And yet, even without telling him, he had a feeling it had something to do with Arcan.  And his stomach churned once more.

When she dressed up he reached for his coats, the one he always wore and the other, large and heavy with fur, which he threw over his shoulders as well.  He scrunched the thick furred collar up by his neck and ran hands through his disheveled hair.  "You know, Lana, you have a bad habit of messing up my hair," he teased, squeezing her hand.  "Let's get out of here.  Show me what it's like to be alive again."

[Anonymous]

Ghanon always seemed to say something that she would never forget.  She felt an inspiration fill her.  She wanted to show him the wonders of the earth that most could not see, but that she was accustomed to.  The earth to her was as much a living and growing being as a child, full of wonder and growth spurts, discoveries, evolution.  And it was connected to the world around it as if the sun and the stars and the universe were extended limbs.  An endless cycle of give and take was taking place beneath the half-blind eyes of passers by, and it was her hope that she could help Ghanon see.

The trek through the forest was brisk and full of sharp twigs and hidden thistles, but as they traveled the tiny almost inconceivable sounds of small rodents and little insects awakening for the day could be heard.  Lana hadn't let go of his hand.  Her grip was firm and loving as they pulled themselves through deep snow and narrow spaces between the trees.  Around them very dim rays of light peeked through the sparse branches above.  The forest was indeed beginning to wake, however Lana felt that irritating distance between herself and the life around her.  She looked at Ghanon and squeezed his hand, as if to ask him to stop.  She knelt and unfastened her boots and slipped her toes into the icy flesh of the earth, one foot at a time.  A smile came to her lips and she stood, carrying her boots in one hand, and continued forward with him.  Beside them small blossoms began to open, veiny roots stretched themselves more deeply into the earth, and the ice began to melt away from some of the shivering bark of the trees.  It seemed that the more ground they covered, the more life would come to the forest.

Lana glanced at Ghanon and continued to smile, "I love it when she talks to me."

[Lion]

Ghanon did not know the gravity of Lana's connection to the world or life around her.  He knew only that it was more profound that he might ever understand.  And there were some things in existence that were never meant to be understood, heroes of lore, monsters of legend, secrets locked away to be forever forgotten.  It was the mystery of life that often drew him from one place to another, the mystery that both pulled and repelled, replenished and destroyed, until all was reborn again.  There were no simple answers to the questions that these mysteries yanked along in their wake, ones that likely would never find answers.

He could find nothing to say as they walked except to be absorbed in the sights about them.  As they stalked further into the forest, Ghanon listened to the echo of the surrounding area, listened for its breath, its very heart beat as it thump-thumped, thump-thumped away into blood-rushed pounding in his ears.  "I can hear something," he said, closing his eyes as they walked.  Yes, he remembered now.  Slowly he was recalling how it felt to be alive in the world, awake to what was around you.

He slowly but surely became aware of the invisible fabric that lay over the buzz of what mortals called life, the things that mostly went unnoticed.  "I can't make out anything distinct.  What is she saying?" he asked.

[Anonymous]

Lana's smile remained, a soft, comprehending smile.  She was quiet for quite some time, soaking in the warmth that somehow still emanated from the shivering land about them.  The trees began to grow thin as they traveled, and the ice seemed to begin to melt the longer they went on.  Soon, they came to a clearing where little bits of grass were poking through the layers of snow.  

Lana's mouth was now in a straight line, and she glanced at him, "She speaks in feelings.  Waves of emotion.  The earth can't speak, but her soul can.  She knows something that we do not.  She knows something you do not."

Lana's eyes met his and she kept his gaze silently for a while, until she spoke again, "When I look at you I feel...I don't know.  I feel..."

She held his hand firmly as her heart sped, and shook her head, "She is very alarmed by you.  You're a disruptive force."

She pressed her lips together in thought, "She wants to cover your eyes and lead you away."

[Lion]

Ghanon felt the calm he once experienced slowly dissipate over him.  There was life there, and as much as its heartbeat drew him, it also repelled him.  Here was a place that needed stagnancy to thrive to survive, and the fluctuations in him told him to relinquish all reliance on it, for he was a creature of change and that was the only way he could possibly exist.

He looked at Lana with a sort of silent, somber despair.  "She is right," he murmured, looking at her squarely in the eyes.  Why was there any reason to postpone this any longer?  It hurt more to know that the morning would fade and when night came and the sands in the hourglass were gone, that she would be torn from her formerself, a part of her yanked from the very things that gave her life.  What good would it do to delay the inevitable?

Ghanon squeezed her hand in his tightly and he looked down, making his face placid.  "Then I will cover my eyes," he said.  "But only if you cover yours, Lana.  There's a place I want to show you well, a little cave where the waters are bluer and purer than the ocean.  I may not have been here in a long time but being here, walking, I think I remember it now.  But it is a few miles from here if you don't mind a walk.  May I show it to you?"

[Anonymous]

Lana smiled a little and nodded, squeezing his hand, "We have all the time in the world.  I would love to."

Though she felt a kinship with the ice, having utilized it, lived amongst it, and sculpted it into a livable land, she loved to see life where it was most fruitful.  She leaned up and placed a small kiss to his cold cheek, taking in the scent of him.  It was rare that they could relax and enjoy the world as they did now together.

"Lead me." She whispered into his ear.

[Lion]

All the time in the world....all the time in the universe.  That was what he used to think.  Until the recent months drained him of that confidence.  He could have done whatever he wanted, but as the game got more and more dangerous, Ghanon knew he'd have to go through more and more extreme measures.

He dropped his head to look at the ground where they would walk and spoke nothing more until the miles had passed between then and now.  Ghanon was hot under his clothing despite the temperature of the weather.  As he had walked, he gripped her hand snugly and stepped closer, slipping her hand underneath is fur-lined overcoat to wrap around his waist and he put his arm around her shoulders, walking side-by side now as the cave came further into view through the lightly flurry of snow.

He stopped several hundred yards from its entrance and just watched it for a while.  The rock and snow was buried deep into a mountain rockface.  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and he smiled.  "If there was anyone else you could be with right now at this moment," he asked, "would you prefer to be with them over me?  Don't worry.  You may answer honestly.  I won't be offended."

[Anonymous]

Ghanon's mood seemed sullen, and she had no knowledge of what might have changed it from the eagerness he displayed just an hour ago to this soft-spoken, uncertainty.  In reality, his question was uncharacteristic.  

Lana furrowed her brow, "Why the strange question?  You've been silent this whole way.  What's bothering you?"

She should have known that nothing could be perfect, not even a moment.

[Lion]

The question truly was out of place.  A white dove against a shaded stormcloud that threatened to be struck by lightning at any given moment.  Ghanon's heart was wild with anticipation, trepidation.  He softened his expression and looked back up toward the cave.  He took his time in answering her question.  His skin may as well have been peeling of strip by strip.

"I was just thinking about how short life is.  How short mine was.  Truly, I can never live a normal life.  I do not think I was never made for something as small as that.  But moments like these, though they do not last forever, they help make a life more complete, even one as incomplete as mine.  I only wondered that if you could be with another, would you?  Would it bring a more satisfying wholeness to your existence?  If there was something you could have in this very moment that you've been searching for...perhaps didn't even know you were searching for – would it make any difference at all?"

A part of him wanted to tell her what the cave held for her, to warn her and get her as far away from Arcan as possible.  Even at the cost of his life.  But he knew only a fool would relinquish himself so easily, and he was a fool to believe that he could ever be that noble.  Nature suspected a disruption here.  Indeed her suspicions were not unfounded.  But whether that disruption truly resided in him or out toward the cave remained to be seen...

[Anonymous]

Lana studied him with angelic innocence, however inwardly her memories rose from the dust and brought visions of a time when grand Kingdoms thrived.  A time not long ago when magic guided destiny, and myths came from the blood and sweat of fantastic wars.  Those myths were created from the experiences of her people, but in the center of it all had been a forbidden romance, the story of which would be told by gods and goddesses for an eternity.  Now, she felt so different, so apart from herself that it seemed these memories were from another life.  To answer his question entirely, she would have to ask herself, would she rather see Slater here before her?  That question she would never be able to answer.  In this life, Slater would not belong, and could not.  Here, she was a different entity with a new purpose.  And Ghanon was a part of her new experiences that were forming, brick by brick, a new self.  In this sense, there wasn't anyone or anything she could want to be different.  Ghanon understood her, even helped her understand herself.  She hoped that she understood him as much as she imagined she did.  Ghanon was an integral part to her existence.  It was no secret that she felt powerfully for him.

"Ghanon, my life is not short.  And so I welcome all wonderful and painful things.  I have time to learn from them all." The back of her fingertips caressed his cheek, "I would never hope for anyone other than you to be here with me.  I would never hope for anything in your place.  There is time and opportunity enough to enjoy all things in life.  I would rather have you while I can."

[Lion]

"Time," Ghanon repeated, staring off toward the cave with infinite eyes.  The silver there flickered with crackles and surges of a green electricity, the very energy that whirled throughout him.  He was as much its embodiment as he was without it.  Time had no place for one such as he, no stagnant space for him.  And though everything changed and moved on at some point, keeping or fleeting with the memory of what once was, Ghanon could never truly be a part of it.  In a way, he envied Lana, and the connection she had with the living world around her.  Her words were comforting in a small part, but they could never really keep him together underneath the trepidation that was tearing him apart.

Ghanon stared back at her and smiled then, a genuine grin because she was wise in her words.  "You're right," he said.  "Time moves on, even for those whom life is not so short.  There's a time for all things, for happiness, anger, joy, sorrow.  Let this be our time then.  But I just want you to know, that there's nowhere else I'd rather be, than right here.  Let's see all there is to see."  Ghanon steeled himself then.  What had to be done, was to be done, with or without his liking.

Ghanon squeezed her hand in his and pressed his lips to the back of it before pressing his forehead against it.  "Shall we?" he asked before continuing toward the cave.  He could feel his heart slow down the closer they got to the entrance, and he could hear the blood roaring like waves crashing against rocks in his ears.