House of Memories [Closed]

Liseran almost beamed as Valen thanked her, but it quickly vanished when he apologized. She grabbed her pillow and hugged it tight to her face.

"E-ehhh?" she squeaked. "Wh-what are you going on about? Why would I be mad at you for that? It's not like you have an obligation or anything to me..."

Her eyes stared away from him. She could feel her face burning again. She hugged her pillow tighter.

"I was being difficult," she said in a low voice. "And I was mad at myself more than anything..."

Inching back to the center of the bed, she glanced at the once again unconscious woman tied in the corner.

"I've failed people," she said. "And I didn't want to fail them again. I just didn't like feeling so helpless..."

A brief image of a red-haired girl on the floor flashed in her mind. She winced.

"But only I can decide how helpless I am, right?" she said. "We make our own stories, after all. Still..."

Liseran placed her earring back and slowly started putting the blanket over her. She moved closer to Remi, only looking at Valen from the corner of her eye.

"Thank you for saying that," she said. "It means a lot."

Valen would hear a small and relaxed sigh. If he looked, Liseran had closed her eyes.

"Anyways, I'll get out of your hair and...sleep..." she murmured. "Night, Valen..."

Things devolved into a small lull. He'd only hear the sounds of the fire and the girls sleeping.

Valen stares at Liseran's sleeping face for a few seconds after she passed out, watching her chest rise and fall slowly. He got up and pulled the sheets over her shoulders. Valen took a step and stopped, looking down at the pocket watch in his hands. Liseran assumed the watch would be two hours slow, but actually, it had already stopped ages ago. The gears and tiny mechanisms clicked, but the hands just sort of jittered in place. It was a wonder the watch functioned at all but it continued to click and tick like a heartbeat. Valen just stared at the frozen clockface as if peering into a different space altogether, clicking the lid close and running his thumb over it. The sliver paint was still chipped in places showing only low-grade copper underneath. It didn't even have a fancy pattern like the real knights of Saoirse. It was just the image of snowflake carved into the lid. Judging by the uneven and crooked lines, it wasn't done by someone professional, like someone just took a fruit knife and etched it on trying to make the cheap watch look fancier....

~~~~~~

Hold still, your collar's crooked!

Once I put on my gear, it's not gonna matter.

Of course it matters, dummy! You just graduated from the academy and its your first day as a soldier! You have to be presentable to your new squad.

But I already know most of these guys. They're not going to care.

That's not the point! Geez....

Alright, I'm off.

Wait!

Hm? Did I forget something?

Well not really...

What's this?

Well, you're so bad at time management AND you're the kind of idiot who'll get so wrapped up in work that you'll forget about everything else! So this should make sure you keep track of time properly. Don't be a dummy and lose track of time anyway.

Alright, alright.

We're having chicken stew for dinner.

Really? Great! Make it with those snow peppers I like.

Make sure you come home on time.

For dinner? Sure, sure.

Always...

Huh?

COME HOME ON TIME. EVERY. DAY!

Aaargh! Alright, alright! Stop puffing your cheeks, gerbil.

Argh! Stupid! Get out! If you get home late even once, I'll kill you!

Okay, okay. Good luck with your work today, gerbil.

STOP CALLING ME GERBIL!!
~~~~~~

"...."

Valen ran his thumb over the lid one last time before setting it on the nightstand next to Liseran's head.  He walked off and silently opened the door, closing it quietly behind him.

"You sure bout this, partner?"

Fable stretched across the closed door behind him. Valen stayed silent and just started walking. Fable slinked behind across the ground.

"My my, we haven't went back to that ol' wasteland in some time," Fable hummed.

"It's not a wasteland," Valen said with a sudden harshness. "It's full of great history and strong people."

"Not great watchmakers though," Fable added. "That ol' thing's been busted since before we met."

"No," Valen corrected, not slowing his pace, "It's broke down the exact day we met."

"You really think wandering around in the ice is gonna lead anywhere?" Fable sighed. "You're not even sure she's there."

"Before I lost the trail, she was definitely going in the general direction towards Eislyn," Valen stated.

"Sure sure, and about a few dozen other places in between and beyong, plus y'know there's always that slim chance she took a RIGHT off the road."

"Eislyn has no Expiate and people are consistently minding their own business," Valen stated. "As far as people know, it's a good place to hide."

"As far as people know hm..."

"We'll start with the town closest to the border," Valen stated.

"And if we meet someone we know...?"

"Not likely. I'm just a shadow passing by."