[Z_] and Eclipse

[Just Before An Eclipse]

((I only posted a picture because Faelan did; I usually don't care whether its there or not.))
Leona could feel herself trembling, but her excitement blocked out the cold. She blushed when he mentioned her weapons, and carefully pulled them out as she followed him. "Father had lovely knives." she wasn't sure why she commented it; it wasn't something she had thought of in years. Only after she was...hurt did she even consider getting ahold of a weapon. She'd known she could shoot, but that wasn't very helpful in a dark alley. When she was younger, she'd play with her father's knives, that were as long as her forearm, thus leading her to find a set herself. The rickety weapons were poor by any means: dull from over use. But she'd carved the hilts, taking off the extra weight so at the very least they were perfectly balanced. "I can shoot," she offered, walking along with him.  

[[Z_]]

Avin held his hand up, pointing his two fingers directly to his right in the shape of a gun. "Bang," He said, as fire leaped from his fingertips, sizzling out against a brick foundation. "There's no honor in shooting though," He said, looking over his shoulder at her. "In a fair fight, We advise not using guns. However, if the moment calls for it, by all means, fire away," He shrugged. continuing on. "And if we do a good enough job," He continued, "You won't need a gun. But enough of that, tell me about yourself, were you born in the city?"  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

Leona jumped, having nearly walked into the path of the fire. Yes, she was definitely going to learn how to keep on her toes if she expected to survive. Swallowing a little, she replied, "I meant a bow." She smiled a little, when he asked her where she was born, "No. My father was a teacher, so we traveled a lot. He would tutor a group of people, then move on. I was born in the Lupine Providence. We stayed there for almost two years, the longest we ever did." She laughed a little, "I used to think I was a werewolf. I remember being distinctly disappointed when I learned I could not change."  

[[Z_]]

"Ah, a bow, now there's a weapon. Yeah, we suppose you could use a bow," He shrugged, scratching his chin. "We'll always prefer a good sword and some fire," Avin said, nodding. "A teacher," He said, impressed. " Lupine province," He repeated, taking in the information. "So you've never been to the east," He concluded, "How unfortunate..." He trailed off, thinking. "Well, as luck would have it, we're headed there now. The desert would be a nice change of scenery," He smiled thinking about it. "Also," He began, turning to her, "Stop letting us talk to you like you're a child, we feel arrogant all the sudden. You're a peer of ours and will be treated as such!" He declared, thrusting a fist into the air before him.  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

Pride showed itself when he complimented the bow. She'd been "incredible" as her father put it, at shooting. Quite impressive. And was fairly certain that once she held the curved wood piece in her hands, she would know exactly what to do. She grinned, just perfectly excited to learn they were going to a new place. Traveling was what she was born to do. She was sure of that; whether it was to learn herself or become a teacher to others, she knew she needed to travel. "You mean the Arid..." her face contorted in its deep thinking position, an adorable frown. "Wastes!" It brought on a pleased laugh, surprising even herself. But she let it continue as she commented, "You're right, I'm sure the waste will be better than this."

She stopped and peered at him confused. He really was an intricate creature, whatever he was. And he said the oddest things. She hurried to catch up with him, though it had barely been a moment, thinking. She wasn't sure what she considered him, but it was amazing that he didn't consider himself above her. That's what everyone did. Literally everyone who was taller than her. She had friends, but there never was the connection she had with her family. Unsure of what to say, she murmured, "I'd like that."  

[[Z_]]

"Wastes," Avin repeated, shaking his head. "I've always hated the name," He said. "Eden is a beautiful place, and associating it with 'wastes' doesn't do it justice. Or... it was a beautiful place," He frowned, trying not to picture what had become of his home since the brothers had last been there. "Maybe we never were heroes after all" He muttered to himself, burying his fists in his pockets. "Maybe we did ******** everything up."  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

For once in her life, Leona reacted without fear of consequences. Grabbing his arm as it bent, she dug her feet in, bringing them both to a stop. "Hey," she said softly, though giving the impression she was calling him. "I can't tell you about before, but I believe you're a good person now." She looked a little shy as she added, "For what it's worth." Meeting his eyes, she reached up to touch his face gently, "You...you can't change your past, or blame yourself for it. What happened is what was meant to be, you can only learn from it and continue onward." It was a speech she'd given before, to her friend who got into the drugs. He blamed himself for his parents' deaths. He never got over it; instead it ate him alive. She might not know much about Avin, but she knew she didn't want that to happen to him.  

[[Z_]]

Avin placed his hand on Leona's cheek, smiling. He admired her optimism. "If only it were that simple," He said, removing his hand. "But you don't even know the half of it," He looked serious, his red eye staring off past everything. He frowned, tightening his fists.  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

Without moving, she added, "Only you can make your past complicated today." With a sigh, she fluffed her hair, causing it to stick up in odd places without her knowledge. "I don't know much," she sounded mildly indignant of being reminded the fact, "but I doubt you can manage to change you past Avin, unless pyromancer means time traveler." She laughed an utterly hopeless sound. She hated seeing him like this; this pain that she couldn't understand, that she couldn't fix. But worst of all was that it brought forth her own past, her own pain. She couldn't even help herself, so how could she consider helping him? Sighing and messing with her hair absentmindedly, she decided the second she got good blades, she was cutting it. It was starting to fall across her eyes. She blew at the strands, then tucking her hands into her brother's jacket and started forward. It was cold in the rain just sitting there suffering. Moving would hopefully empty their minds.  

[[Z_]]

"Not the half of it," Avin repeated, laughing. "But like you say, what's done is done. Promise us you'll never lose that youthful optimism, even after you've seen how quickly this world is rotting," He said, his secrets eating him alive. "There are some things you'll learn with us, some things you'll see, that will change who you are forever. We can't promise you'll like everything we have to show or tell you," He said, looking up to the sky.  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

The young girl laughed. It was unusual for her to think of herself as young. She’d always been the oldest, or at least one of them, the caretaker, the teacher. Everything she’d said had always been taken as wise advice, not child’s dreams. Of course, there e had been plenty of dreams she hadn’t said aloud. She felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of her, and she could barely resist the urge to spin around. Wrapping an arm playfully around Avin instead, she laughed, once more, “How can I blame you for what I dislike?” She flashed him a grin, “besides, I think you’re blaming yourself too much anyway.  

[[Z_]]

Avin tensed at the embrace, unsure of how to react. Relaxing he smiled, this was the first positive experience he'd had in years. He had almost forgotten what it was like to be happy.
As they approached the main gates, Avin looked back at the city, he hoped for the last time. "Let's rid ourselves of this awful place," He said, looking to the skies. The rain continued to pour as the skies burned with the orange intensity of a stormy morning. "We've a long journey ahead of us before we reach the desert. I hope you've rested."  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

Leona glanced back over the city. In a soft voice, she commented, "It's been my home for five years now." Her gaze traveled over what she could see from the front gates. Not much of the slums where they slept, but a couple of nicer diners that would feed them, the old barracks of the military, where they first slept. Those still held smiles for her. But she could still imagine that alleyway where-She turned suddenly, and in a tone that made her want to believe herself she said, "I always thought I was a traveler anyway," and she started walking once more.  

[[Z_]]

Avin lead them to his camp several miles from the city. "Here we are," He said, motioning to the dead fireplace. "The forest keeps it somewhat dry," He shrugged. "Now, first thing's first. We've got to share something with you," He said, reaching to his eye patch and peeling it away. From where his eye should be, a black smoke poured forth, swelling on the ground before him. As the darkness left his body, Avin's hair slowly bleached, the sharp blue dulling.
A skeletal figure came forth from the smoke, standing tall before them. Kraid crossed his arms and watched Leona.
Miles replaced the eye patch and smiled slightly. "It's nice to meet you Leo, My name is Miles," He extended a hand.  

[Just Before An Eclipse]

Leona was used to the smooth, though usually muddy streets of Opalescent. This trek was long and she couldn’t help falling behind every few steps, then hurrying to catch up. She did it without comment though, minus the heavy breathing that quickly ensued. She was grateful that they were stopping, and didn’t particularly care that it appeared somewhat dilapidated. At the prospect of sharing, her stomach grumbled hopeful for as filling of a meal as it already had. Then he started to peel off the eye patch. Silently, as to not be rude, she hoped that it was gruesome, she had this thing with blood….she jumped back a little, as the smoke came forth. Though she wasn’t scared. She figured it had something to do with pyromancy. Smoke, fire, it had to be similar right? It wasn’t until she saw the figure manifest itself within the smoke. It was almost a whole foot taller than Avin, well, he seemed to be growing too…Confusion was adamant on her face, as she took Miles’ extended hand out of instinct. “Hello Miles.” Her voice was small, echoing how tiny she felt at her 5 foot 3 inches. “Where’s Avin?” The question seemed to be the most proper, though wtf just happened was really what she was wondering.