(C) Shedding Light (Monica/Zrion BC)

[lawna]

Monica was easily able to find the kitchen and she sat at the table as the adult of the house had suggested.

She tapped her feet, heard the echo it made off the plain walls, and stopped. She looked around her and spotted the kettle sitting empty on the stove.

Wanting to lend a hand, she took the kettle to the sink and filled it with water. She replaced it on the back burner, but didn't mess with any of the knobs on the stove. Her mother had never let her mess around in the kitchen, so that was where her handiness ended.

She sat back at the table with a sigh and tapped her feet again.

Despite how tired Monica was, her brain never stopped racing. Who was Zrion, really? How long was she allowed to stay in the house of an important Krimzon Guard officer? What would her parents think about the way she was living?

That last thought made her throat restrict, a wet sob threatening to tear through her.

It had been two years since she had lost her home and the only family she had known. She had been on the move since then, trying to stay alive, trying to forget the life she had shared with her parents. She had taken her previous life cruelly for granted. She would never have such a happy, easy life.

She heard heavy footsteps in the hallway, and wiped the single tears that had stubbornly left her eyes.

"Hey Zrion, I filled the kettle up," she said, cursing as her voice wavered, betraying the fact that she had again been crying.

[Darkjak87]

Her wavering voice gave him pause, and he turned his attention to her. Puffy eyes, and watery too. She had been crying. That was worrying, as he had been hoping that she'd made it through all the fighting unscathed, but Monica didn't seem to be that lucky. Then again, she hadn't been very lucky in the first place.

Or, maybe it's something else entirely, he considered.

He wasn't very good with feelings though. It was one reason he and Zephan usually got along so well, since both of them were relatively withdrawn. Nonetheless, he wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. And what if he messed up and just made it worse?

Well, as they say, discretion is the better part of valor. He decided to play it safe this time, as he'd rather her be forthcoming with what was troubling her than for him to question her about it. The poor girl obviously had a troubled past, and trying to force it out of her wouldn't do either of them any favors.

So he didn't say anything, although he did allow concern to show on his face, just a little something so she would know that he was there for her, but still respectful of her privacy.

He walked over to the stove. As Monica had said, the pot was full, although Zrion noticed she hadn't turned the burner on herself. That was good, as the particular one the kettle sat on was damaged, and could start a fire. Zrion shifted the kettle over to a safer burner, then reached into the cabinet above the stove and retrieved the box of peppermint tea. He dropped several of the bags into the kettle, closed the box, and returned it to the cabinet, turning on the stove before taking a seat at the table, across from Monica. And that was as far as he got before he realized that he didn't have anything to say.

Well, hello awkward. Come on in, have a seat everywhere.

Internal sarcasm didn't help much however - he still had nothing to talk about, but it's not like he could just leave without saying anything. He had to watch the tea anyway. Well, hopefully Monica would have something to start off with, since it would be at least another ten minutes before the tea was ready.

Just how did I get so bad at this anyway?

[lawna]

Monica recognized the look on Zrion's face. One of concern, one that wanted to know what the trouble was.

She expected him to say something. To ask what was wrong, if everything was okay. Of course it wasn't, but Monica would have to fib and make an excuse, to spare Zrion from hearing all her sorrows.

Right when she thought she saw words forming on his lips, he turned to the stove, moved the kettle around, and turned a dial on the stove.

Monica almost sighed in relief, that she could examine her feelings closer before shareing them with another.

He had taken a box from a cupboard, put several tea bags in it, and then left it unattended. He sat across from her, and Monica tried to smile for his sake.

Then the silence drew on, a short but uncomfortable one. Zrion tapped his fingers on the table, and Monica looked around, trying to think of something to say.

She spied the kettle, and the dial Zrion had turned. A white line pointed to the six out of the numbers going around.

"Is that all you need to do to make the stove hot? Turn the dial?" She asked, thinking that she could have done that.

[Darkjak87]

Relieved as he was for the silence to be broken, he had to take note of the oddity of her question. What? How can she not know how a stove works? Anyone would know that, even if she's been homeless for as long as she can remember...Perhaps she isn't from the city at all?

He treated it as if it was an everyday question, however, saying "Yeah. It's an electric stove. It's definitely a lot faster than a fire." He fell silent again, thinking about how to continue.

Well, I need to figure out what it's safe to talk to her about...
"
He decided to start with a fairly basic question. "So, Monica, where are you from?"

[lawna]

Monica rose her eyebrows. That seemed like a pretty useless question to her. She wasn't going back, couldn't go back, didn't even think about her town, besides her house and family that had been in it.

"Well, you saw my alley. I've been living there for a long time, maybe two years. Before that I lived with my mom and dad in... oh..." she said in frustration. "It's on the tip of my tongue."

She bit the corner of her mouth and tried to conjure it in her mind. The name of her town.

"It was attacked by metalheads, like the alley was tonight. I didn't know metalheads could be so sneaky. They raided the town, and there was fire. People were probably trying to use it like the Krimzon Guard was tonight. But a house caught on fire, and the whole thing was lit up. But what was it called."

She covered her eyes, seeing images of where she went to school, the inside of her house, the outside of some of her friends' houses.

"Zrion I don't think I'll remember. Spargus was near by, my dad went there all the time. Our town was called..."

She pulled her lip, tapped her feet, but nothing came. She hung her head, shaking it shamefully. "I can't remember."

[Darkjak87]

"It'll be alright Monica, the name wouldn't mean anything to me anyway. That's quite a story, and I'm sorry that happened to you and your town. I wish there was something else I could do to help," he said solemnly.

His words sounded hollow to him. They were woefully inadequate, unable to really help the girl forget her past, and it certainly wouldn't bring her town back. Ashamed that he couldn't do more, he quickly changed to a different topic.

"I'm surprised to learn that there are settlements outside Haven, though. Most people believe that all human life is extinct outside the city, thanks to the Metal Heads. How could a town survive out there by itself?" He was genuinely interested in the conversation now, and for the moment had forgotten all about the tea.

[lawna]

Monica shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe it was a mistake. I've never seen a metalhead before then, and the town did burn down and all that. I don't know why my parents lived there. And I think my mom said something about her family living even farther away. Her dad and brothers and she had a sister, none of them live in Haven City. I don't know where they live."

She tapped her feet and heard the water bubbling in the kettle.

"Do you still have parents?" She asked quietly, not sure if that question was nosey or not. She had a feeling Zrion didn't want to talk about himself, but she was tired of talking all about her.

[Darkjak87]

The question was abrupt, and caught him entirely off guard. He didn't react too strongly on the outside, but he felt a pang in his chest as her question turned his thoughts back to the closing days of the Wasteland Campaign.

At that moment, the tea kettle whistled, and Zrion immediately stood up, grateful for the excuse. As he moved over to the stove, his mind raced, thinking on how best to answer her. He hadn't been ready for the question, that's for sure, but it was only fair that he answered, since she had told him about her own past.

He took the tea off the stove and switched off the burner. Coffee mugs were retrieved from another cabinet, and filled with the steaming hot tea. The pleasant peppermint scent filled Zrion's nostrils, and he found himself breathing slowly and deeply, enjoying the smell as he worked. To his own mug, he added a few teaspoons of sugar, and stirred thoroughly. He took the second mug, and placed it in front of Monica, along with the sugar bowl. Before he sat back down, he also retrieved the milk cartoon from the fridge, placing it on the table as well, in case Monica wanted any.

He sat back down, the peppermint scent relaxing his frazzled nerves as he waited for the tea to cool. He thought about the question, and chose his next words carefully.

"No, I don't. My father died a long time ago, in a KG assault on the main Metal Head Nest in the Wasteland. The attack failed, and we lost a lot of men - so many that the Metal Heads didn't have much trouble breaching our lines. They managed to storm ahead all the way to the city itself, which was almost completely unguarded since most of the KG was deployed to the Wasteland for the campaign." He stopped, suddenly becoming at loss for words, as his mind reluctantly returned to the memories of that day.

After nearly a minute, he finally came to his senses and continued his story. "Without any major forces available to counter them, the Metal Heads were able to breach the city wall. They overran the entire northeastern area of the city. You know it as Dead Town. A lot of people died there. If Praxis hadn't started arming civilians to aid in the fighting, that would've been the end of Haven right there. We were able to hold them long enough to build a new barrier further back, and we abandoned the area to save the rest of the city. That took about two weeks, and by then we had recalled enough KG forces to the city to drive them away entirely. Dead Town stayed though - no one wanted to go there after that."

He realized that he had gotten off topic - he tended to do that, because these events were his life, his history, and the experiences that shaped him. But he had not answered her question. "My mother died in dead town." He said quietly. "Near the end of the battle. Her battalion had been the only front-line infantry force available when the Metal Heads attacked. They took a lot of losses, being in the thick of it, and my mom died with them."

He choked up on the last words, and his constant, stone mask finally wavered, if only just a little. However, he regained his composure quickly, and returned his face to the usual blank mask.

He felt a confusing mixture of relief and sadness. That was why he tried not to think too much about those things - they just got more confusing the longer he thought about them.

"That was seven years ago." He finished.

[lawna]

While listening to Zrion, Monica had drained most of the tea. The effect of peppermint was working perhaps too well, relaxing her with each sip, but it made her sleepy. Despite that, she had listened to everything Zrion had said with great attention.

'He must have great pride in the fact that his parents helped save so many people,' she thought as he told the story of their deaths.

She tried to guess what he was thinking by his facial expressions, which were minimal. Monica saw his face change once, knowing that it was supposed to show sadness, but he covered it up before Monica could see the degree of his feelings.

She could just go by his words. His parents had died for the welfare of many people, lost their lives fighting for others.

"I'm sorry to hear they both died." She said, hoping she wasn't being too blunt. "They both sound very brave."

That last comment was punctuated with a huge yawn, which made it sound insincere to Monica's ears. She hoped Zrion would understand that she really did appreciate that the man had shared some of his personal life with her.

"I didn't know about the Dead Town either, or that Metalheads could just come through the city wall. But I guess they did that tonight. They came through the sewers right?" There was another yawn. "I was just lucky you were around Zrion, or I would have been killed."

[Darkjak87]

"Indeed...They were very brave, and I do my best to make them proud. I'm happy I was there to help." He had to admit, sharing his experiences actually made him feel better, in contrast to what he had been expecting. The subject still darkened his mood, but he now felt pride, pride for his parents, and pride in his choice to follow their example.

She must be exhausted to still be sleepy, even after all that caffeine, he mused, noting her sudden chain of yawns.

"It's getting late, and you should get some rest, after all you've been through tonight. I have a guest room you can use. It'll be a bit dusty, since it's been so long since anyone stayed here, but the bed is still made." Zrion stood up, his chair scraping on the hardwood floor, and stretched, sighing softly as his sore muscles extended themselves.

He noted with a grimace that he hadn't so much as sipped his tea, and it had already lost all it's warmth.

Ah well, at least the smell helped me.

Zrion poured out the tea, and placed the mug in the sink, resolving himself to wash the dishes later, putting off the chore as he had most other matters that night. That taken care off, he turned back to Monica.

"I don't really have any clothes you can wear to bed, but we can get you some tomorrow. Now, come on and I'll show you your room."