Time Will Tell [Lunie and Esha]

[Lunasola]

After his great, dramatic change, Lunasola had expected a great difference in the academy. As if ridding himself of his childhood name would suddenly bring about the entire academy to regard him with respect as an adult. Unfortunately, news didn't spread that quickly, so the feluis was forced to carry the embarrassing burden a little longer.

But there was a problem: he was impatient, and painfully so. So badly did he just want to sit and revel in his newfound maturity, but when was everyone else going to realise that he wasn't a kid any more? Only time could tell, it seems.

And thus, Lunasola had decided that he would wait for time to tell, however long it took. He was up on the third floor, a floor which he had not previously ventured to before. And apparently, neither had many other people. From the amount of dust, many of these rooms had probably lay untouched for a long time.
And it was in one of them that he encountered what he was looking for - a grandfather clock, tall and elegant. No, he couldn't really read clock faces that well, and especially not ones embedded with Roman numerals. The sky was his clock, but that came into a fat lot of use when it was obscured by clouds all the time. But what he could gather was that the moving hand was telling him that time was also moving. That's all he wanted.

So there he was, sitting on the wooden floor with his legs pulled up close to his chest, his chin resting on his knees, and his hands knotting together in front of him. Just staring intently at the clock. Watching the hand slowly shift around the face of the clock. Listening to the repetitive 'ticking' noise, over and over and over again. Waiting for that moment when everything would be better.
Waiting to grow up.

[Esha]

After all that had gone on recently the stone girl was surprised her head wasn't spinning. It wasn't as if much had changed, just her way of looking at it. She walked idly through the corridors, tracing her hand along a wall. The door seemed to be closed on that room. The one where she caused so much destruction that night. Esha passed it with a guilty glance but continues her journey.

Often being assumed as a teen, she could get on buses for a reduced fair but it would be a constant reminder for now on out- Esha would look like like she'd not experienced the battles of life and would sound strange whenever she said something that only an adult would know. If she looked forty then it wouldn't be a problem. Why was she even at this school? Her curiosity about the place had diminished...So why was the stone girl still here? That would be a question to linger in her head.

She picked a room at random and walked in quickly, but trod carefully due to past experience.

If she was minus a past then who was she? Maybe going into a room full of objects that clearly had a history was a bad idea, maybe not. It would be found out soon enough.

Even if a wound had been deep enough to leave a scar it wouldn't. Esha did not scar; Just healed back to the way she usually was. Like always. Not even a pierced ear would stay open for long. If scars were a record of the individual's past then she was past-less. Was this the perfect opportunity to start a new painting, free from stains of the sordidness born of her own freewill and dark circumstances? This time she could do better. Time was on her side, she'd see. Wether it be fifty years or three months from now, Esha would see.

She spotted the cat, back turned to her..."Lunie-?" She asked with some concern, how had he been? How was his hand? The girl instinctively touched her face at the memory, but found no mark.

[Lunasola]

Lunasola’s gaze upon the clock face was intent and focused. Unblinking. Nothing could tear his eyes away, not even the scuffling of mice nor the blowing of the wind outside. Nor the creaking of the old floorboards as Esha entered the room.

It was when the voice piped up behind him that he suddenly stirred into action. With a yelp of fright, he quite literally scrambled to his feet, his claws skittering loudly against the wooden floor as he did so. Scampering towards the tall grandfather clock, he rushed to cower behind it. It was curiosity, rather than bravery, that nagged him to peer out at the newcomer. The tell-tale ears that were already peeping out were soon followed by wide, anxious eyes, and clawed fingers that curled around each side of the clock. Oh. It was Esha.

It was like he wanted to smile, but something was preventing him from doing so. His gaze towards her remained stiff and uncertain as he clung tighter to the wooden clock. “Don’t…” His voice carried the sort of tone that was intended to seem threatening, but was too soft and tentative to sound anything but. “…Don’t call me that.”

Eyes shifted about the room quite nervously, before he raised his voice again; a sort of panicked whisper. “What are you doing here?”

[Esha]

At the sight of Lunie jumping away in fright Esha turned quickly, earning a tired groan form the floor, to see who he was looking at, to see who was behind her. In her mind it couldn't possibly be her he was throwing himself away from her; Why would he do that-

Oh. The last meeting; In the woods, with the rat and the shouting and the-...No, She didn't want to think about it. Remembering it made her stomach knot, she'd supressed the memory, the wreched mental recording of dark event she couldn't forget. shuffling her feet and wringing her hands behind her back, the stone girl tried to prevent her eyes looking at him.

Esha wouldn't...Couldn't look at him. Shame and regret clear as day on her face. Sticks and stones..

She couldn't help but think she'd break him. With her hands she would hurt him, with her words she'd break him to pieces. The girl nodded a his request, not questioning it. She knew a bit about wanting a new name. A new start. Esha gave a thoughtful look at the face of the grandfather clock and then a hard look at the first person she'd met on the island.

"It doesn't matter why I'm here; Not anymore. Why are you here?" She dead-panned him the question, putting her hands in her pockets.

[Lunasola]

Esha, Esha, Esha. What was she doing here? The more he stared at her, the more he could see her gruesome image returning, her bloodied claws and her cold, pupil-less stare. He tried to blink it away, but it could not be hidden; even his knees shook at the sight.

Still, though he had his reservations, he could not deny that the girl's expression was not one of spite, but of sadness instead. He inclined his head, wearing a contemplative squint as he craned his neck forward.

Though as his inquiry was flatly reflected, he shrank backwards, further obscuring himself behind the clock. He tentatively peered up at its ticking face. "I'm... waiting." His head hung guiltily, ears pinned behind his head. "Far away from people. You were n-not meant to be here." It was true, anyway. Nobody was meant to find him here in this distant room. Not yet.

He reached his arms higher, grabbing one of the ridges of the clock. Digging in his nails, he pulled himself up, clambering up the side of the furniture. It did seem to teeter at the sudden imbalance, but before long, it returned to steadiness as the feluis reached the top. And there he sat, hugging his arms over the roof as he peered down at the girl. It felt... safer up here, for some reason.

He blinked down at her, his expression strangely quite emotionless, but his tone did betray his anxiety. "Why did you find me?"

[Esha]

Eyes narrowed, head tilted slightly at his his statement but she didn't say anything in return. She didn't know what to say. The vagueness was annoying her but she didn't question it too much- He might stop talking to her or...Esha just didn't want to rock the boat too much.

In curiosity, she watched the felius climb the clock and get the top. It was almost like he was getting a vantage point to scan for threats. Looming, for a better attack point; Or simply getting to a safe place- It was easy to see why Lunie would think the stone girl a threat.

Several things could be going on but she wasn't taking chances.

"I didn't intend to find you...why are you hiding?" She asked, taking a step closer to the clock- So close she could unsteady the tall piece of furniture if she wanted; just with a push. He was taking a high ground, she'd just unsteady his high up place. This was really all in case something bad happened, she remembered what happened to her face; Mournfully.

Mournfully because someone she'd thought as a friend had reason to hurt her. She didn't want that to happen; Ever. She kept looking up at him, barley blinking- unflappably determined to not be the one to look away.

[Lunasola]

Hiding? Hiding? He wasn't hiding, he was just--
He blinked, unable to scrape up any words to answer her question with. His claws dug nervously into the wooden structure below him, with little chips curling out where his nails scraped them. He didn't really seem to notice this, however - his gaze was currently glued to Esha.

There was something about the way her pupil-less eyes stared at him that sent a ripple of discomfort down his spine. The way they never seemed to shift. He could do nothing but return the stare, his pupils dilating, his limbs tensing, his tail swishing in a pendulous manner. He wanted to look away, but for some reason, he could not. He held the gaze, growing steadily more cautious.

Finally, he found his voice. Or at least, some of it. "N-not. Hiding," he shakily insisted under his breath, sliding back further behind the clock. "Not s-scared. Not hiding."

"I understand n-now," he continued. "I was being stupid, but yes, I understand now. I not stupid no longer." His glare turned icy.
"You are a lying monster."

[Esha]

Esha did not know how to react. At all. The felius's tail was swishing, he was staring. What was going on? she'd never seen him act like this; although she did remind herself she was reaping what she sowed. If only she'd stopped to think in the woods things would be the way they were before. Unclouded; nothing murky blocking the view of what was.

If only.

She stood her ground with no conviction to the side of either hostility or otherwise. Passively, not really moving much at all; though that was a skill learned while an individual could be a statue. Though she did yearn for something to happen, anything. As the ticking of the clock counted their little scene .Every second of it.

Like the pendulum, it could go either way. At what lunasola said Esha was confused at. The ambiguity making what his true meaning was hard to decode, what did he understand? Why was he enlightened now -where he wasn't before?

The next words, Esha knew she deserved, but still felt like a punch to the gut. Monster. "Why? What did I lie about to you?" She asked, looking up. With a slightly annoyed tone. Not knowing, after trying to search for memory of what she supposedly promised.

[Lunasola]

Aside from the tell-tale twitching, Lunasola himself tried to keep as still as Esha was. He wouldn't give in, nor would he back down. It was strange and unusual for him, but he assured himself that it was brave. Heroic. Even despite the fact that this monster shared the same face as an old friend of his...

Why.
Yes, there were many reasons why, none of which he particularly wanted to voice. He rehearsed them over in his head, and tried to remain as calm and as steady as he could. He could not stop himself from trembling. "You lied... about... you."

He wanted to continue, but the words suddenly became stuck in his throat. Unable to maintain the stare any longer, he finally averted his eyes towards the back of his hands. It was easier to speak without looking at her face. "You make me believe that you are a friend. But you are a liar, because you are not."

"And then you treat me like that rat." His expression darkened and his tail whipped behind him. "I will not forgive you."

[Esha]

So he'd just read this situation as her hating him somehow? She supposed she didn't blame him; couldn't, more like. To her it was more an act of care, to get him to stop the attitude of his in the forest, instead shed cast herself as a monster. The only way she could.

- and it seemed to Esha like she'd somehow broken him. More. Or maybe she was thinking to highly of herself to be able to do that.

It wasn't like she had a track record of getting things right, Esha had realised whilst thinking over everything on long nights where she couldn't sleep. It would be some sort of unnatural happening if nothing was ever uncomplicated somehow.

"You made me do something I never wanted to do again, but I guess we both over, and underestimated, each other. Didn't we?" Esha shrugged, taking a step away. The mentioning of lying and such did not sting, but did make her wonder what the felius thought of her character before.

What had happened was out of character on both their parts, but it was so easy to see the felius's as young child. He lied to her in a way too.

"No, I'm not anymore" The stone girl said, shaking her head softly In regret and defeat, no point in beating around the bush anymore. "I'm sorry for tricking you into thinking I was, so sorry"

[Lunasola]

As tenaciously as Lunasola wanted to defend his claims, he could already feel that familiar, wavering feeling of self doubt. Acting like he was now felt so bizarre, despite how right he knew he was. He felt like a foreigner in his own skin, really. Battling not only the supposed enemy gazing at him, but suppressing thoughts he knew he'd be better off without. It wasn't easy, but maybe he could learn to overcome it.

At the question, he didn't know what to think. He simply ducked his head lower as he listened. And then...
Sorry.
Again, that yearning to understand but feeling incapable of doing so. She was agreeing that she was not his friend, but apologising just like she was one? She confused him so much lately, throwing his emotions into a spin. A frown deepend on his face; a stubborn attempt to hide some of the bewilderment that he felt.

"I don't believe you," he said, his voice trembling. His claws curled inwards tightly, scraping the wood one last time before pricking into his own palms. "I don't believe you... I don't..." He cringed his eyes shut, resting his forehead against the pediment.
It just didn't matter how many times he said it out loud.

Biting his lip, he did not allow himself to meet her gaze again as he continued. "You were not meant to kill the rat. I was meant to kill it." Both arms curled around his head in shame. "I was too scared."

[Esha]

The stone girl found it was becoming an uphill struggle to keep a hard face at Lunie. How could she? Frowning slightly and looking at the clock face was easier than looking at him, as a dart of discomfort shot down her back. Esha felt like facepalming, curling up and never leaving her room again. How did everything get so tangled?

The answer escaped her.

"I...I...uh.." She stuttered, not really knowing what to say to the felius. With a small, exasperated huff, the stone girl looked away, her hair whipping with the speed. She crossed her arms with a hiss of annoyance. Damn him for putting her in a position like this, Damn him for making her feel this way-!

Situations were not a strong point of the stone girl's."-didn't want to either." Esha said, it was true. Stupid sounding though, she berated herself, Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Shuffling her feet she looked back to him and most of the irritation leaving her features; Although her crossed arms stayed put.

The stone girl just wanted the words to say something a bit more comforting but those words didn't come naturally to her. "Why did you do it in the first place?" She asked, thinking she may well have been told before but her memory from the forest was just a hazy blur she didn't feel like revising.

[Lunasola]

The girl's sudden movement was what made Lunasola tilt his head up towards her, chancing another glance at her. At the hiss, his ears ducked back behind him, worrying that she was angry at him. Perhaps she should be - he already was with himself.

If you didn't want to, he thought with annoyance, why did you do it? The logic just didn't make sense. She'd never told him at all that she didn't want to do it at the time... yet, her sadness had been unmistakable.

And then... why? His eyes squinted at the question. Why. There was... some explaining to do.
"Because I had to."
His clenched hands loosened and reached towards the pediment, pushing himself higher on top of it, to peer down at Esha. "A good friend..." he began, before hesitating. Was Raye really a good friend? He had searched for her for answers for months now, but couldn't find her anywhere. Either it was an elaborate, cruel game of 'hide and seek', or... she'd reached the same conclusion that many of his friends had done. "A very good friend... told me that death is okay. It is okay if you eat it, or if you make it not hurt. I wanted to believe her. I know that she would not lie. I do it in her name." His expression saddened as he continued. "But I didn't do it right. And now she is gone, and I am lost."

"Do you understand?" He creased his brows, bit his lip, and inhaled deeply, making his best attempt to hold himself together. "I wanted to do the right thing."

[Esha]

Stood listening to what Lunie had to say, The girl couldn't help but feel sorry for him. So he'd...listened to a friend- a good friend- and all this had gone down. His failure meant she was gone.

well that wasn't a very good friend, Esha decided as she kept herself from making a face, something of disgust at the statement. All Lunie needed now was doubts over this 'friend'. She crossed her arms.

Lost. So sad. She wanted to comfort him but she didn't know how- she knew she was in no position to, after all she'd done. Esha would try anyway though.

The right thing..."I understand completely. Everyone does the right thing. If you're anything like me, you'll mess up more than you actually get anything right" Esha sighed a little sadly and looked up, and stood back a few steps. Right was just such a very subjective term, the stonegirl had learned. Painfully, but learned all the same.

This was such a horrible situation no matter how it was sliced. he was just...a child. Alone. "Come down, please." She held her hands up either side of her, as if to show she didn't have anything behind her back- A peace statement. Stabbing around in the dark, Esha could make a good guess how he felt, Lonely- his friend was gone, right?

"You don't have to be so so alone."

[Lunasola]

He shivered uneasily as he awaited Esha's reaction, knowing exactly what to expect. She'd be disappointed in him, disgraced. Ashamed. Exactly as he felt towards himself. He drew in a breath, cringing the moment she started to speak.

She understood. Tentatively, he opened an eye again to watch her while she spoke. Yes, he did mess up a lot... and the worst bit was not even knowing what he did wrong.

Come down. His lip quivered as he craned his neck forwards, eyes wide with both curiosity and fear. His claws dug harder into the wood, stubbornly staying exactly where he was. He just didn't know what point that he was trying to defend any more, hiding up here - every inch of him simply longed to give into the temptation of release and forgiveness.
At her last words, he finally did.

He scrunched his face, trying his best to remain steadfast. But he could barely see Esha through his squinted, blurring eyes... It started to pour down his face. He couldn't stop it. The tiny whimper that escaped him escalated into miserable bawl, interrupted only by his shaky gasps of air. He clutched the clock's frame, his body shaking with each breath, sheer grief coursing through his every vein. It was relentless.

Looking to Esha again with those bleary eyes, he pushed himself backwards off the grandfather clock. The moment his feet touched the floor again, he rushed towards the girl, coiled his arms around her, and started to sob into her chest.

[Esha]

Esha was in shock at the sudden breakdown, at only a few words too- She didn't like seeing him crying. Anyone for that matter.

The scene before her pulled her heartstrings, and made her feel bad. When things like this happened she always wondered 'why did I only think of myself?'; Always in remorse. sometimes in anger, sometime sadness. It was all of those things this time and Esha had a very torn expression to match the internal mix of emotion. With the felius's disappearance behind the clock, her breath was held in sickening anticipation as to whether he'd come out again. Oh, if she'd somehow messed things up once aga-!

Then the thought was cut short by Lunasola running toward her and hugging her. Immediately, the stone girl returned the embrace and patted his shoulder in an attempt to soothe him of his heartache. Even if only a little bit. She could only wonder what it was like to be so isolated at such a young age; She took the sobbing to be a sign that...that was the problem. How awful...

Esha got down to one knee, slowly and gently, so the upset boy's feet could touch the floor although she kept holding him, like she would- until he didn't want it anymore.

[Lunasola]

He clung tightly to the girl - he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't stop the tears either, nor his muffled wails. Yet, despite his misery, it felt almost relieving, like a burden that had been lifted off his shoulders. But at the same time, it all came crashing down, both the realisation and the weight. He hated it.

As she knelt down, he only continued to envelope her with his arms, his chin resting on her shoulder. By now, his bawling had reduced to snivels, his glazed eyes staring at the door behind her. Whether she was a friend or a foe didn't seem to matter right now - she understood. A relief that he could cling to and preserve for this moment in time.

He didn't seem intent on letting go any time soon. In fact, he'd already made a resolve - he would not let go. She'd run away, she'd disappear out the doors if he dared to remove his attention from her. He craned his neck towards her ear, a breathy whisper escaping him. "Never leave."
His hands around her back clenched, claws digging possessively.

[Esha]

All Esha knew to do was pat the felius's back to show everything would be alright, all would be well, although she was careful to not make it too much like she was petting him like someone would a pet cat in case of disrespect.

Good thing the two were not face to face, because Esha's eyes widened and her brows scrunched in worry at the words. Those words which were essentially a guilt-sprung trap. Never leave...She couldn't promise that and- ugh. Bloody hell. What a situation. Esha didn't want to upset Lunasola further, and she didn't want him to feel alone anymore so she could do little else but promise.

She doubted it would be forgotten. At least by her anyway, as the words seared themselves into her mind.

"I promise, I will never leave you." The stone girl said softly

[Lunasola]

As the words reached his ears, his tense poise finally relaxed, claws loosening their hold on the girl's back. A promise. He would never forget it. It played like a repeating record in his mind; words that he would come to cling to in the coming time.

"Thank you."
He slipped his arms away from her, taking a few steps back. At first, his gaze dragged along the floor guiltily, before he finally forced it upwards to stare into the stone girl's. A weak smile pulled at his lips.

"Can we..." He hesitated, biting at his lip unsurely. "Can we go s-somewhere else? This room smells bad," he admitted sheepishly, wiping the last bit of residual tears from his eyes.

[Esha]

Claws weren't clung to her back anymore...Great. She was slightly relieved. Although she remembered the promise she made. Probably would have promised him anyway. How could she not?

“Of course.” She nodded with a smile as she got up and dusted her knees.The floor would give splinters anyway, the stone girl thought to herself with a little more humor than she could muster up a few minuits before. Holding a hand out and looking briefly to the door before back to Lunasola, she waited for him to elaborate where he had in mind with a curious look and a cocked head.

Where to go..?

[Lunasola]

Blinking to her gratefully, he curled his fingers around hers, before his gaze slipped past her towards the door. At the curious look, he merely gave a small grin back, the silent question failing to connect to him. Though, it wasn't like he had anywhere in mind other than 'not here'.

After spending a few moments wondering why she wasn't leading the way, a breathy sigh finally escaped him, before he turned to stride towards the door, tugging incessantly on her hand. "Come on!" His voice was as chirpy and as energetic as ever. No, he didn't have a place in mind, just an adventure.

[Esha]

Leaving the heavy atmosphere of the room was welcome and it felt like a physical weight was lifted from her shoulders. Or maybe that was just making up with Lunasola.

Exiting now, though, as friends. She was careful but quick with her steps, with a slight spring. Assumed the felius actually had a game plan of where they were going or what they were going to do. Esha let herself be guided in whatever direction she would with a smile. Infectiously transferred from Lunie. It was nice to see him happy again.

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