When Fate And Worlds Collide

07 | Puzzle Pieces

After our rounds, checking in with the new recruits and participating in a few sparring sessions Xavier and I made our way up the tower, assessing any problems while taking note on what we needed to scavenge on the next scouting trip. I hadn't seen Liam but I felt where he was in his war room, his mind brushing mine when I absent mindedly reached out, a pang of guilt coursing through me as I drew away. I sighed inwardly and followed Xavier.

We sat in our usual spot high up on the tower, feet dangling over the edge, the city dropping away below. Silence stretched between us, but not the uncomfortable kind, the type which spoke more words then we could actually find.

I never grew tired of the magnificent sight this spot offered of the city, and even with it crumbling and broken, seeing the flourishing community below amongst the decay and death, made it all the more beautiful.

Xavier's hand rested on mine, thumb gently rubbing absently as he stared off into the distance. A simple gesture, but one I would never let anyone else do. We connected in a way I never really understood, but didn't question either. I felt his power brush mine, his being the only other rivaling Rohnan's. After our first encounter and bringing him back to the Tower I thought him just another soldier. A few weeks passed before I figured out he was a first gen Aura, like myself.

After getting caught out in the city twice together, and saving each other countless times, we realised our powers resonated perfectly. Since then, he hadn't left my side, even acting as a father figure to Rohnan without ever showing signs of overstepping the line.

Not for the first time I wondered, if I'd come across him first, would he have made a better Alpha? Would we have worked better together than Liam and I? Would I have accepted him any better? Or was the bond we shared the way it was because we had grown as friends first?

"What has you troubled?" his voice jerked me out of my thoughts. I stared at him, noting the little flecks of green littered in the sea blue of his eyes. I turned my eyes to gaze over the city again.

"Same old, same old" I replied. Xavier nudged me with his shoulder, my emotional switch niggling in the way it always did with him around. As if my emotions knew I'd safe to open myself with him. I pushed the thought away.

"I know that look. I feel that look Aiya" I let out a sigh. Hiding from him was like hiding from Liam's ever watching eye.

"What would you do, if tomorrow this all disappeared" I waved my hand over the broken city "if humanity could live without fear again, without death, to rebuild. Where would you go?" I turned my eyes back to Xavier. He blinked a few times, the question catching him off guard. Mulling the question over he lent back on his hands, knee touching mine gently. Always touching in some way when no one was around.

"Before the fall I didn't have many dreams of doing anything big. I joined the army straight out of high school. After being discharged I travelled for work, but never for enjoyment. I had no children, ended up in a love-less marriage which ended in disaster and went about my life with no goals" he never spoke about his past, the same as most people here. We didn't dwell on the before, many memories being too painful to talk about. The places we mourned our dead were in the shrines and group sessions people created to cope.

'But, now knowing what I do, and meeting the people I have...I'd like to show you and Rohnan the world. The quiet and special places. And then...maybe find a place I can create to give you and Rohnan the peace you deserve to live your life, free from all burdens" my heartbeat thumped hard against my chest, that switch almost burning as it tried to turn my emotions back on.

He looked at me, giving a small smile that believed in his little dream, but also knew it would never be a reality. I didn't know what felt worse; it would only ever be a dream, or knowing I wouldn't live long enough to see, or feel, a normal life again, destined to die brutally.