Eight Intertwined

174 - Winnehild

Morning arrived nice and early for the travelers, and for the first time in ages, Alfyn found himself feeling refreshed by the first light of dawn. Getting out of bed had turned into such a chore since the group was in Stonegard, but at long last, Alfyn felt as if everything was falling into place again. He woke earlier than he needed to, but he didn't try to get back to sleep. Instead, he simply took to packing up all of his supplies in preparation for the group's trip to Saintsbridge and then journey down toward Riverford. 

Alfyn wished he could have said that he was looking forward to going back to Saintsbridge. The travelers would only be there for a few minutes before they started off in the direction of Riverford and the final shrine, but Alfyn still wanted nothing to do with the city. Even so, he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it forever. He needed to stay focused on the task at hand, and if that meant facing the demons his fight with Miguel had left behind, then he had to at least try. He owed it to himself and the rest of the travelers. 

More importantly, Alfyn felt as if he owed it to Therion to not lose his composure too soon. The thief was still sound asleep across the room, and Alfyn couldn't help but watch in silent infatuation with the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Therion hadn't slept this well in a long time. Alfyn had never known what to do to help Therion when he was too restless and anxious to truly sleep, but he had always hoped Therion knew he was there to help him. Now, Alfyn was certain Therion knew it, and he had their conversations from the day before to thank. Therion was at peace at long last, and it had only come because he had opened up about Darius. 

Alfyn could certainly see the parallels between Miguel and Darius now that Therion had mentioned them. Their hair colors were a bit too close for Alfyn to be comfortable with either of them, and they even had similar speech patterns. It was no wonder Therion had tipped over the edge into paranoid anxiety after his near death encounter with Miguel. Alfyn would have done the same if he had been in that situation. He was glad Therion was starting to feel better though. Alfyn didn't like seeing any of his friends in pain, and he especially didn't like seeing them wound up because of demons they didn't know how to face. 

Alfyn had to admit that his reaction to hearing about Darius still caught him by surprise. He couldn't say he regretted what he had said, but it shocked him even so. Alfyn had known for ages that there were some people who simply needed to die, but when it came time for him to raise his weapon to another living being, he had come up with all the excuses in the world to justify why it was wrong. As soon as Alfyn heard about Darius though... He knew that he had been right to kill Miguel. All of the travelers had been right to kill the horrible people they had met along their path. Helgenish, Rufus, Gideon, Morlock, Omar, Yvon, Albus... They were all greedy, terrible people who reveled in the suffering of others, and they had no right to survive if they only wanted to use their power to harm the people around them. In Alfyn's eyes, all life was worth saving, but if a person crossed the line into hurting others, then they forfeit any mercy he could have given them. Darius was no different, and when Alfyn finally saw him again in Northreach, he would do what he had to in order to prove it. 

Therion woke slowly, and Alfyn forced himself to look away so the thief wouldn't realize he had been staring. Therion rubbed at his eyes groggily, and Alfyn caught another glimpse of the ruptured eye that had been left behind by his fall off the cliff. "Morning, Alf," Therion slurred out. Alfyn did his best to not show how bright his smile was over the nickname. He could certainly get used to being called that more often. 

"Mornin', Theri," Alfyn returned. Using the nickname on Therion seemed to wake the thief up quickly, and the two locked eyes for a long moment. Alfyn smiled brightly, and Therion looked at him like he was staring directly into the sun, but he didn't seem to care at all. "You rest well?"