Soothsayer ⚡ Barry Allen

...When Reunited As One...

Bane and Maps is a bit self explainatory for Barry.

Under Talia's instruction to practice, I reached out to Barry every night. It was the middle of the day for him so he was more aware of his surroundings, the last time I'd gotten close to him he got goosebumps, his eyes would dust over me without even knowing it. "Al Kahin." I snapped out of my thoughts and turned my head toward Bane, Talia not far behind his tracks. "You seem troubled, lately." Visiting Barry was dragging over, not good.

"I've had much on my mind," I excused. Two months with only quick glances of him definately caused some withdrawls. I noticed the way Talia drew her hand across Bane's back before coming to stand beside me. From what I understood, Rā's had arranged their marriage. But neither of them seemed upset or awkward by this, they wanted to be married, at least from what I could tell.

The skies where overcast and I jumped when I saw a flash of light over the dunes, a low rumble sounding seconds later. "Dry lightning," Talia observed. "The rain is reluctant today." The heat hadn't lessened, and the threat of an oncoming rain made the air humid and heavy. "Why don't you go scouting, experience your first monsoon in the heart of the storm?" I looked at the sky and over the landscape, another flash of lightning beckoning to me.

"And my objective?" I nodded, bringing my eyes back to my instructors.

"Come back in one piece before too long," Bane directed. "That shouldn't be hard." I shook my head and stepped a couple feet back, bowing my head before making my leave. I stopped in my room and grabbed my sai; though swords of many kinds were the standard weapon of the League, I prefered these.

⚡

I sat in the midst of the valley, the close resoundings of thunder instilling the meditation further. I was sat in Barry's second favorite chair, the black leather freezing against my exposed skin. Said focal point was sleeping on his back, his pale abdomen exposed to the cold air around us. I stood and ran my hand down his stomach, somehow managing to pull the blankets a bit further up his stomach. I sat beside him and ran my fingertips over his face, less reluctant when he stirred under my touch.

His eyes slowly opened, staring into the space above him as my hand retracted. "Andromeda," he breathed, quickly sitting himself up and looking directly at me. Goosebumps had raised the hair on his arms and it felt different this time, as he didn't look to be looking through me. Thunder clapped around me and Barry's room faded away, but Barry didn't, his eyes taking in the new landscape. "Dromi," he tried again, bringing his eyes back to me. I froze when his hand came up to my face, the hint of his touch on my cheek.

"You can't be here," I breathed, my hand coming up to his. We didn't connect, though, I no longer felt his touch, only my own on my face. "If anyone knew--"

"Come home," he pleaded. "I miss you so much, I need you here." He held either side of my face now, his desperity clear. I couldn't judge how much my confliction was showing, but I felt it strong.

"I can't, Barry, and you can't be here." I looked up to his eyes, my expression apologetic.

"I don't even know where here is, Andy," he sighed in exasperation. There was a large flash of light and an even louder boom not a second later, rumbling for a long moment before I realized the close strike of lightning had broken my focus and Barry was gone, feeling a few drops on my skin before rain fell around me in heavy sheets, driving my need to get back.

I didn't go far, just close enough to find the storm without going too far down the mountain, but the rain came down hard and sudden. I was soaked within a minute, shivering since I had no relief from the Speed Force. This is what they meant by giving me this task. It'd be lovely making it home in this.

By the time I reached my room in the temple, I was covered in wet sand and soaked to the bone, freezing and shivering as I changed, drying my hair as the rain pelted outside. I didn't want to think about it, but I couldn't visit Barry anymore. Not if he's taught himself how to bridge in like that, not if he's able to see where I am. As much as I enjoyed being able to see him and speak to him, it was too dangerous. I was doing all this for him, but I distanced myself for a reason. It's time I stick to it.

Strapping a face covering around my ears, I made my way through the temple, finding myself in the altar room. This was the closest I'd come to the pool since I was branded and accepted into the League. The longer I looked into the water, the more drawn I felt to stick my hand into it. "The Pit is tempting, isn't it?" Bane's voice rung out, snapping me around instantly. "You can hear it calling out to you, all the souls of people who have used it before, telling you to sink into the water." He stepped up beside me and watched the water run through the pool.

"What is it?" I asked softly, noticing how his pupils dialated as he stared at it.

"The Lazarus Pit gives the Head of the Demon his power, strength, and longevity. The water has magical properties to it. The more souls claimed by the Pit, the stronger Rā's Al Ghul becomes." I didn't quite understand but nodded anyway, shifting a step back when my pull to touch it grew stronger.

"It's only intended for Rā's?" I asked.

"All Heads of the Demon bathe in the Pit, and only the Rā's. When I marry Talia and take the title, I will be the one soaking in it." The way his eyes stuck to the pool, I had half a thought that he was only okay with the marrige for the Pit. But I'd seen the interations between he and Talia, even when they thought I wasn't looking. There was love between them, but currently that love looked pushed aside by his desire for the glorified hottub. "There are occasions where others use the Pit, but the ceremonies are few and far between. There hasn't been one in the last century." Just as suddenly as the rain hard started, it stopped, thunder rumbling in the distance as the storm moved past us.

⚡

Barry didn't sleep for the rest of the night, staying up pinpointing which deserts were experiencing thunderstorms, cross refrencing with his breadcrumbs of Andy. It was mid July, right in the middle of monsoon season in the Middle East. That current area was large, and most of it was desert. Smacking his head on the desk a few times, Barry groaned and ran his hands through his hair, tempted to cut it just to spite her. She had cut hers, why not cut his own?