Three Weeks Later, he returned.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Who: Connor and YOU.
What: Connor was taken home for a few weeks and is now back with some stories to tell to certain people, and friends to see again.
Where: He's everywhere. I mean it.
When: June 21, 2014. The summer solstice. Then the 22nd and 23rd. A little bit before hell broke loose again with the event.
Warnings: Nothing yet. Edit: Connor and Eirik being, uh, "sappy".



It was sudden, the night of the gala was still very fresh in his mind. Then the next morning, at dawn, he wasn't in his dorm. There was no Rufflet who would ask for food the moment he heard his human companion shift to await the morning. No Desmond sound asleep elsewhere or doing whatever he did.

He was back at his manor, sleeping on his canopy bed and surrounded by his various modest trinkets.

It was too long of a dream to be one, and one look on his hand would signify that it was all real.

Eirik's ring shone on his finger, and for a moment, there was a tinge of pain on his chest. Heartbreak.

Then he remembered what he said to Eirik months before when she arrived after a brief parting; it doesn't have to be goodbye. Not unless we make it. Though it was disturbing that not a day had passed since he left, which made no sense because he was at the school for a full year. Barely a night had passed at this place.

No explanation withstanding, he decided to let that slide. He had other matters to think about.

If it was to happen, he would be able to see the school again. For now, there was work to do in this life. And if he was blessed to see his other life again, then that was that.

Connor was excellent at adapting, but all who he had met still stayed in his mind for a bit.

Soon enough, the emptiness from not seeing his mother, Eirik, and the others subsided. Soon enough some more, it just turned into hope. Whenever he thought about it all, he just tried to keep to that hope. There was the Homesteaders, and his Brotherhood to think about too, now that he was here to work with them.

Hope wasn't something that should be lost, after all.

He would be camping one night alone some months later, when he would hear a noise in the distance. Someone's horse. He kept his ears open in case if it was a poacher or worse. His keen hearing trying to keep him as alert as possible. He had all of his weapons on handy, at any rate.

He didn't expect it to be Washington. He didn't expect him to come to his camp to try to speak with him about dreams that haunted him. Connor wasn't his friend, not anymore, sure. But the man was too frazzled to ignore. There was maybe the most brief reluctance before caving in and allowing the Commander to sit at his camp and tell him what was bothering him.

What he was saying was troubling. Then he claimed it was from an artifact, and an artifact Connor had heard too much about. Not too many good things either.

Washington had the Apple of Eden, and it was the thing that caused a rift inside of him. One touch, said Washington, to see what the Apple was showing him.

------------

What he saw was something of a nightmare, and Connor was fortunate to leave it. How long was he there within the Apple's reality? Months. Yet again, time meant nothing. They were back at his camp, and it was still in the dead of night.

He and Washington shared some distrustful glares, before Washington shoved the Apple at him.

Get rid of it, he said.

Gladly, thought Connor. No man should ever be able to have and use the power the Apple gave, it was like a poison to the soul. Connor was going to weight it, and sink it to the bottom of the sea.

He did so, rejecting everything the Apple stood for.

He would return to the Homestead to rest, and again...awaken at the school.

[OOC: Connor will be traveling everywhere to see what and if things have changed, as well as try to visit others while carrying on his meager duties again. Just say where they are, and what time of day for the 21st-23rd, and we can make the magic.]

Comments

[trustycrowbar]

"Connor...?"

Gordon had found him while loitering in the arched doorway of the clock tower. The large weight of a foucault pendulum he'd been setting up, swung in its lazy ellipses along the floor of the clock tower inside. Gordon squints at him in the distance, and then waves when he's certain it's him.

"Connor! God, am I happy to see you! What the hell happened out there? You were gone for the better part of a month!"

[mohawk_tomahawk]

The clock tower was where Connor did most of his usual watch. It was a tall enough building, and one of the place he also went to to be at peace next to the lake. He came here most often during the drug wars, and he just happened to cross paths with Gordon here.

And Gordon was one of the faces he wanted to find.

It was probably luck that he found Gordon, and he took advantage of that. By now, he knew of the disturbing time difference here and where he lived. The Apple made a similar illusion, so the concept wasn't completely foreign (it was still creepy though).

Connor made a small curve of a smile for a greeting, he knew he had a lot to explain. So he might as well get to it.

He made that greeting, and spoke very soon after. "I awoke at home, where I was for a few months. But I know now here it had been just a few weeks..."

[trustycrowbar]

He grips his wrist in greeting, and his eyebrows raise when Connor says that. "Months...? Well, that's not out of the question. In fact as far as time-flow differentials go, that's a pretty mild one..."

The pendulum swings slowly past in the doorway, as Gordon looks him over.

"You look worn out. Something tells me those months didn't treat you too well."

[mohawk_tomahawk]

He didn't know Gordon would've noticed that so easily, it was hard to read Connor's face when he was on the job sometimes. He was always a man of action, and his missions made him so his emotions could have little to no bearing.

Unless if it was very personal.

Maybe being around his mother made him notice his ticks, since they were scarily similar in how they handle their feelings. Just a guess.

But now, he was asked about the months he was away, and he found himself having few words he could say. Mainly because him being there and back here again was a bit of a cultural (and then some) whiplash. Gordon had the ability to know everything and nothing about the way he lived; because of Ziio.

He could maybe muster something, and see how Gordon would bite, "A lot had happened."

It is difficult to explain.

[trustycrowbar]

There was that; He can tell when Ziio's under stress, and Connor practically wears his heart on his sleeve by comparison. However, he could also tell how Connor's body had built itself up, and yet his shoulders had dropped into a slump. That's what a heavy burden looks like, and Gordon knows because he'd had to wear it himself before. He nods.

"Yeah... If you want I can buy you an ale, and you can tell me all about it."

How's that for a bite?

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Thing about ale: Connor hardly drank the stuff. He hardly drank period. He never liked the taste all too much. But he had heard of the gesture Gordon had shown, from another friend. That friend was one from his Brotherhood, a man he respected very much.

Gordon was a man he respected very much, and was a friend. So, turning him down wouldn't be very desirable.

Plus, Gordon was pretty concerned, and not telling him wouldn't be a very good thing for Connor to do on a basic level. They have been through a lot, and Gordon placed a lot of faith in him; even when they had their brief moment of discontent.

Even if the ale was unnecessary, there truly was a lot that could be said, and Gordon might have had a few words for him. So the fact that he remained was perhaps a way of giving in and accepting his request.

"How is...my mother?" That question flew out of the coop.

[trustycrowbar]

"She's well! She'll, ah, she'll be happy to see you back."

That's the first thing he asks about... Gordon's aware that Ziio doesn't survive to see him as a man in his world, so he must have missed her terribly back in his home dimension. Yeah, that must be it.

"I'd say about as happy as you will be to see her, am I right?"

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Well, yeah, then again, he was used to not having her around. Only used to having her around here, he was able to distinguish that. If he let loss get to him, then he would've been a destroyed man many years ago.

Despite missing people, he lived as he did any day back at the Homestead.

Once back here however, he did miss her and wanted to see her. It was a gift given to him here, after all.

Besides, now he trusted that Gordon would take care of her if he wasn't around (not that he felt she needed to be taken care of specifically).

"Good," Connor said, somewhat softly. "Thank you."

Thank you, huh?

[trustycrowbar]

"Oh come on, you don't have to thank me..." He replies, rubbing the back of his neck with a small chuckle. Connor was right; Ziio didn't need to be taken care of. In fact, during his nights in the woods with her, with his meager (but growing) knowledge of hunting and fishing, Ziio was more or less taking care of HIM. Still, those two words were unexpectedly warming.

"...Have you talked to Eirik yet?"

[mohawk_tomahawk]

If Gordon actually pointed that out, he would've agreed. He would totally be able to picture Ziio overlooking Gordon while he made attempts at hunting, and keeping on a straight face whenever Gordon made a mistake. But Gordon keeping her company was something to be very grateful for, and regardless of whatever the case, Connor would've still thanked him.

When Gordon asked about Eirik, Connor straightened a little more. Gordon was probably one of the first who came up to their growing relationship, that had been clear on more than one occasion.

Connor tried to be better about talking of their courtship, it was one of the many promises he had made; being more open about his feelings. But only to people he could trust it with, and Ziio and Gordon certainly were. Desmond too.

"...Yes," he replied. "I have when I first awoke. I went to see her."

[trustycrowbar]

He nods. "I figured. Come on, let's get that drink we talked about. Oh, uh..."

He points to the bowling-ball-sized pendulum swinging freely around the medallion on the floor inside.

"I hope you don't mind if I rigged this up in here. It'll give the class this fall something to talk about.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Connor finally took a nice look at the thing then, watching it swing in a continuous motion. It had been a while, and Connor had missed Gordon and his scientific way of living.

It didn't take long for Connor to then start getting curious, and it felt good to be so.

"What is it?"

[heartofarapier]

There were plenty of days that Eirik thought of her own departure. Half a calendar year away from the academy had been quite long enough. Factor in allies, lovers, and so on, and it just became aptly more... Well. Apparent. Making friends was a part of the healing process and at some point saying goodbye to said friends was inevitable.

It made her always think about what Gordon had said, too. She couldn't dwell on when she was going to lose someone. Otherwise, it'd drive her mad. So when she found Connor missing after a week of no conversation, she held only suspicious. A fortnight and she was almost certain. Three weeks and there was no doubt. Gone he'd been, with no word to her, and the only thing she could do was accept it.

Hard to have a war when the other side was missing. But if he'd left out of anger or displeasure with her, she would have wanted to know. Even leaving on bad terms would have been better than leaving under no terms at all. A simple 'I'm leaving you' would have sufficed. Even if he hadn't meant it. Even if his last words to her were lies.

I was foolish, she thought to herself as she eyed his door. She stopped by on occasion to see it. To stop, stare, and wonder. To dream. To hold false hopes that wouldn't come true. Nothing ever lasts forever, except political alliance.

And she went about her way. If I had accepted Innes's proposal, he and I would still be together. Even if we grew to dislike one another, he would have been too stubborn to let it go to pieces. The alliance between Renais and Frelia is stronger than any alliance Connor and I could have forged with one another. A bittersweet thought, but true all the same.

What happened, happened. There was never any changing of the past. Only accepting it and moving on with the days. Eirik wasn't invincible, but oddly enough, knowing her heart had braced for the impact that she knew would eventually happen, she felt better prepared for it. As if she'd expected that outcome all along.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

He had been gone for months, of no volition of his own. Granted, he managed to complete something major, and maybe that the reason he was sent home. Like he was meant to be there, now he was meant to be here again.

It was the first thing in the morning, Connor woke up to his bird hopping on his bed to snuggle up and chirp excitedly. Odd. Connor had hoped maybe it would be more upset since he was his major caregiver, but he seemed fine. Just as healthy, had he been fending for himself?

"You did not leave?" Connor had asked him. "You could have, you had no obligations to stay."

But it did, and it was apparent he stayed to wait, hoping he would come back. A happy chirp made that clear.

He would have given the bird a pat on the head, feeling good that the bird didn't think he was abandoned.

He couldn't say that for anyone else yet.

Connor was in his room, with various thoughts about being back, but the one that was immediate was knowing the state of the place. A lot could have happened; to numerous people too.

He wanted to find those people, it was still the morning and maybe it was fate; the very first person that popped into his mind was Eirik. Her room wasn't far away, as far as he could remember. He was going to find her, and see to it that everyone else was alright.

He opened his door.

[heartofarapier]

Her room was the right one to go to, as she'd found herself back in it after a brief walk down memory lane. Prim and proper at her desk, beneath her left hand a stack of three books, the one on top open. Beneath her right hand, pencil and notebook and she was writing. Studying. And nothing for school as classes had ended.

Connor's departure left her a great deal more time to look into dark magic. Henry had been helpful most certainly and the former magic instructor, Schezo, had been someone she wanted the opinion of as well. But Schezo was gone also, and she couldn't think Henry would have anything new to offer her. She had nothing interesting of note, save Sieglinde and that was merely a fancy sword and sacred relic of her kingdom.

If she'd had the sacred stone, she could have studied that and tried to tap into its energies. Sure, Lyon had done it, but he had always been softer and kinder, even more so than Eirik. It might have required someone with more of an inner strength and assertive demeanour. All she really knew was that she wasn't really getting much of anywhere.

Dark magic had a way of edging toward necrology and she wasn't positive she'd wanted to go down that road. Not that it stopped her from researching it and making notes.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Desmond would have been the first one he had seen, and Connor would've learned he had been gone for mere weeks instead of months from then until he reached her dorm.

Yet, leaving without a word or trace still made things problematic.

He quickly made his way to her room, thinking of all the things that could've happened. Was he a little worried? Perhaps a little. He hoped Eirik was alright. Knowing her, she probably most certainly was. Or rather, she placed any of her feelings in the back for a response and just worked. Which is what, admittedly, he had done and did.

He just had to go and see her, and if there was any backlash, he made himself ready to be.

He knocked.

[heartofarapier]

It was easy to get caught up in the things that interested her. Or the things that she obsessed over. Lyon's condition was a worthy thing to obsess over. Connor wouldn't have appreciated that much, but it didn't matter since he wasn't there. It hadn't really occurred to her that he'd possibly come back. The same way as she never expected Innes to come back or to see anyone else she knew voluntarily.

There was a thing called war and that took precedence. If she could have found her own way to Magvel, she would have. Instantly. It would have been better to be there, than it would have to sit and think constantly about what she was missing. One couldn't inspire her people when she couldn't be with her people.

Without looking up, she addressed the knock, only slightly curious about who was on the other side. "Enter." It could have been Gordon to check on her. Maybe someone for Princess Melia. Gods only knew, admittedly, for she certainly couldn't begin fathoming an educated guess.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

She didn't answer the door herself, in fact, she answered very plainly vocally. What was wrong? What could she be doing?

Well Connor was going to have to find out, he gently opened the door, feeling like almost he was disturbing her. Maybe she knew it was him all along, or maybe not and she had no idea; either of them were plausible.

He kept asking himself what could be happening with her, but again, one step at a time and he was going to figure it out.

She made herself busy with books, he noticed. It took a few seconds before he would've finally addressed her.

"...Eirik."

[heartofarapier]

The door creaked with its greeting, which Eirik heard every time she entered or departed. Footsteps followed, too heavy to be Melia and there was no reason she was to knock on her own door unless she'd locked herself out. But Eirik only locked the door on rare occasions. In which case, the footsteps were too heavy to be Gordon.

There was a haunting familiarity in the fragrance that came with it. Something very natural. Something like the Za'ha Woods without the monsters and the undead. Something that prodded a notion in the back of her mind. Something that told her she was supposed to know what it was.

Yet his voice made it all click together. She halted her perusal of text before her and slowly her chin tipped up as she eyed the door. There he stood in all of his glory, like nothing had changed, like he had so many times before, with the same soft look in his eyes that he always gave her. Seeing him was like fire and ice, because she didn't know how she was supposed to react. Was she supposed to be happy? Yes, of course she was.

Wasn't she?

Her lips parted to form words, but nothing came out. Disbelief. Skepticism. He was there. He had to be there. Why? Why would he return? What was there for him to return to? Didn't he had something else to focus on? Weren't there other people who needed him? And for the first time in their courtship, in their plain alliance, Eirik had no words. And she left him only in silence and prying blue eyes.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

Connor was a believer in fate when it came to this place in relation to his. He went to where his purpose was, and tried to work hard for the greater good. In secret and not so.

When it came to Eirik, it was almost all personal. His own promises he made to her and all what he promised he would do to help her own people. On a personal level, a side of him he learned of more deeply than he ever did, he just wanted to be there for her. Even knowing she was strong enough to handle everything on her own, he just wanted to be there and offer his strength too.

Such was courtship, perhaps. But Connor was known to feel deeply enough about things within and being perhaps too complex for it.

Like now, he couldn't figure out what words to say either. He looked into her eyes, and could feel them bombarding him with a wide amount of emotions. The one he saw more prevalently was a form of shock. It was as if he wasn't actually in front of her, and he was an illusion.

He wasn't, and he wanted to show that. He curved a smile at her, a smile only reserved for a few special people.

[heartofarapier]

She was cautious when she moved. Up from her chair. She pushed it in easily. Even straightened her desk out some because she got the impression that if this was as it seemed, she wasn't going to be able to get any additional research done for the night. And if it was as it seemed, she wasn't really going to care that much anyway.

His smile was enough to hook part of one into her mouth, like she'd forgotten what it was like to merely do so. But it had only been three weeks, which meant that most of the time a smile was seemingly not as sincere as she would have liked it to be. When Connor wasn't around, she fell into old habits. Like diplomacy and her crown.

When she stood before him, a hand reached over and she tentatively pressed against his shoulder, and the rest of him too, as if simply to ensure that he was in the flesh. "Do you remember me?" she asked him finally, knowing that sometimes people came back and didn't remember things that had happened.

It would have been a shame to rebuild something that had taken so long.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

He was here because he remembered, so what kind of question was that? He said her name, and he visited her dorm with calmness. Was she still in denial he was here? How did those three weeks or so feel like?

Then it came to Connor that when the two were at work, they were upheld in their objectives. Even together, they sometimes were. However, at plenty of times, they trusted them both with their inner emotions. Emotions they don't share to anyone else, or not too many people.

The way she touched him, it was like she hadn't laid a hand on him for years. He wondered if perhaps maybe she felt like she lost him.

She never did.

He still said nothing, he held up his hand for Eirik to see. The hand where her ring had rested on his finger. Words shining in whatever light went into their location.

Believe me when I show you I do. I am here.

[heartofarapier]

That was a good sign.

"With all of my love, respect, and fidelity." As if they were words for only him, and they were. Had been. She'd not thought to utter them to any other. Her words were infinitely for Connor. Her heart was infinitely for Connor. Being faced with him after once more coming to terms with the inevitable made it seem like the gods were toying with her. And perhaps they were.

It didn't take much more than that for her to press her body flush to his. Her thinner, more willowy arms lifted and encircled him to the best of her ability, and she held him to her. "...With all of my love, respect, and fidelity..."

Dorm!

[wassa_matta_you]

Desmond didn't want to admit any stress had overcome him with Connor's absence. His ancestor was an adult and could care for himself, but he also understood that sometimes people just vanished and never returned. This place was strange like that, all these different worlds meshed together and bringing everyone into company as equally as ripping them apart.

Ruffling the Rufflet's head in passing, Desmond walked to look out his dorm window and sighed. It'd been too long to assume he was just hiding on campus somewhere. Considering Desmond wasn't disappearing, Connor had to be okay. Is that how that'd work? He honestly had no idea, but it was his reassurance that he was doing fine, wherever he was.

[mohawk_tomahawk]

The Rufflet made frequent visits to Connor's room, as if he was waiting for his friend to come back and be right in here. Maybe it was instinct, a baby bird in his nest. Connor made his room his home, and the Rufflet being completely settled, he took to the goings on quite well.

When Desmond came to pet him, he would have given his finger an affectionate peck on the hand before going back to Connor's room.

Suddenly, he was chirping loudly.

Connor laid on the bed, still asleep, when the Rufflet came inside and made himself known by hopping on the bed and rolling next to him. He would awaken, shocked that he was here for a brief moment. Quite shocked, actually. But then a sort of comfort came over, odd. It was like this place was a second home, perhaps. Maybe.

Anyway, despite all of the thoughts Connor had, he was surprised to still see the bird here. He would've been out in the wild by now, wouldn't he? It's been months. Apparently not, and in fact, he was acting like he was waiting for him to come home. Like a family member.

If the chirping wasn't an indication something was going on in Connor's room, a voice was heard.

"You did not leave? You could have, you had no obligations to stay."