Luxanna's Unwavering Depression! [Closed]

"We're landing in Outer Aria soon, so keep your seat belts fastened. Do not get up until the attendant gives the okay. Thank you for flying with Air Zakat. We hope you had a pleasant flight."

Luxanna's eyes fluttered open after sleeping for hours on the plane. Finally, it was all over. Still, something was bothering the young woman. She hadn't spoken to anyone or even smiled for two weeks now. Twenty minutes passed and finally they were all given the clear. She had nothing with her, so she maneuvered her way through the other flyers and was the first one out of the door. Luxanna's first destination was the bathroom. When she walked in, the first thing she did was look in the mirror and she could not recognize herself. Her eyes weren't... anything. They were dead. She couldn't feel anything. Even though the Doctors of Zakat had healed her body, they could not heal her heart. She had done something horrible, and out of guilt. After freshening up, Luxanna went around Aria for hours, asking anyone she ran into if they had seen Pariah. She asked if they had seen a young man with mittens and blonde hair. She asked civilians and the Knights, but she found no one that recognized his description. Still, she kept on looking, walking around the city for hours before finally night came. She was forced to stay in the inn, offering the small amount of money she had as payment. They were reluctant at first, but something pushed them to allowing her to stay; likely her defeated appearance. Luxanna thanked them and went to bed, but not without horrific nightmares plaguing her sleep. She rolled around in bed the entire night, tossing and turning as the incident between her, those men, and even the Emperor of Zakat repeated in her mind. A loud bang interrupted her dream and Luxanna's eyes snapped open. "I'm sorry dear, but you're going to have to check out now. We allowed you the night, not the day. I'm sorry." a woman's worried voice came through the door, but that was alright. Luxanna hurried out of bed and nodded to her.

"It's okay. You've done enough. Thank you. I'll leave." Luxanna still couldn't smile and that was the first she had spoken since leaving Zakat. Now, she was on the search for Pariah again. Last night, before giving up and settling down at the end, a Knight spoke of an upcoming building project the Queen granted a group called The Noir. Obviously that was exactly who she was looking for. After asking it's direction, she was given a map and now she was on her way there. It took about ten minutes, but when she reached a certain street, she saw it down at the end along with a lot of construction equipment. "It seems Pariah had a lot more luck than I did." Luxanna thought with a smile, knowing his sincerity had to have been what won over the Queen. There had been many times that Luxanna wished she was like Pariah, but that was never going to happen. Even though she admired him for his innocent outlook, she could never be so energetic and cheerful. Luxanna continued her journey towards the construction, noticing the symbol of the Noir painted on a large piece of wood and then confirmed she was in the right place. She looked around for a bit, but then he caught her eye. Pariah was standing over next to some people, watching as the construction was getting done. She could almost smile, but the thought of telling him what happened in Zakat held her back. Instead, she completely froze. Her skin got even more pale as she just stared at Pariah while standing in the way. For the first time in her existence, Luxanna was scared to face him, to tell him of her failure.

"I said put it on forwards, not backwards! C'mon guys, we gotta make this place look alive and fantastic!"

The energetic voice of the Flame Devote called out from his position in the air, flames flowing from his boots as he looked down at the clipboard in front of him. The construction hat on top of his head didn't exactly... work. It was pushed up two whole inches from the top of his head by his unyielding hair, and therefore he did not bother with clasping the chin strap. He was tired, but excited for what was occurring. So even though he couldn't say exactly WHAT was on the clipboard anymore, he nevertheless had a smile on his face. I need to take a break, ahaha...

He was completely in his element; completely within his zone. He was able to relax, and had greatly enjoyed the time he had spent in Aria. He was hopeful that Luxanna had been able to do well in Zakat, and was hoping to hear from the Main Base about her activities any day now. To be completely honest, the idea of Lux not being able to convince someone of the good that The Noir could do for people had never even once crossed his mind. This was just one of the absolutes he knew. The sky was blue, fire was red (except when it was ice), and Luxanna was much better at serious business than he was.

After a few moments, he realized that there was something... off. Finally, he realized that it was the air; it had not moved in a certain place for a little while. He blinked, slowly turning his head around and...

WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO?

His mood changed in a flash; the smile was wiped off of his face, the flame on top of his forehead suddenly EXPLODED from him reaching a height ten feet in the air, and he had to turn off the flames on his feet to keep from shooting off right then and there from the sudden influx of emotions. Down on the ground, Flare had emerged from around some wood, and instantly fell back on its haunches looking.. terrified? Of Pariah?

He instantly fell down on the ground, and as he did so the flames dispersed before he walked up to Luxanna. "....Lux... What happened? Are you alright? Look at me, please." He said desperately, his gauntlets changing completely back to their mitten forms. He felt... strange. Lux never looked like this; she NEVER looked like this. She might be distracted, or pissed... but she always was bright in everything she did. She did not look like this. She did not look at him without the flash of life and inspiration in her face. She could not lose those. His thoughts stirred around in a whirlwind in his head, before the flame leaped to life again, and they both suddenly vanished...

And then reappeared on top of a nearby building, Lux in his arms with Flare on top of her. "..." He set her down, gently. He doubted he wanted her to look like this with other people like that; so he took her to somewhere where they could be alone. At last, he spoke. "...Lux... What's bothering you?" He asked her honestly, his eyes wide and hoping that it was nothing serious...

But he knew that could not be the case..

Heh... He knew her so well. It was nice to have someone who paid that much attention to you. All it took was a momentary glance and he just knew something was wrong. When he came to her, she just could not seem to look at him. Once again, he surprised her by lifting her up and taking her somewhere that no one could see them. Once again, he knew her so well. She didn't want to be seen by people she did not know right now, not like this. Seeing little Flare standing on her stomach while she was held, the smallest of smiles formed. She pat the little things head gently and wished that Lina was here with her. She was set down and he asked what was wrong again. Her small smile immediately faded and Luxanna curled up. She brought her knees to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and set her forehead against them. Her hair fell passed her face to block it while she cried. Her shoulders began moving up and down to her tears as she tried to hold it in. "I was afraid..." she said in a pained whisper, "I messed up so bad, Pariah. I didn't mean to... It just happened so fast. E-Everything went bad." Luxanna sort of froze for a moment and closed her eyes, though Pariah could not see them. She took in a few deep breaths, trying to force the tears to stop, but when a new fact came to her mind, she couldn't. The tears began flowing again and she curled her body up more. "Pariah... I did something very wrong." Those words were something that never came out of Luxanna's mouth. She hated it when someone pointed out what she did wrong, so there was no way that she would do it to herself. She usually told people to shut up about her mistakes and threatened them if they did not. The fact that Luxanna was openly admitting that she had done something wrong was evidence that it was a huge deal.

He knew her well; he'd spent enough time with her, experienced her happiness, her tantrums, and her annoyance. He sat down as she did, trying to look at her, his eyes filled with worry as the wind blew about, moving his fluffed golden hair slightly. "..." He waited patiently for her to begin letting it out, placing his hand on her back and warming it slightly, trying to help calm her down by gently rubbing on her back. He listened carefully to what she said, and when she began to curl up more he paused for a moment, his eyes widening as she said what she did.

"...It sounds like you had a horrible time." He said simply, trying to calm her again, Flare crawling between Lux's legs and curling up in front of her, the Felli realizing that she needed comfort. Pariah knew that even though Lux was so strong, she was still a girl, still a human. "Do you want to talk about it right now or do you just want to let it out and calm down? I'm right here. You can tell me whatever you need to. I'll just listen if that's all you want. And more than that, I still have faith that even if you were wrong, you didn't do it on purpose; I highly doubt it's entirely your fault. So let it all out, then we'll talk about what we can do to right it." He explained to her gently, and patiently waited for her to be ready to answer him, completely open and willing to listen to her, his voice wanting to help... but also worried.

"Hehe..." Luxanna lifted her head a bit. His words and comfort worked. She felt a little better. At this moment, she just needed to be with someone who understood her. "I wouldn't even know where to begin..." Luxanna laid her back against a short wall and sighed. She looked down to Flare with a smile and held out her arms. The little Felli hopped into them and Lux allowed Flare to lay comfortably on her stomach. "I wish Lina would take to you like this... I think when we got her you and I were arguing a little bit and she picked up on it." Luxanna said, referring to her own Felli, who was not there at the moment. Lux cleared her throat and shook her head. "Anyways... There is a lot of shit going on in Zakat at the moment." Luxanna wiped her tears, though there were more threatening to follow. She sniffled a bit and pet Flare as she thought of how to explain the situation. "Well... First off, when I arrived in the Zakatian Border, I was immediately attacked by these brutes looking for some young blonde woman. Obviously, I fit that description. I was able to get away, but not without injury. I woke up after... uh... well, let's just say I hit my head and this couple found me." Luxanna knew how Pariah worried about her, so she sorta skipped out on certain details. Such as her jumping off of a cliff, being thrown around, knocked down a hill, and so much more. She felt it was better this way. "I woke in the couples house, in the very city I needed to be in, and went to the Palace." Luxanna finished, also leaving out details of her broken rib, arm, and leg. He didn't need to hear about these, no.

"It was when I finally got to see the Emperor, who is a woman by the way. She doesn't change the title just because of herself, which is an honorable thought, but I don't get why she wouldn't want people to acknowledge that she is not male... Anyways... Her name is Emperor Tsubine von Zarkonheinz." That should have been enough to explain what was going on. von Zarkonheinz wasn't exactly an extremely common name. Pariah and Lux's friend, Nadia, told them of a horrible encounter with an Eira von Zarkonheinz, so she waited after saying that name to see if Pariah remembered this. "Eira von Zarkonheinz, the same woman who attacked Nadia after killing her Father, is possibly the twin sister of the Emperor of Zakat." Luxanna explained. That information needed to stay between the two of them. If that got out, even as a small rumor, the implications against Zakat could be devastating. "Obviously the Emperor didn't like me pointing out that her sister might be a mass murderer. She spoke of her sister in a positive light, so I'm hoping this person we know of is merely using her sisters name... but I doubt it. She said her sister had been missing for some time, so something tells me that it is her..." Luxanna's eyes narrowed and then tears began to flow again. She placed a hand on her forehead, closed her eyes, and allowed her hair to fall to block most of her face. "That's not even the worst part, Pariah..." Lux's entire body tensed up, horrified of the reaction she might actually get from him. It took her a few seconds to say it and even when she did, her words were strained, horrified and angry at herself.

"I-I... I sold out Nadia..."

"I'm sure Lina likes me just fine, she's just much more shy than Flare." He told her gently in reply, his worried gaze beginning to relax slightly to see her growing a bit more relaxed. However, she began to speak of what happened in Zakat once more, and he listened very carefully. ]"Lots of horrible stuff..." He reflected, not asking her as a question but showing that he ws thinking about what it was that she was telling him. "...Sounds like they need a Noir connection in Zakat for certain... Though at least there are decent people there all the same." He said after she finished explaining the circumstances that she had gone through, mulling over them in his head.

He wanted to fly away and find these brutes, incinerate them, and then bury their ashes on the forsaken island near the Noir's base. "..." It was true that if she had told her about her broken limbs, even she would not be able to stop the male's fiery passion to get retribution for the pain inflicted upon Luxanna. As it was, he was already steaming, only because a member of his Family had been assaulted in a way that they could not combat properly.

As she said the woman's name, Pariah's eyes widened, the pupils growing smaller and smaller until they were only small points, the flame on his forehead going out completely as his brain flared with the information, accepting it and thinking about the connection. "....Da..." Pariah suddenly stopped himself as he realized that he was about to curse, something that he NEVER, EVER performed, no matter the circumstances that he went through.

"Who told you that lie?" Was his only reply to her final statement, his eyes looking at her with their normal light having returned once more. "Lux, do you remember what I told you when we set up The Noir?" He asked her, removing the glove from his right hand and placing it on her head."We HELP people. So Nadia might be in trouble. The hell is it the Emperor's problem for? If she cannot even keep her own family in check and gets upset over their crimes and pursues someone who SUFFERED as a result of them..." He stopped, his throat choking as he thought of the vileness of that action.

"That's lower than than any of the vile cretins that I've had to hunt down in the past, especially for one who should be ruling a country. I cannot even think of such a thing as immaturity; if that was honestly her reaction to you mentioning what she had done to Nadia, then I honestly hold fear for the people of that country, such as the couple who housed you." He explained to her, removing his other glove and placing them on both of Luxanna's shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes.

"The Noir will protect Nadia. She is a part of us and we will help her through this if it truly comes to that. More than that, though, Luxanna, the one who needs help the most is you right now. This Von Zarkontrash who made you feel THIS WAY..." Suddenly, the flame on his forehead grew bigger, such a protective instinct that Luxanna could feel it through the warmth of his hands rising exponentially as he gripped her, before finally closing his shining eyes. "... They need help too, from the sound of it. But right now, know that you have done NOTHING" He raised his voice, making certain that the words would pierce through her depression and even to the depths of her soul.

"To be ashamed of if you told the truth! Anything else is garbage and baggage that such a great person as you does not require; Have faith in the ideal that we created, and most of all, tell Nadia what occurred. If that's what's buried within you and making you feel this way, then we're going to go find her and have you expel this false Luxanna from your system. That's not the woman who kicked my butt for years. That's not Nadia's friend. That's not the woman who I respect most in the entire world. That's something that is festering inside of you and trying to destroy you, and if you want it out, then we will burn it into nothing but cinders and ashes so that you can shine through as you always have." He told her, his voice soft but determined, before at last he gripped her, giving her a hug, a simple embrace, trying to transmit the feelings he had with his body, unnaturally warm, but comforting. It was the Flame of the Noir, the one who could never accept the mental state of the person before him being Luxanna.

Not even on his deathbed could he accept that the most important member of his family could be that way.

It was always a wonderful feeling to have someone like Pariah by her side. He always knew what to say and how to say it right; he was the only one to make her feel better after something like this. It was interesting to hear him almost curse allowed, something she knew he never did. Then, when he went on to insult the Emperor of Zakat, Luxanna couldn't help but chuckle at it. She wiped her face with her sleeve and shook her head. He was always so protective over her and she loved him for that; he was her best friend. Hearing him speak like this was reassuring; he was not angry with her and was determined to help Nadia. Pariah, though innocent in many ways of the world, was a great friend and a good man, his loyalty being her favorite of his traits. When he finished speaking and had re-lit the fire that was once in her heart, Luxanna looked to him with the expression he would find most familiar. It was strange how quickly it was done; she felt so down before, yet was right back to normal with a few determined words from Pariah. "You're right." was all she said as she stood up. She dusted off her backside and ran her fingers through her hair to straighten it out. "Thank you Pariah." she said and gave him a quick hug, another thing he likely wasn't used to, but it was still genuine, "Tell me... Are the phone lines hooked up? I need to make a call." Luxanna said as she straightened her posture and went back to normal. She glanced around and looked down to the people that were working. "You've succeeded in acquiring a base here in Aria; you've done a wonderful job. I am proud." she told him with a smirk.

"I need you to get me down from here." she reached out for his hand, knowing he'd fly her down. As he would do so, she would begin to explain her plan to him. "To help Nadia, we need to help the Emperor. No matter what, she is going after Nadia and will question her. The Emperor, no matter how she was with me, is not a violent woman. I touched on dangerous territory and pushed my boundaries and I accept that." As they landed, Luxanna would look around at everything again. It was loud because of the construction, so she had to talk a little louder. The building was mostly done, so she pointed towards the front door of it, wondering if they could go inside. She knew that Pariah would understand what she was asking through the small gesture. The moment they found a place quiet to talk, also near a phone, she'd continue talking to where only he could hear her, so in a light whisper. "Alright, we need to find Eira. We've been tracking her movements through Arcadia and into Cieria and we interviewed people that say she had come from Lothuria before then. The last time we heard of her location, she was heading back West. She should be near the Northern city of Cieria by now. If we don't follow her from there, we aren't going to know whether she's heading West or North... By god let it be North... If that's her direction... which because she's not stupid enough to go through the deserts of Cieria in that armor she's always wearing, I think it will be..." Luxanna pulled out an old folded map she always kept. There were multiple markings of where Eira had recently been reported at with numbers one through fifteen in order. "If it's not North, she'll be moving through the Open Lands for months; she'll be too hard to track... but if north... this is where she'd be..." Luxanna smirked at where she pointed and looked to Pariah with a smug expression when he realized where that was, "She should arrive in the area in two to three days."

...And who was it that taught me how to slap someone back up on their feet... Ah... that was her as well, wasn't it... Pariah thought to himself, his gentle gaze returning as he saw her eyes return to their normal flare, returning her hug. While it was not expected, he was also not especially surprised by it; having to talk to her like that made him kind of need a hug, too. "Um.... They should be." He replied, his expression slightly sheepish as he attempted to remember whether she did or not. "...Well... that's only partly because of me." He told her truthfully in reply, looking out over the assembled workers.

"It's really to thank Queen Lillia..." He stopped for a moment, blinking. "Queen Aranhartte... for that. She's the one who made it all possible... she's a wonderful Queen and a terrific person." He said, honest respect in his expression. As she gave him her hand, he reached out and grabbed it, throwing her on his back as he put his gloves back on, before the pair of them shot back off the building, his cloak flapping about in the wind around her as he brought them back down to the ground, landing on all feet. "Fair enough. Just don't expect me to be pleasant with her when I first see her... Ahaha..." He said, half joking... but also half serious. What had been done to Luxanna would be stuck within his mind for quite some time, and he would find it exponentially difficult to let it go so soon.

"The first floor is constructed, anyway..." He muttered as he pushed forwards through the door, knowing that she would follow him to a back room, his own office. There was a crystal there that was connected with the main base of the Noir, and there was also a telephone, and lastly a small pad in the corner of the room, circular in nature with a black base. "Good..." Pariah let out, his right gauntlet slamming into his left as sparks were sent off, the Flame Devote prepared and raring to begin his... quite frankly, his profession.

"...This family... Is messed up beyond all belief, all this drama and hurting people, and for what?" He muttered, looking down at the map in front of them, staring at the base where they had founded everything. Letting out a breath, he stood back up again, looking her in the eyes. "How do you want to handle this? I'm going to probably end up going to the base... Are you up for finding Nadia?" He asked her, looking up with the flames in his eyes as he walked over to the crystal.

A light consumed around his body as he laid his gloves on the crystal, the back of his hand having the symbol of the Noir shine through the fabric, before he saw in it the face of a white haired male, a look of slight annoyance possessing his eyes. "...Ugh... Tell them to set up defenses; Eira Zarkonheinz may be visiting." He told the man, who snickered in reply, putting a marshmallow in his mouth as he rotated around in his cushy chair.

"Kay Pariah~ See ya when ya get here... . Ahehehe..."

And with that, he turned off the crystal, facing Luxanna once more.

"Don't say that... Please. I don't know why, but with the Emperor's reaction, something tells me there is another part playing in this." Luxanna said with narrowed eyes, as if she were thinking about something, "I can't see the Emperor's sister actually being the kind of person that would want to hurt someone, let alone be allowed. Emperor Zarkonheinz said that her sister had been missing... I wonder if anything happened to the real Eira." This question on Eira was going to bother Luxanna for quite some time. There was just something big missing in this entire plot; there had to be something they overlooked. Anyways, Luxanna pointed out the location Eira was most likely going to be and was asked what they would do about the situation. "It is probably best if you head to base, Pariah... And I do need to find Nadia, but I have no idea how to do that." Luxanna closed her eyes and crossed her arms along her chest, thinking to herself for a few moments, "I guess that's it. I need to find her. Contact the other's and tell them to set up def-..." He was already doing it. Luxanna shook her head and smiled at him, listening to the conversation. "Wait, wait!" Luxanna stopped Pariah before he turned of the crystal, "Have you heard from Nadia? Can you get a location on her at all?"

"Actually, yes. She called us from an inn in Colburn about four hours ago." the white haired guy said. "Alright, thank you Amaro. Be careful; Eira isn't a walk in the park. If she's given the chance, she can and will kill you." Amaro merely nodded before the crystal was turned of. Luxanna turned to Pariah and sighed. She'd prefer not leaving him to fight Eira on his own, but they had no choice. If Nadia wasn't found, she'd likely freak out and run away from the Emperor. The best chance of Nadia cooperating is by someone that she trusts being there and letting her know everything was okay. The Emperor might not like it, but that's the only way a subject about Eira von Zarkonheinz is ever going to happen with Nadia. "Alright, when are you going to head out? I want you to contact me the moment you get there, okay?" Luxanna said to him, assuming that the both of them were going to be heading out soon, "You can stay here and finish construction first.. You are the only one who can make that distance in a few hours, so it won't be a big deal for you... Me, I'm heading to Colburn now."

...How much did that meeting affect her? Pariah wondered as he listened to what Luxanna said, his gaze softening slightly. Normally, if what he said agitated her, she'd just beat the crap out of him… but not ask him politely to change his opinion. "Well then I suppose if it's a fake, we'll merely have to burn them to reality." He said with confidence, the flame on his head rising to emphasize his point. "Alright then." He told her with a smile as she said he should go to the base, looking at her as she thought

"Hmm?" He asked, looking back at her as she asked to not turn off the crystal. His hand froze, more from instinctual reflex then by willpower. "…" He twitched as Amaro's name was mentioned, and when he looked back at the crystal to turn it off, he could see the other man in his soft snickering manner directed towards Pariah's wincing. "I think I should do it immediately…" Pariah said softly, looking down for a moment and holding out his arm, Flare running up to it as he turned his hand over, holding out his Felli to Luxanna. "From what we know… This isn't going to be easy. Lux… Could you please watch over Flare for me?" He asked the woman seriously; this was something that he needed.

"The workers know what they're doing. They're all accomplished, loyal men… Amazing what happens when you give hope to good men." He said, the statement lifting him up slightly as he took a deep breath, his eyes closing before opening again, taking a step outside, before looking back at Luxanna. "...And Lux… if I don't come back…" He said, showing just how absolutely seriously he was taking this situation; never before in the time that they'd known one another, had he ever uttered these words. "...Tell Amaro he's allowed to fight." He said simply, more words which he had never uttered before.

The gloves on his hands began to glow, a powerful wave of heat emitting from his body as he felt the pressure beginning to build, looking forwards as one of the construction men walked up to him. "Sir… what's going on?" He asked, looking somewhat dumbfounded. "Someone needs help.. Resume construction like before. Have someone tell the Queen that I may be out for a few days on Noir business… Most of all, keep our men safe." He told the brown haired young man, who looked at him in wonder.

Suddenly, the young man was forced to put his arm in front of his eyes, a massive layer being kicked up as Pariah shot off into the air, his cloak billowing behind him as the Flame Devote achieved liftoff at last, his body soaring upwards before it suddenly began to fly far past the reach of mortal men, like a red firework as he flew, becoming more and more difficult to see as at last he disappeared in the twilight, leaving only the warmth of his flame behind.

[E X I T T H R E A D]