Hammock [Closed]

That first night was killer, but Selena learned a few things. First off all, she learned that he sleeps in a damn hammock. She even put on her glasses just to watch him set it up, since she not being able to accurately pick up what the damn thing was. "You sleep... in a hammock?" she asked and without giving him a chance to answer, she giggled, "This is a goood ideeeaaaa..." That night, Selena learned how to incorrectly use her chains to make a hammock. One of the chains ended up coming loose and she fell right on top of him. Why? Because she chose to build her hammock right above his. It's his fault for not sharing. Of course, she had hoped that if she fell she wasn't going to be tossed off and right onto a rock. That is what happened though, and boy did it hurt. She still has the damn bruise!

Luckily, the nights haven't been that rough since then. Two weeks had passed them by and he was still able to handle her. She loved it because not many people could. He was a strong one, awesome. Now, she just continued throwing questions at him to get to know him, but most of the answers she got were "I don't know" or something vague. The only thing that Selena kept on her mind was what the hell this man even thought of her. "You're so hard to read!" she tapped him on the side of the head a couple times, "I can't tell what you're thinking, ever... at all. It's not fair!" He frustrated her so much, but she couldn't help but stick around. "Why do you have to be so interesting?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed playfully at him, "The more interesting that you are, the longer I stick around, ya know?"

"Of course, I'm okay with this. I like actually having a boyfriend to talk to while traveling, even if he doesn't talk back too much." Selena stepped up next to him and looped an arm around his, something she did often to 'keep up the ruse', "So where are we going now? Do you really just travel around and hope you run into something to kick the ass of? You have to have some other purpose for traveling so much than that, right?" Selena looked happily up to him, making sure to keep up with his pace. Once he answered, she just smiled even bigger up to him and brushed his hair back. I don't think either of them fully understood what she liked about him so much, but over these two weeks, she actually did end up getting a little more attached to him than she originally intended.

"So, besides me, do you have any friends?" she asked him and then dull-faced, "And don't try telling me that you don't consider me a friend; there has to be some reason that you've let me stick around. I'll take a 'you're interesting'. It could even be the fact that I'll fight for you until I get all my answers... Either way, there is some sort of trust that you have in me, so I say I am your friend, but do you have any more besides me?" Selena never seemed to give up on getting to know him...

Sigh. "We." she added, knowing he was doing that on purpose, "Why won't you just accept me as at least a friend? Is that what it is? You don't have to call me your girlfriend just yet. You also can at least acknowledge my travel plans being directly effected by the direction you choose to go." Selena just shook her head at him. He was so strange; she liked it. She'll crack this egg soon enough! At least, this was her hope. Like him, she had absolutely no idea what she was really getting into.

"Your job leads you there, huh? What kind of job is it?" she asked him with a curious smile, wondering if he'd tell her. Once he answered, she brought up the question about friends and his answer was as cold hearted as she thought it'd be. "I don't see the world through rose-colored lenses, hun." she said with a low sigh and set her hand on his back, "I know people are bad. I know people are idiots. The same way I know that if you wanted to, you could probably destroy me right here and now..."

"I just prefer to think that maybe... just maybe, you won't. I also prefer to think that not everyone is an idiot and not everyone is bad." she told him, removing her hand from his back and looping her arm with his again, "Is it really so wrong to think that there is a balance in this world? There's probably someone out there exactly opposite of you too. Someone who would open their heart up and just tell me the things I want to know. Of course, they'd be boring and I wouldn't stick around."

"Anyways... Is it really that bad that there's someone in this world who sincerely just wants to know you? Who actually might learn to care about you?" she asked him with an almost concerned, but more curious tone. She waited a moment for some sort of reaction or answer and then talked again. "I know I keep saying that you'll end up calling me your friend, but I know that's possibly not going to happen... So another question, what the hell happened to make feel the need to lock your heart away?"

The way he worded his minor description of this thing he called a job was a little off to Selena. What the hell was he actually into? She was actually a little nervous to ask him about it. Instead, she decided to let herself think on that a bit more and continued asking him questions. For now, her tone seemed to change into a bit more serious one. She wasn't just asking random questions that popped into her mind, she was thinking pretty hard on something and therefore was more stoic about it.

"Well, I'm glad I have done anything for you to want to kill me..." she said and then he unattached her from him. That was something he hadn't really done before. Had she hit a nerve or something? She tilted her head a bit and listened to what he was describing. "The... end of the world?" she mimicked out of curiosity. What she pictured was a massive war that just suddenly erupted somewhere and he got stuck in the middle of it. And with that horrifying image, a few things clicked for her.

Or she thought... "You said that your job is to not... let power run astray?" she raised an eyebrow at him and looked at him like he was crazy, "You can't mean that the way I'm thinking... My mind is jumping to some odd conclusions, so would you elaborate? With what you just told me, you make it sound like you're going around keeping power in check, so no one becomes more powerful than you are... and what happened to you can't happen again. Are you power hungry or something?"

The air around them shifted so quickly, though Selena was not understanding why. She lifted her head as he put his blade to her neck and blinked a single time. As he spoke, she kept a rather stoic face, making it pretty difficult to gauge what might have been going through her mind. He wasn't going to kill her; she didn't know why, but she could tell. Either way, he had actually just pissed her off. As the sword was taken from her neck, she casually lowered her head and just stared at him as he talked.

"That's the most I've gotten you to speak at one time..." she brought her hand to her neck and scratched at it. "Hm... So, I gues I can assume that the words 'power hungry' is what set that off? If so, I apologize, but I will also thank you for allowing me to get you know you so well in that one speech." She raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if he realized exactly how much he just revealed about himself. "I don't like the feeling your blade left..." she said, rubbing her neck now and shivering.

"Like me and what feels like the need to know more about you... you've got a bit of idiot in you as well." Selena said, adjusting the bag back onto her shoulder, "For one, don't do that again. The one thing I asked was for you not to turn your blade on me. I am glad your intentions were not to harm me, because I'd rather not have to fight you, since I'm not entirely sure how that battle would end..." Yes, she did just put herself on equal grounds with him when it comes to their fighting ability.

Sigh. "I do wonder which one of us actually is the blind one though..." Selena said, rubbing at her neck once again. She really had not liked that feeling. "You act and speak like you don't care for people, but you do... At first, I thought your heart was wrapped in a shell of unmeltable ice, but no... That's not it. Instead, you intentionally locked it away in a box and won't hand over the key to anyone, which is understandable, but also as foolish as you call me..." She gave a light-hearted shrug.

"Like many, you have this... vision... of how the world should be, how people should be. Yes, that vision seems to speak of just keeping the world the way it is, but it's still a vision and, unlike many, you've chosen to live by it." Selena stepped up to him and tapped the bridge of his nose twice. "You may not care about anyone individually, but someone willing to live their life to protect the world is not cold... nor is he heartless. He's just selfless and a lot more full of love than he'd admit."

"Which is sad... Out of every man I've met, every story I've heard... ever false and fake goal people have tried to say they live by... yours is the most noble, most honorable, and the only one to actually make me admire him..." She smiled sweetly, hopped up, and kissed his forehead whether he liked it or not. If he tried stepping back, she'd cling and do it anyway. "And with that, the man that deserves to be loved the most out of thousands I've met, is also the one that pushes it back..."

She sighed again and looked down the path they had been taking. "Although I'm still curious about a lot of things, I don't think that will be my reason for staying with you anymore..." she said, continuing to stare down the path. She closed her eyes and just smiled a content smile before looking back to him. "Where to, J?" she asked, motioning for him to lead the way, "Citidal Hills, right? Is there anything I need to know about this job, so I can correctly help you out and not mess anything up?"

"Thank you." she said with a smile before she kisses his forehead and he continued talking, "No, I do understand where you're coming from and I can say that I also do agree with it too. There are people in this world that need to be stopped and prevented from coming into power." She gave a serious expression and a single nod. The two of them continued their journey and she did note the change in his walking. She appreciated it, since she was able to keep up a bit better and without tripping over a rock that randomly appeared because she didn't have time to realize it was there. "Yes, of course I intend to help." she told him, glancing toward him with her eyebrow raised again. This guy was going to have to get it through his head that she wasn't going anywhere. He was stuck with her.

"Wait, what?" she actually spouted out when he asked her a question. She quickly shook the shock off and recollected her thoughts. "Ignore that." she said and then looked down to her chain. She thought for a moment on how to explain it and then looked back to him. "The chain isn't my power... Uh... How the hell do I even explain it?" she asked herself, rubbing the back of her head, "I have never really figured out what it is..." She stopped and tapped her foot a little roughly on the ground. While she did that, she looked around and smiled. "Come here for a second..." she slid her hand in his and pulled him off the trail, "This is the best way that I can explain it." She brought him over to a lake that was definitely out of their line of sight when they were actually on the path and knelt down next to it.

"Alright... Water is the hardest to do because it's so damn unstable, but it's how I explain it to myself..." she looked to the lake and smiled. The water was perfectly still, so she picked up a small pebble and dropped it in. "The ripples in the water... that's sort of what I'm able to 'see' with." she did the air quotations with her fingers when she explained, "Every step you make causes vibrations that move out from the point of impact... I get to see those vibrations moving and it looks like ripples in the water. The cool thing is what I can actually do once those vibrations are big or fast enough for my Arcana to grasp..." With that, she waved her hand over the ripples that were still moving and began to push and pull the water back and forth, making it look like she had full control over it.

"And when I start moving it, it just creates more and more of those ripple things, which in turn give me a stronger control over it..." she said with a smile and stood up, dusting her hands and knees off, "So far... water is difficult and air is impossible. That's why I use these..." Selena tapped on her stomach and intentionally used her powers to shake the chains. "Anything real solid is easy to take grasp in..." she said as she stomped her foot and a stone chair sort of just formed while coming out of the ground. She gave a smile, at least for a moment, and then turned her attention to her right. "One thing about my power... the harder the vibrations, the farther they go... and we have something very odd going on about an eighth of a mile in that direction and two people approaching from one hundred feet in that direction..." She pointed deeper into the forest the first time and then to the trail on the second.

"Hide? Run? Confront? Listen in? They seem to be heading toward that ruckuss going on in the forest."

Selena wasn't sure how to answer that final question. "Well... honestly, no. It's not in vain. It's quite helpful." she told him, placing her hands behind her back a little shyly, "I mean... I could constantly keep my Arcana pouring out of me, but I thought that'd be more dangerous for you... I can see things coming pretty well if I do that, so it's not a big deal for me. I just thought it'd be  better to have a little warning here and there over possibly letting enemies know our exact location while we're walking."

"If you need me to, I can just use my abilities at all times so you don't have to bother, but no blaming me when people start attacking us." Selena said and then sighed at herself, "You have no idea how many needless fights I get into on the road because I let my Arcana leak... I figured since you were looking out for me anyway..." Yes, she accused him of caring again, "...it'd just be easier not to pretty much put a massive target on our backs." It was then that she pointed out the people approaching.

It seemed hiding was the first option. Selena stepped behind Reaper once he hid and knelt down, even if he stood. She narrowed her eyes, listening to the two as they walked by with a perception roll of one. Once they were out of ear shot, she stood again and spoke softly to Reaper, "Something tells me that stuff they're talking about isn't for something small..." She wasn't an expert on the subject at all, but she could guess just by listening to people that were talking as stupidly loud as those two.

"Hm? I'll destroy it, if that needs to be done... Just make sure that I have a clear target. In other words, don't stand in my way. I will not be responsible for harming you, got it?" Selena said when her hand was grabbed and she was suddenly being led through the forest. "So what are these idiots doing out here anyway? You seem to have some sort of idea." she asked as she was led. She quickened her pace to walk by him and pulled her hand from his to get out her blindfold and second chain.

"They're just up ahead here..." she said, stopping Reaper by putting a hand on his shoulder, "If we follow them directly, we'll be spotted a little more easily. Let's head through there." she motioned through a few very thick trees that were obviously never walked through. "If you trust me to, I can help you get through easier... but since I doubt you do... I'll just meet you there." Selena said as she put her blindfold on. As she did that, her Arcana flared up a bit and she tapped the chains around her.

"Which way are you going?" If he allowed her to help, she'd hold out her hand and wait for him to take it. Once he did, her second chain would wrap around his waist once and the handles would shoot out to wrap around the trunks of trees. With that, the two of them would be carried into the darkness of the forest and stopped right out side the ritual site. If he chose not to allow her help, she'd smile still and say, "I'll watch your back and for your signal... Don't get lost." and vanish into the forest.

As she thought, he wouldn't accept her help. That was fine. She just hoped he wouldn't try to run off because they were splitting up. She had only just met this man two weeks ago, so his attempt wouldn't be too surprising. She'd catch him though; he wasn't getting away from her. Once she made it to her spot on the other side of this ritual area, she kept a close watch for his outline, strange as it was. Once she was able to 'see' him, she waved her hair outward to show she was there. She peeked around the tree to see he had noticed and brought her hair back behind her. She was waiting for a sign from him. What exactly had he wanted her to destroy? She could take out the entire area if he wanted. When she took a closer look at what he was pointing to, her expression dulled.

"He's joking right." she thought as she knelt down under the brush. He went in and she realized that yeah, he was serious. "He's testing me, isn't he?" she cringed, a bit of anger boiling in her gut when she thought of that. She knew the guy tied up with a gag was probably innocent in all of this, yet that was the man she was supposed to kill. Seriously? There had to be a reason for it. He knew much more about these situations than she did. And if she didn't listen, if she didn't keep her word, he wouldn't allow her to stick around and maybe even try and kill her in the process. She was pretty certain she could put up a damn good fight, but she really did not want to have to fight him. "Fine..." she sighed and rapidly shot along the ground until she got into position just a few feet behind the distracted group.

Selena threw both of her chains outward to the side, and like snakes striking their prey, the chains shot forward toward the man that J had intended as her target. As quickly as they struck out, they wrapped around him and drug him out of the ritual area to her. About ten feet away from the ritual, she dropped the guy down next to her and one of the chains unwrapped from his body. She waved her hand over his throat, the handle of the chain following her command. She dropped her hand down, the handle following and stabbing into the guy in the throat. Once the man was dead, she had the chains float around her, the handles pointing toward the men who still stood and just waiting for her orders. "They're Demons!" one of the men shouted in fear, "Her eyes and his mouth... Demons!"

"Oh that's just rude... Why does everyone insist on calling us a Demon or Devil? All because we come out of the darkness like the shadows themselves and kill them? I say that cliche is a bit over done."

Selena stood in silence as Reaper spoke with one of them. She didn't care to pay attention to the 'elf side' of any of these idiots. In fact, she turned her head away and tried concentrating on something else for a bit. It wasn't because she felt bad or guilty for killing any of these idiots. It was because the sounds of screams and ripping flesh were annoying, and being blind made them a hell of a lot louder. And because of it, Reaper's voice hit her ear loud and clear, so she decided to tune back in.

"Alright." she said with a smile toward him before raising her foot and stomping rather hard on the ground. The vibrations that went out were large and fast. She quickly took hold of three areas as they met their targets and raised the earth beneath them. Three spikes shot up and pierced their bodies through their backs and out of their chests without enough warning to allow a scream. As that was done, Selena noticed two more trying to run off as the vibrations she created were able to reach them.

Selena took hold of the vibrations a little in front of these runners and under them, raising the earth again to have a hand come out and grab them both. This action created more of her vibrations, so she used them to enhance her control and slide these men back into the pointy end of her chain. Once she was done with this, she rubbed the back of her head and looked to Reaper. "Uh... Okay, I killed five... Well, technically six since I got the sacrificial guy too..." she said turning toward him.

Once she noticed that every one of these guys were dead, she put her hands on her hips and smiled contently. "See, I told you I'd actually help... And I didn't get in your way. If anything, I made it easier." she said with a soft giggle and stepped up to him, tapping him on the bridge of his nose. "Okay... That's just too weird." Selena said as she lifted her blindfold up to her forehead. She tapped on his chest, narrowed her eyes in confusion, and then looked up to him. "That makes no sense!!"

"You're just an outline... I don't understand that!! I've never had that happen before..." Selena rubbed the back of her head, tilting her head to the side a bit, "Usually, I can see the details in someone's clothes and face. I can't see everything, but I can see the entire shape of their body... You... You're just this odd outline. I can't even see the shape in your hair or that you're wearing a mask... This is can be useful so I know exactly which person to avoid attacking, but it's just... just really weird."

His explanation made things understandable, though that had been driving her nuts for quite some time now. She should have asked three or four days ago, but he was always so stoic and uncaring. She was going to get through to him, whether he liked it or not! Yep. She sort of stood in silence while he finished his work to destroy the ritual site. Once he finished, he stepped up to her and began explaining things about Citidal Hills. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes seemingly focused on his chest while he spoke. When he placed his hand on her shoulder, she was a little startled by it, but Selena couldn't help but smile. She raised her hand upwards and placed it on top of his.

"I won't get in your way and I'm prepared to follow your orders and help you out, don't worry." Selena said, gently wrapping her hand around his, "I know you probably don't worry about me; you'll just kill me if I get in your way yada, yada, yada... " She gently pushed his hand off her shoulder, held it for a moment, and then let him go. She let out a soft sigh and turned her head back toward the road they had been traveling. With a flick of her wrist, one of her chains wrapped around her torso and the other returned to the bag she carried it in. "You ready to go?" she asked as she zipped up her bag and pulled it up over her shoulder. Once he began, she'd follow him along till they found the road.

"Do you think there is a town or anything coming up? I'd like to take a bath after that... and one that's not in the middle of a forest or in a lake..." Selena shot him a playful glare. She wanted to be able to relax before the two of them made it to the Citidal, unless... "How far is this place we're going to? I mean..." she said, scratching the side of her head, "It'd be nice if we could stop at an inn and rest up, but if it's close enough, we could get your job over with... That alright?"

There were truly no words to fully describe the amount of surprise that Selena felt at that moment. He had just said he had faith in her. Sure, he made sure to be specific about it and said it toward her ability to defend herself, but either way he had some sort of faith in her. This was quite the compliment, at least for her. She didn't remember whether he had spoken any kind words toward her. He had spoken words of content and acceptance, but not kindness. She found herself silent, unable to speak for the short moments the two stood there. Once she recollected her thoughts, she lightly cleared her throat and gave a soft smile, just nodding at him. There was no reason to say anything more; if she chose to, he wouldn't exactly respond the way she would want anyway, so it was best to move along and head back to the path. No point in getting her own hopes up just to be brought down.

After a few moments of silent travel, Selena brought up the idea of resting a bit. J didn't ever seem to want to just settle down and give himself a break; she wanted to convince him that he should allow his body rest. There was nothing wrong with taking some time to yourself. He he continues on without a break here and there, he could wear himself out, and she doubted he'd like that. And small breaks to eat and sleep are not what she meant. "J..." she spoke softly, her tone expressing concern for him, "After this mission in Citidal Hills... Would you maybe want to take a bit of a vacation? If anything major happens, we can stop to take care of it then, but I mean... Would you maybe... I dunno, just stop somewhere for a week, do a little bit of shopping, take some time to sleep in a nice bed, and maybe get a massage?" Selena stepped up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulders, smiling as she leaned forward into his back as they walked, "It would be fun; you allow yourself fun, right?"

"J... you're breaking my heart and I can't even understand why... Why have you taken on so much responsibility? I know you witnessed something horrible, but this is not your job. You cannot protect the world from everything. You are throwing your life away for a world who won't even remember you when you're gone. Bad things happen, bad people exist, and you can't stop that. Once you die, like everyone else in this world, what would you have left behind? Nothing. Sure, you ended a few bad lives, saved a few good one's, and stopped some bad things from happening, but that won't many anything when the next guy tries and you're not there to stop them. You're one man.

I want to say this to him, but it won't matter. He is stubborn, more stubborn than any man I had ever met and one of the few that were actually interesting enough to want to stick around them. He is so... amazing to me. It felt like he was drawing me in, but why? He is so stoic and seems not to care about anyone, including himself. I knew he didn't care about me, even if I wanted him to. Well, that isn't even true, is it? He cares, but he cares about everyone all at once. He doesn't care about the individual person. He doesn't care about me and it hurt... How could someone surpress basic human emotion like this? I've only been around him for a two weeks and I can't leave him.

He brings out too many questions. He makes me feel like I'm nothing more than a bother. I hate it, yet am drawn to it. It hurts, yet won't leave. What is wrong with me? What is wrong with him!? He isn't normal. I don't understand him. Everything he does and says surprises and confuses me. It makes no sense. I can't tell whether he's trying to be the world's secret hero or the world's most elusive villian. That man he asked me to kill, on the cross, I could have saved him, but  chose to do as this man told me to do and killed him without question. Why did I do that? Why am I so fixed on proving myself to him? Oh, whatever. That's a stupid question. I know exactly why I did it.

J has no one he trusts, no one he can call a friend. I couldn't live like that and I don't want him to have to. This is stupid... I shouldn't have such a strong goal toward a man I don't even know that well. How could I be this stupid? That doesn't matter either, does it? I'm not alone anymore... I don't think he'll sit back and just let someone hurt me, right? Yeah... He would. I know he would. He hasn't said or acted in any manner that would give me a different opinion. When we get to Ardale, if I dare want to take a bit of a break, he'll leave without a care. He wouldn't wait for me... He never wanted me around in the first place... Well that's too bad, isn't it J? I'm here, aren't I?

I wonder how many people have actually stayed by his side. I wonder if he'll even think about it that way... No one else is here for him, are they? No one else is here just to make sure he makes it out alive. No one else is here to clear his path. No one else is here to make his life easier. I am. I am here to keep him alive, to clear his path, and to make his life easier. He has me. And even if he doesn't realize it, even if he doesn't care, I'll be by his side to help him. He fights for a world that doesn't care about him because he feels he has the responsibility of being the Reaper, right? Fine. Well, I have the responsibility of being The Rider, and I will ride into battle by your side..."

Selena had fallen into her own thoughts for quite some time now. She didn't even realize how far they may have walked, or how long it had been. She had just followed right behind him, her feet guiding her along with his movements. She followed his steps, not straying from the path he walked, not letting his back out of her sight. She would not stop in Ardale if he did not want to. He had some how gained her loyalty with the few conversations the two of them held. And as she came out of her thoughts, she looked up to the sky and let out a calm breath with a new found resolution. He was The Reaper and she was The Rider, one loyal to him. And with that, The Rider fell into silence...