The roar of the voices was behind him, muffled by the walls that enclosed them and the distance away. There was a gathering held in the eatery every so often, a grand occasion that he never cared to attend. Too many people for his comfort and seeing Daniel above all of them

made him feel uneasy. Even so, he was rarely with anyone else.

Most of the Dravara stayed away, out of respect or fear, he didn’t know but considering just how many avoided him, he guessed it was the latter. They looked away whenever they had the misfortune of meeting the glare in his eyes but he didn’t mind. He didn’t like taking to any of them, never had the need to, and talking to himself on occasion was enough.

A sound from below startled him and he turned, peering over the side of the archway to see that it was only guards changing stations far below him. Like many nights when sleep just wasn’t an option, he preferred to stay where he couldn’t easily be reached. High off the ground, perched on the very entryway to the stronghold, no one bothered to try getting him down. They’d never stopped him, however, from going up in the first place.

Only a few more months, he reminded himself.

Soon enough he’d be free of the Dravara, free of the east and finally free of what had felt like a chain holding him to one place. The cold was something, he decided as he pulled the blanket draped over his shoulders more tightly around him, that he wouldn’t miss. Even with the scarf, a horrible shade of blue that he’d always loathed the sight of, and the coat he wore, he never felt warm.

“Isn’t it boring out here? Don’t you get tired of being by yourself?”

Aurora snorted.

“Or is it just that you like being the lone wolf? The mysterious one that the women swoon over, is that it?”

“If only knew how wrong that was,” Aurora answered, keeping his back turned as he heard Daniel haul himself over the ledge. “Can I help you with something?”

“Are you offering?”

“No.”

He turned slowly, facing Daniel who only shook his head. “How did you get up here?”

“I climbed, same as you.”

“Can you please come down?” Daniel asked gently.

“Why should I?”

“You’ve made your point. You like being alone and you hate anyone who says differently.”

“No, I hate anyone who doesn’t leave me alone-“

“Look at you, Aurora. We are standing on top of the entrance to the stronghold. You know, people might actually not be afraid of you if you came down for once-“

“Daniel, you’re starting to be one of those people.”

The other man only snorted, shaking his head. “You told me that loneliness comforts you but we both know that isn’t true. You can growl and glare all you want but I’ve known you long enough to know when something’s wrong.”

Aurora didn’t answer, reaching for the compass in his pocket and the hesitating, not wanting to bring it out into the air. Daniel crossed his arms, a sigh sounding from him. “I’m sorry. I understand why…you like being alone.”

“No one gets hurt when I’m alone.”

Daniel was quiet.

“Let them be afraid of me. I don’t care what they say. It won’t matter in a few months,” he snapped, tone rising suddenly.

“Earlier, what happened to you? You acted like you’d seen your own ghost.”

He’d repeated the words over and over in his head, practiced just what he’d say and how he could possibly explain what he wasn’t even sure of himself. It sounded insane, even to him, but Daniel was the only possible person who could possibly believe him.

Aurora walked forward, looking over the edge into the woods far below them. “I was cornered by something.”

“Something?”

“I don’t,” he swallowed, “I don’t know what it was. But there was growling and the longer I stood there, the more it…”

“Aurora, I don’t understand.”

“It didn’t seem like I was going to die.”

“A-are you sure it was a-“

“I already said I don’t know what it was. But I started talking and it was quiet when I was speaking like it was listening.”

“Wolves wander close to patrols all the time. Are you sure if was one of the Rift’s?”

Aurora shook his head. “Wolves don’t speak, Daniel.”

“I- Aurora, are-“

Daniel cut himself off, shifting nervously behind him when Aurora shuffled the toes of his boots over the ledge. The chance of Daniel actually believing him was next to nothing and he was beginning to wonder why he even opened his mouth in the first place.

“C-come away from there. You’re making me nervous.”

Aurora didn’t say anything.

“Please.”

He felt Daniel’s hand grab his, tugging backwards long enough to get him away from the ledge before Aurora snatched away, glaring.

“What did you mean by that?”

“By what?” Aurora asked, not meeting his gaze.

“You said wolves don’t speak. Did it…say something?” Daniel asked, wringing his hands nervously. “Why don’t we get down from here? It’s cold-“

“Can the Rift creatures speak?”

“I wouldn’t know. No one has ever been stupid enough to ask them.”

Aurora looked up, snorting.

“Have you considered that maybe you were just afraid? Fear is a very powerful thing. It was just a wolf, Aurora. You were afraid-“

“I thought of that,” he grumbled, shaking his head again. “But I’m not afraid of what is in those woods, Daniel. I know I heard it-“

“There’s no shame in fear. Anyone with half a brain is afraid of something. Anyone with no fear is mad or worse.”

Aurora shot a glance back at him, narrowing his eyes and watching as Daniel flinched.

“I must’ve forgotten. The fearless Aurora isn’t afraid of anything, not even death. I don’t know if you’ve realized it but you are human, Aurora. It’s only human to be afraid of something and I’ll be the first to admit I’m afraid of plenty of things. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Vex it all, Daniel! It wasn’t fear that caused me to hear things!” he snapped, clenching his jaw when Daniel shied away again.

He took a step back, crossing his arms in front of his chest upon hearing Aurora scoff.

“Why did you come here? Did the bitch send you? Am I, in some way, doing something wrong?”

“Not everyone is out to get you, Aurora.”

Daniel’s voice, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, was just on the wrong side of sorrowful. But the detail was insignificant, miniscule, in some selfish way and Aurora barely paid any mind to it as he turned and stepped over the ledge on the opposite side. He slid down the sloping part, leaving Daniel alone on top of the gateway as he made his way down to the base.

“Where are you going?” Daniel called, following less than gracefully down after him and landing flat on his backside before scrambling to his feet to follow.

Aurora snorted, suppressing a laugh but continuing on. “I need a drink.”

“You don’t drink.”

He ignored him, continuing on until Daniel grabbed for his hand again. Aurora paused, staring downward with a frown. “Why do you think that’s going to stop me from doing anything?”

“Please, what’s bothering you?”

“Nothing,” Aurora answered, pulling away and starting off again.

The roar of the gathered Dravara could be heard even from the gates but it was slowly getting louder as they neared. It was rare that more than a quarter of the Dravara ever attended but the building, the only one more massive than the keep, could house half of the entire force if it needed to.

Aurora shoved the door open with his shoulder and squinted at the light that flooded out from the inside. Not every seat was filled but the sheet number of people around him made him feel instantly uneasy. He didn’t make eye contact, tugging his hat down to cover most of his face while Daniel nodded to almost each and every one of them that managed to spare him a glance.

He didn’t see the point in it.

The long bar was at the back, much too far for his liking, and he instantly took to leaning against it as soon as the two of them reached it. A mug was placed down, slid cautiously closer to his hand as the man behind the bar cleared his throat.

“I don’t see you here often. Special occasion, is it?”

Aurora shook his head.

“One here, please.”

He glanced up as Daniel came up beside him, shuffling sideways half a step to avoid being jostled into when Daniel started talking to the man beside the counter. The situation, even with the only familiarity he’d ever felt just beside him, despite how calm things were, still made him nervous.

“Are you in charge of patrols tomorrow?” Aurora muttered.

“No, why?”

“Then, we are going somewhere.”

Frowning, Daniel only nodded before turning to continue whatever mundane, in Aurora’s opinion, conversation he’d been carrying on before. Aurora was half listening, half paying attention to every twitch, every laugh and annoyingly pleasant conversation of the people around him. He finished off the mug, setting it down and rapping impatiently on the countertop for another.

“I’ve never had you in here before, Officer-“

“I don’t like talking.”

“Darren, please, another for my friend.”

Songs, he supposed, were the only decently pleasant thing about the hall. He never cared to listen just what they were about but he recognized some, others simply were unfamiliar all together.

He never did miss home, not enough for him to really feel homesick, but the thought of home was all but lost to him entirely. In only a few months, he’d be able to leave and go wherever he so desired. He could head south, the very place Silas had told him to go all those years ago but the chances of him being there were next to nothing. Daniel wanted him to stay, he knew that but even considering it made his skin crawl.

The stronghold, the east, and any place where the snow never went away would never feel like home. It was a prison and it was one he intended on escaping as soon as the chance arose. He’d seen plenty come and go in the years he’d been there and never understood why anyone chose to stay beyond their sentence. A way of life, he supposed, and many were paid rather handsomely for their extended service.

“You two are leaving soon, aren’t you?”

“Only a few months,” Daniel agreed, nudging Daniel with his shoulder.

Aurora didn’t react beyond closing his eyes, still listening half interested in the conversations that were beginning to get too blurred to listen to. Odd jobs, cooks and stable hands that weren’t ready to join the patrols or perhaps had chosen that route just wasn’t for them. Aurora had been a stable hand very briefly until he was deemed too difficult to work with on more than one occasion.

“Is he alright?”

Daniel nodded. “He’s fine. How about you? Your sentence ended a while ago, didn’t it?”

“It did! I’ll be shipping out soon. My sister and her family offered me a place to stay. She’s a bit older, has a place a little south of where I grew up,” the man answered with a smile.

Aurora took a drink, paused, adjusting his hat, and then downing the rest of the mug in his hand. He’d never been one to drink, not seeing a point in it, but as he saw it, there were exceptions to every rule.

“Take it easy,” Daniel warned, eying him suspiciously.

Aurora only glared, staring silently as he went back to leaning against the countertop.

The dull roar continued but he wasn’t listening, hearing only the blur the came along with every clank of a downed mug on the wood. He knew Daniel would continue talking for a long while and, while he waited, having another drink wouldn’t do him any harm.

It dulled the sound of their babbling, something he’d come to loathe greatly

~ ~ ~ ~

“Say it again!”

Daniel’s head snapped upward at the voice, drawing his attention away from the first conversation in a while that didn’t involve being sworn at by Aurora for some reason or another. He didn’t see him, despite the obvious hat, until someone was thrown over a table, tumbling sideways and landing in a heap on the other side.

“Oh, vex it all.”

Somehow, as impossible as it seemed, the hat landed beside him as he pushed himself up, spitting and then wiping his mouth. However, whether it be the fact that Daniel nearly vaulted a table himself or the questionable amount of ale he’d consumed, Aurora didn’t make it far before he was grabbed and hauled backwards.

“He’s drunk. Someone get him out of here before he hurts someone!”

Of course, knowing how quickly things could get volatile with an agitated Aurora, he didn’t need to be told twice. Daniel put an arm around him, dragging him backwards while Aurora spat and swore in a series of remarks that were far too slurred to understand clearly. They reached the door and then were outside before he let go, watching as Aurora went stumbling to the snow.

“I didn’t need you…to save me,” Aurora hissed, pushing himself up onto all fours.

“How much have you had to drink?”

Aurora looked up then, placing his hat back on his head and coming staggering to his feet. “Enough.”

Daniel rubbed at the back of his neck, glancing around the abandoned courtyard nervously before starting forward. He reached out, taking Aurora’s sleeve and pulling him back towards the officer’s quarters.

“Where are we going?” Aurora asked, the anger suddenly draining from his voice.

“You’re going to bed,” Daniel answered sternly.

“I did say we, didn’t I? Are you coming?”

“Please, just keep quiet and try not to kill anyone else. Why were you fighting anyway?”

Aurora was quiet, frowning before his shoulders moved up in a shrug. “I don’t…I don’t remember.”

“You’re definitely going to bed.”

Much to his surprise, Aurora didn’t say anything else until they were inside and Daniel could hear him chuckling under his breath.

“You’re too kind to me,” Aurora hummed, his words slurring together.

“Did you lock your door?” Daniel asked when they came to it, reaching for the handle but not before Aurora snatched his hand away.

“I locked it,” he assured, reaching out for Daniel’s scarf a second time.

He tugged at it, still laughing softly like he was unnaturally amused by nothing at all before his gaze rose. “I don’t know where the key is.”

Daniel cleared his throat, reaching into his pocket for his own key and stepping backwards to his door. “You can sleep with me-“

“That’s a little forward, isn’t it?”

His face flushed hot and Daniel pulled away from Aurora’s hold on his scarf, opening the door and tugging a stumbling Aurora in with him. It was dark, lit only by a lantern he’d left burning on a desk.

“I have an extra blanket. You can sleep on the floor and we’ll find your key in the morning, alright?”

“That’s disappointing, usually when I’m taken back to a room for the evening…I’m at least allowed to share his bed.”

Aurora was on the ground when Daniel turned around but whether he’d fallen or simply ended up there, Daniel didn’t know.

“It’s cold in here,” Aurora grumbled, looking up at him before shedding his jacket and tossing it aside before going to work at the buttons of his shirt.

Daniel sighed heavily, kneeling down in front of him and shoving his hands away before he could get the rest of them undone. “Then why are you taking off your shirt if you’re cold?”

Aurora smiled, snorting once before he broke off into laughter again. “I’m not entirely sure.”

“Go to sleep,” Daniel said, saying every word slow enough to where Aurora would hopefully understand them.

While understanding never seemed to be an issue, listening, obeying was another problem entirely for Aurora. Daniel knew that very well and as he stood, tossing down his pillow, he hoped he would wake to find Aurora in the exact place he left him.

“Do you want something to sleep in?” Daniel asked.

“No,” he answered, muffled by the pillow he collapsed into.

Daniel let out another sigh as he rubbed his head, reaching down to unbuckle his boots and set them aside. He was tired, even more so now that he’d had to deal with bringing Aurora home. And, as he watched Aurora roll over only to start snickering again, he remembered why he rarely ever left him alone.

“Aurora, please go to sleep.”

“Are you going to sleep?”

Daniel didn’t answer him, only shaking his head and removing his jacket before setting that on the table nearby. He was much too exhausted to deal with much more, hands fumbling with the buttons on his shirt and struggling to peel it off of himself.

Aurora sighed, looking away.

“I know you won’t remember this tomorrow-“

“If it’s important, I’ll try my best.”

Frowning, Daniel rubbed at the back of his neck again.

“Could you try not to start any trouble? We’re so close-“

“No promises,” Aurora answered, looking up at him before lowering himself face down into the pillow again.

It was quiet then and the laughter had stopped entirely.

“Aurora?”

Silence.

Daniel stood, moving to roll Aurora onto his side, hearing him mumble softly in protest, before going back to his bed once more. He’d deal with him in the morning, knowing that Aurora wouldn’t be nearly as cheerful when he woke with a splitting headache. But as Daniel rested his head on his arm and his eyes slipped closed, any problems were starting to feel distant.

However, it was a distance he’d regret when he didn’t hear the door to his room open as Aurora made his escape.

Next Chapter: Chapter 16