Only when Soryu was gone did Thunder cut his power out. He approached Flaus and in that moment, placed his hand on her, allowing his healing power to flow through her. Of course, if he hadn't wanted to do it, it would have came any way, particularly being so close to him. He studied her for several long moments, the deaths of the victims tugging at him. Sirens exploded into the air around them, coming closer and closer. What that man had done to his fellow classmates had been unforgivable. None of them had done anything to him to warrant this type of attack, but that was how evil was. It attacked anyone without care or remorse. He looked into Flaus' eyes and simply said, "We need to talk."
The shadow goddess flinched at his touch, not knowing what he was going to do. When she felt his healing energy she should have relaxed, but instead curled in on herself, flinching again. Why? Why was he healing her? She didn't deserve it. She deserved to die. Why couldn't she just die? Still, as these thoughts were going through her head she felt a moment of elation as well. He was touching her. He was healing her. He cared. 'No,' a voice in her mind hissed to her. He didn't care. Not about her. Never about her.
She glanced up and met his eyes, her breath catching in her throat. Her heart fell at his next words, the brief moment of hope squashed to bits. He wanted answers, that was all. That was why he healed her. Not because he cared in any way, but just because he wanted something that she could potentially give. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, willing away the sadness before opening them. "Yes," she agreed. "But not here."
Once the aftershocks had faded Soryu remained lying on the floor of his room, staring blankly at a wall. He had failed. This was not good. Not good at all. Within moments the room was filled with shadows, twisting, swirling along the floor and walls. The shadows grew, surrounding him, threatening to suck him up completely. He swallowed down a flash of fear. He would not show fear to Grima. That was something he refused to do under any circumstances. In his mind he heard a whisper of a voice, not human, and terribly dark. "I'm sorry," he said. "I let myself be distracted. It will not happen again." Another whisper. "I swear it, my lord. I will not fail you. I will ensure that you get the Aleantylar no matter what."
Was that sadness he had seen in her eyes? He frowned, wondering what that was about. Shrugging it off, he nodded in agreement. Definitely not here. He retrieved his belongings, quickly returning to her. In just a little while, they were elsewhere, at some sort of empty cafe save for a cook and some patrons who didn't care what was being said around them. In their own worlds, he noted.
He had chosen a dark corner to keep them in private, and the music throughout the place helped to hide any of their conversation. A waitress came to take their order, and he ordered, even buying Flaus a glass of tea. When the waitress left, he focused his eyes on her. "There is something different about you…"
Flaus sat awkwardly, not sure what to do with herself. Of all the things she thought she would be doing with her time, this was probably one of the last. Admittedly it was something that she wished would happen, but she had never expected her wish to actually come true. Of course it wasn't exactly the same, and never would be. She wanted to enjoy this chance, knowing it would be the only one she would get, but couldn't bring herself to actually do it. Carefully keeping her eyes on the table she shrugged. "I really have no idea what you are referring to," she said, not even having to lie. She was different? How?
Soryu was relieved when Grima's presence left him be. Relaxing back down onto the floor he thought about what he had to do. Now he had to deal with Flaus in addition to Thunder, and Thunder was definitely stronger than he had given him credit for. This wouldn't have been a problem if he still had surprise on his side, but thanks to that goddess that plan was ruined. He was going to have to think on this, come up with a new strategy in order to find the best way to get this done. He imagined that it wouldn't be too hard. He just needed a little rest first... Soon enough he was sleeping soundly.
Was she being serious? He studied her eyes for several moments. It was if she either couldn't see it for herself, or she was simply eluding from the truth. Most of her was darkness, but beneath that hidden somewhere inside her like a tiny beacon was light.
"Well, for starters the way your eyes looked when… with what happened to my fellow students," he said softly. It bothered him to see so much carnage. There would be a lot of grieving families tonight. "I have never seen that look in your eyes before."
She clenched her jaw, hating herself for not being able to see that coming. The second she realized what he was she should have fled to draw him off that way, instead of creating more panic by making a scene to draw the students off. Her carelessness had cost a lot of people their lives. Just more marks on her already blackened soul. More reason for her to hurry up and end this now, before even more ended up dying. "You're imagining things," she said, barely able to get the words out.
"Just.. get to the point. Ask me what you wanted and be done with it. You shouldn't spend more time with me than is called for." If things were different.. If Soryu hadn't attacked she wondered if she could have gone through with her plan. Her plan to confess everything that was going on.. To see if he could see the light in her. But no... As things were it was too late for that. It didn't matter any more if anyone ever saw any light. Not anymore...
Thunder raised an eyebrow. She was getting a bit defensive, he thought. He inwardly shrugged it off. "My point being is about you being at the school in first place. And that man there. I need to know what's going on." He took in a breath. "There is something else, too.. I felt as if two presences were watching me. I believe one of them was you."
He couldn't be sure of that, but the only way he'd know was if she told him what he suspected. He was very intuitive about things, and would know right away if she lied to him. If she did though, he would let it go. If she told him the truth… what would he do then? He sipped his tea.
Flaus pressed her lips together. "Yes," she admitted. There was no point in lying about that much, since he already knew one of the ones watching him was her. "I wasn't there to hurt you, though I doubt you believe me. I only wanted..." She trailed off, her eyes glazing over for a few seconds before she shook her head, pushing off the thoughts. He didn't need to know that she had wanted to be near him. It would just make things even more complicated than they already were. "It doesn't matter what I wanted."
She released a breath and folded her hands in her lap. "I imagine the other one you felt was that man... His name is Soryu... He's a dark priest." He didn't need to know about Grima. At least not now.. It was too dangerous to tell him any more than this.
Logic told Thunder if she had meant to hurt him, she could have done it by now, and his heart told him she was telling the truth. Not surprising to him, though she doubted his belief of her. He hid a smile and shook his head. "Well, for what it's worth, I do believe you," he said. "It's strange how things like this come about, but I'm willing to listen to whatever it is you have to say." He wondered though, what had she meant by it didn't matter what she wanted. What did she want? Best not to push it. If she wanted him to know she would have told him. At least that's what he thought.
He listened closely, as she went on about Soryu, informing of his position. A dark priest? That was bothersome. Too bothersome. Dark priests had magic and shadow powers at their disposal. From what he had seen Soryu was very powerful himself. "I'm afraid to ask, but what is the dark priest of?"
Her eyes widened a bit, heart skipping a beat. He believed her... It was strange how much those words meant to her. It actually took quite a bit of effort to keep herself from crying, so desperate for kindness as she was. His next words made her heart skip another beat, but Flaus knew that she still couldn't tell him what it was she wanted from him. Well... not what she really wanted. That was a secret that she would take to her grave. Just that she wanted someone to understand her, even a little.
It was better if she just answered his questions, then asked any of her own, since she couldn't trust herself to not ask anything strange. When he spoke again she wished that she had just said something else, instead of allowing the topic to get to this. Releasing a breath she looked down at her lap, her hands shaking a bit. Though she still didn't want to answer, she couldn't seem to lie to him. "His name... is Grima. He is an immensely powerful being who wishes to destroy.. At the moment he is sealed in another realm.. but his priests are working to free him."
The news hit Thunder like a ton of bricks. It reminded of him of Tutock, who as far as he knew to the best of his knowledge was also sealed. They had taken great liberty in destroying Tutock's temples and shrines, and eradicating his followers, and his worshipers. This had been years ago, and so far there had been no outwardly sign of the Ar'nyk deciding to come back. Not after his last defeat. If it could even be called a defeat. Point was, they had won, but barely. Many lives had been lost, and the Warriors had soon separated after that. In a way, they had been broken. They would never be the same again.
This Grima though. Thunder had a bad feeling about him, as if warning bells went off in his mind, tugging at his consciousness. He never denied his feelings, but listened carefully to them, and took action, whether to confront or back away, when appropriate. "I am suspecting none of the others knows they're working to free him?" he said with eyebrows raised. His tea was half empty now, his eyes on hers. The room seemed darker than usual.
Flaus gave her head a shake. "That would be correct," she admittedly, voice remaining soft. Her hands were still shaking so she clasped them together more tightly. At one point she had tried to tell Cephas what was going on, but it was too late. By then he hated her so much, and wanted nothing more than to kill her. He still did. Not that she could blame him. She had her chance to confess everything many years earlier, right when this started, and she had failed. Now it was too late. They would never believe her... Even if they did believe that Grima was going to rise, it would only be because they thought that she was the one who was trying to release him.
She released a breath. "I don't care if anyone believes me or not, but I am trying to stop him from rising.. I have been working to destroy the various portals that open to his realm.. and I have been slowly taking out his priests." Admitting to killing was probably not the best way to appear innocent, but he had seen first hand what a priest of Grima was like. Surely he would understand why she felt the need to kill them? He had to... She hoped at least. "But... occasionally they do have victories... like today. Today is certainly a loss for the side of good.."
"After what I have seen for myself, I do believe you," Thunder said. The power of the dark priest was worrisome, and if he was that powerful, it would not take him long to recover and come back. The side of good. He looked around at the other patrons, so innocent and naive in this upcoming war. They weren't perfect - who was?- but they did not deserve to be killed by a dangerous individual who worshiped an evil being. Already, the atmosphere of the diner continued to grow in darkness.
A warning bell sounded in the back of his mind. They needed to get out of there. Right now. He placed money down on the table, along with a tip for the waiters, and stood up. "We need to leave. Right now." He did not explain as he hurried from the table toward the doors. The warning kept screaming at him to get out of there, an oppressive feeling trying to take him in.