Heather tries to force things to return to the way they once were, but it is the small things that are the hardest to stick back together.
She and Roan walk side by side on their daily walk. It was a new thing they were trying to fill in the hole left by the old things, but it never seemed to work, not even for a second. "It is a lovely day, isn't it?"
Roan looks around as if he just stepped outside. "Mmm."
"Let's walk over there." When Heather places a hand on his arm, Roan flinches away. The two of them pretend it did not happen, but Heather notices the missing bits that Roan was talking about before. "Come this way."
She walks ahead instead of trying to guide him physically, hoping the beauty of nature will lift her friend's spirits and has prayed repeatedly to Harmonia to bless him with harmony. Every day her faith dies a little as her friend sinks further into his dark place.
Roan jumps at the sound of a whistle being blown. He looks around, alert and afraid. "I need..."
"What do you need?" Heather asks him when he does not finish his sentence.
"I need to go-"
"Go?"
"Inside." Roan nods his head frantically, finding it ironic that even in the open space of this field, he does not feel like there is enough oxygen in the Capital for his lungs to breath. "I need to go inside."
Heather turns her body around, now facing towards the school. "Okay let's go inside."
Roan stops her, putting his arm out in front of her. "No."
"No?"
"I'm not your burden to carry Heather." Roan can feel a familiar itch behind his eyes. "Just give me a minute to bounce back, okay?" Roan walks away from her before she can even respond, leaving her standing alone on the path.
Zarion's teammates are practicing on the smaller field on the opposite side of the school. When Roan walks past they throw themselves against the emerald, green fence and hurl slurs and threats at him. "This is all your fault. We have no chance at winning the championship now!" Why couldn't you just keep your mouth shut?"
Roan ignores them, staring straight ahead, keeping his chin up.
When he goes inside, Roan unintentionally picks up three elves talking at the other end of the corridor. "Did you hear what happened to him the other day?"
She goes on to spell out the ugly truth that everyone already seems to know.
"I don't know. I mean, I did not even know who he was before this. I think he's just doing this for the attention." She opens the locker behind her and takes out some books before the three of them disappear into a nearby classroom.
Even some of the teachers are against him. Roan can only begin to image what they must think of him but in a society where they believe the individual is responsible for the chaos in their own lives, he is not surprised.
Even he was swept up in Zarion's charm, so why wouldn't everyone else be?
Roan slams his dorm door shut behind him, pressing his back against the firm wood, sliding towards the floor as he tries to fight back the tears that have already started brimming in his eyes. "You're okay, everything is okay, stop crying."
Even though Zarion has been imprisoned for days now, his essence still lingers in the small, box like, dorm room. Every Roan looks there is a part of Zarion that makes Roan think back to the past. "Stop crying."
There were small moments, red flags, things that told Roan that Zarion was dangerous. When they first met, Roan saw the predator sitting just beneath his skin. The commanding tone he would use on him whenever Roan would do something he did not want. The night of his first game.
Roan peels back the left arm of his shirt and looks down at the hand shaped bruise. Zarion had done that to him, right before hitting the brick wall next to his head. If he had planned to hurt him from the moment they met, if Roan was his prey the entire time, then why not kill him then?
If he had moved his fist several feet to the right than he would have cracked Roan's skull open...so why not? Why kill him in a way that would force him to live in shame for the rest of his life? Why charm him and make him feel safe if his goals were to strip him of all the things he was slowly giving him?
Roan tries to tear off his own skin, screaming to the ground, his true form trying to break free of its cage once more.
When his blood seeps through his clawed hands, revealing his obsidian-like scales, Roan twists his head towards Zarion's bed and looks up at the picture of him sitting on the shelf above his bed. He crawls to the bed and uses it to get off the ground, his hands turning the white bed sheets red.
"Stop crying...stop crying...stop!" Roan swipes the picture off the shelf, it crashes to the ground, the glass breaking inside the frame.
He reaches for more of Zarion's stuff, destroying everything he can get his hands on, accidentally lets out one of his thundering roars, his skin turning red, the fire in his stomach aching to be released.
Heather walks in after Roan tears up the bedsheets and the pillows, finding Roan on his knees whilst feathers fall around him like snowflakes. "Roan?" Heather slowly walks towards him, carefully avoiding the broken glass and wood all over the floor.
When she spots the blood smeared on the back of his shirt, Heather calls out to Roan again. "Roan, what did you do?"
Roan stares at his bloody claws. He needs to do something before she sees him.
+/+
Isis looks up at the sky when she feels the young King calling out to her. She places her white teacup on to the table next to her and leaves the room she has been using as her home. "Zaria, Ivan."
White scales appear above her eyebrows and on her neck as her eyes shift. She uses her weaker Regnum on the two Amphiptere's.
She will need two warriors that can fly with her, and Zaria and Ivan are the most capable fighters she knows. "With me."
The three of them shift and fly towards the flying city that Roan hides in. Zaria and Ivan look up at the nine circles above them that form a perfect triangle and follow the princess towards one of the corner cities. Once they get there, they fly above his school and make as much noise as possible. Stay in the air, we are merely a distraction. Isis informs them.
+/+
Heather reaches out to touch Roan but stops when she hears the dragons outside. She runs out of the room and spots them flying in the air. "What are they doing?" Heather stops the teacher that tries to run past her. "What's happening?"
"We are under attack!" he screams before running away.
Heather walks towards the window, pressing her hands against the wall. "But they aren't attacking, they're just flying..."
"What's happening?"
Heather looks over at Roan, who has managed to stop his shift once again. "There are three dragons outside, just flying in the air." Heather moves to give room for Roan to look out of the window too.
"They should get out of here." Isis resists Roan's Regnum but the two men fly away immediately.
She shakes her head, every scale on her body vibrating. Roan's Regnum was not that powerful the first time they had met, he is getting stronger, which means his time in hiding is quickly running out.
When Isis flies away, Roan and Heather go back to the dorm room.
Heather looks at Roan's arms. "Did you cut yourself on the glass?"
"It was an accident." he lies.
Heather reaches for his arm but Roan flinches away from her. "It's alright, I'm fine, it wasn't deep, the blood has already stopped."
Heather looks at the amount of blood staining his arm and, on the bed, covers. "Are you sure?"
"I'll go to the Healers if that makes you feel better?"
"Good." Heather feels the weight leave her shoulders. "Now, you go have a shower and I will..." Heather looks around the room, astonished by the damage Roan was able to do. "I will start cleaning."
When Roan leaves the room, Heather picks up the picture of Zarion and his mother, using her power to reverse the damage done.