The whole of the Society had gathered again. It was starting to become a common event, it seemed at least lately, but now it was not to vote or because there was danger.
It was instead to celebrate.
"Just once!" Merit shouted in complaint, and huffed as the rest of the group laughed at her disgruntled expression... yet I could tell that Merit wasn't upset at all. She was all smiles as Tosh laughed and nodded.
The man who had been so quiet, so... inward, was now everything but. He sat at a table, surrounded by everyone in the Society. He had a drink in his hand, as most did, and was happily talking and remembering long forgotten memories with them all.
Honestly it made me feel a little out of place. I, unlike the rest of those here, had no memories with Tosh... but it seemed I wasn't the only one. A few, like Brom and his sister Reatti, didn't either. There were some who, like me, had only known Tosh when he had been a quiet, emotionless man.
The oddest thing was that even those who I had thought had been old, like Brom and Reatti, hadn't known him either. Maybe it was just that they had not arrived here until far after he had.
"Vim did! He nearly threw up!" Tosh pointed at Vim and caused most of the room to break out into laughter. Vim, who sat next to Tosh, smiled gently as he became the center of the laughter, or rather the source.
Although laughter, and reason for it, was very interesting and lovely... My eyes weren't drawn to those who were laughing, or even Tosh... No, I couldn't tear my eyes from Vim.
He sat there quietly, as he had been for some time. It was as if Vim wanted everyone else to talk and interact with Tosh, as much as possible. He only spoke up when addressed, or when it was too silent for too long.
Vim looked... happy. Genuinely happy. He seemed glad his friend was talking again, and sincerely seemed thankful.
The protector I was seeing was a new one. One I'd not seen before.
He looked almost... human. And not just because he looked like one. He had a smile like humans sometimes got. The kind of smile that looked... foolish, almost. Innocent.
It was a good look for him.
"You ran away then! Took us a weak to find you!" Brandy barely got her words out in-between her laughter, she bent over the table she sat at and began to hysterically laugh at whatever memory she was both retelling and remembering.
"Who can blame me for running! Vim had been furious!" Tosh tried to defend himself, but started laughing too.
Vim glanced around, and I noticed the way he seemed to study those around him. He was here, and a part of the conversation, but was also... somewhat separated. Distanced. As if on purpose.
When his eyes finally fell upon me, I felt my ears stand up a little. His smile softened a little, which made my face grow hot. Luckily everyone was far too busy laughing and talking to even notice.
With one final glance around, Vim nodded to himself. Content.
Vim stood slowly, and before Tosh or anyone really noticed he was slipping away Wynn slid into his seat. He filled Tosh's jug, pouring his own cups contents into it. "Night's still young Tosh!" Wynn said.
"It is!" Tosh agreed, but I knew it wasn't true. In only a few hours the sun would be rising.
Did no one realize? Or did no one care?
Not that it really mattered, I suppose.
Though... something told me they were doing it on purpose. They wanted Tosh to talk and remember memories, for as long as possible. To ensure he'd not retreat into himself again.
It seemed... a little forceful, but it was well intentioned.
And more so, it seemed to be genuinely working.
Tosh was all smiles, and his eyes weren't just clear they were focused. He looked into people's eyes as he spoke, and did so confidently. Surely.
Vim patted Tosh on the shoulder, and then stepped around him. He walked in-between the many chairs that had been gathered around Tosh and the table he sat at, and snuck away.
Putting my own cup down, I glanced around. I was sitting alone, a little bit away from the group... I had not sat so far away that I hadn't been a part of it, but I was far enough away that I knew I'd be able to get away without being noticed.
Standing up slowly, I smiled at Merit who glanced at me. She smirked at me, and I nodded gently at her as I stepped away from the group and went to follow Vim out of the room.
She was far more astute than she seemed. I had barely made a sound, and Merit had to turn around a little to see me. For her to have heard me stand up amidst the laughter and noisy talking was rather surprising.
Leaving the room, I followed Vim out into the hallway.
"Going to the bathroom?" I asked him as I picked up my pace to reach him. He was nearly half way down the hall already.
Vim paused a moment and glanced back at me. He frowned at me. "Hm?"
Reaching him, I smiled up at him and gestured back to the room we had just left. "Are you... done? Already?" I asked him.
"For now, yes," he nodded.
I see.
Vim stared at me for a moment, and then looked behind me. Back down the hallway.
"I've known him for nearly four hundred years," he whispered.
"So I heard," I nodded. I've been listening to Tosh and the stories about him, and those he remembered, for the last few hours after all.
"Yet this is the first time in nearly half that, that I've heard his voice," Vim said.
"Ah..." I nodded. Yes. I figured as much, thanks to how everyone had acted.
I had been with a few others when we had heard his laughter, a few hours ago. The laughter had been loud, and strange. I had not recognized the voice after all... I had thought maybe Fly's master, or one of her comrades, had broken in... but Merit and the others I had been with had instead only stood up and smiled at the laugh.
They had recognized it instantly.
Most had watery eyes when they hurried down to the kitchens, as Vim made his friend some food and poured him a drink.
"Walk with me," Vim whispered, tapping me on the arm as he turned.
Nodding, I followed Vim down the hallway. He guided me to a stairwell, and ascended to the next floor.
A part of me hoped he'd go up another, to lead us back to our rooms... or well, my own, but he didn't. He just walked slowly, seemingly walking without a destination in mind.
Down below, I could just barely make out the loud voices and laughter. It was... good to hear it, even if it made me realize how...
Well...
"What's wrong?" Vim asked me. He had glanced at me as I got lost in thought.
"I just... realized how... well... You all have known each other for... a long time. I'm jealous," I said.
"Hm... Well, you'll have time Renn. Hundreds of years, if you're lucky," he said.
"How old is Tosh?" I asked.
"Almost four hundred years I suppose."
Four hundred years. And he had known Vim even from a young age.
Was Vim really that much older than me?
I mean... he must be. But it was so...
"After a few hundred years Renn, a few more mean nothing. Don't think too much of it," he said.
"Easy for you to say..."
"It is," he nodded.
Sighing at him as we rounded a corner, I realized we had walked in a circle. We were about to come up to the stairwell we had just climbed up from.
"I'm glad your friend is... uh..." I wasn't sure how to phrase it.
"Healed? Not yet. But it's a start. A good start. I had not ever expected him to speak again, honestly," Vim said.
I noticed he spoke softly, and not because he worried Tosh or anyone else would hear him.
"Can I ask what... or how it happened? What did you do? To break him out of that..." I gestured blindly, since I wasn't sure what to call it. He had been so withdrawn, within himself, it was like he had been dead almost.
"No idea. I had been walking and simply found him. It could have been anything, Renn. Something he saw. Something he heard. Something he smelled, or felt. We'll likely never know," Vim said.
Passing the stairwell we had walked up I listened to the chatter down below. They were still going at it.
Still...
My sister. My oldest sister, rather. She had been like Tosh near the end. When I had found her... and...
"How often does... someone return to themselves?" I asked, thinking of Glennessa.
"So rarely that it's considered a plain miracle," Vim said.
"I see," I whispered.
We walked in silence for a moment, and I tried to study the doors we passed as we walked. It was hard, since now my mind couldn't stop thinking about my sister.
"Renn."
I blinked and looked up. I had been staring at the floor, it seemed.
Vim was to my right, heading upward. Up stairs.
Nodding I went to follow him upward.
Would we be going to our rooms now?
"Who had you been thinking about?" Vim asked as we ascended the stairwell.
I gulped. "My oldest sister."
"You mentioned you had a few," Vim said as we walked out onto the third floor.
I nodded. "Two. Two sisters. Three brothers," I said.
Vim nodded back at me, and stood next to me... waiting for me to tell him about them.
Could I though?
I wanted to.
I really did.
But what if it made him...
"I had no siblings. Though I've known many that I would call brother or sister, I never had any thanks to blood alone," Vim told me.
Staring at him, I realized he was... trying to be gentle with me. He must have noticed my discomfort, and worry.
"I'm not broken like Tosh, Vim," I said to him.
"No. But I'd like to be gentle with you all the same," he said back.
Oh?
That was surprising, yet... not...
"Did I look that fragile?" I asked.
"You have tears in your eyes, Renn," Vim said gently.
Blinking, I reached up to check.
Sure enough, I did. Wiping my eyes, left a slight glimmer of wetness on my hand.
"I see," I whispered.
"I have noticed you grow... somber, when you think of them. But you cried a little down there too, with Tosh, so it's hard for me to tell if you're just sentimental or if it's more serious," Vim said.
"I only cried once, when everyone else did while hugging Tosh," I argued. That moment when everyone hurried into the room, to see and speak to Tosh after hearing him laugh had been... well...
It had been wonderful. Enough to make me cry. But there shouldn't be any harm or shame in it, since I had not been the only one to cry. Most had.
Vim gently nodded with a smile, as if willing to accept my defence.
"Plus, Vim, you were probably the only one who didn't cry... Why are you so emotionless sometimes?" I asked him. I knew he could cry, after all. I had seen it before.
His smile slowly died, and I felt bad for teasing him as the protector of the society suddenly lost all expression.
Staring at him, I hesitated. He suddenly looked... well...
He now looked just like I had dubbed him. Emotionless.
Should I apologize?
"If I broke, Renn, so too would have Tosh," Vim then said.
"Broke...?" I whispered my question as he nodded.
"Tosh remembers me as the man who faced those monsters. The horrible nightmares. The man who didn't flinch, even when he should have. I didn't want to make him question those memories, just yet," Vim said.
"Ah..."
Vim took a deep breath, and without warning...
Staring at the single, small tear as it slid out of his right eye... Vim nodded. "I'm glad my friend is okay," he said.
Watching that tear as it slowly ran down his cheek, I nodded. "Me too," I whispered, as my own eyes began to water again. Fiercer than before, even.
Vim reached out his hand, and while staring at his watery eyes I took it with my own.
Holding his hand, I smiled at the man who looked... reassured.
"Later I'll introduce you to my friend. For some reason he thinks you're my wife, so please play along for me," Vim said.
"Wait what?"