Searching [Epilogue]
Fandom: Original
Summary: The world of Torpin is open, dragging in xeni from other worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the xeni that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human xeno drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: R/NC-17
Notes: Ptttth, at my word cound. Ppttttth!
@___@ Next time, someone please give me a swift kick up the butt to make sure I don't try to cram reposting in under a week.
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 1,678
Total word count: 99,735
Status: Complete (\o/ Finally!)
It had been a couple of days since Ronthar had been admitted into the hospital and Marland hadn't seen him since then. Not that he expected to, and he wasn't expecting to see Ronthar after he had been discharged either - he had his memories, he had Fion, so why would he need to visit him? Apart from collecting his clothes, Marland amended.
Marland hadn't realised the flat was so quiet without another person there, and he realised he missed that the first night he'd woken up in his own bed and didn't hear Ronthar wandering around or watching the TV.
Pai had upped the number of times she visited him, coming back as soon as she was comfortable to be in the city again. It was nice seeing her so often, but when she wasn't there...
One thing that Marland hadn't expected was when he had bumped into Kendal one night after he'd gone shopping (he'd had to throw nearly all the food out in the fridge when he got back home - most of it had spoiled and the fridge still lingered with that off smell); she'd grinned and told him she needed to give him something, but she didn't have it on her, and she'd feel better if she brought it directly to his house. Feeling bewildered, he'd given her his address and then left, wondering what it was exactly. He hadn't left any anything at her house (he hadn't brought anything to her house), so what was it?
A few nights after that, Marland was startled when the buzzer had gone off when Pai was already over. They looked at each other and Marland had been about to ignore it as someone getting the wrong number when it buzzed again. He sighed as he walked over and hoped the person wouldn't be stubborn or drunk - except given the time, that didn't seem that likely.
"Yeah?" he grunted down the intercom.
"Yo. 'S me, Kendal."
Marland blinked at the receiver and then brought it back to his face. "Uh, it's open - I'm on the third floor." He opened his door and listened for the front door opening. When he heard the echo, he put the receiver back on its cradle.
It didn't take Kendal long to get up and Marland eyed the plastic bag in her hands. Whatever was inside it, there was a lot of them but they were kinda small as well. She held it up for him to grab before she turned to start going down the stairs again, waving a hand.
"It's all yours; have fun with it!"
Marland continued to stare until she was out of sight, though he could still hear her footsteps. Okay…? He opened the bag as he closed his door and Pai peered at it as well.
-'What is it?'-
There was a lot of envelopes, all looking full to the brim. Marland pulled one out and opened it. He gaped, his mouth dropping and his ears flattening when he saw what was inside it. He opened some of the others to see what was in them - they all had money in it.
"How is this mine?" He had been paid for every xeno he'd called in, and he hadn't been hunting since he got home - he'd been too tired and his reserves were fine for the moment.
Pai cocked her head to the side. -'How big was the reward for you and Ronthar?'-
Marland thought it over and then stared down at the bag again. He could not be carrying that amount in his hands right now! "Kendal called it in - the money's hers."
-'And if you didn't agree to be handed in, she wouldn't have it. And,'- she added, before Marland could argue that point, -'even then, she can spend or give it to who she wants, right?'-
He sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't go out and give it to her - and he wasn't going walk around with this amount of money on him on the off-chance he would bump into her again. Marland saw that there was a couple of papers nested between the envelopes and he pulled it out.
It wasn't a note addressed to him like he expected, but a form to register for a DT. Except she'd given him two by accident. Taking a deep breath, not even attempting to name the swirling emotions in his stomach, Marland went over to the table to start filling it out.
* * *
A few days later, Pai had gone home and Marland still hadn't quite finished filling out the DT forms yet. Not that the questions were hard to answer, but he knew he was just putting it off as an excuse to not get back to work again. He'd been getting exceedingly listless and he really doubted going out and killing xeni would help.
The buzzer rang and Marland flicked his ears towards it, debating if he should answer it - it was too soon for Pai to come back and he doubted Kendal would come around for a social visit. But, it would give him something to do other than feeling his brain become more and more numb in an attempt to save itself from the plotless movie he had started to watch.
"Yeah?"
"Yo. Got something else for ya." Marland cocked his head to the side when he recognised the voice. What else did Kendal have for him? He let her in and listened for her coming up the stairs.
She came up carefully, and Marland felt a little worried at the time it took her. If she'd been injured, why hadn't she asked someone else to bring it up?
He waited as Kendal took every step and paused in some places, a plastic bag rustling with every step. Eventually, Marland stuck his keys in his pockets and went down so she didn't have to come up any further than she had to.
Marland froze when he saw who it was.
It wasn't Kendal that was coming up the stairs; it was Ronthar.
"Hey," Ronthar said with a small smile, waving with his free hand. He looked paler than the last time Marland had seen him and he had dark smudges under his eyes.
"…Hey." Why was he - right, he was to get his clothes back. That was why he had a bag with him. Marland shoved the hurt and disappointment right down with clenched teeth. He didn't get why someone else hadn't collected Ronthar's clothes for him though.
With a shaky breath, Marland asked him, "Do you need some help?"
Ronthar nodded, the smile turning wry. "I'm not really supposed to exert myself that much."
Marland held out his arm and Ronthar held onto it while they made their way up the stairs in silence.
When they were inside the flat, Marland didn't look at Ronthar as he held the door open and waited for him to head straight for his room. Which he didn't. He glanced at Ronthar when he stayed where he was; Ronthar had an amused expression on his face as he leaned on the back of the couch with a sigh.
"Ronth…" Marland started, but stopped himself when Ronthar shook his head.
"Shodin."
Marland stared at him. What?
The smile widened. "I want to be called Shodin."
What?
"It's…" Ronth - Shod…Shodin? blew air through his teeth, the smile staying in place. "It's a new start - a new world, a new name. I think - that's how I want to be called from now on."
"But," Marland spluttered, "why do you want to called after a tree?"
Ronthar snickered. "As I said, it's a new start, so it would make sense to also have a new name."
"You already have a life here." Marland pointed out, not understanding him. With the woman with the red hair.
Ronthar shook his head as his smile faded slightly. "I wouldn't be able to find Saisha's house again and…I would prefer to stay here. I like it."
"Why…?" He didn't know what his question was supposed to be as his mind whirled. Why was he telling him this? If he was just going to leave…
There was a growl in his mind. -'He just said because he liked it.'-
Ronthar chuckled and then rolled his eyes. "Fion, shush," he chided.
-'It's not hard to understand,'- Fion grumbled. -'You want to be called Shodin and stay here.'-
"You…want to stay here?" Marland repeated weakly, his eyes wide.
Fion made an exasperated noise. -'Why else do you think we're here?'-
"Fion." When Fion didn't say anything else, Ronth…Shodin huffed. "He doesn't always understand that some answers to situations aren't as simple as 'yes' or 'no'."
Was this one? Marland shoved all his other thoughts to the side, especially his expectations - they were always wrong when it came to…Shodin. It was a bit of a struggle to stop them from colouring his views but…it really did all come down to one question: did he want Shodin to live with him?
The answer was yes.
He took a deep breath and closed the door. Shodin's eyes lit up and a bright grin that Marland hadn't seen for weeks widened across his face.
Shodin walked carefully to the kitchen and got a glass with easy familiarity. He made a face as he filled it with water and pulled out a small box from the plastic bag he was still carrying.
"My painkillers," he explained as he popped a white capsule out of the foil packaging. After he eventually swallowed it, he made another face. Huh. Their medicines really were similar then.
"So," Shodin said slowly as he turned his attention to the TV, "what're you watching?"
"A crap movie," Marland deadpanned. Even though Marland had no idea what had happened in it, the prospect of watching the movie no longer seemed so bad as it had been a couple of minutes ago.
Shodin snorted softly and they settled down to see if they could wrap their heads around the non-existent plot of this movie.
Previous Chapter
Summary: The world of Torpin is open, dragging in xeni from other worlds. The majority of them are monsters, prone to violence. There are some, however, that are not, and are able to live amongst the human population, if allowed to. Marland should know; he's one of them. His job is to hunt and stop the xeni that seek only to destroy what's around them. On one job, a human xeno drops through a portal, an event which Marland has never heard of happening before. And that's not the only thing different about the human...
Rating: R/NC-17
Notes: Ptttth, at my word cound. Ppttttth!
@___@ Next time, someone please give me a swift kick up the butt to make sure I don't try to cram reposting in under a week.
Genre: Urban fantasy
Word count: 1,678
Total word count: 99,735
Status: Complete (\o/ Finally!)
It had been a couple of days since Ronthar had been admitted into the hospital and Marland hadn't seen him since then. Not that he expected to, and he wasn't expecting to see Ronthar after he had been discharged either - he had his memories, he had Fion, so why would he need to visit him? Apart from collecting his clothes, Marland amended.
Marland hadn't realised the flat was so quiet without another person there, and he realised he missed that the first night he'd woken up in his own bed and didn't hear Ronthar wandering around or watching the TV.
Pai had upped the number of times she visited him, coming back as soon as she was comfortable to be in the city again. It was nice seeing her so often, but when she wasn't there...
One thing that Marland hadn't expected was when he had bumped into Kendal one night after he'd gone shopping (he'd had to throw nearly all the food out in the fridge when he got back home - most of it had spoiled and the fridge still lingered with that off smell); she'd grinned and told him she needed to give him something, but she didn't have it on her, and she'd feel better if she brought it directly to his house. Feeling bewildered, he'd given her his address and then left, wondering what it was exactly. He hadn't left any anything at her house (he hadn't brought anything to her house), so what was it?
A few nights after that, Marland was startled when the buzzer had gone off when Pai was already over. They looked at each other and Marland had been about to ignore it as someone getting the wrong number when it buzzed again. He sighed as he walked over and hoped the person wouldn't be stubborn or drunk - except given the time, that didn't seem that likely.
"Yeah?" he grunted down the intercom.
"Yo. 'S me, Kendal."
Marland blinked at the receiver and then brought it back to his face. "Uh, it's open - I'm on the third floor." He opened his door and listened for the front door opening. When he heard the echo, he put the receiver back on its cradle.
It didn't take Kendal long to get up and Marland eyed the plastic bag in her hands. Whatever was inside it, there was a lot of them but they were kinda small as well. She held it up for him to grab before she turned to start going down the stairs again, waving a hand.
"It's all yours; have fun with it!"
Marland continued to stare until she was out of sight, though he could still hear her footsteps. Okay…? He opened the bag as he closed his door and Pai peered at it as well.
-'What is it?'-
There was a lot of envelopes, all looking full to the brim. Marland pulled one out and opened it. He gaped, his mouth dropping and his ears flattening when he saw what was inside it. He opened some of the others to see what was in them - they all had money in it.
"How is this mine?" He had been paid for every xeno he'd called in, and he hadn't been hunting since he got home - he'd been too tired and his reserves were fine for the moment.
Pai cocked her head to the side. -'How big was the reward for you and Ronthar?'-
Marland thought it over and then stared down at the bag again. He could not be carrying that amount in his hands right now! "Kendal called it in - the money's hers."
-'And if you didn't agree to be handed in, she wouldn't have it. And,'- she added, before Marland could argue that point, -'even then, she can spend or give it to who she wants, right?'-
He sighed, shaking his head. He couldn't go out and give it to her - and he wasn't going walk around with this amount of money on him on the off-chance he would bump into her again. Marland saw that there was a couple of papers nested between the envelopes and he pulled it out.
It wasn't a note addressed to him like he expected, but a form to register for a DT. Except she'd given him two by accident. Taking a deep breath, not even attempting to name the swirling emotions in his stomach, Marland went over to the table to start filling it out.
* * *
A few days later, Pai had gone home and Marland still hadn't quite finished filling out the DT forms yet. Not that the questions were hard to answer, but he knew he was just putting it off as an excuse to not get back to work again. He'd been getting exceedingly listless and he really doubted going out and killing xeni would help.
The buzzer rang and Marland flicked his ears towards it, debating if he should answer it - it was too soon for Pai to come back and he doubted Kendal would come around for a social visit. But, it would give him something to do other than feeling his brain become more and more numb in an attempt to save itself from the plotless movie he had started to watch.
"Yeah?"
"Yo. Got something else for ya." Marland cocked his head to the side when he recognised the voice. What else did Kendal have for him? He let her in and listened for her coming up the stairs.
She came up carefully, and Marland felt a little worried at the time it took her. If she'd been injured, why hadn't she asked someone else to bring it up?
He waited as Kendal took every step and paused in some places, a plastic bag rustling with every step. Eventually, Marland stuck his keys in his pockets and went down so she didn't have to come up any further than she had to.
Marland froze when he saw who it was.
It wasn't Kendal that was coming up the stairs; it was Ronthar.
"Hey," Ronthar said with a small smile, waving with his free hand. He looked paler than the last time Marland had seen him and he had dark smudges under his eyes.
"…Hey." Why was he - right, he was to get his clothes back. That was why he had a bag with him. Marland shoved the hurt and disappointment right down with clenched teeth. He didn't get why someone else hadn't collected Ronthar's clothes for him though.
With a shaky breath, Marland asked him, "Do you need some help?"
Ronthar nodded, the smile turning wry. "I'm not really supposed to exert myself that much."
Marland held out his arm and Ronthar held onto it while they made their way up the stairs in silence.
When they were inside the flat, Marland didn't look at Ronthar as he held the door open and waited for him to head straight for his room. Which he didn't. He glanced at Ronthar when he stayed where he was; Ronthar had an amused expression on his face as he leaned on the back of the couch with a sigh.
"Ronth…" Marland started, but stopped himself when Ronthar shook his head.
"Shodin."
Marland stared at him. What?
The smile widened. "I want to be called Shodin."
What?
"It's…" Ronth - Shod…Shodin? blew air through his teeth, the smile staying in place. "It's a new start - a new world, a new name. I think - that's how I want to be called from now on."
"But," Marland spluttered, "why do you want to called after a tree?"
Ronthar snickered. "As I said, it's a new start, so it would make sense to also have a new name."
"You already have a life here." Marland pointed out, not understanding him. With the woman with the red hair.
Ronthar shook his head as his smile faded slightly. "I wouldn't be able to find Saisha's house again and…I would prefer to stay here. I like it."
"Why…?" He didn't know what his question was supposed to be as his mind whirled. Why was he telling him this? If he was just going to leave…
There was a growl in his mind. -'He just said because he liked it.'-
Ronthar chuckled and then rolled his eyes. "Fion, shush," he chided.
-'It's not hard to understand,'- Fion grumbled. -'You want to be called Shodin and stay here.'-
"You…want to stay here?" Marland repeated weakly, his eyes wide.
Fion made an exasperated noise. -'Why else do you think we're here?'-
"Fion." When Fion didn't say anything else, Ronth…Shodin huffed. "He doesn't always understand that some answers to situations aren't as simple as 'yes' or 'no'."
Was this one? Marland shoved all his other thoughts to the side, especially his expectations - they were always wrong when it came to…Shodin. It was a bit of a struggle to stop them from colouring his views but…it really did all come down to one question: did he want Shodin to live with him?
The answer was yes.
He took a deep breath and closed the door. Shodin's eyes lit up and a bright grin that Marland hadn't seen for weeks widened across his face.
Shodin walked carefully to the kitchen and got a glass with easy familiarity. He made a face as he filled it with water and pulled out a small box from the plastic bag he was still carrying.
"My painkillers," he explained as he popped a white capsule out of the foil packaging. After he eventually swallowed it, he made another face. Huh. Their medicines really were similar then.
"So," Shodin said slowly as he turned his attention to the TV, "what're you watching?"
"A crap movie," Marland deadpanned. Even though Marland had no idea what had happened in it, the prospect of watching the movie no longer seemed so bad as it had been a couple of minutes ago.
Shodin snorted softly and they settled down to see if they could wrap their heads around the non-existent plot of this movie.
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