Like her companion, Garnet was quiet, lost in the thoughts of what was to come. It had all seemed surreal when they'd been sent ahead, and it had only gotten stranger; filling out paper work, getting their photos taken. They'd been issued ID's, birth-certificates, everything they would need to efficiently blend-in with earth society, without suspicion. But that wasn't what Garnet was looking through at the moment. All the government issued documents had been stashed away, and in Garnet's hands was one of Odd's manuscripts. She hadn't had the heart to read any of them yet.
She wondered idly, if she ever would.
Silently, she tucked the manuscript in question back into the bag with the rest of them, and pulled her legs up to her knees. Her gaze wandered to the ceiling, up and back, until she was falling back into the pillows of her too-hard hotel bed.
"It's so strange... seeing all those places we'd passed by so many times, and they're all in one piece. Active... well taken care of... thriving," she murmured, and looked at Raiel from the corner of her eye. "It's almost as though none of it ever happened."
"Yeah." It came out sounding breathless and he wondered when he'd stopped breathing. He reminded himself to start again, and added, "Yeah, it's surreal. It's like this thing that took up six months of our lives wasn't even real."
It was real, though, or else he'd still be back in Europe, on a boat across the Morend Channel to Easter Bend. He frowned, staring down at the carpeting. "According to the rest of the world here, it wasn't real. It never happened. I don't even know how to feel about that."
Garnet was silent for a long moment, studying the rough stucco ceiling. Now that it was all over, she'd had time to think back on everything that happened. When she'd arrived, she'd been barefoot and disoriented in the dead of winter. She'd never forget the feel of snow against bare feet, or when she'd learned what Christmas was. Those had been only the beginning. She remembered hours spent in half-broken pews, looking up at broken statues.
"...Before we leave this Manhattan... I want to go see the Cathedral," said Garnet, as she hugged a pillow.
The Cathedral. He remembered that she'd been staying there for a while, what felt like ages ago. He remembered helping with the repairs when the spire had fallen through the roof in the wake of one of the monsters. He remembered meeting there to discuss the Roosevelt Island rescue.
"Okay," he said, rising to his feet. He walked over to hold a hand down to her. "Let's go."
"Right now?" she asked, surprised, still clutching the pillow. Slowly, she released her grip, and reached for his extended hand. "But, you're tired aren't you. We don't have to go right this minute," she added.
He smiled as he pulled her up, though it was a bit weary and not very bright. "Why not right now? I don't think we'll have much time if we want to go later."
Garnet paused, perched on the edge of the bed, her hand still in his. He had a point though; for all she knew, they'd be shipped off first thing in the morning. There wouldn't be time, and now that she'd gotten the idea in her head, she couldn't get it out.
"Alright..." she replied softly, nodding belatedly, and finally sliding her hand from his.
Rising from the bed, Garnet passed the bag of manuscripts, her brown leather bag she'd had since day one of Manhattan, itself filled with the assorted collection of clothing she'd acquired during her stay. Her rain boots -- the only shoes she'd ever really used in Manhattan -- were at the end of her bed, where she'd kicked them off not half an hour prior. It was spring in Manhattan now, but they were her only good shoes, so she pulled them back on, rolling the bottoms of her jeans, and pulling them down to hide the majority of the rubber.
Raiel had no preparations to make, himself. He just checked his pockets for the key card he'd been given for the room and then waited by the door for Garnet. Once she was ready, he held it open for her, and they set out.
Down the hallway, down six flights of stairs (without word as to why they were avoiding the elevator; that was just natural for Raiel), and out of the hotel onto the street.
He had to pause there for a moment. It was strange, seeing a familiar Manhattan street bustle with activity. It was like the way people had milled about in Sforzando, with only the normal stresses of life on their shoulders, without the pressure of death looming at every corner.
Like Sforzando.. Like Alexandria, like Lindblum, the hustle and bustle of normal people, going about normal lives. The streets were smooth and crammed with vehicles on wheels, rather than broken and upturned, or full of craters. The lobbies of hotels were bright, and beautiful, with people behind counters, walking through hallways...
It was so alive, she hadn't realized how dead and dreary their former Manhattan had been. Instinctively, Garnet inched up beside Raiel, evaluating the street. It was familiar, and yet not.
Out of habit, Garnet reached into her pocket. She startled, surprised to realized that what she habitually expected to be there, in fact was. She withdrew the crumbled, worn and torn square of paper, and began delicately unfolding it. Her old map, complete with all the corrective markings of blocked streets and downed buildings.
He caught sight of her unfolding the map out of the corner of his eye (a rare thing these days), and turned to see.
"Oh, you still have that?" He leaned in to look over her shoulder at the marks on the map. He remembered days spent roaming the city, editing his own map; his hand slid into his coat pocket, where he still kept it. He stepped back, smiling. "Do you remember when I told you to borrow my map so you could copy it?"
Garnet nodded, the faintest of smiles on her lips. "I copied every mark. But I had trouble keeping up with everything," she said, looking it over. She looked for the street they were on, but before she could find it, the hotel door opened behind her.
"Hey lady, move it, yer blockin' the sidewalk," came a gruff voice. The middle-aged man it belonged to push his way out from behind her, and Garnet skittered to the side on nervous feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, to which she only received a muttered whatever as the man continued on without so much as a look back.
"People here seem a bit... rushed," she said quietly.
There was a brief flash of primal, instinctive fury which made Raiel want to shout back something like "Don't you talk to my girlfriend like that!" but he held it back. He compensated by taking Garnet's hand and pulling her toward him and directing a glare at the guy instead.
Close enough.
"Yeah," he said, glare fading as he turned back to her. "Let's get moving, I'm pretty sure I know where we are."
Raiel's movement startled her almost as much as the stranger's had, and as far as Raiel's glare... well, these people didn't have eyes in the back of their heads, so his target did not notice.
"Alright... this way, you think?" she asked, pointing down the sidewalk.
He glanced up at the street and down the way she was pointing. "Yeah." It was actually slightly longer than the path he'd been mapping out, but he didn't want to correct her. Better to let her think she was right, it wasn't like an extra block or so was a big deal.
His hand slipped away from hers as he started walking, purely out of habit. If he'd been thinking about it, he would've kept hold of her.
Getting around in this Manhattan was significantly more difficult. There were crowds to be mindful of, signals to wait for, moving hazards to avoid. Thankfully, they weren't terribly far from the Cathedral and Raiel remembered the way well enough. It wasn't long before he recognized it looming in the landscape.
Garnet had taken many routes to the Cathedral, but none had ever been quite like this. she wasn't used to these aircabs-on-wheels that seemed quite willing to run them over without a second though. It wasn't very long before Garnet's hand was seeking out The sleeve of Raiel's coat; anything to hang on to.
When it finally came into view, Garnet's steps slowed. Not a single sign of damage, repaired or otherwise. The cathedral was in near pristine condition, and the sight of it had her pausing.
She remembered the streets covered in half-melted snow, and the chill in her bones. The kindness of strangers, and the first time she'd been inside that building...
and the realization it wasn't this building she had been in before.
When her fingers caught onto his sleeve, he overthought it. Should he take her hand? It would be easier to keep him with her that way, but maybe it wasn't what she wanted. But she was his girlfriend, wasn't she? He could do things like that. It was perfectly normal, right? Right. Ah. ...Right. So he did slide his hand over hers, but there was a very long delay before it.
But, since he had decided to take her hand, he noticed when she paused at the sight of the Cathedral, and he stopped as well. But he didn't glance back at her. He didn't trust himself to keep a nosebleed at bay if he actually let his head put two and two together on the fact that he was holding Garnet's hand. Instead, he looked up at the Cathedral, trying to ignore the warmth of her fingers against his.
"It's so different," he said, a quiet observation, barely above a whisper.
She wondered idly, if she ever would.
Silently, she tucked the manuscript in question back into the bag with the rest of them, and pulled her legs up to her knees. Her gaze wandered to the ceiling, up and back, until she was falling back into the pillows of her too-hard hotel bed.
"It's so strange... seeing all those places we'd passed by so many times, and they're all in one piece. Active... well taken care of... thriving," she murmured, and looked at Raiel from the corner of her eye. "It's almost as though none of it ever happened."
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It was real, though, or else he'd still be back in Europe, on a boat across the Morend Channel to Easter Bend. He frowned, staring down at the carpeting. "According to the rest of the world here, it wasn't real. It never happened. I don't even know how to feel about that."
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"...Before we leave this Manhattan... I want to go see the Cathedral," said Garnet, as she hugged a pillow.
Reply
"Okay," he said, rising to his feet. He walked over to hold a hand down to her. "Let's go."
Reply
"Right now?" she asked, surprised, still clutching the pillow. Slowly, she released her grip, and reached for his extended hand. "But, you're tired aren't you. We don't have to go right this minute," she added.
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"Alright..." she replied softly, nodding belatedly, and finally sliding her hand from his.
Rising from the bed, Garnet passed the bag of manuscripts, her brown leather bag she'd had since day one of Manhattan, itself filled with the assorted collection of clothing she'd acquired during her stay. Her rain boots -- the only shoes she'd ever really used in Manhattan -- were at the end of her bed, where she'd kicked them off not half an hour prior. It was spring in Manhattan now, but they were her only good shoes, so she pulled them back on, rolling the bottoms of her jeans, and pulling them down to hide the majority of the rubber.
Reply
Down the hallway, down six flights of stairs (without word as to why they were avoiding the elevator; that was just natural for Raiel), and out of the hotel onto the street.
He had to pause there for a moment. It was strange, seeing a familiar Manhattan street bustle with activity. It was like the way people had milled about in Sforzando, with only the normal stresses of life on their shoulders, without the pressure of death looming at every corner.
He was one of those people, now.
It was an odd feeling.
Reply
It was so alive, she hadn't realized how dead and dreary their former Manhattan had been. Instinctively, Garnet inched up beside Raiel, evaluating the street. It was familiar, and yet not.
Out of habit, Garnet reached into her pocket. She startled, surprised to realized that what she habitually expected to be there, in fact was. She withdrew the crumbled, worn and torn square of paper, and began delicately unfolding it. Her old map, complete with all the corrective markings of blocked streets and downed buildings.
Reply
"Oh, you still have that?" He leaned in to look over her shoulder at the marks on the map. He remembered days spent roaming the city, editing his own map; his hand slid into his coat pocket, where he still kept it. He stepped back, smiling. "Do you remember when I told you to borrow my map so you could copy it?"
Reply
"Hey lady, move it, yer blockin' the sidewalk," came a gruff voice. The middle-aged man it belonged to push his way out from behind her, and Garnet skittered to the side on nervous feet.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized, to which she only received a muttered whatever as the man continued on without so much as a look back.
"People here seem a bit... rushed," she said quietly.
Reply
Close enough.
"Yeah," he said, glare fading as he turned back to her. "Let's get moving, I'm pretty sure I know where we are."
Reply
"Alright... this way, you think?" she asked, pointing down the sidewalk.
Reply
His hand slipped away from hers as he started walking, purely out of habit. If he'd been thinking about it, he would've kept hold of her.
Getting around in this Manhattan was significantly more difficult. There were crowds to be mindful of, signals to wait for, moving hazards to avoid. Thankfully, they weren't terribly far from the Cathedral and Raiel remembered the way well enough. It wasn't long before he recognized it looming in the landscape.
Reply
When it finally came into view, Garnet's steps slowed. Not a single sign of damage, repaired or otherwise. The cathedral was in near pristine condition, and the sight of it had her pausing.
She remembered the streets covered in half-melted snow, and the chill in her bones. The kindness of strangers, and the first time she'd been inside that building...
and the realization it wasn't this building she had been in before.
Reply
But, since he had decided to take her hand, he noticed when she paused at the sight of the Cathedral, and he stopped as well. But he didn't glance back at her. He didn't trust himself to keep a nosebleed at bay if he actually let his head put two and two together on the fact that he was holding Garnet's hand. Instead, he looked up at the Cathedral, trying to ignore the warmth of her fingers against his.
"It's so different," he said, a quiet observation, barely above a whisper.
Reply
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