Breaking the Chains (Felix)

[Deleted]

Dirk remained quiet, whimpering as a wave of sadness washed over him. His breath still shaky and choked up, unburying his face from her shirt, smeared with tears as fresh ones streaked from his eyes. Giselle was right, just as Trega had been, he should move on and put an end to his suffering, it was the sensible right thing to do. And yet Dirk could not find the courage to let go of the past. ’How, can I move on? She was always there, such a large part of my life, I cannot remember a day before then that I did not see her beautiful face or hear her amazing voice. How? Knowing I can never hear or see her again in this lifetime, except for in my nightmares.”

Dirk lifted his head from her shoulder, his eyes closed; try as he might to hold back the flood of tears there was no stopping them. Slowly opening his eyes to look sadly into Giselle’s he continued. “I know she would say move on, find someone who would make me happy. But how do I find someone else… when I know without a shred of doubt…”

[Deleted]

Again, her hands touched his face, wiping away the tears with a calmness that many had not seen from the woman. Giselle stayed quiet, as though she were merely thinking of a simple problem to solve, rather than something as large as this. When she had wiped them from his face as best you could, Giselle wiped the tears on the shirt she was wearing, brushing the hair out of his face as well. He needed help more than she had at the moment, more than she would probably ever need.

"I didn't say that you have to find someone else, Dirk. I had not meant it like that." She smiled, pushing the strands of hair atop his head, smiling gently. "You need to let her go. You need to forgive yourself, Dirk, you need to free her of he bonds that you have on her in this world. Do you understand what I mean now, brave traveller?" She smiled, drawing the man close again, reassuring him, holding Dirk as he sobbed, gentle and motherly to the man that had so willingly sheltered her not a day before. "Without a doubt, you need to move on. Let her go, Dirk, otherwise if there is an afterlife, you will not enjoy her fully. She will haunt you, and Rose would not wish for you to remember her in such a way. Think of good times long since passed, not of the brutal ending to them."

[Deleted]

Dirk had understood her, he knew what she had meant, but there had to be more than he let on. If there was, Dirk wasn’t saying anything. He didn’t say anything at all as they sat there for what seemed like forever. The tears had stopped flowing, he would eventually quit shaking, and slowly the warrior was putting the pieces back of his fragile mind. He sat there, with his eyes closed, thinking of happier times. Dirk remained there for a whole two hours, quiet and distant. It would have been nearly dark before he showed any signs of himself.

He was thinking of one day back at the Abby; when himself and another childhood friend were exploring the surrounding area, even though they weren’t old enough to leave the Abby grounds. It was hard to concentrate on anything, he had a headache from the flood of emotions, only now had he really paid any attention to it, for it had been hammering away quite some time, a pounding pressure at the forefront of his mind, a feeling like someone was trying to force their way in. “Trega?” Dirk said aloud. Relief settled over him as the Ancient and vast mind of his partner entered his mind. ”Finally! I have been trying to reach you for hours now; a wall of emotions that I could not breach blocked your mind. What has happened, are you hurt?”

”Giselle and I are fine, it was just… a bad dream” Dirk would say out loud again, having a one sided conversation with thin air. There was an instantaneous transfer of information between the partners, and a sense of guilt, disappointment, and anger came from the dragon. “Forgive me Dirk, I should not have let that green bandit persuade me into breaking the link. He wanted me to assist him in his job.”

“It’s the least we can do for letting us stay in his house”
“Siris is on his way back, and you remind him that if I ever catch him, I will burn his hair black.”

[Deleted]

The woman, for however she had behaved before, waited out the two hours with Dirk patiently. He had finally confessed to her the burden he carried, and that, she knew, was one of the first steps in recovery. However, Giselle would not say that aloud to hm. When the man spoke once more, she smiled, knowing that man and dragin were reunited. Giselle didn't feel bad for listening to the man, seeing as he was the one speaking aloud. Knowing they were talking of Siris, the girl smiled, rising, before deciding against it and sitting down again, gently wrapping her arm around his shoulder, holding Dirk securely. The oher hand stroked his hair in a reassuring manner.

Giselle, when he had finished speaking aloud, now took her turn to speak. "Let's get you cleaned up, eh? I don't think Siris will be too fond of us if we had a moment on his couch and got his clothes all salty."

[Deleted]

Dirk smiled as he wiped the moisture from his face, feeling a tad embarrassed by the last few hours. Glancing at her shirt, which had a large dark stain across the shoulder where his tears had soaked into it, and laughed, even though he still felt horrible. Dirk looked at Giselle and wraps his own arm around her, giving her a one-armed hug, resting his head on her shoulder again for a moment. "Thank you Giselle, this is far more than I ever deserve.” He said.

“All you needed was a shoulder to cry upon, but you were to stubborn and prideful to let anyone help carry your burden. Even the strongest of warriors need someone to comfort them. Look at Martin, he had no lover, but he had many friends, some old and some young. They relied on him to keep their homes safe, and he relied on them to keep him whole. The young ones made him laugh when he was sad, the old gave him wisdom when he was uncertain, and his companions stood at Martin’s side through the worst of the worst. Even as he died as an old man with no wife at his side, his friends were always there until the very end, in sprit and the flesh” The dragon was happy that Dirk finally confided his troubles to someone, but she did not like the close proximity the two humans shared, and she would let Dirk know of this, but was ignored by him.

“Well, lets get cleaned up before Siris gets back” Dirk said, wiping his face once again and standing up with Giselle, suddenly noticing the baggy cargo pants she found. ”Hey, you found something that might actually fit me!”

[Deleted]

The girl smiled at Dirk, especially as he told her that the pants might fit. Of course, Giselle didn't know what Trega, or if the dragon was still talking to Dirk, but she accepted the silnce between them with good grace. "You're welcome, Dirk," she murmured, smiling softly at him, eyes lowering after an instant. "It's the least I can do for you." Giselle was talking about the whole fact that she would probably have been beaten half to death if the Lycans had found her. However, Dirk had kept the three of them safe through the night, and this place was a stronghold for the humans.

"Oh! Yes, I found them for you. They looked your size," Giselle said, smiling, now in a better mood. She held them up, before handing the pants to the man. "I hope they fit, they might not.." she said, appraising the clothes, before sighing and shrugging. "Yes, let's get cleaned up. A washcloth and some cold water will do you good. When will Siris be home?" Soft spoken, Giselle was moving around the kitchen area, cleaning and straightening up the place as best she could. Since there was nothing else for the woman to do, she had taken to cleaning to stop from shaking and pacing.

"Well? Go ahead, get going to the bathroom unless you want to answer questions from him!"

[Deleted]

Dirk folded up the pants and chuckled. Biting his lip as he fought back a dirty thought, and receiving a mental slap from Trega. He walked over to the kitchen sink and ran some cold water filling the sink half way. Tossing the pants on a chair, Dirk would grip the sides and look at his reflection, as if trying to see if he somehow looked different, cause he sure felt different. Finally he took a deep breath and dunked his head under the water, playfully blowing air bubbles before pulling his head out, letting the water run back into the sink, gasping as it ran down his body. Shaking his head and shivering as a towel was thrown over his head.

In the distant silence, a voice could be heard, a nice well tuned voice, singing a song, growing steadily louder.
Babe, I'm gonna leave you
I said babe, you know I'm gonna leave you
Leave you in the sum-mer time
Leave you when the summer comes a rollin
Leave you when the summer comes along!
Babe, babe, babe, I'm gonna leave you
I an't joking woman I've got to ramble
I can hear it calling me the way it used to
I can hear it calling me back hoooommme!

Siris slipped into the house, still humming away the tune. Throwing his cloak on the hat rack and tossing a bag of rattling gold coins on the table next to Giselle. "Here's some money" He said and held up a couple of bags. "I might have gotten the sizes a bit wrong, but they should fit you Giselle."

[Deleted]

The excitement in her voice was barely contained, and Giselle was very tempted to hug him. Unfortunately for Siris, she did, throwing her arms around him, though it wasn't before she mentally cursed Dirk for making her a sap right now. "Thank you, Siris!" She gave him a squeeze, smiling and trying not to cry. She never thought that such a simple thing would bring the woman such joy, but at the moment, it did. As well, it didn't take Giselle too long to pull away, snatching the bags from him gently, delving through them, picking out and laughing to herself, smiling throughout the whole thing.

Giselle, when she had finished her examination and the simple act of going through the clothes was finished, she checked out the money. "Thanks, though I don't think I'll be getting to use it. Looks like it's confinement for me.." the woman murmured, almost to herself, before looking to the bags. "Siris, where should I put them?" It was obvious that such a little thing from the man had warmed her up to him almost instantly. Despite the fact that Giselle was a former slave, the woman was pleased at her turn of events, though it would be precarious livings from now on. They all knew it, and life her would be dangerous. But, then again, Giselle had nowhere else to go, nobody else to turn to.

[Deleted]

((opps I forgot to put Siris' accent in ))

Siris would not be able to answer, for Dirk stepped around Giselle and pinned Siris to the wall with his arm. "How nice of you Siris, did you get that money by using my dragon for your plans!?" Dirk growled. The theif let out a tiny squeak and kicked the warrior in the shins to get him off. Fixing his clothes and his bandanna, Siris would turn several of the locks on his door, the paranoid person he was, Siris never took chances. "Why yes Dirk ah did, ah needed some kind of diversion, and a real life dragon worked great!" Siris said with a bit of a huff before sitting down at the table. "Sorry ah didn't ask, but ah thought Trega was her own Dragon. Oh... just put them where you can get them Giselle."

Dirk glared at Siris for a moment before chuckling quietly. "Yea... I suppose she is" Dirk was happy to see Giselle so excited and happy, for she deserved some happiness in her live after living it as a slave for god knows what. "Well why don't you go and try some of them out. I can see that you're just dieing to."

[Deleted]

(( Hehe, not a porblem. ))

If Dirk had not let go of Siris when he had, the woman would have more than likely stepped in. After all, his intentions were good, weren't they? It was okay for him to use Trega, Siris did have a point. But then again, Dirk had a right to be annoyed with the man for going behind his back with such things. She smiled as he locked the door, with numerous locks and bolts upon it. Well, Giselle had to give the guy that; at least he wasn't simply letting things run amuck. Giselle looked to the bags, then up at Dirk. It was a somewhat sort of pleasure written on her face, as well as uncertainty at how to react. Things like this hadn't happened in ages, and she was lost in reverie for but a moment.

"Really? Okay, then I'll be back in a bit."

From there, the woman entered the single bedroom with the bags, trying on clothes, and eventually coming out with a barely used bag. "These ones didn't fit," she said. "They were too big on me." However, Giselle was dressed in a snug pair of jeans, as well as a graphic tank top. It was pleasent not to have to wear a uniform, to be your own person again, and Giselle knew that. "But we can keep them and see if I can grow into them, if you'd like. Or, you can make another run and take them back?"

[Deleted]

"Nah, yew just leave em here, Ah'm sure someone else can use them when the times comes." Siris said after swallowing a mouth full of food. The thief had been busy making a meal of scrambled eggs, fried ham, and toast for himself, and he was in the process of finishing it off when Giselle returned with the bag of clothes. There was sure to be plenty more slaves come through Siris to their freedom eventually, that was of course if the safe house wasn't compromised at some point, and it did happen from time to time. With a loud yawn and a large stretch, Siris got up from the table going for the fridge. Grabbing a bottle of Desjarno liqueur, which had barely a few drinks from it, he poured himself a splash in a glass and put the bottle back in the fridge. Taking the shot, landing the glass on the counter with a loud clack, screwing up his face and smacking his lips, "Ahh, nothing like a shot of alcohol to put a person to bed. Well, g'night yew two, Ah got two hours of sleep this morning before yew showed up banging at mah door, Ah'm dead tired" Without another word he would walk into his bed room, shutting the door behind himself, there was a loud thump from behind the wall as Siris leaped onto his bed and became dead to the world… sort of.

Dirk was too busy cooking to pay much attention, creating his own meal of scrambled eggs and ham, except Dirk would add more flavor to the eggs by adding some vanilla to the eggs before tossing it into the already hot pan. As everything cooked, he took a glance at Giselle and smiled, “You look… good.” Dirk said softly, probably spending to much time taking in her new outfit than he should have. Realizing it, whether or not Giselle did, Dirk looked away rather quickly and worked on cooking the food. “I made extra incase you wanted some.” He said while flopping a slice of ham onto a plate, followed by the eggs and slice of toast, loading the rest onto another plate. Dirk set the plates down on the table and flicked on the light hanging from the ceiling before sitting down to eat.

[Deleted]

The girl smiled and nodded, knowing that Siris would have others besides themselves coming in. Giselle waved Siris off, smiling to herself some more. "Alright, I'll just put them over here then. You should really clean this place," she said, her words trailing off as Siris' door shut. The woman shook her head, both at him at and at herself. She sounded like she was his mother, and these two were probably older than her by far. Not noticing the other man's stare, she nodded, settling down at the table, the woman began to dig in as well. This was something far better than Giselle had ever wanted or ever had in ages. Giselle slowly ate, enjoying the silence for what it was worth. "Mm, these are really good, Dirk. Home cooked meals are better by far than soupy meat."

The woman stood, heading to the fridge and pouring herself some orange juice. Giselle loved fruits, it was a small quirk of hers. "Do you want anything to drink, Dirk?"

[Deleted]

Dirk had to agree with her, the place was a little messy, but he knew that since Siris was here only to sleep, and perhaps to hide, the thief was never around enough to bother cleaning the place. Dirk didn't mind, his room back at the Abby was much worse than this. Dirk almost forgot his manners, he was ready to scarf down the food like a hunger-ravished wolf, until remembering that he was eating with someone else and slowed himself down. At the question of drink, Dirk’s mind wandered to having some of what Siris had, only having more than a tiny shot. Then he caught Giselle’s eye and decided against it, the last thing he needed was getting too drunk and making a fool of himself by trying to impress Giselle, and then Siris would have new ammunition for their never-ending war of taunting one another, not to mention the scolding he’d likely get from Trega. ”Er… I’ll have some water… please.” Dirk said before taking a bite of his fried ham. “It isn’t often I get to cook on a stove, so cooking is one of my more hidden talents I guess. When I grew up at the Abby, I used to always be in the kitchens helping Chef Tuck with a lot of things he did. Heh, people used to say I paid more attention to cooking than I did to my sword training, but sword training was soooo boring. Hit the dummy, hit the dummy, and hit the dummy. Giving us a bunch of sticks and letting us wail on each other would’ve been better training than that.

“One must always learn the basics.” Trega cooed in his head, to which Dirk responded out loud again. ”Yea, I brushed the basics, but dummies don’t fight back.”

[Deleted]

She filled him up a glass of water, with three ice cubes, walking over to the table, setting it near him before sitting across from the man again. She smiled as he recalled his younger days. Giselle laughed at his mocking of the training. "Well now Dirk, if the instructor did give you stick and letting you all form a mosh pit would have trained you better, you would have learned very little. It's mostly muscle memory, from what I understand. If you-" From there, the female human was cut off by Dirk, who responded to Trega aloud. She held bac k a small laugh at how the dragon so easily rebuked the man.

"You tell him," she murmured, more to herself than anything else. "Either way, Dirk, your cooking is great. You should teach me sometime."

[Deleted]

How could this be? They were both against him, this wasn’t very fair Dirk thought to himself. He sat there with half a scowl on his face, mostly directed at Trega for bringing up “The Basics”. ”See even the untrained understands more than you think” Trega would say, but Dirk would ignore her as he munched down some food. Nodding to Giselle when she commented about teaching her how to cook, “I’ll gladly teach you how to cook, and –“

Cut off by the sudden hollow pounding at the door, followed by a raspy and cracked voice, “Ooh Sirisss, we know yer in dere.” Immediately after the door to his room whipped open, Siris was slipping his vest of throwing daggers back on with gun in hand. Yet Dirk was first to the door, making sure to step loudly and make himself as big sounding as possible. Leaning against the door he would peer out the peek hole and stare into the cold faces of three dark-skinned men. Using the deepest most fierce voice Dirk could muster, he would growl at them through the door, “I dun’t know eny Siris! Ah bought this place from a man named Claude, and tis only meself and mah wife. Now git lost, we’re trying ta make a kid!” Looking back at Siris, who was busy stuffing Dirk’s bag full of miscellaneous food items, disregarding any proper sorting method. ”What did you do now?!” Dirk hissed before having a hoodie thrown in his face.

The thief shrugged as he buckled up the stuffed bag and went to a cabinet, opening it up to reveal two small SMGs and extra clips. “What didn’t Ah do, would be the question.” Siris whispered, loading one of the SMGs and handing it off to Dirk, which was small enough it looked tiny in Dirk’s large hands, and he looked at it if asking the question; what am I supposed to do with this? Siris was to busy loading up his own to notice. When he was done, Siris held out his .45 to Giselle, “I’m not asking you to use it, but just incase Dirk and I can’t get to you.”