Chasing the Dragon [Castle, Arc]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Lazy Afternoons
July 30, 2010
--

Considering Twilight Town's constant sunset, Emi wasn't exactly sure what time it was anymore. So before she jumped out of the gummi ship, she looked at the clock. It was morning time. She leaned back in her chair. If things had gone the way they should have, she would have been walking to school right now. Suddenly, she felt kind of...sad. Back then, she hadn't really liked school but now she was wondering what she was missing. Probably nothing important- tests and uncomfortable school uniform blazers in the middle of summer. Oh wait... that was right. It was summer time, so everyone was out of school now. Everyone but her would probably be at the beach. If things had gone right, she would probably be still in bed and then off to an all day piano practice.

As she jumped out of the gummi ship, she started to think about what things would be like if she had stayed in Twilight Town and things had gone the way they did and not the way they should have. First of all, she might be dead. Second of all... well, she didn't really want to think about it. She was here to fix things, repay debts... not dwell on stuff that was in the past. She couldn't change it now.

She looked over her shoulder. "Heeeeey, Castle![/color]" she screamed. "Hurry up, we don't have all day![/color]"

[Castle]

Castle emerged more slowly from the ship and yawned behind his hand. He hadn't slept well the night (or whatever time period they chose to sleep during in space) before, and he was still groggy. He had a lot of weird dreams throughout the past few days, none of which he really remembered, but the most recent one must've been a killer because it felt like he hadn't slept at all.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." he mumbled.

However, as soon as the fresh air and perpetual sunset light hit his face, a great deal of his tiredness fell away. He blinked a few times and looked up at the sky. A small flock of white and gray pigeons flew overhead. He traced their path with his eyes until he was facing downhill, and from that angle he had a better look at the blazing orange horizon beyond the multitude of buildings.

He hadn't seen a sunset, or sunrise, for what felt like a very long time. He had to admit, this was pretty magnificent.

"Twilight Town," he said quietly, finally registering what this place was named for, "Right."

He turned back to Emi. "So, how long did you say you lived here, again?" he asked, even though he wasn't sure if she'd actually mentioned it before.

[Administrator]

The Ways lead me to where I am needed.

Looking around, Arc seemed to have found himself in Twilight Town. He could remember having been here before, but he did not remember when...nor could he remember who he met. It must not have been quite that important if he could not remember. Taking a step forward, Arc let himself wander throughout the town, searching for the reason he was here.

It seemed to him that most of the inhabitants were not currently there. The rest of Twilight Town's occupants were trying their collective best to ignore him. The ones that could not quite curb their curiosity managed to sneak glances every so often, thinking themselves quite sly, when the dragon-man noticed each and every glance, and tried his hardest not to sigh.

It never changed. Though it had become much better over time, the looks that the townspeople of various settlements didn't change much. Over time, they managed to disguise it better, but it remained much the same. The looks of confusion, of curiosity; the looks of sheer disgust. Arc did not mind the disgust as much as one other look he received; the look of pity. They pitied him, as though he had been cursed with his form.

And so, it was thus that Arc was walking and ignoring the general looks from the general populace.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Ahh, memories.
--

Emi was already leaving, making her way out of the back alley. She rounded the corner and was faced with a hill. "I forgot how much I freakin' hate this hill,[/color]" she said and came to a stop to wait for Castle to catch up. She knew this hill well. She had walked up it every day on her way back from school, from grade two to grade eight.. after then, she didn't go to school anymore. Castle caught up and it was then that Emi answered his question.

"Well, let's see. I was seven when I got here, and sixteen when I left so...[/color]

She counted on her fingers. "What, like nine years? Something like that.[/color]" She glanced up the hill and groaned. She supposed it was best to go ahead and start making their way up to it. "We'll have to take the tram when we get up there,[/color]" she told Castle. She laughed a little to herself, suddenly remembering that tram ride home every afternoon. She would sit by herself and watch the town go by in the window. The last time she had been on the tram was when she was sixteen and leaving for good... that seemed like a very long time ago.

As they went up the hill, she looked over her shoulder at him. "We're going to where I used to live. You want to meet my foster parents?[/color]" It didn't surprise her that the way to her old home came back to her instantly. Nine years of walking the path every day made it easy to remember. She almost didn't have to think about it. It was as if her feet knew the way, or she had some kind of homing device.

[Castle]

Castle, distracted by the sky again even after he'd asked her a question, ended up having to jog to catch up to her. The hill was pretty steep, but then again, he wasn't used to dealing with hills on a regular basis. Traverse Town was pretty much flat, and Radiant Garden had a lot of stairs. This place looked like it was practically made of slopes.

He watched Emi count on her fingers, adding up to nine. So she'd lived here for nine years, huh. Between today and the day they left the Pride Lands, a whole new dimension was opening up out of Emi's previously closed and mysterious past. He'd never thought about her having parents, let alone foster parents. She was always just Emi, on her own. It didn't occur to him, before now, that she was only a little older than he was, and that the life she lived in the past would have happened in her childhood.

"Sure," he said. He actually did want to meet them. He was curious as to what the people who raised Emi for nine years were like. "You met my mom, so I guess it's only fair," he added with a little grin. Then he snickered. "Hope I make a better first impression than the one you gave my mom. I think I convinced her that you're all right, though," he teased.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I <3 trains.
--

Emi blushed. Yes, she had met his mom but not under very good circumstances and honestly Emi couldn't even remember her. She felt like she wanted to dissolve. So embarrassing... "I hope you make a better first impression, too,[/color]" she told Castle.

They finally made it to the top of the hill and walked into the station. No need to buy tickets. The city line was still free. She smiled a little bit, liking the fact that at least that had stayed the same. She wasn't sure if Castle had ever been on a train but judging from the way he kept staring at the sky (oh yeah, he was from a world constantly at night like this was was constantly at sunset) he was in for a treat. They boarded the tram and Emi sat down facing forward with her hands at her side.

Wow. Lots of things went through her mind and she went through a quick cycle of emotions. Things in this town were more familiar to her than in Radiant Garden. She'd lived here longer, and at an age when she could actually remember things. In way this was home, even if she insisted Radiant Garden was home. Sitting in the tram filled her with all sorts of memories. Some of them were good, some of them were bad. In the end though, they were just memories.

She looked out the window. "The house isn't far from the stop. Wow. Seeing them after nearly three years is going to be weird. I'm not sure what to say to them... we kind of were on bad terms when I left. I hope they can forgive me.[/color]"

[Castle]

He expected her to at least get annoyed with him. It didn't happen. She just looked really embarrassed. Somehow, that took the fun out of the tease. Maybe the new, less spastically violent Emi wasn't someone to pick on so much. He'd been holding back before for a different reason, one that centered more around self-preservation, but that did not appear relevant anymore.

It was a weird change, but he wasn't about to complain.

They made it to the station. Castle had only seen trains, trams or otherwise in books before, and seeing one in person was kind of exciting. He tried not to look too thrilled as they boarded, but it was hard. He sat down across from Emi and turned his head in every direction in an attempt to take it all in at once.

Emi seemed anxious about seeing her parents again. Castle didn't blame her. He obviously didn't know how she felt, but he got the basic idea. He finally settled back in the seat and crossed his arms loosely over his waist.

"Don't worry too much. You can't just not see them, right?" he said.

He looked out the window at the sunset (sunrise?) again, though he wasn't completely ignoring her.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

What? Really? Ugh....
--

"Yeah, I guess you're right,[/color]" Emi replied, after a moment's thought. The tram stopped and they got off. Emi lead her new friend down the street and up the steps to the front door of a small house. And then she stopped. Froze was a better word for it, with her hand on the doorbell. She wasn't sure who would answer, or if they would recognize her... or even if her foster parents even still lived here. She tried to make herself look presentable. She straightened her jacket, smoothed her hair... thought about taking her ear piercings out but didn't. Her shirt was a little embarrassing but nothing could be done about that now.

"Well. Here goes nothing,[/color]" she said quietly, and rang the bell. There was a moment of silence and then Emi heard foot steps. It was almost enough to send her running down the street, screaming, but she stayed where she was.

A younger woman answered the door and Emi was confused. A million questions went through her mind as she stared at the blond. Who was this? Did her foster parents still live here? Had they adopted another child. Emi shook her head. "I'm looking for Mr. and Mrs. Abernathy,[/color]" she told the woman. "Do they still live here?[/color]"

Now it was the blond woman's turn to be confused. She nodded. "Yes, they still live here. But they're away on vacation right now, they won't be back until late next week. Would you like to leave a message?"

Emi's heart sunk. They couldn't possibly wait the whole week for them to return. She felt a little sick now but told the lady who answered the door- who was she anyway?- "Yeah, I'll leave a message.[/color]"

The blond gave Emi and Castle a once over and stepped out of the way. "Why don't you come in?" she said warily. Emi nodded and walked inside. The house still looked the same. Smelled the same. The blond had more questions. "What did you say your name was again?" she asked. Emi rolled her eyes. "I didn't say, but it's Emi. Emiline. I was their foster kid for a while...[/color]" she said, but trailed off. The blond nodded. "Oh. Okay. I'm their housekeeper, Charlotte. Here's the memo pad."

Charlotte handed Emi a notepad and a pen and then excused herself, promising to be right back. Emi looked over and Castle and shrugged. Things weren't working out as planned, but she actually preferred this. She would write them a letter and explain herself and she wouldn't have to see them face to face.

She leaned over a small end table and started writing. She kept it short, sweet and to the point. Hey- I just came by to say I'm sorry for everything. You guys didn't deserve that. I went back where I came from and I'm okay now. I'll be in Radiant Garden if you want to come by and visit. -Emiline

She signed with her whole name because that was what they always called her. She left the note on the table and put her hands on her hips. Well, that was just about all she could do. She wasn't the most poetic person and her handwriting was barely legible, but it would do. Charlotte came back in just as they were leaving and assured them the message would get through.

Emi walked out of the house a little disappointed but somehow satisfied. They knew she was okay now, and they knew she was alive. Maybe they would come visit her one day, but she wouldn't hold her breath.

"Come on,[/color]" Emi said to Castle. "Want some ice cream? It's really hot out here...[/color]"

[Castle]

Castle was also surprised to see the blond who answered the door. Just as he was thinking that Emi had a weirdly young and attractive foster mom, it became apparent that she didn't actually know this person. Regardless, the woman knew the Abernathys, and she invited them inside. Castle looked around at everything, but his interest in the (somewhat awkward) conversation was renewed when Emi introduced herself to the housekeeper. He hadn't known that her name was actually short for something.

She ended up writing her parents a note, and then they left. So much for facing them in person, or in Castle's case, meeting them at all. Emi seemed disappointed, but not exceedingly so.

"Sure," he said in response to her offer. He wasn't one to turn down food, and something cold was very appealing in this weather.

He let her lead the way, since he had no idea where anything was in this town. It was a nice, quiet place, and he decided that he liked it so far. The perpetual brilliance of the sky helped.

"Something tells me that you aren't going to be checking back in a week," he guessed.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Damn! Brain freeze!
--

Emi had lead him to a small ship where they sold ice cream. She bought two and handed one over to Castle. "I don't think so,[/color]" she said. She bit into her ice cream. "It's been a while since I've had one these. Still pretty good.[/color]"

She didn't think it was worth it to come back. She couldn't wait around forever. They hadn't been terribly close even when she was child. There had always been a separation between them, an unspoken understanding that they were just her caretakers and nothing more. She owed it to them to apologize and to let them know she was alright but outside of that she didn't think there was a reason to come back. If they wanted to see her, they knew where she was. Okay, maybe they didn't know where Radiant Garden was but if they really wanted to see her they would find it...right?

"Ahhhh, brain freeze,[/color]" Emi suddenly shouted, muffled by the ice cream in her mouth. Her train of thought had been interrupted. She withdrew the ice cream from her mouth and frowned at it. "Well. I wonder where else we can look. I doubt Arc is actually here but... might as well look for him. Too bad the school is all the way on the other end of town.[/color]"

[Castle]

Castle was unfamiliar with this kind of ice cream, and he was surprised by the salty flavor of it. He thought he wouldn't like it at first, but after a moment the sweetness settled in and he changed his mind. His opinion of it only went up from there. He had to laugh a little when Emi got brain freeze.

"Why would he be at the school? Wait, don't tell me he's a high schooler?" He laughed again. "School wouldn't even be in this time of year, would it?"

He took another bite of the ice cream. This time, he got brain freeze, but he forced himself to ignore it.

"Joking, joking. Seriously, though, I'm okay to go wherever. This town's pretty cool," he said approvingly, surveying the area. "How come you left? Was this one of the places that were taken by darkness a couple years back?"

He realized after he said it that the question might be too personal. Considering what she told him about her past self so far, she might not want to talk about it. Well, if she didn't, then she didn't have to answer him.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Who would've thought I'd actually miss Twilight Town?
--

"Ohhhh, wow, you just had to ask that question didn't you,[/color]" Emi groaned. She bit off the last bit of her ice cream and flicked the stick at Castle's forehead. She honestly didn't know how to answer that question. She didn't know what was appropriate to tell him, how far she ought to go.

Her mouth was still a little numb from the ice cream. She shrugged. "Well, as long as we're being honest here. I left because... I got into some pretty terrible stuff. I won't go into detail as you can probably guess. Anyways. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left. Kinda just dropped everything and got out of this town as fast as I could.[/color]"

She smirked, laughed a little and stared at the sky. Forever in a sunset. "Never thought I'd miss it though. Being back here... made me realize how good things could have been.[/color]"

She almost asked why he had left his hometown, but this conversation was getting too heavy and she had to remind herself she wasn't here to get all emo and depressed.

She looked back at him and grinned. "And to answer your other question, yes, school is out this time of year. I just kind of want to go back there. I only got to attend for one year at the high school, so I kind of want to go see what I missed. Are you game for another tram ride?[/color]

[Castle]

Castle tried to swat the ice cream stick out of the way before it hit him, but he was too slow. He scowled a little in annoyance, but, he kind of deserved it. However, Emi answered his question anyway. Like she mentioned back at the Pride Lands, she'd gotten into some bad stuff before. He nodded to show he understood. He wasn't about to pry further. He felt like he'd be pushing his luck.

Without him really realizing it, his eyes lit up when she mentioned the tram.

"Yeah, I'm game," he said, a bit of eagerness showing through his usual, carefully aloof tone.

He finished his ice cream and tossed the stick in a trash can that was near the shop. He turned back to Emi and smiled as a thought occurred to him.

"You know, that reminds me. If I end up traveling for a while longer, I might miss my senior year. Not that I care. I was ready to drop out anyway, if it weren't for my mom. It's kind of ironic that she was the one who helped me leave in the first place," he snickered.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I feel so much older than you right now.
--

Emi raised an eyebrow at Castle, who seemed a little too eager to get back on the tram. She saw the way his eyes lit up. She was half-way expecting him to start bouncing up and down. Oh well, she couldn't blame it. It was pretty neat. She kind of wished there was something like it back in Radiant Garden.

They began to make their way back to the station and Emi listened to what he had to say about school and his mom. It piqued her curiosity a bit. She'd been there, done that with the dropping out of school. She actually didn't suggest it and she wondered what the circumstances could have been that would make him want to drop out. In her case it was that fact she wanted to snort coke more than she wanted to learn algebra, but what was it for him? Was he in some trouble like her, or was he just lazy? Was he stupid and doing badly academically? Furthermore, she wondered why a mother would send her son away. He said 'helped him leave' but she didn't understand why that would be the case. Of course, she had no mother so her confusion was understandable. She had no example.

"You should probably go home soon then,[/color]" she said quietly. "It's not something you want to miss.[/color]"

It her then. She would have already graduated high school by now, anyway. It almost made her laugh. Wow, those four years had flown by fast. Maybe she would have stayed in school if she had known it would pass that quickly. She put her hand on top of Castle's head. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, okay? Just do it and get it over with.[/color]"

He would have to leave to go back to Traverse Town... and that made her a little sad. She blew it off. People came and went, she couldn't keep clinging to people like a child. Making friends was one thing, but being desperate for their attention was another. She would be happy for him returning home, hopefully with a new outlook on life.

[Castle]

Castle snickered and pushed her hand away.

"Speaking of moms, since when did you start sounding like one?" he joked.

However, his smirk didn't last. She really did sound like his mom there, or at least, how he knew his mom felt but didn't act. She used to act that way, but in the months before he left... she got quieter. The memory of that made his expression sober a bit as he looked straight ahead.

"But, maybe you're right," he sighed, "I'm sure mom really did want me to finish, but..." He chuckled and shook his head. "...I was being kind of a jackass. If I'd kept doing what I was doing, I probably would've gotten arrested. That would have been a downer."

He laughed again until he realized that Emi probably had no clue what he meant by that.

"Uh, it wasn't anything bad," he added quickly, waving his hands, "Just some street fighting. Nothing big. I saw worse in Radiant Garden, actually, but back in Traverse Town... well, it's a small place. The only acceptable fighting is against the Heartless, you know?"