Heaven's Light [Caro]

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Something made me go there.
--

"I'll stay here with you, of course,[/color]" Caroline said, following him into the house. It wasn't as if she was going to just leave in some stranger's house, especially when he was sick. She was a big believer in the golden rule, and she surely didn't want someone leaving her behind.

He sat down on the couch, and she remained standing. "Thank you,[/color]" she said to the neighbor woman, and clasped her hands in front of her. "I really appreciate you letting us in your home.[/color]"

It was a small house, and light only by the sunlight coming through the two windows. Caroline let her eyes wander for a moment. She was learning a lot from her travels, but things still shocked her. She was still a spoiled core, so trying to imagine living all the time in a tiny, dark, dusty little house like this bewildered her. There was only one room!

The woman had wandered into the kitchen area, continuing with whatever work she had been doing. Caroline walked over and sat down lightly on the couch next to Ain. His eyes were closed. She didn't want to startle him, but she pressed the back of her hand against his forehead. Still burning up.

And then, suddenly, out of nowhere... she was filled with an overwhelming sense of dread. She froze, with her hand still lifted to his face. She was stricken with a horrible sense of understanding. Something bad was going to happen. She could feel it. And she didn't know what she would do if something bad happened to him. She had no idea where the sudden realization came from, but she couldn't be around Ain anymore... she was about to lose her composure. She couldn't do that in front of him. Unacceptable.

She stood, slowly as to not alert Ain that there was anything wrong.

Covering her mouth with one hand, while the other balled into a fist at her side, so tightly it shook, she turned her back and pretended to rifle through her bag. She waited until she could speak clearly and then said "If it's all right with you, I'm going to go out now and wait for the doctor. The dust in this room is making me feel ill.[/color]"

The neighbor woman shot a dirty look over her shoulder, but Caroline was already pushing the door open and stepping out onto the street. The sun hurt her eyes after being in the more dimly lit room, but she started walking anyway. He'll be okay by himself for a few minutes, she told herself. You just need some time to clear your head.

She didn't know why she was so scared. Stepping on his unconscious body probably hadn't helped, but she couldn't get the memory of those horrible nightmares out of her head. It literally made her sick to think about it- her head swam for a moment, and she steadied herself against a wall. She panicked for a short moment, wondering if she had caught whatever Ain had. But no, she was fine after a moment when her heart stopped racing and when she looked up, she realized she was on the front steps of the cathedral.

She looked up at it, and had a hard time believing it was merely coincidence. So she walked inside.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Do I look like a demon to you?!
------

Ain sat there quietly for a bit with his eyes still closed, nothing to do except wait. In the process he had time to think about things he just never had time to or didn't want to. Nothing important but it finally occurred to him that he had gaps in his memory for which he could not recall his own actions. Why had he not noticed until now, was something wrong with him then, too. Maybe he was always sick with something and he just didn't see the symptoms.

What was he doing two days ago, how about thirteen days ago and a much greater time of several years ago when he washed ashore. Many gaps in memory and not a single way to figure out what he was doing, for the first couple he guessed asking Caroline would be easier but the last one was a mystery. He knew that he committed to suicide before the black monsters attacked and tried to drown himself in the middle of the black sea. Yet, he was still alive so he knew he was missing something. There was no way he washed ashore from where they were fishing, several days out from port.

The thoughts were momentarily cut off when he felt Caroline sit next to him and place her hand on his forehead. The heat of his head felted much better to the touch of her hand that added some semblance of cool skin. He again felt Caroline get up, for a moment there was something different about her but he couldn't place it with his attention only to his eyelids. He nodded when she spoke to tell her it was alright but did not watch as she left.

From then on he heard only the steps of the neighbor woman on the wood floor. Waiting for a while wondered if he should check on Caroline but figured she would be fine. Surely she wouldn't leave him with a stranger that he couldn't even talk to because of a language barrier.

As he stood quietly waiting for her to come back in a sever pain burst through his head causing to tightly grip his temples, his fingers grasping through his now short dark-hair. "Aaa-Ahhh. Hurts..." he stated as he fell from the couch to the floor and landed on his side. Though his arm hurt from the fall he payed it no mind as his head hurt worse. With eyes still closed he pulled himself up, the lady of the household had come running but he couldn't understand her. After a moment the pain passed and he breathed quickly to catch his breath.. his hands still holding his head.

Standing up straight with the girls help, he opened his eyes to see her. The neighbor woman jumped backwards and created distance between them like something serious was wrong. Of the words she spoke in a panic, he only knew one of them. Demon. Though he did not know it himself, his eyes were now fiery red instead. He took a step forward and the women ran away in terror into the streets.. screaming as she ran. His emotionless face stared ahead without response.

He did not know what he had done to scare her away but he was a big guy after all. Still it didn't make any sense to him. Taking a step towards the door, he looked to the left at a mirror on the wall. "This is different." he stated as he payed close attention to his now red eyes. "This explains why she ran away."

Just then he heard some people say something with urgency. "Corps de garde!" they said. He didn't know why but he decided to get out of there before something bad happened. Before moving on however he felt his own forehead, noting that he had finally returned to normal as did his breathing. "This illness is strange." he noted to himself before running out the door and looked around for Caroline. Not seeing Caroline he stood there for a moment only to hear loud clanking footsteps approaching, without much thought he ducked into a alleyway to... hide.

Where did Caroline go?

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I think I'll stay for a while.
--

The first thing that she realized is that it was so much quieter. She came to a stop just inside the door, and timidly tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. Why had she come in here anyway? Slowly, she began to walk, aware of distant voices, footsteps, other ambient sounds.

For the first time since that morning, the worried look on her face was gone and had been replaced by an expression of... calm? Peace? Something. She looked over her shoulder. Maybe she should be getting back to the house now; she felt like she'd been gone too long already. But she kept walking until she found a quiet place to sit and think.

She sat, sliding her back down the wall, and rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes, and let her mind go blank. All she needed was a moment's reprieve, a little bit of time to be still and calm and clear her mind of all of her worries so she could go back and take care of her friend without having another breakdown.

Before she knew it, she had retreated into herself. She was almost asleep she had become so calm. She didn't want to break the silence, didn't want to move, because she had become so comfortable so she stayed sitting and simply breathing.

A light breeze passed over her arms, and brushed against her face.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

This reminds me of my childhood.
-----

The clanks of footsteps could be heard all around where he hid behind a barrel in the alleyway. Though he understood nothing of what they said it was clear to him that they were searching for him because of what that girl probably told them. It was likely she thought that he was possessed or a demon that had come to kill her. She must have went and found the guards.. telling them that he attacked her. It was likely that with the language barrier he would not be able to convince them otherwise, in short, this was bad.

If only Caroline was here to fix this.

Ain saw a gap between the line of sight of the guards and burst from the alleyway. He ran north for a good while before hanging a left into another alleyway. At this moment he was sure he lost the guards and sat down next to the wall. He wasn't really sure how long they would look for him but it was best to lay low for a while and not allow others to see his red eyes. If he scared someone else there was a chance that he could repeat the same event over. In a while he had to find Caroline.

"What a terrible day." he stated as he looked straight ahead with his red eyes, though he didn't change his expression... the red eyes made him appear dangerous.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

It all makes sense now.
--

Suddenly, Caroline was acutely aware of a presence. Someone was there with her. She lifted her hands from her arms. There was no one there, but the feeling didn't go away. It was almost as if someone was behind her, watching her... but her back was to a wall.

Normally, this would have disturbed her. But in this case she felt...comforted. It was as if there was someone there to protect her. It was similar to the way she felt around Ain, but different. More intimate, perhaps.

Caroline.

"...y-yes?[/color]" she answered back, out loud but very quietly, to the quiet voice that had spoken. It unsettled her a little, but didn't outright frighten her.

You called and I answered. It is time that you become what I created you to be.

She blinked once and she was somewhere else. She didn't know where she was, but it was quiet here... and bright. She wasn't afraid. At her feet, there was a delicate, silver chain. A necklace. She knelt down and picked it up. Hanging from the chain was a simple cross-shaped pendant. When she fingered it, something else appeared before her. She looked up, and gasped quietly.

It was herself, but she had changed. The "real" Caroline stood and regarded her reflection thoughtfully. She had never imagined herself like this. The Other Caroline was dressed in a sleek, feminine suit of armor. She stared straight ahead, much like a doll, at some point over Caroline's shoulder. Caroline glanced in that direction, but saw nothing.

She looked back to her other self. She reached out and pressed her hand against the reflection's shoulder and suddenly, she was back in the cathedral with a sword across her lap.

She looked down at it, and almost wept. That other place had been so peaceful, so pure... she wanted to go back.

It's not time for that yet, my child. Take this sword and go out into the city. He needs you. The rest will become clear in time. Now, go.

She got to her feet, quickly, and pulled the belt around her hip. She didn't bring the blade out yet, not inside the church. It made a little more sense now. The feeling of dread she'd felt earlier... it had been a premonition. Ain was in danger, somehow. She assumed it was the illness.

She rushed out of the cathedral, and as she ran, she clasped the necklace around her neck.

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Strange, I'm positive that I was angry earlier.
---

For what felt like forever, he didn't move from that one spot. His eyes appeared to pulse as he stared ahead, though it could have easily been the light that shined in his face. In a way, the feelings deep down were telling him to be angry and to fight back. Thoughts mixed in that spoke to him and told him to tear them apart for chasing him. He shook his head and slammed his hand down on the ground.

A angry expression came over his face as he thought before finally snapping out of his trance. Shaking his head his expression returned back to his normal one or lack there of. What was coming over him, he didn't want to hurt people. It just wasn't logical and... it just wasn't him.

Ain hopped to his feet as a guard ran past and said something in french. After a moment it was silent, whether they gave up the search or not it was time to move. It occurred to him that he stood out in the crowd even without the red eyes but he didn't let it stop him. At least now he looked somewhat normal with his hair style changed thanks to Caroline. Admittedly, he liked how he was now better then what he was before. He really didn't like being alone as much as he thought he did.

Without further thought, he ran out into the street and headed back towards the doctor's house.

If Caroline was going to look for him, he had no doubt she would head that way so it was best to take the risk and return where the guards likely were still searching for him. On the way however he saw Caroline running out of the cathedral, quickly he threw his hand in front of his eyes to hide them. "Caroline, I'm right here." he stated in a loud firm voice.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

...what!?
--

Normally, she would have counted it as coincidence but when she heard Ain's voice calling to her from across the square she knew it was meant to be. Strange, though... why was he covering his eyes like that? Was it the sunlight?

She was anxious once again as she dashed across the square to meet him. She was hoping he hadn't become sensitive to the sunlight or something awful like that. When she reached him, she was a little out of breath. She definitely wasn't used to running like that, especially not with a sword around her waist.

Caroline grasped Ain's arm, using it to steady herself. "Good lord... I'm not used to... that... what... what are you doing out here?[/color]" she finally managed to spit out in between gasps for breath. "Why did you leave the house? Is everything all right? Are you feeling sick again?[/color]"

Oh, he probably had some questions for her. No doubt he noticed her new toy and wondered how she got it. She was about to start explaining- she had one finger raised in the air and was taking a breath to start talking- when they were rudely interrupted by some guards that had rounded a corner. They pointed at Caroline and Ain and started yelling at them in French. Something about a demon...

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I feel like I'm holding back something big...
---

The timing just didn't seem right as Caroline approached him. As he held his hand firmly in front of his eyes, he could only see barely through the gap in his fingers. It was true that he wanted to find Caroline, but not how he was at the moment. If he had known how he was going to feel when he found her, chance are he would have hid away in some dark alley until morning. His thoughts halted for a moment at the realization that he actually cared what Caroline thought about him, unlike before as normal. Even the touch of Caroline made him want to pull away but he remained still as she held his arm for support.

What exactly was happening to him, this sensation was foreign to him.

Ain wanted to answer the burst of questions that she threw at him but did quite catch the first part. While he was ready to talk the rude french guards had found him, by now he was getting angry and threw his hand from his eyes to reveal his serious red-eyed stare. He looked at Caroline for a second he didn't know how she would respond to such a thing, his hand gripped inwardly as he ignored the guard for now. "Caroline, something is happening to my body." he stated as he looked her over with his normal unemotional stare, though he half expected her to run away from like the other girl had done.

As he stood there silently he saw something different about her. A sword and a necklace. He didn't know if it was the time for questions however as the guard was yelling in his ear. Glancing to the guard he clenched his teeth and was ready to extend his blade from his gauntlet...

[Oathkeeper Emi]

DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!?
--

"Ain, what did you do?[/color]" Caroline asked, warily. She clutched his sleeve and was about to try and call off the guards when Ain lowered his hand. She took a small step backwards. "What... what happened?[/color]" she asked, and her voice quivered.

Her attention turned to the guards. She took a step and put herself in between her friend and the police. "What's the problem?[/color]" she asked them, but they were determined. One of them roughly moved Caroline out of the way, and she made little offended noise. And then she stomped her foot.

"Excuse me! I demand to know what's going on![/color]" she screamed at them. No one... no one treated Caroline Slay this way. She held a hand up to Ain, trying to calm him down so he wouldn't attack them even while she was about to slap them silly.

She got no explanation. In fact, the guards weren't even paying attention to her. They were still trying to force Ain to come with them. Caroline followed after them, protesting all the while. "No! You can't arrest him without a good reason! Stop! Do you know who I am? I said stop![/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Let's go somewhere to talk, only one place is probably safe.
---

As the nonsense continued, he couldn't really tell how Caroline felt about his eyes turning red like they did. Yet, she was still defending him which put him at ease as he stood there quietly.. his rage subsiding for the time being. Still he had no idea what she would say once they were alone together and there was also the matter of the sword she held. Such a sword was by far a different design then he had ever seen.

A blond fat guard wearing rusty armor walked forward regardless of Caroline's ramblings to try to arrest Ain. His job was to take him in and put him in a cell. It wasn't personal. Still he was getting increasingly more angry at the blond girl who was yelling in his ear and aggressively pushed her out of the way. In one motion he grabbed Ain's arm tightly and attempted to overpower him.

Did he just push Caroline?!

Ain wasn't going to take that lying down as he winded up and punched the guard square in the face. The resulting punch knocked him to the ground, his body bouncing for several seconds before he stopped by the side of a street. Instant KO. The other guards drew their swords in response to this action, before they were just taking normal action but now they were ready to take Ain out. "Vous avez cinq secondes pour venir avec nous ou nous allons utiliser la force!" one of the guards said with a loud voice. Before they could take a step forward however he grabbed Caroline by the arm and dragged her back towards the Cathedral with long strides.

"Caroline, they think I attacked the girl of that house you left me at." he stated as they ran, rounding corners sharply. "It's a misunderstanding." Soon after they arrived at the steps of Notre dame and he pulled Caroline inside just in time to hear the clanking steps of the guards passing without seeing them go inside.

Upon arrival he held his head, his mind was a mess.

[Oathkeeper Emi]

Why do we always end up being chased by the police?
--

Caroline glanced down at her feet. "I'm sorry for leaving you there. This is my fault. If I had been there... maybe I could have fixed it,[/color]" she muttered, and then she looked back up. The pieces were starting to fall into place now. Things were beginning to make sense. "I heard them say somethin' about a demon. That has somethin' to do with your eyes, doesn't it?[/color]"

Whatever it was, Caroline couldn't for the life of her figure out what was going on. There was no worry about it, like before, though. Her hands strayed the sword, and when she touched it, she suddenly remembered. "Oh, I guess I should explain this,[/color]" she started, but then she trailed off. She didn't know how to explain it to him. She couldn't even explain it to herself. The quiet, intimate peace of that moment was beyond what simple words could explain. He would have to experience it for himself.

"Let's just say I found it,[/color]" she finally said, after a long silence. "What can we do now? Should we try and go back to the ship?[/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

I'm different but that sword...
---

Ain didn't say a single thing for a good while after Caroline spoke. No matter how he thought about things, he was coming to different conclusions then he would normally have. He didn't like what he was thinking about doing nor did he want to think about it any more then necessary. Taking a deep breath he walked into the center of the chapel and stood there quietly without looking at Caroline. The silence was deafening but he just wanted to not think for a while, which did not last very long.

"Caroline, I feel different and..." he turned back slightly, his red eyes piercing through her. "...I'm scared of what I might become."

He took a deep breath and shook his head. For the time being he just didn't want to think about the only emotion that seemed real to him, Hatred. This was not something that he wanted for himself, he needed to get his mind straight. Turning back fast he walked back to Caroline and looked down at her and to her sword. "For now I think it would be best to stay here for the night and leave in the morning. I'm sure we can find a place to rest somewhere in here." he stated trying his very best to keep his normal mind. Obviously he had to pay attention to something he was interested in. "You said that you found that sword, What aren't you telling me?"

[Oathkeeper Emi]

I tolt you, boy, I cain't explain nothin'.
--

Caroline nibbled on her lip and rocked back on her heels. "I really don't know how to explain it. Back in the house, I just got so scared so left... and I ended up here.[/color]"

She clasped her hands in front of her, turning away from him a little bit. Even if she didn't want to, she had to admit... his red eyes were disturbing her a little. Everything he had said about changing had disturbed her, in fact, but she didn't want to show it. All she wanted to do was fix it somehow.

She was convinced that was why she had the sword now. Whatever that meant.

"I really... I can't even begin to tell you. It was a gift, you could say. Maybe one day I'll be able to explain...[/color]" she finally said, and her voice sounded very far away. She swallowed and made herself look at him again. "What are we going to do until we can make it back to the ship? I'm not meaning to disrespect anyone, but... it seems kind of quiet and... boring in here.[/color]"

[Ain_Soph_Aur]

Must keep my cool...
---

"I trust you.

The idea of questioning her more came to mind. What if she was hiding something from him and she was planning to hurt him...with that sword. He held his head with his left hand and closed his eyes. What was he thinking? Caroline was the one person he trusted most in the entire worlds and he was distrusting her just like that. He knew at that moment that changes were taking effect in him, maybe even some that he didn't notice. Of all the things to change about him, he didn't want to think differently about Caroline. After a moment he opened his eyes and stared at her like he normally would except with his red eyes.

"You say boring, you do realize that this is a chruch?" he stated quietly, but noted it. It was true that just standing here would not be productive. "I suppose I can come up with something for the time being to take my mind off of things."

Things were tense. Way too tense to relax but he would try.

Ain stepped backwards and extended his hand to Caroline. His eyes slightly averted to the side as he stood there in the middle of the chapel. The light of the candles illuminated the surroundings with gentle flames that appeared to dance around, though not the perfect lighting for what he had in mind. His other hand reached to pull back the long bangs that were no longer there and almost sighed as a result. Short hair was difficult to get used to. "I'm unsure what you would do for fun, and I also have no idea how to have fun for myself." he stated as he looked at Caroline, trying not to scare her. "Dancing however is something that I think should be fun and not that boring in my opinion. I won't force you though."

[Oathkeeper Emi]

And then all of the parishioners preformed an elaborate dance routine, choreographed and rehearsed earlier in this thread.
--

Despite herself, Caroline giggled. After he'd just mentioned this was a church, he brought up dancing? She shook her head. "You can't dance in a church, silly. It's not proper,[/color]" she said, but she smirked. "Especially not with a lady. You heathen, trying to get me to agree to such a thing...[/color]"

Dancing would be fun though. Various kinds of dances had been part of her education and it came in handy for the cotillion ball she'd been a part of when she turned eighteen... she wrinkled her nose. Had that really only been 3 years ago? Seemed like much longer, but then again, she swore her foot still ached where one of the neighbor boys crushed it with his boot during a dance. Why that boy was wearing a boot to a ball was beyond her...

She shook her head, bringing herself back to the present. Sighing gently, she realized there wasn't much they could do, outside of praying or maybe singing a hymn. "Let's look around the cathedral,[/color]" she said. "Hopefully we won't run into any Heartless or get into trouble for trespassing...[/color]"

She started to wander off.