Snippet #2811010

xx
Zoe had seriously considered leaving, in the days that passed. In fact, she’d packed all her stuff back up, coming to terms with the fact that coming to Greythorne at all had been foolish; then Alex came by the bed and breakfast to take her to lunch. She didn’t know if he was just (finally) keeping his promise to her, or if Phoenix had talked him into it, but she decided not to ask. She didn’t really feel like she learned anything about him (sure, she learned things about him, but she didn’t feel any closer to understanding him). Zoe felt like she was getting to know Phoenix better than Alex, and honestly she was okay with that. Phoenix was so nice to her. He seemed sweet, and kind, and she had a hard time believing that he would put up with an irredeemable asshole. Learned they’d known each other basically their entire lives explained a few things.

It took a little deliberating to decide to text Jaiden, but after deciding to stay a little while longer, Zoe did. It was a little awkward at first, but new friendships often are. They talked about a lot of different things. Art, movies, music, Jaiden’s pets (Alex apparently loved her cats. Zoe wasn’t sure she believed that, at first, but then she remembered the way he spoiled Coco, and she decided that it probably made sense.). Zoe decided that she liked Jaiden pretty quickly, she figured they could be friends. Zoe knew she needed a friend if she was staying in town, and she got the impression that Jaiden needed a friend, too.

Zoe wasn’t sure why, but every week she stayed, Greythorne started feeling like more of a welcome place. People had seemed slightly wary about her, at first, but as she sought out conversations and got to know people, things got easier. Maybe people’s emotions were healing, or maybe the fact that she had family in town made it easier. Either way, she was starting to feel at home in Greythorne. Every week she considered heading home, and every week something made her stay. She was ignoring calls from her parents; she’d taken them, at first, but all they did was tell her to come home. They didn’t understand why she was still in Greythorne, or even why she’d gone in the first place. If she was being honest, she didn’t know why she stayed, either, except for the fact that Greythorne felt like an absolutely incredible place to be. The people, once you got past their (honestly understandable) wariness, were amazing. Back home, everyone was too busy competing to be the best to really care about each other. This felt more like a place to be called home, more like a community. Zoe was a little jealous that Alex got to call Greythorne home, because he definitely took it for granted.

Zoe didn’t know how long she was going to be staying in Greythone, but if she was going to be staying more long-term, she would need a more… Permanent living situation. She'd exhausted most of her savings staying in town, and she needed to decide if she was going to stay, and if so, what she was going to do. She decided to take a walk through town to see if it helped to make up her mind. She needed more shampoo, anyway. It was finally warming up (still a little cold for her likes, but she attributed that to growing up in the desert), and she figured that the flowers and trees would start to bloom, soon. She thought that she’d like to see that.

xx
Alex hadn’t wanted to hurt Phoenix; he’d known it was a rough day, and he just needed a little space. He knew that anxiety and hurt so easily turned to anger when he was pushed, and he’d told himself that he never wanted to yell at Phoenix again. He’d felt so much guilt after their last argument, and he couldn’t stand the thought that he almost didn’t get to make things better.

But when he came home, Phoenix was in such a sorry state. The guilt set in quickly, and there was a lot that Alex wanted to say. I’m sorry I ran away. I’m not mad at you, I was just scared. I missed you. My back hurts and Jaiden’s cats tried to sleep on my face all night. But in the end he just listened to Phoenix tell him about Neden. That came as a shock, and Alex was upset with himself for not being there, if not just for Phoenix. After that, they tried to settle into their normal routine. Eventually, things settled into an almost-normal rhythm.

Alex had meant to tell Phoenix all about Eshirtia, and about the pact he’d made, but after everything that happened Alex didn’t want to add anything else to the pile of things to worry about. It was easy enough to keep under wraps, she didn’t ask much of him in those weeks, and the wound (and when it finally healed, the scar) was easy enough to hide; Alex hadn’t worn short sleeves since he was fifteen, he hardly even wore them around the house when it was cold. Eventually, he knew, Phoenix would see. He should probably show him, himself. It was ugly and crude, took up half of his forearm, and Alex knew it would never particularly fade. It, and his pact in general, just wasn’t the kind of thing he could hide forever. He wasn’t sure he wanted to keep it much of a secret, anyway. He needed to tell him, but he didn’t know how. So he didn’t. The longer he waited, the worse he knew it would be when it came out, and the more he felt like he couldn’t say anything.

Instead Alex told Phoenix all the little things he’d spent years not mentioning. He started small, with things like, “You know, I’ve always liked that shirt on you.” And built up to telling Phoenix about the way his eyes lit up when he smiled, how he really did like his hair like that, and that he’d missed him while he was gone. It had been hard, at first, to break the habits that Alex had created for himself, but once he started it sometimes felt like the words just tumbled out of his mouth unbidden

He was sleeping better, too. For the first time in years his dreams weren’t disruptive; the spirits weren’t sending him random visions of baseless death and destruction. They seemed to be filtered, easier to deal with. Phoenix was still having nightmares, though, and Alex wished he could take them. He’d dealt with them constantly for years, he could handle more of them. The only thing he could do was comfort him, and be there. Try to reassure Phoenix where he could, that everything was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.

Neden’s letter was not particularly well-received. Alex didn’t want it, he didn’t want to read it, or see it. He was angry. Hurt. He didn’t understand it. He felt betrayed and lied to. He stashed the letter in the bottom of a drawer in case he ever decided to read it, but opening it was out of the question. He wanted to stay angry for a time, to be bitter. The Branded had caused too much death, too much suffering; first Travis, and now Neden had been in their ranks. Alex felt like a rug had been pulled out from under him if even angels could want him dead. He supposed it made some sense, though, demonic as he was. What Alex couldn’t understand was how anyone could see someone like Phoenix, or Kay, or- hell- Aurora, and decide they deserved to die. Maybe that’s why hunters avoided getting to know any of them. Maybe they would kill them, anyway. Alex didn’t know which answer he preferred.

Things seemed to be going back to normal in town: it had been months since the last attack, the weather was warming up. It seemed like everything might be okay, again. Alex still couldn’t help looking over his shoulder, tensing up whenever someone bumped into him, but there was some hope.

Alex didn’t particularly care about the market, but Phoenix was excited to go, and his happiness was infectious. Alex would have gladly followed him anywhere to see him happy like that.

xx
Things slowly went back to normal after Neden’s admission. Zada and Triss spent a lot of time together, sitting nearby when the other would soak in the tub, enjoying one another’s company. Just the simple act of existing nearby someone who understood and didn’t shrink back at the fangs and the claws was something Zada was glad for. It took a few days for Zada to really feel ready to talk about Neden with Triss, after Rosie had delivered the letter that Zada burned without opening.

Later, when Triss told Zada of her own history with hunters, Zada couldn’t help but feel the other woman’s pain. Zada had never been held captive by hunters before, but she had been held captive and mistreated by a man, so she had some sort of understanding. Zada had taken Trisstana’s hands into hers, and swore that if she had any say in it, no one would hurt her ever again. Zada felt closer to Triss, after that. Slowly, she shared more pieces of her own history. From her childhood in the Meditarranian Sea, to her time with the various men that she killed and stole from. They fostered a comforting familiarity with one another, deeper than before.

Zada’s fondness for Triss only grew as the snow melted, and while a part of her knew exactly what to call it, another part of her didn’t think she would ever feel affection blooming in her heart again. But she trusted Triss, despite how she felt she should never trust another soul, she trusted her, enjoyed her time spent with her. They bonded over glasses of wine and cups of coffee, shared stories and long baths. Zada thought that Trisstana was certainly someone special, and she was glad that she’d stayed in town. Stayed with her.

It was finally warm outside, and though the cold didn’t particularly bother Zada, she was glad because that meant that the ice was melting. The snow had been gone for a while, but the lake always thawed out last. Sure, you could swim around through the chunks of ice, but it was hardly enjoyable, especially if you were to swim with someone else. They’d been checking, periodically, on the state of the lake. Zada almost couldn’t wait to get into the water, but she hadn’t grown up swimming in icy waters, and sometimes it made her feel nervous, like she may get trapped beneath the ice, or hurt somehow. She just wasn’t used to it, yet.

They were headed to the lake; walking side-by-side, mostly quietly, though occasionally one of them would remark about something. They didn’t always talk about much when they walked, but sometimes Zada would point out the birds building nests in the trees, or how she needed to buy some more flowers for her gardener to plant, or how much shorter the walk seemed to be with company. She never realized how long it had taken before, until she had someone to pass the time with. "Hopefully," Zada mused, both to herself, and aloud to Triss, "There won't be much ice left. I would love a nice swim after being stuck in a bathtub all winter."