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|| Azalea|| Nano.ripe ||
With A/C on the car was relatively comfortable to sit in. They would be going to his home now. It had been twenty-four hours since Elise and Winter stepped through the portal and the weather was only worsening out there. "Looks like it is true. You and Claude are close." She rolled her eyes trying to imagine it. How did that ever happen? "All of us guys stayed close after the war." Oliver's voice was quiet. "We helped each other a lot through hard times." It was clear what he meant by hard times. "Me and Winter disappearing. My death. Mercedes's falling out with the rest." Oliver sighed, almost as if he were tired as he drove. A weary old man who fought a war no child should have. "I wasn't blaming you, Elise. Winter already explained everything to me." About Zed. About Zeus.
"Do you still harbor romantic feelings for her?" For some reason Oliver began to laugh as the black eagle posed the question. "Oh, I missed this. You're so awkwardly wordy, El. It'd be so much easier to just ask "do you still like her" but you went the long way." Was he poking fun at her words? Was this really the time? "As a Hresvelg, I must remain proper." She was trained to be perfect, or as close to, as possible. "Claude speaks normally, you know." Oliver winked at her for some reason. It almost felt like mockery. "I held a torch for her for a long time. Unlike before, I'm not ashamed to admit it anymore. I'm an adult, it's what it is." Was he sad about it? It was difficult to tell. "She will leave permanently. After two more days..." Oliver nodded, agreeing. "It's good she came back. Now that I know she found someone, I can have closure and move on." He grinned sardonically. "Lots of women seem to think the brooding man at the President's right hand is worth pursuing."
It made sense. Oliver was now a man of power and influence. Elise could easily see many females flocking to him for a taste of that power themselves. Like a flock of lemmings with no thought or self respect. Elise would never throw herself at someone else like that. She was above that, the same way she was above those people at the shelter. "You really should've been at the dinner that night. Jasmine's cooking really is delicious." For some reason that annoyed her. "How can we be sure she is not after his money?" Oliver was quiet for a moment as he thought. "You know she doesn't take money from Claude, right?" So he was going to defend this Jasmine then. "She only dresses modestly within her means. She has dozens of discount coupons. She's worked really hard to stay afloat."
"A woman like Jasmine has too much self respect to be a gold digger." Oliver's smile was a little bit cruel. "You know, El, you have a bad habit of judging people really quickly. You should work through that if you can." She rolled her eyes again, crossing her arms. "Judging people is how to survive. It is how we survived the war." Knowing friend from foe, enemy from ally. It was basic survival. "But the war is over now. It isn't about enemies and allies, about us against others." His tone went oddly gentle then. "Try to be more openminded." Elise frowned distinctly, glaring hard at the driver's seat. "I am dead. It is too late to change anything now." After that Oliver was very quiet.
When arriving at Oliver's home Winter and Carter were singing a song the commoner's often sang. Winter was here, alive and well. Elise glared, feeling almost betrayed. Why did this happen? "You were safe this whole time? I thought - was afraid that - you were in danger and unable to call me to your side. Why did you not..." She paused, grimacing. No, she had a feeling she knew the answer. "...There is no need. Claude did not miss me. He is happy with his life." She sighed, wondering what to do now. At least Winter was alive. At least her body was safe now. "Claude missed you a lot, actually." A taller, stronger, and oddly sensitive-looking Carter helped her to a seat. "Your death was really awful. But no one wants to mourn forever."
It was odd. Certainly Elise did not want anyone to mourn or be sad about her passing. She did not want those she cared about to suffer, as small as her heart was. But why was she not happy that Claude was doing perfectly fine now?
"So, can you explain the horns?" Carter grinned, a cheeky look in his eyes, curiosity burning in his question. Elise sighed, the black eagle figuring this would happen. "An Heir decided I was cute and made me her Servant." There was a long pause as Carter and Oliver looked at each other, suppressing their chuckles. "Yes, laugh at how high and mighty Elise is a Servant now, very funny, incredibly humerous." She muttered crossly, narrowing her eyes into slits.