When Fate And Worlds Collide

07 | Puzzle Pieces

After our rounds, checking in with the new recruits and participating in a few sparring sessions Xavier and I had made our way up the tower, assessing any problems and taking note on what we needed to scavenge for on the next scouting trip. I hadn't seen Liam but I could feel where he was in his war room, his powers brushed mine when he felt me reach out and a pang of guilt went through me as I drew away. I sighed inwardly and followed Xavier.

We sat in our usual spot high up on the tower, feet dangling over the edge as the city dropped away below. Silence stretched between us, but it wasn't the uncomfortable kind, it was the type that spoke more words then we could actually find.

I never grew tired of the magnificent sight this spot had of the city, and even though it was crumbling and broken, seeing the flourishing community below, amongst the decay and death made it all the more beautiful.

Xavier's hand rested on mine, thumb gently rubbing absently minded as he stared off into the distance. A simple gesture, but one I knew I would never let anyone else do. We connected in a way I never really understood, but didn't question either. I felt his power brush mine, his being the only other that could rival Rohnan's. It had taken a while when I had first come across him to figure out that he was a first gen Aura, like myself.

But after getting caught out in the city twice together, and saving each other countless times, we realised our powers resonated perfectly. Since then, he had not left my side, even acting as a father figure to Rohnan without ever showing signs of overstepping that line.

Part of me wondered if I had come across him first, would he have made a better Alpha? Would we have worked better together than Liam and I? Would I have accepted him any better? Or was the bond we shared only the way it was because we had grown as friends first?

"What has you troubled?" his voice jerked me out of my thoughts. I stared at him, noting the little flecks of green that swirled in his blue eyes. I looked away over the city again.

"Same old, same old" I replied, Xavier nudged me with his shoulder. I felt that switch niggle in the way it always did when he was around. As if my emotions knew they would be safe to be released with him. I pushed that thought away.

"I know that look. I feel that look Aiya" I let out a sigh. Hiding from him was like hiding from Liam's ever watching eye.

"What would you do, if tomorrow this all disappeared" I wave my hand over the broken city "and humanity could live without fear again, without death, to rebuild. Where would you go?" I looked at Xavier again. He blinked a few times, the question catching him off guard. He lent back on his hands, knee touching mine gently. Always touching in some way when no one was around.

"Before the fall I didn't have many dreams of doing anything big. I had travelled for work, but never for enjoyment. I had no children in a love-less marriage that ended in disaster and went about my life with no goals" he had never spoken about his past, the same as most people here. We didn't dwell on the before, most memories being too painful to talk about. The places we mourned our dead were in the shrines and group sessions the people had created to cope.

"But, now knowing what I do, and meeting the people I have...I'd like to show you and Rohnan the world. The quiet and special places. And then...maybe find a place I can create that would give you and Rohnan the peace you deserve to live your life, free from all burdens" I felt my heartbeat thump hard against my chest, that switch almost burning as it tried to turn my emotions back on.

He looked at me and gave a small smile, one that believed in that little dream, but also knew it would never be a reality. And for a moment I didn't know what was worse, that it would only ever be a dream, or that I felt deep down I was never destined to live long enough to see or feel a normal life again.