westwhere | They say people can only run along the paths they choose.

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They say people can only run along the paths they choose.

WHO: Hendrik and Luminary
WHEN: After Hendrik finally stops wandering around the village
WHERE: The house in the village
WHAT: Re meet
WARNINGS: None

Hendrik had found himself washed ashore and taken almost prisoner until he was released. He had spent a day or two trying to figure out where everything was since then and every now and again he would stop and put a gloved hand to his head as thin whispers of memories filled his mind.

The last thing he recalled was seeing Jasper's shadow form turn into the real spirit of the man. And then there were the other knight's words 'We shall never be apart again' and n suddenly Hendrik had a beautiful new cloak. Then he'd walked through the castle doors with the party and found himself face down in the water not far from this village. He wasn't a big fan of the ocean and avoided it even while training in Puerto Valor. It seemed too vast and now this ocean seemed as it wished to reinforce that lesson.

At first he'd been in a panic because he lost sight of the Luminary, who was the only person that made sense most of the time. But then he found himself being hauled in by some men, released, given his communications device and women had been giggling at him when he arrived properly after cleaning up. He had no idea what any of that meant, but the men of the village didn't seem to be appreciating his presence.

Of course he tried to be useful while he was here, such as wading back out into the ocean water he'd found himself in, in order to rescue a little girl who had been on the verge of collapse. And he carried her back until a woman claiming to be the girl's mother appeared and thanked him rather profusely for saving her child. Hendrik had refused any sort of reward, and kept moving on. A knight of Heliodor always helped those in need and served the weak untiringly.

Stopping a moment now under a tree for a bit of shade, he pulled the communications device out of a pouch a local had made and looked at it. It wasn't unfamiliar, but was enough so that he couldn't remember how to really use it. So he spoke to it as if it would somehow understand him and suddenly work.

"I can not seem to recall as to how to utilize this device properly."

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Eleven wandered in a quiet horror and shivered in an absent chill. From the moment they'd entered the village, things had been wrong. Burdened with curses and guilted into attending sacrificial 'weddings', the events left him sick and shaken. For only the second time in as many years (had it really been two? between both worlds and times), he thought it might be true that there was nothing he could do- that maybe Xie Lian was right after all, in that he was expecting too much of himself.

What had even convinced him otherwise the first time? He couldn't recall; perhaps it had simply been everyone's faith in him. Or the Sword of Light. Oh, to have a weapon forged with the express purpose of combatting darkness and lifting curses..

Lost in a moment of wishful thinking, the deep timbre of Hendrik's voice seemed only a vivid echo of memory, but the words continued even after he refocused and found his eyes drawn toward the sound of it. Purple hair, and the unmistakable build of a Zwaardsrustian--

"Hendrik?" he breathed, disbelieving. His voice caught on the final letter, and Eleven was forced to swallow before it broke utterly. Relief flooded him, and he hastened further steps toward the man, hopeful. "Have you returned here?"

He continued to contemplate the thing, unsure as to how to use it. Technology was challenging for such a simple boy as Sylvando had termed him. Honour, chivalry, fighting, defending, protecting, sword fighting - all of those he understood and knew how to do very well. Still, this simple device held in his gloved hand was quite the puzzle.

But then he thought he heard something most odd. He thought he heard the Luminary and for a brief moment, the knight was utterly certain that this device was driving him beyond his mental capacity. However something made him look up and he saw the boy advancing on him.

Wait, he was actually here?

And as those eyes peered up at him he felt uncertain, recalling the odd moments between them and how they'd fought Mordegon together in the throne room. But still, he nodded. "So you are here then."

Hendrik felt relief, but there was definitely awkwardness in his stance.

Eleven's brows creased, taking in the man's stance and the underwhelmed tone. He supposed he wasn't sure what he expected the man's reaction to be.

"Goddess," he said, heaving a sigh as he stepped closer. The skeptical voice of a lost friend cautioned him to a slower approach at least.

"I was worried what happened to you. I thought you had returned somehow; it wasn't as though you would have left- or without a struggle. At worst, thought perhaps I abandoned you." And that- that gave him pause, swallowing past a lump in his throat and teetering on the edge of reaching out only to tentatively settle on keeping his hands to himself. Still his voice bled an anxious earnesty.

"How are you?"

The knight shook his head at hearing Eleven's words. "I seemed to have returned, although I do admit I do carry some memories of a previous time here." He seemed a little awkward to hear that the boy was worried he'd abandoned him. What universe that would be that something like that would be the case he couldn't say, but it certainly had the effect of vexing him.

And as if to try and comfort the Luminary he shook his head. "There was no struggle." Except for the part where he got here, but he wasn't going to get into that, especially since his companion seemed worried about him enough already. Adding insult to injury in this case wasn't wise. So Hendrik simply nodded once.

"I am alright. And I see that you too are here somehow."

A previous time. So he had returned home. Eleven breathed a quiet sigh, only now aware of how much that worry had plagued him. Perhaps Archeval was safe and alive where he belonged as well.

But he turned a frown on Hendrik and shook his head. 'Somehow', as though..

"I never left." Only, the moment he said it, Eleven realized that wasn't true. He had.. but neither did he know how to explain the matter. Hendrik had been from his future before, but things could well be different now.

"When- what was happening in Erdrea before finding yourself here?"

The knight had to think a moment about the Luminary stating he hadn't left which only served to confuse him. The boy was there clearly, but there were bits and pieces that weren't lining up so he shifted his weight.

"Mordegon had revealed himself masquerading as King Carnelian and we engaged him in the throne room. After his defeat, we had received word from His Majesty to go investigate Erdwin's lantern. But we confronted Jasper's shadow soon thereafter in the castle itself before setting off."

He had to look at the Luminary now as if seeing him for the first time. "But something tells me that is different than what you know."

Eleven's breath stilled in his chest.

That- none of that sounded like what he knew. Yes, Mordegon had masqueraded as Carnelian, but a throne room? Erdwin's Lanten- was it still falling? What of Jasper's shadow?

We. His heart beat a rapid rhythm as he met Hendrik's eyes. He had so many questions, and little idea of how to ask any of them. The man couldn't know what he'd done of course, if in some impossible way, he'd succeeded.

"Yggdrasil," he breathed at last, taking a wavering step toward Hendrik, eyes wide. "Hendrik, what happened to Yggdrasil?"

The knight wasn't sure that he liked the look on the Luminary's face but he couldn't blame the boy. They were strangers still even if Hendrik had aligned himself with the lad long enough to defeat Mordegon and save King Carnelian. Of course his memory was enough of what had passed between them previously and that left him feeling awkward and unsure of himself.

The boy had every right to hate him.

Of course it wasn't lost on him as to what would've happened had he been successful enough to take the boy alive when given chase, but he attempted to keep those thoughts to himself. They conflicted with the whispers of memories of how close the two had been before he previously left here.

However, he looked at the boy when he asked about Yggdrasil and the knight shook his head. "The World Tree is right where it should be and all is well." That of course prompted a question. "Why do you ask?"

Eleven searched the man's face, though he knew the man would hardly lie to him. Hendrik couldn't know how much- he didn't know. He didn't know.

"Goddess," he said heavily, swaying on the spot as hope thrummed through his chest and relief such that he'd never imagined waited in the wings. "So you're saying Yggdrasil never- She's.. right where She should be, and I was there with you to confront Mordegon in the throne room?"

"Yggdrasil never what?" Hendrik asked, clearly confused. The World Tree was fine, naught was amiss there. And yet the Luminary seemed to be vexed as to its well being.

Odd.

But he nodded solemnly as Eleven asked about confronting Mordegon. "It seems as if he had..almost slipped His Majesty on as a costume." Serpent's skin had entered his mind but the knight was outright refusing to state such a horrid thing. "However we did indeed defeat him there in the throne room of Heliodor."

Eleven shook his head, then covered it with a shiver. The knowledge he held of another Time felt forbidden.

He pressed a hand to his chest and breathed. "We did," he repeated, still hardly able to believe he could somehow be in two places in different times and worlds or dimensions. The thought made his head ache. For a few silent moments he stood there, working through the riotous emotions assailing him until he could find something to say again.

"That's.. that's good to hear. I'm really glad it worked out."

The boy's behaviour was odd. Of course with him being the Luminary all sorts of odd things happened, but this was something different. There was something he couldn't quite put a gloved finger on, yet it was enough for the knight to notice.

Especially with the hand on his chest.

"And yet there seems to have been a part of my report that had a vexing effect on you." Hendrik had questions but he wasn't certain the Luminary was going to be forthcoming with an explanation. And of course they weren't on good enough terms for him to be pushier regarding those tidings.

Eleven's eyes snapped to Hendrik's. He hoped he didn't look terribly guilty.

The urge to lie curled around his tongue. He still wasn't good at it, and didn't enjoy trying, but neither did he think he would be able to answer all the other questions he was sure would arise in attempting the truth.

"..A lot's happened," he said after a long minute, eyes darting off as he lowered his hand. "I don't know how to explain much of it."

This much at least, was true.

He didn't like the expression on the Luminary's face and something seemed to be off. However, he didn't think he had too much of an effect other than the initial reunion of finding someone he knew on this planet and dealing with previous fog laden memories.

"By that, do you mean that a lot has happened regarding this place?" He turned and looked over his shoulder very briefly at whatever the villagers seemed to be doing at this point for a moment before returning his gaze to his companion.

"If that is the truth, then I can understand. We are no longer chasing men who were ghosts or something along those lines. But no matter the location, there are still strange goings on."

This place? Eleven followed Hendrik's line of sight, then offered a shrug and the beginnings of a rueful smile.

"I meant everything that's happened since you- since you were gone. The politics of Taravast, the undead that followed and the difficult journey here.." Not to mention the village itself or the fact that he'd gone back to Erdrea, turned back time, then come back.

He shook his head. "There's a great deal to discuss."

The knight listened intently and finally nodded. "I would be interested in hearing about all that has gone on in my absence." And even as he said those words, they sounded odd to his own ears. But then again that was the way this whole thing was going to go he supposed.

"And I apologize for my absence. I surely had no intention of leaving you and not being able to keep you safe."

Because he knew that was what he was doing here before, although it came in bits and pieces to his mind.

The tension in Eleven's shoulders eased, relieved for the moment that he didn't need to sort out a way to explain time.

"I know you wouldn't have left by choice," he assured quietly. "For now, we'll find a place to get a drink while I tell you much as I can well recall."

Hendrik lifted his eyes and he was more than sure that the regret and guilt that was coursing through his veins would be visible on his face. But there was no real help for that because he did feel remorse even if it was strange to feel such a thing.

So he simply nodded and turned away, but he was a mere second away if anything should happen to the boy. "Then let us go and find somewhere that is far quieter and more private so that you can bring me up to date."

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They say people can only run along the paths they choose.

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