[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

Eryn couldn't describe how she felt right now, seeing that Sean was basically asking her to be romantically involved with him. Almost as if her heart chose to disregard her mind, she blurted out without thinking, "I-I'd love to!" Realizing what she had just said, she lowered her head in shame. "T-That is, if you are fine with that, really... I-I have to admit, I've never been in a relationship before... I've had a lot of admirers, but none of them struck me as much as you did, Sean... I hope this can be a start to a healthy relationship between us," she said with a very timid, demure smile.

[Daxam]

Sean grins and pulls Eryn into a hug, using an immense amount of willpower not to tighten it, fearing he would crush her. "That's great," he says, nuzzling her shoulder. "I honestly couldn't ask for anything better." Breaking away, he grins at her and asks, "So, you ready to get back to the game or do you wanna keep taking a break for a bit longer?"

[Vocalia]

"I'm ready to resume our game," Eryn replied, a rosy smile now taking the spot of her shy one after Sean let go of her. She didn't know how she could possibly cause such an emotional and energetic reaction from anyone, let alone a man who seemingly had everything an average Joe desired. Still, she was happy to know that she could make someone smile for a good reason.

[Daxam]

A couple hours later, Isaac walks out of his room, looking tired, hand in hand with Hayley. "You guys are still playing?" he asks, seeing the snacks on the table and Sean and Eryn still on the game. "Yep," Sean replies as he reaches for the cookies, only to find out they were gone. "What were you two doing?" Isaac shrugs and says, "I think I might've dozed off. Today's been...draining, to say the least."

[Vocalia]

"We just went to take a little nap, though I had to have Alexis arm strong me into sleeping... I guess today's been harder on me than I thought," Hayley replied, then noticed Eryn smiling happily while munching on a melon wedge. "Having fun, Eryn?" she asked with a chuckle. "Mhm," Eryn giggled, then went to grab her mobile phone to look at the time. "Oh dear. I think I would have to go back soon. I need to pack everything up and notify the university that I've found an off-campus accommodation since the dorms belong to the university."

[Daxam]

Sean instantly saves the game and sets the controller down as he stands up. "Well, let's get going, then," he says. Seeing that the plate for the melon wedges was empty, he adds, "We can just leave the snacks here for when we get back. We still gotta finish that mission, anyway." As he and Eryn walk to the elevator, Sean calling out his good-byes, Isaac notices that they were holding hands. "Look at that," he says. "I guess today hasn't been all bad."

[Vocalia]

"Life always have a beginning and an end. They never go too far from each other, they say," Hayley replied with a fond smile, watching as the previously shy girl now walked side by side with the powerful elementalist. "I'm just glad that this day ends on a somewhat hopeful note, all things considered. After all Sean has gone through, he deserves her and she's certainly a great match for him. I just hope that his ego doesn't end up driving her off, though knowing that she had been friends with him for a bit, I'm sure she's well aware of that."

[Daxam]

"I'm not sure," Isaac says. "Sean seems like a completely different guy around her." Walking over to the table, he picks up the bowl of chips and munches on one as he sits down on the couch. "But, you're right," he says as he turns on the television. "If he hasn't run her off yet, she's either denser than we thought or she really does like him, which seems to be the most likely choice."

[Vocalia]

"I'm more inclined to agree with your second assessment. No way a girl that bright could be that terribly dense," Hayley chuckled and threw herself onto the sofa, putting one foot on the coffee table with the other leg slung across. "Even from just briefly talking to her, I already have a sense of her basic personality. She doesn't strike me as a clueless, dense person. In fact, she seems to be quite perceptive, if not shy because of it."

[Daxam]

Leaning against Hayley, Isaac says, "Yeah, I know. Looks like opposites attract, in this case." Chuckling, he sets the chips in between himself and Hayley as he finds a movie for the two of them to watch. Sighing, he takes Hayley's hand and, out of the blue, says, "I love you, Hayley."

[Vocalia]

Although sudden, Isaac's declaration of love hadn't gone unnoticed by Hayley, who happily returned the favor with a smile and a kiss on his cheek. "I love you too, Isaac," she replied and scooted as close to him as she could, placing the bowl of chips on their touched thighs. While the two lovebirds spent some quality time being with one another, Alexis observed from behind the scenes. Even after several months of knowing Isaac and Vincent, Alexis still couldn't grasp the concept of "love" and "affection". She had only just understood the emotion of "sadness" and she realized that she would need to do more study into human behavior and emotions to be able to understand what a human was. For now, she decided that it would be best for her not to interfere with what she deemed as a "sadness coping mechanism" by both wielders of super powers.

[Daxam]

Issac feels his heart soar as Hayley, almost instantly, returns his affection, showing that she had come a long ways from when they first got together, when she would blush and stammer. Turning toward her, he pecks her forehead and cuddles against her as the movie plays.

Meanwhile, in their bedroom, Nigel opens his eyes to find the room bathed in a pale orange light. He was laying on his side, his arms around Arlia. He didn't know until that moment that they had fallen asleep during a lull in their conversation. Smiling, he kisses his love's nose and quietly watches her sleep.

[Vocalia]

At first, Arlia seemed to remained in her peaceful state of lull, but then suddenly, she began to whimper, curling up her body and quivering slightly. "Mi dispiace, padre... Per favore lasciami andare...*" she whimpered, looking very frightened. It would seem that it would take Arlia some time to be able to fully let go of her own nightmares. Even during the first four months, her late father still haunted her dreams.

[Daxam]

Nigel watches as Arlia pleads with her dead father and gently wraps his arms around her. "Shh," he whispers, rubbing his love's back. "It's okay, Arlia. He can't hurt you anymore. I'm here, my love. I won't let anything happen to you." That said, he gently pecks her forehead, running his fingers through her hair as he does his best to calm her down.

[Vocalia]

After a few short minutes, Arlia finally broke free of the nightmare and quickly latched onto Nigel, whimpering softly. "Oh, Nigel! I'm glad that you're here..." she sighed with relief, embracing the man beside her. "I'm so sorry, love... I just had this terrifying nightmares... Not even his death has given me solace in my sleep."

[Daxam]

Nigel pulls Arlia close to him, embracing her tightly as he rubs her back. "It's alright, my love," he whispers. "I understand. You've put up with him for far too long to get over it so easily." Kissing the side of her head, he adds, "But you will get over it, eventually. You're so strong, Arlia, I know you can do it." Smiling softly, he nuzzles her shoulder and adds, "You're the strongest person I know. You'll be fine, I know it. Especially with me by your side."

[Vocalia]

Smiling with joy, Arlia nuzzled her beloved with the tip of her nose. "Grazie. I will get over it, both for my own sake and for you. I will not let that wretched animal get the best of me for too long. As long as I have you by my side, I can accomplish anything." She was content to just enjoy having him be by her side, but then she remembered something that had always been in her mind. "Love, may I ask you something? How did you know about what happened to me? The Medici values secrecy above all. They would surely kill any possible mole they could find..."

[Daxam]

Nigel looks at Arlia, then thinks back to when he fought Adriano. After a few moments, he says, "Well, I got home from work that day and Sarah told me that there was a package waiting for me. I took it into my room and opened it to find a DVD. I played it in my computer and it showed Adriano...doing things. It took all of my self-control not to explode right there, so I managed to hold back until I got to the Medici HQ. Crey had been keeping an eye on you guys for awhile, so I knew where you were. The rest...well, you know what happened."

[Vocalia]

"I see..." Arlia realized that she should had seen it coming, given how paranoid both factions were. "Looking back... I should have realized that my sick father would savor that moment. When he... did it, he kept on blaming me for falling for an "outsider", that I'm his alone and that he would purify me. I have lived for so long under his sick indoctrination that I couldn't get away from him even after he was dead."

Looking up at him, she decided that he deserved to know. "Adriano had always been perverted and lustful, but rarely had he vented his carnal desire with other women. For some reason, he seemed to be fixated on me. From the day I was considered physically ready, he took me and constantly ravaged me. What you saw wasn't his first. It's just one of the many times he had done so to me... He would do that to punish me or even when he was bored. It was almost as if he saw me as a concubine of sorts instead of his own flesh and blood. I had been fortunate that nothing bad had came out of it throughout my life, but even so... What he did had affected more than just my own self-worth... I became addicted to that pleasure, fixated like a drug addict. I no longer minded sleeping with so many men, just as what I've done during some of my work. I felt filthy and I wanted to leave, but I had never been able to do so... until you came into my life. The rest is as you know it."

[Daxam]

Nigel listens to Arlia bravely recount what had happened to her in silence, feeling his anger toward Adriano build once more, although the man was dead, now. Once she was finished, Nigel does the first thing that comes to mind: he brings her into a loving kiss, trying to tell her through the action that she was safe, that he truly loved her, and he would die before letting something like that happen to her again. Moments later, he breaks away and whispers, "I am going to spend the rest of my life doing all I can to make you feel like the most important person in the universe, because that's who you are to me. No longer will you have to degrade yourself like that. As long as I'm alive, I will do all I can, and then some, to ensure you can live as normal a life as possible."