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Post by Griffin on Jun 25, 2010 0:35:52 GMT -5
Reh was struck dumb by Daniel's words. He didn't progress with another attack. Half because of the struck dumb comment and half because his the wound on his arm was bleeding profusely down his side. He took the time to bandage it with part of his cloak. It worked for now.
"How am I supposed to make you understand, Daniel!? This is something no one could get over! It haunts me every night. Call it survivor's guilt, call it broken heart syndrome, call me a whiny little bastard. I'm nothing but parts now. Hands to pull a bowstring, eyes to aim my arrows, feet to move with silence. No heart. No soul. Yes, I'd love to feel happiness again, but it's just something my body isn't capable of anymore, Daniel."
Reh charged with blinding speed in one burst, all of the sudden in Daniel's face with a knife at his throat.
"And disrespect the death of my love once more and you won't be able to return to yours."
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Post by Golden Emblem on Jun 25, 2010 0:44:27 GMT -5
Daniel was not prepared for the sudden speed with which Reh charged at him, and was now experiencing the feeling of being inches away from death. He felt this way too many times before, and it wasn't something he exactly enjoyed. However, as much as Reh was threatening to kill him, Daniel couldn't wipe a smile from his face.
He was either going to die with that smile, or be able to rub it in to Reh in about five minutes.
"All I hear from you is complaining, just more whining and moaning about how much your life sucks and how oh, you can never be happy again, because you are so unique in the pain you feel," Daniel began, his voice surprisingly calm for the situation he was in. "No one else in the world has experienced the pain of having someone they love dying, right?"
While he had a smile on, his eyes were pointed daggers, glaring at Reh as if he wanted to kill him with that stare. "If you kill me, you're just making another person go through the same thing you did. It would be typical for someone like you."
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Post by Griffin on Jun 25, 2010 0:52:44 GMT -5
"I should have killed you long ago, you asshole."
Reh drew back his knife and was about to swing when the last of Daniel's words sunk in.
Emiko...
I can't do that to her...
Reh twisted his grip and tried to slow his swing as much as he could, but the butt end of the knife still smacked Daniel in the face.
"But, I can't. You're right, for once. Emiko's the closest thing I have to a friend. Lord knows why she loves you, but I could never put her through that. But never once have I gone on about being unique in this. I'm broken, not unique."
Reh began walking away from Daniel as if the battle was over. He didn't expect it to be and was still on his guard, but he couldn't stop thinking about wringing the blood out of Daniel's body with his bare hands. He spun the knife in his hand...pondering just what to do with it.
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Post by Golden Emblem on Jun 25, 2010 15:35:20 GMT -5
Daniel was not very happy to get smacked in the face with the blunt end of Reh's knife, but it was better than dying. To those who might have heard what Daniel said, they could have easily assumed he had a death wish. This was not true. Daniel just had a way with words, and knew what to say at the right moment. Sometimes it didn't work, but more often than not, he ended off victorious.
But now, he was angry. The smack to the face had been more insulting than anything, as had Reh's comment that he didn't understand why Emiko would love him. And for him to just walk away after that?
It wouldn't be happening.
"Hey, Reh, just a moment," Daniel sighed, walking after him. "I have just one to say to you."
If Reh turned around to face Daniel instead of walking forward, he was going to find a fist to the face, courtesy of a punch Daniel had been waiting to give him for a while.
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Post by Griffin on Jun 25, 2010 15:48:51 GMT -5
"And what would th-"
Reh's words were cut off by Daniel's fist colliding with his jaw. Reh stumbled backwards, not knowing how to react. He breathed heavily for a few moments, managing to say, "You still want to fight after all this?"
But then Reh remembered, even though his past became the focus point of the battle, it was not why the battle was called.
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Post by Golden Emblem on Jun 25, 2010 23:15:17 GMT -5
"Yeah, that's right," Daniel responded, white knuckles clenching his sword in his right hand. "Unless, of course, you want to give me what I'm here for and run off like the little coward you are. Otherwise, I have no problem with wringing your neck in order to get it. And you know I will, so you might want to play nice this time. We don't want a repeat of before, do we? I couldn't run after you right away, but I'd find you and cut off your thieving hands."
Daniel might have been speaking in a light-hearted tone, but he was more than serious and ready to follow up that threat.
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Post by Griffin on Jun 25, 2010 23:32:00 GMT -5
After all of this...he still wants to fight...
That realization caused something to click inside of Reh's mind. Daniel was out for blood. No kind of convincing would change what he said or why he said it. Somewhere in the back of Reh's mind, he had hoped to become friends with Daniel, or at least not enemies, but those vague hopes evaporated so long as Daniel proved aggressive toward him.
There was no fixing what was already broken.
He started taking steps backwards away from Daniel. He removed his strikers from his hands and slipped them into his pocket. A few steps later, Reh turned and ran. He ran, ripping the tiger-eye necklace from his neck and dropping it in his wake.
Running away? No. Reh liked to call it, "setting a trap". And with any luck, the necklace would distract Daniel from Reh drawing his bow and nocking an arrow as he ran.
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Post by Golden Emblem on Jun 25, 2010 23:41:31 GMT -5
Daniel wanted to chase him and give him a few extra smacks across the head for old times' sake, but he decided his ribs had been pounded enough. He didn't need to work them anymore than they already had been. He did notice that his necklace had been dropped on the ground, so he quietly walked up to it and picked it up, cleaning off the dirt.
It's good to have this back. I've got to be more careful, he could have damaged it... thank God it's alright.
Daniel put it back on, happy that Reh was satisfied to run away, or so he thought.
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Post by Griffin on Jun 25, 2010 23:45:05 GMT -5
After Reh was sufficient chasing distance away from Daniel, but still well within bowshot range, Reh stopped running, turned on his heels, and aimed his arrow downrange. He winced as he felt the wound on his arm tear open again with the draw, but he steadied himself and aimed the arrow so it would fly inches in front of Daniel's face. He released, ignoring his wound for the moment. He need to see the look on Daniel's face.
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Post by Golden Emblem on Jun 25, 2010 23:48:32 GMT -5
Daniel was not expecting an arrow to fly mere inches away from his face, but when it did, he did not react as well as Reh would hope. He didn't jump back (even though his heart was jumping to make up for this). Instead, he shot the most bland of expressions towards the way Reh had went, not wanting to give him the benefit of letting him know that he was very startled.
Instead, Daniel lifted a certain finger on his bloody left hand towards the archer. A finger which Reh was no doubt used to seeing from Daniel.
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Post by Griffin on Jun 26, 2010 0:01:36 GMT -5
Reh indeed was disappointed not to see Reh jump a few meters in the air, but he couldn't help but chuckle when Daniel gave him the bird. He considered actually shooting him this time, but with his arm in extreme pain and Daniel probably as well, he decided for an alternative. Reh dropped his bow to the side and held up his hands in an "X" above his head, indicating he wasn't going to attack Daniel again. It was a gentleman's signal and hopefully Daniel would accept it as Reh reached around in his pockets.
He crouched down on the ground and began scribbling away something on a piece of paper. A minute later, he tied the message to an arrow, nocked it, and clearly aimed it to Daniel's right. Then, he placed his bow on his back, flipped up his cowl, and walked away from the Crossroads.
Daniel,
I do not forgive you, but I cannot kill you. I will not apologize either. Did I do you wrong? Of course, but you have wronged me as well. Somethings just can't be fixed. You. Me. Us.
If you feel like contacting me for whatever reason, send a message addressed specifically to me by pigeon to the location on the map on the back of this note.
Please say hello to Emiko for me.
-Reh.
On the back of the note was a map to a secret Ranger message station operated by civilians. Something was scrawled at the bottom of the map and response to Daniel's last action toward him.
PS: Fuck you too.
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