warriorscribe | RP - Meridian - Finally home (for smoothangel)

RP - Meridian - Finally home (for smoothangel)

Who: Enoch and Armaros
When: Day 57, morning
Where: His and Armaros's home
What: After a solid day of trekking north to the forest and gathering firewood there, Enoch finally returns home.

He hadn't stopped to rest very much, and definitely hadn't eaten enough for all the work he was doing - though luckily what he did eat was starchy. His body had been built up for endurance over the centuries, and his gradual ascension had only seemed to augment this, so he wasn't in danger of fainting or anything.

Still, though, sleep deprivation is sleep deprivation. He'd been active for more than a full day without meaningful rest. He smiled at the sight of what he couldn't help but begin to think of as home (despite the articles of evidence of the young childless couple that had lived there before, respectfully and carefully stored somewhere safe).

Enoch dragged the large warehouse dolly through the backyard gate and left it there, too tired and cold to unload the firewood and return it to where he'd found it as he'd wanted. He'd just take some of the smaller pieces that didn't need much further cutting to put in the fireplace (a simple matter to figure out with the clear ventilation for smoke and lack of ability to close it, ruling out use as an oven).

He'd brought back something other than fuel for warming fires all winter - he clutched a small bag in his left hand, tightly for his numbed fingertips. It jangled lightly with every step. The blackened jewelry in his friend's hair when he'd washed up on shore had been testament to what he'd been through nearly as much as the state of his body - Armaros being unable to care for his appearance was all too telling, and Enoch felt a need to see Armaros restored in every way possible, even if some new hair clips and thin bangles could only help his self esteem. They weren't fancy, only shiny, but that sort of thing was what Armaros liked, right?

This bag was dropped with a light clink on the fireplace ledge as he shoved the armload of wood inside. Unfortunately, he had yet to figure out what the box of matches in one of the bedroom's desk drawers was for, the box old and its instructions faded. So he started the fire by taking the metal poker and striking the Arch against it inside the fireplace to create sparks until the wood caught.

When he'd stoked the fire into a healthy blaze, he took the bag with the jewelry up again, ready to go wake Armaros - he should be waking up either now or in a couple of hours, right? But the fire was so inviting, his body chilled and numb from the long trek.

It wouldn't make a difference to Armaros if he rested by the fire for a few moments before giving him his gift, would it?

Enoch knelt in front of the ledge, and before he was aware enough of it to stop himself, drifted off to sleep.

And that's how Armaros would find him - slumped forward on his knees in the glow of the crackling flame, slumbering peacefully despite the awkward position.

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Fifteen minutes later, there was the sound of someone jumping onto the roof.

Armaros would have come in sooner, but it was so...so nice out. It was the perfect temperature and it was going to snow soon and the sunrise was so pretty. He could hold off going inside for a few more minutes, right?

It wasn't until he saw the cart of wood that he thought to look inside and then actually enter. Is that Enoch?

While Armaros was on the roof, he might have noticed smoke starting to come from the chimney.

And, of course, it was Enoch inside. And he was asleep, on his knees in front of the fire. Somehow. It certainly didn't seem like a comfortable position to sleep in.

O-Oh. Enoch was alive, right? Of course he was! Armaros padded over to where Enoch was kneeling and bent over to take a closer look. Yep, alive.

How long was he gone? He must have not gotten any sleep...

Armaros's closeness and movement start to wake him - he'd fallen asleep in "caution mode" it seems, the state of sleep that could be easily interrupted by a Ramp or two before they were too close to counter.

He blinked groggily, trying to force himself awake, and turned to look at Armaros with a vaguely dazed expression on his face.

So much for "caution mode".

"Armaros..." He blinked a couple more times. "Did I fall asleep?"

He made some quiet cooing noises before helping Enoch to his feet.

From the feel of him, it was clear that Armaros had been outside, and really recently. He felt cold and looked like he just got done running around outside.

Enoch gave a tired smile at that. That particular noise was soothing, and he was glad that Armaros was being more active.

"You went out, yourself, it seems." His fingers automatically closed around the bag as Armaros had helped him up.

"Oh, I found something for you on the way back..." He handed over the bag, its light rattling likely providing a hint of its contents.

Oh? That was nice of Enoch, but he should probably help him to bed first. He did take the sack, though, but he wasn't going to mess with it until Enoch was in bed.

With that, he tugged on Enoch's arm for him to come along.

Enoch couldn't help but chuckle at that. It was Armaros's turn to be the fussy worrywart. He allowed himself to be led to the bed and climbed in, dismissing his armor as he reached for the blankets. Normally, the mark of Opportunity would be covered by Enoch's armor, his hair, or the blankets, or it would be concealed in the darkness of early winter mornings.

Now, of course, it was perfectly plain to see.

Of course it was. Not that it was inherently bad or anything, it just...threw him off. What was that? Where'd Enoch get that marking? It couldn't have been from Heaven.

Obviously the best thing to do about it was poke at it curiously.

"Hmm?" Enoch looked down at where Armaros was poking. After blinking at the small black mark confusedly, he tried rubbing it off with his fingers. Naturally, nothing happened.

"What in the world...?"

Hmmn. No ink or anything. It wasn't a tattoo, was it?

He gave Enoch a curious look. It was clear that he had no idea it was there in the first place either.

"...I don't know where this came from. I don't recognize it at all."

He was pretty sure he never saw it on himself before. Then again, he hadn't really taken a good look in a mirror since he got here.

Huh. That settled that question. But what was this thing? Armaros idly traced the design with his finger, failing to derive any meaning from it. It couldn't have just suddenly appeared, right?

"You don't know it either."

Naturally, he was stating the obvious, but the sleep deprivation was to blame for that. The warmth of Armaros's finger was nice, though, in the chilly air. Comforting. He yawned quietly into his other hand before reaching over to pat Armaros's own hand. It didn't seem to be doing anything other than just being there, after all.

He clutched at Enoch's hand and then stared at the bag of stuff Enoch got. Hmm. That marking wasn't doing anything so...they could figure it out later. He was curious to see what Enoch actually got him, so he started ruffling open the bag.

The discovery had woken him up a bit, so he only leaned back on his hands to watch Armaros open the bag.

Inside was a pair of gold hairclips and some matching bangles. No fancy patterns or any real weight to them - they were just basic and shiny.

"I thought you might like them."

A squeal came out before he clapped his hand over his mouth and took the jewelry out of the bag. No way.

No waaaaaaaaaaaay.

He's going to look so pretty, aaaaaaaaaaa-

Enoch laughed at his reaction. "I thought right?"

Armaros immediately gave him a big hug.

...A hug that was a little too tight.

Of course, since Enoch was leaning back on his hands, his initial reaction of trying to catch him ended in a lot of trying to keep from falling flat and only partially succeeding.

"A-Armaros...your strength."

Nothing like adrenaline to wake up, is there?

At least his strength was returning.

Armaros thankfully let go, though, and settled into putting on his new things with the utmost care.

He wouldn't have minded the hug so much if it hadn't been so tight.

After straightening up again, he smiled and reached out to help fix the hairclips to the way he used to wear them. It seemed like a hard thing to do without a mirror or some help.

He was a little surprised at Enoch trying to help, but immediately let him. It felt...nice. Really, Enoch being his friend again was probably the nicest thing to get out of all of this. Out of staying here.

Armaros' hand rested on Enoch's thigh while he was busy messing with the hair clips and gave it a gentle squeeze. He tried to mouth something...

Thank you.

Enoch smiled and finished centering the pulled-back layer of hair, dislodging stray strands by running his fingers along its sides.

He rested a hand on Armaros's arm. "I'm glad I could help you."

He nodded and finally realized that he just left his hand on Enoch's thigh. Whoop. Just, uh, let him remove that. Ahaha.

Enoch had completely blanked out on it, sleepless as he'd been and his attention elsewhere, until Armaros called attention to it like that.

He blinked at the spot where the fallen angel's hand had been for a moment. "Armaros?"

Oh, it was nothing! Armaros shook his head before holding up the blanket and trying to cover Enoch.

Shouldn't he be in bed?

Yeah, Armaros was right. He should sleep. Enoch obediently laid down, letting himself be covered.

Sleep didn't come as immediately as it had before, however. "I shouldn't have to leave for so long for a good while..."

Armaros stared at Enoch for a bit before lying down next to him, his new jewelry jingling lightly. Though he didn't really feel tired...

He smiled at the sound. The jewelry itself wasn't so important, but...he'd recovered in a way, hadn't he?

"Were you able to sleep?" And, of course, only after he said it did he realize it was more likely for the companionship. Oh well.

He shrugged and managed to scoot a little bit closer.

Enoch turned onto his side to face him, his hair falling away from the strange mark again. He smiled and reached over to rest a hand on Armaros's arm again for a moment.

He was grateful for this place. He knew now, knew that he wouldn't have to kill Armaros, and that even though he'd be in a terrible place, he'd wind up here, where he'd be safe and taken care of.

It was awhile before Armaros thought of doing anything. Eventually, he settled on holding Enoch's hand.

It felt like he wanted to ask something but he obviously couldn't, so...

Enoch had nearly dozed off in the silence when Armaros took his hand. He blinked, startled a bit, and looked at Armaros questioningly.

Oh, um! He probably shouldn't have startled Enoch awake, but...let's see.

He took Enoch's hand and placed it his chest, where his heart should be. It was obvious that he was doing this to try to tell Enoch something, not making him do whatever this was for no reason.

But he stared at Enoch. Did he get it?

Enoch blinked and just kind of stared at Armaros for a second, uncomprehending.

Then, the confused look slowly became a smile. "Are you telling me I'm dear to you? You are as well. You're a wonderful friend, Armaros..."

He nodded. Yeah, that was close to what he was saying.

What Armaros did next was a little strange. He scooted closer and closer until they were right next to each other, still holding Enoch's hand.

"...Nnn." Apparently, that was good enough closeness for him, because he seemed satisfied.

That was strange, even to Enoch's sleep-deprived mind. But he still smiled, anyway, because he had an idea of what it meant.

"...Do you mean more than that?"

He wasn't quite sure what to think of it, himself, given his fuzzy memory of the time they'd spent together before. But if he didn't have any positive thoughts on it, he wouldn't have asked for clarification.

Minutes passed before he finally shrugged. He wasn't really sure how to phrase it himself. Seeing Enoch as a friend was fine, but it felt more like he was a...Super Friend.

A Super Best Friend who he didn't ever want to leave.

Enoch chuckled at that, and squeezed Armaros's hand reassuringly. "Don't think about anything I say right now too hard, Armaros. You know I haven't slept..."

That was fine. He seemed to be content with just lying there and stroking Enoch's face.

That was...certainly unexpected, but Enoch had to admit it felt nice. Physical affection for the last couple hundred years had been fairly scarce. Rather than question it further, he relaxed, smiling and enjoying it for what it was.

There weren't any strings attached, not anymore. There had once been Enoch himself and then Belial, but now, somehow in Enoch's future (like so many others in this city), he was here.

"I'm glad you're here," he mumbled, half-asleep.

"Ahhn." However glad Enoch was, Armaros was about a million times gladder that Enoch was here. He had no idea. No conceivable idea.

He leaned forward to give Enoch a chaste kiss on the forehead. He can't really say that he's glad too, but he can show it, at least.

Enoch made a quiet, content noise in his throat at the kiss, closing his eyes. He reached up and rested a languid hand on Armaros's shoulder. He was warm, he was safe...he was happy. Both of them were.

Enoch had forgotten how much that mattered.

"Mm...It's been a long time since I've felt...home."

Even if his stay would only be temporary, it had to be for Armaros to be here like this. He hoped he would return someday after that, and he hoped that Armaros would stay forever - or at least return only once Heaven would take him back. Of all the things he had come to doubt about Heaven, Enoch did not doubt God's ability to forgive those who deserved it. And Armaros surely deserved it. Being Belial's prisoner had to count as penance enough.

...Home? Hmmn, now that he mentioned it, this place could be a nice home, couldn't it?

As far as places go, this city wasn't that bad of a home. A bit weird, but it was something to work with at least. No he nodded at Enoch and settled in again. He should probably let him get some sleep.

Enoch couldn't see the nod, but the shift in Armaros's weight beside him was clue enough. He unconsciously curled towards him, and soon fell asleep, for the first time in years feeling completely safe in doing so.

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RP - Meridian - Finally home (for smoothangel)

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