[Baconwizard]

Taking a quick breath of excitement, Freylan scooted closer to the telescope, pressing her eye closer to it. "Oh..." She breathed, staring up at the sky through that little circle. Her hands reached for the little knob, and she made a small sound as it suddenly blinked into focus. "It-it's so close!" She breathed, moving her face away to stare up at the stars she was familiar with. "Is that... Mars? I-it's so red!"

[zapdragon555]

Clivius was shifting the pot of soup onto the blanket--admittedly walking up the mountain had left him famished--and he blinked up at her exclamation. His eyes shone at her excitement, and he chuckled, nodding his head and glancing up at the sky. "Yes, you're about in the right area, it looks like. Isn't he handsome?" Clivius joked, chuckling as he could barely make out the red dot in the sky that was Mars. He took out two bowls, and filled one of them with a ladle from the soup bowl, a chunky stew plopping into the bowl and steaming thick clouds of heat. "Ah, whenever you'd like... I-I brought some soup, if you want it!" he said, picking up one of the spoons he'd brought and stirring his to cool it a bit.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan had returned to the telescope, staring at the craggy red surface of the planet. So that was what a planet really looked like... It was amazing. "It's beautiful..." She breathed, her hands clutching at her clothes in excitement. It took Freylan a moment to register what Clivius had said, and she pulled away, staring at him with wide eyes. She looked at the soup, a little puzzled by what he meant, then back at him, dithering. What was she supposed to do? Should she eat it? What if she didn't like human food? "U-um... th-thank you..." She mumbled, sniffing the air. It didn't smell... bad, but it wasn't as appetizing as Clivius seemed to think it was. Taking the bowl, Freylan watched Clivius, still not sure what to do with it yet.

[zapdragon555]

Once Clivius had deemed the soup edible enough, he raised the spoon to his mouth, then paused, glancing at her. Was it right to eat first? The polite thing to do would be to wait for her... but she was staring at him, too. Feeling himself grow self-conscious, Clivius went ahead and took a small bite of soup, figuring just hovering there with his spoon was even more awkward than the faux pas of eating prematurely. Oh, manners... did manners apply, out here in the woods? Surely, some semblance of them did. But maybe not the ones regarding soup.

What on earth was he doing, with his mind running all over high heaven. It could've been that she was looking at him so intently; it was making him horribly flustered. "My, ah... father used to make this soup for me when I was sick. It's very good... if you like tomatoes and things."

[Baconwizard]

One nice thing about the soup was that the heat through the bowl was warming her fingers. Freylan's hands curled around the stone surface, a little pleased from the sensation. She watched Clivius take a sip, half of her face hidden in shadow from her cloak, and then looked down at the red liquid. So it was made of tomatoes. What were tomatoes? Picking up her spoon, Freylan considered the food. If she didn't eat it, Clivius would be offended, probably, and would wonder why she wouldn't eat it. Carefully, as if she was afraid of it attacking her, Freylan spooned up a little of the liquid and put it in her mouth. She didn't get enough to swallow properly, so the taste bloomed out on her tongue. It was... strange. Not indigestible, but it certainly wasn't anything like the deer blood that she had stored in the cellar.

Glancing at Clivius, Freylan nodded, trying for a small smile. She looked back at the bowl, then decided that she would try again later. Putting down the bowl, Freylan laced her hands around her knees. "U-um... your family... is it just you and your father?" That had been bugging Freylan for awhile now; over the course of the week alone, Freylan had had the time to mull over the finer points of her conversations with Clivius. Freylan had never known her father, or her grandfather, and was raised primarily by her female family members. It seemed like Clivius, in contrast, had only his father. It was an interesting point, to Freylan, and she inwardly wondered what it was like to have one. A father.

[zapdragon555]

Clivius noticed her take a small sip and put it down, and his heart fell slightly in his chest. Even so, he paid it no mind. She hadn't looked disgusted, anyway, but rather... curious. Like she'd never tasted something like that before. Putting this curious thought out of his mind, Clivius straightened up as she began to speak. His face grew a little more sheepish with each word, a small smile on his face. "Mhm," he murmured softly, nodding his head once. "Yes, it's just me and my father. His name is Sylvester... ah, he's the preacher at the town church. I help out with things sometimes. I wanted to go to university, to study science and astrology, but... my father would rather me follow in his footsteps," Clivius chuckled, tapping the cross around his neck slightly before taking another spoonful of soup.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan's eyes flickered with fear as he tapped the cross around his neck. She had almost forgotten that he wore that cursed thing. Swallowing, Freylan looked away, composing herself for a moment. Grandmother had talked about the preachers in the town before. They were the leaders, she said, and they told the villagers that vampires were evil, and should be wiped out. Grandmother had shown Freylan drawings of a tall man standing in front of a large crowd, holding a cross in one hand, and a torch in the other, his face contorted with passion, and anger. The picture had frightened Freylan when she was younger.

Clearing her throat, Freylan spoke again, although she kept her face hidden from Clivius. "S-so... you'll become a preacher too?" She asked, her voice a little breathless, although she tried to keep it casual. Her hands tightened on each other, just barely trembling. Why... Clivius was so nice. He brought her this telescope, brought her conversation, and out of mistaken goodwill, he had brought her some of his food. Why was he a human? Why had Freylan become so close to a person who was supposed to be her enemy, her greatest fear? Freylan bent over, pressing her face into her knees, unable to hide the sudden rush of sadness that threatened to overwhelm her. "I'm sorry..."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius blinked at the question, a little surprised. "W-well... as I said, my father... would like for me to," he said, sounding unsure as he smiled, brows knitted a little. "He's a very kind man. And smart... but he's a bit stuck in his ways. As is the stereotype for preachers," he admitted, chuckling slightly and blushing in a kind of shame for badmouthing his father behind his back. "It isn't that he won't allow me to do otherwise. I just... feel like I need to make him happy," he mumbled, staring at the soup, and he winced, smiling and raising his head just in time for her to apologize...

For what? Clivius stared at her, then realized he hadn't spoken the words in his mind. "F-for what...?" he asked, looking terribly confused. He glanced at her bowl of soup, then her hunched figure, his brows knitting up in worry. "Freylan...?" he asked softly, beginning to lean forward, then thought better of it. She probably needed space, she was so timid before...

[Baconwizard]

Curling in tighter, Freylan pressed her face into her knees in a vain attempt to keep the world at bay. She felt like crying, for some reason. All of this was so sad. The soup, his father, the stars... All of it made Freylan's heart feel as if it was twisted up inside of her. She tensed at Clivius's words, and shook her head, burying herself a little tighter into a ball. "Y-you're too kind," she blurted out, her voice muffled by her clothes. "I-I don't understand why you're so kind to me." Freylan's shoulders shook slightly as she began to cry, hunched up in front of a sweet human boy who probably had no idea what she was talking about. She wished he wasn't so kind. But there was no avoiding the fact that Freylan was drawn to this scholarly boy who sneaked away from his father to stare at the stars. She was drawn to his kindness like a moth to a flame, and now Freylan felt as if it were too late. "Y-you shouldn't get close to me. I-it's not good, like this... I'll hurt you..."

[zapdragon555]

Freylan's initial words had sent a wave of confusion through Clivius, and the follow up a wave of fear. "W-what...?" he asked, his brows furrowing with worry. "Freylan, you... no, it's fine. You wouldn't hurt me..." he said, a sudden note of cautiousness to his voice. He'd... he'd only met this girl in the forest. What did she mean? Did she... have some sort of illness? How on earth could she hurt him? "I'm... I..." Clivius started to try to explain himself, but realized he couldn't. Why was he being so kind to her? Going to such great lengths for her, standing out in the cold waiting every night and bringing soup...

He knew the answer, and it was a selfish one. He didn't have the heart to say it, nor the gumption. "I'm sorry, if I've scared you, Freylan," he finally finished, his hands folded softly in his lap, expression one of quiet concern. "But... you're alright. I promise... everything is fine."

[Baconwizard]

Freylan shuddered, bringing a hand to wipe at her face, hating the fact that she had suddenly started crying. Clivius sounded confused, and scared, but he was apologizing to her, and that made Freylan feel like crying more. A small, hiccuping sound leaked out of her, and she shook her head. "I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Clivius. I-I never... should have come back h-here. Y-you're so kind to me, a-and all I've done in return is––is keep secrets a-and lie. I don't know what to do anymore." Freylan hid her face in her hands, unable to stop the shuddering flow of words now. "I'm a monster..."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius felt his heart twist up like briars in his chest as he heard a sob escape her, and he leaned forward on instinct, hands hovering in the air between them. He wanted to touch her, to tell her it was alright, that whatever was bothering her wouldn't dare... but her words stopped him. Secrets? Lies...?

...a monster?

Clivius' dark eyes flickered slightly, and his hands lowered, heart hammering in his chest. "Freylan," he whispered, his voice keeping steady by some miracle. "I'm glad that you came back. I... I wanted to see you again. And besides, this... this is your place. Your stargazing spot, that you were kind enough to share with me. If... if either of us should leave, it's definitely me, but..." Monster. Monster? What did she mean...?

[Baconwizard]

At Clivius's soft, steady words, Freylan looked up at him, her face in shadow from her cloak. She let out a shaking breath, her hands bunching in the folds of her skirt as if she held tight enough, she wouldn't fall apart. How long had it been since she cried like this? How long had it been since she had let another person so close to her heart? The thought of Clivius leaving was agonizing, and she shook her head back and forth. She had to tell him the truth. But if she did, what would he think of her? Would he run away screaming, and tell his father and all the people in his village? Freylan would have to run far away, but she didn't know where else to go.

"I don't want you to leave," she whispered, tears falling down her cheeks and landing in her lap. "I-I don't... w-want any of this, I'm sorry. It's been... so long since I made a friend. S-so long, and now..." Freylan ducked her head, beginning to sob, her voice barely audible behind her tears. "Y-you'll tell the preacher, a-and he'll lead a mob up the hillside. They'll burn e-everything, a-and they won't stop until one of us is dead. E-except there's no one left, now, it's––it's just me, a-and then there won't be any more of us..." Freylan covered her face again, not wanting to see Clivius's confusion. "Why is it like this..."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius stared at Freylan, feeling utterly helpless to stop her tears. In truth, she was scaring him. All this talk of monsters and mobs and preachers and death... "Freylan, what are you... talking... about," Clivius began, his eyes flickering suddenly. A strange girl he'd met in the forest... he knew nothing about her... her fear of Clivius, of the cross, of preachers and there's no one left now...

"Dear God," Clivius whispered, his face falling to a look of quiet, blank dread. Surely... surely that wasn't true. Freylan wasn't a monster at all; she was kind, and gentle, and sweet and pretty, and... oh... oh, god... "Y-you're...?" No, there was another explanation. There had to be, Clivius told himself over and over and over again in his mind. There had to be.

[Baconwizard]

A shiver of icy fear ran down Freylan's spine at the dread in Clivius's voice. She could imagine his face without even having to look up. Gasping for air, Freylan moved, awkwardly trying to push herself up onto her knees so that she could run. "I'm sorry," she managed to say, her voice thick with tears. She had to run. Leave. Get away from him. She couldn't stand it, she couldn't stand this overwhelming sadness anymore. There was so much of it; it felt as if she was going to drown in it. Freylan had cultivated a fragile sort of happiness, or maybe inertia, in her years of solitude on the mountain. All it took was for one boy to stumble across it, and her glass heart would break, and all the pain that had been held back for decades would come rushing back in.

Freylan's skirts caught underneath her shoe, and she stumbled back to the ground, catching herself on her palms. A small sound slipped out of her, and she scrambled back up, looking everywhere but at Clivius, her eyes wide with fear and face streaked with tears. "I-I can't see you again. Never. Th-thank you for letting me use your telescope, Clivius, a-and the soup. I can't––stay any longer." Freylan stood there for a moment, her breath seizing in her chest, and she shook her head as her small frame shuddered, as if she was being blown away by a strong wind. She allowed herself to look at him, for the last time, and took in the blank look on his face, the fear in his eyes. "G-goodbye..."