09-25-2018, 11:21 AM
[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 55%; line-height:115%; text-align: justify;font-family: calibri;"]Old habits died hard, or so they said. All that Ana had gone through following her departure only seemed to further prove that theory, each second of her life spent doing nothing short of what she had already been doing before. Like Gabriel, she was a soldier beyond everything else, struggling with a responsibility she couldn't quite shake even after that life seemed to be so far away from her. She had followed her calling even after the fall of their dual organizations, staying true to what she had helped to create… helping those in need and doing her best to not become the villain of the sad story of their life.
It was quite a plot twist to have led her to this moment.
She did not recognize him at first, not in this body and with a lack of identifiable powers that would inherently help her. The hybrid was nothing but another face, a stranger who seemed to spot her all lonesome and perhaps aimed to either help what appeared to be an old lady out, or attempt to bite off more than he could chew by assuming she was weaker than she was. An easy smile was on her lips as he approached nevertheless, shouldering the pack of her meager belongings in preparation for what was to come… yet it dropped almost instantly at his words.
She froze, briefly unable to comprehend them, throat wavering as she swallowed thickly, unable to breathe. It took her a second to return to reality, metaphorical brows furrowing together less in frustration but more in concern, but eventually she found her voice and spoke.
"Gabriel..." her voice was soft yet undeniably charged with emotions she had done her best to never let go of. She had watched too many fade away into the corners of their mind, embittered by the passage of time and it’s constant torrent of suffering that seemed endless, and had done all she could to not become one of them. She still felt. She still ached, but at least she wasn’t numb to it all. Gabriel’s presence was a bittersweet testament to that, tugging at her heartstrings in ways she had not been prepared for.
She was more than prepared for the future. Revisiting the past, especially one as raw as theirs had been… something caught in her throat at the realization that she hadn’t expected this, that it had been so far in the corners of her mind, buried underneath false pretext of reality that urged her to forget this one hope. It had been too long for her to hold on to it so readily.
Perhaps it was wrong of her to assume she was seen well anymore, knowing very well how bitter emotions could get when such a long span of time had passed. Ana had missed him more than she cared to admit, though, and it was only natural that after the initial shock wore down her paws moved of her own accord, face butting gently into Gabriel’s chest, still a good length taller than her despite his significantly smaller size.
"This was the last place I expected to find you," she murmured after a while, a smile sad yet genuine pressed into his fur. Yet the unspoken words hung between them, heavy in their suffocating silence, for in reality it wasn't a stretch to believe that either of them would have died at that point. Life was precious, and as soldiers they both knew just how short it could be. She hadn't expected to see him at all, grizzled with age and in a body that didn't quite seem to fit the image she had memorized of him.
It was still him, though. She could recognize Gabriel from nothing more than his demeanor if that's all she was left with as an identifiable trait. And if he was here…
She pulled back to gaze up at him, faint hope flickering in her eye, although it was still carefully restrained. She shouldn’t get her hopes up. She didn’t know what had transpired between either of them, if they were still as close as they had been before… but she couldn’t help but be curious, especially when it came to matters like these.
”Is Jack with you?”
It was quite a plot twist to have led her to this moment.
She did not recognize him at first, not in this body and with a lack of identifiable powers that would inherently help her. The hybrid was nothing but another face, a stranger who seemed to spot her all lonesome and perhaps aimed to either help what appeared to be an old lady out, or attempt to bite off more than he could chew by assuming she was weaker than she was. An easy smile was on her lips as he approached nevertheless, shouldering the pack of her meager belongings in preparation for what was to come… yet it dropped almost instantly at his words.
She froze, briefly unable to comprehend them, throat wavering as she swallowed thickly, unable to breathe. It took her a second to return to reality, metaphorical brows furrowing together less in frustration but more in concern, but eventually she found her voice and spoke.
"Gabriel..." her voice was soft yet undeniably charged with emotions she had done her best to never let go of. She had watched too many fade away into the corners of their mind, embittered by the passage of time and it’s constant torrent of suffering that seemed endless, and had done all she could to not become one of them. She still felt. She still ached, but at least she wasn’t numb to it all. Gabriel’s presence was a bittersweet testament to that, tugging at her heartstrings in ways she had not been prepared for.
She was more than prepared for the future. Revisiting the past, especially one as raw as theirs had been… something caught in her throat at the realization that she hadn’t expected this, that it had been so far in the corners of her mind, buried underneath false pretext of reality that urged her to forget this one hope. It had been too long for her to hold on to it so readily.
Perhaps it was wrong of her to assume she was seen well anymore, knowing very well how bitter emotions could get when such a long span of time had passed. Ana had missed him more than she cared to admit, though, and it was only natural that after the initial shock wore down her paws moved of her own accord, face butting gently into Gabriel’s chest, still a good length taller than her despite his significantly smaller size.
"This was the last place I expected to find you," she murmured after a while, a smile sad yet genuine pressed into his fur. Yet the unspoken words hung between them, heavy in their suffocating silence, for in reality it wasn't a stretch to believe that either of them would have died at that point. Life was precious, and as soldiers they both knew just how short it could be. She hadn't expected to see him at all, grizzled with age and in a body that didn't quite seem to fit the image she had memorized of him.
It was still him, though. She could recognize Gabriel from nothing more than his demeanor if that's all she was left with as an identifiable trait. And if he was here…
She pulled back to gaze up at him, faint hope flickering in her eye, although it was still carefully restrained. She shouldn’t get her hopes up. She didn’t know what had transpired between either of them, if they were still as close as they had been before… but she couldn’t help but be curious, especially when it came to matters like these.
”Is Jack with you?”
♔ — I want brimstone in my garden