Child Of Night...

"Must’ve been far away indeed for you to be so surprised at seeing it. Lots of monsters move. Adapt and expand territory. But if the last place you saw one was as far as you imply, then what was it doing here I wonder?" He said casually with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. He turned his head and gazed at the dead beast once more for a moment.

"Meh, never mind me. I’m just speculating." While he wouldn’t pry, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t use some subtle wordplay. "Regardless, we should get going. A dead beast that size is going to attract all manner of scavengers." A slight smile. Rare.

"Company indeed. And here I thought I was just a bodyguard? Careful not to run into one of those things again. Next time I might have to charge you." He said with a slight wink.

  ♚ ——- ;   The sky was painted with the soft color of beryl, sharing its heavenly glory with the puffy white clouds that slowly breezed by. The young brunette walked within the deep forest without a care in the world. She admired the towering trees and the various colors that nature had to offer. The smell of pine and moss was a pleasant scent compared to the streets of Alexandria which fumed with smoke from the chimneys or the putrid smell of gyashi pickles. A delicacy they were, but the smell was strong and awful. Red boots gently kicked up dirt as the gem trotted down the path covered in fallen leaves and shade.

   The sun’s rays peeked behind the green leaves, allowing her eyes to rest easy on the path before her. It wasn’t until the sound of rushing water did Garnet feel at ease about where she was headed. The dove did not come to this spot as often as she wanted, given that she hardly had time to be alone. With all of her work out of the way, she could slip away from her guards with little regret weighing down her heart. Once Garnet left the mouth of the forest, her lips parted in a graceful smile as her eyes lit up in awe. The waterfall glistened as it fell over the cliff before meeting back into another body of water within the pond.

   The smell was fresh and comfortable. As the birds sang their joyous melody, the brunette walked upon the large rocks settled off of the edge of the pond. There she sat, allowing every part of her to take in this scenery. It was serene, a place she cherished. With the birds as her guide, rose tinted lips parted and she began to sing her own very song, hoping to alleviate the negative feelings burdening her and gaining an audience with the birds for company. As she sang beautifully, the birds became in awe of her and flew at her side.

"...Hmm?" '...Is that... Singing?' He asked himself. Focusing his hearing and his Arcane Sense, he quietly listened. '...It is singing. That voice...' It was enchanting. Not in the magical sense, but it was extraordinarily beautiful. Judging by what he felt with his Arcane Sense, the singer herself wasn't more than a half mile or so north. Unbidden, he found his legs carrying him towards the sound as if it held him hostage. Captivated as he was, he may as well be. Such was his stupor that he abandoned all pretense at stealth. A twig snapped, but he paid no mind to it as he laid eyes on the woman herself. He raised an eyebrow as he took in her appearance. She was no commoner.

Then she realized she didn’t have any gear, which made the brunette frown. “…Isn’t the gear for it expensive, though?” Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, Tifa sighed. She had some money but not enough to warrant going and getting gear for something like that. Briefly, she wondered if Darius was loaded or not from his old job — not that it mattered. But he seemed to be doing pretty well for himself. 

"You know Cloud…?" she asked, actually surprised by this bit of news. Looking away, she focused on her hands. "I haven’t heard from him in a long time, actually. I thought he was stationed somewhere really far away or something." 

"Remember this?" He said with a deadpan tone. He let out a slight chuckle, before pulling out a few hundreds. "Let's see... Harnesses, boots, helmets..." He continued to list items for moment, before he finally stopped. "Right. Roughly... $400, I'd say." He held out four 100 dollar bills to Tifa with an expectant expression. "Here. Take it." It was actually closer to about $150 for everything she needed, but she didn't need to know that.

"Don't bother trying to refuse. I won't take no.for an answer. If it makes you feel any better, consider this my 'Bill' for your treatment earlier." He said with a slight smile. "This should be enough to get you some good name-brand gear, with a little extra as thanks for helping me out." He then folded up the envelope and placed it on his bed-side table once more before turning his attention to what she'd said before. So she worked at a bar? 

'Heh. I bet she's had to clobber a few drunks who got too touchy feely with her. Maybe they'll let me work as a bouncer part time?' He wondered.

Listening to his story, she felt her chest tighten when he spoke of how his sanctuary had been destroyed. “Your dad sounds like an ass,” she muttered, hoping he didn’t hear her. She knew a thing or two about dads being jerks, since she had her share of fights with her own over the years. 

"Sounds like you and I are similar in how we like the stars. My favorite place to be when I was young was on the roof of my house. I’d always go up there and stargaze. Honestly, I still do it sometimes. I feel like we are so small in comparison to the stars, that they know so much about us and the world. I dunno…I probably sound stupid but…"

Blushing now, she covered her face and sighed. 

"I also liked exploring places. One time, at my old place near the mountains, I would go exploring in the caverns. I’ve seen some really cool things there and took care of sick or harmed animals there, too. I kind of miss having those sorts of places here in the city."

"Yeah, my dad was a bit of an ass. But that's the way he was. He loved me, in his own way. I understand him. I was his only son. He'd had no other kids, and he wanted his only son to desperately be just like he was. I think, in the end he understood that I had to become my own person." Absently brushing a raven lock of hair away from his eyes, he leaned against the wall.

"I think it's pretty cool you like the sky and the stars as much as I do. We should watch the sky together sometime. I'll bring some snacks and we can just chat." He found the idea very appealing. Sitting under the stars, chatting about nothing in particular as they gazed at the sky above. He had to fight to come back to reality. "I know what you mean. I kind of miss exploring too." Another idea suddenly came to him. "I have rock climbing gear. If you don't have any, we'll get you some too. You said you liked exploring places right? Well what about rock climbing? It's a good way to train too." A challenging smirk came over his face.

"If you’re sure…" she replied, giving a slight nod as she started to think about options. 

His question brought her back to the present, brows furrowing as she gathered together her answer in her head. Playing with some of her hair Tifa sighed, “Well, to be honest, I got interested in fighting because I rebelled against my parents when I was a kid.”

Leaning back, she hummed in thought. 

"My mother wanted me to get into music and dance, and my father wanted me to be able to take care of myself. It was fine at first…I took piano lessons and gymnastics, but it all wasn’t really my thing. I saw Cloud — that friend I mentioned before — learning how to fight because he wanted to go into the military, and I thought it was cool. Mom was against it, and Dad didn’t want me getting hurt or joining a gang or something, so they were both against it. Needless to say, I learned anyway." 

She laughed softly as she recalled their red faces when they found out.

"Heh, man I bet they were pissed. But then, haven't we all pissed off our parents a time or two growing up?" He said with a chuckle. "But they accepted it later, didn't they? I hope they did at least." It was a sobering thought. The very idea that they might've have rejected her, maybe even disowned her for something so trivial as learning to defend herself. He batted the thought aside, not wanting to darken the mood. At her question, he took a moment to decide how to begin. He looked up, a pensive expression on his face.

"...The Mulberry Tree." He said softly with fondness. "...When I was a boy, we had a huge Mulberry tree growing in a field about a mile behind our house in a field." He paused. "...My Old Man and I never saw eye to eye. He wanted me to be just like he was, go into contruction. I didn't. I saw the kind of man he was. Alcoholic, Pig-headed, narrow-minded, thought he could do no wrong. When I needed to get away... I'd take off through the back. I'd climb that tree and go to my special place high up near the top. I'd sit there and stare out at the sky and eat berries." He grew quiet as he reminisced.

"When I was 16, I came home from school to find that it had been cut down and chopped to pieces with chainsaws. A New House was being built in the area. I never got any proof, but I suspected that he had something to do with it. Either way, my sanctuary was gone." He shrugged. "Sorry. Didn't mean to sour the mood. Some of my best memories happened in that tree. It's a truly happy memory." He paused again.

Why had she been here of all places? Of course she knew that was a question that would have come up sooner or later. Just why was a mage of her calibre —of her magical class typing travelling alone? In truth one of the rarer herbs she used had run low. So low that some of the tinctures she had been working on had to be put to one side. She only hoped she could find the plant quickly enough and return home before the brew spoiled. Of course this only caused her to feel anxious. She was unsure if she should tell this man, someone she had only just met. 

"Sounds about right. Although, something bothers me." He turned eyeing the corpse of the 'Behemoth' as she called it. From her words, he gathered such a beast was highly uncommon to say the least in this area. Also, her words suggested that she had seen one before. If that was so, then where? He had to wonder...

"From what I can gather, seems like warm and cuddly over there is highly uncommon around here. That said, where did it come from then?" He thought for a long moment, before pushing the issue aside for the time being. "Either way, it's dead now. You're safe. If you're looking for that herb, I could escort you if you'd like. It wouldn't be the first time I've been a body guard." He said simply with a shrug. Inwardly, he balked at his own stupidity. He should get out now, while he was ahead. 'Don't involve yourself further, you idiot!' He chastised himself. 'She'll be fine on her own! The thing is dead! She'll be safe.' He told himself. ...But would she really? '...Dammit.' His chivalry would kill him one day, he swore.

"And yes, that’s exactly what you should do! I don’t want you in any more pain than you need to be in, so you are prescribed house arrest for the day!" Tifa giggled softly before brushing back some of the mess of hair off of her shoulder. 

Resting her head in her hand, she thought a moment. “Well, first things first. What would you like me to make for you? If you don’t have the ingredients here, I’ll have to pick them up on the way back.” This would also be a good way to find out what foods he liked in general. “Once we figure that out, we can play that game.” 

"Yes Ma'am! House arrest, huh? ...I've had worse." He remarked. "Though I wonder what your friend would think if she saw my Nurse taking care of me?" He wondered aloud. It made for a funny mental image, despite not knowing her friend or even what she looked like.

"As for the food..." He shrugged. "Surprise me. I'm just thrilled I get to have someone cook for me instead of the usual junk I feed myself." A pause. "MRE's aren't bad, though they get old after a while." He joked with a flat tone. Time to see if she could pick up on it. "So... Now for my first question." He took a moment to consider it.

"Really? You mean that?" she asked, glancing up from her phone to see his face. Mulling over the possibilities, she shook her head. "No..you should stay here and rest. I wouldn’t want you to go through the trouble while you’re still healing. You think I could at least…go home and change? I can have Yuffie pick me up and then maybe…I can come back and maybe cook you something?"

Okay so this is really awkward but he is being so nice and sweet. Why would I ever want to leave that? Oh yeah, because we barely know each other and Yuffie is going to kill me.

"Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?" He couldn't keep his good cheer from showing, which was out of character for him. Then again, since he'd met Tifa he'd been acting out of character often. Seems she brought out a side of him seldom seen. "Since Nurse Tifa says to stay and rest, I guess that's what I'll do." He said with a chuckle.

His comment made her laugh, her frigidness melting away as she relaxed. “You should probably be careful…” she said as he started to move. Part of her wanted to reach over and help him, but she remained still instead. Just because they slept in the same bed on happenstance didn’t mean she had permission to touch him at all, even if it was for a medical concern. 

Panic filled Tifa’s face as he reminded her about Yuffie. “Oh crap,” she practically hissed, frantically grabbing for her phone and texting her friend. “I’m surprised she hasn’t issued a missing person’s report on me yet,” she said softly. Then again…she saw me go off with him so…Tifa wasn’t looking forward to the pixie’s instigation. 

"...Yeah, that's probably my fault." He said dryly. "I kinda kept you distracted and all, so... Sorry about that." He gently rubbed over the stitch on his abs as he thought. He wouldn't know it now, but that would become a habit later. He would rub at that particular spot, long after it healed when he got to thinking. "...Let me guess, your friend is one of those over-bearing types you didn't exactly ask for, Right? That kind that once you have them, you can't really live without them?" He guessed.

At his suggestion of them shopping together to pick out a small article of clothing for him, her face turned scarlet once again and she felt her throat go dry.

Could she keep herself in control if they did that? Now she was nervous.

At his next words, she let out a deep breath and nodded slowly. “I’m sorry..I’m not used to this…” she apologized again, looking away. Gaia, she was such an idiot. What did Darius see in her?

"...Uhh, You okay?" '...I'm pretty sure the face isn't meant to get that red.' He was relieved however when she seemed to calm. '...Maybe I should cool it with the whole teasing thing.' He wondered. Scratching at his cheek, he sat up in the bed and crossed his legs. The stitch on his abs pulled a bit with the motion, but he felt no real pain. That was good. Disregarding it, he returned his attention to Tifa upon her asking to help her pick out a bathing suit.

"U-uh..." He knew next to nothing about how to shop for women's clothes. He knew that just looks weren't enough. They had to be comfortable, and fit right. Recalling from his memory a time where he was a body-guard for a woman on an assignment as an Agent, he had heard quite a few things he'd wished he hadn't. But well, now he knew things about women's clothes most guys didn't. That didn't mean he could actually -Use- that knowledge, he wasn't a woman! '...Maybe I'm over thinking this... Yeah, definitely over thinking it. It's just shopping.' He thought.

"Sure. Not a problem. Just don't expect me to try any of your stuff on, okay?" With that said, he glanced at the clock. '...1 in the afternoon. ...Damn, dropped the ball. I over-slept badly.' It didn't even occur to him that he had a legit reason to over-sleep with his injury. Sliding out of bed, he stretched gingerly.

The spell had long since finished, a residual glow all that remained. Mind, although focused on what she was doing, ever drifted to what he had said… One of three main branches… Of course she knew of two. How could she not? The White and Black that governed the very laws of magic in this world; her world. But what was this Red he spoke of? And the obscure other branches? Their mention only serving to pique her curiosity further. Of course these were thoughts that could be dwelt upon later, thoughts that were soon put to a stop completely with the sudden stiffening of his body. His muttered utterance followed by silence was enough to worry her. 

"W-What’s the matter?"  She could have done all the preparation she wanted, both mental and physical. Yet nothing would prepare her for what he was to uncover. Her eyes widened a fraction. A slight confusion consumed her, probably one that showed a little upon her face. Yet he was sorry? Why? It wasn’t his fault his body gave off a natural resistance. Something she had to admit she may have been a little jealous of. "You need not apologise." Her tone soft, a smile forming upon rose coloured lips. "It’s not your fault, after all."

"Handy or not, I wish I'd known about it sooner. I could have warned you or something. Rrgh, this is so messed up." Porom wouldn't know it, but the reason for his frustration is that he's lived a little over 6 centuries, and he only just NOW noticed it? 'What, have I been living under a thrice damned rock?!' This wasn't his first time dealing with magic. He should have noticed it long before now. He'd even studied magic for many years to make up for his lack of ability in the arts. In his eyes, this only proved he needed more discipline. Shaking his head once more, he turned his attention to the gash on his arm.

"Hmm. Not too bad. I've had much worse actually. Save your strength, I'll be alright." Truth be told, though her spells had little effect, he could see that she'd accelerated the healing. While normally it would still heal pretty fast, a little over a day... With this, it looked like it'd be gone a little before night-fall if his guess was right.

Being cute and adorable were not ideals she was shooting for, although he at least didn’t sound offended. Tifa wanted to crawl into a hole and die immediately. Maybe, if she excused herself to the bathroom, she could make a run for it? Save them both from ultimate failure? 

Looking over at him warily, she couldn’t stop the expression of surprise that took over her face. “You…you want to go the beach?” So on top of not being freaked out, he took it as inspiration? Tifa didn’t know whether she should be excited or mortified. 

At least he doesn’t know what he was doing to me in the dream. That will go to the grave with me!

"Well…it’s been a long time for me, so I wouldn’t mind that, I guess…" she agreed hesitantly, still thoroughly embarrassed. "Are you sure you’re not like, weirded out?”

Shrugging, Darius nodded. Rolling his neck, he groaned when it popped satisfyingly. ...Though the sound was loud and sickening. One would almost think he'd just broke his neck. Disregarding it, he continued.

"Sure, why not? I've still got my old surf-board. We can bring a cooler full of drinks, some snacks, maybe some fishing rods. Ever been fishing before?" The mental image of Tifa trying to reel in a huge fish with a frantic expression brought forth a few chuckles. "I've got a body board too you can use, and I think I still have swimming trunks that fit." A pause. "I think. Might have to go shopping to get a pair." He grinned wickedly. "Maybe you could pick a pair out for me?" He couldn't help himself. He started laughing. Her face. She looked like she wanted to bolt out the nearest window! Slowing his laughter, he gave a gentle smile, not at all like his previous smirks.

Oh shit. I talked in my sleep again?! NOT AGAIN. NOT HERE. Hearing him mimic what she said, she frowned, burying her face in her hands. 

"This is not happening…” she managed to say between her fingers. After a minute, Tifa knew she wasn’t going to get out of this, so she dropped her hands and stared up at the ceiling, defeated. “I dreamed that you and I were sorta…hanging out at the beach. You were uhm…giving me a back massage. I guess that’s why I said why I did?”

Either he would like that or think she was a total freak for dreaming about him already.

"I’m sorry…I probably sound super stupid and if I weirded you out, I’m so sorry. I talk in my sleep sometimes and I thought I kicked the habit a long time ago but obviously I didn’t so…”

"Hahaha~ Ah, man that's just too cute. You're just too adorable, y'know that?" He said through peals of laughter. Eventually he calmed down and slowed to a stop, still letting out a chuckle every now and then. "Don't worry about it. I'm flattered actually. Now I have an idea for where we can go for our date."

He offered to give her a back massage while she read, to which she happily agreed and hummed as he squeezed her shoulders and upper back. Once his masterful hands went into her hair, she was completely lost, as always. 

"Mm…so nice…" she murmured, a chuckle coming from him. 

"Mm…so nice…" she murmured aloud in her sleep, unbeknownst to her. 

Sipping from her drink, she listened as Darius told her a story about his latest race, teasing that she refused to ride with him until he taught her how to race. He stopped playing with her hair, making her pout. "Don’t stop!" she exclaimed, her pout deepening until he resumed. 

"Don’t…stop…!" she pleaded in her sleep. 

It wasn’t until Darius was kissing her neck in her dream that her body decided it was time to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open, to find that not only was she on top of Darius, but he was playing with her hair like in her dream!

"—Oh!" she gasped, blushing in embarrassment as she moved off of him. "Uhm…good morning…"

"Don't... stop..." 

'What the hell is she dreaming?!' He asked himself. That could easily be taken way out of context, and he had to remind himself that he couldn't be sure. He wasn't a mind reader, and who knows what was actually happening in her dream. Still, he couldn't help himself. '...Must be a pretty good dream.' He thought to himself. '...Wonder if I'm in there at all.' He mused. So lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice when she really did wake up, and he still hadn't stopped playing with her hair until she moved away. He couldn't help but chuckle at her face.

Her blush continued to deepen, her mind trying to focus on Yuffie and not how he kept appearing to flirt with her. “Oh, I get the feeling you’ll be meeting her eventually, and I apologize in advance. But who knows, you may even like her,” she said, chuckling alongside him. 

She sensed that he was struggling to stay away, suddenly feeling terrible about making him stay up to watch a movie with her. He was injured, after all. You’re such an idiot, she thought to herself. Before she could really apologize, however, he was leaning against her and asleep. 

"...Mm..." Eyes slowly blinking open, his mind slowly rebooted itself. He was very comfortable, he didn't want to move. However, years of discipline won out. He made to move, but felt weight on his side. '...Hm? What?' Glancing over, he saw a head full of long raven hair. All of a sudden everything came back to him all at once.

"...Oh, that's right." He muttered quietly to himself with a hint of pink on his cheeks. Shaking his head, he tried to carefully move once again, only see her twitch. Grimacing, he took stock of the situation. 'Alright, it looks like we're both fully clothed, so nothing happened. There's that. Sometime during the night we shifted around somehow, and now I'm on my back and she's pretty much on top of me.' Indeed, she was effectively using the left side of his upper torso like a pillow. Glancing down at her sleeping face, he couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked. He didn't want to disturb her. '...Nothing for it then. Nothing to do but wait til she wakes up.' 

This photo was taken yesterday as a way to thank those who have donated. But we are still in so much need of your help….

As a recap:

In January of this year, my fiancée of 6 years was told that he was suffering from heart failure. He was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy, which is a fancy way of saying he has an enlarged heart that pumps at 10% the rate of a normal healthy heart. We were told he has the heart of an 80-90 year old man.

Josh is only 24. And I very nearly lost him.

After living in the hospital for about a week predominantly in the ICU, we were told that as long as he kept his sodium levels down and took medications, there could be an improvement. However, since then, there has been next to no improvement and the medical bills continue to pile up weekly. He has to balance between two different cardiologists in two different areas and get constant testing done (i.e. bloodwork, stress tests), pay monthly for various medications and now we’re working on finding out when he can have a chest MRI scheduled, which should be able to tell us if his heart condition can be reversed through medications and other treatment. Otherwise, he may need an ICD (an implantable cardioverter defibulator) or worse, a heart transplant. The problem is that even with months of contact and payment planning, his medical bills keep piling up. There’s no feasible way for him to get health insurance anytime soon, and even with the help of Charity Care services, he still owes $15,000 in medical bills as of right now. What’s worse is that the MRI he needs is a $10,000 or more test. The ICD would be around $40,000. My current full-time job ends at the end of June. Neither of us have had any luck so far in the job market despite our determined efforts, and our apartment lease runs out in 2 months. He and I have had to make some very hard decisions – one being to move back to where our friends and family live, since we are very isolated where we currently reside. He would also be closer to the hospital where his MRI and other tests and/or operations would be done, which would be great if anything should go wrong or if his health takes another nosedive. Unfortunately, if we move, he will have to quit his current job.

We don’t have the money to move, but we also don’t have the money to stay where we are, and the stress is overwhelming us, which is terrible for his heart. We’ve had to postpone wedding plans because of these sudden changes, with any money we could have put towards one going into his bills. He’s even considered postponing the MRI or any other major operation like the ICD because we can’t afford it, especially if we have to move. I don’t want him delaying any important medical attention that could save his life because we don’t have the money. I don’t want to lose him. He is my life.

So please, if you can donate even $5, it would be very helpful. Any money can help cover his medical bills or moving expenses and/or living expenses while we continue the job search. Both of us are in desperate need of stability. Any help would get us there.

TL;DR:

My fiancée Josh has a life-threatening heart condition that needs attention, not stress over how to pay for things.

We are in desperate need of $$$ in order for Josh to be able to cover his current and upcoming medical bills. His MRI is scheduled for next week, and unless we raise a feasible amount of money, he will most likely postpone/cancel it, which he really shouldn’t do. 

On top of that, we are most likely moving; that means he’ll have to quit his job, and mine ends in a month. We don’t want to stay isolated for another year, not when we could return to a place where our family and friends live, as well as a much better hospital and place of care for him is located. We may not be able to afford where we live now anyway. We’ll need $$$ to help with moving/living expenses.

So please, go here and donate. It doesn’t matter how small the donation is; any amount at all is amazing. 

If you don’t like GoFundMe, you can also go here and donate via PayPal. Just click the donate button.

"My last date was a long time ago, but it was with someone who came to my job a lot. We struck up conversation on tons of stuff, and eventually, he asked me out. We went to the marina after some dinner. While we were walking, some jerks started hitting on me. My date was acting all chivalrous, trying to protect me. But all it got him was a broken nose when they tried to beat him up." Her hands clenched the bedding at her side as she remembered.

"I was so angry that I fought them, instead. So bad, in fact, that they ended up in the hospital. My date…he didn’t know I was a fighter, and I scared him off. I guess it freaked him out that I could punch someone better than he could.” 

Sighing, she looked away from Darius, not wanting to show him the anguish on her face.  

"No one really talked about it, since it’s an embarrassment to be weaker than a woman, but no one’s shown any interest in me, since. Well.." Swallowing thickly, her crimson hues rolled back to meet his gaze. "…not until you.” While her hand played with some of her hair, she tried to think of what to say next. “So, while you say I’m all those things, it’s kinda hard for me to believe, you know? Yuffie’s been trying to get me out and about so I can meet people, since she tells me I’m ‘too down in the dumps’ from being single for ‘too long’, according to her.”

A flash of irritation appeared in her eyes at the mention of her friend. “I love that girl to death, but her meddling will be the death of me one day. As if she knows anything about dating!” Tifa huffed, blushing again at how she was rambling. “Uh…anyway…”

"Sounds to me like he was just being a little anal about it. Got a little butt-hurt when his pride was shattered." He scoffed. "Where do people get the idea that women are weaker than men? My Mentor was a woman, and she kicked my ass up and down the mat. It's true that in general Men develop strong muscles, but woman have things guys don't. I really don't buy into that whole stereotype. Embarrassing to be weaker than a woman? Tifa, you can kick my ass all you like, you won't get a complaint out of me!" He said the last bit with a grin.