#pharony

“It’s nothing,” she said, brushing off the turbulent thoughts with a wave of her hand.  They had bigger things to worry about.  “How did the job go?”

Pharony’s smile slipped a little as they sighed, shaking their head.  “Not great...  I got paid, naturally, but...”  She hands over the coinpurse, definitely lighter than the one-thousand gold pieces they had been promised, making Hellebore frown as she did a quick count. “The guild is taking more and more every job I take and they keep saying I’m behind on my dues...”

Hellebore frowned at that, sighing.  “I still say you should make them let me see the ledger proving this...”

“I’m leaving the guild,” Pharony said, shaking her head.  “I might not be able to take as many jobs if I freelance, but no one will take my earnings from me...”

Vibrant red eyes looked worried at that, but she knew the truth in those words.  And a freelancer would be able to pick and choose their jobs more freely than Pharony currently could, at any rate.  “Won’t they continue to come after you, though?”

Pharony didn't know what to expect when she knocked on Rio's door.  They had dropped her off at the agent's station three months ago, despite her pleading and struggling, and they had gotten back on their ship and flew away.  It had taken everything Pharony had to do that, keeping that stony expression as they turned their back and walked away.  Pharony never met her gaze, blue-gold eyes looking up at them with that pleading expression, simply handed her over to their raging commander and left.

It had been a mercy, Pharony told herself.  Pharony's master had grown suspicious, and he had made it clear in no uncertain terms that if Pharony was harboring Rio, that her master wouldn't protect them from Abrutio.

And Pharony wouldn't let that happen to the one she loved.

So she had done the only thing she could do to protect Rio, pushing her away and burying the hurt as they flew away.

But now, with thing changed and the world no longer being safe, even with her master's protection, and knowing that Abrutio was on the hunt again for Rio, Pharony refused to stand by.  As soon as they got word that Abrutio was closing in on the elusive agent that had not only escaped his collection, but also had made off with a prized possession, Pharony knew there was no time—they had to get Rio out of there.

Pharony didn't expect Rio to answer the door, draped in something soft and gauzy that did nothing to hide anything as she leaned against the doorway.  There it was, the hurt in those eyes as Rio squared her jaw and scowled.

“What do you want?”

Swallowing quickly, Pharony bowed slightly, a measure of respect.  It also helped her to discretely look the agent over.  She was pale, though she'd always been pale. Her hair was a tangle of wild curls and waves, the buzzed sides shaggy with growth.  The markings on her face, lines that said secrecy and honor and danger followed the curve of her cheekbones, over her lips and chin.  Pharony wanted to trace the ones under her eyes, the ones that made her look fierce and wild, but kept their hands at their sides.  Straightening up, Pharony said calmly, “Abrutio is looking for you.”

Her eyes, with their almost metallic sheen, caught the light from the hallway as they rolled with a scoff. “What else is new?”

“He knows you're here,” the guardian added, trying to keep their voice low.

“So what?” Rio asked, yawning. “Let him find me.  Not like I'm worth anything anymore...  What's he going to do to me that he hasn't done already?”

Pharony was at a loss for words for a long time.  This wasn't the same agent she'd been forced to leave behind.  Pharony flinched behind their mask, instinctively reaching up to ensure it was still in place.  It wouldn't do for Rio to be able to so easily read her again.  “He's coming to kill you...”

“Oh.”  That was all Rio said.  A cold, flat “oh”.  Sighing, she shrugged.  “Thanks for the heads up,” she said as she started to turn away, letting the door close behind her.

Pharony's gloved hand shot out, stopping the door before it closed, stepping inside.  “Oh?  What do you mean 'oh'?!”  Anger rose in their throat and Pharony wanted to scream as the door slid shut behind them.  Rio was turning back, but before she could even start to be indignant, Pharony was crossing the foyer, “He has been waiting months for this chance!  It's the entire reason that I had to-”

Pharony's rant was cut short as one boot caught the edge of a rug on the cold, metal floor, the fabric sliding as they tried to catch themselves, and, before they could decide to just let themselves fall, they collided with Rio, taking her down with them.  Instincts took over, and Pharony braced for the fall with their forearms, eyes closing for the impact.  

The tumble to the metal floor was jarring, bodies colliding hard as they landed in a tangle of limbs.  Rio grunted, rubbing her head as she grumbled.  For a moment their eyes met, and there was only hurt in Rio's eyes, glinting with tears in the low light from the candles around the room.  Pharony was only a breath away from her, taking in the way her hair fell around her face in messy curls, looking like she'd been lying in bed instead of being half-tackled to the floor. Her lips looked soft, inviting, and Pharony realized how much she wanted to kiss that hurt away, to make the agent—the elf, she reminded herself—smile again and see joy return to those bright eyes.  A flash of memory had her heart twinging as she remembered Rio, lying on a bed, surrounded by candlelight, waiting for Pharony.

“Let me up,” was all Rio said, and the moment was gone.  Pharony almost flinched again, simply glancing away before rising to her feet and holding out a hand for the disheveled elf.

“Please, just let me explain,” Pharony tried again as Rio tucked the gauzy thing around her again, trying hard not to let her gaze wander again.

“All right,” Rio said, her voice bitter.  “Explain to me why you would just dump me on a station where I have no job, no money, no ties, and no way to fend for myself.  Explain to me why, after I told you... after I had begged you not to abandon me, that's all you did, after swearing you would not.”

Pharony did flinch this time, looking away.  Had it really been that same day?  She had been an idiot, recalling the way Rio had looked, tiny and defenseless and utterly alone, how she'd clung to Pharony when she returned from meeting with her master.  So much had happened, she didn't even think...

Swallowing heavily, Pharony said, “I wanted... to protect you...”

“Bullshit!”

“It's true!” the guardian said, head lifting and meeting Rio's gaze.  “I was given one ultimatum—let you go, or my master was going to turn us both over to Abrutio!”

Rio's anger stilled, though it was clear she was still fuming.  There was a long silence before Pharony said, “You should have told me.  I could have worked something out!”

“I couldn't take that risk!” Pharony said, shaking their head, raven hair falling around their face.  “I had to throw him off the trail, or else he was going to...”  Their voice trailed off as mismatched eyes closed, trying not to fuel that fear, that anxiety.  The very thought of Abrutio being close enough to touch Rio...  “I had to know you were safe...” Pharony said at last, tears welling up behind closed eyes, burning their face as they fell beneath their mask.  “I couldn't risk your safety, not for my foolish pride...”

“It's still my safety... So it's my choice...” Rio said, voice softening, but still hard, like velvet-wrapped steel. Sighing, Rio ran a hand through her hair, wincing as the tangles caught her fingers before turning with a yawn.  “Might as well come inside, seeing as how you already invited yourself in...”

For the first time, Pharony took a look around, seeing the cans piled up here and there—not beer cans, but paint cans, varnish and thinner, a couple tins of kerosene in one corner, and machine parts everywhere.  Gears and cogs took up most of the space, ranging from a pile of ones no bigger than Pharony's pinky nail, to a few haphazard stacks a foot and a half across.  The guardian followed Rio deeper into her quarters, frowning slightly.  “Holy shit, Ro,” she murmured, looking around carefully as they picked their way through the debris of what had to be at least two small pods.  “Your place is a wreck...”

Rio simply scoffed, rolling her eyes as she started to dress, pulling on the nano-fiber suit without even bothering with the smallclothes she usually wore beneath, hunting for her leggings as the tunic fell t a tantalizing length just above the curve of her backside.  “Had I known I was going to have guests at three in the goddamn morning, I might've bothered to clean up.”  Pants located, she started to tug them into place before realizing that Pharony was staring.  Not saying anything, she simply quirked an eyebrow and yanked the pants on.

“Well,” Pharony said, sighing, though she wouldn't admit that it was because she'd enjoyed getting to see more of the lithe elf, “at least you won't have to worry about that now...”

Her musings were interrupted by an angry-sounding chirp from her communicator.  Flicking the print-pad, she growled into the microphone, “What?”

“Sorry to interrupt, captain,” the almost-nasally voice of her ship's AI said, drawing Rio's attention as she tugged on plated footwraps.  “I thought you might want to know that His Lordship's... errr... ship... has docked at the station, four ports down.”

Pharony's blood ran cold as Rio scrambled to wind the ties quickly—it didn't need to look good, it just needed to save her tender feet from any sharp edges between here and the guardian's ship.  She knew who His Lordship was, and all bravado was gone as she scrambled to gather the few necessary items from her room—medication, blaster (left on the charger), and her own communicator, slapping it on as she grabbed her long coat and black helmet with it's full-face visor.  If she didn't speak, she could look like any other merc on this rock.  With a quick swipe to blacken the visor just enough that it would hide her markings, she tugged it on, wincing as the padding caught one ear.  She didn't have time to fix it, they needed to be gone.

She almost slid her hand into Pharony's as they turned to leave, opening the door to the brightly-lit hallway, deciding not to at the last second.  Rio collided with Pharony for the second time, realizing that the guardian stood in the doorway, almost blocking her from view of the tall, white-haired figure that gazed down at them with cold, dead eyes.

“I heard a rumor about you in the marketplace,” Hellebore says as Pharony looks up at her, stomach dropping to their feet.  They want to swallow, to brush it off, to do anything but look at Hellebore, but they can’t look away.  

Was this it?  Would this be the end of the fleeting dream? They hadn’t even been able to buy a ring yet, all because Pharony was so foolish as to think they could get away with swiping the cat...  Oh, the cat...  She was curled up in Hellebore’s lap, silent and content as her hairless tail flicked at the air.  

She didn’t regret saving Pearl.  

She did regret not getting paid.

Hellebore was waiting expectantly for an answer.

“Oh?” they said, already having an idea what sort of rumors were being spread now.

“They said you’re a murderer.”

Pharony’s heart sinks as they flinch inwardly.  Outwardly, they don’t show it.  They can’t.

“That one’s true, sort of,” Pharony says in measured tones, keeping Hellebore’s gaze.  Piercing garnet eyes watched her, and Pharony wished for a moment that they had died.  “It happened when I was a child...  I wanted to be free...  and I was tricked.”  Hellebore waited as Pharony chose their words carefully, looking away at last.  “I was doing some chore...  gathering herbs or kindling or... something...  But I wanted to go down into the valley instead—the moonglow flowers were blooming, and I remember thinking it was so important at the time...”  Pharony closed her eyes to tamp down the shudder, feeling the lingering effects of the toxin, coupled with the memory seared into their mind.

“It came up behind me as I was complaining about the work... It said it knew a way to free me from having to do the work, implying that it would do take care of the chore for me, if I did something for it...  And so I agreed.”

What Pharony didn’t tell Hellebore was the way it felt, like her skin had been on fire, the way she had screamed.  The clan had tried to help, but rushed to their ends, never knowing what hit them. Pharony didn’t tell Hellebore that she’d been aware, that she could do nothing to stop the demon that took over and slaughtered her family.  Every last one of them, gone in a matter of hours.

“I was a child, and I have to live with that for the rest of my life,” Pharony said, half expecting Hellebore to leave.  No amount of gentle ‘Wolfie’s or silent pleading would stop her if she wanted to leave. “That’s why I didn’t want to come to Verona...  That, and my clan and yours were not the best of friends when they were around, if memory serves...”  Pharony’s sigh was deep and resigned, closing their eyes as they steeled their resolve for what was to come.  

What Pharony didn’t tell Hellebore was everything that happened afterward.  The rampage through the forest.  The dead trees.  The way nothing would ever grow there again.  The way her mind tore itself apart to get free.  And then, once freed, being forever marked, forever hunted.  Their face was known if ever they removed their Glamour.  To live for a hundred years like that, it wasn’t something they wanted anyone to ever know.