#riclyria

He shouldn't be here. Really shouldn't be here. But ever since his transformation, Ric couldn't help but ask that same question - why? Why hadn't he heard from Illyria, not once, not since the night she saved Elena and himself from Samael? He felt like he sort've knew the answer in his gut already, just didn't want to face it. He'd failed her, in a nutshell. Alaric had failed her and he hadn't even gone on any missions for her. He'd just proven ahead of time that he was a cruddy soldier, right? Couldn't even protect his own, not even from himself. It would be a waste of her time to bother catching up with him again. So, he really, definitely shouldn't be here. Illyria wasn't some douchebag like Damon he could defend himself against, after all. If she decided to be especially angry, he could die. Y'know, they'd sworn to look out for each other, basically, but, uh... he'd kind've not done so much looking out for her and if they'd gone on radio silence, he didn't have much choice but to assume the deal was off. And Illyria was a lonely pers- ... well, a lonely, merciless, Primordial God-King. Alaric had just been so wrapped up in his own issues these past few weeks. And then with the black out - he couldn't blame her, not for a second, for keeping her distance and considering him a disappointment.

He paused, about fifty feet away from the warehouse Illyria had taken up residence in. He felt the hard edges of the crystal she'd entrusted him with on his fingertips, in his pocket. He hadn't expected to feel guilty for pushing someone like her away, but he did. Probably another perk of having heightened everything, now that he was a vampire. He wondered if their connection-thing even existed anymore. He knew either way, it definitely didn't matter anymore, that he was her Qua'ha... ... whatever it'd been called. Not like he had any books on Illyria to look it up in (he remembered with a pang his demonology index she'd given him, after the Samael incident.) Alaric squinted slightly as he looked at the warehouse, then back to his crappy car, shifting uncomfortably. No. He shouldn't be here. He couldn't risk a pissy blue Smurf going goddess on his ass, vampire or not. He wouldn't live through it, and Alaric had the distinct impression that the second Illyria wanted him around, she'd let him know. Best not to bug her... With a tiny sigh, Ric's brows furrowed as he scrutinized the place just a moment longer, recalling the ancient artifacts, the blue hues. The afternoons he'd spent organizing her things. Or, Winifred Burkle's things.  Illyria had been a constant for awhile there, and after he got used to having her around, he'd started sort've liking having her around. She'd always said and asked the strangest things, and Alaric could appreciate a curious mind, and found her stories interesting, if not gruesome.

Just... another aspect of his old life he'd managed to screw up royally, he supposed. He could deal with it. It just sucked, that he didn't have Illyria in his corner anymore, too - they'd been getting to know each other, if you could use terms like that where it concerned her. It'd been some kind've start, and it wasn't like Ric had seriously minded having her around at all. It was sort've funny, seeing her and Jack in the same living room, and he'd probably always look back on the night he woke up to Illyria beating the hell out of Damon with a smirk of some sorts. Granted, the rest of that night hadn't been memorable in any good way, but Illyria had delivered one hell of an ass kicking to that jackass of a pal of his and that'd been a little funny (damage to the living room aside.)

He remembered with a grim look on his face their first meeting, in the cemetery. Maybe it was because of his initial anger that he never exactly quivered in his boots when she was around, or maybe he was just some stupid stuck-up hunter. 'Course... he'd always been cautious... like he'd have to be now. He turned, then, the crystal in his fist as he went. Maybe sometime she'd, uh... come looking for it. Or something. Maybe then he could explain what'd happened, and things'd be okay between them again. He regretted this - this... distance? Not having Illyria around had definitely left some kind of unexpected hole. He'd learned a ton from her, grown to respect her. Hell, enjoyed her company. He wondered had he not failed her like this, what she'd think of the situation. Ric was always curious about her opinion, and now that she was gone, he was realizing quickly how much he'd miss her. Which in itself was surprising and definitely weird, but, there it was. Alaric drove away back to his home with a heavy feeling on his chest. Nah, she probably wouldn't come looking for the crystal. Still, he figured not bugging her was better than risking anything. Time, he supposed, would tell. He just had a bad feeling about this... they always said it was those silent goodbyes that were the worst. Ric figured this'd be one hell of a learning experience.

Hah. Always the teacher, Illyria was.