Open Doors
Gregor paced back and forth in the small room his group had found themselves in. He found himself at an impasse, of sorts. His head told him that he should just undress, and get some rest, but for some reason he felt a pull out towards the hallway. Well, Gregor knew the reason, he just didn’t know if it was wise.
About the hundredth time Gregor crossed the breadth of his rented room, he decided enough was enough. If it was weighing on him that deeply, he should just do it. Taking a breath and a plunge, Gregor opened up his door and walked out into the corridor.
The local inn was called Restel’s Rest, and was a nice enough affair, profitable enough to afford and maintain a second floor of guest rooms. The group from Alteep had bargained for rooms upstairs, where the noise from the common room would be as intrusive, so when Gregor arrived at his location he was alone with just the rhythmic beating of his heart.
With a knock, he made his presence known. From the other side of the door, Gregor heard a shuffling, but no one came to the door. Gregor had known that this might happen but still, he had something to say.
“Amar… I’m so sorry for your loss. It is clear that Jeremiah was deeply important to you. I may not have known him well, but he was a man of character, and kind. If you need someone to talk too, or just to have around, I am here for you. And if… maybe you would prefer someone else, Logan seems to have known Jeremiah and I am sure he would be open to talking as well. I just want you to know that you don’t have to be alone, unless you want to be.”
Gregor said all of this in what felt like a single breath of air. He hadn’t meant to keep talking, but his worries had bubbled out. Somehow, this had made him more anxious than the horde mother. But when he heard Amar head to the door, that all disappeared.
Opening the door just a sliver, she peaked half of her face and long white hair into the doorway.
“Thank you, Gregor. Good night.”
“I’m sorry, I just…-”
She cut him off.
“I meant it. Thank you.”
“Oh, o-ok then. I’ll be here.”
Amar just raised an eyebrow, gave a sad smile and said, “Go to bed, Gregor. I’ll see you in the morning.”
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Then the door closed in his face, and so he took her advice.
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As Logan headed to sleep, he worried that he would have another vision of the Void. Although up until this point, the infrequent pit stops had boosted his arsenal, Logan was worried about the consequences for acquiring that power. Nothing came free, and Logan was worried about footing the bill.
So even though he was situated on another hay cot, (Logan was beginning to think beds hadn’t been invented) he found himself unable to sleep. Remy the Rizzel had no such compunctions and was whistling away as he curled up against Logan's side. That left Logan to just stare up at the simply made ceiling, inspecting the paint flakes.
Of course, time alone with his thoughts lead them back towards Jeremiah. Logan had already gotten used to his presence around him, like a mountain looming in the distance. Knowing that the man wasn’t back in his cottage, boiling a pot of tea, or tending to the plants at the edge of the Forest hurt like someone squeezing his stomach into a ball.
It stung Logan that he hadn’t done anything to protect Jeremiah. At the time, his passing didn’t even seem possible, but that was a reality Logan would have to adjust to if he wanted to survive here. It seemed like regardless of how strong you were, size and numbers would always be relevant. Without the Napalm Blessing, Logan was once again extremely reliant upon his group mates in pitched fights. The thought did not comfort him.
To try and rectify that, Logan decided he could start improving right then. Getting on the wooden floor, he started doing as many pushups as he could. This way, Logan was working on his body, and keeping his body awake at the same time. Always better to kill two birds right? If one were metaphorically trying to kill as many birds with a single stone, that is.
Anyways, that’s what Logan was doing when his whole room started to glow.
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It took Logan several frantic seconds to realize the new source of light in the room was, well, him. Specifically, Logan’s back was glowing a soft, yellow green shade that illuminated the room in a warm buzz.
When Logan tried to figure out why, he made out the corners of a large marking on his back that looked suspiciously like…
“When the hell did I get a tattoo? There’s just no way…”
It wasn't simple work either. From the admitted bad angles Logan could get off the edges of his own back, it looked like it spread all the way across his shoulder blades to stretch end to end. It was hard to make out what the design was, but the bits and potions he could see seemed to be rounded edges.
“Well, this is a terrible prank. A glow in the dark tattoo, at least I won’t be falling asleep anytime soon with all this light.”
If it was just going to make light, Logan could probably just ignore it for a little bit. After all, he didn’t know the first thing about it, so worrying wouldn’t accomplish anything. So, Logan got on the floor once again, and resumed doing push ups until exhaustion.
Then, the light intensified, and another presence arrived in the small, rented room. The pressure this being exuded gave off a physical weight, and Logan could feel himself slipping away. The last thing Logan remembered before fading into sleep was the feeling of a smile resting on his face.
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Logan woke the next morning to Remy padding back and forth across his chest. With a groan, he scooped the little guy up and deposited him off to the side before sitting up. Logan’s back was aching from sleeping on the hardwood floors, but it was better than having his brain melted by whatever had decided to say hello last night.
His tattoo had stopped glowing, and Logan thought that he and his companion were alone once more, although he didn’t know for certain. It occurred to him that even if he knew it was there, Logan couldn’t stop it from doing whatever it desired.
On that unpleasant note, Logan decided it would be better to just get some breakfast. Like yesterday, his new traveling partners would likely try and leave as early as possible, so he should get ready.
When Logan arrived downstairs in the common room, he found both Amar and Gregor already there as he predicted, awkwardly staring down at the piles of fresh food in front of them. Although Logan was interested in the steaming hash browns and eggs, he didn’t think that was what captivated the two of them.
From the hints of life that had reappeared in Amar’s demeanor, and the anxious energy coming off of Gregor it was clear that something had happened last night. However, it would be in bad form to pry right away.