Page 79 of Runes To Rain
Our rehearsal has been going well, and I’m confident our next concert will go well. In the last few days, we’ve even started working on some new material. I’ve been inspired to write some stuff. As our typical lyric writer, Fem has been gracious enough to step aside for me.
Unfortunately, our magic work hasn’t been going as well. Being able to produce weather effects like we did when that crowd came after us felt good. However, Chiron has also stopped showing up to teach us, and we have no way to contact him to ask why. My suspicion is that Chaosta told him not to continue helping us. I can hardly blame her for it. We’ll just continue to do what we can to practice. It is giving me more time to try to locate the demon stronghold, time that I think will be much needed.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF LIGHTNING STRIKES
Spending time with Lily over the last couple of months has been healing in an entirely different way than the last time I was here. Lily has a calm strength that settles my emotions, which is particularly welcome right now.
I have been missing the mansion and the boys. Not seeing Dio all the time is both a relief and complete agony. I’ve also been able to delay figuring out that knot of emotions because I am under strict orders from Malam not to leave Lily’s apartment. The last thing I want to do is put Lily at risk, so I have been willingly staying in the apartment.
During the day, Lily works at a small medical clinic. Remembering how well she cared for me after my time at Piquory Center, I know how lucky they are to have her. She is always tired and a little tense when she gets home in the evening, so after we eat dinner together, I usually sketch while she sculpts with clay.
She’s an amazing artist, but unfortunately, there isn’t much interest in art or sculpture, so most of her creations remain shelved around the apartment. When I asked why she spends her time creating things no one else will ever see, she had tothink for a while. Finally, she said, “It helps me express feelings from the day and gives me something to do to pass the time.” I recognize it’s what practicing the sword does for me.
After I had been living here for a few days, we cleared out some space in the main room for sword practice. Lily isn’t pleased with the idea of me carrying a sword, or maybe, as a healer, the very idea of any weapon is abhorrent. However, she has been supportive of me, and I think she has seen me going a little mad with the house arrest and took pity on me.
When I am not sketching or spending time practicing with my sword, I usually read. Without my own books, I have started reading some selections from Lily’s personal library. The content of these books is similar to the books I read at the center. They are all about people falling in love with each other despite circumstances trying to keep them apart.
Lily calls them “mushy love stories,” and while at first I wasn’t quite sure what she meant, I can now understand.
The emotions I feel when I read these books are different from those I’ve been familiar with up until now. The word mushy doesn’t quite seem to capture the feelings I experience as I read about two people falling in love with each other and fighting to be together.
These feelings are powerful and make me feel like I do when I’m fighting. They also remind me of the way the boys look when they play their music. I also see those feelings expressed when Malam is here with Lily. The way he looks at her and she looks back at him brings back the familiar pang in my abdomen. I try to avoid thoughts about who that feeling reminds me of.
Of course, my time so far hasn’t been entirely peaceful and “mushy.”
When Malam brought me some of my things, gathered into a variety of linen bags, the day after I arrived at Lily’s, it made my chest hurt with the pain of missing the boys. It has beendifficult being away from the only people I could consider family.
Those things still sit, mostly packed, other than the few outfits I’ve dug out to wear. I’m sleeping on a couch since Lily’s place is small and contains only one bed, and the pile of bags sits in a corner beside my couch.
I’ve also spent most of my nights having vivid but unmemorable dreams. I wake most mornings unsure what I’ve been dreaming, with the sheets soaked in sweat and tangled around me. What I do remember is that some of the dreams have featured Dio.
One nightmare was particularly bad, and I woke Lily with a scream. When she asked what happened, I told her it was just a bad dream. Then I managed to calm her down enough to go back to sleep.
As I sat on the couch after, trying to settle myself enough to sleep, I tried futilely to recall the dream. The only thing I could remember was Dio being held to the ground by a group of men in healer’s outfits as he thrashed and screamed. The only reason I was eventually able to return to sleep was that my instincts weren't prodding me toward action.
When I woke up the following morning, though, the only thing I could think about was making sure Dio was alright. However, I still didn’t know what to say to him. After an agonizing morning of pacing as I tried to plan out the conversation with him, I finally decided just seeing him would be enough.
As long as he’s healing and doing alright, it would be enough for me to move on, I lied silently to myself.
Since I don’t know where Dio goes boxing, I decided attending a concert would be the most favorable option. I was luckily able to access Lily’s terminal to figure out their schedule. With some careful searching, I discovered that The Boys are scheduled to have a small, for them, concertnearby. The concert is intended for a specific group of long-term fans and wasn’t well-advertised, so it took me a while to find the details of the time and location. Thankfully, it turned out that fate is in my favor. The concert is being held in the basement of a building on the block next to Lily’s apartment.
I decided the risk of not following Malam’s orders was worth it to be able to check on Dio. After all, the angels hadn’t begun to follow me immediately when I moved into the mansion, and they never attacked the boys directly. They also never set foot in the mansion.
I feel bad, but I knew if I told Lily she would tell Malam, so instead I have kept it to myself.
That concert is tonight. I’m especially glad now that I have the extra clothes because I want to look nice for this. I also want to be able to hide in the crowd.
I leave Lily a note with the message that I need to step out for a moment. I let her know I will be careful and will see her soon. Hopefully, she won’t worry. I also let her know I will talk with Malam, so she doesn’t need to have that conversation for me. This is my own risk I’m taking, and I am ready to accept the consequences.
Dressed in all black with my sword strapped to my back, I make my way out of the apartment before Lily can return. My immediate destination is a small shop nearby where I can spend the time until the concert starts. As I stride toward the shop, I can’t stop brushing my thumb along the side of my fingers. It’s become a bit of a habit. Sometimes I almost think I can feel Dio’s palm resting there.
DIO’S JOURNAL - ENTRY 15
Annum:5615
Entry 15 - inopinata perficientur
The peace with our fans didn’t last long. Someone started some trash about how we were trying to cheat people out of tickets because we got in over our heads. Thank goodness for our assistant Pepper. She not only responded politely to all the concerns but got a quick concert scheduled at an “intimate” venue for those whose tickets we had canceled.
