Chapter Thirteen: Idiots (Part 3)

This area of Divinity’s Reach was definitely one I had not ventured into before. It was just outside the Central Plaza. There were spaces around the entirety of the garden that allowed you to overlook large parts of the city. It was quite remarkable really, You could almost see everything from here. People walked about on the lower streets as mere specks of color, The elevation made this area in particular seem so very cold. At least the garden was covered up by a glass dome, though I could not see any regular human be able to take the cold winter air without some sort of coat. I figured that only a madman would wander off here, of course that was when I saw Daniel, sitting by the very edge of a one of the walls, risking his life as he watched people go about their daily lives. 

He was certainly wearing a coat, only one I had not seen him wear in a long time. It was a pitch black long coat, it covered most of his body, which was convenient when we would fight bandits. They couldn’t see what he was hiding underneath it. I hadn’t seen him wear it ever we first met. I thought he had gotten rid of it once he bought himself a new one. I began to make my way towards the human, I made no effort to sneak up to him, yet I noticed that he was aware of my presence when I was halfway to his position. He gave a little twitch, his reflexes acted up but he was able to exercise restraint. Perhaps he knew that I would eventually find him. He knows me too well.

“Enjoying the view?” I asked once I was by the human’s side. A wan smile spread across his face. I could not tell what he was looking at however, his hair was covering his eyes, he really needed a haircut.

“What do you see?” asked Daniel, his head still facing down towards the city, I could tell what he was referring to however. His voice didn’t seem to carry any emotion with it, either he was truly numb or he was making it seem so.

“A man who’s doing his best to not seem vulnerable,” I said simply. “I see myself several years ago, I see my partner, in business, in crime, and occasionally in justice. I see the human I live with who always keeps my adrenaline running because I have to make sure he doesn’t get in trouble. But, above all that I see something more important.” Daniel faced me, his eyes were hollow, like staring into the eyes of a corpse. For how long had they truly been hollow? Was the life and joy they usually carried just a mask? 

“What is it?”

“My friend,” I said giving him a smile. “Do I really have to point out something so obvious?” Just then his eyes began to regain their life, was he putting on his mask or was there a spark there somewhere? I believed that at the very least I had planted the seed, a chance for him to be alive again. I knew very well that I was not the only going through their own journey, I wasn’t the only one who continued to discover things about themselves. I wished that I could help Daniel, however. Perhaps his situation was much like mine in some respects. 

“Anavari,” began the human, he started kicking his feet as they dangled over the edge. “about the mission. I—”

“Whatever it is,” I interrupted. “I don’t want to hear it. We all did our best, Krale’s death would have probably been inevitable regardless. I’m more concerned about your episode, are you feeling alright?”

“I am now,” He said giving me one of his usual grins, but his face quickly became solemn. “I just can’t stand small spaces… they make me remember things.”

“And I can’t stand blood in my eyes,” I said. “I suppose I remember things as well, but I forget them shortly after.”

“I guess we’re both a little messed up,” chuckled Daniel.

“That would be putting it lightly,” I added. We shared a short laugh that quickly died. After a brief period of silence, Daniel said something startling.

“What would you say to someone who made you realize that your life serves no purpose,” Daniel swept his hair back, his face became stoic. “At least not a positive one.”

“Did someone say this to you?” I asked.

“You could say it’s hypothetical,” answered the human. I leaned into the wall Daniel was sitting on and pondered my answer.

“That’s a little hard to answer,” I mused. “For a while when I lived in the Citadel, musing such as that weighed heavily on me. I had my friends and such, but a drive to continue moving forward… there wasn’t any. Just living for the sake of staying alive.” 

“You’ve never mentioned that before,” Daniel glanced at me surprised.

“Never mentioned it to anyone,” I said. “Except to Garfas. He was a very close friend to me, back in the Citadel it was always the two of us. When I mentioned my ramblings of purpose and goals, he made me see what was in front of me all along. He said, ‘Cub, you need to stop being so depressing! If you want something to fight for then its as simple as going out and find it.’” I smiled as I remembered that conversation. “Of course it was simple, but not easy. I had to change out I saw everything. But eventually I found a new perspective. I was strange, inefficient in some respects even, but it worked. I didn’t have a purpose, but at that moment I told my self, ‘I will find a reason to keep on living’ and I would repeat it to myself whenever I was by myself. And soon enough I found it. Of course I don’t have the same reason today, my goals are different now.” 

“So what drives you now?” asked Daniel. 

“That’s my secret,” I said smiling at him. The human returned the gesture.

“That seems…” he began. “Strangely convenient.” Daniel seemed to have been lost in his thoughts. I did not know what his situation was, so I only hoped that I was able to help him.

“By the way,” I said. “Turns out the mission wasn’t completely fruitless. They’ve found a few journal’s in Krale’s mansion shortly after he died. We’ve been tasked to investigate.”

“Great,” said Daniel as his gloom began to dissipate. “One step closer to getting out of this mess.”

“So you still want to fight the Fringe?” I asked. 

“After stuffing me in that cramped box? I’ll make sure they’ll regret it!”

“Then ready to continue this adventure?”

“Of course,” the human stammered slightly. “I’ll meet you there though. I need a minute to organize some of my thoughts.”

“Everything alright?” I asked.

“Just figuring out my new perspective,” he said sticking out his tongue at me. I replied with a chuckle. With that I left the human to his thoughts. Upon returning to the garden I found Garfas waiting for me.

“I wondered where you ran off to,” I said to him as he approached.

“I didn’t want to butt in on your friend’s problems,” said the massive white charr as he tilted his hat. “I don’t think he would have taken kindly to a random stranger appearing.”

“Probably for the best,” I nodded.

“So did you figure things out?” asked Garfas.

“Yes,” I said as we walked through the garden. “Made a few discoveries of my person as well.”

“Anything mind blowing?” 

“Well…” I considered what was next, what could the Fringe bring to the table, what I needed to do. I also held a realization close to me, a smile grew on my face as I held the image of what I fought for. Who I fought for. “I can be a real idiot sometimes.”