As the time passed, Eon never returned home.
Max sat huddled on the couch, tailed tucked neatly within his lap as the hours ticked by, the events that took place earlier in the day rolling about in his mind. Over and over, and the longer he waited, the more uneasy he became.
It was well into the night by now, and yet, there was simply no sign of Eon returning...Should he go look for him? Even though Eon had told him to go back…
...Since when had he become so obedient?
He clicked his tongue, feeling annoyed with his docile attitude as of late, deciding to go search for him. He’d figure out the rest as he went. However, it was just as he came to this decision, that the gentle sound of the doorknob turning resounded through the room.
Almost too quickly, he already closed the distance between the couch and the door, waiting eagerly as the knob turned, as though in slow motion. His tail flicked behind him restlessly, Eon finally stepping through the door, looking a bit stunned to see Max was right there at the door.
“...I’m back.” He spoke up warily, looking like an utter mess.
His body was battered and bruised, a particular, few spots sporting gruesome, veiny wounds. They resembled those awful, festering wounds he’d seen before, albeit on a lesser scale...They still looked painful, and he nearly winced at the sight of them.
“...What happened to you?”
Eon opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out as he averted his gaze, looking reluctant.
He clearly looked as though he didn’t want to say, but he couldn’t exactly come up with an excuse on the fly, either.
“...I just got scolded a bit, is all.” He finally answered flatly.
Scolded…? Max rolled those words around in his mind a few times, trying to grasp them.
You can’t hurt Humans.
Suddenly, Eon’s words from before revived within his mind.
Was he...Punished for what happened with that arrogant man from before? Even though Eon was only retaliating??
...No. Max was the one who retaliated.
That being the case...This meant that Max alone was the one who allowed this to happen. He was the one responsible for this outcome.
This was Max’s fault.
Why was it that people would always get hurt because of him?
He fell silent, contemplating before casting Eon an upwards glance.
He wondered if he would regret this decision...But he owed it to Eon, at the very least. He couldn’t get cold feet now.
“Let me see them.” He finally said, his tone soft. “Your wounds.”
“...It’s fine.” Eon’s tail stiffened, finding the sudden reversal in their roles from earlier today a bit ironic.
“Just let me see.”
Eon didn’t want to concede, but he was struck with the impression that Max wasn’t going to back down, no matter how he protested...So, with a sigh, he allowed Max to glance over his injuries to appease him.
Max gently took ahold of Eon’s arm, inspecting the ghastly, vein ridden injuries. Even just looking at them was painful, but he sucked in a small breath...And then, a soft, warm light began to permeate from his hands.
Eon was so astonished, that he nearly drew his hand back in his surprise.
Warmth flooded from Max’s hands, to his own arm, steadily flowing throughout the rest of his body in gentle waves...And his two-toned eyes widened as he watched the wounds across his body steadily begin to vanish, one by one.
The pain grew distant, until disappearing altogether...As though he had never been injured in the first place.
And as Max finally released his arm, his gaze bore down onto his own skin, as though he didn’t believe his own eyes.
They were gone. Every last one of them.
“Better?” Emerald eyes met his own, startled gaze.
“...How did you…?” He was flabbergasted, really, not knowing what to say, what had just transpired.
“...Magic, I guess you could say.” Max answered him, flicking his ears back.
Eon had never heard of such a thing before in his life.
You would think it odd, really. That in a world where it was normal to see Demons, and other, strange creatures, such a fantastical thing as magic shouldn’t have been so completely irregular.
“Is that...A Farronian thing, or…?” He found his voice to question Max, trying to piece words together past his amazement.
Max held Eon’s gaze for a brief moment before turning his face away.
“Not...Really.” He admitted reluctantly. “...Don’t say anything about this to anyone.”
Once more, Eon caught sight of that cornered look in Max’s eyes. From time to time, he would catch a glance of it, but he wondered why he was…?
Just what was it exactly that Max was so afraid of? That he was running from??
Suddenly, Eon was struck with the strong need to know...And yet, he felt as though he couldn’t press the subject.
It was such a contradicting feeling.
“...I won’t. Don’t worry.” He finally answered, burying that strong impulse somewhere in the back of his mind. “Thank you, by the way.”
Relief colored Max’s expression, and he gave Eon a little nod in return.
However, now more than ever, Max had questions, and it became apparent by the look he gave Eon. A look that Eon picked up on with little to no effort at all.
“...What?”
The tip of Max’s tail curled, dropping his gaze down to the hardwood floor before having come to a decision.
“...Why...Do you work for people like this? If that’s how they treat you??” He questioned, looking back up at Eon, trying to make sense of him. “You didn’t even do anything wrong, I was the one who-”
But Eon interrupted him, shaking his head.
“Despite how it may seem, I owe a lot to the Society.” He interjected, explaining without reservation. He saw no reason to withhold this information from Max at this point. “...Or rather, to Azuma.” He corrected himself, his gaze going distant. “...I...Don’t remember anything from my early childhood. It’s like one day I just...’Woke up.’ I woke up, knowing nothing of who I was, where I was, or what I was supposed to do. I probably would have wandered until the day I died, if Azuma hadn’t been the one to reach out to me that day.” Eon’s gaze returned to Max, who listened to his story intently. “I was taken in by the Society and trained to Hunt Demons...But despite the rest of the Society, Azuma’s goal isn’t really the same. I don’t think many people really understand what that man’s true intentions are, but it’s probably better that way.”
“...His true...Intentions?” Max echoed absently, trying to grasp straws at what those ambitions could have possibly been.
“I’m sure you’ll understand eventually.” Eon answered with a nod.
...How could he speak so confidently? Once more, Max realized Eon didn’t for a moment doubt what path it was that he wanted to walk down.
He trusted that path wholeheartedly with unfaltering certainty and determination.
While Max…
...What path was he taking? To which direction was he walking?? Whom and what did he hope to find at the end?? What...Was it that he hoped to find? To strive for??
...Was he even walking at all?
Suddenly, Max felt as though his own footing faltered. As though the ground beneath him became unsteady, uncertain.
His dream from this morning suddenly revived within his mind, vividly, painfully.
He was alone, the people he once knew gone...The people he strove for, fought for.
There were all...Gone….So...Just what was there...?
All he was doing was stumbling around blindly, desperately finding something to hold onto. To keep him grounded. He was just letting himself get pulled along at someone else’s pace, for the sake of simply having something to keep himself distracted from reality.
“...I don’t get it.” He mumbled, his thoughts growing turbid, his repressed emotions slowly spiraling beyond his ability to control them. They settled in the pit of his stomach, making him feel heavy. “...How can you be so certain…? What if you were to find out that, in the end, it was all for nothing?? What if you found out you were wrong all along?? That your efforts were in vain?? Would you still be able to walk that path, if that were to happen?”
“Even if that were to happen, I would continue walking.” Eon’s response was immediate, unfaltering.
“How can you say that?!” Max rose his voice, not comprehending his mindset. “Would you still be able to think that way if you lost everything you had fought your heart out for? If what you thought you were protecting suddenly vanished right before you?? If you were to end up with nothing all over again? Would you still keep walking, knowing nothing was waiting for you at the end of that path?!” He snapped, his tail whipping behind him in frustration, agitation, confusion. “Don’t make me laugh! How can you keep going like that, knowing it was all for nothing at all?!” Max felt out of breath, his muddled thoughts having overtaken him completely by then. “...If...If that were to happen...What would you do then…?” He questioned, his tone growing weak.
Perhaps the reality was...He wanted an answer. He wanted the answer to how he could possibly keep going on like this, even though he was still so utterly lost.
Would there even be that answer?
Silence ensued, Eon’s gaze never once leaving Max as he listened quietly, finally having some comprehension of what Max must have been going through. The reason for that cornered look within his eyes.
But even with that knowledge, this only left Eon with even more questions.
Just what could it have been? To leave him in such uncertainty, such despair?? Who or what could have taken everything from him??
Eon may very well never receive the answers to these questions, but at least...He could still answer Max's, even if it may have not been the one he had been hoping for.
“...I would still keep walking forward.” Was his eventual answer. “...Maybe in the end, things won’t work out...Maybe, in the end, you’ll have lost much more than you have gained, but even so, you have to keep walking forward.”
“That’s…” Max let out a dry laugh in return, hanging his head down. “So even if you fail over and over, you just have to keep going? No matter who or what you lose, or how many times you lose it, or how much it hurts...You just have to…?”
Eon was quiet, regarding Max quietly before turning to face him, reaching his hand out to gently flick Max’s forehead.
Max in return, flinched, looking startled.
“You might fail. More than once, more than twice, maybe even many more times than that. There will be countless time where you’ll fall over, where your face will hit the dirt, and when you’ll be at your lowest...But even so, keep walking. Get back up again. Over and over, just keep getting up and walking forward, down that path, as unclear as it may be….Because someday, you’ll finally find something at the end of that path. Something that makes all your pain, suffering, and struggles worth it in the end. Eventually, you’ll find that something, but you can’t get there if all you’re doing is looking backwards. If you keep looking behind you.” Eon’s words were soft, gentle. “The only way to get there, is by walking forward.”
Max was struck speechless, processing Eon’s words, his advice. Those words rolled about in his mind, over and over...And eventually, he felt their weight upon him. Felt their meaning, even if he didn’t yet know what their meaning was to him specifically.
“If you don’t have anything to walk forward for now, walk forward for the day that you do find that something. Whatever that something turns out to be.”
Max lowered his gaze, his ears twitching as Eon suddenly ruffled his hair.
“You’ll get there.”
Looking back up at him, Max did so just in time to catch sight of Eon giving him a soft smile...Probably the first he’d ever seen from him. A reassuring smile...As though, somehow, it was telling him that everything would be okay.
“Come on, let’s get something to eat, yeah?” He finished, heading off towards the kitchen, that gray-black tail gently swishing behind him in time with each step.
Max simply followed him with his eyes for a moment, and then...He felt it.
Felt as though something within him began to stir. Something that had long since gone cold, static.
But more than that, he felt...Relieved. An overwhelming sense of relief.
Like a suffocating, crushing weight had finally been lightened off of his own heart, even if only a little.
He felt like he could breathe again.
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