Small World After All

It seemed like another world, another time for Alistair. Occasionally he would glance to his hand, reach and run his fingers along the pale outline of where his rings used to be. It was something he still couldn't believe had happened...but it did. Since that day it had been nothing more than stretches of self reflection. The choices he made, the life he lived, the man he was...

Of course it would be prudish to think the nights that followed were not heavily influenced by an abundance of alcohol...today however, today Alistair took a reprieve. A reprieve from everyone and everything, including himself.

He had arrived to the Oasis with the intent to clear his head, and perhaps enjoy the fruits of this foreign land. One that had already changed him so much. The solace of his surroundings did much to ease him, clear his head.

Alistair sat quietly by the water, a makeshift fishing rod loosely held in his hands. His fingers were nimble enough to latch in case a bite had come, for now...he simply exhaled, glancing past the shimmering waters. The rippling sounds of its gentle passing offering him peace...a word he thought he'd never use til now.

Roana

The peace and quiet Alistair was searching for was about to be rudely interrupted. Everyone’s lives had been turned upside down, including Roana’s. She hadn’t had a falling out with her husband, he had simply disappeared, along with their daughter. It kept her up at night, wondering, waiting, wishing this hadn’t become her reality. The worst part was simply not knowing: was he alive and elsewhere in this strange place? Was he back in Northaven? Would she ever see him again or was that chapter of her life at an end…as much of an end as it could be with five-year-old triplet sons. It hurt to look at them. They looked too much like their father.

But they were still young boys, and young boys were rambunctious. They had been so good, minding their manners, and being well behaved while everyone tried to get their bearings. They were long overdue for a good romp around an open space. That was exactly what Cormac, Jax, and Rhett were doing; chasing each other around, laughing loudly, generally going in the same direction that their mother walked. It was a slow walk for Roana though, as she was still recovering from being attacked at the spire.

As they meandered through the area, she spotted someone by the Oasis pond. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to ascertain who or what is was, and if they were or weren’t a threat to her boys. What she saw was a surprise, but a pleasant one. “Alistair?” she called out.

Alistair

Alistair had been drawn into his own thoughts and the sound of the relaxing water, so deep he hardly noticed the arrival of others. It wasn't until the sound of children laughing cut through the ambiance that he startled straight. His own eyes squinting as he attempted to gather his bearings from a lengthy daydream.

" Roana ?"

He asked, reeling back and resting his makeshift rod on the ground as he stood. Dusting off his hands he gave a humble smile to the little ones that seemed to be basking in their new surroundings.

"Roana..."

Not quite sure how to properly greet her, nor how she would greet him, Alistair merely nodded his head appreciatively that she was ok.

"You made it through...I take it you're as clueless as to how we ended up here as many of us are."

His hands folded behind his back, turning to watch her sons.

"They're handsome lads...they look happy. After all you've been through, I'm glad you found the peace and love you deserved with them. Is Brahm here as well?"

Alistair asked innocently enough.

"I'm sure Devrum would be eager to seek him out...not that he would be thrilled of that notion."

Faint laughter escaped his lips, though Alistair appeared worn and beaten by this new world. A far cry from the endless, romantic optimism that he seemed to carry so effortlessly.

"I'm glad you're ok, all of you."

His voice soft with a faint smoky rasp to it as continued to watch her sons run along and play without so much as a care in the world. He was truly envious in more ways than one.

It really was Alistair. Since their little falling out, she hadn’t really seen him. He had gotten married, so had she, and they lived very different and separate lives; not to mention that time she had arrested him. But that seemed so long ago it was a far and distant memory, especially now with her boys tackling each other at her feet. “No, I have no idea how we got here.” She said with a small smile. “It’s good to see a familiar face though.”

She looked at her boys as he mentioned them, smiling briefly, but frowning when he mentioned their father. “No, Brahm isn’t here. Neither is Ara.” She said quietly, sadness coloring her tone. “I don’t know where they are…if they are any more.” They could be dead after all. “It’s just me and the boys now.” It hurt to say it, every time someone asked it hurt, but it wasn’t something she could lie about. The truth was the truth. If Alistair was worn and beaten by this new world, he would find good company in Roana, who literally had been nearly disemboweled by the beasts here in addition to the emotional trauma.

“Thank you…I am glad you are as well.” She said with a soft smile, looking back at him. “Did Ashetta not make it either?” she asked, innocently as he had asked about Brahm.

Alistair

His face softened at the mention of the absence of Brahm and little Ara...Alistair exhaled and shook his head, fingers raising to scratch the back of his head before looking back to her sons. "I'm sorry...I'm sure they'll find their way back to you. Mustn't lose hope..." Again he grinned as he motioned Cormac, Jax, and Rhett over. A hand reaching into his pocket as he held out slivered sticks of sugar cane he was saving for himself.

Crouching down to be closer to their eye level, had they decided to take the offering, Alistair would smile softly, laugh even, with the knowledge he might have given them a small treat in a world they knew nothing of.

He noticeably delayed his response to Ashetta, that Roana had asked in doing so as well. "In the mean time you've got three beautiful sons to keep you sane...though even that is a matter of perspective of course." He attempted to joke as he stood and turned to Roana with a smile, tired and faint as it was.

"Ashetta is here. Just not here..." Alistair trailed off at the end with a squint of his brows. "...not something worth speaking about right now. Things just have a way of not working I suppose, lesson learned I guess."

The remark a faint apology of sorts, admitting to his blind ignorance when it came to people.

"Suppose new world, new start for most of us that made it through...how are you adjusting? No army to lead...what will you do?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." Roana said quietly, but there was no sound of hope in her tone. None of the missing people had shown up. No one else missing relatives or spouses had found them. As each day passed, it seemed the likelihood of seeing her husband and daughter again got slimmer and slimmer. But the boys didn't notice their mother's moment of sadness. This new guy had candy and that made him the best, without question, undeniably. Cormac was the ringleader of the little bunch and smack Rhett's hand when he tried to steal Jax's sugar cane right out of his mouth. "No!" he huffed at Rhett. "Sowwy..." Rhett said, shoving his own piece into his mouth. Jax seemed unbothered. This wasn't a new occurrence. Roana smiled just the tiniest bit at her boys. "They self police pretty well, which does help." But the smile was short lived, replaced with a frown as he spoke of Ashetta. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were no longer together. The tiny vindictive part of her, that most people had if they were honest with themselves, wanted to say she had told him Ashetta was bad news. But he didn't need to hear it. She had managed to prove it to him on her own. Now he knew from experience and didn't need the added sting of smugness. "I am so sorry Alistair." she said, meaning it genuinely. She may not have liked Ashetta, but she did truly feel badly for his heartbreak. "I will protect people, like I always have. I don't know any other way to be." she said with a shrug. She was a soldier through and through, and there were dangers they didn't understand yet in this new place. They needed people like her, willing to risk their lives but the skill to survive, if they were going to succeed here. "What about you?" roana The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone

Alistair looked to Roana and nodded appreciatively to her apology. "Lessons we learn in life right? How do we expect to grow if not challenged along the way."

He would motion with his head for Roana to walk along with him along the rim of the calm rippling water, nodding again at her insistence to protect.

"You never lacked resolve, that's for certain." Hands slipped into his pockets as he chuckled quietly. To her own question he simply shrugged.

"Not sure exactly...joined a bounty hunting guild with Ronin. Suppose it'll keep me occupied enough until I figure out what it is I want out of my life here...wherever here is. It'll take time like most things do..."