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On Adaine’s first night staying with Jawbone and Tracker, she awoke from her trance to a dark apartment. Quiet save for the snoring she could hear through the crack of Jawbone’s door. They had just defeated Goldenrod the day before.
As she sat in the dark, she slowly came to realize that at this time normally her whole house would be awake.
A few months ago, she would have been waking to the sounds of unseen servants starting breakfast and awaking the house. She should be able to hear her sister taking her sweet time in the bathroom across the hall.
Instead, Adaine hears simply the traffic of downtown outside her window. Of course, she had had sleepovers with other bad kids before, always waking before them. But this was different.
Here in Jawbone’s apartment, she felt alone. Her parents had abandoned her yesterday and left her homeless here in a foreign country. Now she was living with a man, who, six months ago, tried to turn her into a werewolf. Yes, he has turned his life around since but still.
Deciding she needs some air, Adaine quietly makes her way to the window nearest the fire escape. Opening the window slowly as to avoid any creaking or disturbance, the young elf climbs the escape towards the roof.
There she sits, dangling her feet over the edge watching the horizon. Waiting for the sunrise, Adaine thinks of the battle she had just faced.
They had barely succeeded, she had almost died, her friends had almost died. Jawbone had risked himself helping her.
In the cool air of the early morning, Adaine lets herself cry.
Cry for her friends she had almost lost that day.
Cry for how she was so afraid she couldn’t help in the fight.
Cry for the loss of her family.
Cry for how, out of all her friends, she was the only one whose family she felt she had no reason to save.
Adaine wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she heard the door to the roof creak open and the sound of footsteps making their way to her. “Adaine?” the voice whispered as Fig sat down beside her on the ledge.
“How long have you been out here?” She asked as Adaine tried to wipe her tears from her eyes.
“Not long,” Adaine responded, voice hoarse from hyperventilating. Adaine cursed herself, she didn’t want to worry Fig.
As kind and caring as she is, at times Fig can be a little overbearing. Also what would super cool, Rockstar, Fig know of feeling so alone, of not being enough?
After a moment of silence, Fig lights a clove before speaking up:
“Ya know, I was abandoned once.”
“Wait, What?”
“Yeah, when my horns came in. Gilear was furious. He told me I was never a Faeth. And then he left. Slammed the door and everything.”
“Oh man, I mean it’s kinda scary to picture Gilear as angry.” Interrupted Adaine.
“Yeah….” Continued Fig.
“And then I went to school the next day, I mean, I tried to hide them, the horns, I really did. But kinda hard to do when they stick right out of your face. With my friends things started slowly; small whispers behind my back, those types of things. And then I stopped getting invited to sleepovers and hangouts, even cheer meets.”
“You were a Cheerleader?”
“I was one of those girls they threw into the air.”
“Wow.”
There is silence now as Fig takes a drag of her cigarette.
“My mom was trying her best. But she thought she was protecting me by not telling me about Gorthalax. Really I just need someone like me ya’ know? At the time it felt like she was ashamed of me, didn’t want me.”
“Oh, Fig.”
“Yeah, it sucked. I was alone for what felt like forever. No friends, No Dad and a Mom ashamed of me.”
“What did you do? What changed?”
At this, Fig looks to Adaine and smiles.
“Well, I was angry and I wrote music and played Bass and went to shows at the Black Pit. And then, I went to my first day of high school. And as I was walking the halls, I saw a girl steal a book from the restricted section of the library.”
After this, there is silence as two lonely girls watch the sunrise across Elmville.