Work Text:
The town Neffres found themself in was hardly any different from the one they’d just left. The people were quiet, the government was shady, and there didn’t seem to be an ounce of useful leads on Miryn. Tucking their brother’s journal away in the inner pocket of their cloak, Neffres turned on their heel and headed back towards the inn they were staying at. They’d have to head out in the morning in order to shake off any potential suspicion the city guard might have about some traveler asking townspeople weird questions regarding a missing person.
As they walked, they looked over the city, noting the simplicity of the place. Just another forgettable town along their long road. All the faces they glanced over would be wiped from their memory moments after they were out of sight. The man smiling with his kid on his shoulders? Irrelevant. The teen rolling her eyes as her friends teased her? Insignificant. The half-orc woman freezing in place the moment her eyes locked with theirs? Unforgettable.
Neffres froze in place and stared right back, whispering in disbelief, “Saz?”
Saz looked them over for a moment, clearly also processing the current situation, then spoke, “Neffres. Didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” She was angry. Neffres couldn’t blame her.
“What- What are you doing here?”
“Working on something,” she started walking away, expression unreadable, but Neffres backed up and stood in front of her.
“Wait! I- Can we talk? You don’t have to, I know I don’t deserve it but-”
“You’re right, you don’t,” Saz scoffed, causing Neffres to go silent. “You left me with a pathetic little letter instead of facing your own fucking issues and letting me help!”
“I know I fucked up, I know that! I just- I don’t know what I can do to apologize, but-”
“Nothing you can do could fix this,” Saz sighed, looking more hurt than angry. “I still love you but-”
Neffres cut in, not processing that Saz wasn’t done speaking, “Then we can work this out! I promise I won’t leave again, I’m so-”
“ But ,” Saz reiterated, stepping away but still looking into Neffres’ eyes, “I’ll never be able to forgive you. Goodbye, Neffres.” As she walked away, they tried to call out to her, beg her to give them another chance, but no matter what they did, no words came out. They watched as Saz disappeared into a crowd and tried again, more desperately, to scream and reach out towards her to no avail.
Then Neffres blinked and heard themself screaming as they flinched out of their tranced state. They clapped a hand over their mouth and felt a shiver run down their spine as they looked around the campsite they’d built for themself. Not a soul in sight. They took as deep a breath as they could and shifted a bit closer to the fire, hoping that the warmth would help them quit shaking. They silently watched the embers fly up into the air and numbed their mind as much as possible until the sun rose.
Once they had a decent amount of visibility, Neffres packed up camp, put out the fire, and headed out. They could never seem to put enough distance between themself and their mistake.