Her Duo

Her Duo

The moon is high in the dark sky and the wind that carries the clouds across it is an icy cold. Snowflakes clumped together fall with purpose as they form a thick layer of snow on the ground. The wind carries them with an important message to deliver all across the lonely city: winter has finally arrived for the year.

She waits on a wooden park bench practically covered in the falling white innocence. The air has already frozen over her skin, her cheeks and nose a rosy red. But, she has prepared for this winter. She wears a heavy winter parka layered with long-sleeved shirts and jackets underneath. Two pairs of thick socks clamp each foot and with snow boots to match, she is ready to survive another winter.

The park she inhabits alone is illuminated by a single street lamp, enveloping her in a pale yellow light. She is surrounded by the night's heavy darkness as well. But she is not scared. She will not be threatened by what lurks in the dark, if there was such a being. Instead, she entertains herself by watching the falling souls bunch together to form silvery blankets. She lifts her head, also covered with a hood and layers of wool hats, to watch the stars as they dance around the moon. She smiles, and suddenly the feeling in her cheeks revisit her for a slight moment until the freezing air stiffens her again. She lowers her head, fixing her gaze upon the ashen stone pathway beneath her. Cracks and dents in the rock show clear signs of old age. The bitter breeze throws her hood behind her.

Her ears sting, despite her hats protecting them.

She doesn't want to be out here. No, she wants to be wrapped in the loving warmth of her Pack. Tonight was supposed to be the night she tell the children stories of the Ordinary that she encounter in this city. The ones who do not harbor abilities, the Ordinary.

But she was called out by a friend, Her Duo. A friend who she has known since their beginning. They had plans to meet in the park, alone. But she has been waiting for hours. She is growing impatient, but her friend is unpredictable. If she left, he could show up and she wouldn't even know it.

I'll wait a little longer for him.

"This better be good." She whispers, almost inaudibly to herself. As she speaks softly, her white transparent breath slips through her scarf and it reminds her of the monsters in the bedtime stories she'd read to the children.

Heh, I'm a dragon.

Though she is wearing gloves she absentmindedly rubs her hands together to create friction, but she feels no heat. Fire. It's too cold, she can't. Do it again. Fire. Nothing, do it again. Fire.

She wants the flame, she wants the warmth it provides.

She squeezes her body together, hugging herself. Her muscles tense and she shakes at a rapid pace. She feels colder now that she focuses her breathing on the icy gusts passing through her. Again, she watches as the falling souls collect themselves on her and the vacant seat next to her. She wants to lay her head on the pile of snow sitting there with her, but her body is so stiff she cannot move. She laughs bitterly, her lips chapping. She could die out here. She could freeze to death. But she won't, because she has the power to control her fate. She will not die, not until she herself is ready to discard her vessel. She has made sure of that.

She can't feel her body, she can't feel her soul. She is an empty furnace, no fire brews within her. She has no wood, coal, nor spark to begin her inner fire. Just the endless waves of wind that immobilize her.

"Maro, you bastard." She can barely form the words to curse him, her lips are numb. This was his plan, was it not? He knows her temper, her lack of control. This is his plan. To let her body freeze so she can't move. Whatever he has to say to her, it must be something she will not be pleased to hear. With that in mind, the cold of this early winter doesn't seem to bother her anymore. Now she waits with fury.

The tapping of shoes hitting the stone enters her hearing and she is suddenly frightened. A silhouette appears in the darkness slowly drawing closer to her. Who could it be? A stranger passing by? No, it's Her Duo.

Maro.

Her fury suddenly subsides and she smiles with what little feeling she has left in her lips, "Maro, you jerk, how long were you going to make me wait out here?" Her words fumble in her mouth but she knows Maro can understand her.

"Sorry, Lana. I was just trying to collect myself before I came to meet you." His voice is low and raspy, but even with her hearing now somewhat impaired due to the numbness, Lana can tell that he is truly sorry. She is surprised to see that he is not as layered with as much clothing as she is. They're Duos, their bodies cannot handle such frigid conditions. She is almost impressed to see him with just a wool trench coat and some gloves. He's not even wearing a hat, he must be freezing.

He approaches Lana as if wary. He kneels down in front of her and places his hands on her knees. He breathes deeply, in and out. Like a dragon. He closes his eyes and his brow furrows. His face constricts with pain and he squeezes her knees tightly. Lana says nothing, merely watching him with an intense gaze. So maybe that wasn't his intention after all? He groans softly as he grits his teeth, and suddenly she begins to feel a flame again. Heat is coursing through her body and the numbness fades.

Slowly, after a few moments, the grip he has on her knees relaxes. His face still shows signs of pain. Blood begins to drip from his nose and he struggles to get back on his feet. He opens his eyes and they are glazed over. He wipes the blood away, leaving a dried splotch under his nose.

"You can move now." He says through labored breaths. Lana again says nothing, she stares at him with such intensity it makes Maro uncomfortable. "What is it?"

"Why did you force yourself to produce heat? You barely have any now." She doesn't want to sound like she's scolding him, but it just slips out that way. She is right, though. Maro is freezing just like her, he has little to no flame left inside his core. He has given the majority of his to her own. Maro's expression exposes his shame and fatigue. He says nothing at first but when he wants to speak, Lana cuts him off as she changes the subject, "Never mind that, what was so important that you made me wait out here?" This time when she speaks her fury from before is evident. Again Maro is silent, Lana can see he's collecting his words to form an excuse.

"I'm sorry." He apologizes, his eyes narrow and he looks away from her. That's all he can say? I'm sorry? Lana sighs with clear annoyance, but she grins and her anger yet again escapes her. She shouldn't be so hard on him, after all he's finally here, and she's not alone anymore.

She lifts herself from the park bench leaving an apparent indentation of where she sat. Maro flinches and when she sees this she laughs. Without a word, she walks towards him and wraps her arms around his torso. Again Maro flinches, but with ginger movements, he wraps one arm around her waist and another around her shoulders. He cradles her head with his hand and she buries her face in the nape of his neck. The warmest place on his body. He squeezes her tightly and does the same, to which Lana is taken aback. She can feel his body shake within her embrace, and she knows it isn't because of the cold.

He's crying.

Was she too brash? Or is he just worried? Lana is unsure. It is unusual to see Maro express such an emotion. He never cries in front of anyone, despite his disposition.

She tries to pull away but his hold on her is strong. Where is this all coming from? She has no idea. She feels scared. Something must be wrong if Maro is acting like this. Before she can speak, he begins to leave kisses all over her face. When she looks up at him, his expression is similar to when he was giving her his heat. He is in pain, and it must be what he was feeling earlier.

"Maro, what's wrong?" Her voice echoes deep concern and he kisses her furiously. Her cheeks, her forehead, her hair, her nose, the top of her head, they are all covered with kisses and tears. When he stops, he pulls away just enough for their eyes to meet. With her thumbs she wipes tears from under his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something but quickly takes it back. His brow furrows again and guilt is clearly shown in his eyes.

"I have to leave the city, Lana." Maro finally chokes out. He cringes, expecting a full blown argument to burst out of her, but she is silent. She watches him with a blank stare.

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?" Her voice becomes quiet. She can't comprehend this. She wants to scream but the urge doesn't come. Her throat tightens and it almost suffocates her.

He can't leave. She won't allow this. They're Duos, they can't live without each other. Despite his tight grip, she pulls away from Maro's embrace and he does not stop her. She backs away a few feet from where he stands. The chill of the night is the least of her concerns.

Her voice cracks as she asks him, "Why are you leaving?"

"They've found me..." He says this with such fear it stuns her. They found him. They found him.

They found him!

"How did they find you?! What did you do?!" Lana can't catch herself. She is fuming. And it's clear to her that she has definitely frightened Maro. His body stiffens as he hangs his head and stares at his fancy dress shoes covered in snow. Damnit! She can't stand it when he does that. When he shuts himself down. He tries to cope with her rage by pretending he doesn't see it. He only listens.

Tears glaze over her eyes as she bares her canines. "Tell me now, Maro! Tell me! Make me understand how our efforts to stay hidden have just gone down the drain! Go on! Explain yourself!"

"I was being careless when it happened. I wasn't thinking about the Pack or old man Soyer!" He fires back, "I didn't want an innocent civilian getting killed for harboring our kind! They were being wrongfully accused!"

Now it's Lana who is silent. She is baffled. Maro is screaming at her. Maro, the timid boy who shows no other emotions besides shyness and happiness, is screaming at her. Even he himself seems startled by what he has just done. It slips out. She can sense that he hasn't meant to come off as angry. It is her fault, she set him off. They're both stressed and tense, they can't think straight.

He is whimpering now. Maro doesn't like to raise his voice, especially in front of Lana. She knows this. They share thoughts, sensations, emotions, and memories. She knows everything about Maro. And he knows everything about her. They are Duos after all. They were once one body. They shared a beginning. They even share Flame. That is their combined ability. That's what makes them partners. Their personalities contradict each other's, they're the complete opposite of one another. Yet the relationship they have is stable and loving.

Many Duos with contradicting characteristics like them don't last long in their field of work and end up dying because of it. Lana and Maro are one of the luckier ones that have managed, and Lana is always thankful to have Maro. Without him, she can lose herself and destroy her body with no control. Without Maro, her fate is decided. That's why she needs him with her. He can't leave.

"I may have to-" Maro pauses, never looking up from his shoes. "-I may have to take refuge at the island for a period of time, just so things die down." Lana shoots him a blazing glare. Though Maro can't see it, he feels it. It sends tremors down his spine.

"No!"

In her mind, Lana sounds like a spoiled child getting her toy taken from her. She is the dominant one in their Duoship after all. She takes action. She wants everything to go her way. She deserves it. She deserves to be happy. The Pack does too. If Maro leaves, their happiness will dissipate and will be replaced with fear and paranoia. She can't let that happen.

But if she stops Maro, if she forces him to stay despite his crime, that would also mean putting the Pack's life in danger. They will all have to go to the island. But the children want to live among the Ordinary. They want to grow around the Ordinary's customs. That's what they want. They themselves want to be Ordinary.

But sadly, Ordinaries don't respect their kind. In fact, they fear them. They fear them so much that they create these things to hunt them and kill them. Maro, he protected an Ordinary in vein. Lana knows this, and he knows this. If those monsters find out who they are, then they can't stay in the city. They will have to go where all the others have gone.

The island.

It's a far off land where many of their kind have retreated to. In a way, it's more like exile. That is their punishment for something they cannot control. For something that happens beyond their own comprehension. It is a disease. It is the only way for the Ordinary to truly except their existence, even though they want their kind dead.

"The Duos. The true monsters of the world!"

Duos began existing three decades ago. They began to show up out of nowhere and no one knows why. They are a great mystery that no one can solve. So to compensate, the Ordinary condemn them. Many try to live in the city despite the public hatred. Though, some die or are forced to immigrate to the island. Those that do survive in the city become a part of local Packs. That's the only way to live.

Packs are simple groups that harbor Duos and usually consist of a Pack Leader and tens upon hundreds of members. There are a few hundreds that hide themselves in the city. And because Duos can blend in so well with the Ordinary, the monsters have a hard time finding them. But now Maro was detected. He saved an Ordinary, and now that monster could be looking for him right now.

Lana has no choice. But she doesn't want to accept it.

"Maro if you leave, the Pack dies. I'll die." Maro lifts his head. His tears have gone dry, but his eyes scream fear as he stares at Lana. He forgot about their bond. Lana senses this. She realizes that Maro hasn't thought his little plan all the way through. Which means he has to seek help from her, as well as Old Man Soyer.

They will have to tell the Pack of their departure to The Island.