The Tables Have Turned

Ethan Leddaro

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

Ethan knew what pure panic felt like. Whenever he forgot to do an important assignment for school, his insides would turn ice cold, and he's go completely still, telling himself how stupid he was to forget. It wasn't often that Ethan Leddaro was scared badly, though. No, he had grown out of being afraid of his own shadow a very long time ago. He had to be as hard as stone and as cool as ice sometimes if he wanted to survive in the popular crowd. If he ever turned soft, he could count to three and he'd be eaten alive by them. Back stabbing traitors with movie star smiles. That's all they really were. Ethan liked to tell himself that he was more than that. That he had feelings, and they didn't. Around Layla, it was easier to lie to himself like that. He almost believed it then. He didn't know what it was about the girl that made him feel so good about himself. Maybe it was that he didn't have to pretend around her, so when he doing something good, it was real. Not a false act in order to gain attention. But, in reality, how could Ethan possibly separate himself from the rest of his crowd. Was he honest? No. He had lied to stay on top. Did he stand up for those weaker than he was? One time, and not to protect that little boy. He did it to make that Keeper mad. Did he hide behind a false personality? Almost all the time. No, Ethan was not a good person. But he was proud of one thing, and that was his courage. His ability to stay calm in a terrifying situation. When one of the guys got in trouble for breaking a window, he stayed calm and helped them through it. When a girl from his crowd was yelled at by a drunk Keeper who pulled out that whip a little too quickly, he stood up to him without fear.

But Layla was different. All it took was the look of total fear on her face before she fell, and Ethan Leddaro fell apart.

He would never forget the trepidation in her eyes the moment before she fell. That terror tore right through the stone wall around his heart that he had spent so long building, and ripped him in half. How had she done it? How had she actually reached him, the boy who acted strong and tough and cool but was really just scared and uncertain inside? Why was she different? Because she cared. Because she was honest. Because she trusted him, and he trusted her. Because, in everything but reality, she was his sister. And that was why that scream, which tore through the night and made every other creature fall silent, made him stop breathing. It made his heart leap into his throat, and his blood become suddenly cold as the adrenaline slipped into his veins like a sly monster disguised as a savior. Ethan's thoughts flew past quickly, like a flock of birds that had just broken free and were sailing up toward the clear blue sky. It was like someone flipped a switch, and suddenly, Ethan was freaking out. Only one word would leave his mouth, and it came as a shout. "Layla!"

Ethan half climbed, half leaped out of the tree, but he was only a branch down from where he had started when he heard her hit the ground. It was a thud that made him want to puke, because while he couldn't see her, he could imagine her, broken on the ground eyes closed for what could be forever. Those beautiful gray eyes, so different from his bright green ones. The ones he had once teased her about when she was glaring at a Keeper, telling her they were as dark as the storm clouds that were coming their way. He knew those eyes now like the back of his hand. They were all Layla's, totally unique. They lit up when she laughed, and glowed with the same warmth candles gave off on an icy winter night. What would they look like, though, if they were cold and unseeing. Ethan had seen other girls in his crowd with gray eyes, but they weren't like Layla's. They seemed cold- like ice held up to the colorless winter sky. Ethan knew that Layla's eyes were the same, only she filled them with radiance and pride, which shined with warmth. How could all that beautiful light just leave in one moment?

Ethan was normally strong and graceful, but as he climbed down the tree, he felt clumsy and slow. On the last branch, his foot caught, and he fell to the ground, panting and muttering under his breath in order to keep track of the thoughts that he couldn't hold onto. Whispering under his breath about how he just fell, Ethan pushed himself up, not bothering to address the fact that his back was screaming and his nose felt like it was bruised badly. Ethan had faced death when his blood had slowly stained the ground that one afternoon. He knew what real pain was like. It didn't make regular pain seem any better, but it did remind him that he could deal with it. Besides, at that moment, Ethan didn't care about pain. His eyes desperately searched the ground for any sign of Layla, and then he found her.

And almost lost his lunch.

His view of her wasn't great, but her could see her leg just fine. It was bent in a place it shouldn't have been able to bend at an angle that was so gruesome that Ethan almost looked away. Her arms lay on each side of her, palms facing up to the ink dark sky as she screeched at even the slightest twitch of movement that reached her legs. Ethan eyes became wide, because he knew her position all to well. He had been there, and gone through that. Memories Ethan didn't want to think about flooded back. Him, laying back and staring at the sky that was the same color of the liquid life that was draining out of him. Layla's terrified face as she looked down. The pain that burned him as if magma was in his veins instead of blood. And then a whole new set of memories came. Memories of Nadene, fighting through the Games, almost there, almost making it... and suddenly, she wasn't there anymore. There was no more life in her eyes. She was just gone.

Ethan scrambled to his feet and raced over to Layla, feeling like ever tiny rise in the earth beneath him was an obstacle. He had to reach her, to help her, to save her, but she was already leaving him. Ethan could tell by the way her screams were dying down, into little whimpers that managed to capture the agony just as much. Tears that sparkled in the moonlight glided down her face, stopping just below her ear before falling to the ground underneath her. There was only a little bit of blood. Little cuts on her face from branches hitting her when she fell, and a small gash on her arm, perhaps from landing on a rock. Ethan swooped down like that black bird, landing on his knees beside her and staring down at her damp face. Her eyes were fluttering open and closed in a way that scared Ethan a bit too much, and his breaths became shallow and short. He couldn't loose her. She was his best friend.

"Layla," he whispered, unable to avoid looking at her leg. "Layla, can you hear me?"

There was no response. Her gray eyes seemed to stare right through him, not seeing him but still reflecting the pain and sorrow that he was sure had washed over his face the moment he saw her. And suddenly, her blinks became slower, and the moments her eyes were closed became longer, until finally, they ceased to open. And Ethan couldn't take it any more. It was harder than it would have been if he had found her dead, because she was still there but just barely. He could almost feel her leaving him, and Ethan couldn't help it. His thoughts were selfish, all about his own life if she left. His heart ached, and suddenly, he saw that boy and his little sister in his mind again, and realized the true meaning of being protective. Ethan had always thought that being protective meant that one was shielding someone who was weak, but now he realized that protecting someone close to him was something he did out of selfishness. He did not protect Layla because she was weak- he protected her because he couldn't imagine living in a world without her.

"Layla," Ethan's whisper was hoarse as he fought to steady it, and his hand drifted toward her face, gently brushing away a strand of blonde hair. "Please don't leave."

When she failed to open her eyes, Ethan felt the final few strands of control he had left being tugged away from him, and he reached down and pressed a thumb against her neck, feeling her pulse. It was there, and it was strong. But still, she didn't awaken, and any common sense Ethan had left him. He began to tug on her arm like a five year old, tears overflowing out of his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. "Layla!" He shouted, yanking harder. "Layla, wake up and tell me you're alright! Be okay, please! You can't do what Nadene did to us! You-"

Ethan's voice broke off and he let out a howl, bawling like he was a little kid again. Some of his tears fell on Layla's face like rain, and looking at her closed lids only made the tears come faster. Everything inside of him just screamed, as the pain of Layla and Nadene crashed down on him at the same time, crushing him under a ton of sorrow and regret. Every breath sent fresh pain through him, but not physical pain. It was a pain that was, in some ways, much worse. It was tearing him apart on the inside instead of the outside. And Ethan couldn't handle that kind of pain. He wasn't used to it- it was a foreign plague that raced through his body, making everything just ache. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening.

"Layla, don't leave me like she did," he sobbed, bending his head over her. "I know it hurts, and I know there's no reason for you to return to that pain, but... I just can't go through that again. I'm not strong like you are. You know me, Layla. You know that while I may pretend to be all strong and fearless, I'm just a little kid inside. I'm telling you Layla, if it happens again... I'm not sure I'll make it."

Ethan didn't stop crying as he spoke. In fact, his emotions became so strong, he almost forgot that his words were falling on deaf ears.

Almost.


(OOC: This one's probably the longest, most emotional Ethan!post ever, which pleases me. Oh, and for some reason, Layla isn't in the directory, so you might want to PM a staff about that. Oh, and what do you think of the colors. I'm testing them out, and asking you since you've RPed with Ethan and know his personality a bit more.)

Ethan Leddaro

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

Ethan spent the rest of the night alternating between crying his eyes out and staring ahead in hollow silence until he had more tears to rid himself of. The night air was too cold and the ground was too hard but he didn't care because if this girl died, he had to be there. He was as still as a statue at times, but in his mind, he was running. Running away from this place where she lay broken in front of him, with branches hitting his face and tearing the delicate skin on his arms, until he was in a place where he could forget. But that's the thing, he kept thinking. I'll never forget. How could he? If she died, it would be burned into his mind forever. Every now and then, Ethan would feel her pulse, making sure she was still with him. He had a million negative thoughts. What would he tell her parents if she died? What would happen to him? What would people say about her? Would they even remember her? Would she just become a lost face, like Nadene might?

No. Ethan would never let that happen. He could live the rest of his life scarred by these horrible moments (the memories were already becoming darker and more sorrowful), but he would make sure that this girl was not forgotten. Sure, she didn't look like someone really special. She blended in at school- Ethan had never even recognized her. His friends would never believe he spent so much of his time hanging out with someone so... average. But she wasn't average. She was different than all the other girls he knew. She was loyal and understanding, and she had seen the worst in him but didn't care. She was full of life and light. Like Nadene, she was a person. She was a living thing with thoughts and opinions and a personality, and it wasn't fair that one simple fall could rip her away from the world. But even if she did die, she would be remembered. Ethan promised her that sometime while he wasn't too choked up to speak.

Ethan was crying again when she stirred. It wasn't a large movement. He probably wouldn't have even noticed if it hadn't been for the quiet moan that vibrated in her throat, not quite breaking past closed lips. He looked at her, unsure of whether he really heard her or not. But then she moved ever so slightly, and Ethan was sure of it. Instead of being right by her side when she woke up, like he had planned during his more optimous moments, he leaped back, almost as if he was afraid. His heart pounded in his chest like a loud drummer was inside of him, and he glanced at her leg and then her again nervously. For some reason, he was suddenly afraid of it all. Of her waking up and seeing herself, and screaming at him for not doing anything. Or perhaps she would simply not see him, and then slip back into unconsciousness again.

He watched as her eyes fluttered open, staring blankly at the sky, which the sun was slowly staining with it's dazzling light. At first, she didn't seem to recognize where she was, or that she was even awake. But then Ethan saw realization and pain flood into her eyes, and he knew she was there with him. He wanted to speak, but it was as if someone had turned him to stone. All he could do was watch in disbelief as slowly, she began to move, raising her head off of the hard ground. He was far from healed, though. In just an instant he had become a useless, shattered thing, and it would take time to heal the fragile trust and courage that rested inside of him. Perhaps it had taken a lot to stay with Layla when he knew she could be dying, but he only did it because he couldn't imagine leaving her there on the cold ground all alone.

And then she spoke and Ethan could move again. He swooped down onto his knees, clutching her hand in one of his and feeling her fingers move, because he just couldn't believe that she was really alive. Of course she would put him before herself, though. She always did, and Ethan sometimes found it annoying. It was his job to be protective, not hers. And suddenly, he found himself laughing. It was unsteady and a bit too high pitched, but it was laced with relief and joy. "Am I okay? Am I okay? Layla, I thought I lost you! You fell from way up there-" he gestured up to the trees, his voice becoming louder and faster. "-and then you were unconscious and I was afraid that you were gone! You didn't wake up for the whole night! I thought for sure that you were going to leave me behind just like Nadene did! Now you're awake, barely ablse to stay conscious, and your legs look like pretzels and you're asking me if I'm okay?"

He took a huge gulp of air, still laughing a little. His mind flashed back to moments during the night when things seemed particularly bad, and then farther back, to when he was the one laying broken on the ground and she was the one trying to hold it all together. "Layla... I think we're both a wreck." Ethan then looked up around them, running a hand through his hair nervously. "Layla, what are we going to do? We have to get out of here. You need help, and your parents are probably freaking out." He didn't mention the fact that his parents probably hadn't even realized he was gone yet.

Ethan Leddaro

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

It almost made him feel worse, to see her attempt to smile and joke around. She was trying to cheer him up. Ethan has already had his turn being the injured one. He remembered being on the cold, hard ground, feeling the blackness creeping up on him. The few things he wanted in those moments he could not have. There was one thing that kept him anchored, though. One comfort he had. Layla's strength and reassurance managed to keep him from totally losing his grip on reality. Now he was going to have to be the strong one who stayed calm and cool in the terrifying situation. He would have to pretend that he was okay, and ready to take care of her.

This new situation required Ethan to play a new part that was very different than his normal personality. Sometimes it felt like Ethan was several people. There were different characteristics for different people. So many different Ethans, he wasn't even sure which one was the real him anymore. At school he was the jerk who teased those who were weaker and smaller than he was. Cool but cruel, he loved to interrupt class and humiliate teachers. Flirting with other girls was definitely something he was good at. But around Layla, he became someone else. A cocky but honest guy who was reliable. He was thoughtful and cautious, with a temper that often was directed at the Keepers. And that night when he felt the life draining out of him, he was terrified and weak, like a child. And now, he had to be strong and calm, so that Layla would have something to grab and hang onto for dear life while she was drowning in her agony.

He almost cringed as he saw a tear glide down her cheek. He reached out with one finger, brushing it away. He could relate to the pain and the fear. His heart just ached, seeing her so weak and pale and defenseless. That wasn't Layla. Layla was strong and spirited and kind. She had that constant light in her eyes that cheered up Ethan on sad days. She wasn't this broken girl who lay with only pain in her gray orbs. Ethan remembered making faces with her behind the Keepers' backs, and gently teasing each other, and laughed with her. Ethan felt like he knew her, and he was almost certain she knew him. He didn't want this weak person on the ground in front of him. He wanted the laughing, happy Layla.

Ethan thought about the girls he enjoyed hanging out with at school. Those were the ones who didn't work- they had a constant smell of perfume surrounding them, different every day. They had died and straightened and curled their hair so many times that the strands were stiff and unnatural. And of course, the attempts at 'blond' had gone horribly wrong, ending in a wide variety of yellows and whites. Their skirts were far too short, and they wore too many pink things. Ethan pretended that he loved the way they looked and dressed, but really, he was more interested in the girls who weren't popular. The girls who wore worn out jeans and sweatshirts, with tangled but natural hair. Instead of perfume, the scents of the forest lingered on them. They weren't as fortunate as the popular girls, like him. They stood on their own, surrounded by a small group of loyal friends. Ethan sometimes wished he could join them, but then he would remember that he was better than them, and it would have to stay that way. He would never risk his social status for something as insignificant as... loyalty.

But it turned out, Ethan Leddaro didn't have to risk it. Loyalty was given to him by a girl named Layla. She stayed by his side and helped him home, even though she barely knew him. She had been his friend for weeks, now, without a single argument. His other friends couldn't go a few days without getting into a fight with him. If she gave him so much, why was it so hard for him to give back? Who knew being a real friend could be so... terrifying? Ethan wasn't used to it. He was scared of how much he actually seemed to care about what happened to her. He was scared of how much she knew about him. And he was scared of how much he didn't want to lose her, both as a friend and as a person.

"I know it hurts, Layla," he said quietly. "I know. It's going to get better, though, okay? Just don't look at your leg. Don't even think about it. Think about... think about the time that one Keeper tripped head first into a tree." Ethan managed a convincing laugh, mostly because it was one of those memories that never stopped being funny. "Is there anything I can get for you, Layla? Anything you want?"

Ethan Leddaro

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

When Layla reached up to wipe off some of the concealer, he only smiled and reached up to feel the bumpy surface underneath. If anyone else had done that to him, he would have smacked their hand away. It would have sparked a fight. But Layla wasn't one of them. She didn't yell at him if he talked to the person she had a crush on. She didn't tell lies in order to get to the top. If Layla wanted to see past his mask, she could. She already look into his eyes and see a personality there, instead of an obstacle that needed to be pushed aside or jumped over. Somehow, this girl had cracked walls he had built up around him, and was able to find some light inside. And all Ethan could do was wait, until she turned her eyes for a split second and saw the darkness that pulsed in his core, ready to spit out fire into him in the form of a temper. But Ethan knew that he was capable of far worse. The cruelty and hate and anger wasn't another mask he put on. It was a part of him, fused into his personality. His own personal curse.

Ethan found himself reaching out to grab Layla's hand and squeeze it reassuringly before releasing, although the pain was surfacing in his dark eyes. He knew she needed help that he couldn't give her, and that was painful. If there was anything he could do, he would in a second. But these wounds were far beyond his power to heal. Sure, he knew how to treat cuts and gashes. It was just common sense- he worked with axes, after all. But a sprain? At least, Ethan hoped it was a sprain. More likely, she had broken bones. He didn't have some kind of power that would take away the pain and heal her. And he couldn't just leave her alone out here, where there were plenty of animals that would attack something weaker than them. Layla was in no condition to travel, however. She had been laying there all night, too. What if the care she needed had to be immediate? What if, by not acting, Ethan had ruined her chances of healing? But what was he supposed to do? Ethan was scared, tired, and torn. There was, it seemed, no way to help her.

And then there was a voice. A voice that echoed through the trees, it's sound searching for someone lost. Ethan's heart skipped a beat, and his first instinct was to move in front of Layla to protect her from whoever it was. But no, this voice was filled with hope and concern, strangled into a hoarse call that alerted Ethan to the fact that they had been calling for a long time. And they were saying Layla's name. The voice was that of a young man's, and it was strong yet worn by time and the many complications of life. One again, his voice slipped through the trees, seeking her. Layla's head jerked up and then fell again, and she said a name Ethan didn't quite catch. He looked down at her and saw a mixture of joy and shame mixed in two pools of gray. Ethan looked back out to the trees, suddenly realizing what it all meant. This wasn't just a voice. There was a person attatched to that voice. A person who would be ready to help.

Ethan stood up quickly, his heart beating fast. They couldn't lose this person. He looked down at Layla's pale face, remembering how cold her fingers were when he grabbed them. A flood of rage suddenly shot through him, taking him by surprise. It wasn't fair that fate could just do this to someone like Layla. He waited for a moment, listening for another shout. It came from an area to the right of Ethan. He turned toward the source he couldn't see, cupping his hands over his mouth. "We're over here!" His voice vibrated through the woods, and there was a short pause. Ethan held his breath, hoping that the person was there and had not gone.

Then the answer came, loud and clear. "Where?"

Ethan could have cried. He grinned down at Layla, delight and relief clear in his eyes. His shoulders sagged down a bit, and he actually laughed. All that torture he went through the night before was partly paid for with this moment. Ethan's heart rose up in his chest, and he cupped his hands over his mouth again. "Right here! Hurry! Layla fell out of a tree! She's hurt!"

Ethan didn't think he had ever heard footsteps approach faster than they did then.

Ethan Leddaro

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

Ethan guessed the man was somewhere in his early twenties- too young to be Layla's father. Perhaps her brother, or maybe a cousin? Either way, he'd come and found them and probably saved Layla's life. Ethan gazed at him in awe. He was strong and had naturally handsome features- it was like he was the person Ethan hoped to be. And he was obviously a lot smarter than Ethan, coming up a plan immediately when Ethan had just sat right next to her all night doing nothing. He immediately admired this person, and was startled when he thanked him. "Thank me? If it weren't for you, she might have..." he glanced at Layla and lowered his voice, "-she might have died. I was doing nothing productive until you came along."

Ethan shrugged and looked away, ashamed. He suddenly wished that he could have been like this man, and come up with a plan that would have saved Layla. He felt envy flow through him, followed by anger at himself. That's how it always went. He saw someone better looking than him, or smarter than him, or stronger than him, and he felt the immediate urge to be better than them. And if he knew he couldn't be, he immediately became angry at himself. Why wasn't he ever good enough? Why couldn't he, just once, be good without having a bunch of smoke and mirrors?

"Of course I'll help," he said. "I owe Layla my life. This is the least I can do for her in return."

Ethan managed a small smile, although he was exhausted on the inside. His emotions had become a tangled mess, and it was all he could do not to break down in front of this mysterious man. Ethan had never been very sturdy when it came to feeling things, and this whole night had really scarred him. Even now, all he could think about was how long it had lasted, and how horrible it had been. Ethan was sure his face was still tear stained, and he felt slightly embarassed about it. He was, after all, a guy, and guys weren't supposed to cry.

Layla knew that Ethan wasn't brave. He never had been- he was a coward, who hid behind lies and concealer. Betraying people was only half of it- he hated most of the people he called his friends. Ethan's entire life was an act, and all of his bravery and strength was part of the facade. It angered him that he couldn't have these traits in real life. In his eyes, they were essential if he were to ever see himself as perfect. However, Ethan broke under too much pressure. When he let feelings in, he became confused and scared. He didn't understand why anyone would risk so much pain for just a little bit of pleasure. But where was being emotionless leading him?

It seemed like every rule in Ethan's game had a catch. To win, he had to lie and pretend, and then lose himself in the process. Ethan was becoming a betraying, cheating, power hungry monster- no better than the Keepers he hated. Maybe that was where Ethan was heading. To a horrible future of lying to people to get what he wanted. Isn't that what he did now? What made him different from the Keepers? It was a fine line. Ethan treated those weaker than him like dirt, just like the cruel officials. He would do whatever it took to gain power. What seperated him from them, then?

The scary thing was, Ethan didn't know.

((OOC: I'm sorry it's so short, but I'm draining my muse into a new character. I promise my next one will be better.))

Ethan Leddaro

'Cause after all,
It's just a game.
<><><><><><>

Ethan's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Layla didn't even tell her own brother about what she had done? If it had been Ethan, everyone in school would have known within the first hour. However, his life was different from hers. He had people he had to impress and please, while she was able to live her life without fear of what other people thought of her. But Ethan knew he would not be bragging about this at school that day, if he went at all. It seemed like there was nothing to brag about. He didn't want to remember any of this. It was all too horribly, terrifyingly real. The crying, her still body, the cold night air... Ethan had never realized how long the night could go on until just that night. Perhaps that was how Layla felt. She didn't want reminders of how she had saved Ethan's life, all because nothing about it had seemed very heroic. All she could look back on was tears, blood, and a broken boy.

Ethan watched as the young man attempted to lift Layla off the ground, his muscels becoming tense as he stepped forward to assist him. However, the poor girl was only inches off the ground when she gasped. Ethan leaped forward to help, but before he was even halfway there, he saw it in her eyes. A sudden slideshow of bright red pain, ice cold fear, and a spark of something else exploded behind her eyes. It hurt Ethan just to watch the colorful display of emotions, if only for a second. A moment later, her lids fluttered shut, and she sank back into a painless unconsciousness. Perhaps it was better that way, but Ethan felt his insides go ice cold either way. He felt a sudden fear surge through him- a fear that she wouldn't wake up again.

This man deserved to know what his sister had done, but Ethan couldn't even begin to describe that horrible event that gave him nightmares. It was a retention he did not like to revisit, because it was filled with pain and tears and the revelation to Ethan that life was nothing more than the blood that flowed out of him that night. On top of that, the entire scene was stained red from the light of the dying sunset, and it all seemed so nightmarish that sometimes Ethan wondered if it had all just been a bad dream after a long, hard day. But there was a hint of cold reality in the dark memory, and it was enough to make Ethan's insides turn every time he thought about it. A rainbow didn't appear after the storm, either. Instead, Nadene was sent off to her death and Ethan's family sunk further into their financial problems as they tried to pay for the medicine Ethan needed.

How could he possibly put all that pain into words?

Ethan's gaze passed over Layla's limp figure, and fear suddenly grabbed him by the heart. He knew he had to be strong for her, but it was just so hard. Everything was falling apart in front of him, and for all he knew, Layla could be dying and he could do absolutely nothing about it. It was all just so scary that Ethan wanted to close his eyes, bury his head in his pillow, and have it all just go away. But these problems were real and Ethan had to stand there and let them hit him, because really, if he ran away from them he would never forgive himself.

Ethan looked up into the young man's eyes- he still didn't know his name- and was shocked to find his exact emotions (fear, pain, and a dying strength) mirrored in his eyes. It was almost scary how similar their feelings were, all the way down to the little voice whispering that she won't make it, she's already so fragile into ears that did not want to listen. For a moment, it was like they were one and the same- just a single fear divided into two very different people. For that single second suspended in time, there was understanding. And then Ethan broke away as more fears flooded into his chest, fears that this man couldn't even begin to understand.

"She saved my life after I almost got whipped to death by a Keeper," he said, gently lifting Layla from under the shoulder. "She calmed me down and got me home. I would have died if she and Nadene hadn't been there."


((OOC: Ummm... I don't mean to be rude, but RPing from the POV of a charrie you haven't created is against the rules. Also, I apologize for taking so long to post.))