Sorcerous Stabber Orphen

Sequel to Smoke's Wrath

Disclaimer: I don't own Sorcerous Stabber Orphen or any of the characters mentioned.

Rating: PG

Pairings: Rai/Hartia, possibly Cleao+Orphen, Orphen/Majic

Warnings: AU, shounen ai, angst, mild fluff/sap

Notes: It. Is. The. FINAL. Chapter.

.; And yes, I know I'll have left things a bit untied, but a lot of things end up like that. I'm still trying to be realistic, but I don't want to drag this out. I've been working on this practically since I started writing SSO fanfiction, and I'm burned out of ideas for it. But I'm overflowing with others, so...

Thanks to Kelly-san for helping me with this ending. ^_^; I doubt I'd have done it without you, at last not this soon... And I'm free! Free to work on other things I've been dying to do! Thank you~~!

Every morning the sky bled, the night crying out as its nightmares, tears, frights and blood was burned away by the fierce, much more powerful, motherly protection of the daytime sun. It was a constant battle, with the sun usually winning for a long period of time. Then the moon, well rested, would rise again to drive the sun away, giving way to yet another pain-filled night filled with screams and tears.

Of course, not all of that pain was physical in either the living or the numerous dream worlds of many humans. With it came emotional hurt, and that was reluctantly released on a particular young woman that night.

The sun was having its daily morning battle with the moon, heatedly driving it away, but even the sun wouldn't wash away all the pain.

Orphen sat tiredly at the bar that morning, heedless to anyone else but the girl before him. Only travelers were up this early, travelers and the tavern-keeper, but all wisely strayed away from the two despite the smaller of them looking torn between shock, anger and depression.

The young man rested his elbows on the table, smoothing his tousled bangs back, only for them to fall in his eyes again. He'd gotten, unfortunately, no sleep that night. It had been filled with talk, emotional draining, even some arguing. Surprisingly enough, most of the latter had been Cleao's denying that Majic was old enough to handle what Orphen believed he could, but the older of the two was adamant in his decision.

Cleao was clearly pained. She was a strong person; she'd nearly watched him die before, had her own life and her friends' endangered several times, but the sort of dying and tears that were falling now were purely symbolic and emotional.

She sank back into her chair, her hands covering her face even as she stared at the floor through her fingers, battling tears and the tremors that shook her body with frustration. "I see," she finally said, unable to hide her sadness.

Orphen was at odds here. There was nothing he could do to assuage her hurt, but saying, "I'm sorry," would only make things worse. Because, yes, he could be sorry for not being able to return her feelings, but what could he do to banish the hurt? Nothing. There was nothing he could do, and he wouldn't even be telling her if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

He was just glad Majic wasn't yet awake to see their dear companion trying not to fall apart.

Almost meekly curled up in his mistress' lap, Leki was unusually silent. No growling, no whimpered mewls, not purring or even attempting to give affection to his mistress. They were all at odd ends, creating a painfully awkward silence. There was no moving back or sidestepping the situation. What happened next was ultimately up to Cleao: would she stay or leave?

It was a test, a sort of cruel one the black sorcerer knew, to see how well she could cope with such a drastic change.

"Well," she finally said, raising her translucent blue eyes to his. "I don't know what to say, Orphen. I could say 'congratulations' but not mean it, or I could walk away and leave you feeling guilty... But I can't do either of those."

"No," he agreed dully, closing his eyes to shut out the stinging brightness of the sun as it rose even higher, intent on burning holes in his head. "You're more mature than that now."

Perhaps she didn't notice the unintentional compliment. Slanted sienna-coloured eyes watched her warily, but she remained silent, staring down and occasionally sighing heavily as though she was weighing heavy options in her mind. She was fascinating, yes, and fun to be around even if she was irritating half the time, and she'd proved herself useful before, but...

But she wasn't the same innocence, comfort and warmth that was Majic. She just didn't FEEL right, and that was why Orphen had to tell her. It was painful now, but how much more painful would it have been if they hadn't agreed to tell her? What if they'd kept it a secret, only for her to eventually figure out for herself anyway? Cleao wasn't stupid. She was a bit dense and hotheaded, but far from blind. She would have noticed.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" she inquired with an obviously forced mild tone.

Orphen raised one hand to rub his throbbing temple. Lack of sleep, exhaustion, and the entire night had succeeded in giving him a headache to rival that of a hangover. "Majic and I agreed that we'd let you know... And then you could decide, for yourself, if you still want to travel with us." One eye cracked open, giving him a lazy look. "You said we wouldn't be able to keep away from you, but I think the question is, do YOU want to keep away from US?"

The curly-haired blonde sighed again, tipping her chin back to stare at the ceiling. "What does Majic think?"

"He was the one that suggested visiting Totokanta in the first place. He misses you."

"Majic's like my brother, you know."

"I know."

She fixed him with an accusing stare. "Then you know that if I did follow you and you ever hurt him, I'd never forgive you."

Orphen blinked, lips twitching in amusement. That was one thing he'd missed about the girl's absence: her ability to always catch him off guard. Majic was much more easy to read, which was a sort of comfort to Orphen because he didn't want too many surprises at this point in their relationship. But to be surprised on a more comfortable level was refreshing.

Yes, they definitely needed Cleao around to liven things up. At this point, it simply tended to get awkward and boring without her.

"I understand perfectly."

She nodded, her sweet smile back in place. It was a mere shadow of the real thing, a mask, but at least she was making the effort to cope. "In that case, I should go. I'm... Tired." Orphen said nothing, so she bade him a good day and stood.

Before she could leave, though, Majic stumbled downstairs. Still in his pajamas and only half awake, it took him a few moments to notice Cleao. When he did, his eyes widened and the sleep banished. "C-Cleao...!"

She paused halfway to the door, turning her head to look at him. There was unmistakable sadness in her eyes, almost blending in with the brightness of an attempt at cheer. "Hey, Majic," she greeted, a bit softer than usual. "See you later." And with that she left, no doubt to go back home and try to sort things out.

Dumbfounded and shocked, Majic remained standing at the landing of the stairs. Helplessly, he looked from his father to Orphen, finally resting his aqua-coloured gaze on his master. "Orphen-sama-"

"Don't." Orphen's voice was strained. His eyes were closed even as he stood, reluctant to open them and look at anything that would disturb the darkness that wanted so badly to envelope his mind. "I haven't gotten a bit of sleep. I'm going to bed."

The blonde boy did nothing until the older youth was past him, making his way up the stairs, but then he whirled around, voice panicked as he uttered a frantic, "But Orphen-"

"Majic." The brunette's voice was bordering hysteria, and it made the teenager realize he was crossing the line. "Please, don't. I'll talk to you after I get some sleep. Just don't worry about Cleao, and... Just leave me be for now."

Properly chastised, Majic's hand flew up to clasp the ring he'd fallen asleep holding last night. Rather than back off completely, however, he followed the sorcerer upstairs, hovering anxiously outside the doorway. When Orphen could barely get to the bed without collapsing, he hurried inside. Almost as though it were routine - and it may be becoming so, the boy dimly thought - Majic helped remove his boots, headband, and vest as though Orphen were a small child needing taken care of. And for once Orphen didn't snap at him, even as he pulled the covers over his prone form.

A hand moved to cover his, keeping it gently pinned to the bed. Orphen's eyes were closed, brow stitched in what was clearly indicating at a headache. Nevertheless, he murmured, "Thank you... For putting up with me." It was too much for him to drag up an apology, but Majic understood.

"Orphen-sama, I l..." Majic swallowed thickly, realizing that was going way too far, especially with Orphen in his currently fragile state. "I care about you," he corrected himself. "And I can't do that if I can't accept putting up with your worse moods, can I?"

"S'pose not," Orphen replied, relieved that the boy had caught himself before crossing what was still a forbidden line.

Once Majic was sure Orphen as asleep, he pulled away and padded toward the door, shutting and hurrying to find the spare key to lock it and ensure his privacy. He was dying to know what had happened with Cleao - everything that had happened last night - but knew all he could do was wait. The pain was nothing compared to what he simply knew Cleao was going through.

Rejection had to be among the worse wounds ever inflicted upon human beings.

The air was filled with unsettling calm the morning Orphen announced they would be leaving soon.

Majic paused in his sweeping, glancing over his shoulder to give his master a hesitant smile. He hadn't seen him since the day before, when Orphen had practically passed out in his own bed. It had been a bit startling to hear, "We're leaving tomorrow," as the first thing from Orphen that day.

"Good morning, Orphen-sama," was all Majic could think to say in reply. Bagup remained uncharacteristically silent; he'd been like that since the day his son had confessed everything. Orphen and Majic both hoped he was simply thinking and not plotting some horribly untimely death for the older sorcerer. The very idea gave Majic disturbing images of his father jabbing Orphen with a broomstick...

"Majic," Orphen replied, sidling into a stool. "Just be sure you're packed by tonight; I want to leave early tomorrow."

The blonde nodded mutely, eyes skittering toward his father as though he expected the man to object. Still Bagup said nothing, but when he finally did it was to mildly inquire, "Do you still intend to teach my son, sorcerer?"

Orphen snorted, rolling mahogany eyes to glance at Majic as though to say, 'I can't believe he still distrusts me!' A tiny smile flickered on the younger boy's lips; he noted with relief that his master seemed much more well-rested now. That was good. Seeing him so upset had been nerve-wracking and nearly heartbreaking at the same time.

"Dunno. Are you still paying his tuition?"

That seemed to answer everything. Orphen grinned broadly; he seemed to be in a MUCH better mood this morning. "Well, then," he said, as though they'd been carrying on an entirely different conversation the entire time. "Can I have the usual?"

Majic edged over as his father set out to the routine - well, routine when Orphen was there - task of making Orphen his very odd sugar-filled breakfast. In a soft tone, so as not to disturb anyone else, he murmured, "You're all right?"

Slanted eyes slid to peer at him through dark lashes. Without really answering, Orphen made a muffled noise of agreement, relenting to patting the back of Majic's head, drawing him closer until their foreheads touched. "Sorry if I worried you," the older sorcerer said quietly, startling the wide-eyed blonde with the apology.

Majic shook his head frantically. "No, it's all right. But if you're-"

"I'm fine," Orphen replied, smirking faintly as he released the boy's hair and drew away. "You won't have to worry anymore. Things will be different this time."

Different this time? Majic took time to muse over this later, sitting with one leg tucked beneath him on his bed. Different from what? There were so many different interpretations of that, after all.

'But why worry about it?' he thought, absently toying with his ring much in the same fashion Orphen had used to toy with his Tower of Fangs pendant. 'He said there was nothing to worry about... And I can tell he's still troubled by something, but he DOES seem to be getting... Well... Better.' Better than he'd been since Azari had turned herself into a dragon so many years ago, anyway. Majic could still remember that day, even though at the time he hadn't known what was going on.

He shook the memories from his head, moving to stand. Best to forget that time; Orphen was much different from Krylancelo. Though they shared the same body and soul, their thoughts and emotions differed immensely. He had to remember that. Majic, as a child, had admired Krylancelo, but Majic, growing closer to becoming a young adult, deeply cared for his master. He couldn't say he LOVED Orphen because he didn't know what that was, right?

He had to finish packing. They had a long road ahead of them, and with no particular goal in mind, it was going to be a very rough one; they were going to stumble a lot. Perhaps eventually... With time... They would be able to make it smoother.

It all depended on Orphen's actions, now.