Processes of Restoration? [PRIVATE Sly + Lex]

The Republic city.

Strange name, almost suggesting there was a city within a city. Many people came here, but not the sort that he would want to be around. The people here were... how should he put it... not as mature as he would have hoped. Many were so self-absorbed in their power to manipulate elements that they would boast around like they were super heroes, gangsters or some sort of cloaked anti-hero believing coolness outshines everything else. Worse was coming across people in their young adult years. To someone like him, walking around here unarmed was asking for trouble. That, or to be patronised by wannabe heroes.

The city itself have their good side, especially during the day time. With how many people were elementalists, one way or another, there was a lot more space here. A lot more... landmarks and open areas. Several rivers cut through the city in sections, with squares of grass and trees for those who liked to play with the earth. He would have considered finding an apartment here if the place werent so dangerous for him. That and if they weren't so expensive.

This time Sly was more properly equipped. If only they weren't so flimsy as what he was used to. An antique rapier made from bronze, and several throwing knives that, literally, looked like he had grabbed scrap pieces of metal and moulded them into the shape of knives. Honestly, he doubted they were enough to survive a full fight with any average citizen here.

But he was not alone. Walking across one of these grass squares with Lexia, the more barren ones, he stood in the shade to take a look around. Several shops were opening, wowing anyone who got close with fancy spectacles using their elemental magic, doing anything to attract whoever they could. All that, compensated with higher prices than what he saw sold in the inner area. It was still early in the morning, and they had just ate. Sly was not so sure why he chose this exact place, but maybe just seeing how others used their magic so freely about here could reawaken something in Lex.

How're you feeling now?

Even though the people around here were being so flashy with their magic, casting it around the place as if to create spectacular events, Lexia wasn't impressed by it. Although she didn't say it, her body was a little achy still, but that was to be expected. Unlike her arm, her liver was vital to even live and having it close to giving up was... Not something she'd recommend to anyone at all. Thankfully Sly decided to lead them down towards quieter parts, away from the flashy spectacles. Currently, they stood in the shade of a tree, however, so close to it, she wasn't able to help herself for much longer. To a child, the lowest branch would require an adult to help them.

But Lexia was no child.

Hooking her human hand around the thick branch, legs pushing her up, she twisted mid jump and landed, on her backside, right on the edge of that branch. She wriggled backwards, before raising her metal hand to steady herself against the tree. Her feet dangled down a little, and she could still easily reach Sly if she wanted, but honestly, she couldn't help herself. It was the first time she was actually able to sit on a tree without people giving her odd looks and staring at her like she'd grown a second head! His question made her head turn to him, and she gave a small smile. "I'm... Alright, it's still just weird, Sly..." Lexia said honestly, her eyes glancing up to the people around them.

They were all magicians of one thing or another, and she gave a sigh.

"I would kill to be able to do the things which they can do, but I don't think I'll be able to do anything like that again, at least..." Lexia paused again, her voice just stopping as she gazed around them. Her metal fingers dug lightly into the tree trunk, and she leaned over and offered a hand to Sly. However, he wasn't watching, and she paused through the movement and quickly retracted it. What if he didn't like the things she did, what would happen then? She drew it to her chest, her heart constricting just a little. Changing her mind quickly, she pushed herself to stand on her own two feet. Using her hands, she reached up to the next branch before all but hauling herself up onto it to climb further up into the tree.

Nothing made sense.

The screaming kids.

The joyful sparks.

Sly's willingness to help her.

Her life that she remembered, none of it made sense. She sighed, resting her forehead against her knee as she raised that while sitting against that branch. What was the point... of any of this...? She looked down to her hand, the metal glinting in the light. Where was Skylar when she needed her..? On that note... She suddenly flinched a little, hand raising to touch the warm metal, her magic having sparked against it, sending a jolt of pain through her.

"I really, REALLY need a new arm."

The longer he stared at the stalls, watching the children, teenagers and even the more mature families walk by, he started to feel something heavy pulling his heart. He never been here before. Lexia took him here to explore much of the city. But somehow, there was something in the air that felt… familiar. He immediately thought back to the time he was in his old world. There was a place similar here, if he could recall, nestling well within one of the sectors of the larger city of their world. How the taller buildings to the distant left kept their alarming presence, like giants threatening to crush the more gentle lifestyle of those living in this sector. This place was different enough to not make him feel lost into his old world again.

He turned when he saw her form shifting in his peripheries. At first, Sly blinked, seeing how she flipped and danced about on the thicker branch of the tree. And then he smiled when she showed she was trying to rest along it. When he was young, he used to be like her, wanting climb a few trees. Not for the adventure, not for trying to climb to the highest branch to prove he had guts. But rather, to climb high enough to separate himself from the cruel world below. For a moment he wondered if that was what Lexia was feeling right now. To separate herself from this world, as she tried to remember what her former life was like.

Sly shook his head, snorting at himself. Look at him, being or philosophical. Don’t be like that, he said, leaning against the trunk of the tree. He could try and climb up the branch to be beside her, but those days of him being a climber was long gone. He did not want to rip what little clothes he could afford, let alone, seem awkward fumbling for balance. You were a mage back then, and you are still a mage now. We just need to help you remember your strengths. His voice trailed slowly into a weak and low tone, his hand squeezing at his device in his pocket. At least she still retained memories of her magic somewhere in her. As for him, he was not sure if he could ever use his device at again.

He could still try, but it would be like learning how to walk again after months recovering from paraplegia.

When Sly turned to her, he only just noticed her hand, a split second telling him that she had tried to offer, but he was too late to accept. Instead, she reached for the higher branches. He frowned a little at her statement, after seeing what was a strange spark on her mechanical arm. Could that be…? Or was that just a slight jam and malfunction?

What… magic do you know? He tried to ask, avoiding the word ‘remember’. Maybe it was a huge bluff, but surely it would not hurt to try. Becoming curious himself, he reached a hand over the branch that Lexia was in, feeling the rough bark against his palm.

Lexia raised it, before tilting her head to the side. After his questions, she shook her head before giving him something which he probably didn't want; a small sigh. He really wanted to know what she could do, the death and destruction that she could have brought down on people? Sly wanted to know the fires that she use to be able to control? She laughed gently, rubbing her sore shoulder. It wasn't exactly what she had planned in regards to her metallic arm, especially due to the whole issue of it continuously zapping her whenever she tried to use her magic with it on. With a small, rather small shrug, Lexia tilted her head to look at the stalls around them. Them and their magic.

It really did make her jealous.

"All... I can really do is cast a flaming orb. However, I cannot do that with this arm attached to me. It... malfunctions and short circuits the wiring and zaps me." Lexia explained. For a few moments, she pondered just showing Sly what she meant by trying to call down a flaming orb. That would cause the sparking, but also end up with her becoming zapped and, well, potentially worse things. But then again, not that she would admit it verbally, it was very tempting for her to do. She didn't really care for herself anymore and this life was becoming more and more frustrating. The fact that she could only recall fragments at a time.

The fact that she could only grab strings of red before they were tore away from her. A sigh of frustration came from her as she rested her forehead against her knee. How come she couldn't remember anything, why were they taken from her? Why did nothing make ANY sense to her? It was times like this, which she really wanted to hug a dog. Or a cat. She wanted something to hug, regardless of what it was.

Maybe a foenix? They were always cruel, but they terrorized the cities around them by stealing food from them. She blinked.

"I have a random question to ask of you... What exactly is a... 'Foenix'? And, more importantly, can I get one here?" Lexia asked, shifting her knee a little to the side so that she could actually look down and towards Sly.

A few short hops and, with a heave, he pulled himself onto the branch right next to Lexia. He slowly rolled to say on his haunches, then stiffened at just how far up he was. It was not that far of a drop, but he could never get used to heights. Well, not immediately. His hands grew a bit clammy, but aside from that he was resting rather comfortably. Looking up to the branches, the many specks of light blinked, letting off many rays of light that beamed down like they were in their own glade within a forest, caged by the canopies. That moment he felt a great calm brush over his chest, and he could take a deep breath easy - like taking one big and final cough to remove all the phlegm. He remembered now. Why he thought of climbing trees when he was young, but never had the chance to. Why others do it. He was, for a moment, at peace. The laughter and music from the distance becoming soothing music, almost drifting him into another world apart from here.

He turned to her when she said all she could make was a flaming orb. Maybe he should have expected that, if she could not remember much of what happened before they entered this world. Her arm seemingly continued to spark and sizzle. Definitely approaching what should not be normal. She gave up on it with a sigh, and then she was resting her head to her knees, the grieving look in her eyes as they seemed to wander to a memory distant from here.

Sly gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, giving it a warm rub as he left her lean against him. The specks continue to glitter in his eyes, the leaves almost surrounding them in a little home of their own. Maybe it was not just a place of peace. But also an escape. To shield one from the world and hide away the feelings. I'm really sorry, Lex. Truly I am. He said quietly, mind flashing back to those times. He did not want it all to be all for naught. But neither did he want to be the only one who remembers. Something about that made him grow fearful, like to everyone, he was the one that was insane. But why? It did not make sense that she would be the one without memories of their past and he spared of that fate.

A... foenix, he said quietly. Nithya returned to haunt his memories once more, the long deceased hybrid, once Lexia's companion before he met the two. What would Nithya do now in this situation? Well, a hybrid. Like a wolf with long feathers. They... He did not want to give Nithya a bad name. How could he word this right? ...can become loyal companions. Given the time and... a right match. He then looked up to the shops. This world is a vast place... much like our old world. Who knows? Maybe a species of foenix exist here. That is... if you really want one.

Those final words did not offer any encouragement. In hindsight, it was like Nithya was being replaced. Even worst, unknowingly as Lexia barely had any memories of him. His heart still dreaded how heart broken Nithya would be, if his spirit still lingers here, watching them. Sly huffed a sigh, his eyes starting to sting a little. Oh how he wished that were true...

I'm... a little scared, you know.

She frowned a little. "Don't you be silly, you have nothing which you need to apologise for." Lexia responded easily, before she cast her gaze around the square once more. People played, using magic as if it were simply second nature and here she was unable to do a simple little thing without feeling the darn pain of her magic backfiring against her metallic arm. Her hand tightened a little. She hated it more than words could express. However, Sly's hesitant explanation did very little to comfort her. It was as if he was deliberately hiding something, as if he wasn't being truthful.

Heck, the only one who had seemed to be utterly outright honest with her was XaYang and Skylar with this place.

Lexia sighed, before shrugging. "No, I don't think I'll look for them... You seem to be stepping on eggshells, so I'll take a stab in the dark and say they're the opposite to what you said... Probably cannibalistic and ferocious." She said, her teeth slightly gritting together. She was just getting frustrated, more so than she ever wanted to admit. She just wanted to remember! She didn't want these strings that seemed to float all around her and refuse to give her any information of her previous life. Was it so much to ask for that SOMEONE would help her with this? Even with Sly trying to help in his own way, she just wasn't getting anywhere with him around... Maybe it was just a walk that she had to go alone, without anyone by her side...

She sighed inwardly as her hand tightened a little more.

That was most likely the case, knowing this curse that inflicted herself.

His words almost tasted bitter in her mouth. Him. Scared. AT LEAST HE COULD REMEMBER WHERE HE WAS FROM! Feeling her arm flare again, Lexia hissed under her breath as she rose her hand to rub against it, trying to ease the pain away. Slowly, she sighed, before taking her hand away. She'd had it. "Why is that, Sly? And no more sugar coating anything, I can tell that you know me from somewhere, but with all this tip-toeing... How the heck am I meant to know what exactly you want me to remember? Why are you so damn scared- is it that you don't want me to find out who you really are? Or is it that you're something you aren't?" Lexia asked, the building frustration opening like a floodgate before she sighed again and reached up to her arm and tore the damn metal thing off and threw it into a branched area moments before the flaming arm ignited as her reddened fingers curled in frustration. "Dammit...!"

How would things be different, had they never come to Temporal Ruins? Had he never took on Master Horus' wish? Would any of this be avoided? They would not have to deal with the demons inside them. Creation. Destruction. One way or another, they both wished upon destruction of their realm. And Sly himself an advocate for the hope that his kind were not like how Creation portrayed them. In the end, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore in the end. A new world. A new life? He could laugh at that all day. How was he supposed to simply leave it all behind? Unfulfilled wishes. Hope left to ambiguity. And faces eroding from his mind as time went on without them.

Every day, I felt like I am the only one who still holds a dying grasp of our world. The people we meet. The times we cherished together back then. The pain we suffered. And now in a new world, with nothing to confirm our experiences. Who is to say what I speak now won't ring true? Hell, I can say you had fallen in love with another man before me, and you wouldn't know if that's true or not. To you, I am still a stranger. As much as it hurts me to say it, I cannot deny it. He squeezed his arm in his other hand's grip until they squeezed, his teeth clenching hard for a moment. I envy you, you know. Do you know what memories do to you? They form you, and all those experience make you for what you are. They say it is the most precious thing any man can hope to have, or they become nothing. But there is a difference, between being nothing and being... obsolete. My memories are useless here. I have no one to share them with. They may define me, but to another person in this realm, they will think I am insane. Or worse, a blasphemer for speaking of another god.

I don't wish to bear to this pain. In fact, I wish I was just the same as you. He turned away as the wind blew through the trees and over his hair and shirt. Sly knew Lexia wanted to remember. He wanted her to be the same Lex as before, from when they first met to their turmoil with the inner spirits. But every experience was unique, and all he would be doing was implanting his version of events into her. Things that make him unique, not her.

Oh who was he kidding? What would Master Horus do, if he was here? What about Nithya? Just give her the most bare of information? She wanted him to tell her straight out! How could he do that? No. He would have to continue giving the most minimum of details, whether she liked it or not. It would a difficult path to travel, especially alone, but he believed she could do it.

You know more about foenixes than I do. Because you've owned one before, Sly said bluntly, looking back to Lex. His expression was stoic, but had a tinge of calm. He was not afraid to tell her straight out this time. Even if it were a painful memory. Pain. Happiness. Who was he to judge how another person would perceive death and sorrow? His name is Nithya. The one a sketched back then. He was with you before I met you in the inn. That was near Temporal Ruins, where we found the accursed stone that possessed you. His voice then got caught in his throat, his doubt silencing him sharp as a blade.

He took a deep breath and looked back at the plaza. Do you now see why chose not to tell you everything? We are like tragic heroes in the old world seeking a purpose among sadness and anger. They make up most of our memories. And heck, it's all my fault. I dragged you into something you never wanted to be involved with since the day we met. Destruction would never have possessed you. Nithya would never have died. And you would never have lost your arm. The grief you suffered are faults of my own, and that which I rather bear on me til the grave so that you would not have to suffer them again. His eyes stung harder, but he fought them back. He didn't know how many memories he triggered inside her from all of this. It was what she wanted. He got it all out of his chest. The relief in the end was only bitter. Even with a new start upon a new realm, with her memories gone, his still remained. Like the gods themselves punished him to remind her of all the treachery and all the pain he put her through over and over again.

A new start. What a huge farce.