Post Chapter Five Short - Gabriel (Patreon)

A/N Post Chapter Five short. Takes place right after Gabriel leaves the MC at the apothecary. Get a small glance into his head and meet a new friend along the way.

The night air was cool and crisp, the lanterns up above swaying in a gentle lull.  The festival was slowly beginning to calm, the last of the party goers stumbling drunkenly through the streets.  A few of them straightened their spine upon seeing the Warden, sure that public intoxication was going to be a one way ticket to the pits.  Not tonight, however.  Drunken revelry was allowed on nights of festival. As long as no one got hurt.

Wandering through the nearly empty streets, Gabriel sighed contentedly. Ghost wine was still thrumming through him in a pleasant tingle.  By the Knowing, how he wished he had been able to be a tad bit more sober when dropping them off at the apothecary. Perhaps if he had been, he wouldn’t have stopped himself.  Then again, he wanted them to be clear-headed as well. Equal choice.  Both of them knowing what was to come and feeling themselves tumble over the precipice together. Was that even possible? He hoped so. For far too many years he didn’t believe he would ever be given that chance.  Tonight, however, that might have changed.

The lights turned a faint blush above, the street smelling sticky sweet as ambrosia filtered through the air.  Not that it had much of an effect on him now.  Wine had always been a bit more potent to him than the burnt sugary spells of the Pleasure District.  Or, at least that’s what he told himself.  Winding his way through those alleys though, intending to just make the last of his rounds before heading home, he heard a bawdy laugh.  It made his spine straighten out of its lax curve and the soft smile on his face melt away into the stoic mask of the Warden.

Stepping around the corner, he nearly sighed. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good idea that he had drank after all.

The man leaving the Pleasure District was shirtless, in loose fitting jeweled toned pants.  His skin was dotted with broken shards of diamond or glass, Gabriel had never been sure. They jutted from his skin, coated in the pale glitter of the district, as much a part of him as any appendage.  Fiery hair hung loose around his face and a pipe was clutched between his teeth. Ducking beneath the main arches of the district, he did a double take as he saw Gabriel standing there, as if he had been waiting for him.

“Casimir Alskar,” Gabriel said. “You know you shouldn’t be here.”

The man in question turned, smiling at the Warden as he pushed his hair from his face.  He stood just under seven feet tall and was a wall of muscle. He turned his heterochromia eyes towards Gabriel, focusing on him with one green and one blue.  “Ah, Warden Caine. It is a pleasure to see ya, boy.”

Gabriel fought the second sigh of the night.  “Mr. Alskar, I thought we had an understanding that your presence within the Market is prohibited.”

“We did. We did have an understanding,” he said between puffs of his pipe. It was clear that while the understanding was there, there was no real remorse for breaking it. “Lovely festival tonight.  One of the best in years.”

“May I escort you to a gate, Mr. Alskar?” Gabriel offered. He was hoping the man would take it. After such a relaxing evening, a fight with the likes of him was not what Gabriel desired.

“Now, I think we both know tha’ ain’t gonna be happenin’.” Casimir laughed. It wasn’t a mocking one but more of just a knowing tone that said he was very comfortable where he was at, thank you very much.  The thing was, Gabriel couldn’t even fault him.  It wasn’t like the giant of a man did anything wrong. It was just that bad things tended to follow him wherever he went.

“Alskar, the Wild Hunt is still after you, from what I know, and I do not wish for them to crash through my market again.”

“Oh, I don’t think they’ll be doin’ that.  It’s festival.” His smile was tight though at the mention of the Hunt.  Rarely did anyone react kindly to them.

“The Iron District is not far from here. Odin still wishes to see your head on a pike at the front gates,” Gabriel continued to try and reason.

“I would very much like to see him try. Might be entertainin’.”

“Just because you are– friends, with a Baron–”

“Which one?”

Gabriel pinched his nose. Again, the laugh sounded, echoing throughout the district. Casimir slung an arm around Gabriel’s shoulder.  “I’m just messin’ with ya, Warden.  I’ll be goin’ soon enough. Want to stop off and see my– what do you call them? Friends?” he shook his head at the title. “Don’t think either of them would appreciate bein’ called that.”

“Do I have your word you will be leaving after that?” Gabriel asked.

“Aye. But why don’t you come and escort me there. Just to make sure everything is all on the up and up.”

Gabriel nodded solemnly. This, he could do.

As they began meandering down the alleyways, Casimir in the lead, the two men lapsed into silence.  Gabriel had his hand on his sword hilt, almost certain something was going to come crashing through the walls at any moment. When one of the most wanted men across the cosmos entered the Market, he didn’t feel like anyone could breathe safely.

“What are ya doin’ still working’ on a night like this?” Casimir finally asked, puffs of glittering smoke curling from his pipe.

“I was off duty until I ran into you, actually.”

“Is that right? What does a man like you do on your off duty time? I always figured you for someone married to your job. Never hear of you in the different districts unless you’re patrolling or apprehending someone. You got a personal life, Warden?”

Gabriel kept his eyes forward. Far too often lately, people have accused him of not having a life outside his job at all.  It was starting to get a tad bit offensive. “If you must know, I had a lovely evening drinking wine with a friend of mine.”

Casimir grinned. “This friend the same kind of friends I got?”

No.  Not yet. Though Gabriel had hope.  It was small and blooming and for the first time in a long while, he was allowing it to see the light.

“Ah,” Casimir said. “It is, isn’t it? Good for you, Warden. Life is not worth livin’ without a bit of companionship.”

“Some would say you have too much companionship,” Gabriel bit back. Though Casimir didn’t take offense to it.

“Most would say that, yes. But we’re not talkin’ about me, are we? Talkin’ about you.”

Gabriel frowned. “Why would you wish to talk to me about my personal life? I have arrested you at least three times.”

“Now I could be given’ ya a flippant remark, but I don’t suppose you would appreciate that much. So instead, I’ll tell ya this.” Letting a curl of lavender smoke fill the air, Casimir breathed it out from his nose it two long curls.  “I like ya, Caine. I think you do the best you can in a Market of genuine deceit.  Now you don’t ‘ave to tell me anything of your evenin’. I’m just trying to make conversation while I get back to my own.  But, I have been told I am a good conversationalist if you want to say a word or two. If not, we can just walk these roads in silence.”

Gabriel thought about it. When was the last time he had had a conversation with someone just because? Perhaps tonight, on the beach, but other than that? When? It had been so long and those moments were shrouded in such blatant deception that even if the memories were true, he felt them to be tainted now.

Perhaps it was the lights of the festival, perhaps it was the wine, or perhaps, Gabriel was finally starting to turn the corner of tight-lipped soloist to something more. He couldn’t quite say why he spoke the words he did next. Only that they were out in the night air, and he didn’t actually feel that guilty for uttering them.

“I have someone that I would like to see more of,” he said softly. “I was spending the evening with them.”

Casimir grinned, pipe clattering between his teeth. “Do ya now?”

“Yes. They are– enchanting.  I have not found myself as of late as someone that can open myself up to others. Share a meal with. Or a drink.  Yet, they keep bringing me food and seem to genuinely care about what I feel. It is– strange.”

The clap to his back nearly knocked Gabirle off his feet.  Casimir’s hand was meaty and had a force behind it that the man often forgot.  “Good for you, lad. Good for you.  Like to see ya loosen those shoulders a bit when you're not on duty.”

“It’s all very new,” he said, straightening his jacket. “I am uncertain if they feel the same.”

“If they’re brinin’ ya food, they feel the same.  Food is a love language that is most accessible.  Bet ya anything they have it for you too. And why wouldn’t they? You’re a striking young man. Got a good job.  Know yourself well. You’re a catch. Just got to believe that ya are.”

Gabriel frowned.

“Take it you were hurt in love once or twice.” When Gabriel turned sharp eyes to him, Casimir nodded knowingly.  “Been there. It’s a knife straight to ones heart.  They tell ya time will heal it but for beings that have all the time in the world, don’t think that really counts.  But I can tell ya this. Your heart can expand. It can move on. It can provide room for others. And sometimes, just sometimes, that one that broke it originally, can come back.”

“Do you make amends with that person?”

“You try. And that’s all that can really be asked for. And it’s a damn sight more than you had before. And healin’ from old wounds never negates new experiences.” Stopping, Casimir turned to look at him, stooping a bit to meet Gabriel’s eyes. “Don’t let your past shut you off from your future.”

Gabriel blinked at him, feeling something slot in his chest.  An old wound. One that had never been allowed to heal. It tore, and it bled, but it didn’t run with the thick poisonous tone of deceit and bile. Not tonight.

“Now,” Casimir said, dousing his pipe and pulling his hair back. Brushing off some of the glitter from the Pleasure District, it was clear he was trying to look presentable.   “Gonna go see my friends,” he grinned.  Gabriel looked up. He hadn’t even realized they had arrived at the arches of the Book Baron’s enclosure.  “They were off at some show tonight, and I promised them I’d meet up with them before takin’ off again. Chryssi’s probably going to demand I stay.”

“Is it going to work?” Gabriel asked, both fearful that he would become a fixture in the district and out of genuine curiosity.

Casimir looked genuinely sad at the question, however, turning his eyes towards the walls of books. “Not yet,” he said softly.  “Too many after me. Too much pain following me around to do that yet.”  Regret pooled in his words as he ticked his gaze away from what was before him.

“I thought your past shouldn’t define your future?” Gabriel asked softly.

The bark of laughter that erupted from Casimir’s throat was genuine, but he didn’t answer Gabriel. Just nodded his head knowingly.  “I’ll be goin’ now. Your market is safe once more.  It was good speakin’ with ya, Warden. Hope this new love of yours works out.”

As he disappeared through the gates, Gabriel watched as books stacked up behind him, blocking Casimir from sight and anyone else from entering the district.  Giving all three of the ‘friends’ privacy.

“I hope so too,” Gabriel said to the night air.  “I truly do.”