Art on the River [Closed]

[Rina Vade]

The early morning brought mist to the doorstep of Rina's apartment that she shared with Mila and Senji. In the morning light, the figure of a little girl approached the front door, blonde pig-tails bouncing against her shoulders, and, the strangest of all...small, white wings that protruded from her shoulder-blades. Raising one, tiny, slender hand, the little girl curled her fingers into a fist and knocked. Moments later, voices rose from behind the closed door before swinging open to reveal a silver-haired male, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Emerald orbs flitted over the girl before he turned and called into the house. "RIN! NILL IS HERE!" as he spoke, Senji stepped back, silently inviting the child inside. Fluttering her stunted, white wings, Nill skipped inside and hopped onto the couch, making herself comfortable.

It was obvious that the eight year old was at home here.

"Nill! Good morning." the bright smile Rina wore only for the small experiment made Nill grin, lifting her pale arms up in a gesture of wanting to be held. Rina scooped her up and swung her around in a circle before settling her against her hip. "Are you ready?" she questioned, tapping Nill on the nose lightly with an affectionate smile. Nill nodded vigorously, clearly excited. "Well let's go!" Rina exclaimed, grabbing a small backpack and sweeping out the door.

"Rin! Bring Nill back for dinner!" Mila's voice rang out as the door swung shut behind them. Rina had heard her, but made no move to re-open the door and reply. Instead, she set Nill down, took her hand, and they began their walk to the river.

---

The soft breeze lifted Rina's coal black hair from her face, whipping it behind her in a frenzy every time it whistled by sharply. Nill's pig-tails did the same, dancing in the wind just above her shoulders. The two sat side-by-side on the docks. On Nill's lap was a sketch pad, the outline of a dragon highly detailed for someone her age. Rina flashed her one of her smiles she reserved only for the girl and continued her own drawing of a raven perched on a bare, old tree.

"Mmhhph!" Nill made a sound, holding up her nearly completed drawing and shoving it under Rina's nose. She never spoke. Never had. And Rina doubted she ever would, but still...she hoped.

Rina grinned at the delighted expression on Nill's face, the proud glitter in her eyes filling her with a warm feeling. "Oh, such a good job." Rina told Nill in a marveling voice. "You're doing so well!" the wind whipped up sharply all of a sudden, ripping Rina's picture of the raven from her slim hands. "Oh!" she grabbed at it, but missed, and the paper fluttered out and over the water, ghosting over to another set of docks that jutted out from the shore across from them.

Nill's eyes widened and she stood up, as if she were going to chase the drawing.

Rina gently took the child's hand in her own. "It's alright, Nill. I'll just draw another." she assured her, but Nill continued to frown, even as she dropped back down to sit beside her friend.

[Lucien DeChain]

Walking...

Lucien hadn't slept for a few days. He had been having those dreams still. It had gotten to the point where he wouldn't sleep unless he had to, for fear of the inevitable pools of blood covering the landscape inside his twisted head. Everytime he woke, he felt that he needed to get out, get away, somehow remove himself from the consciousness that he had brought himself into.

Walking helped.

It cleared his head, it kept his subconscious at bay. It reminded him of what was real, and what was not. Reality, he found, was made in simple things.

A flowing river. A woman's soft voice. A windswept piece of paper.

It landed near him, and as he approached the river, he crouched to pick it up. A bird. A raven... or a crow, perhaps. On a barren tree, too far dead to grow green. The drawing itself was beautiful, but to Lucien in his current state of mind, it seemed to delve into the macabre. His brain filled with Poe lines and omens of doom, and he began to realize that he was the crow, and he was Crow, and...--

He looked up from the paper. A Crow. Someone knew he was here...

Scanning the area, he thought about the woman's voice he heard. With this sudden alertness, his walking daze felt like a dream in itself. Why did it sound familiar? Who would it be, that knew he was there before he was in sight...

Lucien spotted her, then. Across the water.

"Rina." He called.

[Rina Vade]

Nill was growing more and more insistent on getting that drawing, but before either of them could argue further, a voice called out.

Her name.

Rina glanced up, brows furrowed in thought as she gazed across the river to see someone standing there, her drawing clutched in their hands. She paused for a moment, thinking. Unknowingly, this gave Nill enough time to attempt the walk from one side of the river to the other, intent on getting her drawing back.

The only problem was what she was walking on.

A narrow set of beams between the docks, meant for boats.

"Lucien...?" Rina's voice was questioning and a little surprised as she spoke. And then she spotted the eight year old. "NILL!!" she shrieked, dropping the sketchpad in her hands and running to stand at the edge of the dock, her gaze almost panicked. "Nill, get back here this instant!" she exclaimed. The little girl had stopped in her movements, and now teetered dangerously to the side as she tried to turn around. "Oh, Nill no! Wait. I'll come get you."

That was if her fear of water didn't stop her.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien watched the small girl that Rina was with, as she stepped closer to the river. Wings...?

Then, he realized that she was trying to cross on the narrows. Just as Rina cried out the child's name, Lucien saw Nill teetering on the beams, her balance about to falter. With the rushing water below her, she was in a very dangerous position.

As Rina made to retrieve the girl, Lucien also stepped towards the edge of the dock, thinking that were she to fall, he would at least be able to catch her.

"Rina, can you get to her?" He called out, now clear in mind. At least, as clear as he could be, after not sleeping for 60 hours.

The best rescue team.

[Rina Vade]

Glancing up, she saw that Lucien made to move toward the edge of the docks on his side, apparently thinking the same as she was.

Nill was about to fall.

Fortunately, the little girl managed to keep her balance, and Rina gave a sigh of relief. She heard Lucien call out in question to her and she bit her lip, looking at the swirling waters below. "I...can try." she called back, stepping out onto the beam.

From over her shoulder, Nill watched as Rina slowly made her way over. "Hold on, Nill. I'm coming." the dark-haired girl said, reaching out to her as she came closer. Finally, she was able to take hold of Nill's shoulders and carefully herded her forward, toward Lucien. "I swear if my klutziness kicks in right now..." Rina thought to herself with a frown. They were almost to the other side. "Here, Lucien help her do-whoah! Dammit...!"

She'd just jinxed herself.

Her fear of the rushing water below her took over her senses and she couldn't do much more than let herself fall. No! Her fear wouldn't take over this time!

Twisting in mid-air like a cat, Rina reached up, her fingers catching the narrow plank of wood. Quickly, she swung a leg up and pulled herself back onto the beam with a sigh. "Phew! That was close." she thought. Now the only thing left to do was make to the ground where Lucien and Nill where. She inwardly groaned, cursing the gods who decided that she was going to be a klutz.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien held out his arms to catch the small girl, guiding her and lifting her off of the strut and placing her on the ground, before running back to help Rina cross. Holding out his hands, he leaned over the edge of the dock, reaching for her.

"Here, grab my hands. I'll pull you over."

While it wasn't the best of plans, it could possibly be effective.

[Rina Vade]

She'd squeezed her eyes shut for only a moment, but in that moment, Lucien must have gotten Nill safely to the ground and decided to come and help her, for when Rina opened her eyes again, he was reaching out for her.

"Here, grab my hands. I'll pull you over."

He couldn't be serious. If she fell again, he'd be dragged down, too! She glanced down at the rushing water and then back at him.

"Lucien, if I fall again..." she began, voicing her concern. Even so, as she spoke, she reached a hand out to him, the other keeping her balanced on the beam.

[Lucien DeChain]

Her nervousness was showing, and Lucien probably interpreted her concern the wrong way.

"I'll catch you!" He said, stretching his one hand out so that it would be easier to reach. He tried to get his feet as planted on the ground as he could, but it was slightly difficult when he was so stretched out.

At any rate, his hand could almost reach hers. If she could just reach another few inches...

[Rina Vade]

He'd misinterpreted her words.

Sliding forward on hands and knees, she slipped her hand into his own. "That's not what I meant," she began, letting go of the plank of wood below her for a moment to brush her hair from her eyes. It had come loose of it's tie. "I meant you could be dragged down with me." even though he hadn't interpreted her words the way she'd meant them, Rina felt glad. She hadn't known him long, but Lucien already considered her a friend.

And she thought the same of him.

Maybe she shouldn't of let go of the beam.

Her eyes widened as she lost her balance, free hand reaching out to try and catch herself. "Dammit!" she gasped out, pushing herself forward in a final attempt to reach Lucien.

--

The man had appeared out of nowhere, really, mused Nill. He must be a friend of Rin's, because he helped her get off of the boards she had been walking on. And he saved the drawing!

Nill stood behind him, her white wings flapping uselessly against her shoulders as she ran forward, mouth open in silent surprise as she watched her friend literally tumble into the odd man as he attempted to help her across and to the safety of the ground. It was quite a funny scene. Nill grinned, laughing silently now that she knew her friend wasn't going to be swept away by the river.

[Lucien DeChain]

Grabbing on to Rina's hand, he silently pondered if his logic was actually sound. Surely, opposing forces could... No, did physics work that way? Hm.

Though, he kept her as secure as he could while she slowly inched towards him. Then...

"Dammit!"

"RINA!"

He leaned his body as far back as he could, trying to pull her towards the shore before gravity took her in a direction that Lucien was just now realizing was down. And, it looked like it was working, as Rina came closer and closer to Lucien. He reached out and grabbed her with his other hand, thankful that she didn't fall into the raging water --

Oh. We're falling backwards.

And, indeed, As Lucien hit the ground, Rina in tow, he realized that this could pose as an awkward position to be in. With, you know, Rina straddling him.

[Rina Vade]

Nill giggled without sound. She had never made much noise, and this was no exception. The man and her friend, Rin were both on the ground. Nill continued to grin, just happy that no one had ended up in the river.

--

Well, at least she hadn't fallen into the water.

Rina lifted her head, raising a hand to rest against her temple as she blinked away the rush of dizziness that had accompanied the fall. It was then that she realized Lucien's face was framed by her hair. She had landed on him. "Oh! S-sorry!" she exclaimed, quickly scrambling up to move off of him, catching Nill's laughing expression from the corner of her eye.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien gazed up at Rina as she loomed over him. When it was realized that she was on top of him, and she started to scramble off, Lucien would sit up to face her.

"Are you okay? You didn't hit your head, did you?"

Nill was silently giggling. Did that girl speak...?

Honestly, he didn't care that much that Rina had fallen on him. He was more concerned that with his bony frame, he might have been an uncomfortable landing pad.

[Rina Vade]

She stopped moving at his question and blinked, the heat that had risen to her cheeks fading.

"No, I'm alright." she finally managed, swiping coal-black hair from her pale face. Nill came running then, smiling brightly she literally pounced on them both in her attempt to hug Rina, who laughed. "I'm glad you're alright, Nill." she smiled, hugging the little girl close before turning her attention back to Lucien.

Her smile seemed to grow. "Thanks, Lucien." she said, and Nill looked at him, nodding vigorously in agreement.

[Lucien DeChain]

Lucien smiled as he was jumped on by the small girl, who was then taken by Rina. In his stupor, he had a random thought that the pale woman had quite the beautiful smile. And this somewhat confused him, but he thought nothing of it, trying to push it to the back of his mind.

"No need to thank me. I was just in the right place at the right time." He shrugged, suddenly feeling his fatigue. It spun his world around, and for some reason, he couldn't quite find the ground...

"Whoah. Headrush." was really all he could say, as he snapped his eyes shut and pressed the butts of his palms against the eyelids, trying to regain his balance.

[Rina Vade]

Now that her fear of water wasn't clouding her thoughts, Rina's sharp mental senses caught the sting of fatigue, and her brows came together in a worried frown. She settled Nill against her hip and reached out with her free hand, placing it on Lucien's shoulder to steady him. "When was the last time you rested?" she questioned. She could see that he was highly exhausted.

How he had managed to find the energy to help her and Nill, she didn't know.

A fleeting thought rasped at her, an emotion she couldn't pinpoint. She tried to figure out what it was, but before she could, it vanished. She assumed that Lucien had pushed whatever emotion it was aside, and so she left it alone.

"C'mon, Lucien. My place isn't that far from here. You can rest there."

Her tone indicated it would be unwise to argue.