The guards nodded respectfully towards Hunter, who nodded back awkwardly and passed them through the hallway. He towered in height compared to them, even with their tall officer helmets. His approaching footsteps were almost enough to make the adrenaline pump through Lawrence’s bloodstreams, but he knew the variant was not in a hostile mood, and generally wasn’t the aggressive type.
Still, the memory of the Pyre’s blood red eyes and his hurt-to-kill thrashes when he was severely agitated in the battle were still there. His wrists clenched involuntarily, and he tried to shake them to relax as Hunter approached the cell.
Hunter briskly walked up towards the bars and stopped near the center. Lawrence couldn’t help but slip a small smile when they both made eye contact.
“Always nice seeing a familiar face,” he said.
“Uh huh…” Hunter raised an eyebrow while scratching his chin. “You’re probably not going to see anyone else for a little bit.”
“Seems likely...” Lawrence turned towards the guards behind Hunter. “The people were already on edge for letting you come here. After all, it is rather hazardous to have the Pyre and another elemental variant meet face to face again.”
Hunter’s gaze changed to a more tense expression for a mere second, but it shifted back in an instant.
“I’m not here to start anything,” he said, as if it was obvious. “We’re all getting a new beginning in this, and I’m not here to fuck it up.”
“How pleasant,” Lawrence stated.
“I meant we, including you.” Hunter huffed, and took a hand out of his pocket and balled his fist.
It was engulfed in a flame that jumped with a start, then swayed gently with the breeze. Unlike the fires that tore Lawrence’s face and chest with an ugly rage, this one was obedient. Under control. Lawrence wasn’t even aware that the Pyre was able to do that. He certainly would not dare to try with his own powers; the lightning that violated his bones would strike anything in an instant to leave his body.
Hunter looked from the flame to Lawrence, his blood reds shimmering at his own eyes. “Lawrence, we’re not dead yet. No more orders, no more secret agendas. The only thing you have left is yourself and the powers no one needs anymore.”
That statement struck a hidden chord somewhere inside Lawrence. As if a chain in his mind was suddenly broken with a satisfying chip of the metal.
His mind quickly grounded back to his reality. “Aren’t you forgetting the hundreds of years behind bars? I’m not as free of a man as you think.”
Hunter flicked his hand, ending the flame. “No need to worry about that.”
“What do you mean?”
“‘Riel convinced the council that you were a victim of…” Hunter paused to remember the right words. “... Evil persuasion… un-good childhood..?”
“That can’t be the right terminology,” Lawrence said bluntly.
The tip of Hunter’s ears turned red. “I can’t remember the fancy words that ‘Riel told me to be honest. But you know what I mean.” He relaxed his hands in his pockets. “But to boil it down, you’re not going to be detained forever.”
This was a new development. “And if I do want to leave, which I do not, when would that be?” He had to force himself to remember that the extent of his crimes in the city would not bear him a forgiving sentence; and he didn’t want it any other way.
Hunter’s answer still caught him off-guard. “A year, at most.”
Lawrence perked from his seat, grabbing the bar for a second in surprise. He stopped himself and sat back down. “A year?”
“That’s what he said,” Hunter responded with a shrug.
“What… what was the reason?” Lawrence’s voice went to a whisper.
“I don’t know, ask him the details. But it was the right choice; rotting in prison isn’t what you deserve or need, Lawrence.”
Lawrence stood still, not knowing how to respond.
Hunter continued. “King Lawrence, your older man, is the main culprit, but he’s dead. And the city did want to blame you for the crimes he committed, both towards the humans and the variants. But Riel didn’t think that was right. So he made your case and let you free in a year from now.”
“... Gabriel was able to convince the council by himself?”
Hunter smirked. “And with the evidence we found in the castle. But give him some credit for his smart brains.”
Lawrence sat back and took a deep breath. He imagined Gabriel barging through the iron doors to the main court, loudly complaining about his imprisonment just as loudly as he had been when he judged his company when they had first met.
“He always managed to surprise me with his… stubborn resolve,” he said, unable to help the natural smile from appearing on his lips.
“You have no idea how much I agree with that sentence,” Hunter chuckled, crossing his arms. “And hopefully, we’ll have a lot more to agree with after we get you out of here.”
“Pardon?”
“Oh yeah.” Hunter acted as if he had glossed over a small detail. “After a year, ‘Riel made sure that you’ll find a place in Dawn Point.”
“That can’t…” Lawrence had his doubts. “It cannot be that easy. That cannot happen just like that.”
Hunter raised an eyebrow, again. “Did you think we’d just dump you wherever? Of course not. You’ll be re-instated into our society for your second chance.”
Second chance. The two words that Hunter meant with this whole conversation; the words that were the final spark to a budding hope. On hearing the physical word, he felt a physiological urge to shed a tear. He held his head down and covered his face.
The sudden silence from the other end caused Hunter to lean in. “You heard me right, didn’t you?” An understanding smile bloomed from the other variant. “Feels good to start over, don’t it?”
Lawrence hesitated to respond, knowing that he would not be comprehendible with words.
Hunter wasn’t expecting a response anyway. They shared a silence across the bars.
When Lawrence gained the composure to speak again, he spoke with a quiet and weak voice. And it was the words Hunter knew ‘Riel had to hear back home.
“Thank... you.”
Hunter sighed and turned around. He rested a hand on the bars as a silent farewell, then let them go as he walked away towards where he came from.
Lawrence wiped the tears from his face, then realized something odd about Hunter as his figure walked away. He jumped and grabbed the bars to project a question towards the variant. “Where is your cloak?” he yelled across the stone hallway.
Hunter stopped when he heard the question, then chuckled.
“It’s getting too warm for one now. Didn’t need it,” he said without turning back. Then, the variant continued to walk out.
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