Emiri sat in the dining room, playing with the tip of her messed up ponytail. All she could think about was Jaakuna and why he had left her. Never had she felt so empty in her life before, like a part of her heart had been ripped right out of her chest. She should be crying. She should be angry. Frustrated. Confused. Enraged. Desperate. Anything, anything at all, anything to replace this desperation and loneliness she felt. She dropped her hair, letting the ponytail fall on her shoulder. It slipped over and down her back, though it was so loose and disheveled that her scrunchie dropped to the floor. Her eyes looked down at it for a second, though she returned to staring at the table.

At that point Grant walked back, cup in hand. He spotted the familiar clover hair tie on the floor, then looked at Emiri. She wasn't crying anymore, so that was good, but maybe he may have preferred that. She looked completely miserable. He sat down next to her, placing the cup in her view. "[b]It's ginger.[/b]" He told her quietly. For a moment, she only stared at it, as if it had been the first time that such an object had been introduced to her. She then shook her head, getting up and walking away. Where was she going? Grant quickly followed, though he did scoop up her scrunchie as he walked after her. He needed to say something. "[b]Things will turn out alright, Emiri.[/b]" He called as he chased her to the lounge.

The brunette sat down on one of the couches (well, rather threw herself on one) and she crossed her legs. "[b]Leave me alone.[/b]" She told him, running a hand through her hair. "[b]I know it will be fine. It always is.[/b]" She spoke, her voice lightly cracking.

Why was he so bad at this? Grant tried to remember everything Nadeline had said. "[b]You don't want to be alone, do you?[/b]" He asked, sitting next to her. "[b]You feel abandoned, alone...but I'm--we're all here for you.[/b]" He quickly corrected himself, not wanting to insinuate anything. At the very least, that had gotten her to look at him. He scooted just a little closer, taking her hand. "[b]I...I hate seeing you like this, isn't there anything I can do to make you better?[/b]"

"[b]Grant, please, I don't...[/b]" She shook her head, though he noticed she didn't take her hand away.

He had an idea. "[b]Listen...how about you stay here in Archades? I'll go out and find Jaakuna.[/b]" He told her, sitting up. "[b]I'll bring him back to you, that would make you happy, right?[/b]"

Would it? Emiri couldn't help but wonder. She couldn't believe that he left her, would seeing him relieve her of the pain she felt? She wanted to think so. "[b]We don't even know where he went.[/b]" She replied. "[b]He could be anywhere...if he wanted to be found...he would have left a sign, he would have...he wouldn't have left.[/b]" She took in a breath, her voice coming out a little stronger. "[b]He wants to be alone, then fine...[/b]"

"[b]No...no, it's...he's...[/b]" Oh fuck, now what? "[b]He's coming back.[/b]"

"[b]I'm not stupid, Grant![/b]" Emiri suddenly screamed, completely surprising Grant and nearly sending him off the couch in shock. "[b]People don't say 'I don't know when I will be back' and then show up the next day! They say that when they know they may not ever come back, so don't sit there and [i]lie[/i] to me![/b]"

"[b]So what, you want me to say he's not coming back then?[/b]" Now it was Grant's turn to raise his voice. "[b]I thought you knew him best out of everyone here. He made a mistake and he's trying to fix it, he's doing it because he doesn't want to hurt anyone![/b]"

"[b]Why did he have to leave, then?![/b]" She asked, standing up. "[b]Every time we have had a problem we always faced it together. Every time one of us had a problem we would go to each other. Instead all we get is a message, he didn't even apologize for it. He knew what he was doing. He abandoned us.[/b]"

Grant stood up as well, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. "[b]Listen to me, Emiri. Jaakuna will come back. I know it, you know it, Wesley and Nadeline and Savayna know it. What Jaakuna needs right now is for you to believe in him.[/b]"

"[b]He obviously doesn't need me if he left me.[/b]" She snapped in response. 

"[b]Okay, so when do you plan on telling everyone about [i]your[/i] issue, then?[/b]" He snapped back. "[b]Jaakuna told Wesley and myself about your little problem with your powers. You're giving Jaakuna so much shit about him keeping his secrets that if it wasn't for Justine telling him we would never have found out, would we?![/b]" He probably hadn't meant to yell, but he had just gotten so infuriated. With the information she withheld she had no right to criticize Jaakuna at all. She had every right to be upset at him, to feel guilty, and to feel anger. But that was it. The two looked at one another, clearly steamed, though after a moment Emiri looked away from Grant, trying to hide a guilty look. "[b]What, no more fire now that I've called you out on your bullshit?[/b]"

Her purple eyes glared daggers at him. "[b]You...You do not have the right--[/b]"

"[b]No, YOU don't have the right![/b]"

"[b]You don't know what I've been through, you don't know what it's like to suddenly find yourself trapped in a space with no way of communication, or anything--[/b]"

"[b]What happened to 'we face problems together' then?![/b]"

"[b]There's a reason I haven't told anyone--[/b]"

"[b]So it's fine if you keep secrets then?![/b]"

"[b]So what do you want me to do?! Tell everyone and have everyone dote on me?! Because guess what Grant, look at where it's gotten us![/b]"

"[b]That doesn't excuse it![/b]"

"[b]I can't--I don't want anyone to know--because--[/b]"

"[b]Whatever fucking reason you have isn't good enough, Emiri![/b]" 

"[b]THERE'S NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO, GRANT![/B]" 

After that, the two looked at one another, breathing somewhat heavily from their screaming match. Emiri just had a look of desperation on her face, whereas Grant was just plain shocked. Third time was the charm, it seemed. Another moment of silence rolled by, and the brunette turned to leave. Grant whirled around and grabbed he wrist, halting her exit. "[b]There is always a way, Emiri. You said it yourself.[/b]" He spoke, his voice calm again.

"[b]Not this time.[/b]" She replied just as quietly. "[b]Chaos said so himself...my body just can't handle my power. I can't just not use it, either. I do it without even thinking, I can't control myself. I'm going to keep using it, even if I try not to. And eventually, I'll just fade away and disappear forever. You guys can't help me this time. No one can.[/b]"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Jaakuna had mentioned that she would fade away, but he didn't think that she couldn't control it. So that was it, then? Yet as she began to walk away, her fingers trailing his and signaling her leave, he found himself acting without thinking. His hand took hers again and he pulled her to him. She stumbled slightly, and found herself in his embrace. It was odd, it felt so nostalgic. He had grown in the past six years, but he held her the same way he did so long ago. His arms were wrapped tightly around her body, effectively trapping her. "[b]We'll find a way.[/b]" He murmured into her hair.