To Prepare The Sky [Elijah]

Ms. Bazzi?

The fact Surai didn’t even flinch when a voice suddenly spoke up was a testament to her tunnel vision. The other, more familiar workers knew her well enough to know it usually took a lot to get her attention in this sort of state. Though most of them were leaving her alone to work on the paperwork. Only occasionally did they come in to report something and earn a half-present nod.

It was by the third or forth time her name was called that the brunette’s head actually tilted up towards the noise. However her eyes lingered stubbornly on the paper, distracted by whatever she was writing. ”…..yes?" She asked half-heartedly. It was only once she finished the sentence she was working on that blue eyes flicked up towards whomever had being calling for her. At first she thought it was one of the volunteers helping with setting up. Maybe one of the new staff members, or even one of her old ones. However there was an odd sense of familiarity about this one’s form that made her squint for a second.

A second or two later she realized who her guest was. ”Oh, Mr. Kingsley. I’m sorry I didn’t, um…” She trailed off for a moment as another wave of soreness went through her hand. With a frown she glanced down and put aside the pencil she’d been provided to massage the smarting appendage. ”I didn’t realize it was you." Truth be told she hadn’t really known whether or not she’d see the man past his initial offer to let her stay in his home. Now that she had planned to do, she was going to be stuck in one spot for a while.

Now why would he be here? With her mind already put into focused mother mode, it latched onto the first idea that popped up. ”Is everything alright? Is something wrong with Luca?" Concern drowned out the weary note in her voice as she asked. Irilys forbid her friend be distressed or anything like that. Although she had essentially disappeared that morning with little word of warning to anyone. Speaking of which… ”Ah, sorry for disappearing this morning. I just thought getting an early start would be best. We need to make sure our kids are situated nicely before we…before we have to say goodbye."

A goodbye that Surai was furiously putting in the very back part of her mind to best ignore it.

After she’d wrung out her hand for a long enough time (in her eyes), she picked up the pencil once more. Soon enough it was flying over the pages again. Though she was mindful of her guest now; he had been kind to her and Luca after all. But in her current frenzied state, her manners were being put a little behind everything else at the moment. There was still much to be done and so little time. Or at least it felt that way. However she did try her best to flick her eyes up towards the other man at least once more. ”There’s still plenty we need to do. Mostly it’s getting a permanent building for them to stay in. We have an idea already, though now we’re making sure we can furnish it properly to prepare for all the kids. There’s quite a few, and I’m afraid that after the riots there might be even more. We’ll also need to move some more of their things from our original location over here. We left in such a rush there wasn’t too much time…"

Originally she had been talking to Elijah. Yet as she went on her words became more of an outward expression of internal thoughts. ”That will have to come last though, unfortunately. Food, clothing, and furniture comes first. Thankfully we do have a number of the new orphanage’s staff picked out. Some from Haven and some from back home. Which we’ll need to inform our boss about. Speaking of which we really do need to figure out some way to get communications up but without endangering the existence of Haven itself in the process…" her voice got gradually quieter and quieter until she was soon slipping back into her doggedly focused state once again.

by sixsmith.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) Surai didn’t notice the sudden anger her demeanor had brought about. The stress prevented her from so observant. However she was not so far gone down her rabbit hole of worry to not notice Elijah speaking up again. It halted her in her work, and she looked up again. Right. A guest. The one who let her and Luca stay with him. Where were her manners? Surely she could stop for just a moment, right?

Stressed. Stressed. Stressed.

She did stop and give Elijah her attention this time (as much as her buzzing mind would allowed). His compliment was not lost on her, and she managed a small, if tired smile. ”Thank you. If only that were the case." Because then she doubted this whole scenario would be happening in the first place. Half of her kids would not have to be ripped away from their second home so suddenly. Surai and Luca wouldn’t have had to stare down the barrel of a gun. It was a pretty dream but…this was reality.

Elijah’s next words did make Surai sigh a little and rub her face. He’s right. It was acknowledged but…The surajan couldn’t help herself. I…I can see that, Mr. Kingsley. I mean no disrespect to you or Haven, I’m just…" She trailed off and, for a second, her expression cracked. There was the worry. There was the fear. There was the desperate want to protect. She knew Haven was obviously very capable of hiding itself and taking care of refugees. But she couldn’t help herself. These were her children. Her little stars. She needed to make sure they were alright. ”…I just want to make sure they’re ok. We all do. So much has happened so quickly, and now we had to take them away from their family when they were already taken away from one before. We want them to know we care. We always will…" Her voice trailed off softly for a moment. But then she collected herself and looked back at Elijah. The vulnerable crack was patched up with tape- to be dealt with at another time.

”But I don’t mean to ramble, sir. What questions did you have? I’d be happy to answer them as best as I can." A break might help her wrist stop smarting anyways. And, well, she was curious why he’d sought her out.

by sixsmith.

Well here was one hell of a question.

Once again Surai ran her fingers through her hair and leaned back in her chair. How Luca and her met. Definitely not in any orthodox way, that was for sure. Though Surai highly doubted it would be a good idea to say “oh yeah a God sent me, no biggie.” First; because she would never betray Irilys’ trust like that. Second; it would sound ridiculous even if she did.

But Elijah did have a right to know at least. From what he was saying the two were close. And if there was anywhere better than Haven for Surai to finally, officially give Luca his freedom, then they hadn’t found it yet. Still, the topic was a touchy one. Maybe not so much now that Luca was not currently in the room, but even Surai detested certain elements of the story. It made her skin crawl. But she was going to be honest because- let’s face it- she was too tired and too caring of the other magi to do otherwise. So she inhaled deeply and let it out slow.

”I…Can’t tell you everything." She admitted firsthand. ”Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t know. I haven’t asked Luca too much about what happened because…I didn’t want to bring up anything that might hurt him. From the first day we met I just…I could see he’d been through a lot. More than anyone should ever have to. He’s improved so much since then." A faint smile came to her lips, but she moved on to actually answer the question.

”But, well…When we first met Luca had been…enslaved." She grimaced at the word. ”Human and magi traffickers had managed to get ahold of him. I don’t know for how long but…any length of time would be too long." She scowled for a moment but it faded. Damn slavers. She’d seen enough of their work back in Pentos. ”However a friend of Luca who knew me got in contact with me to help him. They weren’t able to do anything directly themselves, but I could. So I ended up…" Buying? The word was disgusting to be used in this context. ”Getting Luca out of there. I wish I would have gotten others but I know I can’t save everyone, much as I hate to admit it." These last words were muttered quietly to herself. A regretful acknowledgement, but one all the same. She was no superhero- just an agent sent to help.

”When he first arrived…..It was bad. I won’t sugarcoat that. He thought I was trying to trick him or…" She shook her head thinking back to that first day. How scared he had look. The fact he couldn’t even meet her eyes. Today was a far cry from those dark days only a few months ago. ”But I wasn’t. I wanted to help him be free again, but his time with the slavers had…had definitely left some scars; physical and psychological. So I let him stay with me not as a slave, but a guest. I had to convince him I was really trying to help him. But honestly I think the kids managed to do that a lot better than I did." Another fond smile, stronger this time, crossed her lips.

”They really, really did. He’d come help me in the orphanage back in Camlorn. Now he’s basically considered one of the staff and could work there if he ever wanted to. I know the children would certainly be happy to see him again." The little ones practically adored the zero magi now. He’d become part of the family whether he realized it or not. ”As would I. But I want him to realize he’s free now. He’s always been, but I think being here in Haven might help drive that home."

That’s what Surai was hoping for, at least.

She looked back at Elijah though. ”I’m not sure what he was like prior to his…capture. But I do know he’s made a major recovery since I first met him. As for what exactly happened though, I’m afraid I really don’t know. I didn’t want to ask that until he seemed ready to talk about it himself." She answered honestly.

by sixsmith.

It was a little interesting to hear about the required hospitalization of the escapees. Although after working with Luca, she could understand why something like that might be passed. Of course, there were her own concerns involved, but the teacher was too tired to voice them. This wasn’t her town, nor a town she expected many to openly welcome her in. Much less her opinions. She’d rather just make sure her children were okay than cause a stir.

”I can understand, sir." They needed help. Surai had gotten to see that with Luca. And hearing about the suicides of the survivors here just made her wince. What did those people- no, those monsters do? To drive someone to such a point where they couldn’t even make eye contact with another person? It sickened her stomach, and the surajan rubbed her face again. So very, very tired.

Thank you.

Blue eyes widened a little. She was being thanked? Surai removed her hand from her face to look over at Elijah. It felt…odd to her to be thanked for something like this. Unexpected. She’d never been doing it for a “thank you.” Even towards the beginning it had shifted from a task for her God to simply treating someone with the respect and care they deserved, and teaching them that they did deserve it. Still, she would accept the thanks graciously. Clearly Elijah and Luca were friends so she could see where it was coming from. ”Of course, sir. No one should ever have to go through something like that. I’m only glad I managed to help him recover in some way. And that I gained a good friend along the way." The warmth she felt infused her words as she smiled. ”I only hope he feels the same way since everyone at the orphanage essentially adopted him into the family anyways." She laughed a little at that. He'd been assimilated fairly quickly into the fold.

by sixsmith.

As Elijah continued, Surai got the feeling she knew (or at least suspected) where this was going. Even in her exhausted state she wasn’t completely unaware or distracted. The man’s voice had subtly shifted from casual to business. And as he brought up the ways in which Surai managed to get Luca out of his predicament, she couldn’t help but shut her eyes for a moment.

This wasn’t going to be easy.

They opened once again once Elijah finally put a question to what he was already getting at. How had Surai known where to find Luca? She breathed in deeply and let it out slowly and silently through her nose. In her current tired state, the thought of possibly lying was completely out of the question. But no way in hell was she going to betray her God.

”I completely understand why you’d be inquiring about it. Especially given that you are friends with Luca." She acknowledged. Honestly, it was more surprising that the question hadn’t come sooner.

”But I don’t have any sort of informant or anything that would allow me to secretly relieve victims or get me information from the inside, as much as I would want to in order to help those captured.” She replied honestly. It was true, in a way. She had no secret spies or agents within the Ethean slave trade. Just a God who had told her to help someone out for some future reason. ”The only way I found out about Luca was through a mutual friend we both shared. One who did not want to be revealed for their own personal reasons. I don’t mean to withhold anything from you, Mr. Kingsley, as I can understand where you are coming from. But I wouldn’t want to betray their trust; especially when they had entrusted me with something so important as helping their friend when they were unable to." Again all technically true and said with complete sincerity. ”I could contact them and ask if it would be alright for me to give you their name now that Luca is completely safe, but right now I unfortunately can’t tell you. I’m sorry." And frankly, she actually genuinely was.

However…

”Although….there is one thing I can tell you." She realized, frowning slightly. ”Because I had to actually get in contact with the…With the people who had Luca, I am aware of some of their operations and systems." She glanced up at Elijah. His prior words had spoken true to her before. More than anything she would have liked to see all the poor souls the slavers had kidnapped freed. But divulging information on Irilys was not something she would do for that. Divulging information on the slavers, however, was. ”I might not be able to give you the name of who had told me to help Luca, but I can give you the name of the ones who had stolen him in the first place."

by sixsmith.

Purchaser.

You want to talk about a facial shift: the corners of her lips turned down slightly as the muscles twitched with disgust. Yes, she had “purchased” Luca. An act she still loathed since it shouldn’t have been a thing she was able to do in the first place. But it had and here she was, with a new good friend despite the very, very odd way they met. Plus fortunately it got them off the topic of her and Luca’s mutual “friend,” so that was a good thing as well.

”Though I’m not thrilled I got to get that viewpoint, it does have its use I suppose. I could write down the information so that my presence wouldn’t be necessary for anyone else, but I can tell you." No, she had not forgotten the man before her could not actually see (though he seemed to get around just fine). However, Surai had a feeling writing the information down would be best for anyone else he would bring into this.

The last part, however, surprised her. Reimburse her? Though it was coming from a good place, she was sure, the thought couldn’t help but put a bad taste in her mouth. It’s like I’m being paid back for buying groceries. Although not intended that way, that’s how her mind took it.

However, something else came to mind fairly quickly. She’d only been spending the whole day working on it. it might be a stretch to ask for, but if he was really set on repaying her then why not?

”Though I’m thankful for your offer, Mr. Kingsley, it’s not money that interests me. I was happy to help. However, there is one thing that would mean far more to me than cash even could." She said politely and carefully. ”I’m going to be leaving Haven as soon as I’m able, along with some of my fellow co-workers from Camlorn. As much as you all have been kind to me, I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome or make anyone uncomfortable with my presence.” Even if anyone tried to deny it, Surai didn’t forget where she was. She was a human in a hidden magi city who’d arrived unannounced. Sweet as people had been, she wasn’t going to push it. "Plus we need to attend to the children back in Camlorn as well, and I’m still a teacher on top of that. At some point we’ll need to return."

Now for what she actually wanted. ”I know the kids here will be in good hands. I’ve seen from some of the people who’ve volunteered to help us that they really care." A small but warm smile touched her lips and voice for a moment. Thinking on that alleviated some of her stress. They’d be in good hands. ”But I know we would really like to somehow keep some form of communication up between the two orphanages, if possible, without endangering this place. While we know the kids will be well taken care of…We’ve been with them for so long now- we don’t want to just cut off interaction with them so suddenly. That and I know their friends back in Camlorn would love to keep hearing from them and know that they’re alright as well. We’ve all become something of a family and well…family likes to make sure family is alright." She glanced back over towards Elijah. "That would be the only thing I'd want, sir, if it's possible. These kids mean far more to me then anything else."

by sixsmith.