Noble staredat the setting sunlight filtering through his kitchen window, and he had to say, it seemed far too cheery for how fucked up shit was at the moment. And he wasn’t even talking about the twenty new stitches he had.
He had regrets, yet…he wasn’t sure if they were the right ones. He hated that he’d hurt Ollie, that he’d made the man cry. And he really hated that now, in Ollie’s eyes, he would likely forever be his enemy, or someone he should fear. Yet…even as he reflected on all the choices he had made, the one that had been most profoundly altering, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it.
That knock on the door really had changed everything, having found him at his lowest moment.
Knock.Knock. Knock.
Noble peered over at the simple wooden door, staring blurrily through the haze of alcohol that had failed to rid him of his internal anguish.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Swallowing thickly, he stumbled to his feet. His path to the door was anything but straight, yet he made it eventually—after tripping a few times over discarded empty bottles.
Noble pulled the door open just as the next knock hit, and staring blankly at the blond-haired stranger on the other side, he slurred, “What do you want?”
The man smiled in a way that snake-oil salesmen tended to, setting his nerves on edge. “It is less what I want, and more what I can help you accomplish, my friend.”
Noble scoffed, “Bollocks, get away from my door.”
He went to slam it shut, but found he couldn’t as the man had placed his hand on it to stop it. Though the stranger was smaller, and seemed far weaker in strength, Noble found he could not move it in the slightest.
“It won’t be when you understand. You lost someone, didn’t you, Noble?”
As the man’s unnerving smile widened, Noble released his grip on the doorknob, taking an unintended step back. Then,the stranger said something that no one aside from Noble believed, no matter how much he had explained what he saw. “It would, of course, be far more accurate if I were to saysomeonetook them from you.”
Eyes wide, he stared at this man he did not know, at a smile he knew deep-down he could not trust, and stepped back silently, beckoning him inside. Because Noble knew deep in his shattered, twisted soul that any chance of revenge, of enacting retribution on the monster who had brutally ripped out part of his heart, was worth whatever consequences came with it.
There had been consequences,for sure. The further damning of his soul, the loss of his humanity and conscience, even if he had regained a small part of the latter recently. The latest consequence, he supposed, was losing the man he loved. Yet he still didn’t regret it—he couldn’t.
He let out a bitter laugh. How could he? How could he say he truly regretted it, when if he hadn’t done what he did, he would have never met Ollie? He would have died long ago. So, his mind wouldn’t let him regret it, because if he hadn’t lived, if he hadn’t been there, who would Ollie have called while bleeding out? Who would have saved him from his own actions, controlled or not, when Mikael attacked? Who would have been by Ollie’s side as he faced the cluster ghost yesterday morning? Not Red, not Jahla, and certainly not the man’s fucking godfather…
As fucked up and twisted as it was, if Noble could go back to that very moment, he’d do it all over again, just so he could live long enough for those moments.
There were things he regretted, just not that. Going along blindly and killing without question for as long as he did? Yes, that he did regret. And as much as he liked to claim hunters were mindless grunts, if he really thought about it, he could probablyname a few who were selective with their kills. He vaguely remembered even asking about it one time, back when he had never understood why any witch hunter would be choosy, or how those above them let someone decide not to carry out a kill. As why would it matter what the monsters they were killing had or hadn’t done? He knew differently now.
Noble continued to stare out the window, hesitating. He wanted to see Ollie…he wanted to talk to him. Not that he even knew what he could say at this point. It had only been a day since his witch had left him, perhaps a little longer with how early in the morning it had happened on Sunday, but regardless of the time, Noble already missed him. Yet, he knew he wasn’t welcome, so he would stay away…
Ollie stoodnear the front double doors, waiting for Jahla to leave for the day so he could finish locking up. Not that he needed to wait, as she could always lock the door on her way out. It was just that he had something to say. Not much, but it was something. Ollie wasn’t ready for more.
He held himself tight at the sound of her approaching footsteps from above, remaining silent for a moment until she reached the bottom and looked at him. He wasn’t the only one looking to say something. Jahla stared, her mouth parting as if to speak, but nothing came out and she sagged a bit as she sighed softly enough that he almost hadn’t heard it.
As she reached for the door, Ollie finally said, “Thank you…for calling Noble.”
Jahla paused for a moment, and without looking back, she said, “Mm,” before leaving.
He stared at the closed door, and instead of heading upstairs like he should, he sat down on the bottom step with a sigh of his own, feeling entirely drained.
Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulled out the colorful fake fish, once attached to a string and a stick, from his pocket and stared down at it blankly as tears filled his eyes. He’d accidentally broken it during his many attempts throughout the day to get Pumpkin to appear… She never did… Annabel had returned the same day, apparently having zoned out that morning near her diary, but Pumpkin was nowhere to be found.
Ollie looked over to his right at the soft padding and clicking of claws on wood. On reaching the last step, Red sat down next to him, without coming close enough for them to actually touch.
His cat remained silent at first…they both did, before finally, Red rasped, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
“Ha…are you really?” Ollie asked tiredly.
Red’s snout wrinkled. “Not exactly. But I am sorry about how you found out. I’m sorry that you are finding out so much of this in quite possibly the worst ways. I wish I had all the answers, and I really do want to tell you so much more than I already have, but I…can’t.”
“Noble has nothing to do with the binding, Red. We both know that. So why didn’t you? He’s a… He’s a witch hunter. I can’t think that wouldn’t be something I would need to know.”
