Waiting until the last of the customers dwindles away, Selena knew Nyx would wait to walk her home. Months living in the Crown City and her brother was protective as ever of her walking home alone. "Petra's working night shift." An answer to Nyx's silent query as to why the city guard wasn't at his usual haunt by the end of the steps to walk her home. Which led neatly to the next point and Selena took a breath before blurting the words out. "- he asked me to move in with him ... and I said yes."
the familiar sounds of closing time drifted through yama's; chairs scraping against the floor, glasses clinking behind the bar as the dishwasher was emptied. the last lingering customers filtered out, one by one, waving their goodbyes to the young woman behind the bar. the low hum of their merry conversations fading into the background chatter of the refugee sector outside.
nyx grabbed the last few empty glasses from the tables and set them down on the bar and standing aside when selena slipped out from behind the counter to wipe down the tables and sweep the floor. while she did that, nyx slipped behind the counter and started rinsing out the glasses he'd collected, loading them into the washer before he emptied the drip-trays and wiped down the counter ... a world away from galahd, but the closing routine in a bar didn't change even when the location did.
when he finished the few tasks, nyx stood by the exit, a shoulder perched against the wall as he watched with amusement as his little sister commandeered one of the bar stools to gain a few more inches of height to tug down the bar's shutter.
eyes darting over his shoulder, the glaives was mildly perplexed to find the space empty - no city guard in civvies waiting by the steps for selena.
hmm ... unusual. the irony of that observation wasn't lost on nyx either though - a few months back and he'd been absolutely abhorred to find fortis daring to show his face in the glaives' watering-hole, though that horror had been stunned into silence when he'd realised that the tall prick had been there for selena.
' petra's working night shift. '
whipping his head back around to face selena, nyx saw her emerge from the back room, her bag on her shoulder, tucking a stray lock of hair back behind her ear as she fell into pace next to him ... well, she could still read him like a book, it seemed.
dipping his head and letting out a breath of a laugh, nyx lets his brows arch and bob ' guess i figured bein' captain, he'd get to skip the night shifts? '
up the metal steps that led down to yama's bar, across a walkway and then down another flight of steps, they landed right in the heart of the refugee sector of the city - well, slums really; shanty stands, small bars, narrow alleyways and neon signs flashing a stark contrast to the night's darkness. insomnia never truly slept. it just changed pace.
weaving through the narrow streets, nyx noticed selena's grip tighten around the strap of her bag, it sharpened his attention and he clocked how her shoulders rose slightly, then fell. she sucked in a breath and then another ... the way people did when they were trying to gather courage, and that realisation had a knot of unease settling into his stomach.
she could read him like a book, but that went both ways - he knew that look on her face. he'd known it since she was a little kid - it was the look she had whenever she was about to tell him something she wasn't sure he'd want to hear.
slowing his steps until he ground to a halt, nyx reached out to tug on the strap of selena's bag, easing her to turn around and face him, his blue eyes searching her face, ' what's wrong? '
' ... he asked me to move in with him ... and I said yes. '
ah ... the words struck him with surprising force and nyx found himself blinking, head canting to the side as he let her words rattle around his head for another few seconds; fortis had asked her to move into his place?
it wasn't that he hadn't considered the possibility, of course he had. nyx had watched how her relationship with the city guard had progressed, he had watched fortis swallow his pride and set up camp near the bar's counter, waiting for selena's shift to end. nyx had watched him become a permanent fixture in his sister's life through sheer stubborn consistency.
still ... she was still his baby sister. and he'd already failed her once, he'd let her get hurt back in galahd. letting out a breath, nyx let his eyes wander to one of the neon signs; fortis wouldn't hurt her. he knew that deep down - that would be easier if fortis had been some reckless idiot or smooth-talking bastard, nyx could have dismissed him months ago if that were the case.
instead, the infuriating reality was that petra fortis seemed to genuinely love his sister. he showed up, every time, rain, hail, snow, cold, exhaustion, long hours - none of it mattered. he showed up. and nyx hated how much respect he'd grudgingly developed towards the guard for it.
the flashing pink and blue of the sign offered no solace, only reminding him that he hadn't replied yet. and that selena's gaze was boring a hole into him, waiting for some sort of answer - bracing for impact.
loathe thought he might be to realise that this meant fortis would become a permanent structure in his life, nyx wasn't stubborn enough to let that wipe away what this also meant; safety and happiness for selena. the refugee slums were ... well, dire. a bedsit for half your wages, if you were lucky. the sector was overcrowded, under-resourced and covered by a glass ceiling that was so much lower than the king's wall; immigrants either joined the kingsglaive or they made do with the smaller jobs they could find within the refugee sector - once an employer in the business sector saw your address in the refugee slums, well - you weren't getting that job.
selena had found someone who made her happy, someone who was consistent and supportive, someone who could give her a better life than she could eke out here in the slums.
blowing out another breath, nyx finally dragged his gaze away from the sign and back to selena's face. he nodded his head, a small smile tugging on the corner of his mouth when he finally answered.
' selena, if you're happy, then that's good enough for me. i know you don't need to hear this, but i'm gonna play the annoying-big-brother role here okay? if you ever change your mind, if you don't want to live there or you're alone and don't want to be - you call me, okay? doesn't matter what time it is, you call me. '
@littlexsisterxulric















