Echos of what... [Vi/request]

[William Talbot]

Despite the requests from the others, Will had only allowed Violet to accompany him here, to a small place on the northern shore of Pirate's bay, in a hidden out of the way place surrounded with trees, in sight of the ocean, and above all for William, it was also the sight of his and first kiss ever, and it had been with Destiny.


Looking at the head stone that had been made, Will stood there holding his hands together in front of himself, he let the sounds of the wind in the trees, and the wash of the sea speak for a time before he at last coughed and then looked up at the sky through the small opening in the canopy of leaves; "... Destiny was... First and foremost my friend... She was also my first crush, my first kiss, and my first love..." his eyes hadn't stopped leaking since she had died in his arms, for what seemed to be a second time, two days prior, an almost constant, slow flow of water that ran down his cheeks, warm and salty, his eyes discolored and sore from all of it.

"... I cared about her greatly, and to have lost her, and my family as I did, was something that almost broke me... But I didn't break, and soon I was made right again, bit by bit, and now, again thanks to her, I am free to be myself..." Will sniffed for a moment before he looked down at the simple headstone, that bore only a name, no flowery prose, no dates, no sayings, just a name.

"DESTINY MARTIN"

"She died twice, once as a victim, and once as a villain, all but alone, she died both times in my arms... No one really noticed her in life, she wasn't what some might call pretty, but she was kind at heart, and... She would never have hurt anyone, and even in light of the harm she was made to do, and the trouble she caused from that, she was stubborn.." he paused and then lowed his head and spoke softly, just above a whisper as the small black box in his hand blinked with a small red light, recording his voice; "And despite all of the wrong, I will always remember her, as she truly was, as she was at heart, as my friend..."


He lifted the box up and turned it off, the small recorder blinking for a moment before it turned off, his eyes gazing at it before he simply stood there, hands at his sides, staring at the headstone, with a lost look in his eyes...

[Violet Schultz]

Violet had only ever known of Destiny Martin, the girl that Will had first mistaken her for, that day in the alley. She knew of the influence that she had had on Will's life, starting during his happier years when his family was still alive. She knew that Destiny had been the one that had allowed him to accept that he didn't have to isolate himself from other people, although Will had never explicitly said so. From her own inferrences and from what she had heard Will say about her, she had been the beginning of his life outside his family, the beginning of his life as an individual rather than a student of his parents' teachings. She'd helped to make him into who he was today, and she couldn't help but feel indebted to her for it.

She spoke, maybe prayed to Destiny mentally, knowing that with Will as distracted as he was, it was unlikely that he would listen in. Even if he did, it wasn't as if she was dealing with secrets. Her words were truly heartfelt, and Violet only wished she had been able to say them to Destiny before her death, so that she could have known exactly what Violet wanted to tell her. She stared at the nondescript headstone, her dark eyes looking almost as if she was staring the late girl in the eyes.

Thank you, she thought, the words profound in her thoughts. Thank you for everything you ever did for him. I can't express how grateful I am that he had you in his life, and I wish you could have lived to see what kind of person he will become. I promise that I'll do my best to watch out for him in your stead. Rest in peace, Destiny.

She looked over at Will, and a pang of sorrow hit her as she was reminded again of how much this was putting him through. She gently put her hand on his stiff shoulder, her eyes communicating her concern for him. There weren't words that could take the loss from his heart, or the pain from his eyes, but she would be there to support him when he needed it. When, not if. Whether he would ask or not, whether he knew it or not, he needed people around him during this who cared about him.

[William Talbot]

Time was meaningless, the sun hidden from direct view, at first by the trees, and then after a passage of something other than time, clouds, large, soft heavy clouds filled with a gentle light rain that barely broke through the trees, a weight of moisture rolling through the tiny clearing like a blanket of mist that danced past himself and Violet, and it was once he was aware of the light and damp chill in the air, he slowly turned and faced Violet, his eyes tired, lost looking and older, aged with the strain of such a blow, and loss to himself.


"Thank you Violet..." he said as she stepped closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, his eyes still on the headstone as he sighed and tried to settle and arrange his feelings, his heart still not quite wanting to come to terms with this, even as his mind pushed on through the pain, at last ready to find the end of this hard moment in time.


Looking to Violet at last he opened his mouth to speak, and then paused, unsure how to word what he was thinking, and the link suddenly feeling inadequate at the moment...
"I... I feel so conflicted right now... I want to tell you to stay away, knowing you won't, I want to chase you off from me, because of the danger of being so close, but I know I couldn't do it..." blinking away his gaze he looked at the ground for a moment then back to her; "But I also want to keep you as close as possible, for the strength, and protection we could offer each other..."

Will looked off into the trees and sighed softly; "I feel a hole in my heart, a gap in my head, not from a loss of memory, but from a loss of a person... I feel both lost, and found..." his eyes closed slowly and he bowed his head and whispered; "I don't know what to do."

[Violet Schultz]

"Will, I'll be here as long as you want me here," she asserted quietly. "I accept that there is danger, as there is in any walk of life, maybe moreso than usual in mine, but that's not unusual for me. I'm only afraid for you."

She had deeply seated insight on how he was feeling, both from how she knew him and how she had shared those sentiments for a while. For most of her life, she'd been a target for some reason or other, whether it was as a fugitive, a gang leader, or a test subject. People around her tended to get hurt and she tended to get hurt when she got close to people, so she understood where he was coming from. He was the one who had taught her that she still had the need for that connection with other people, when she had been closing herself off for both her own and their protection. She didn't want him to make the same mistake, since that route brought about a lot of pain.

There was a factor of her personality that few people counted on, but most people noticed sooner or later. She had an idea that this was really why Slade was trying to kill her, and she had a feeling that her hunch was different from what the others believed. It had nothing to do with her meta powers. It was the power she could hold over other people's hearts and minds, and it was usually completely unconcious. It was what made her an effective leader, her ability to get a good idea of the mental and emotional state of others and say what they needed to hear. It wasn't fool-proof, but it was reasonably reliable. It was rooted in her natural concern for others, never used for manipulation, although handy in combat. Slade knew that she had this sort of influence, and could keep Will from falling into the state of mind that the sadistic villain was trying to achieve.

"There's nothing I can say to make it better," she said. "I know this. Only time can help, and maybe not even that. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

She was no stranger to loss. She knew how it felt.

[William Talbot]

William nodded slowly at her words as he stood there, still thinking, still reasoning within himself, still working himself through this in his mind...


Moving slightly, he hugged her closely and kissed the side of her head in thanks, grateful for her and the understanding calm she provided for him, her voice soothing and stilling the churning in his brain and his heart, his grip a bit tighter as the mist grew a bit thicker and started to fall as a gentle rain, Will's eyes again growing heavy with tears that where almost empty as he spoke; "Thank you Vi... You honestly mean everything right now, you're keeping me sane and giving me something to anchor myself too, and you're also what's keeping me from imploding on myself..."

Will bent his head down slightly and hid his face between her face and his shoulder as he hugged her, and sniffled softly before speaking again; "I'll be okay... I don't know when, but I know I will move on, and grow stronger from this, one day, somehow, I will and I know you'll help me." pulling himself back from her some, he looked at her with a sad smile, the moisture in the air at last what could be called rain, falling slowly through the gaps in the trees, getting them both wet.


She was in fact what was keeping him from imploding, turning in on himself and breaking down again, going back to the darker recesses of his mind, and falling out of logic's light into the wild dusk of instinct and anger, but just her being close, and staying calm, was tugging at him, keeping him from falling over the edge when it was easiest, and when everything seemed to be pushing him for it.
Violet might not ever know how thankful he was for her right now.

[Violet Schultz]

She nodded once, her eyes steadily meeting his. For someone as stolid as she usually was, the eyes communicated much more than anything else. Her eyes looked almost black in the dim light, but her thoughts were obvious, even without the link. There was love and sadness there, as well as concern. Over all of it, there was an inner calm that she nearly always managed to exude. She knew that Will was nearly falling apart at the seams, and she was worried for him, but one of the strengths that she had was also that she was grounded. She could be relied upon to be constant, unwavering. She was much different than other pyrokinetics in that way.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked softly. "We can stay if you need to."

The rain soaked them both, and while it wasn't dangerous for her to be out in rain, it was certainly uncomfortable. Nothing absorbed heat like water, and it was a small, constant drain on her energy to be out in it for long periods of time. Still, if he needed to be here, she wouldn't complain. Her hand reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek, although the rain streamed down his face as well. She didn't like to see him in pain, and there was nothing she could do to fix it.

[William Talbot]

Will closed his eyes and leaned his head some as her hand gently brushed his cheek, the warmth of her fingers cutting through the cold wetness of the rain and his tears, as he nuzzled her hand lightly.

"I... I think we can go..." he replied as he reached up and caught her hand gently in his own, and held it, slowly moving it over his heart, as if to double check to see if he could feel that pulse of his heart, and the flow of her powers, to remind himself that he was alive and she was well, and that the world was still turning, in spite of the pain that echoed in his heart and mind that declared otherwise...


Before they moved to leave, Will gripped Violet's hand firmly, and took her other hand into his, his fingers lacing between hers gently, his eyes looking to hers as a soft ripple of sound someplace out over the ocean pretended to be thunder, and he spoke softly to his girlfriend; "Vi... I don't want to make the same mistakes with you that I made with Des... I... I only told her how I really felt once, and when I did, it... It was too late... I know I've told you that I love you, and that you've seen into my mind, and I into you're, but, I want you to know... You are what makes me a better person, you are the reason I get in in the morning, and you are what give's me hope in to morrow, faith in what we can do for others, and... I need you... More than anyone else, as much as others have meant, and will mean, you mean more than the world, and all that's in it, and I doubt that I could ever let you go..."


Right now, Will was feeling a surge of emotions, and he knew that while what he might say was true, it could very well sound like the overly emotive drivel of a person post shock, but he didn't care, he had to say it, and he did, as always, following his heart, and making his brain work out the details as he went, trusting it to fill in the blanks.

[Violet Schultz]

"I know," she said softly. "I wish I could say that I'll be here for you forever, but it's not a promise I'm sure I can keep. I can promise that I will be here for you as long as I can be."

She wasn't going to lie to him, tell him that they would both live forever. If there was one thing that she had been taught over and over in life, it was that no one really knew what the future held. No one knew when they would die, or when circumstances would suddenly change. But if it was possible, she would stay at his side until he didn't want her there anymore. It was too much to hope that he would never be pulled away by something else. Her life had also taught her that that kind of faith in the fairness of life was foolish naivete. She tried to overcome that instinct, but it was always there in the back of her mind.

The need he felt for her was something that she could sense plainly, and it weighed on her. She was afraid that she would let him down, and that she would hurt him. And if something should happen to her, who would be there to take her place and keep him where he needed to be? She was afraid for him. If Slade should succeed in killing her, would he fall back into that dark place where she had first found him? The odds were definitely for it. She didn't speak of those thoughts. It was her burden to bear, and she bore it willingly. He needed her, and as tumultuous as life could be, she would try to stay strong for him.

"You mean more to me than I could ever say," she said. "I love you."

[William Talbot]

Will smiled at her and nodded; "I know... Thank you Violet, it means so much to me..." He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek softly before standing up straight he looked towards the Tower before whispering back at her; "I love you too Violet... More than words could ever express..."


He knew that they made each other stronger, and that soon, even if apart, they would be stronger than they where before, and while he mourned the past, and what it held, he looked towards the future, and it gave him just that much more hope in that future, as uncertain and clouded as it was, because he still had hope that things could get better, and that he could become a better person, with a little help from her...

{{{END}}}