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Date Posted: 10:47:21 03/24/02 Sun
Author: Erlic Eastlore
Subject: Life's junction
In reply to: Jade 's message, "Crossroads" on 13:54:52 03/22/02 Fri

As Erlic continued to investigate the room, he had noticed Jade head directly for a bookshelf, and realized she was spending a considerable amount of time there. From the angle he was at, she was holding a tome, and he could only surmise that it was the object of her desire, the object she had been hired to retrieve, the object that would now separate the two of them.

Since Ravin, and Isobel were occupied, he slowly made his way toward Jade, coming to a stop directly behind her, and looking over her shoulder to see the most unusual tome. “This is it, darling," she said softly. "What I came for."

Her tone of voice didn’t sound too encouraging for someone who had finally found the needle in the haystack that they had been searching for so long. The words had been spoken more out of regret, then out of exuberance, and the guild master wondered at her demeanor. He wondered if perhaps she realized that leaving would be inevitable, and the friendship that they had sustained, amongst other things, would come to an abrupt end. It was part of life’s fallacy, which meant that certain matters regardless of how enjoyable they were, or not, had to be reckoned with.

He kissed the top of her head, and gently placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to give her some amount of comfort. As in the past, like Silk, and Onyx, Erlic had experienced a mutual friendship with the two women. But the three of them were all assassins, and all three had their separate ways to travel, and a form of relationship, other than sheer friendship for a one-night stand, was not conceivable. They all had their work cut out for them, and they all traveled.

Erlic had realized that those times, especially when he was able to converse, and spend enjoyable time in the company of a woman, were few, and far. He had maintained to keep those memories for it was all he had to go on, just the memories. Grant it they might meet, after some six or eight months, but it always seemed like a new experience, each trading tales of various assignments until they were too tired. Then, they would pursue an exercise in lovemaking until the following morning, when one or the other would be gone again.

The time with Jade, although brief, had been quite enjoyable, and he suddenly realized he knew nothing about the woman, her likes, dislikes, beliefs, pleasures, all of these he had no conception of. He actually thought she might be around a bit for him to pursue these questions. But now she stood in front of him, staring at the tome she had been seeking. He really didn’t know what to say, although congratulation would be in order, but the sound of the word brought a bad taste to his mouth. Rather, he wrapped his hands around the woman, and simply held her for a while, her back to him, as she held the tome, and considered what plan of action to take.

Erlic whispered in her ear so that only she may hear the words. “Life is a difficult journey,” he began. “We are journeying on its river, and we don’t know what will be around each bend for us. Others have charted it, others have made poetry, history, commerce, and war on its waters and shores, but what will each of us do? That is not yet known.”

He knew the truth deep down, that Jade would have to leave, probably immediately. He was also sure that the journey would probably be long, and he realized he would miss her dearly. Now, what happened after that was anyone’s guess, as was the guessing of life’s path. Nothing could determine the course one was to take; it wasn’t something that was preordained. Yes we could guess what might happen in the end, but one could never guess what might transpire during the course of each, and every day of life.

“So when do you leave,” Erlic asked a bit hesitantly, realizing that it was quite inevitable. As with most of the people he met in life, they only lasted for a brief moment, with some rare exceptions. This group as it currently existed had been here for a while, and it seemed they would remain until the major task was over. He had hoped that with Jade, but she had her own path to follow, and he could only keep the memories of the time they shared close to his soul.

“More important,” he stated as an afterthought. “Will you ever be returning?”

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