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Feel the Silence

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Mercian

Mercian

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You generally have more free time in Uni because alot of the works supposed to be done individually and in your own time I guess..
I for one will be waiting patiently for an add.
Heck I've been waiting for add's for like two years.

20-Oct-2010 17:45:49

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Psh, it hasn't been THAT long. I'll have one up...soonish. :P I swear. Things are still really crazy.
In other news...I submitted a short story for publication to various magazines earlier in the summer, and it was accepted! I don't know where in the hell one would buy the George Washington Review (GWU's literary magazine) but if you happen to be in the area and see it...check it out. :D It'll be published in their fall issue, I don't know when that is, but...yeah. It's pretty cool ^_^

22-Oct-2010 01:47:05 - Last edited on 22-Oct-2010 01:47:43 by Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Lucas stared at the rafters of the barracks with his hands laced behind his head. Despite how aching and tired his body was, he couldn’t go to sleep. At least, he was beginning to realize, it wasn’t the full0body, paralyzing soreness that working out for the first time brought; it was a deep, thrilling ache that told Lucas he had done solid work today. Already, he could feel muscles building in his arms and legs, after only three weeks. His runs with Sorokin had gradually gotten easier, although he was still weak and quivering whenever they paused for water. So too had be become stronger in the workouts with Jonah in the afternoons, and for the first time, Lucas felt like he was finally learning something, finally becoming a real soldier.
He was also learning medicine. This was his favorite part of the day. He had always loved science, but he’d never had the opportunity to practice human anatomy. Now he learned how bodies were put together - and how they came apart. It was gruesome work, but he’d also begun to see some of his patients heal, and that gave him more pride than anything he had felt before. Sorokin taught him, guided him, and every day Lucas became more comfortable treating patients on his own.
And now, he was preparing to leave. The ship was repaired, the company was in good physical shape, and Lucas had had time to mentally prepare himself for what lay ahead. He’d built up his confidence. He’d stopped checking the mail every day. He had begun to understand what it meant to be a soldier. Every day, his sleep was more peaceful – the memories ceased to haunt him as much. He rarely saw Gavin, and he thought about Martin less and less. Everything that had happened still troubled him, but he’d begun to make peace with his mistakes and the things the war had made him do.

18-Nov-2010 22:19:59

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He thought he was ready. He could feel the energy coursing through his body. He wasn’t eager to fight or kill, but he felt secure about his ability to face this challenge. If only he could sleep.
Thoughts were just chasing through his mind non-stop, keeping him from the rest he desperately needed. For the first time in days, his mind returned to Justine, and the continued lack of letters from her. He conjured a picture of her in his mind and tried to imagine that she was lying next to him. His eyes fluttered shut as he drifted toward her in his mind, picturing her.

Her body lay half-sprawled across his, one hand lazily tracing patterns on his forearm, her cheek against his chest, her bare leg draped over his waist. The twisted sheet half-covered her body; his, barely at all. His hand rested lightly on her shoulder, his fingers tangled slightly in her hair.
“I should let you get back to work,” she murmured, after a long silence.
“I was due at the library over an hour ago,” Lucas said.
Her head jerked up. “Gods, why did*’t you tell me? Go!”
He pulled her back down, laughing. “It hardly matters now. I’d rather be here with you.”
“If you don’t take it seriously, they won’t let you study anymore!”
Lucas shrugged. “Come on, they all know how serious I am. I get a pass every once in awhile.”
“Which lesson was it?”
“One of the sciences.”
“Which?”
“Nothing terribly exciting.”
“I want to know.”
“Diseases…causes, types, treatments.*
*That’s fascinating. But…I thought you did*’t want to be a physician?”
“Well – no, but I just find it interesting to know about them.”
“You should have gone, Lucas!”
He hugged her closer. “You are much, much more interesting.”
She slithered up his body until her face was only inches from his. “Oh, really?”

18-Nov-2010 22:21:06

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
He reached up and traced the curves of her jaw with the pads of his fingers. “You, in fact, are quite beautiful,” he whispered, and kissed her. “I’d rather spend time with you any day.”
“Likewise,” she whispered, and nestled her face into the curve of his neck. “Your parents won’t be home soon, will they?”
“Not for awhile – they’re both working to prepare for that feast tonight.” He shifted away and glanced at her. “Are you going to that?”
Justine rolled away. “I don’t want to,” she said, drawing her knees to her chest.
“But you have to.”
“Damnit, Lucas, don’t you think I’d rather stay here with you?”
“Then stay!”
“I can’t. I have obligations.”
“You have your life,” he spat, “and I just don’t fit into it.”
“That’s not true!”
“Gods forbid they find out you were here with me instead—“
“You know my father doesn’t know.”
“Well maybe he should.”
“He’d kill you.”
Lucas scrambled out of bed and yanked on his trousers. “Don’t pretend you’re doing this for me. You’re ashamed of me! That’s why you work so hard to make sure nobody knows about us.”
She looked at him from the bed, sheets pooled around her waist, tears welling in her eyes. “You know what I am, Lucas, what’* expected of me—“
“It’s not something I want to flaunt either, just so you know—“
“Just stop.”
Lucas went to the desk and began stacking the books that were open there, organizing them by subject in a neat pile. “You should probably go, you have al—“
“Lucas.” She reached out her hand to him. “Lucas, I don’t want to go.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay.”
“Then I’ll go. But Lucas, I don’t want to.” She began to pull on her clothes.
“Okay.”
“We’ll work it out someday. But right now, we have to be careful. For both our sakes.” She was now fully dressed, and combed her fingers through her messy hair.
“Okay.”

18-Nov-2010 22:22:11

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
She crawled across the bed to stand behind him and pulled him around, sliding her arms around his neck and running her hands up and over his shoulders. She forced him to meet her gaze.
“What, Justine?”
“I love you,” she murmured, and kissed him soundly. “I really love you, okay?”
“Yeah, you too,” he muttered. “Go on.”
“Can I see you later?”
“I’ll be here.”
“I’ll stop by,” she said, then left the room. Lucas stared around at the silence left in her wake. There was no evidence that she had ever been there at all. It was shocking how quickly she could just disappear, with no trace left behind except the aching pain in his chest.

Lucas sat up in bed and wrapped his arms around his knees. There were tears on his cheeks. He sniffled loudly and reached for his nightstand, to pick up the letter, but stopped halfway there. He couldn’t spend all his time reading that letter. There weren’t going to be any more of them.
He sighed, looked around at the snoring soldiers, and forced himself to accept that he wouldn’t get any sleep tonight. He climbed off the cot and snuck outside. The night air was slightly cold, but Lucas found it refreshing from the oppressive heat of the daytime. He glanced at the sky, at the trees, and thought fall would be coming soon. He wouldn’t get to see it on Karamja, which he knew was tropical, but the changing of the seasons was something any northern-bred man could taste in the air.
He made a bitter face and spat. Good, he thought. He hated the fall.
He crouched in the dirt and picked up a twig, which he trailed lazily back and forth across his forearms. “Justine was never in it the way I was, was she?” he asked the air. “I would’ve given anything for her. I did. And for what?” He stabbed the twig into his skin. “Did I do the right thing? Should I have stayed with her? Would we still be happy together?”

18-Nov-2010 22:22:51

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
But instead, he stared at the clouds, and pondered that she was slipping away from him. Maybe he had pushed her away by joining the army. But he had to do it – even if not for Jstine, or her father, but for himself. As he examined the barracks around him, he accepted that this had begun to feel like home. He had begun to fit in here, to know and even like the people around him. Where would he be if he hadn’t joined? In the castle, studying, with Justine.
Was that really the life he wanted? Had they been as happy as he liked to imagine? It seemed like every memory e looked at ended in fighting or Gray intervening, or both. It wasn’t that they shouldn’t be together, but realistically, they could never have gone on the way they were. They would have fallen apart.
Here, he was growing, maturing, learning the world firsthand. He’d never seen another city besides Varrock, never experienced any of the places he’d read about in his books. Already, he had seen and learned so much. He knew what it meant to kill a man – he wasn’t sure what exactly that meant for him, but he felt changed inside. Maybe he’d just needed this for himself. Maybe he just needed to get away for awhile, grow on his own. Would Justine ever understand?
He realized the sky was beginning to turn light. Soon, the horn would summon them to the ship. Lucas rose, looking past the walls toward the harbor. He wanted to watch the sun come up, he realized. He clambered upright and jogged out through the gate toward the docks. The town was quiet and gray, the air wet with morning mist. He ran through the streets, looking at the closed houses, feeling the sea breeze ruffle his hair, the packed dirt road hard beneath his feet. He felt free, as though the weight was finally lifting off his shoulders after being settled there for weeks. He rounded a corner and reached the docks, where he saw a figure already sitting, legs dangling in the water.

18-Nov-2010 22:23:16

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