In Need of some 'Luck' [Rory]

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

It had been a little over a month since the two had returned to the school from the Himalayas. Since then, a few things had happened. The first being Freya's semi permanent residence at the school for several reasons. The first being that was where Rory was, and the second... Well she had Tari had sort of.... destroyed the hotel they'd been staying at.

Freya had also been starting to have some even more dramatic mood swings, which no one could explain. One thing that was obvious though, was they were getting worse as time went on. She wasn't acting out more violently then usual, no, she was just being far more moody. Everything she did somehow led to her being moody, even the most pleasurable of things! And whenever Freya was asked why, she just couldn't explain it. Every time she had been near Hazel though, the woman had started grinning, as if she knew something they didn't...

They'd finally decided to take some time away from the school, thinking it might just be all the students that were making her like this. So, now, they were going to Ireland. Rory had decided where they were going, for reasons he had yet to explain. She just thought he wanted to take her back to his home country, which was probably why, though he did seem a little nervous about it all..

They were in a rental car at the moment, Freya laying down in the back to hopefully keep her moods from flipping around like crazy. "You worried about something..?" This was probably the first thing she'd said since they'd gotten in the car, spending most of the time relaxing and half sleeping.

[Rory Ashe]

After they had gotten back from the Himalaya's, and destroyed Tari and Freya's hotel, the first few weeks were pure bliss. Freya was with him almost every second after she moved in and they... Snuck off alone quite a bit while she was there. It drastically improved Rory's mood, in fact, he occasionally showed compassion to the students in while in a Danger Room session... Occasionally. That was for the first few weeks though, then suddenly, everything seemed to get a bit strange.

One moment they would be very intimate and suddenly Freya's mood was drastically change. While that was normal, to an extent, how quickly and severely her moods would change wasn't. She would be bubbly one moment, then sulking the next, then angy, then happy again. It was making Rory's head spin trying to keep up. So finally he talked the Professor into letting him take Freya on a vacation, and decided to show her the place where he grew up.

The longer they had been in Ireland, the more he realized it was a bad idea though. Out of the entire country, there was only one person he knew he could trust... A former agent like Rory who had escaped their service. So Rory was headed to his house now, and taking every back road to get there. The Agency was thick in Ireland, they had several headquarters here, mostly looking for Rory and any other escaped agents.

When Freya finally spoke, Rory jumped slightly, his nerves on edge, "Eh... No, nothing's wrong, love... Just tired of being in the car." He said, glancing back at her with a soft smile, though something in his voice seemed to suggest something was wrong. It was getting dark, and they had been away from any civilization for a while now, driving on a dirt road to a place only Rory knew. The rolling green hills that were so beautiful during the day, were growing more intimidating as the sun fell. Thick fog coming in over the swamps and hills. Not to mention the almost permanent drizzle and heavy overcast that was common in Ireland, was still present, making that much darker. However, Rory liked it, it felt so much like home...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

It wasn't that Freya was intentionally being such a pain. She couldn't stop the mood swings, they just.... happened. Of course she'd apologized every single time her mood swings made her angry or overly depressed, she still felt horrible for it. Why was her mood so out of whack?! Maybe blaming the students was the best solution...

It didn't help that it really annoyed her that her current mood was overly depressed. She just wasn't able to enjoy their time yet. Hopefully her mood would flip around soon...

Freya barely even noticed Rory jumping when she spoke, though the way he spoke seemed to wake up her. She'd been in a daze much of the way, but his tone... She slowly sat up. Why did Rory sound so nervous? "You're lying." This time, there was little in her own tone, bare of all emotions, though that was probably due to her current depression.

[Rory Ashe]

Normally, Rory thought her sudden mood changes were funny, and interesting. They livened things up and made things change all the time. Now though, they were just too extreme. Though, it was almost as if she couldn't control them, so Rory was never mad at her... He just seemed to be in a constant state of confusion lately.

The worst was when she was depressed, like she seemed to be now. It wasn't like her to get depressed like this and it always upset Rory, making him wonder what was wrong. Though, right now, he was far more focused on the setting sun. In another ten minutes it would be completely black outside, that made him a little nervous.

"Uh..." Rory knew he couldn't lie to her that easily, she had been with him too long now and knew him much better than anyone else ever had... Well, at least she probably thought she did. "It's just that.... It's better to be inside when it gets dark out in the country, that's all." Rory said as he flipped the lights on, on the car.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya knew he hated it when she got in a slump like this, again, she just couldn't stop it from happening. It was completely infuriating that she couldn't stop these over dramatic mood swings. She missed Rory's entertaining reactions to them. Now.... the only reaction he ever seemed to have was confusion.

She also knew that he kept secrets from her. Sure, after the two had been together for this long she knew him far better then anyone at the school, she was still always aware of something missing... Holes in what she knew about him that she couldn't explain. But, they were his secrets after all. He'd tell her when, or if, he was ready. "If you say so..." Freya lay back down, staring at the ceiling of the car. "Sorry...." She was apologizing for her uncontrollable moods again...

[Rory Ashe]

By now, the sun was completely gone, and a wall of fog was in front of the car. It was so thick that the headlights could only pierce about 10 feet into it before it was as if it hit a wall. Rory muttered under his breath, they were getting close now. The road was getting more narrow and a bit rough now as well. Not to mention there were several different forks in the road every few hundred feet. In this fog, it would be impossible for anyone to know where they were going... Except for Rory.

What Freya said next shocked Rory a little, taking his concentration of the road for a moment and causing him to glance back at her, "Did ye.... Did ye just say sorry?!" Rory turned back to the road, "I didn't think ye knew how to say that..." He said with a slight smirk, trying to make her feel better.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

It really did get dark when the sun was completely set, so dark and foggy she couldn't figure out how Rory knew where he was going. But, she'd just have to trust him on this, after all he had grown up here. And when you knew a place that well, you didn't need that much light to know exactly where you were.

She just raised an eyebrow at his shock. Seriously? Why was he so shocked?! But.. he hadn't exactly heard her say the word before now... Really though, was it that surprising? None the less, she did smile a little, her mood lightening when the smile turned into a laugh. "God... I hate this..." She meant her mood swings. Of course she was more then happy to be able to spend time away from the school with Rory again, this time hopefully with out to much trouble, but her moods were really putting a damper on things.

[Rory Ashe]

By now the fog was so thick that it was almost making it impossible to see the road. It would only be a few moments now before they were there, if the fog was any indication. He had to admit, this was probably one of the best defenses around. Not only did the fog make it impossible to know where you were driving, but it also made it impossible to use any sort of night vision or thermal imaging. He was sure that probably made the Agency mad.

Rory grinned a bit when Freya laughed, he loved making her smile, it was worth almost anything. Even more so when she was in a depressed mood like this. "Don't worry, lass. Nothing can make ye forget yer worries like Ireland... Besides, I think we're just both a bit burned out from all those teenagers." He had to admit, they could get incredibly annoying at times.

Suddenly, the fog got so thick you could barely see the front of the car. Rory grinned slightly and stopped, "We're here!" He said, turning off the engine and cutting off the lights. Between the fog, the overcast, and the fact that the sun was gone, it was as iff a black wall was engulfing the car making it impossible to see... Yet Rory seemed to be in a very happy mood as he opened the door and stepped into the dark abyss.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

It really was one of those times when you needed a good laugh, or a laugh in general, even if she had to force it a little. It made her feel at least a little better. Not to mention it always made Rory happy when he helped her get out of these slumps that were becoming far to frequent.

"Yeah.... Let's blame the students." At least they'd have something to blame then! She wasn't sure though if that was really what it was, seeing as her mood swings had only just begun two weeks ago, and she'd been at the school a month at that point.

How did Rory know they were there when the fog was so blasted thick? She sat up again, her mood starting to change again, her depressed slump replaced by pure confusion. "And how do you know that when you can't see anything?" Her eyebrows were both raised as he got out of the car. With a sigh, she slid over towards the door on the same side as him, opening it and slipping out. First thing that happened... was she just about tripped.

[Rory Ashe]

"It's not that hard to do actually..." He said with a slight smirk, he often blamed the students for a variety of things. Most of the teenagers had some form of ADD anyways in Rory's opinion, so it was easy to blame them for almost anything and they wouldn't remember so they would think it was their fault. It was a fun game for Rory, but he had a sick sense of humor.

Rory stood by the door as Freya stepped out of the car, after all, he wasn't just going to leave her and walk into the darkness without her knowing where he went. It wsa a good thing he waited for her too because as soon as she stepped out he had to catch her as she tripped. Wrapping an arm around her to help her back to her feet, and it didn't leave her when he helped her back up.

"Careful... It looks like solid ground, but it's not." Rory said, glancing at his feet which were almost covered by fog. Though if one looked closely they would see that the longer the stood on the ground, the more water began to come up out of it, and it wasn't from the drizzling rain that was coming down. "We're basically standing on a giant floating mound of grass and swamp... Welcome to Ireland." He said with a grin as he led her into the darkness. In only seconds the car disappeared from sight and the only that could be seen was the ground and each other, "I know we're here because I've been here before... This was me home a long time ago.." Long time ago was an understatement.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

It didn't surprise Freya all that much that Rory had been waiting by her door, because before she could face plant it in the mud Rory's arm was already around her, catching her. It was a good thing he'd caught her as quickly as he had, otherwise she would have probably been gotten herself covered in mud and water.

"A swamp... Great..." She could feel the depression returning again. Swamps weren't exactly that cheerful after all. She didn't have time to dwell on it though, because Rory was immediately leading her off to who knew where. All she knew was that they quickly lost sight of the car, the only thing visible to her being him. "Yeah, hopefully the car doesn't sink." Swamps did have a habit of sinking things after all..

His last comment caught her off guard though. He'd lived here? It was a swamp though! And it was so foggy.... Well, no wonder he knew his way around so well! "Really?" Was the only thing she could bring herself to say. Surely though, there must be a shelter of some kind out here. Why else would Rory be leading them off, deeper into the swamp in the middle of the night?

[Rory Ashe]

As Rory thought about it, Ireland probably wasn't the best place to bring someone who was depressed. With very little sun and rain almost every day for eight months out of the year, thick fog, and swamps it wasn't exactly the most welcoming or 'cheerful' place. Though, you had to give Rory credit for trying, he wasn't exactly good at this making people happy thing.

"Aye, it was... Quite a bit different from when I lived here, though, it was on the same land." He said with a slight nod, most of Ireland was different than when he lived her. Back then the land was far more dangerous, not to mention when he grew up here all the castles were still being used.

After several minutes of walking the fog seemed to clear up slightly until suddenly it seemed to clear off and they were standing in a large clearing. Ahead of them was a massive, almost haunting, mansion and the lights in the windows were the only things that stood out against the dark and the rain. All around the mansion and behind them the wall of seemingly impenetrable fog remained. Rory stared up at the impressive building, "...Better than an inn in the Himalaya's eh?" He asked with a slight grin.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya wasn't always depressed, it was just certain things tipped her towards certain emotions at the moment. It wouldn't be all that surprising if something small happened and she was suddenly furious or bubbly. With a deep breath though, she managed to clear her head of much of the depression, slowly growing a little more cheerful. She wouldn't let some weather bring her down again!

It didn't seem long though before the fog started to thin a little, then, with out any warning, the fog was behind them. They could finally see farther then a foot now, but what Freya saw left her stunned. Why was a mansion out here...? "I don't know... the inn didn't look haunted..." She was grinning though, her mood suddenly cheerful again. "Do we have to worry about ghosts?" Suddenly she realized something. Why were the lights on? "Does someone live here?"

[Rory Ashe]

Rory had already begun walking toward the mansion, the hand holding Freya's helping to lead the way for her. It looked as though the mansion had gotten bigger since Rory saw it last, with a few new additions. Though, the best part of it was hidden by the fog, but they would be able to see it tomorrow. Rory kept glancing behind him toward the fog as they walked toward the mansion, it really was a bad idea to come to Ireland, especially if he was going to be this nervous all the time.

What Freya said made Rory laugh, though she probably wouldn't understand what was so funny. "No, ye don't need to worry about ghosts... The fog messes up their scanners." He said with another laugh, knowing he was probably confusing her, but he wasn't going to elaborate. "Aye, someone lives here... And he's far scarier than any ghost." Not to mention one of the few people Rory could get along with, which is scary by itself. Finally they were at the massive double doors into the mansion, and Rory lightly rapped on the door before glancing at Freya with a grin.

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya stayed close behind him, though it wasn't like she had much of a choice with him holding her hand and pulling her along. She did notice though that he kept looking over his shoulder, as if expecting something to happen, or someone to jump out. He really was jumpy... Ever since they'd arrived actually. Why? It was probably best not to question it though, just in case it was something he didn't want to talk about.

Rory really was being secretive and confusing. The fog messing up their scanners? What in the world was he talking about? "You like confusing me, don't you?" No, that was an understatement. He probably loved it after all the torment she put him through when she was in a good enough mood. Sadly though, that hadn't been very often lately, on the bright side? She seemed to be heading in that direction emotionally. As long as nothing ruined her mood.

"Scarier then a ghost huh?" She snickered, shaking her head. Who was this person exactly? Rory seemed to like whoever this man was well enough, by the way he spoke, which was an extremely rare occurrence. She wasn't sure what to think anymore, especially since the only people Rory seemed to get along with were rather... trigger happy to put it nicely, like Freya. And now she'd get to meet another person Rory liked? This just might be something to worry about...