Baiting the Trap [Freya]

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya’s mind was reeling, back against the wall, and trying to come up with a plan. She needed a way out of this mess. But seeing as she still couldn’t use her powers…. Yup, she was doomed.

She didn’t flinch as he started to swing the blade down towards her, just brace herself for a whole lot of pain…. It never came. Instead, the strangest thing happened. Rory, she was sure it was him because of his behavior, headbutted the man, knocking him from the helicopter.

Freya stared at him for a moment as he just lay there. She didn’t feel that sorry for him, the woman thinking he deserved it. She was a bit sadistic at the moment, if you couldn’t tell. When she had a hold of the stun rod, she’d even considered using it on Rory, just for payback… It probably wouldn’t surprise him that much, but it’d definitely upset him.

Instead of acting on any of these sadistic schemes, she just leaned against the wall of the helicopter a little heavier, staring down at her hand that was covered in her own blood. ”Great…. I blame you for this…” She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. ”Where’s the helicopter going…?”

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

Finally, everything seemed to be over. Either that or Rory was actually falling out of the helicopter to impending doom. Either way, it beat the hell out of fighting with no arms. After several minutes, when the world finally stopped spinning, Rory heard Freya's voice, she was alive! Immediately the helmet on his suit seemed to melt away revealing the real Rory's face.

"Yer alive! Haha! Yer alive! I was so scared I'd lost yet, alainn!" Rory said, showing more emotion than he had in a very very long time. Usually he was like a statue, emotionless. Now however a large smile was spread across his face as he looked up at Freya.

"Technically this is all yer fault love, I told ye to stay home... As fer the helicopter..." Rory leaned his head back, looking at the empty cockpit, then back up at Freya, "Ih's mos' likely headed for the Agency's main base. Are ye ok, they didn't hurt ye did they?" Rory said with a broad grin at Freya, he was trully ecstatic that she was alive.

Slowly he got up into a kneeling position, trying to writhe out of the bands that were binding his arms. Almost immediately red lights began flashing inside the helicopter and loud siren sound from the cockpit blared into the bay of the helicopter. Rory froze in place, "Alainn... Get these bands off me, hurry!" Rory said, hopping on his knees so that his back faced Freya, revealing a clasp that locked the two bands in place. If that alarm was what he thought it was, it meant that he and Freya were going to go from flying, to falling...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Rory was…. Freakishly chipper. Now, he had his cheerful moments but this…. Was enough to startle the French woman. Great…. Those blows to the head had made him loopy. And just because he was loopy, didn’t mean she forgave him. Quite the opposite. Even though he couldn’t help it, his enthusiasm was more like a stab to the heart, as if he’d completely forgotten what he’d said to her…

She didn’t reply to that first comment, just gave him the dirtiest look he’d probably ever received from her. Even his second remark fell on deaf ears. It was only when he mentioned her being hurt that she twitched. ”Oh, I’m just peachy. Right as rain, really.” The fact that she used a water metaphor was her own, sarcastic way of saying ‘Nope, kind of bleeding here, but I’m sure I’ll be fine if I don't bleed to death’.

And finally, a siren went off, red lights flashing overhead. Well, that couldn’t be good. Another thing to add to her list of ‘Why today is the worst day ever’. ”What, no please?” Okay, she was being a bitch now, but you couldn’t blame her. None the less, Freya knew that he probably knew what he was doing, and needed his hands to do it. And as much as she would love to leave him bound, she really couldn’t afford it. Not unless she was keen on dying. With a sigh, she stepped up behind him, using both hands to force the clasp undone and freeing Rory from his restraints.

Rory free, she sat against the wall, closing her eyes. ”I’ll just wait here. Tell me when we’re about to die so I can at least think up a few good last words.”

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

As Freya finally released the clasp on the steel bands around Rory's arms, he stretched them, before pushing himself to his feet. It really made one appreciate how much one used their appendages when... One could no longer use said appendages. With his arms free again he could take on a whole slew of Ghosts. First though he probably should address the problem of the alarm, but before he could do that he grabbed Freya and pulled her into an embrace whether she wanted it or not.

"Listen, everythin' I said back there..." The alarm buzzed loudly, cutting Rory off, "And tha's why I..." The alarm cut Rory off again, "Don't like you... should've died... All your fault... Ok?" Rory said, continuing to talk through the alarm, as he finished he realized that she probably wasn't hearing half of what he said. "I should probably take care o' the alarm first, eh?" He said with a smirk, walking to the cockpit.

Rory was only in the cockpit for about half a second before he walked back out, a little pale in the face, all hint of happiness gone, replaced with a determined look. However, the alarm had stopped at least. Rory made his way back to the back of the helicopter and rifled through everything back there. After a moment he came back with numerous weapons holstered on him. He had everything from guns to several bladed weapons as well.

Slowly he walked over and knelt down beside Freya, calmly looking over her cut. It was a deep wound but she was going to be okay, he didn't have time to bandage it right now though. It seemed that the blunt for trauma to his brain from head banging had worn off and he was back to his calm, cool self... a calm cool self that had to stick to a plan.

"Listen... I know I said a lo' back at the police station but I dunnit have time ta explain right now. Ye have ta know tha' I do care about ye though and..." Rory looked at the open helicopter door, then at the cockpit, "Do ye trust me, alainn?" Rory asked, he had to have her cooperate with what he was about to do for it to work, otherwise it'd kill both of them, which would be terrible. Well, it would be terrible for Freya anyways...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya didn’t expect, nor like, Rory pulling her into his arms. He hated her after all! Or so he’d lead her to believe…

The next bit… Was beyond confusing. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to tell her, because everything she heard only made the whole thing ten times worse. But, considering the alarm was blaring into their ears, she was pretty sure she’d missed some pretty crucial information in there. Trying not to jump to conclusions, she tried to fill in the blanks. Either he was trying to cover his ass, and take back what he said, or he was making it worse. She really didn’t know. ”Probably…” Was all she muttered in reply to him saying he should turn off the alarm before trying to explain himself.

It wasn’t that reassuring when he came back though… Sure, he’d managed to turn the alarm off… But… Yeah, that look said ‘We got to jump, or we die.’. How sad was it that she actually considered staying in the helicopter just because Rory was bailing?

He was arming himself with the weaponry form the back, looking like he was ready to take on a country. Hell, maybe that was what he was trying to do, he’d left her in the dark about these ‘Ghosts’ and such since day one. She didn’t know who, or what they were. Who they worked for. Nothing. Maybe that was a good thing. Or… Bad. Considering she’d been targeted twice by them. It’d be nice to know just who it was that had almost killed her once, and kidnapped her a second.

Either way, she just stared at him with that same extremely dark glare from before. ”I don’t really have a choice here, do I?” She paused for a moment, sighing. ”If I die, I’m coming back to haunt you. If you do… You kind of deserve it.” Freya was being pretty harsh on the poor guy. Sadly…. Considering how upset and betrayed she felt, it was expected behavior…

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

"Ouch...." Was all that he said to her comment. Not much else you could say to something like that really. Not only did it sting a little, it pretty much summed up exactly how Freya felt about himRory wasn't smiling anymore, as reality really set in he knew nothing he could say right now would make her feel any better. If she really wanted to act like that, he was going to let her. He wasn't going to try to explain himself to someone who was being as receptive as a brick wall.

Rory sighed a little, standing up and turning his back toward Freya. Slowly his helmet began to crawl back over his face, covering it once more, "There are eight sidewinder missiles tracking us right now and will make contact in less than a minute. We are being tracked by another Agenc... Another helicopter that was at the police station." The cold metallic voice said, he didn't have time to explain what the Agency was yet, "Grab onto my back, hold on for your life, we jump now." Rory said, giving her a moment to grab on.

Without a second of hesitation, Rory ran for the door, doing a perfect swan dive out of it. The moment they left the helicopter, a noise so loud that it could've shattered your ear drums, filled the air. The helicopter seemed to simply disentigrate as the missiles slammed into it. As Rory fell though, he didn't look back, holding his arms and legs out spread eagle. Suddenly a sort of webbing spread between his arms and waist, and between his legs. Immediately the wind hit the webbing and began slowing their decent.

It wasn't going to be that easy though, through the smoke of the destroyed helicopter, the remaining Agency helicopter flew through; giving chase to Rory and Freya. It caught up to them in seconds and opened fire with two very large fifty-caliber machine guns. "Damnit... HOLD ON!" Rory shouted to Freya, rolling in mid-air so that now his back was facing the ground and his face was pointed toward the oncoming helicopter; which was getting closer by the second.

Rory reached down and unholstered a PP-19 sub-machine gun, with an underbarrel grenade launcher... One of his favorites, and opened fire on the chopper. Sparks showered the helicopter as the wall of bullets sprayed the windshield and body. It didn't do anything to the vehicles armor plating, but it did make it harder for the pilot to see, which gave time for Rory to really take aim. Take aim he did, sliding his hand down to the second trigger underneath the barrel and giving a light squeeze.

A grenade shot out of its launcher and flew upwards through the air at the oncoming helicopter, slamming into the windshield with perfect accuracy and exploding. The explosion shattered the windshield and broke off several of the vehicles propellors, causing the entire helicopter to explode. Well that was easy enough, now he and Freya just had to avoid the falling wreckage of the helicopter and get to the ground before the giant fireball above them consumed them... Piece of cake.

Rory rolled back over in the air and spread out his arms and legs again, slowing their descent and manuevering as far away from the wreckage as possible. As the ground got closer and closer it appeared to be covered in trees and... snow? "Hold on tight, this is gonna get rough!" Rory yelled again, barely finishing before he unavoidably slammed into the top of the first tree. The tree ripped his webbing and caused him to free fall straight through the branches of several other trees and into the ground. As he fell though, he reached onto his back and pulled Freya into a bear hug, wrapping himself around her; completely covering ever inch of her that he could and squeezing her as tight as possible.

Then came the impact. Rory hit on his back, thankfully he was holding Freya to his chest by then. The impact however, was so jarring it knocked his grip loose on her. Several pieces of Rory's suit had been ripped off, revealing his leg, arm and part of his face; his eyes were visibly closed under the torn helmet as he lay limp on the ground. Behind he and Freya the wreckage of the helicopter tore through the trees and slammed into the ground only ten or twenty feet away. Soon though, the chaos came to an end, and the only sound in the frozen forest was the sound of the crackling fire fom the helicopter explosion...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Was Freya supposed to act ‘normally’ towards Rory? After what he’d done? After breaking her heart? Really, it was amazing she could even act spiteful towards him right now. Not to mention, he hadn’t really tried to convince her that it was all just an act to get her to leave for her own safety. She might understand then. Sure, she’d still be heartbroken and furious, but at least she could get over it then. Freya didn’t hate him, not in the least, she still loved him with all her heart. That love was just…. Wounded right now though.

”……” She didn’t say anything, just silently obeyed. This really wasn’t the time to argue, or bite his head off. He was trying to get both of them out of this alive, after all! With a sigh, she got up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and neck… and held on like her life depended on it (it did), because the next moment, he’d dived out the door, Freya hanging on for dear life.

All the stunts Rory pulled in the flight weren’t seen. Freya wasn’t looking. She normally loved heights, considering she could use her power to fly, but when you were suddenly faced with the realization that you couldn’t use your powers, and would ‘splat’ if anything went wrong… Well, you learned to appreciate, and exercise, the ability to just close your eyes. All Freya knew, was Rory was yelling at her to hold on, followed by even more mid air rolls, and then… gun fire. Sadly, that wasn’t enough to make her look.

Strangely, she couldn’t help but think this was a little crazy. Rory shooting at a helicopter as they fell to what could be their (specifically hers) death. That thought alone made her hold on tighter, which was pretty good timing, because he was yelling at her once again. Yanked off his back, and into his arms, she couldn’t help what happened next. She clung to him, as tightly as she could. It wasn’t because she was afraid, or powerless though. It was because…. Well this was the man she loved. He’d broken her heart, but she still loved him. Nothing would change that.

The impact was rough, to put it nicely. Even Freya, who’d been slightly more protected then Rory, felt a few ribs crack, her body screaming in protest. It didn’t help that she’d already been in pretty rough shape as is. But… At least she wasn’t the one landing first. Still, even Rory couldn’t hang on to her through that impact, and she was sent tumbling, much to her battered body’s dismay. She’d blacked out for a few moments, only brought back by the helicopter’s crash landing. Groaning she opened her eyes. Well, at least they’d landed on snow…. Better then rock.

Sitting up, she winced. She’d taken quite the beating throughout the day, and everything was just stacking up against her now. Still… They weren’t out of the woods yet (pun not intended…). Looking around, she spotted Rory laying unconscious, or maybe even dead, only a few feet away.

With more wincing, and even having to bite back a yelp, Freya managed to get onto her hands and knees, carefully crawling over to where Rory lay, still out. ”You are….. The stupidest and craziest man I’ve ever met….” She paused, not speaking to him, seeing as he was as good as dead to the world right now. ”So why can’t I bring myself to hate you…?” It’d probably be very awkward for her (or so she was thinking) if Rory managed to wake up just in time to hear her talking to herself…

All the while, she prayed that none of the ‘Ghosts’ had survived the second helicopter crash. They’d be in big trouble if even one did…

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

The impact onto the ground had been bad for Rory, as he was still alive. Though he was falling incredibly fast when he hit, he wasn't falling fast enough that his suit couldn't absorb a large amount of energy from the hit. That being said he hadn't died, unfortunately, he was just knocked out. That was unfortunate because had he died, it probably would've taken about five minutes or so to wake back up. Under his current condition though, he could be out for hours; especially after exerting himself like that.

There was a bright side to this all though. Due to Rory's mid-air combat, when the helicopter hit the ground it had completely pulverized all of the ghosts inside. That didn't mean it still wasn't a desperate situation, they were lost in, well there was no idea where they were. They had been flying for an hour or more before the helicopter crashed. They were out of the frying pan, but it looked as though they may have just fallen into the fire; and this fire consisted of snow and a forest.

Quite a bit of time passed in silence, Rory was completely unconscious the entire time. Though, his chest rising and falling was barely visible, giving sign that he was in fact alive. His suit had already repaired itself, completely covering his body once more. It seemed that Freya's "Knight in Shining Armor" was out like a light. Thankfully their only company were the nearby dead bodies of the Ghosts, or so it seemed.

Suddenly, standing in the clearing where Rory was passed out was a tall suited figure. How he had gotten there so suddenly and without any noise was something to question, but the fact that he was there made it so that questioning something like that would be bad at a time like this. "Well, what do we have here?" The ghost spoke up finally, staring at the body of Rory, then looking up at the wounded Freya.

Slowly the man began to step toward her, "I could've reported this in by now, but you know what? I was promised that I could have some fun with you..." The man spoke, making it clear that he was the one who had been on top of Freya in the helicopter. He continued to make his way toward Freya, grabbing a small rod that hung on his hip and pulling it out... a stun rod.

As he got closer to Freya he activated the baton, it crackled to life as he did so. Then without warning he lunged forward and slammed it into her, though he didn't make contact long enough to knock her out... No, he wanted her awake for this. After all, Rory wasn't the only one skilled in torture. Once she was down he knelt down, then sat on top of her, rolling her onto her back, "Remember me?" Despite the cold metallic sound of his voice, the words dripped from his mouth like a poison.

Without wasting time he grabbed her shirt again and pulled it down, ripping the front off. Slowly, claws extended from his hands, much like Rory's suit, but a bit smaller. He ran his hand down her chest, leaving deep scratch marks and drawing a little blood. It was enough to cause serious pain, but it wouldn't kill her. As he hit her bra it got cut but he didn't stop, continuing to roughly cut down her body until he got to her pants. This ghost was going to make her suffer for what they did while they were in the helicopter.

Slowly, the ghost activated the stun rod again and brought it up to Freya's head, leaning in he whispered, "I want to hear you scr-" Before the man could finish there was a loud crunch of snow behind him, he whirled his head around to see a tall dark figure. Before he could make a move though, something felt strange, and a voice spoke, "Scream?" The man finished the Ghosts sentence for him.

The Ghosts head slowly looked down at his chest to see... a hand? Yes, a hand was sticking through the mans chest, holding his heart. "I always keep a promise..." The man spoke, jerking his hand out of the cavity he made in the Ghost, causing the ghost to collapse to the ground. When he did, he fully revealed the figure of Rory, still holding the mans beating heart.

Rory squeezed the heart, crushing it and tossing it aside before kneeling down beside Freya, "We gotta get to cover... I'm going to carry you." Without asking for permission, Rory scooped her up in his arms and held her close to him. He activated one of his suits defenses, one Freya had seen before, causing the outside of his suit to heat up rapidly... usually it was used to fight the cold or a mutant that controlled water and ice, now it was being used for Freya. He held her close and tight to his body, "Your powers should be returning soon, but you still need bandaging." Was all Rory said as he marched to some unknown destination.

Rory was unusually quiet considering he just saved Freya's life numerous times, but he figured she was still upset with him. He didn't want to invoke more of her wrath, so he simply kept silent until she actually wanted to hear what he had to say...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Rory was totally out. Great. And, seeing as his chest was moving, he was still alive. She wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. Good, because… She hated it when he died. Bad because it meant he was just as injured as she was.

Freya was scowling, wincing as she just lay on her side. Obviously, he’d be out for a while. Might as well get comfortable while she waited. Sadly, fate obviously wasn’t done torturing her today. One of the ghosts had survived… Just not one she had thought of.

”I’ve already had enough excitement for one day. Why don’t you come back later?” Even seriously injured, Freya was her normal self. Like Rory surviving, that was good and bad. Good, because, it meant she was that close to dying. Bad, because she usually angered the person, making the whole thing a lot worse.

Gritting her teeth, her body trembled violently as more electricity wreaked havoc on her body. It was short though, which was a relief. Still, with the newest addition of torture, she was finally at the point where she couldn’t even bring herself to lift her arms. Why couldn’t he just kill her and be done with it..? She winced as she was rolled over. ”I wish I didn’t….” She mentally tried to prepare herself for whatever was about to come.

As if she wasn’t in enough pain already…

Biting back all sound, she refused to make a single sound as he raked those claws across her flesh. God, it hurt…. But she was silent… She hated to admit it, but she was praying for Rory to wake up. To ‘rescue’ her. Even if he had broken her heart…

She had realized something while they fell to what could have been both of their deaths. If what he’d said before was true, he wouldn’t have cared if she lived or died. He wouldn’t protect her from the Ghosts (Sadly, the one who’d been after her in the helicopter had come back for revenge.). And he wouldn’t have shielded her during their fall. So why…. Why did he say the things he did? Why did he intentionally try to break her heart? She’d just have to ask him if she survived.

Or, when she got rid of the heart he was holding.

Freya stared at him, silently asking herself when she’d grown used to his gruesome antics… After a moment though, she just sighed, the first sound she’d made since she last spoke, in relief. ”You’re timing couldn’t have been better….” He’d probably notice that she didn’t sound nearly as angry with him as before. ”I sort of figured…” You usually needed bandages when you were injured after all!

There was an awkward silence for several minutes as he carried her, Freya actually at a loss of words. What was she supposed to say to him? ”If you didn’t mean it… Why did you say all those things..?” Well, the first thing that came to mind was a good idea. It was the only question she wanted answered. Mean while, she could feel her powers starting to return, starting with her awareness of temperatures.

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

The last twenty-four hours had probably been that absolute most exciting that Rory has had in quite some time, and probably the most exciting that Freya has ever experienced. Exciting being the only word Rory could think of to fit the situation. Less the twenty-four hours ago, he and Freya were stripping each other and engaging in some of the most passionate love making that Rory had ever had with Freya (as far as he could remember).

After that, Rory shattered her heart, and the Ghosts shattered the police station. Then came the fight in the helicopter, then the explosions, the mid-air battle with another helicopter, and crash landing in who knows where. That was all just a quick recap of the action as well, barely getting into what really happened. Yes, it was definitely the most itneresting day Rory had ever had... Well maybe not ever, but it was definitely in the top five... maybe ten.

Now though, things had finally calmed down, for lack of better word. They were still lost, Rory's suit was malfunctioning so he couldn't get a read on their location yet, and Freya was severely injured and barely had any clothes on her torso... Compared to what just happened though, this was equal to relaxing on a beach in Rio.

There was total silence in the forest, save for the crunching of snow under Rory's boots. They had long since left the wreck of the chopper behind them and there had been an awkward silence between he and Freya for at least a good few miles. The silence left Rory to his thoughts, which wasn't a good thing right now. It left him thinking about what he had done to Freya, and just why exactly she had even come to the police station to start this mess.

Finally, the sound of a French accent broke the silence, startling Rory out of his thoughts as the woman in his arms spoke up. Rory didn't look down at her as she spoke, instead he simply continued his march toward the edge of thhe forest; or at least what he thought was the edge. What she said caught his attention though, not just what she said but the WAY she said it. The tone in her voice was... different now.

"To really explain why I said those would be a long story." Rory said with a cold metallic voice, his helmet was still up the entire time he had been carrying her, and still spattered with blood but at least he could see now.

"To put it simply, I was trying to save you. I knew they were coming, I wanted them to come, I was setting a trap for them and using myself as the bait. Consequently, my actions also would have saved you from extreme persecution by the government." Rory spoke calmly, and without any emotion.

Still though, one thing became apparent, he had yet to mention just why exactly he told her those things. Realizing that he softly spoke again, "I said those things to you to get you to hate me, to get you to leave me... I was trying to keep all of this..." Rory said, finally looking down at Freya and looking over her wounds before looking back up, "From happening... I wanted them to come for me, not you."

For now, that was all Rory said, letting Freya do what she wanted with what information he gave her. If she really was willing to listen and not be angry anymore, he would probably explain more, if not there was no more point in talking. One thing that was interesting though, was that Rory had never told Freya just who they were. They had attacked he and her several times, always going after Rory but trying to get Freya in the process, but he had never told her just exactly who they were. Then again, Rory wasn't sure if Freya was really ready to know that...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Yeah, interesting and exciting were a great way to put the last day and a half. Eventful was another good word. Either way, Rory was right to guess this was probably the craziest 24 hours of her life.

She fell silent as she waited for some sort of explanation. What she didn’t expect though, was an almost dodgy answer. ”We’re in the middle of nowhere. Plenty of time.” Who knew how long they’d be out here, after all. If he didn’t share, it was because he didn’t want to, not because there wasn’t enough time.

Freya listened as she started to ‘sort of’ explain, giving vague answers that only made her more curious. Why were they after him to begin with? Who were ‘they’? Why did one of them look almost exactly like him? Not to mention, he failed to answer her first quest- Never mind. He’d caught himself.

She wasn’t sure how to respond for several moments, the silence between them returning as she was left to her own thoughts, trying to come up with an answer. Finally, she sighed, looking up at him. ”For being a methodical mastermind, you’re an idiot…” She looked back down, closing her eyes as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Shifting a little, she winced. Okay, even moving a tiny bit was a bad idea. ”I can handle the persecution, the pain, even dying if I have to. But if you ever try to make me hate you again, even if it’s for my own good. I’ll kill you.” It wasn’t that big of a threat when he came back, but she rarely tried to harm him, let alone kill him…

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

Nothing ever seemed to completely work out according to plan. That's why when you were making a plan, you had to account for every variable you could think of. Rory had done that, spending weeks planning every possible outcome except for one... This one. So it was only fitting that the one thing he hadn't planned for would be the one thing to happen.

Though, in truth, as upset as he seemed that Freya basically ruined his plan he was beyond happy that she was alright. What he wasn't showing though, was that deep down, hidden, he was happy she was here too. It was a risk to her life and his, with her being her, but... He was glad. Of course, he wouldn't tell her that and would do anything to protect her, even from herself.

After he had spoken, there was another long awkward silence. This time though, it was obvious she was thinking. When she finally did break the silence, it caused Rory to pause in his walk and actually look down at her. Though it was impossible to tell what he was thinking, behind his mask he was smiling. Freya was the only person he knew that could make a threat to him like that and live, not to mention the only person he would ever risk so much to save.

"Freya, you don't understand. Where I am going... There is pain and suffering on a level that you can't comprehend. I was saving you from a fate that is worse than any death." Rory said, somewhat mysteriously, he didn't want to tell her too much... but maybe he should. Slowly he began walking again, getting closer to the edge of the forest now.

"And I wanted you to hate me because... I likely go to my death. My true death." Finally he admitted it, and finally he admitted that he could actually be killed; he wondered if Freya even knew that. "Those Ghosts we fought back there were only scouts... Scouts of a much larger force." Rory spoke slowly, hesitently, as if telling her things he wasn't sure he should. "That's why you can't stay with me, you have to go home..."

Finally they arrived at the edge of the forest. A small distance away was what looked like a little village of some sort. Normally Rory avoided towns, but considering Freya's current condition, they had to risk it. So once again he began marching forward, this time to an obvious destination. As he walked, he held Freya a little tighter. If only she knew how much he cared for her, how much he... loved her. Love... It was a strong word and yet Rory couldn't deny that he felt it, though he hadn't actually said it. Amazing he only knew the woman for a few months at best and he had fallen for her this hard, almost as if it was natural...

(Blegh, suckiest post I've done yet, sorry)

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya was actually proud of herself. To surprise Rory enough to actually make him stop was quite the accomplishment. One Freya rarely managed, but always relished when she did. Sadly, he recovered far too quickly for her own taste.

She scowled slightly, not happy with his answers. At all. Did he expect her to just….. Just…. Sit quietly as he ran off, as he put it, probably to his permanent death? Her, Freya Elensar, sit quietly while the man she loved, went through hell, never to return? Never to know if he had truly died, or if something else had happened? ”Do you honestly expect me to do nothing…? Wait patiently for word if you survived or not…?” It wasn’t her nature. Just sitting there and doing nothing would kill her on the inside! But when this had turned into her doing something to help.. No one really knew. All that mattered, was she wouldn’t let him do this alone.

”Besides, if you are going to die, I don’t want you to be alone…” This…. She knew from experience. Rory wouldn’t remember, or he might, she really didn’t know. Hell, he saw the scar on her stomach and back every time he slept with her, but never asked about it. But when she’d almost been killed by Cain…. When she knew she was dying and he wasn’t there…. That was the only thing she’d wanted. To at least see him. Now, he’d died several times with her present before, but this was different. He was talking about the death he wouldn’t return from.

That last comment though, made her look up at him. ”….. Why not say that to my face instead of through the mask.” She had two reasons for the request. One, because it appeared he had a destination in mind now, and if there were people there he’d scare them witless with it on. And two…. She wanted to tell him no to his face.

[/justify]

[Rory Ashe]

The village they were talking to was beginning to get closer and closer. Unless Rory was mistaken, it was not an American town. The architecture looked... very familiar. Not to mention he couldn't see any powerlines or phone lines going to the town, so they must be cut off. There was no way any American town wouldn't have some sort of connection to the grid. The only question was, where were they? When he tried to access his visor to get some coordinates, the screen crackled and buzzed... Jammed?... The Agency...

When Freya finally spoke again it jarred him out of his thoughts, "To be honest, yes I did. I can't fight to my full ability if I know you are in danger. Knowing that you were safe would.... give me strength to do this." Rory couldn't believe he just admitted that, admitted that Freya was his weakness. It went against everything he had ever been taught, to show no weakness, yet there she was; both a source of extreme strength, and extreme weakness.

"I..." Was all Rory could say to what she said next. He had never thought of how she would feel being alone. This was EXACTLY why he didn't want to talk to her about him going, whether she knew it or not she was beginning to break through to him. This was why you never took women on trips... Because you would eventually be doing it their way.

What she said next, caused Rory to pause again. She wanted him to take his helmet off? If that would mean she would stay, then so be it. Standing in the snow, looking down at her, his helmt began to melt away, eventually revealing the familiar Irish face. "Freya, you are going to sta-" Rory was cut off by a mans voice.

Glancing up sharply he saw a man from town walking in a rushed manner towards them, calling out to them... in French... Canadian French. So they were in Canada, that actually made sense. They must have crash landed far north, regardless he had to answer the man. Glancing down at Freya, he glanced back up at the man and shouted, "Bonjour, ma femme est blessée et il nous faut un endroit pour rester." As Rory spoke in French, his accent was almost flawless, all traces of his Irish heritage seemed to disappear in his speech.

The man looked strangely at Rory's suit, then at Freya's bloody shirt before waving them to come into town. "Merci." Rory said as the man told them to come into their house. Rory began walking through the snow again, and as he thought about it, he bet that Freya didn't know he could speak French. Though he didn't say a word to Freya, he was watching her out of the corner of his eye to see if there was any reaction...

[Freya Elensar Ashe]

Freya hadn’t looked to see where they were going yet. She was more concerned about what Rory had said. Even now, she didn’t look.

She twitched in his arms when he said he did. That idiot….. She wanted to hit him now. ”Would you listen if I was on some mad quest that could probably kill me?” She paused for a moment. ”Besides, if I was in danger, shouldn’t it motivate you to do everything you could to get me out of it?” Of course, a part of her wanted to say he didn’t have to worry about her safety… But considering what had happened each time she ran into a ghost…. She had to bite her tongue. All the while, her head was starting to swim from blood loss.

One of Rory’s favorite qualities of Freya’s was also one that irritated him the most. He loved how ridiculously stubborn she was… As long as it didn’t come to this sort of situation. She really was the “It’s my way or the high way” type of person. Staying because he said so? Was laughable. Like hell she’d listen. For some crazy reason though, he actually thought she was listening to that request, because his helmet was off, the man she loved finally looking down at her. She was ready to give him a flat out no…. When Rory’s attention jerked away.

Her own reaction was slower as she looked to see what had caught his interest, just in time to hear French (Canadian French) and see a man running to them. She recognized him for a Canadian instantly. How? Anyone from France would! It was like American English and English! It wasn’t just the accent that was off, but words. The French Canadians used quite a few words that were ‘archaic’ and hadn’t been used in French in anymore. Still, she understood everything…. And had to stop herself from laughing. It was absolutely hilarious. Like most French, Freya thought it was the funniest thing ever to listen to French Canadians. All because of their word choice.

Still, she kept herself from laughing out right, but wasn’t able to stop the silly smile. Making sure the Canadian didn’t see it, she glanced away… And then up at Rory when she heard him speak French. She raised an eyebrow at him. ”I knew it.” She spoke quietly, so only Rory would hear, but it came out more like a hiss, silently demanding him to tell her why he never actually spoke French before now. But it’d been more of a guess, nothing more. He’d never asked for her to speak in English if she started rambling off in French, like she often did when he resorted to Gaelic. So he’d either never cared, or didn’t need her to speak English.

Damn…. Her head was getting worse, black spots periodically appearing in her vision. With a sigh she leaned her head against his chest once more. Maybe they should have bandaged her wounds back at the crash site….

[/justify]