Reven finished working just before Skylar did. By the time th signal chimed, he was already hading down the row to the exit. Skylar had to push through everyone in front of him just to gt close.
"Reven!" reven, wait up damn it!" He shouted after the ma. Furious and desperate. It had beensix years. Six years of being on is own gain. No Uncle raimi ooking out for him, and no Reven. They were supposed to be dead, the same way there was supposed to be enough food for all, and the same way the capis were always supposed to be in control. And yet, here was Reven, only a few feet ahead. But he wouldn't turn around and Skylar gave up yelling.
He waited until he was close enough, and then he grabbed the other manby the shoulder and spun him around. He wasn't going to be ignored. "Damnation, Reven, yoou could at least petend hat you know me." He shouted, not caring if the other workers were trying to press by them, or that he knew some of the and that he knew that they'd be asking questios later.
Those dark brown eyes looked black when they stared back at him. Skylar could see the black silouette that was him in their reflection, and wondered just how much different he must look. He didn't think he'd changed to mch. His hair was probably longer now, but it was just as straggly and still the same color. He was still short, and still thin, and even if he felt like he was getting old, he knew he couldn't look that old. Not yet at any rate. He'd ecognized reven immediately, Reven should ave been able to do the same with him.
"Look man," reven growled out, yanking his arm back. "I don't know what you're goin' on about, but my name's Rale."
Skylar stared at him for a moment, not understanding what the other man was saying, or why he would say such a thing. "Bullshit. Damn it all, reven. I know on my life that that's you, and I'd've hoped that you'd at least recognize me, you son of a bitch bastard."
The other man started to shake his head, and that was the last Skylar was going to take. Without thking, Skylar did what he would have aturaly done as a child, and punked him as hard as he could across the side of his face. Reven stumbled backwards a coupl of steps, but Skylar was already on top of him, dragging him down to te floor, and laying into him with as much force as he could. He as a lo stronger now than e had been as a child, and if he had been thinking, he would have realized that it wouldn't take long for this to become dangerous.
But reven didn't just go down and take it. It took him a moment to react, but soon he was fighting back, blocking and getting hs own hits in. In a few minutes, he managed to flip them, and he was the one of top. Skylar cursed, then stared to scream at him. He didn't think about what he was saying, just screamed at him over and over again, trying to get the upper hand back.
A couple of gurads broke it up before it grew too violnt. Both of them were promised IDOCs to go on their records, insident documentations of distuptive behavior. Those wouldn't be good for any futureplans that they had, and that only made Skylar curs even more. He was never getting moved out of the hole he was in now. He'd be stuck doing the same thing for the rest of his life because if he was honest with himself, he knew it was a lost cause, him being a Freelancer.
They were seen seperatly by an administrator. He was the one who informed Skylar that the two of them would both be written up for the incident, but Skylar was barely listening. He wanted to get out of this office and huntReven down aain. The son of a bitch. Skylar was still fuming over it, and couldn't be bothered with what the man was saying to him. Eventually he was released, and he wasted no time before ehdading down to Styx. If there was any real news he could get, it would be there. If Reven was back, he'd have to be working as a Freelancer, and he'd have to put in an appearance at Styx. It didn't explain why he had the job as a Freelacer, but then agai, Skylar had a job there, so maybe he wasn't the only Freelancer in all of delian that couldn't make a living from one job.
Luck was with him when he burst into Styx and Finlan was one of the first Freelancers he saw. The older man wasn't technically a Freelancers anymore. He hadretired two years ago to live off of the money he had made and from doing some odd security jobs. He was still considered a Freelancer, but he no longer worked as one. He came to Styx every now and then, just to catch up on what was going on. Skylar hadn't seen much of him after his uncle died, but now that the man was retired, he would often stop Skylar when ever hesaw him to ask how he was.
He barely had time to even see Skylar before he started asking questions. "Have you seen Reven?" He demanded, sliping into a chair by the old man.
Finlan gapped at him for a moment, him mouth opening but not saying anything. He frowned. "What're you talkin' about?" He demanded gruffly.
"I saw Reven." Skylar told him, leaningforward on the table and trying to see through the crowd. He didn't see Reven anywhere inside Styx, but then again, Reven would have to have come directly here to have beat Skylar.
Finlan didn't reply until he glanced back at the man. "That's insane." He told Skylar firmly.
"I know." Skylar told him, then shook his head. "But I saw him. I talked to him. Kind of." He whinced and brushed back his bangs. "Not well, mind you. Somethin' happened, and we, um, didn't get a chance to really talk. I'm tryin' to find him. You haven't heard anythin'?" Skylar paused, watching the man's face, hoping to see some sign that he knew something. But the man was just staring at him blankly. "Yeah, I'll just have to hunt him down on my own. Don't worry about it." He started to rise, but the old man shot forward quickly and grabbed him by the arm, hauling him back down into his char with all of the man's weight. Skylar yelped, and grabbed onto the edge of the table to keep from falling out of his chair. "What was that for?" He demanded darkly, yanking his arm back and rubbing at it.
"You just sit down." Finlan growled at him. "And stop goin' around sayin' crazy things like that, boy."
Skylar frowned, not in the mood to be patient. "How about you back off a bit, eh old man? Last time I checked, you weren't doin' much in being a guardian, so why don't you keep your advise to yourself."
"Don't mouth off." Finlan snapped at him. "I mightn't of been around much, bu I've still got a lot more experience than you and that's all that matters 'round here."
Skylar glared at him. He didn't want to waste his time remenicing with Uncle's old buddy, and he didn't like being reminded of what his record around here was.
"you can't go around sayin' things like that." Finlan told him sharply.
"But I saw him!"
"I don't care what you thought you might of seen!" Finlan huffed, and sagged back in his chair. "You don't know nothin' about anythin' that happened, boy, and you've never been good at keepin' yourself out of trouble."
"I did just fine takin' care of myself." Skylar muttered. For some reason he felt like he was thirteen again, and he didn't like it.
"This is different." Finlan told him. "You don't want to go bringin' any of that mess up. Especially not you, and not about that brat. He's dead."
Skylar looked up to meet the man's eyes with a glare. "I saw him. It was him."
"He's dead." Finlan replied firmly. "And he's best off that way. You're damn lucky you ain't, but goin' about bringin' that business up could get you there."
Sklay leaned over the table. "Why? The sons of biches that did it in this room? Hm? Are they Finlan?" Finlan glanced away and Skylar growled at him. "I've always known you knew a hell of a lot more than you ever let on. So, it was some of our own that did it, and you didn't do a damn thing about it, did you? You let them kill of a friend and a fellow freelancer and didn't do shit, did you? That's the last of it! All that harpen about repectin' another Freelacers rights and all that bullshit, and you sons of bitches wereapart of killin' him."
"Ain't no body in this room that was there that night, but there sureas hell are a lot that didn't think it was that bad of an idea!" Finlan finally interrupted him. He was leaning forward now too, his witheredfrowning face near Skylar's own. "But what would you have done about it, boy, if they had been in this room? Eh? Would you have shot them dead?"
Skylar jerked back, and glaced away.
"Hmph. I didn't think so." Finlan said. "Always the same damn problem with you. You're uncle would have taken care of it real quick, and taken you out to shot somebody and be done with it. A Freelancer that won't kill anyone. How muchmore insane you want to get? How about talkin' about a boy that's dead and should stay that way?"
Skylar lookd away from the old man. He knew what his uncle would say about him. He didn't need to hear it from this man. "You don't understand any of this." He told him. "You don't know about Reven, or about the other thing."
"Not from the way you're thinkin'." Finlan told him. "No, I don't. But I do know how all of this looks to these boys here, ain'tneither looks good. My suggestion is you keep as much of it to yourself." Finlan paused, and leaned back slightly. "And maybe start thinkin' about doin' somethin' else with yourself."
Quit being a Freelacer. Skylar shook his head. He couldn't do that. Not yet. This was all he ahd left. This was all he had to cling to. He couldn't give it up until he was ready to give up on everything. "this is all I am."
Finlan sighed, and slumped in his chair.
"but," Skylar added. "I guess it won't do no good tellin' every body here about Reven. He - he didn't want to talk to me." Skylar told him hesitantly.
"Did you ever think that maybe he wants to be dead?" Final replied. "I mean, you know, just give it all up. Maybe he don't want to talk to you because he don't want to be who he was."
Skylar whinced. He hadn't thought abot that, not really. Not specifically. It wasn't something he ahd even wanted to concider. "So now what do I do?" He whispered, slumping forward. All fo theadrialen from the fightearlier, and running all the way down here and this verbal sparing was running out on him.
"Get drunk would be my best suggestion, and get over whatever it is that's keepin' you fom doin' you're job."
Skylar laughed softly. "Right. That easy."