The Return (Noah)

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn let out an exhausted huff as she landed in the courtyard, her legs crumpling underneath her briefly before she straightened once again. The past six days had been full of flying, walking, running, and discovery, and she was looking forward to a warm bed and meal tonight. She had run into many obstacles, realized passions that she had never felt before, and overall, had just grown tremendously in the days she had spent away from Hammel. It had been a much needed break, and she was coming back with new feelings about life and love and happiness.

She slowly made her way to the dorms, taking the time to admire the view of the night sky from where she stood. The universe had never looked so wide open and vast as it did now, and she found herself eager to jump back into her life and make the necessary changes that she needed to make. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were a bit rumpled, but she paid no heed as she waved to a random student walking by, giving them a tired but happy smile. Now, if only she could run into the person she had missed the most...

[Noah Washington]

It was a weird six days. Ravyn had been gone and while Noah understood that what she was doing was important, it was still hard not to have her around. And it was hard to get in touch with her since she'd been moving around so much. He had been worried after the third or fourth day that it might be ages before she came back. Six days without a best friend felt more like six months. He was even having trouble sleeping now, so he'd gone out late to dry and exhaust himself by running.

He picked the Courtyard because it was just closer than the actual tracks. The more he ran the more frustrated he was slowly becoming, but nevertheless he kept going as he felt his muscles beginning to wear out and his breath get more and more stagnant.

That was when he saw her. At least, he thought it was her. From the distance it was hard to tell but it looked a lot like her. Wings and all. Tired expression (he thought, from this distance anyway). He'd stopped running then and there, lifting his shirt and wiping his forehead with the hem. "Ravyn?" He asked. "Is that you!?"

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn hadn't expected him to be out this late - she thought she'd have to go to his dorm if she wanted to see Noah. So it came as a complete surprise when, as she was looking up, a familiar voice called her name from across the courtyard. Her face creased into a giant smile, and she dropped her head, catching sight of him immediately. It was hard to miss that blonde hair and pretty face.

"It's me," she agreed wearily but happily, waving and starting towards him. She wanted to run, but she was just too tired, and the best she could do was a quick walk. Even that shot tired pain through her calves. But God, she had missed him. She had even been tempted to ask him to go with her, at least for a couple days, but she knew this had been something she had to do on her own. Soon she was within hugging distance, and she lifted her arms as wide as she could, ready to envelop him in an embrace. "I missed you so much, No," she smiled.

[Noah Washington]

So it was her! Noah hadn't expected to see her so soon, or even like this. Had he known he would have done something, or gotten her something or anything like that. He wished he wasn't standing there in the Courtyard having worked up a sweat; maybe if he stayed in his room for five minutes longer he wouldn't look the way he did. In his thoughts he was so frozen that he didn't realise she was walking towards him.

And then she was hugging him. Softly and gently.

"I missed you." He said quietly, allowing his arms to fall around her waist and envelope her in the embrace tighter. After a few moments that felt like minutes instead his mouth broke out into a smile and he hoisted her up with his arms around her waist and spun around, laughing. "So much!"

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn didn't care that he was sweaty and that he hadn't gotten her anything, or whatever. She wouldn't have expected it - just seeing him there was enough to make her heart soar. She clung to his solid form happily, ignoring the dampness of his shirt in her joy of just being back and feeling his arms around her. If she had missed anything in her journey, it was this.

She let out a surprised squeak as he hoisted her up, and laughed along with him as they spun around. "Noah, stop!" she giggled, although she didn't mind in the least. "You're making me dizzy!" Once she was on the ground again, her legs wobbled a little, but she kept her arms around him both for a balance and just because she had missed him so. much. "I hope nothing exciting happened while I was gone," she breathed, pulling back slightly and looking up. "But it was so worth it. It was so amazing, Noah. I feel so much better now." Even though she was physically exhausted, her mind was already working in new ways, showing her new paths that she hadn't thought about before.

[Noah Washington]

Noah almost didn't hear her speak because he was laughing so much. Time away from Ravyn really had highlighted things he thought he knew; he never realised how much he would miss her if she was gone, even though it had only really been a week. It felt like so much longer. He didn't want to stop hugging her because he just wasn't sure if she would fly away again or not. "Alright, alright!" He said, finally slowing to a halt and allowing her feet to touch the ground.

"Nothing I couldn't handle." He grinned in her direction, taking the time to look over all her features. She looked tired and exhausted. In definite need of a sleep. He let the hug go, but he pressed his hands to her shoulders and looked into her eyes after she finished talking. "That's great. Tell me about it!" He asked, letting a hand run down her arm as he entwined his fingers with hers and drew her closer to a bench so they could sit. She could lean against him if she wanted.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

His laughter. Had it always been that contagious? Ravyn couldn't stop giggling as well, until she was settled back on the ground and they were staring at each other with identical grins. Those clear blue eyes had never looked so beautiful as they did then, and Ravyn had to keep herself from reaching up to cradle his face, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming and still out in the wild.

As his hands dropped to her shoulders, she lifted her hand to rest one on his. "Glad to hear it," she replied, smiling tiredly. "Drama was something I definitely didn't miss." Now that she was back, she was sure she would start hearing rumors about why she had left, but she now realized she didn't care anymore. People's opinions, at least the negative ones, just didn't matter. All that mattered right now was that Noah was here and he was happy she was back. She took his hand gladly and followed him slowly to a bench, easing herself down with only a little discomfort. She did lean against him, too, letting her eyes drift half-closed as she thought about all she could tell him.

"I let go of what I did," she started, meaning how she had cheated on Lucah, but also the past drama surrounding her other relationships. "I'm still not quite ready to move on to someone else, but I think if I start helping people, I might be able to ease back into relationships again." This had been a huge decision that she had spent many days thinking about, and she had come to terms with how she had acted and knew that there was nothing she could do to change it. What was done, was done. Lucah had moved on - she needed to, too. "I thought about some things I could do," she continued eagerly. "I want to start volunteering, maybe at that family resource center in town. And I want to donate some of my hair to Locks of Love." She ran a hand idly through her hair, which was quite long, but ten inches off would definitely make a difference. "I just think I'll be happier if I stop focusing on myself, and focus on other people," she concluded, closing her eyes. "So that's what I'm going to do."

She let out a breath, pressing her lips briefly against Noah's shoulder. "What do you think?" His opinion, unlike most people's, mattered. A whole lot.

[Noah Washington]

"It's good that you came to terms with what happened. It could have been bad if you let the guilt take you down, or something." Noah replied. She knew what happened wasn't right and so did he, but they weren't in the right kind of mental understanding to know what happened. He hadn't talked to her about Lucah since the mall, so during the whole course he didn't even know they were officially together.

And when it came down to it, she had a reason why she had gone looking for something else. That reason was hers to keep.

"It all sounds great. If only I had ten inches of hair." Noah reached up and took hold of his fringe ligtly, dragging it down and pressing it to his forehead. Staight down it only covered his eyes. "I'll come with you if you want company. I do some of that voulenteering stuff on my own already."

[Ravyn Rozanova]

The fault had been Ravyn's entirely, but she realized that if she dwelt on it, she would only continue to make herself miserable. Now, she was already feeling lighter and with less pressure on her shoulders, and the need to reach out to people and be generous was almost overwhelming. She had a plan, which was more than she ever could have said previously.

She smiled lightly at Noah's hair. "I don't think long hair would suit you," she laughed. She was wondering whether she should just get ten inches taken off, or be bold and go for some dramatic short cut - she hadn't decided yet. But that wasn't really important - what mattered was that other people would benefit. "That would be wonderful," she told him honestly. She hadn't been going to ask, but his offer was not going to be passed up.

"What about you? How have you been?" she asked, feeling like she had talked about herself too much. She kept her eyes shut, trying to fight of the sleepiness. She didn't want to sleep yet, they still had so much to talk about. Six days was a long time.

[Noah Washington]

"Tell me about it. When it gets a lot longer it starts swishing all over the place." Noah explained, running his hand through his fringe a few times. Most people probably didn't care about their hair the way that he did. Guys, anyway. But hey, he liked to look good and there was nothing wrong with that.

He smiled genuinely as he thought about volunteering, "Every second Sunday, unless I have to work. Come with me next time."

"Good, good." Noah sighed after he spoke, feeling his heart rate slowly return back to its normal beat. "Things have just felt so quiet without you here. I guess I didn't realise how much I'd miss my best friend." Noah swung his arm around her, resting his hand on her and giving her a slight squeeze. "Who would I talk to if something big happened?"

[Ravyn Rozanova]

Ravyn appreciated it when guys cared about their looks. Girls did, so why should guys get to be lazy? Still, she didn't mind that they were both sweaty and tired at the moment - they were close enough to be beyond the stage of feeling self-conscious around each other.

She beamed at him. "I would love to. You'll have to show me the ropes, though, I've never really done anything like that before." It was true, she was severely lacking in the volunteering department. She always told herself that she needed to spend more time on school, but that was sort of a joke - she tried to study, she really did, but there were always other things she would rather be doing. That was going to change.

Listening to him speak, Ravyn felt her chest ache a little at his words. "Aww," she sighed, squeezing his free hand gently. "Quiet can be good though, right? I mean, at least the gossip probably died down some." She smiled, showing that she was light-hearted about the subject. "But I'm sorry you missed me. You don't know how many times I turned around to talk to you before I realized you weren't there." She wasn't going to admit it, but she had come up with fake conversations between the two of them on occasion, just because she missed his voice so much. She really loved him. "I'm sure you could find someone!" she insisted. "But, I'm here now, if anything big does happen." Ravyn couldn't help but think about recently, how he had told her about his dad. She wasn't ever going to bring the subject up again, unless he showed interest.

"Do you wanna go to my dorm or something?" she asked, shifting slightly. "I could really use a shower. And a warm bed. And my pajamas." She grinned; she hadn't realized how much she appreciated what she had until she didn't have it.

[Noah Washington]

"You could have called." Noah offered, despite how he understood such a thing couldn't be so. "I knew you were probably always busy though. I mean, that's why I didn't try." And he didn't want to detract from what she was doing; she was probably just doing one thing after the other, so he really had no hard feelings about the subject. But her absence really did shed some light on his feelings about her. He probably couldn't imagine his life without her around in some way.

He smiled in her direction about what she had said. He knew that he could talk to her, he just had to be ready to do it.

Noah shifted underneath her as she was still leaning on him. He moved gently to stand up, offering his hands out to her so he could help her stand up. "I'd be delighted. But come on, Ray. You should really buy me dinner first." He teased, willing to help her walk if she needed it. It was why he offered her his arm once she actually stood up. She looked absolutely exhausted; she really needed a rest. And thankfully she lived in the co-ed dorms.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"I did want to call you," Ravyn admitted openly. "But, well... Yeah, it probably would have taken away from the point of what I did. And I didn't always have cell service either." She did feel bad that he had obviously missed her so much - she didn't realize he would. She had expected it from herself, because of how much she cared for him and how alone she had been, but the fact that Noah had stayed here and yet missed her just as much... "But I'm back, and I don't plan on leaving again anytime soon," she assured him with a smile. She wasn't sure she could even if she wanted to.

As Noah moved to stand up, Ravyn let out a small sigh and propped herself up with one hand until he offered his. As she grasped them gently and pulled herself up, she let out a burst of laughter at his comment. "You know that's not what I meant, you dork," she told him, giving him a very weak nudge. "But I think we should do dinner soon anyway. Yes?" It wasn't like they hadn't before. Even if she had started to realize the extent of her feelings for him on her journey. She couldn't tell him that, though, not yet - she didn't want him to feel like she was just rushing from one guy to the next. She needed to get settled into Hammel life again first.

She wrapped both hands around his offered arm, trying not to lean too heavily on him. It took a while, but they eventually made it up to their floor, where Ravyn immediately made a beeline for her dorm, waving at Noah to invite him in. As soon as she caught sight of her bed, she flopped down onto it, letting out a content sigh. "It's so sooooft," she told Noah, grinning up at him. She kicked off her shoes and sat up slightly, pulling her knees to her chest. "I, um, I hope I didn't pull you away from anything," she offered very belatedly; she wasn't sure what he had been doing in the courtyard, other than the fact that he looked like he had been running for a while.

[Noah Washington]

"Sure. We could go into the restaurant or something." The one at work, he meant. Unless she had a better place in mind. For Noah it was just the default place he always thought of; as silly as it sounded he liked to give his business to the place, even if it probably meant nothing to everyone else. "But hey, maybe another place one night would be fun. It would feel less like work." He added.

Noah could take her weight pretty easily as they walked, and he was glad that she felt comfortable enough to lean on him. They made it to her dorm and he walked in after her, closing the door behind them and following along to her room. Noah laughed at her when she landed on her bed. "Yeah, I bet it's soft. Don't tell me you missed your Hammel-bed." He joked. They weren't exactly the most comfortable beds, but it was easy enough to get used to them. At any rate, he moved to sit on the side of her bed.

"I was just running. Couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd try to wear myself out or something." Noah explained. Plus the cooler temperature of the night air was a lot more comfortable than the middle of the day.

[Ravyn Rozanova]

"We could do that, yeah. Although right now, pizza sounds amazing," she added, letting out a wishful sigh. She was starving for unhealthy food. She did love their work, and Abe was great, so they could definitely go there. Maybe she was biased, but she thought the food was excellent as well. She smiled up as he continued. "That would be fun sometime. I heard there's a new sushi place downtown, maybe we could try it!"

"I missed it sooo muuuuch," she told him, grabbing her pillow and pulling it into her lap so she could hug it. "Mmm. It beats sleeping bags, that's for sure." She grinned at her stuffed panda, tucked away in his corner on the far side of the bed. "I never realized how much I appreciated all the small stuff until I didn't have it, you know?" As he sat beside her, she put her pillow aside and wrapped an arm around his waist, giving him a side-hug. "Like theeese," she added with a grin, meaning the hug.

"Oh, okay," she murmured, pulling back so she could watch him. "I'm sorry you couldn't sleep. Was something wrong?" She reached back and grabbed the panda, setting it carefully on his lap. "Maybe sleeping with Tebya could help," she suggested lightly, giving him a smile. Sure, she was probably a little old to have a stuffed animal, but her grandparents had gotten it for her when she was younger, and she just couldn't part with it.