• PM To Join • So Close And Yet

[Patrick]

Ashan 51 718, Midday

Location: Cally's

He had arrived in time for lunch but of course he really wasn't hungry somehow, a thought that loomed on his mind kept him far too occupied. Somehow it never left him when the truth had been pointed out by her, and yet no matter how much he felt disbelief the proof was there. Faith saw his dead brother. The other trial had been purely accidental circumstance when he had to visit, and while he still felt some discomfort even now he was glad; because two amazing things were guaranteed the Trial he wound up meeting Faith in person.

First was that he wouldn't be losing his most prized asset to some gods forsaken disease! As uncomfortable as he felt about that whole mess, it was ultimately worth it to visit for a fix. Why? Because the second greatest thing he figured out, was that Faith had some capability to see the dead. Because she saw him... Dominek. This entire time Pat had been secretly pining for the brother he missed so, and now all of a sudden he was right there in the same room. Only visible to Faith though which proved quite unusual.

His visit to the restaurant had been with the intent on seeing Faith honestly, though he didn't intend to bother her during a busy part of the Trial. Thus when the serving girl checked to see what he wanted, he merely ordered a flagon of cider he could sip on as he sat there. Lonely. But was he alone? He kept eyeing the chair suspiciously as though he suspected otherwise, curious if Dominek joined him here as he did back in the Order's facility. "So..." He muttered lowly with his fingers tapping on the side of his cup. "You saw that whole mess the other trial..."

Surely it wasn't the worst thing Dom had seen, granted he served in the knights for several Arcs. Plus it wasn't the first time Pat had been caught nude with a woman, least not when it came to his brother Dom entering the picture at least... just the first he walked in on the woman remedying a condition of his. He looked from the empty chair to the flagon on his table, his hand released from the cup as he slightly leaned into his chair. "If uh... If you're really here, you should probably move this cup or somethin'." At the suggestion he waited and watched to see if any reaction would occur, his gaze focused on the cup as he expected something to nudge it at least.

Yet nothing.

After he sat there long enough to feel like an idiot he sighed, and proceeded to drink a bit more from the cup. Yet little did he know that his brother actually was there, sitting across from the table with the biggest grin on his face. Only one person would be able to see this of course, and it'd be quite clear one of them was enjoying this a little too much.

[Faith Augustin]

51st Ashan 718
Cally's

"One of the things I've found," Faith said, sitting down on the chair to his left, not the one that his brother was sitting on. "Is that it is important not to let it get to the point where you appear to be talking to yourself in public. It's also worth to remember that the average place is pretty well populated." With both the living and the dead, was the implication. "It's good to see you, Patrick. You too," she said to Dominek with a smile. Had she been expecting him to turn up? Yes, she'd made the offer when they'd last seen each other at the Order of the Adunih and, if that was her brother then she imagined that she'd want to find out. The response from Patrick had been clear both then, and in the dream they'd shared so long ago. He loved his brother.

"So, I think it's best if we have something to eat, and I'll talk you through a few things." She smiled at him, at them and motioned around. "Trudi won't like it if we sit here nursing drinks and nothing else," so, she handed Patrick a menu. Cally's was a charity, every copper nel spent here went to help people and so, she didn't offer him anything on the house. It simply wasn't something she ever did for anyone. Once he had ordered from Trudi, the flirty biqaj waitress whose shifting eyes lingered on him in a very specific way. Faith ordered simply, just some soup with bread and Trudi took his order and then sauntered off, hips swinging.

If Faith noticed, she said nothing. However, once they were free of distraction, she put her hands together and pressed her fingers, pad to pad as she did. "Alright, so let me explain some things. When someone dies, they are usually taken by Vri. He is there to take them to what is beyond." It was important that he understood this, that the process was clear to them both. "But when Vri came, Dominek refused to go." That wasn't entirely unusual, Faith said, although it was far from common. Still, those who refused Vri's offer were not taken. "Then, for those who have not gone with Vri, Famula comes and offers them another chance. They usually refuse because of unfinished business, she offers them a chance." With a glance to Dominek, she smiled. "Some refuse her. And then they become souls lost, on Idalos. Often anchored to a person, a place or a thing of significance," Faith could see the anchor for Dominek and it's name was Patrick.

This next bit, it wasn't easy but it was true and so they needed to know. "The longer they remain in this state, the more they lose what vestiges of their mortal memory they maintained. They remember less and less until, eventually, they become what we know of as the Empty. You know them," she said to Dominek. He must do. They were the souls which were, completely, hollow and devoid of anything.

"There are things you can do," she said to Patrick. "Talk about memories. Talk to him. He must have been very lonely for this whole time." Then, looking between them both, she smiled slightly. "I'm sorry for being the third elbow here, but for the moment I need to be. Whatever Dominek says, I will repeat. So, please, talk."

[Patrick]

Faith's interjection had been so perfectly timed that Patrick couldn't help but slightly jump, his eyes shut for a moment afterwards as he realized it was just her. To his great embarrassment she had a pretty solid point in regards to his murmuring about all alone, which of course the real question was whether or not he actually was alone. As much as he didn't want to believe it Pat knew by now, that anything in his life seemed possible at this point; therefore he wasn't really as alone as he thought to begin with. "Yeah," He murmured with an awkward scratch under his jawline, "probably should've thought of that earlier..."

"You too." Dominek answered Faith first when she greeted the two boys, though of course to the public eye it was generally just the one. "I speak for my brother when I say we're happy to see you again. Believe it or not he's handling this... kinda better than I thought."

"Is he berating me right now??" The Rharnian checked a little unnervingly with a drum line of his fingers on the table, his eyes followed Faith's to the empty chair at their table.

"Never would I ever." The older brother retorted in a sarcastic manner, though the two looked to Faith when she chimed in. Something to eat? Patrick could hardly think of food right now... though he supposed it would be all for a good cause. He was more than likely asking a lot of Faith, speaking as a medium between him and his dead brother.

"Yeah I don't see why not." The Rharnian agreed with a quiet sigh in his voice, the menu rested before him as he peered for something that stood out.

"Watch this, he's gonna get seafood without vegetables; he hates vegetables with a passion."

"I'll uh... have the fish dish ruby thing whatever, just don't add any veggies on that please." Patrick requested with a glance up to the woman he assumed was Trudi, which he then of course couldn't help but grin at her when she looked down at him. Sure enough when she took the menus and walked away, Patrick remained distracted by the sway in her hips as she strutted off.

"Uh oh, I know that look." The older brother remarked with a wry grin, his eyes shot to Faith next as he appeared quite amused. Indeed had Patrick not had a recent visit to the doc's office, he probably would be on the prowl for more if he felt up to it. Alas... his vigor needed to remain in check until after he was fully recovered from that incident. When Faith spoke both brothers looked to her at the same time, watched almost in the same fashion that showed true their lineage. It was almost uncanny how they acted alike together, eerily enough that they did so with contemplative expressions.

So when a person dies Vri comes along to shepherd them into this beyond... Patrick looked to the chair he saw empty when Faith mentioned Dominek refused, while the deceased knight nodded along to agree that was how it went down. "That's right." He remarked with a look from Faith to his younger brother. "It was an offer but... I just couldn't leave my little brother alone like that." Then of course the more serious bit of news came; the details on the length of time remaining, and the eventual circumstance of them becoming something called the 'Empty.' Patrick looked to her with a crook of his head, while Dominek's lips became less cheery as he laid further into his chair some. A subject he definitely didn't seem comfortable with, probably because it had already over two arcs since his death.

"The Empty?" Patrick inquired a little curiously as he was clearly out of the know. Surely there seemed to be options according to Faith, things they could talk about to help stir the air. Memories were a good thing to talk about? She offered to serve as the medium between the two, just as she already had been, and thus relay whatever Dom had to say to Pat whenever he would have to speak. Yet it was Patrick that spoke first, clearly curious about his brother after all this time. "You remember... when we promised we'd get outta Dust Town in Rharne? How we'd make mum and Lissa both proud?"

"We promised to make a name for ourselves, that Rharne would know us by none other than the Barnell Brothers." Dominek responded with a wide grin, clearly able to remember that far back in their lives just as Patrick was able to. When Faith relayed that to Pat of course, the younger brother's mouth slightly opened in awe before he cleared his throat. Pat couldn't help but drop his eyes on the cup of cider he had, a glassy look to them as he tried to brush it off like nothing. "I also remember back when mom used to sing to us both, way back when we were kids and it was freezing cold outside."

"She always sang that song too." Pat would respond after Faith would mention it, a tear finally streaked down his cheek as he looked at Dom's chair hard. As far as the Rharnian knew, his dead brother was certainly there talking to him now.

[Faith Augustin]

51st Ashan 718
Cally's

"Berating you?" Faith asked and she shook her head. "Far from it," smiling at Dominek, she replied, "Never would you ever? That's not in a very long time, then." She explained, then, as best she could about what it was that they were facing there together and what had happened, and what should have occurred. When Dominek said that he couldn't leave his little brother alone, though, Faith's eyes softened even as her expression hardened. It was something she heard a lot and she sighed gently. There would need to be a conversation about the futility of that, she knew, but the time for that conversation was not right now. Patrick was Dominek's anchor and that probably meant that getting him to cross over was going to be more difficult.

She nodded at the focus on the Empty. They were wise to focus on it. "We all have an energy, called ectoplasm. You and I, Patrick, if ours depletes, then we can and do replenish it automatically. However, Dominek does not." Memories, things like that, they helped him keep his ectoplasm, helped him remain focused, but he couldn't replace it. "I can. But it's a temporary thing and I can't do it often. This place, Cally's, it's named after a friend of mine." Faith said and gestured around. "She's been dead a lot longer than you, Dominek and she's very much herself, but I help out where I can." If it seemed strange or morbid or any of those things, well it didn't to Faith. Cally was her friend, she just happened to have been dead for forty years.

"Lets sit somewhere more private," she said and, if they were willing, she'd go into the private dining area that people could hire out. That gave Patrick the space he needed, she thought. There, she spoke Dominek's words for Patrick, trying her best to not be there whilst just saying the words. Looking at Patrick, she knew that he understood, finally and completely believed in fact, that Dominek was there. So then, she spoke. "It's not any kind of existence. I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound harsh, but how hard have the last two arcs been for you, Dominek? What will the next twenty two be?" That was the truth of it, of course. There was no changing this. Patrick would always be aware and unable to interact with his brother, who would be able to do nothing more than observe.

"We can talk as long as you need to, but then we need to talk about what happens next," Faith said, softly. "It isn't fair to either of you to maintain this existence like this. Crossing over, Dominek, to where you're supposed to be. That is the next step and is the natural order." Anything else was torture for them both, after all.

[Patrick]

Patrick couldn't help but wonder if there might've been sarcasm in her voice; Faith might've been the polite type after all, but even she seemed capable of anything. One could easily be the nicest person in the world, and somehow capable of saying or doing the most outrageous thing. She also seemed to mutter something to Dominek's spot, and almost instantly Pat slightly felt a bit of envy she could do that. To see him and hear his voice again? That'd been the dream he'd held dearly for two arcs now, and it wasn't until last Zi'da he decided to find a way to make it happen. Now it seemed as though there was an answer, or at least a beginning to the journey he spent so long searching for.

But of course there had to be a discussion first, an elaboration on souls lingering and what eventually happens to them. Patrick definitely might've been less receptive the first time this stuff came up, but this time he listened closely just to try and better understand it all. Ectoplasm. Evidently it was a source of energy within their soul? And according to Faith the living could replenish it continuously, while the deceased that lingered could not instead. Naturally this brought a bit of concern in the Rharnian, as worried eyes looked to his brother's chair moments after. "I'm fine little brother." Dominek assured him knowing Faith would relay the message well enough, the two focused on Faith as she continued to elaborate on the matter.

Faith could help restore ectoplasm if it seemed necessary, and apparently a friend of her's was also deceased. Far longer than Dominek she added, which meant that the dead brother still had time. But how long? "Sure." Both of them agreed at the notion to move somewhere more private, the two followed her to their next table to sit at afterwards. Patrick of course made sure to bring his flagon and cup of cider, so that he still had spirits to drink while there. Once situated and comfortable it would then be more private for them to discuss, and thus the personal stuff the two had to discuss could be said between the two. "You've been with me... this whole time."

"I have. Wasn't easy at first but I learned of my condition quickly, even then watching everything that went on wasn't fun either." The older brother said with a perplexed frown, which quickly turned into a smirk when he shot a look to Faith next. "Don't relay this part to him since he already knows, but he's had a lot of sex between then and now. Honestly I had to learn how to tune that stuff out myself when that happened often." A short laugh followed before he looked to his brother once more. "But tell him that I saw it all. His love triangle with some prostitute and his woman, the near death experience with the man that killed me, meeting some foreign nobleman that later stole his heart. You've had a lot of interesting encounters Pat, and admittedly that's only scratching the surface of what you've been through."

"Come a long way since Lexi then huh?" Patrick murmured as he remembered her all of a sudden, since Dominek was the first to have a crush on her out of the two brothers. Yet when the name came up Dominek quirked his head to the side some, almost as if the name didn't ring familiar to the man.

"Who's Lexi?" He checked with Faith as he undoubtedly lacked any memory of her, then of course when the question relayed to Patrick the Rharnian's eyes widened.

"You don't remember Alexandra? The only girl you ever had the biggest crush on?" Patrick watched Faith to see how she would respond, while Dominek seemed to think for a moment and merely shook his head.

"Listen it's not the past that I'm worried about Pat, it's where you're heading now that I'm more worried about."

"You know I promised that I'd find a way to bring you back right?" Patrick would interject after hearing that message. "When I left Rharne again I made a promise, that I'd never return home again until I took care of two things."

"See Faith this is where I always had trouble with him, and why I could never turn a eye away for one trill!" Dominek argued to her with a stern voice, a disemboweled groan to follow as he wiped over his face with one of his hands.

"I promised I'd find a way to get you back, no matter what it would cost me. And then after that we'd find a way to break this curse Syroa's inflicted upon me." The Rharnian continued anyways with a look to Faith, a tug at the collar of his shirt to reveal the bite mark underneath. "Only one other person knew about this cursed bite Syroa gave me, so when you said the other Trial that Dominek was there the night I got this; I seriously wanted to doubt everything you said was true. But after I thought more about I realized that I was being foolish, that you could literally see my own dead brother who I've needed for so long." The more he carried on the more glassy his eyes started to develop, as he looked into his cup in a yearning manner.

"My brother was always the hero Faith, always there to save me when I screwed up. Without him there's been nothing but screw ups in my life, that's why I have to bring him back somehow..."

"Pat..." Dominek's own tone had fallen sullen as his eyes watched the younger brother somberly, a sense of longing to reach out filled his posture even if it did little good. It was then at this time Faith chimed in with her own words, telling them the reality of the situation at hand. Dominek was a ghost now and lingering wouldn't do any good, no matter how much he wanted to stay and watch over Pat. Even so seeing his little brother now, in the state he was in no less, almost brought tears in the knight's own eyes as he sat there. "They'd be better if I... If I could just..." Then once more she mentioned the words again. Cross over. "No damn it!" He exclaimed with a bang of his fists on the table, with enough force to actually give Pat a little jolt.

"Did he just hit the table?!" Pat checked with a look to Faith in awe, while Dominek cradled his head inside his hands.

[Faith Augustin]

51st Ashan 718
Cally's

Faith acted as the conduit between the two of them, letting the brothers talk as much as she could, without interfering any more than she had to. Of course, she was inevitably there because she was doing the talking for Dominek. When he didn't remember Lexi, Faith frowned slightly. That wasn't a good sign and each soul moved at different rates. If he was forgetting things, then that was not good. But equally, if she started putting ectoplasm into him, then she wasn't dealing with the actual situation - she was just making him staying around easier and she had no intention of facilitating that.

Then, however, more things transpired and Faith looked at Patrick with a raised eyebrow. Surprise, shock on her face. "The curse of Syroa? You turn into the beast?" Most people wouldn't know about it, but Faith had been involved with the Sessfiend in Rynmere and then, later, in Rharne. She looked at Patrick and shook her head. "Well we need to deal with that, too." It had to be said, Faith's response was simple and clear - that was too much like a very dangerous thing and then there was this whole situation with Patrick swearing that he'd bring Dominek back and Dominek thumping the table. Faith looked between the two of them and sighed.

"Now you to just wait one bit. Patrick, what is it you're suggesting? He has no body, no physical form. If you were in Rharne, it was burnt. Did you plan on making him a new one?" Looking at Dominek, Faith motioned to the table. "That kind of manipulation of reality will drain your ectoplasm much more quickly, I believe. Look. I'm sorry, I am, but when someone dies they are judged, they go to Vri." She sighed and looked between the two of them. "There are five, six more souls in this room. They're everywhere. It's important that you recognise that the natural order is that someone dies, they move on. We can't break that for no reason and I can't give ectoplasm to them all."

Looking between them she sighed. Faith could no more see someone in pain than she could lounge around on the sofa while there were people to help. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she frowned and then looked up. "Fine. We need to sort out the Syroa curse for you. And you." She looked at Dominek with a slight raise of an eyebrow. "I'm told this feels odd." Putting her hand on to Dominek, she closed her eyes.

Faith was naturally pale and tiny in size and stature. As she put some of her own energy into Dominek, that pallour became worse, but he became just slightly visible. Transparent, largely, but visible. "I'll give you two some time. Call me when you want to talk again, no one will disturb you" With that, she stood and walked out, closing the door behind her.

[Patrick]

There came about a definitive look of shame as Patrick released the collar of his shirt, knowing that Faith now understood just one of the things he'd endeavored over the arcs. That was just one thing in particular too, and if Dominek had been with him the whole time? Well then the older brother literally saw everything just as he said, just never really had any way of making himself known to the world. But it seemed as though Faith already knew what this curse entailed, likely because she may have encountered a Sessfiend once before already. Not something entirely too surprising since Syroa liked her pets, little had she suspected this one in particular wanted to dispose of Her.

Yet there was another sure tell sign that Faith would be one of the good ones to stick around, not just because she could very well help out Dominek either. From the moment she insisted that they'd have to find a way to deal with his curse, Patrick's sullen guilty look turned into one of complete surprise. Dominek couldn't help but smile just a little bit even if he still felt torn as well, a little thankful of the fact someone else was interested in Patrick's own well being. Someone he didn't have to push away for when he became too dangerous. Even to this Trial the thought of those he'd hurt still haunted him, and truthfully Patrick could only wonder if he'd ever be able for forgive himself for all that pain.

Yet when Faith had heard the promise he had made for Dominek, it definitely created a stir from the little lady afterwards. Yet the point she made seemed quite clear and, surprisingly, she knew well the Rharnian culture when handling the deceased. At the question though of Pat intending to make Dominek a new one, the Rharnian himself couldn't help but crane his head slightly with fixed curiosity. Can someone really do such a thing? Remake a physical entity from scratch to serve as the house for Dominek's own soul? The thought of it felt completely beyond Patrick to be honest, and yet even so if it remained an option he could pursue; then he would stop at nothing just to see it done. "You're quite the perceptive one." He complimented her after she elaborated on the cost of ectoplasm.

She seemed pretty set in her beliefs of course as she reiterated the process of the natural order, in which Dominek should've went with Vri the moment he passed away. Both of the men looked down at the table in a disheartened state, as though the obstacles set before them were too high to scale. Yet it seemed she couldn't stand sitting around watching these two struggle with their situation, thus Faith herself decided to pitch the fact something needed to be done with Patrick's curse. A lofty challenge indeed. He'd been struggling with that for over an arc now, and still found himself nowhere closer to accomplishing it. But then... after a curious statement she reached out to touch the air, eyes closed as though she intended to focus on something.

Then it happened.

Dominek's eyes went from her to the space before him as he briefly jolted at what he must've felt, the sensation clearly unusual to him as he manifested before Patrick. The Rharnian's eyes widened with a massive jaw drop at what he'd just saw, as Dominek looked from his brother to Faith in a state of awe. Yet it had it's toll on Faith surely. Pale as she was before it appeared the action costed a sufficient amount of her energy, thus Patrick could only surmise that it was Faith's ectoplasm that created the apparition of Dom. He was visually see through but even in transparency, he still looked the same as the day he left out on patrol.

"Dom..." Patrick almost whispered in his bewilderment as Faith allowed for the two of them to be alone, giving them the time they needed to sort things out. "It..."

"It's me." The knight reassured him with a bit of an excited sigh. Right then and there Patrick bolted up from his seat, determined to approach his brother as Dom also stood with him. Patrick held arms out but hesitated for a moment, unsure if he would phase through Dominek or not. Dom couldn't help but chuckle and wrap arms around the little brother, the surrealism of the moment almost too much for Pat's mind to process. "I'm here little brother."

"Y... You dumb bastard." Patrick muttered as he caved in and clung tightly to his older brother, his eyes closed tightly as overwhelming emotion brought tears. He had never thought for once in his life that it'd be good to see Dominek again, to actually feel as though Dominek was standing there. "I told you! I told you to just skip patrols and drink with me!!" It was as if his mind went back to that very Trial where Patrick had been brought to his lifeless body.

"I know. It's okay now." The older brother attempted comfort with the Rharnian, while Patrick could only cling tighter to the ethereal form with heavier sobs. "Jeez... you were always the cry baby out of the both of us."

"I fuckin' told you!" He groaned in between his sobs as he couldn't find much else to say, as Patrick seemed far too caught up in his emotions to say anything more.

Dominek gave him a gentle shush as he rubbed and patted his brother's back, a few sways in their posture to help rock the crying man some. "I know you did. I wanted to but I had to do patrols, you knew as well as I did there wasn't much choice in that." The older brother looked up to the ceiling as though he were contemplating something. "Boy I betch'a if mum were watching now she'd be proud." Patrick on the other hand could only sob for a few Bits longer, until finally the immensity of his joy in this bittersweet moment subsided just a little. "Feel better?"

"After a few dozen rounds." The Rharnian croaked with a sniffle as he wiped his nose across the shoulder of his shirt, the two brothers now at a stand in front of one another. Dominek could only laugh at the joke, even if Pat sounded serious about it. "Dominek I-"

"It's okay." The knight intervened with a hand raised. "I know you've promised a lot but little brother... you've done nothing but be too hard on your self. Ever since you dealt with the grief you never really moved on, just sort of blamed yourself for what happened... and the rest that followed afterwards."

"I've... been so lost." Patrick admitted as he wiped over his eyes with a thumb. "Completely lost without you."

"You've managed so far." The knight pointed out with a hand rested on his shoulder. "Maybe... Faith is right. Maybe I should cross over. If it helps put to rest your spirit then, it'll definitely put mine to rest knowing that you're taken care of."

"But I don't want you to." The Rharnian denied with a serious shake of his head. "I need my brother. I need you!"

"And I'm here for you, I always will be no matter where I go!" Dominek argued but Patrick didn't seem convinced. "What other choice is there if I stay?"

"I can find something."

"Pat."

"I'll do whatever it takes." The Rharnian snapped with intensity. "I've already lost enough as is, if I have to give up something else just to get you back; then what's the issue with doing it."

"You're talking about messing with the natural order here." Dominek reminded him with hands on each of Pat's shoulders. "You don't know what's gonna happen if you try to do that."

"Maybe... but if I can't do it I know someone can." Patrick looked over his shoulder towards the door where Faith had left out of. "I don't know if she's capable or not but if she can... I'll do whatever she asks just to get you back. I'll even ask Famula if I have to." Dominek's smile lessened as he could only look at his little brother with concern. "I promised."

"I know."

"And you know what happens when I promise something." Pat reminded the knight as he took a step away from him, Dominek merely allowed his arms to fall as he watched Pat walk for the door. He took a moment to wipe away the residual moisture on his cheeks, and with a cleared throat he opened the door to peer outside. "Faith?" He called out in a lighter tone with a look back to his brother, determined to ask whatever price Faith required for the return of his beloved brother.

[Faith Augustin]

51st Ashan 718
Cally's

She left them alone, as long as they needed to be and she kept herself busy while she waited to speak to Patrick again. She always did that, kept herself as busy as she could, there was nothing that she despised more than being still. It came, in part, from her childhood - kneeling in position as a slave had been something which she found very difficult indeed and so she had developed something of a reputation in freedom of always moving. His hummingbird, Padraig called her and she understood why, although she still didn't entirely understand why it was a better name, in her mind, than grasshopper, which was probably more accurate. Still, at least these trials she understood that she preferred hummingbird because it was more romantic and that was more than good enough for her.

So, when Patrick came back out, Faith was on her hands and knees behind the bar, scrubbing at the floor. She looked up with a smile as he came out and she stood, wiping her hands with a cloth and then she made her way into the room where he and Dominek were. With a smile to the two of them she came in and sat down. As she walked in, she took the time to squeeze Patrick's arm.

"I understand that you must be incredibly emotional right now, both of you," she said, her serious silver gaze encompassing them both. "But it is very rare that people get the chance to say goodbye. I can help you, and I want to." Not thinking for a moment that she was going to be hearing anything about anyone staying permanently here or such, Faith explained.

"I suggest that what we do is help Dominek to pass over first, then try and deal with this curse. However, if seeing your brother rid of the curse is what you need to pass over, Dominek," she said, with a slight smile; she couldn't say she understood it because she'd never met her siblings and had never been dead. Little did she know both those things were about to change.

"In terms of lifting this curse, I don't really know where to begin, but we'll work something out, I'm sure." she said, determinedly. But then, she saw the way that both of them were looking at her and Faith raised an eyebrow. "What?" She felt suspicion rising in her as she asked, looking between the two brothers with pale silver eyes.

[Patrick]

It had probably been plain and obvious that a lot of tears were shed since Patrick's own eyes were reddened, even then he still found himself able to somewhat provide Faith with a small grin. Only a small. He had a hunch that what he would have to say wouldn't sit well with her, that he just couldn't accept the fact what she said had to be the only way to move forward. No matter how much she may have insisted it to be, Patrick didn't really care to think about the natural order anyways. Sure enough Dominek knew good and well that his younger brother couldn't be dissuaded so easily, not when it came to getting what he wanted the most anyways. There was always a way to make it happen, always some sort of trade off that could make it work.

That was just Patrick's way really.

Yet Faith didn't know that aspect about him and surely she'd soon find out for herself, when she strolled back in to sit with them for the next part of her discussion. A squeeze? He felt fingers press into his forearm in a soft comforting manner, which led him to look to her for a moment as she smiled to him. Patrick himself couldn't but feel that genuinely she wanted to help out in some way, that maybe there was more to it than just a sense of duty. He wanted to believe there was more to Faith, and the powers she possessed as an agent of the Immortal Famula. Dominek seemed to be the first to sit back down as Pat followed her, the seat closest to his older brother taken so that the two could watch Faith equally.

As she spoke they were very quiet about the whole thing, not sure what the best way was in delivering her the news. To hear that she considered lifting Patrick's curse the best way for Dom to cross over, it sounded like the most promising of ways to begin since Patrick had dealt with it for so long. Yet she too hadn't the slightest idea on the best way to free the Rharnian of his predicament, and sure enough their silence together started to sink in with the little lady. The entire time this had gone down Dominek had only been able to grin a little awkwardly, his eyebrows raised some as he didn't know if what Faith would soon hear disappoint her.

Patrick on the other hand looked down and away from the woman as he tried to muster courage, the most assuring method of doing so done by taking a good chug of his cider beforehand. "Well uh..." He cleared his throat after he heard her say 'what' to the both of them. "Thing is- not that I don't disagree with breaking the curse first mind you!" When Patrick quickly admitted this he did so with a finger point as an approving sign. "But the thing is I don't think passing over is what Dominek and I need." Maybe not so much as Dom as Pat himself needed, but the older brother certainly wouldn't rest easy if he passed over. Not if Patrick was prone to act as he normally would at least, problems always followed him wherever he went anyways. How could the older brother find rest easy if he knew Pat always found some way of getting into trouble.

"Now just hear me out Faith!" The Rharnian insisted in the event that she would probably disagree, admittedly Patrick's own heart felt heavier knowing what he was about to get himself into. "I understand there's this 'great balance' or whatever this natural order thing is, and that those in a position like my good brother here should pass over. But... honestly that's not fair on his behalf because he hadn't any choice! What happened to him... I just feel it isn't right to insist that since he's dead he has to pass on, not when he's been one of the one of those people that I know deserves more deep down. I can't ask him to linger as a spirit when the cost is his own self and the memories that make him who he is, but at the same time I can't ask him to pass on either since that's not fair either. He deserves so much more than to be given one option or the other, and if there's any chance I can make that happen then I'll work hard to make it so."

He swallowed hard with a look down to the table and then to Dominek, his eyes somberly on the knight as the man watched him quietly. He looked as though he already lost an argument with Patrick, probably because in a sense it was a debate the knight knew he had no chance of winning since the beginning. "What I mean to say is," Pat started once more as his glassy eyes were moved to Faith again, "I'll do whatever it takes to bring Dominek back to the living. I don't care what the risks are or even what it may come to cost me, I'll even ask your deity Her self if it comes down to getting him back. Famula right? If she demands a price then tell me what it is, I'll take whatever bargain she desires just so my brother has a second chance."

A second chance. That's all Pat wanted for his brother, even if Dom seemed willing to accept his fate. Yet the mention of price clearly struck a nerve in the older brother, as he looked at Patrick hard as though the man were crazier than he let on.

[Faith Augustin]

51st Ashan 718
Cally's

He didn't think it was what Dominek and he needed? Faith looked at him and she shook her head, immediately. Patrick obviously spotted this and stopped her with a 'just hear me out', but Padraig would be the first person to tell him just how stubborn his wife was, and Faith did not look inclined to be changing her mind any time soon. But, she was who she was and so she heard him out; because she would always hear him out.

As Patrick spoke, Faith folded her hands in her lap and listened. She listened to his reasoning, his justification and his argument and she did so carefully. It was obvious that she was definitely paying attention, a slight frown of concentration on her face showed such. When he'd finished, she breathed in, pressing the pads of her fingers together, she watched as the skin turned whiter. Then, she spoke. She didn't sound angry or upset, far far from it; her tone was quiet and understanding. But it was also very, very firm.

"At the beginning of this season, there was an explosion in the docks area. A number of buildings were destroyed and I was involved in the relief effort," she looked at Patrick and Dominek and spoke the simple and honest truth. "I pulled babies and children from that rubble. Husbands and wives, sons and daughters. Brothers, sisters, parents. Literally hundreds." Faith breathed in and it was obvious that she was not lying when she spoke. "Every body, every person, I spoke to those who came to identify them, to take their dead. It wasn't what they needed and it wasn't fair." That was no argument at all.

Faith understood that Patrick wanted his brother not to be dead, but that didn't change the reality of it. "You feel it isn't right to insist that he passes on? No one is. He can stay here and not pass on but that will have consequences. He will become Empty, as I told you. And it isn't a 'great order or whatever', to be clear," this was Faith's religion they were talking about and it was obvious that she was more than passionate. "It's what happens to everyone. Every person is born, they live and they die. When they die they are given an option by Vri. Those who do not take it are given an option by Famula. Those who do not take it are where they have put themselves. I will help you cross over," she said to Dominek, her gaze on him, on them both, stern and kind in the same moment. "But say what now?"

Bring him back to the living? Faith looked at Patrick incredulously and shook her head. "I can, with Famula's grace, bring people back from the dead. There was a baby at the docks who had just died, I did that. But bring him back? He's been dead how long? There's no body to bring the soul back to?" Faith looked at Patrick and shook her head, firmly. "It's not possible. Not without a body and what life will you trade for his? What life would you be happy seeing end?" No, this was madness. There was...

"Back to life requires a body and far less time to have passed. It is possible to extend, or even expand upon his existence now, maybe, but life?" She wasn't trading one soul for another in a body. It simply wouldn't be something she would do. Not ever.