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Post by hellas on Jan 26, 2011 16:41:05 GMT -8
Heracles wrapped the long white scarf tighter around him as the warm desert wind whirled around him. He'd been traveling for years, and now he was standing infront of a large door he never really thought he'd ever stand infront of again.
A shiver ran down his spine, but it wasn't due to cold. He slowly lifted his hand and knocked hard on the door.
Something had told him to come back here - and he had heard people talk that a tall Turk was living in this house. It could only be Sadik - Heracles was sure of it.
Everyone he had known were gone. Friends and family where nothing more than dust. and while he had tried to live in solitude, working his way around the world to forget and ignore the past, he knew he couldn't run forever. Something could simply not be left unspoken. Sadik probably didn't even know that his mother had died. The turk has disappeared out of their lives before she got ill. A small part of him wished Sadik had been there when she died, he could have needed someone to cry on - but his pride would not have let him do such a thing.
Waiting in patient silence, Heracles stood still as the door was finally opened. His face - almost completely obscured by the long scarf - hid his identity, but did nothing to alter his monotone voice.
"Good day..." He greeted the figure at the door
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Post by turkey on Jan 27, 2011 9:02:29 GMT -8
Who the hell was knocking?
Sadik eyed the door cautiously. No one visited him, no one even came up to the old manor really, except some of the neighborhood children that liked to play in the yard. They never bothered him though, so what was with the sudden sound? Hesitantly he rose to his feet, the feeling of the cool floor against the bare skin rather relaxing, calming his nerves some. Not to think that the unexpected visitor was a threat, but he had learned to be very cautious in these parts. His parents had taught him to be wary of strangers, though he tended not to fall into that habit.
The face that greeted him when he opened the door was strange, to say the least. Something familiar rung in the voice that spoke from beneath the scarf. He smirked a little, finding small joy in the fact that there they were, two strangers (or so he thought) with identities hidden. Sadik's by the white half-mask he wore, the stranger's by his scarf. His smirk turned into a confused for of frown as he greeted back "Good Day..." A hesitation then "Can I help you stranger?"
It wouldn't be the first time someone had randomly showed up on his door. Though the last time the child had actually opened it, come inside and eaten one of his apples. Girne hadn't been entirely unwelcome though, a lovely surprise for a man who had thought he was doomed to live alone, a man who had thought he would leave behind no heir. The familiarity of the voice made him wonder though if this man was not completely a stranger, and if he was soon to be less alone than he was now.
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Post by hellas on Jan 27, 2011 12:58:45 GMT -8
Sadik hadn't changed much - he'd aged a bit, but he still wore that stupid mask. "...I guess I am a stranger after all this time..." He sighted before removing the long scarf around his head, staring into the slightly taller man's eyes. Had he changed enough to be unrecognizable? A part of Heracles wished and hoped he had - but it was unlikely. His dark brown hair was still a wavy mess and he still had rather piercing green eyes. A few years older, but not completley changed.
He didn't want to be with his life long rival, but no one else had known his mother, and no one else had known him for such a long time. And he was tired of traveling alone, he was sick and tired of new faces everyday. So despite not wanting to see the Turk's face, Heracles wanted to see something familiar, something he'd been running from and after for years.
"...I just...need a place to stay...the villagers said you lived here..." His face remained as expressionless as ever - he hoped Sadik could not hear the desperation and longing in his voice that he himself heard. "..I figured it was...worth a try to ask you..."
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Post by turkey on Feb 3, 2011 14:46:08 GMT -8
Curiosity took it's hold when the man spoke, eyes widening when he removed the scarf. "By the heavens...Hera?" His jaw hung a little limply. He'd never expected to see Heracles again after he'd left. He had expected the boy to leave and never return, because he knew the Greek hated him. Though it was always unfair that the hate came without reason in his mind, it somehow felt natural. It felt like they were supposed to be rivals.
His voice, it sounded almost desperate, almost pleading. He ignored it though, realizing what a blow to the greek's pride it was to come to his childhood rival seeking shelter. He felt almost that somehow the man knew that he would never turn him away. He didn't have it in him to shut the man he had seen as his brother most of his youth out, not when he needed it. A weak smile crossed his face, his eyes watching carefully from behind the mask.
"Of course Hera, come in." He stepped out of the way, opening the door wide to his old rival. Once Heracles was inside he closed the door behind them. "Don't be too loud, Girne's sleeping." Of course he was kidding, the Greek was never loud. "I thought for sure I would never see you again, how have you been?" An effort at hospitality was made, but vaugely. He considered the man as good as family, which meant he was naturally welcome, and would be treated kindly. They were grown men now, their youth was behind them, surely they could put things aside and be civil for once.
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Post by hellas on Feb 5, 2011 6:05:33 GMT -8
It actually made Heracles happy that Sadik remembered him - even after all these years there was still something familiar to come back to.
Heracles nodded in confirmation that yes- it was him. Stupid question really, but he wasn't going to start a fight right now.
He gave a court nod and stepped inside the elder male's mansion.
"Thank you Sadik..."
There was a familiar scent to the house that was filling his lungs with a feeling of 'home'.
A shame it belonged to the turk...
"Girne?" Heracles stared at Sadik in slight confusion "..who is he?"
Despite his confusion, Heracles' voice was low and soft as always. He hardly raised his voice above normal 'indoor' tones unless he was truly furious.
"I have been...well..." it was a lie, and Heracles knew Sadik would probably see straight trough it, but he refused to elaborate until he'd sat down and perhaps had something nice to drink in his hands - storytelling tended to take a while. He spoke slowly, because life was hardly worth rushing.
"and you...how have you fared?"
Obviously better than me he though bitterly.
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Post by turkey on Feb 5, 2011 12:17:45 GMT -8
Oh that was right, Heracles didn't know about the child that had recently slipped into his house and had revealed himself to be something rather important. "My son." He clarified it simply, not wanting to elaborate on the whole fact that the boy had only been living with him for a few days, and that before the child had nearly been mistaken for a thief in his home, he had had no knowlage he even had a son.
The lie was an obvious one, something was bothering the Greek. He made little sign that he had picked up on the lie though answering the question with a smile. “Things have been well here, there isn’t much to worry about really, though there’s talk that they’re trying to find the man who is the nation of Turkey.” It felt very strange to call the nation that. His parents had been born in the time of the Ottoman Empire, and they had always called it that around him.
Slowly he turned to walk into the living room, gesturing at the couch telling Heracles calmly “I’ll go get some food and drink, anything specific you want?” He lingered around, awaiting the quiet Greek’s request. He was sure he wouldn’t want anything too complex. Hera had fairly simple tastes in his mind. As far as Sadik could remember, the Greek had often rejected the luxuries of living with his family, as if he loathed them.
It had always been strange to see a child offered whatever his heart desired turn down anything offered to him.
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Post by hellas on Feb 5, 2011 14:55:57 GMT -8
Heracles blinked in slight confusion "A son...? Is a 'congratulation' appropriate then?" Sadik as a father? The idea was incredibly odd, yet strangely fitting. Heracles hoped to meet this kid, the thought of a little Sadik was amusing.
Of course the Turk picked up on his lies, damn that man and his ability to see through him. Wait? Representation of Nation? Heracles felt a wave of familiarity at those word - something he felt he should remember, but it was clouded. Like a ship lost at sea, he couldn't place the memory - he shook the thought away - best to dwell on that in peace and quiet. "That sounds like a fairy tale....a human representation of a nation? sounds like a story Mother would tell us..."
Heracles followed after Sadik, taking in the decor of the mansion. Elaborate and rich...he wasn't sure what to think about it. It suited the turk but he himself preferred simpler things. "...No...nothing special...no need for anything fancy.." He sighted and took a seat - the sofa was filled with luxurious pillows. He could sleep comfortably right here for days - but that would be rude. And he had nowhere else to go...
Patiently he waited for the turk to return, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that he shouldn't be here...He'd been getting the feeling more and more lately. Something had been left undone, and he had to fix that. Perhaps Sadik was the key to solving this 'mystery'.
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Post by turkey on Feb 12, 2011 11:15:49 GMT -8
Sadik chuckled, nodding as he trotted off to retrieve something rather simple. He didn't feel up to cooking, so he settled on the first edible thing his eyes fell upon, apples. He picked the first one that seemed good, fetched a glass of water for Hera, and returned to him, setting the two thing on the table sitting infront of the couch. He sat down calmly in a char facing the couch.
"I think yer mother did tell us some story like it once, like how there used to be people who were their nation in a human's body. But she said they all died in the war or something." He shrugged "Who knows, it's been years since then...all I know is there's some people that have been around sticking their noses where they don't belong, asking about someone around here who's supposed to be Turkey...it doesn't make sense though." He hesitated before admitting "It's making me kinda nervous though, I think I've seen some of the men when I go into the market, they aren't from around here."
He left out the fact that he always got the feeling they were after him whenever he saw those men clad in military uniforms. He shuddered a little thinking about them, and quickly brushed the thought from his head. "Anyways...what's really going on with you eh? How has your mother been?" Those two were always so close, it had made him envious of their bond. He had never been close with his parents, the Greek woman had been more of a mother to him than his own.
Still, he felt bound to his family, even if they had hardly raised him. He had vowed to himself that he would never let himself leave Girne so carelessly. The boy deserved a father who was there for him, and he was going to do his best to be that father.
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Post by hellas on Feb 13, 2011 11:17:14 GMT -8
Heracles mumbled a quiet 'thanks' as he reached for the apple and glass of water - he didn't want to seem rude, but two gulps and the glass was already empty. Warm weather did make him thirsty, no matter how used to it he was.
"Yes...there seems to be a lot of activity going on around the world..." Greece had been hiding for a while on the floating island's of Greece. Hardly anyone dared go there - apart from cats. But after having stayed there, he found he missed human companionship and had sought his way back down to the ground. first walking around the ruins, then making his way towards Turkey.
"But what if...they died and where reborn?" Heracles took a large bite of the apple and chewed thoughtfully. "...many religions believe in re-birth..and..." another large bite from the juicy apple "...would they even be human?" Heracles doubted something as a personification of a nation could die...
He diverted his eyes and placed the half eaten apple on the table. "She.....she's gone..." He swallowed and tried to hide the hurt and sadness in his voice. At least that did confirm that Sadik had not know one of Heracles reasons to travel so far away from where he was born
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Post by turkey on Apr 11, 2011 13:45:38 GMT -8
Sadiq frowned at the news. "That's..." He looked away, feeling a pang of depression hit him. "That's unfortunate. She was a wonderful woman." She'd been more of a mother to him at times than his own. The Turk had always envied the Greek for that fact, he had a mother around for him all the time. He'd been lucky when his own parents could bother to stay in town more than a week. They had always been on the move and he'd hated it. "She will be missed." His words were sincere, laced with sorrow for the loss of the woman.
"I trust you have been strong?"
Heracles had always been so distant and strong, he didn't doubt that he could survive the loss of his mother. Though the fact he had come to him made him wonder if perhaps he needed a shoulder to lean on. He'd be more than happy to offer it. The bad blood between them was in the past after all. No sense in letting things heat up between them over the past.
The merchant's son sighed, looking at his friend calmly. "Anything I can do to help ya' out Hera?" The offer was genuine, he meant to do whatever he could to help the man.
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Post by hellas on Apr 19, 2011 10:33:11 GMT -8
Heracles managed a small smile in Sadik's direction before leaning back and staring at the ceiling.
"Where ever she is...I hope it is a better place..." somewhere safe and nice at least. Heracles couldn't ever remember where she was burried...doctors had taken the body far away before he'd gotten to say his proper goodbyes.
The turks warm words made him feel a small amount of happiness - for all the contempt he'd held for the older man as children he was happy to have someone else remember his mother.
"I've tried at least..." Heracles closed his eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the smell of what could almost pass for 'home'.
"Your offer is very generous Sadik...I don't wish to be a bother...I'll leave as soon as I know where to go" He sat up a bit more straight in his seat and looked pleadingly at the older turk "I...was hoping..you'd perhaps let me stay...for a short while...I'll go crazy if I have to be alone for much longer..."
The old ruins had only given him strange dreams - nightmares even. He didn't feel like having more terrifying visions of war...
or the worst one...him killing his rival and best friend... Heracles needed familiarity again - not more time to think and feel sorry for himself.
"I won't get in the way of you life...." he though for a moment before sheepishly adding "...or your son's..."
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