• The night air was cool, a slight breeze rustling the leaves of the forest below.

    Violet eyes combed the silent cathedral halls, searching. A young woman, her age impossible to guess, glided gracefully from door to door, window to window. She ran a hand through her raven-black hair, slightly exasperated.

    She saw a figure through a window, and stopped, staring. Had she found him at last? She crept to the sill.
    Yes!
    It was him!

    His tall, muscular frame leaned against the balcony railing. It seemed he was lost in thought, his eyes clouded with sadness. Emerald pinpricks, they were, hidden beneath his mess of blonde hair ruffled by the wind.
    She slipped out through the door, clicking it shut quietly. He made no move, but she knew by the change in his aura that he had noticed her.

    That was a special ability of hers. She tended to sense how the space around other beings contained energy, and the flow of that energy determined the mood of the being. In his case, he was aware of her, but his mood had not changed. He had not yet recognized her.

    She ventured to speak. "...D-darling?" She called him by her favorite pet name for him, her voice the sound of many bells ringing, harmonious.

    He stiffened. "...E-excuse me?"

    Bewildered, she took a step toward him. "Darling? It's me, LaTay... I've finally found you! You disappeared! You left me...but I knew you hadn't left on purpose, my love. Something had happened to you. So I searched, and searched. And here I have found you, at last! 3 long years... it was torture."

    "I...don't know who you are... this is the first time we've met."
    He turned to face her, his expression apologetic. "Do you know me from somewhere?"

    "Yes, yes!" LaTay was frightened, now. What had happened to her dear Rheno?
    "You and I met, as children! We were best friends for years! We lived together as lovers, until 3 years ago, when you mysteriously vanished from the face of the Earth! How...how could you have forgotten?"

    "I..." He seemed at a loss.

    They stood there, the air around them heavy.
    Finally, he looked away, towards the Tower.

    "I can't remember anything from my past, I'm afraid."
    He glanced at her, but averted his eyes quickly. "God, your eyes. They penetrate me."

    She gave a rueful smile. "They should, I am a Huntress, remem--" She stopped. The weight of what Rheno was saying
    crashed into her. "No..."

    Silently, she stepped back, groping for the door handle. She found it, pushing down gently.
    The mosaics of green and blue glinted brightly in the moonlight as she left him.

    --Despair. To be forgotten, is worse than death.--