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Something itches his nose; his first instinct is to scratch it, but he finds he can't.
His whole body aches, something that shouldn't happen because he's supposed to be dead.
He's supposed to be dead.
He tries again, harder, and manages to scratch the bridge of his nose heavily. He lowers his hand again. He takes a deep breath.
It smells like fresh grass, a scent he's never particularly liked since he's unfamiliar with it. He was more familiar with the sweet smell of the city's bakeries, the smell of burning oil, the chalk on the blackboard he shared with Viktor for seven long years.
Viktor.
He bolts upright, feeling dizzy. He looks around, half-blinded by the clear light. He's in a meadow. All pale green, grass and flowers, light, life. In the distance, there are mountains and trees.
His eyes search frantically, unaware of where he is, and he finds what he was looking for.
Viktor is lying not far from him, as if he's sleeping. Jayce takes a deep breath and prepares to get up. The heavy clothes he'd worn to battle now feel like the weight of everything he'd endured to be there. He ignores the stabbing pain in his knee and continues walking toward Viktor.
He shouldn't have ignored the pain; a particularly nasty stabbing pain brought him to his knees, right in front of his partner's face. He hisses in pain. He strokes a cheekbone, holding back tears.
His skin is covered in jagged scars where the shiny purple magical metal had once been. One particularly nasty scar runs from his forehead to his chin, straight and menacing.
Viktor opens his eyes and tries to focus. He blinks at Jayce, who still hasn't removed his hand. He closes his eyes in pain, pressing his head into Jayce's hand.
"We're not dead," he says wearily, the first thing he's heard after facing the Hex together.
Where they died together. In theory.
Viktor removes his hand and stands with difficulty. The pain in his knee has returned, along with the back pain that made him hunch forward.
Jayce helps him stay upright and not fall. Only then does he realize that nothing is covering Viktor; the futile attempt at a cloak is over his shoulders and nothing more.
Viktor seems to ignore this and rushes to Jayce, hugging him tightly. He begins to sob into his shoulder.
Jayce, with tears in his eyes, returns the hug. "We're alive," he smiled. It couldn't be that bad with Viktor next to him, he supposed.
"I want to die, Jayce," Viktor whispered in his ear.
Jayce hugged him even closer; he wanted to too, so they could succumb to that temptation together.
Jayce gives Viktor his pants, to give him at least some decency. She had to tighten them insistently around her waist, aided by half of Viktor's cloak, like a belt. The other half, like a top, covered her chest and shoulders.
They hold hands and search; there are no cliffs or buildings in sight.
They find a river without a strong enough channel or adequate depth. A fruitless search.
After what seems like hours of walking without success, they hear sounds of civilized life in the distance.
"Maybe we'll find a weapon there."
Viktor pulls Jayce along, leading them to the small village.
Everything is rural, with houses without excessive decorations. Right in the center is a small market; they could go closer.
A woman catches their attention. Before entering the village, at the end of the winding cobblestone street, there is a woman who shouts at them while waving a hand. “You're strangers, aren't you? Come closer.”
Jayce is the first to approach, Viktor following a little behind, puzzled by the call for attention.
“Few people frequent the area,” the woman says with an accent; her hair is dark, wavy blonde, tied back with a scarf. “Do you need help?”
“Actually, yes,” says Viktor.
“Come into my house, eat, and tell me. I'm Von,” the woman introduces herself, beckoning them inside.
They hang back a little. Jayce whispers to Victor, “What are you doing?” Viktor looks at him with some guilt. “She might have a gun or something, or maybe we could earn money to buy one. Besides, my leg hurts,” he laughs bitterly.
They enter the house; the door frame is so low they have to bend down to enter, and the ceiling almost touches the top of their heads.
The room is lit by the fire crackling in the fireplace, where soup is cooking.
"Guys! Time for lunch!" the woman shouts toward the entrance to the hallway. "We have guests!"
Without waiting for a reply, the woman begins to pour several dishes into a bowl and place them on the wooden table in the center of the room. "Please sit down."
"My name is Viktor, this is Jayce," he sees fit to announce once they are seated.
The woman nods as she places a bowl of thick soup in front of them.
Two children enter the kitchen: a little redhead helping a little girl a few years younger, with hair the same blonde as her mother's; she limps on one leg.
“Come on, guys, sit down. The food’s getting cold.”
Von shares anecdotes about the town, and the red-haired boy eats hastily next to him, filling in the blanks or offering his opinion.
The little blonde girl doesn’t speak.
Jayce hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation and notices that the little girl just looks at them and addresses her directly. “Hey, what’s up?”
The girl speaks easily.
“I haven’t been able to go to town today; it hurts so much,” she pouted, pointing at her leg. “I fell out of a tree a few months ago.”
“Well, it’s okay. We’re similar in some ways,” Jayce says, sticking out her leg with the brace. The little girl’s eyes light up.
“Can I have one too?” she asks so loudly that everyone at the table turns to look.
Jayce doesn’t have the heart to say no, but her mother doesn’t seem happy about this. “Honey, manners.”
“No-no, it's fine, I can make you one, I just need some materials. I'm an uh... inventor and a blacksmith.”
The mother accepts the help with an embarrassed smile. And after eating, she gives Viktor a T-shirt that belonged to her deceased husband and thanks him for the help. Viktor uses a tape measure to measure the blonde girl's leg, writes down the measurements in a borrowed notebook, and begins to draw a design.
Then he sits next to Jayce and watches him bring the design to life. The two children wander around near them, asking, looking, and chatting about school.
It wasn't until late at night that they had it ready. While it was still warm, they show it to the little girl, and she screams excitedly.
Her brother takes it and helps her put it on, following the instructions of the two adults.
Once it's on, the little girl jumps happily.
Jayce and Viktor smile.
The mother near them smiles happily with tears in her eyes. “Please, we’ll stay as long as you need, no explanations.”
Viktor nods, taking Jayce’s hand and squeezing it. “Thank you so much.”
They offered him a guest room, dusty from disuse, and a single bed by the window.
They settle in together.
“You think our plan could be postponed a bit, don’t you?” Jayce commented.
Viktor rubs his nose on Jayce's shoulder and strokes his chest. “Tomorrow morning we can look for a job.”
Jayce takes Viktor’s hand on his chest and kisses the back of it. “Yeah, okay, I promise.”