Justin's foot steps drag up the stairs, along the hall, and into the only double room in the Misty Grove Inn. He opens the door with a minimum of fumbling, steps into the room, and collapses facefirst on the nearest bed. After a moment, he shoves himself, with difficulty, back up into a sitting position, and faces Razz.

Razz followed closely behind Justin. Several times throughout their trip, she almost reached out to clutch at a corner of his coat, and such, but always stopped herself before she actually did it. Had she been unsure how things stood after they returned to the Freedom Blades compound after seeing Lexi again, she's ten times as unsure now. It's almost as if she's retreated back to the way she was when she first met Justin, only with a lot more to lose now... Not to say that Justin was ever hers... She comes into the room after Justin, and closes the door, and faces him, her eyes open out of habit, sensing that he's looking at her.

Justin sighs, heavily, and composes himself slightly. "...what in the name of the gods is going on here?" A quiet plea, seemingly addressed more to the gods than anyone in the room. He regards Razz, standing, skittish, near the door, with a bit of concern. "Are you alright? This wasn't what was supposed to happen." Er. As if that wasn't glaringly obvious.

Razz nods, her pale blue eyes staring blankly into space. "Yes, I'm alright..." she answered quietly. "Uh... what was suppose to happen?"

Justin isn't certain he believes her, really. He waves an arm in the general direction of the clearing their Gate had dropped them in. "The Council is supposed to be here. I was a member in good standing for several years. They would probably have helped us. However, it would rather appear they don't exist." He puts his face in his hands for a moment, and shakes his head.

Razz blinked, a curious expression coming into her face. "They don't exist?"

Justin shrugs, and laughs sharply, "Ha. I have no idea whether they exist or not. They don't exist here, according to everyone we asked."

Justin looks up, an odd expression on his face. "Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps I imagined it all. I wouldn't put that beyond the bounds of possibility."

Razz casted her eyes down towards the floor. "Oh... So... What are we doing now?"

Justin forcibly dispels the expression. "...mmm...well...Don't know, really. This is a nice enough town. Sorta small, maybe, but it's nice and quiet. We could stay here for a while."

Razz nodded again. "That sounds nice," she said, and feels a little at loss as to what she should do now. Well, there's always the questions... "Uhm... How did you know we were under attack?"

Justin quirks an eyebrow. "The invasion? I saw it coming, about three miles out, and ran back. I didn't make it." He sighs heavily.

Razz kept her eyes on the floor. "Oh." She tried to think of something else to say, and was reminded of Justin's fatigue while he was opening the portal. "Are you alright?"

Justin starts to shrug, stops, starts to nod, stops, starts to shrug, stops, starts to shake his head, stops, and looks very confused. "...I...might...be... I think I am. I don't know."

Razz paused. "You're not hurt?"

Justin takes a quick self-inventory. "No...I'm not-- well, a few scratches from the landing, maybe. Nah, I'm physically fine."

Razz nodded. "That's good," she said. Obviously, there's something else that's bothering Justin - but she doesn't feel as if she should pry. Too often had Justin flinched while she reached out to touch him in an attempt to comfort him... she shouldn't do more than what is asked of her. So she remains silent, and hopes that Justin would provide an explanation by himself.

Justin is (probably quite clearly) not being set at ease at all by Razz's inaction. It seems just to be confirming whatever suspicions had been dragging on him. "...I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?" he asks, approaching the issue obliquely.

Razz looked up, caught completely off guard by the question. "What?" She asked, not quite understanding.

Justin repeats, with a little more surety, "I make you uncomfortable. I've been trying to keep you too close, after, ahh, Crulath, and I never found out how you felt about it."

Razz frowned, the familiar expression of confusion taking over her face again. "How I felt about what?"

Justin gestures vaguely. "About...all of it, I don't know. Being uprooted and hauled off to live on a military base, abruptly. Being forced to adapt to your loss of sight. Having to put up with my 'protection' all this time." He sighs again. "I don't really know. If I were you I'd hate me right now. You've every right."

Razz only looked more confused at Justin's reply. "I don't hate you, I- Why would I hate you? I asked to leave the tower because I was putting the students in danger. I lost my eyesight because I... choose... to go with Crulath... And I... I needed you to protect me... I asked for it..." She shook her head. "I don't hate you, at all. What made you think I would? If anything I am in your debt..." How could she hate him?

Justin looks confused, now. "Mmm...but..." He shakes his head, as though to clear it. "You're uncomfortable around me. Why? Whatever it is I'm doing, tell me, so I can stop."

Razz lowered her head again. "I'm not... uncomfortable... around you..." she murmured, perhaps not very convincingly.

Justin smirks faintly, but quickly wipes the expression from his face. "Please, tell me? I don't /want/ you to be uncomfortable, but I don't know what I can do unless you'll say why."

Razz shakes her head. "I'm not, though." Of course, it doesn't feel quite right, but it's quite impossible for Razz's naive mind to imagine an instant where she'd want to be away from Justin... She's not made uncomfortable by him... but by her uncertainty of how he feels about... well, anything.

Justin will approach from a different angle, then. "Well...maybe I'm attaching too much significance to myself. But /something/ is making you uncomfortable." Almost speculatively, he rises, takes a few steps towards her.

Razz takes a small step back in hesitation, not knowing where this is going. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Justin trails to a halt, well out of reach. "...there, y'see? It /is/ me. You could've just said."

Razz is getting a bit frantic. "But- it's not..." she protested weakly.

Razz /knows/ she's not uncomfortable because of Justin... at least not in the way that he's implying... but she's incapable of expressing what really is bothering her.. she has a hard enough time grasping it herself, as it is.

Justin droops, a bit. The posture is oddly reminiscent of the one Razz assumes so often. "...why are you backing away from me, then?" Making a bit of a point of it, he retreats to his earlier spot on the edge of the bed.

Razz is caught up trying to answer this without touching that fresh wound on her heart, which she has inflicted upon herself. Of course, everything that's happened to her, she mostly invited them onto herself. "I... I just... don't know how I'm suppose to act... I guess..."

Justin winces, faintly. Now we're getting somewhere, though. "...something suddenly became wrong with how you'd always acted?"

Razz looks lost, as she often does. "I don't know... Things... have changed some..." she lowered her head again. "I don't know... where the line is... and I'm afraid of crossing it... again."

Justin frowns. "...again? When do you think you've crossed it before?"

Razz lowered her eyes, again. Don't cry, dammit, don't cry, she repeated to herself. What good does crying do you? It only makes you weaker. You're weak enough already. "When I... When I tried to come with you... When you went to find Lexi..."

Justin frowns more. "...no, you didn't...Oh. No, no, no, I didn't mean to... All I wanted was for you to stay, I didn't mean that you had done anything wrong."

Razz lowered her head some more, obscuring her face behind a curtain of black hair. Her breathing quickened, and she worked hard to keep back the tears that are threatening to spill. Why is she crying? She has no reason to cry. She isn't suppose to cry if nothing's happened to her. Then why are the tears coming? "But- but- I felt it- you weren't-" she stopped, and concentrated on calming herself.

Justin stands again, and takes a few steps towards Razz again. "I'm sorry...I really didn't mean...I'm sorry."

Razz clutched at her long sleeves, seeking to comfort herself. "No, no, I, I was wrong, then. I, I, uhm, nothing," she replied without lifting her face, logic going.

Justin closes the distance, and trails to a halt, just within reach. He seems uncertain, one hand outstretched, but very hesitantly he reaches out to take Razz's hand.

Razz's heart just about stopped when Justin's hand touched hers. Is it alright? Is it okay? Well, Justin's doing it... so it must be, she guess. Timidly, she clutches at Justin's fingers, and she trembled, but held onto only what Justin offered. It's the only way to be sure. "Th-thank you," she said, her voice shaky.

Justin takes another step closer, and takes her other hand in his. Looking into her eyes-- a futile gesture, perhaps, but it helps him focus-- he swallows once, gathers himself, and tells her. "...You could be all I've got now. Don't-- /please/ don't pull away so."

Razz's heart stopped again. Justin's words... they sound as if... almost as if he wants her... No, no, stop it, don't hope, it hurts too much to hope. You know how much he loves Lexi. He can never love you like that. How can anyone? Don't hope, it hurts too much, it's more than she can take. "Don't say that..." she nearly whimpered, still holding onto Justin's hands. "Don't say that... please..."

Justin shakes his head, slowly. "I...hope it's not true, but...I fear it's all too likely."

Razz is desperately holding her heart in place. She's too vulnerable for another wound, right now, she has to be careful. What does Justin mean, anyway? "Don't make me think- Don't, don't say what you don't mean... please..."

Justin is still looking her in the eye. "...I'm saying nothing but what I mean..." But, it seems, he's really hurting her being so close. Hesitantly, even more than before, he releases his hold on her hands. He doesn't pull away from her, but stands fast, waiting worriedly on her reaction.

Razz's hands stiffened when Justin drew his away, but they stayed still, for she dares not reach out and ask for more. So instead she clutches tightly at her own elbows, trying to make up for the loss in some way. She still would not look up. "And - what am I, compared to Lexi?" A sour smile came onto her face. "I'm just another weak little elf girl who keeps on getting herself into all sorts of trouble, aren't I?"

Justin shakes his head emphatically. "No...no! I...you can't ask me to compare. There is no way to compare. It's not exclusive. I care about you. It doesn't matter who else I care about, that doesn't change anything."

Razz clutched tighter at her elbows, taking Justin's response in the negative way that she needs to /not/ fall back into loving him again... Then again, she's never stopped... Of course, she could never mean as much to Justin as Lexi means to him... What is there to like about her? She can't think of anything, herself, other than a temporary replacement, she suppose. "Don't say things like that... That's not fair. You can say things like that now, but when Lexi comes back, what am I? You can say that you care about me, but you're still married to her... You still love her!" Tears finally escaped from down her cheeks, and she took care not to let Justin see behind the curtain of hair. "It's not fair to ask me to remain close to you only to have me tear away when your true love comes back! It's not! I can't take it!" She trembled violently. "I can't, I'm sorry..."

Razz continued, in a softer tone. "It's better this way... I only like you... just like how you like me... I wasn't sure, anyway. I've never experienced love, after all, so I'm bound to make mistakes..."

Justin reaches out, takes her by the shoulders. "L--" He starts, chokes. Starts over. "You like me, just how I like you?" He takes a breath. "Razz. I love you. Even if I find Lexi again. Even if she's still alive."

Razz is completely dumbstruck. It's as lightning had just struck her, and she's left with a blank mind, unable to do anything. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. He loves her? No, it's impossible. She must've misheard... "What did you say?" She asked incredulously.

Justin shakes his head once, emphatically. "I love you. Stop disbelieving it, /please/. It's hurting you. That's hurting me."

Razz lifted her face, finally, and she looks very dazed indeed. She takes a step back, and promptly crumples to the floor.

Justin's eyes follow her back and down, and he stares, frozen, for several moments. "Erm. Shit." Taking control of the situation for a moment, he carefully lifts her, carries her across the room, and lays her gently on the second bed, and then crosses the small gap and crumples onto his own. Somehow, he feels, that wasn't the right thing to say, right then and there.

Razz didn't actually pass out, really, her legs just sort of gave out on her. She's dazed enough to be as good as unconscious, though. It only took a few moments before she sat up again, and startered rambling randomly without much sense or logic. "You can't love me! How can you? You can't! How can you love someone like me? Don't say that! You can't love someone like me! I'm nothing!"

Justin , with effort, sits up to face her. "Stop it. /Stop/ it. Why are you doing this?"

Razz shook her head, as if to clear it. "I just, I just don't understand how!"

Justin smiles an odd little smile. "Why does it matter if you understand? /I/ don't understand, I accept."

Razz lowered her head again, and her eyes almost look as if they're staring down into her hands. "... when did this happen?" She asked.

Justin shrugs helplessly. "Some time between when I met you and now?"

Razz sighed. "You can't tell me why?"

Justin shakes his head. "I don't...really know. You care for me. You like me, even after you've seen what kind of person I am."

Razz didn't understand the last line. "What kind of a person you are?"

Justin blinks. "I'm...you've seen me in action. My entire life has been devoted to the study of efficient ways to end others'. I can't even like myself most of the time."

Razz nodded, and stood up from her bed. Slowly, carefully, she closed the gap between her and Justin, and knelt down in front of him. "You love me... even though I'm blind? And raped? And with child?" She reached out and placed a hand over Justin's chest, where he had been twice impaled by the Tree of Pain. "And even after I made you go through this?"

Justin takes hold of her hand, tightly, in both of his. "Yes," he says simply, "Yes." He frowns slightly. "A better question would be, /you/ still love /me/ after all of that?"

Razz cocked her head in question. "Why wouldn't I?"

Justin smiles. "Well, then. You have your answer right there."

Razz's eyes are lit by wonder, that... She got up off her knees, and slowly wrapped her arms around Justin, and held him close to herself. "You really love me?" She whispered, still very much amazed.

Justin slowly wraps his arms around her, in turn, and says, in a relieved tone, "I really love you."

Razz tightened her embrace, and buried her face into the nape of Justin's neck, like she had done so often after a nightmare or bad fright. Tears escaped her again, but this time, she didn't care so much. So she sniffled, and choked. "Why is it so hard to stop loving you...?"

Justin attempts to be comforting. "...it's not supposed to be something one stops or starts at will. That's rather the point."

Razz , after having throughly watered Justin's shoulder, lifted her face again. And she remembered the kiss Justin had given her, once, after the darklings had attacked the tower... And her heart pounded, and she turned and planted a shy kiss on Justin's cheek.

Justin is...pleasantly suprised. To say the very least.

Justin is, however, now rather uncertain where the line is drawn. Don't we love role reversals in this storyline? As it is, he feels more or less safe in returning the gesture.

Razz's face burned, regardless, and she buried her face in Justin's neck again. Holding him closely to herself, it almost feels as if all is well in the world again... However brief this moment may be, however things might turn out in the end... She'll have this time to treasure... For in this one, single moment, she knows that Justin loves her. And that is enough.