Waiting For Sunrise Part 2

[Black Philip]

It was a quiet walk through Sabrina's district. Jake spent most of it in thought, wondering what it would be like to see the sun again. Jake had also forgotten how pretty the south was. The Central District was tall sky scrapers like The Luminary, and brownstone style apartment buildings, like Haven Crest. They were packed streets full of all signs of urban living. There was garbage, graffiti, odd smells, man holes and carts selling various street foods. Jake had grown to like it, but he truly did miss living down here. They passed a small park that Jake recognized, and he realized that they were getting close. Jake gripped the box tightly that held the ring. While he was being quiet, his mind was very loud.

I'll be a day walker.
I might be the only one in town.
Will I get tan?
I need to hire a full time fae donor quick.

They reached the outer gates of the Dante's Inferno, a beautiful, luxury building, tucked away in a sleepy part of the south. Jake typed a six digit code and the large metal gates opened into a parking lot, filled about two-thirds of the way. The actual building looked like something plucked off fifth avenue New York. It was twenty stories of brick, marble, and iron. It was neat. It was tidy. It was very the opposite of the White Rabbit. A security guard greeted them.

"Welcome back Mr. McCloud. Will you be spending the night?"

"In fact, yes," Jake replied. "Can you phone the White Rabbit and tell them?"

"Yes sir." He nodded at Sabrina politely, and then went about his task. Jake guided Sabrina into a mostly marble lobby, with a slight staircase leading to six elevators. A front desk sat an ancient looking man in uniform. Jake knew he wasn't dead because he could hear his heart beating. Otherwise, he wouldn't really be sure he was breathing. Jake opened the service elevator, which had a higher ceiling than the standard ones.

"After you," he said, indicating to Sabrina that she should get in. They took it to the 17th floor, where they had to transfer to another elevator to reach Jake's penthouse. The doors opened into the apartment, and Sabrina would see boxes and boxes of stuff neatly stacked against the wall. It looked like it was being used for storage, the furniture covered in white cloth. The actual living space was large, and deep, and included one whole wall of glass. It already gave a great view of the city. In the center of the room was an iron wrought spiral staircase that led to a hatch in the ceiling.

"This was home before I went underground," he informed, Sabrina never have visiting him when he lived here. "Do you need a glass, water, the bathroom," he offered, indicating that any other request she might have was also okay. He looked nervous but excited, and was feeling both in waves.

[Harlequin]

"It's lovely," Sabrina commented as she entered, giving the space an appraising look. It was luxurious, certainly, but a bit too modern for her tastes.

"The bottle is fine, thanks. Most wineglasses look too silly for words in these paws." She held up a hand and twiddled her fingers to indicate her hands. Not that most things didn't look tiny in them, but wineglasses made her feel especially big-Alice, for some reason. Probably the number of them she'd inadvertantly broken.

"Is there a balcony?" she asked.

[Black Philip]

"Better," Jake said, smiling wide. He liked getting to show off his place, even if he was no longer an occupant. He guided her to the staircase, making sure she minded her head as they ascended. Jake opened the latch, and went up onto the roof. He waited until Sabrina had joined him. While a tight fit, it was easy enough her her to get through, and once they were standing Sabrina would see the kind of view Jake talked about. To the north there was the metropolis, shining bright and standing tall. It's twinkling lights, tall skyscrapers, and modern architecture looked like a post card at this distance. To the south and east nature could clearly be seen, the vast openness of Charon's lands spread out before them. To the west some of the historical buildings were visible. Off in the far distance, one with supernatural eyes, like theirs, could faintly see the shores of glitter beach.

A greenhouse had been placed on the roof, but instead of plants there was a bed inside. Jake would've blushed if he'd fed more recently. "I take a lot of dates up here," he admitted, somewhat sheepishly. There were a few patio chairs and umbrellas too, giving Sabrina plenty of options where she'd like to sit. Sunrise was approaching, but it was still a few minutes off. The tinniest bit of pink touched the horizon. The day was waking and soon the night would begin to fade. Jake waited for Sabrina to get comfortable, and then opened the small box that held the ring.

It was pretty looking actually, and while Jake didn't sense anything as he looked, he knew what power it held. He carefully placed it on his right index finger, and strangely the ring seemed to conform exactly to the size needed for a perfect fit. His hands were smaller than Lazarus's and yet the ring was snugly on. He quickly proved it could be taken off with enough twisting and force, and was actually thankful it wouldn't be loose on his hand. He held it up, and looked at it, rotating his hand around to see it from all angles. He held it for Sabrina to see.

"What do you think," he asked. "Does it do anything for my eyes?"

He batted them for her to complete the jest.

[Harlequin]

The view was breathtaking.

As much as Sabrina was used to towering over a crowd, this was different. She realized she'd never had the opportunity to see the whole city like this before, laid out like a map. Magically, she thought idly, this view could be a boon.

As she thought this, she hefted the wine bottle in one hand. Other palm flat a few inches over the bottles neck, the cork worked its way out with a crinkling of foil, and then disappeared in a flicker of flame. As they passed the greenhouse, Sabrina shot Jake a knowing look. "Any boy should be so lucky," she commented, with a grin.

As to the ring: "Hmmmm," she said, touching a fingertip thoughtfully to her pursed lips, "It looks good on you." She decided, "But it is an awful, gaudy thing, isn't it?" She laughed, breaking out in a smile.

[Black Philip]

Jake laughed. It was gaudy indeed, but he liked it all the same. Jake could be a bit gaudy too.

"Thank god I already wear a lot of black and leather," he said, smiling at her. Her comment about boys made him want to confide in her about Murphy, but he considered it wasn't the right moment for that. He pulled out his phone, and sent another text he was sure would be unanswered.

Doing something dangerous. Miss you. Will text when I'm sure I'm safe.

Perhaps that would get his attention. He put his phone away, and reflected that being a District Leader's boyfriend meant Murphy might get that text a lot. Jake hoped not, but had to be realistic. His life was dangerous. That's why he needed this ring. He could use it to keep his friends and family safe. He could keep Sabrina safe too, not that she needed his help.

"What scares you," he asked, being truly curious about it. It felt random in his brain, but also seemed to be the right thing to bring up. Jake realized that perhaps through all his excitement, he was scared himself.

[Harlequin]

"What scares me?" she echoed, brows raised. She breathed a heavy sigh through pursed lips, and looked out over the horizon.She took a sip of wine and considered, "The unknown." She said at last. "I've dedicated my life -- the later part of it, anyway -- to explaining things that defy explanation by their very nature. I've been beyond the edges of reality as we know it a hundred times, and brought pieces back with me. It's made me what I am and given me what I have." She looked back at her friend, taking another pull from her wine bottle, "But there's so much I don' know. "

"Why?" she asked, "What scares you? This?" She gestured to the horizon, the pinkness creeping along its edge. "Death?"

[Black Philip]

"It's frustrating isn't it," Jake asked, in response to Sabrina's fear. "All that not knowing? And it's even worse because you know you'll never know it all. Even Charon can't know everything. He's been alive for three thousand years, which for someone who's not even three-hundred is a lot to handle, but even he has a tiny piece of the full puzzle. I can see why it scares you."

His mind was racing, but he turned and heard what she asked him in reply, and despite a delayed response, he answered her back. "I do fear death, but not my own. I sometimes think nothingness, oblivion, the void would be a release. Well, you remember."

He'd been fairly suicidal not that long ago, and while it seemed he was doing better, those same ghosts had changed his thinking forever.

"What I fear is not being here for the people who need me. I mean, Sam isn't even ten, and is still making a lot of young mistakes. You know what the city calls my people; savages, thugs, brutes, goons and those are the nice ones. Who will look after them and keep them safe if I die? I don't fear death so much as I fear leaving people behind. Do you ever feel that way?"

He turned to look at her now, and he'd become fairly philosophic as he waited for sunrise. The tiny sliver of pink at the edge of the horizon was starting to brighten, and now some orange had crept in. The stars were still shinning, although Jake noticed they had begun to fade into the day.

[Harlequin]

"More often than I can say." Sabrina took another long pull from the bottle before folding herself down to sit on the concrete beside her friend, one knee crooked up over the other, the skirt of her dress draped across.

"Ah, but when you're dead, you don't care," She said at length. She spoke like she knew in a way beyond what everyone did. She turned her head to look  at Jake, crooked smile replacing her far-off look, "I'm glad you're not dead. I'm glad you care."

[Black Philip]

Jake loved very few people. He could count them all on one hand. Sabrina was one of them. She had wisdom, and Jake was happy to gain a piece of it. He reached for her hand. She'd confirmed something that he'd been thinking about a lot lately. Was it better to be more human as a vampire, or less. He considered he could be missing Sabrina's point, but for once he felt happy he had so many feelings.

"I'm glad you care too, and ya know, aren't dead."

If Jake was going to back out now was the moment, but as he sat with Sabrina here on his rooftop, he was not longer scared. He would live. He had to. The yellow top of a circle became visible now. The building was cast in shadow, but daylight had started to creep towards them. Jake tried to remember his last sunrise, but like so much of his early life he came up with nothing. He could remember sunrises before then, but not the one he looked upon before he became a vampire. Either way, he hadn't seen the sun in over two-hundred years, and he was about to see it again.

[Harlequin]

The giant raised her bottle of wine toward her friend, "Cheers to not being dead!"

With a laugh she threw an arm around Jake's shoulders, and raised the bottle again to the rising sun, ""To the sunrise! To love without fear, and life without care!"

[Black Philip]

Now, the moment came. Jake was quiet as Sabrina made her final toasts, but it was because his eyes were transfixed on what was happening. The tiny, yellow half circle began to grow. A few clouds tried to obscure it, but the sun seemed to burn them away, spiteful that anything might hide it's light. The surrounding sky was a painting of reds, oranges, purples, pinks, and finally blue. The stars began to twinkle into their own sleep, and the lights of the city began to be dwarfed by the one true light. Now, the ball of fire had fully emerged, and greeted Jake as if he was a long lost friend. The morning had come. Birds flew off towards the sun, and Jake thought of Icarus, wondering if they'd fall if their wings got too close. Was it a metaphor in his mind for burning, or simply a passing thought? He'd never know, because his mind was racing between a million thoughts, ideas and feelings as he continued to look.

On the street below, humans pushing food carts and people already running to their cars, or the subway delighted Jake's eyes almost as much as the burning sun. He realized that sunrise was only part of what he'd been missing, and that he'd need to go down, and see the day. He could finally see a bright, living day! He looked back at the sky, and saw a sea of blue, with thin transparent clouds and a big yellow sun. Time seemed to pass like it were seconds, but Jake realized he and Sabrina must've been sitting there for over an hour for the sun to be where it was, and that meant...

Jake looked down, and saw the rays of the sun on his skin, and yet he didn't burn! He felt no pain, no strain, no need to run inside or lest be burned. It was like the mind defenses in that it felt normal. Jake now realized the heat he felt on his skin, and it felt good to be warm. He turned to Sabrina with the happiest expression she'd ever seen him wear.

"It's so beautiful," he said, his tone a mix of child like wonder, and deep fulfillment. He realized then, that he hadn't remembered any sunrises after all. They must've been seen in movies, or his brain invented what they must've been like. This was different. It was better. It was... spiritual.

"I'm so glad you're here to share this with me," he told his old friend, and he was glad. For a moment he thanked Ben and Lazarus, in addition to Tansy and Sabrina. The later two were good people, who'd done a nice thing for him, because it's just who they were. The former two had caused him pain, and misery, and heartache. But for now, their contributions had led to this moment, and he couldn't hate them. In fact, he loved them both, or more accurately, he loved what they had inexplicably done for him.

Sunrise was over, but Jake's time in the day had just begun.