-||Truth Behind the Mask||-

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven nodded and concentrated as hard as she could on the image, moving her finger along with him. "What is this one?" She asked.

"None of it's your fault." Beth said shaking her head. "None of it, do you hear me? No matter what anyone's told you, it is not your fault. Everything happens for a reason, Alex. Your father left before you knew him, how could that be your fault? And Juliette, it wasn't your fault and neither was your mother. Do you think they enjoy having you feel this way? They want you to be happy. And Haven's grandmother, well, that was bound to happen. She made it clear she wanted to take her, she tried when Haven was still a little girl." She shook her head and sighed again. "You cannot blame yourself for any of this." Beth gave him a smile of encouragement and said, "Live in the now, be happy, positive. Haven needs you to be strong for her but you can't do that until you are strong for yourself."  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"This is a relic of protection," Ray explained. "It protects the specific area from beasts of dark magic. There are many others that you can learn but that would be for later study. Just focus on that and try to memorize each significant detail of the image." He was specific in an explanation of the what lines went where.

"Strong for yourself, isn't that selfish though? Alex thought after she spoke, trying to iron out the emotions he was feeling at the present moment. He looked at her after a moment and tried to swallow his emotions. "How do you know you're right?" he asked after a moment. "Is haven mad at me?"  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven nodded and focused on the shape. She made sure to memorize each and every curve and line as well. "And you just draw it?" She asked, meaning that's all you had to do for protection.

Beth smiled and said, "Just trust me, ok? And no, she isn't mad at you. She couldn't ever be mad at you, you've done nothing but be there for her. She really needs that, poor girl's always been off on her own." She sighed a bit, now wondering how the situation in the kitchen was going.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

There are certain incantations to go with them," Ray explained, "but the first step is to understand the images and get the memorized. While you memorize this image why don't you eat something." He knew they would need to travel a reasonable distance that day to be able to get a few steps ahead of Richard and Agatha which was the optimal thing.

He let out a low sigh, trying to recall the last time he'd really been with someone. He'd always lived with people but the curse he'd gotten forced him to seclude himself half the time. He thought about Haven then and realized she'd done more for him than he realized and that he needed to be there for her. "All right," he said after a moment. "Just don't tell her that I cried, it's pathetic of me to do that."  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven nodded then said, "Ok." She let out a sigh slowly and smiled now. "Thank you." She said nodding then smirked a little. "I can tell she's mad. I can feel it." She said, sighing once more.

Beth smiled and said, "It is not pathetic, everyone cries. It's only natural. But I promise I will not tell her. Oh... We'd better go see how she's doing..." The last part was added quietly and to herself.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"That's good," Ray said with a smile. "It means you're succeeding. I grabbed some books that you can study while we travel. They're mostly images like this but they also have the spells that go along with them. Each incantation has a different use but you can only use one per image." He had gotten closer to her somehow so that they were touching, just brushing up against each other.

Alex stood up after a moment, catching some of the last words that Beth had said. He felt selfish again but he was refocused on Haven. His body ached now from the tension he'd been feeling and a wave of exhaustion hit him. "I'm hungry anyways," he said after a moment. "We can head down now."  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven's eyes seemed to light up at the idea. "That sounds amazing." She said smiling. "Images? What kinds of spells?" She was obviously very curious about this.

Beth nodded then turned and headed towards the downstairs. She was now very hungry.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"I'll teach you more about that later but for now we need to eat and get on the road," he said when he heard Beth coming from where she and Alex had been. He wanted to keep quiet but he wasn't sure how Beth would react to how close he was to Haven.

Alex had gotten downstairs before Beth and was headed to the kitchen. When he poked his head in he could see how close they were and started to feel uncomfortable again.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

[What does Ray look like?]

The moment Beth walked into the kitchen, she merely headed to the food. She didn't think much of them being that close. She knew Haven had been having an episode and that Ray was the one teaching her. So, she just figured that's what was going on.

Haven saw her mother and now Alex's head, so she stood up after having nodded to Ray. She walked over to her mother now and started to help her out. She was obviously doing a lot better now.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

[[Sorry, forgot about that... put a picture along with my other characters]]

Ray had stood up when Haven had and waited for them to figure everything out. He wasn't very helpful when it came to organizing things since he usually just threw something together and ate it in some kind of a bowl. He watched them intently though.

Alex walked in after Beth and kept quiet. He saw how Haven was happy and his doubts began to return. He felt a strange pain in his heart, it was almost as though he could have lost her. He ignored it though and leaned against the counter, ready to help if they needed him.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

[[Tis ok and that is just how I pictured him honestly lol]]

Haven and Beth got everything together quite well then brought it over to one of the tables that was actually in the kitchen. Haven collapsed into one of the chairs, still tired and Beth sat down near her.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex had intended to sit next to Haven but seeing the spot taken he sat across from her. Ray had followed and sat across from Beth. Both of them were silent now, feeling slightly awkward in the other's presence.

"It smells delicious," Alex said after a moment. He looked exhausted again, almost as if he could sleep at the table.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven smiled at Alex and said, "Thank you." She had worked hard on it which was partially why she was tired. She had wanted it to be perfect for him. Beth noticed the tension between the two men but she was wise enough to keep quiet about it. At least when Haven was around that is.

"Help yourself." Haven said smiling happily now, completely oblivious to the tension.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex started to serve himself after he got permission to do so. Once he'd served himself enough he passed the serving utensil to Beth to make sure she got her fill. He wanted to make sure that Ray got the least amount of food. "I'm sure it's just as delicious as it smells, if not more," Alex said as he looked at Haven.

Ray hadn't reached forward right away but saw his mistake when Alex began to serve himself. If he wasn't careful there wouldn't be enough food for him to eat, but he knew he would have to tough it. He was already aware that Alex ate far more food than anyone else because of the periodic changing of form.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven smiled more at Alex's words and nodded in thanks this time. Beth took only a little bit, she didn't eat much at all. When she finished, she handed it to Haven who didn't take much either. There was still a lot left when it reached Ray.

The two women were use to having very little to eat so their stomachs didn't take kindly to eating more than it was use to.