Razer :: Waiting For the Day

With a few more steps, he reached the edge of the tan, sandy cliff and sat down, draping his legs over the edge as he stared out at the view, his deep blue gaze narrowed as thoughts filled his mind, most of them confusing, none of them comforting. His hands gripped the rocky edge of the cliff he sat upon, not to keep him from falling, but just so that he could hold onto something instead of letting his hands just sit around doing nothing.

For the first time in so long, he was home. It wasn't the same though. It didn't bring him peace the way it used to what seemed like oh so long ago. Being back only brought back bitter memories that he didn't wish to think about. There was something though, a single memory that he did want to keep in his mind, yet that delightful piece of the past was slowly drifting away from him as if unneeded, and he wanted it back. The day he first talked to Ilana...

Blistering heat beat down on the normal civilian as he made his way through the marketplace, searching for anything that could be useful to him. He lived alone, moving out of his parents' home at the same time his brothers had. It wasn't wise to stay "back at the nest" as some called it, for too long. It caused others to look down on you as helpless and more than that, when it was time for you to leave, it was time for you to leave. It was as simple as that. As Razer came across another marketplace stand, he scanned the display area, curiosity getting the better of him. What they sold was something rather round and shiny, a skinny brown stem sticking out of the midsection and reaching out until an inch above the top of the strange thing. It wasn't really a sphere, but more like a mix of roundness, a square, and a heart-shape. The object came in several different colors.

Two stacks of it were a deep shade of red, however, near the bottom it went from the dark maroon-ish color to a bright yellow. Then there was another stack of it, the color of it being a bright gold color not unlike the color of the sun's rays. This golden turned into a very light green when it reached the bottom of the object and this light green was the color which was seen on the last stack of the item. As he eyed each thing, the younger alien tried to recognize it, finding the name of the object but it was completely unfamiliar to him.

"It's rather odd, isn't it?"

He pulled his attention away from the strange things and glanced up, his heart rate increasing as he caught sight of a lovely woman, sitting just behind the stand. It was her... The girl that he had seen so many times around their little town. Many times he had tried to speak to her, but always, he never found the courage. Certainly, she wouldn't want to talk to a nobody like him. She was far too classy for that sort of thing and he figured it would be best to stay where he was and admire her from afar, catching a glimpse of her by walking by her and not really doing much else. Wouldn't it be better that way? He could avoid any heartbreak, and easily avoid embarrassment. But she was talking to him now, and it would be more than rude not to converse in return. But her looks, her attitude, they were too much for him. Her raven hair that stopped just an inch past her shoulder. It seemed to fall perfectly and so smoothly without her even trying. And her bangs were so straight as they sat upon her forehead. Even wearing a full-sleeved medium grey dress, there was not a single bead of sweat on her face. Then her eyes... The alluring indigo of them paralyzed him and he wanted to stare into those shining orbs, investigating their depths.

She had so many sides to her when it came to her personality, as far as he'd seen from watching her interactions with her friends. She was kind and almost motherly when it came to those she cared about. Her concern for the littlest things that happened to the ones around her both amused and amazed him. A single scratch could set her off, her eyes wide with worry as she glanced at the tiny injury (if you could even call it that). Then there was the bubbly, confident attitude that she held when it came to doing things that... well, needed to be done. Work was not something she complained about, but tried her best to do without failure. It surprised him to see somebody view labor like that, and it made him want to work even harder than he did. That's what was the greatest thing about her. The mood and emotions that radiated off of her effected others in a very positive form, and that was probably why she seemed to be so popular. After all, he wasn't the only male who wanted to go after her. Some people gave up though, cause she could be so stubborn sometimes and even with everything else she had, that was a large turn off for some. But he didn't see it like that.

"Are you okay?"

Her voice reached his ears again and he snapped out of his daze, watching as she waved a hand in his face. He smiled at her and gently put her hand down using his own, a tiny blush reaching his cheeks as their hands made contact. "I'm sorry. I think the heat's getting to me." he said, laughing lightly and smiling as she did the same.

"Yes, it's been rather hot today, hasn't it? But that's okay. It's just the way our weather is. Now, I think you might've been wondering about these." she said, gesturing towards the odd objects that he had been looking at before. Razer nodded and then look closely at them once more before returning his attention to her. "What are they?" he asked, watching as she picked one up and held it out towards him.

"I believe they're called 'apples'. They aren't from our planet, but they're common on a place called Earth. Go ahead, taste one."

"It's... food?"

"If I remember correctly." she replied with a smile.

He gave her another nod, trusting that what she said was true and picked the apple out of her hand, taking a small bite of it. It was slightly hard, but once getting through the first few layers of it, it began to grow softer and as he chewed it, the fruit's juices flooded his tongue and he actually felt himself enjoying it. It was... different, and rather pleasant.

"It tastes good, doesn't it?"

"Yes. Can I buy a few of these?" he asked, eyeing the different colored apples.

"Sure! But first, you have to tell me your name." she replied, giving him another bright smile.

The young alien looked up, a bit caught off guard. But soon, he smiled back at her and held out his hand. "I'm Razer." he said, watching as she extended her hand and shook his before voicing her own name. "My name's Ilana. Nice to meet you. Now, take your pick!" He scanned the stacks once more and then began choosing, setting a couple apples of each color in the basket that he had brought with him. Once she had told him the total, he handed her his money and then waved, turning to leave. However, he stopped in his tracks as her lovely voice reached his ears again. "Wait!"

He turned his head, confusion swimming through his eyes as she ran around the wooden stand on which the apples sat and came up to him, a sliver of nervousness in her eyes. "Razer, would you maybe like to... er..." She paused in her speaking, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to find the right phrase to say. However, he understood what she was trying to ask and a small smile as well as a dawn pink blush reached his face and he felt surprise run through him at the thought that she wanted to see him again. To stop her from stuttering and feeling so nervous, he placed a hand on her shoulder and voiced a "It would be my honor." and watched as a large, delighted smile formed on her face and she nodded.

"Thank you. How about tomorrow? At First Light?"

"Sure."

"Alright, I'll see you then. Good-bye!"

"Good-bye, Ilana."

With that he turned and left her, a large smile sitting upon his face.

As the flashback came to an end, the Red Lantern sighed and closed his eyes to stop them from stinging and growing watery. No, Razer didn't cry, it wasn't part of his personality to do so. Hadn't he torn that part of himself away yet? That soft part of him that he didn't want anymore after he became part of the Red Lantern Core? Yes, he had. And then... and then...

"Aya..."

Her name escaped from his lips before he could stop himself from speaking and as soon as he realized it, his icy eyes opened and grew wide. That robot- No, that woman had brought that part back to him, and he'd actually enjoyed having it back. It was pleasant to have reassurance that he actually still had emotions aside from rage, that he hadn't gotten as far over to the edge as he thought he had. She was the reason he had finally given up grieving and finally opened himself to everything that was going on around him. But it still wasn't that easy. Now he was without her too. It's not like she was dead, but they had parted and he'd despaired in that parting. He remembered clearly how just days ago he'd been part of the Interceptor's crew, and now he had become nothing again. He'd gone back to his home planet, and now he was all alone all over again. But he knew, this couldn't be over yet.

He wasn't so naive to believe that since Atrocitus was gone then everything would stay peaceful. No, a new enemy would arise and they would keep fighting, and fighting, as that was, what the Green Lanterns did. And whether he liked it or not, he was part of their crew now. Even if they didn't slap a green ring on him and call him a Green Lantern, he was basically a soldier of the Guardians. Normally, he would've never wanted to admit such a thing, but he'd grown through this journey of his; He'd changed. Now he'd just wait and wait until their team reassembled again, until he saw her again.

With a sigh, the Red Lantern watched as the last of the sun's rays disappeared over the horizon line, leaving the sky to grow a dark inky color and allowing the three moons of his planet to rise. By now, one of them should be a crescent and the other two would be halves that were flipped around. One of them being the half that was shadowed on its right side, and the other being a half that had darkness on its left side. However, it didn't matter to him. He had no interest in astronomy. So, with a sigh, Razer stood up and walked away, heading towards the place where he would sleep away his lonely nights and just dream. Most of his thoughts would probably be about her, but he wouldn't have it any other way.