Saying Sorry Is So Hard (But Goodbye Is Harder)

[Kender Bard]

Virgo woke early, true to her word; not because she would need a long time to fortify her nerve... but because there was much reading and writing to be done.

Rooting around amongst her father's cluttered collections, she managed to unearth a tome with poetry in it.

Virgo didn't have a musical bone in her body, but being raised by her father as she was, she had an acquired taste for drama and romanticism. A mere letter would have been befitting. Why write a plain note when you could talk?

But perhaps something with a little flair would convey her message better. So, stealing words out of the mouths of more talented men and women, she set about drawing bits and pieces from the book to write down her apology.

At one point she did stop and realize how silly and overly dramatic her approach was. She even started to crinkle the letter up but stopped herself. She'd already put effort into it and it would be hard to make herself seem more stupid anyway.

She smiled, remembering dimly some advice her father had told her when she was little. If you're going to fail, do it spectacularly!

By the time she was finished, she was quite certain that this was a very spectacular way of doing something as mundane and humbling as an apology and something in her felt satisfied with that.

Letter in hand, she hurried to Garrick's, hoping he wouldn't be gone yet.

[Darastrix]

Garrick was just heading out the door with a cloth-wrapped bundle in hand - most likely his lunch - when Virgo arrived. He frowned and glanced off to the side, trying to avoid looking at her directly. Why was she here?

"Good morrow," he murmured as he tried to walk past.

[Kender Bard]

"Garrick, please wait," Virgo sighed, and turned to follow him. If he refused, she could just slip the letter into his pocket and hope he looked at it.

I knew it, he doesn't want to see me again, she thought sadly.

[Darastrix]

Garrick sighed to himself and paused. "I don't have time to dally," he said. "My master is expecting me at his workshop."

He didn't want to be cold to her; up to last night, he'd rather liked her. But after the way she'd treated him, insulted him, just for the sake of flirting with a man who clearly didn't even know her, Garrick wasn't sure where he stood or how he should act. Not that he ever had the firmest grasp on the latter in any case.

[Kender Bard]

"Then take this with you?" Virgo pleaded, holding the letter out. "You can read it when you have time... or throw it in the gutter when I'm not looking. But, please, take it."

She had partially hoped that he may have been able to stay and read it so she could see his reaction, but at least this let her run and hide like she had wanted to do in the first place.

[Darastrix]

Garrick looked it the letter for a long moment, then sighed and took it. He suspected what it was and wasn't sure he wanted to read it. It was an explanation or apology, he figured. And he knew he'd most likely accept it. He wasn't one to hold a grudge and didn't like the idea of holding one. But he didn't much like the idea of opening himself for another incident like the one the night before.

I'll need time to sit and mull over this later, Garrick thought, and tucked the letter into his woolen vest.

"I'll read it," he said, "but probably not until I've come home tonight." He could wait, and he didn't want to be distracted at work.

[Kender Bard]

"Aye," Virgo agreed quietly, backing away now that he'd taken it. "Farewell then. And have a pleasant day." She chewed on her lower lip a moment and, realizing there was nothing more she could do, turned and sprinted away, feeling the pressure of the moment fall away only to be replaced with the anxiety of anticipation. Sometimes you can't win.

[Darastrix]

Garrick lost himself in his work easily enough; his fingers weren't quite nimble enough yet for him to allow his mind to wander. He needed to keep his stitches straight and to make sure his needle didn't pierce too close to the writing in the margin. By the end of the day, he'd nearly forgotten about the letter, but was reminded by the quiet crinkle of parchment as he straightened from being hunched over.

He walked straight home from the shop and set the letter aside while he quickly tended a few matters. Even Garrick's patience had its limits, and he was becoming curious despite his misgivings. Once the fire was built, with a kettle of water heating over it, he sat in front of the hearth and began to read.

[Kender Bard]

I, like the Wind I bear, am ever-shifting.
My heart, yearns for things out of reach, drifting.
Plain in face,
Sad in heart,
My treacherous self leads me to disgrace.

I, seeing what I thought was the very sun,
Turned away, blind in eyes, senses stunned.
Reaching for rays,
Burning fingertips,
My common sense smothered in love's hopeful blaze.

But the sun was false, and outshone something more,
Which, at my poor discretion, I chose to ignore.
A cruel sneer,
Your kind words,
Knowing my folly caused pain most severe.

I, who am undeserving, pen with teary eyes,
A farewell to friendship, bittersweet goodbyes.
And implore,
So humbly,
Overlook my weakness and be as before.

If you decline, I shall understand of course,
And carry my heavy burden of remorse.
But if there's care,
And you reach out,
I shall never again betray that trust - I swear.

-Virgo

[Darastrix]

A poem?

On one hand, Garrick thought he would have preferred something a bit more straightforward, but on the other hand, Virgo did put forth a bit more effort than a simple "I'm sorry and I won't do it again." When he got right down to it, though, that was exactly what she'd written.

He set the letter aside and drew his knees up to his chest to rest his chin on as he stared into the fire. I don't know her well enough to be able to tell if she's being sincere, he thought. Virgo didn't seem like the type to make that kind of gesture for sport, but he hadn't thought she would treat a person poorly to impress someone else.

Garrick picked up the letter again and glanced back over it. The only way to find out if she was honestly sorry, he decided, was to accept that she'd made a mistake, however thoughtless, and to accept her apology. To give her a second chance.

"I just hope I don't regret it," he murmured, and stood. If Virgo did mean what she'd written, Garrick imagined she'd be worried about how he'd take it. He'd find her, and they clear the air a bit. All things considered, it wouldn't really surprise him to find her lurking somewhere nearby, but he was prepared to walk to her home if not.

He left the letter sitting on his table and took his cloak off of the peg by the door, putting it on as he headed back outside.

[Kender Bard]

Virgo's home was well lit enough inside to assure anyone glancing at it that people were indeed home. The windows were tightly shuttered and inside there was the sound of a man singing a jaunty little tune.

[Darastrix]

Garrick paused at the door and fidgeted. That had to be her father. Virgo hadn't mentioned any siblings that he could recall. He hoped she was home as well; he wasn't sure what her father would think of a man coming by to visit his daughter out of the blue.

He rubbed his hands on his trousers nervously and raised one to tap on the door.

[Kender Bard]

At first it seemed nobody heard but Virgo's voice cut above the singing - "Father!" - and urged him to the door.

After a moment, the door opened and a tall middle aged man blinked at Garrick in some surprise. He looked... very much like Virgo, really; she clearly got most of her looks from him. The man smiled at Garrick, clearly in a jovial mood.

"Hello," he greeted. "And good evening. Can I help you?"

Virgo crept over and peeked around her father, swallowing nervously when she saw who it was. "Let him inside, father, don't make him stand in the cold."

"Of course," Sage replied with a sheepish grin and stepped aside. "Where are my manners? Vi, do you know him?"

"Aye," Virgo murmured. "Hello Garrick." She seemed torn from staying frozen to the spot and rushing around to tidy the very cluttered house - papers lay strewn everywhere, discarded quills and empty ink bottles, not to mention dinner plates were stacked unwashed in a corner.

[Darastrix]

"Hello," Garrick replied and stepped inside. "Um, I'm not intruding, am I? I just came to speak with Virgo about something. I can come back tomorrow, if that would be better."

[Kender Bard]

"No, it's fine," Sage assured him. "So long as you don't mind my working." He smiled and went to gather up a sheaf of papers and settled back down with them to look them over, making marks here and there with a battered quill.

Virgo glanced around with some despair and gestured to Garrick as she led him to a different, slightly cleaner room - one of the bedrooms. "I trust this is about my letter?" she ventured. In the main room, Sage began to sing again softly.