12-Sanctuary

I couldn't get it out of my head all day. Or the next. I was still thinking about it on Monday afternoon. I had saved Arin from certain death. At the end of the memory, I he had had extensive blood loss, yet was somehow here to protect me today. Something had happened , and during that time, he had decided to work for Isadore (I refused to think of her as myself). He had given up his life with the Eldern, one That I thought amazing and surreal. He had done so much for me, yet, what had I done? Gone and lost my memory.
-I must be a dead weight-
I had my head down and was walking in the direction of the school gate, so I didn't see him sneak up on me.
"Hello."
I jerked up, almost tripping over my own feet in the process, then kicking myself mentally when he had to catch me. Wasn't I relying on him enough already?
"Hey Arin. Everything alright?"
He gave me an odd look, as if evaluating how much he knew about me.
"Yes. I'm fine." He replied cautiously. "Actually, I've just enrolled in your school. I thought it would be easier to keep an eye on you if I could be in the same area."
"Oh. That's good then."
He frowned and lent over so he could see my down turned face. "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. I just feel like I'm depending on you to fix everything for me. I don't want to be a burden."
"I'd rather have you a burden than dead."
"I know. But I want to help... So I had an idea."
He took a step back and squared his shoulders. There was a weary expression on his face. He explained when I asked. "It's a standard reaction to that sentence, sorry. Isadore's ideas were a bit legendary, always genius, inventive and slightly painful. It became a kind of curse."
I grinned. "Well, lets see if I can prove myself wrong."

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After the travel, during which I educated Arin on bus services, I took him on a small tour. We had be dropped just on the skirts of Cainport, the place my father worked in. Things were slow here and a lot of these things went unnoticed. For example, the owner of the abandoned warehouse. Nobody had a use for it, so it went by uncared for, simply existing.
"And you think we could use this place?" Arin queried.
"Well, I don't know where you've been living since I met you, but I can guess that you didn't book accommodation in advance."
"Not exactly."
"Then this is what you need. Somewhere remote, quiet and not too far away. Think of it like... a base of operations. There is enough space here to store your things comfortably. Diana could even stay here if she wanted."
"Oh, I doubt that will happen." He scoffed, nudging an old spanner with his foot. "She's probably staying in a hotel somewhere."
He looked so out of place here, like the prince among peasants. The space inside was almost bare, grease stained shelves leaning against a few walls and creating maze-like partings. I stopped for a second.
"How is she staying in a hotel with no money?"
"Oh, she has money." He said absently while pressing a hand to the concrete floor. "She will have aquired it from someone by now, who knows how. She wouldn't dare stay in a place like this."
We both looked around again in silent agreement.
"It will definitely need work," I thought out loud.
"Much work, but don't think that can be avoided."
"What do you mean?"
"Your ideas." He turned to me and smiled that rare smile. "They're always genius, inventive and slightly painful. You're not so different to her after all."
It was that moment that I realised I had done the right thing by bringing him here, even if the effort required to fix this place was colossal. I hadn't just bought him sanctuary, I bought him security. I n his eyes, for the breifest of seconds, I could see his doubts about whether I was still the Isadore he knew, whether I was worth the trouble. Then they had cleared and he turned away.
"Not so different after all."