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Part 41 - Final Steps

(Alexei)

_ _

Afflicted by a near-unscalable mountain of paperwork along with interview after long, tedious interview, it took until long after the first leaves of autumn had fallen for Alexei's departure day to finally arrive. Still, it hadn't been all bad; the numerous conference calls he and Nathan had held with an exhausting number of immigration officials, realtors and travel agents meant they'd managed to share the considerable burden. Of course, this also allowed him to set eyes upon and to hear his husky's voice; something that improved any experience, even one as tedious and long-winded as their collective route to acceptance into Bolstrovo.

All in all, despite the massive amount of work, and his original uncertainty, Alexei's excitement had reached fever pitch in the three months since they'd agreed to start a new life together.

"What time is our train, Alex?" Yana asked, turning back to face him on their walk to the train station.

"Eight-ten," he confirmed, stepping past a wave of brown leaves being gusted across his path. They skimmed noisily across the pavement, winding up nestled within the darkened doorway of a storefront not yet open for the day.

"We should hurry," Erik called out, carrying Alexei's suitcase like he had done since offering back at Yana's apartment. "We don't have long, and you don't want to miss your ferry."

They quickened their pace, traversing the heaving gauntlet of morning commuters standing between them and the station three sizable, downtown blocks away. After a five minute battle against the crowded sea of suits and coats, Alexei and his friends arrived at the historic, elegantly designed building that housed Kremensk's central station.

Erik and Yana quickly slalomed through the last of the crowd; slipping under the old, stone arch that constituted the main doorway.

Alexei followed a few steps behind them, but felt compelled to stop just short of the building's grand entrance. 'I cannot leave without one last picture of home.'

He turned back towards the busy roadway, retrieving his phone and activating its camera in the process. Beyond the bustle, Alexei caught sight of a crowd swarming in front of a modern, metal-clad office block across the street, flanked on both sides by older, more traditional structures. He focused his eyes harder, making out the text on a few of the signs possessed by many of those gathered there. 'People before profits,' read one message, while another, carried by a particularly boisterous young otter demanded, 'Immigration caps - now!'

The protesters stood as a group, fifty-strong at least, massed around both the office's main revolving door and the smaller, Polcian entrance connected to the protective, wall-fitted walkways. No-one in the area would miss their message, no matter how hard they might try.

Amid this riotous scene, a trio of patrol cars sat parked nearby. The officers manning them all sat hidden away inside, appearing to be there to provide little more than a token presence as opposed to a means to disperse the crowd.

Knowing how unreliable the police back in the southern districts had proved in protecting Nathan, himself, and his shop, Alexei couldn't help wonder just how much action these officers might take in the face of more violent clashes. Either way, he prayed to himself that no Polcian living here would ever have to find out the answer.

"Really?" Alexei mumbled, the flow of commuters continuing unabated around him. "Is _this_to be my last memory of home before leaving Kremensk?"

"Alex!" Yana's voice squeaked from inside the station, pulling his attention around from the protests. "Hurry, or we will miss the train."

He paced off quickly, passing through the archway and into the building's plush interior hall. The hands of the massive, antique central clock hanging from iron rafters above the broad, polished stone floor gave the time as a few minutes after eight; a time confirmed by Alexei's phone as he turned his attention back to its screen.

"Come on, Alex! The train's leaving soon, with or without us!" Erik stormed, lugging his friend's case past the crowded ticket machines and across the hall. "I'll take back my offer and let you carry this yourself if you don't stop playing with your phone."

"I am coming!" Alexei's kept his eyes downwards, almost bumping straight into a short, grey-suited weasel crossing his path. "Sorry."

He worked away awkwardly at the buttons of his phone; the replacement to the device lost in the fire still somewhat alien, even after four months' use. "Damn these small keys." In the time it took to cross the sprawling station foyer, Alexei found the number he sought, located under the entry marked 'Grandpa'.

He slipped his paper ticket through the turnstile, lifting his phone to the side of his head before following his friends onwards. It would take the entirety of the rush to their platform for the call to ring out, the answering machine kicking in just as Alexei stepped aboard the waiting train.

"Damn it," he groaned, unable to bear listening to his grandfather's electronic voice; a great deal cheerier than it would have been coming from him live. Alexei thumped down dejectedly at the booth his friends had secured, letting his phone to drop and skitter across the plastic table before coming to rest in front of Erik opposite.

"What is wrong?" Yana brushed at his arm from the seat beside him. "Are you okay?"

Alexei turned to face her, but soon found his gaze drifting off out of the window alongside them.

Several other trains sat waiting at the massive terminus station's platforms; dozens upon dozens of travellers traversing the concrete walkways to board and depart them. He even spotted a few Polcians boarding the train directly opposite, rising from their protected, underground pathways to disappear into tiny doorways at the base of the carriages. Alexei smiled sadly, thinking about how they all looked so much more certain in their journeys than he felt in this instant.

"Alex, what's up?" Erik called, failing to haul the wolf from his reflective haze. "You couldn't stop smiling when I came to meet you this morning, like a pup during New Year's festival."

Even after the terrible, soul-crushing argument that'd led to him staying with Yana, Alexei couldn't shake the dreaded thought of having to leave his grandfather behind, alone. Nothing, not even the excited tension that had been building over the last days and weeks, could quell that nagging voice in his head.

"Alex!?" He finally turned to face Erik, moments before the train lurched into life and started from the platform. "Welcome back."

"What?"

"Who were you trying to call back there?"

"Oh." Alexei scooped his phone from the plastic tabletop between them. "My grandfather."

"I see." Erik's expression soured, matching the darkening mood slowly blanketing the booth.

"I could only get the answering machine."

"Perhaps he is busy--?"

"This is the third time I have tried this morning--"

"Did you not leave a message--?"

"I have left two already." The train gradually gathered momentum, pulling the car carrying them away from those stationary at their platforms. "I cannot help but think I should have gone to visit him... tried to speak in person."

Silence descended, save for the quiet murmuring of chatter emanating from the other riders aboard the crowded train.

"Have you..." Yana hesitated, uncharacteristically reserved in her questioning. "How many times have you spoken with him since... that day?"

"A few times," Alexei confirmed, turning back to her, "but not much has been said. I did hope that I could at least speak with him once more before leaving... Now, I am thinking this will not happen."

"Leave it for a while," she replied, reaching up to pat at his paw with a smile. "It is still early. He could still be sleeping."

"Perhaps." Alexei gripped his phone tighter, glancing out of the window to see the station walls giving way to the brick and mortar buildings lining the rails. "Hopefully."

Their train ride started gentle, curving through the hectic, tower-filled city centre and off to the calmer, residential outskirts. The occasional jolts and judders soon started though, waiting until the cars sped up and found the older tracks that stretched off through the forested countryside. Alexei remained largely quiet for the first half of the journey, constantly thinking about his grandfather sitting at home all on his own. Those thoughts soon gathered enough strength to start rending his heart, prompting him to remember just why he'd agreed to do this. The ache in his chest slowly eased, replaced by the glow of contentment that came with the knowledge that in just a matter of hours he'd be holding his little husky once again.

Finally looking up from his internalising, Alexei noticed that his friends, too, sat hushed in their seats. He wondered if his despondency back at the station had dampened their enthusiasm, or perhaps, as he did also, they felt sorrow for the difficult goodbye they knew lied ahead of them.

"Thank you for coming with me," Alexei stated quietly. "It means a lot."

Yana's rounded ears perked first, her wide, happy smile returning right after. "You need not thank us."

"Agreed." Erik's spotted tail flicked with a light bump against the suitcase resting next to him. "There was no way we were going to let you go without a proper sendoff."

"I will miss you both."

"And we will miss you, too," Yana replied, smile softening.

"Come on you two," Erik snorted. "It's still almost an hour to the harbour. Let's save some of the emotional stuff for when we get there."

"Okay." Alexei smirked, looking to him with a nod. "That could be for the best."

That upswing in their collective moods proved to be all too brief, fading by the time they rolled into the majestic, chandelier-fitted station of the harbour. Again, just like it had on the ride here, the thought of being reunited with Nathan kept Alexei from turning tail and returning home. Of course, as he followed his friends off the train, through the platform gates and off towards the harbour proper, he remembered the all-too-glaring flaw to that possibility. 'What home?'

The connecting corridor seemed an awful lot shorter than it did on previous visits, the last of which involved seeing Nathan off on the return leg of his transoceanic trek. In the blink of an eye, Alexei found himself standing upon the dull red carpeting of the near-deserted departure lounge, staring uneasily towards the doorway that would carry him away from his friends and homeland.

"Just after ten," Erik muttered, glaring at the electronic wall clock with paws nestled deep in his trouser pockets. "How long do you have, Alex?"

"Ten-forty-five is when the ship sails. I have to be aboard half an hour before this... Not long to go now."

"Exciting times," Yana proposed brightly, though the lack of spark in her smile undermined her eager tone.

The corners of Alexei's mouth lifted; the closest to a smile of his own as he could muster. Despite the ever-increasing excitement at seeing Nathan again, building both since he'd awoken that morning and in the long months that had preceded this day, he truly dreaded the ever nearing parting from his friends. 'Why can't I have both my friends and Nate? Why do I have to choose? This isn't fair!'

'You have told me you are no longer a cub, yes!?'

Alexei recalled those harsh, bitter words, snarled by his grandfather right before he'd asked him to leave his home.

'If this is so, you will have to make the decisions of a man! You will have to choose.'

He rubbed over his closing eyes and furrowing brow, amazed at just how well that outburst also translated to the here and now. It also reminded him of what else he feared to leave behind.

"What's wrong?" Erik muttered, watching him quickly reach into his jacket and retrieve his phone.

"I have to try again, before I go."

"Alex, come on. It's--"

"Wait," Alexei held out his paw, cutting his friend off mid-reply. "It is ringing."

"Alright," Erik rumbled, looking to Yana with half-lidded eyes. "I hope this time you have more success at least."

"Hello, you have reached the home of Maxim Korolev." By now, his grandfather's answerphone message sounded all too familiar. "Regretfully, I am not available to take your call. Please leave a message after the tone."

"Hi... Grandpa. It is Alexei... again." The steady stream of ferry goers faded out of sight, as did the quiet waiting area and his two friends watching on with interest. All that remained in Alexei's world was this phonecall. "I wanted to call you back... to let you know that I will be leaving soon. I hoped that I could speak with you one last time." He swallowed hard, ears dipping as he forced down the swell of emotion. "I hoped that I could say goodbye... but I guess this was too much--"

A rush of crackling travelled down the line, stopping Alexei from acting upon the rising urge to end the call. Slow, measured breathing followed, causing him to press his handset firmer to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Alexei."

"Grandpa!?" His ears bolted upright, eyes widening and jaw slowly dropping from the shock of hearing from his elder for the first time in weeks. "You are there."

Maxim's rhythmic exhaling continued, remaining constant, just like the long silence that cast a renewed shadow over Alexei's fleetingly brightening spirits.

"Grandpa... do you have nothing you wish to say to me?"

Breath after shallow breath followed, right up until they broke with two final, crushing words. "Goodbye, Alexei."

The line clicked, falling silent as the flowing of air ceased its lively crackle. "Grandpa?" Slowly, the world around Alexei returned, leaving him to stand alone among his friends and fellow passengers to be.

He let his arm drop, dragging the phone away from his ear as his muzzle followed, dipping to face the dour sea of red below.

"Are you okay?" Yana's small, brown paw brushed at Alexei's, her delicate voice cutting through the despair.

"He... did not wish to speak with me. Again."

"Come, Alex." She slipped her arms around the taller, wider wolf to offer a friendly, comforting hug. "He will come around."

Alexei returned the gesture, resting his muzzle between the small pine marten's ears. "Nate has said this to me also."

"Then it must be correct," Yana chuckled. "If two of us are saying this."

"But... what if he does not?"

"He will." She pulled her face out of his chest, peering up with a shining, cheerful smile. "For now however, you are heading off to join your boyfriend in Bolstrovo, to live together and to have a wonderful time doing so. I am betting that you thought this day would not come."

"There were times." Alexei let out a long, steady sigh, closing his eyes to think back to what had come before this crucial moment. "Meetings for a living permit that did not go so well. Conference calls between me, Nate and the estate agent in Bolstrovo when things looked to be difficult... but we got through it. Together." He looked down at Yana with a wide smile and a tightening of their embrace. "Thank you. For everything."

"It is no problem." Her arms squeezed around his midriff. "It has been good to have you."

"I just hope I have not been a pain, sitting around your apartment, not contributing--"

"You have _not_been a pain." She looked up assertively. "Just make sure to stay in touch, and to come back and visit us often, okay?"

"I will, and you, too." Alexei beamed wide enough to expose his front teeth, turning to Erik stood just beside him. "That goes for you also."

"I... you leaving," he replied hesitantly, visibly tightening his grip upon the handle of his friend's case with both paws. "It's my fault."

"Erik, we have discussed this." Alexei stepped out from Yana's hug, his smile mellowing into one of sympathetic understanding. "Your brother is responsible for what has happened, not you."

"I know," came the response; dejected and half-hearted. "His friends, too. To think that they will seemingly get away with it, without punishment."

"Yuri is to be punished at least."

Erik sighed, growing in sadness. "He called home the other day... asking my mother when we would come to visit him." Alexei remained hushed, as did Yana; the two of them focused upon him with soft eyes. "She didn't answer him... After this, he asked to speak with me."

"What did he say to you?"

"He didn't have the chance... I hung up on him." The silence dragged on, spreading to the mournful leopard for just a moment. "You know, back at the shop, you said that you would never be able to forgive me... I don't think I can ever forgive myself, either."

"Erik." Alexei strode forward, throwing an arm around his former apprentice's shoulders before tightening it into a strong hug. "You saved my life, along with Nate's. I am thinking that you have made amends for what has happened, and then some!"

"I hope so." Erik looked up with that starts of a smile, though his undoubted remorse still punctuated it. He matched Alexei, wrapping an arm around the taller wolf and hugging firmly.

"Take care of yourself and your mother, Erik."

"I will," he replied, audibly fighting back the tears. "You take care of yourself and Nate, too."

"Definitely." Alexei leaned back to peer downwards. "Also, I wish for you to know that when everything is settled for you here... There is always a place for you to work with me in Bolstrovo."

"Thanks, Alex." Erik sniffed loudly, taking a moment to compose himself. "Hopefully, one day soon, I'll take you up on that offer."

"Final boarding notification for passengers travelling on the ten-forty-five ferry to Sturanja, Bolstrovo." The call rang out from the hare standing beside the gate, scanning the pass of a traveller in the time it took for her to continue on with her announcement. "All passengers, please have your identification documents and belongings ready for processing..."

"Okay. This is it," Alexei muttered, patting his friend on the back. "Time to go."

"Good luck, Alex," Erik replied, handing over his case and stepping back with a difficult smile. "Safe travels."

"Safe travels," Yana echoed meekly.

"Thank you both." Alexei forced one final grin. "See you again soon." He looked over his shoulder to the departure point, starting off towards it with uneasy steps. The lack of a queue allowed him to walk straight up to the gate, placing his suitcase into the waiting scanner before handing his documents over to the well-groomed harbour worker. She grabbed them without a word, running them under the reader sat upon her stand. Two shrill beeps sounded; one from the acceptance of his identification and another from his belongings. "Thank you, sir. You may board now."

He took back his documents, reaching down to retrieve his case before stepping past the gate. The doorway off to the waiting ferry sat ominously now, mere steps away from Alexei's position. Finally, he worked up the courage to glance back over to where Erik and Yana still stood watching.

They waved in unison, showing far more enthusiasm than they likely felt. Alexei offered one in return, doing so until the rising doubt compelled him to carry on through sooner rather than later.

The cool, autumnal air wisped freely through the corridor out towards the open dockland, both sides fitted with plate glass windows to allow a brilliant, panoramic view of the harbour's edge and the sea beyond it. A set of portable stairs rested at the end of his path, leading up to the entrance of the massive ferry liner lurching slowly upon the sea's steady waves.

Beside him, just outside the window sat a smaller, near identical copy of the connecting walkway Alexei found himself within. Just like this version, it too led to a set of stairs that allowed access aboard the ship. He couldn't resist a smile, reminded once again of who would be waiting for him at the end of his difficult trek.

"Off to Bolstrovo," Alexei mumbled to himself, keeping quiet despite being alone in the passage. "Off to be with Nate."

'This is nice... but can I really leave Grandpa like this, on such a sour note?'

Alexei hesitated, stopping halfway along the bright corridor. A wicked sense of discomfort took hold, wrenching at his gut and leaving his paws tremoring.

"Nate is waiting for me," he growled, shrugging off his doubts and continuing on towards the gentle sound of waves crashing against the harbour wall.

'Can I really leave without a proper talk?'

Alexei came to a halt again, groaning terribly. The end of the passageway and the wheeled stairway beyond it rested a matter of strides away.

'Can I leave without a proper goodbye?'

Grasping his suitcase, he turned timidly to look back at where he'd come from. His ears folded flat and tail tucked tight; the sight of the doorway and the familiar murmur of voices from the departure hall sending his uncertainty into overdrive. Alexei remained standing there, frozen in time between the two worlds calling out for him.

'Can I really do this?'