Ever since that fateful evening within the harbor, that apartment had become near silent. What was once welcoming home had turned almost cold for the warlock. He hardly left the confines of his apartment these days, beyond those simple needs for food. The man had near quit his job, those wounds still ached and hurt and his leg still required physical therapy in order to stand on for any real length of time - cooking in a kitchen all day was near impossible for him in his current situation. Beyond that, Sterling found he simply had little interest in it. Those dreams that had once been so vibrant, that he'd once been so passionate in pursuing simply paled in comparison to those few simple facts. Henry had shifted. Henry had mauled him. And, most importantly of all, Henry had left him. His arms settled across his forehead as his eyes fluttered close, the man listening only vaguely to that thumping sound of someone's music turned up too loud somewhere else in the building. His thoughts eternally seemed to linger upon his boyfriend, wondering where he was, if Henry was thinking of him or if he'd simply been abandoned altogether. He hated not knowing. He hated all that work they'd put into their relationship only for this to happen just on that evening he had so announced himself willing to commit himself entirely to his boyfriend. A soft sigh left his lips as his gaze fluttered open, the man's bright blue eyes glancing upwards at the bird that was nestled amongst the rafters. At the very least - he still had Fiducia.

Well, the ospray and his newfound affinity. Fire had been all he'd been gifted with for the longest time and even that he was still working on achieving any true mastery. He had been entirely astonished to find that, in his despondency, he'd too unlocked something else deep within him - something that so called to his adoration for the earth and plant life as a whole. Those herbs he'd brought from their apartment in New York were growing with a vengeance, though they were certainly not the only plant life that now afflicted the apartment. The brick columns were covered with creeping vines. The windows fairing no better. That ivy too covered those glass panes, letting in rays of light in the perpetual darkness he'd so unintentionally thrown himself into. At the very least, his affinity so strove to match his dwindling mood. He supposed that at some point he should remove those plants from all those places they certainly didn't belong and yet -- what was the point, really? It wasn't as if Henry was here to complain, much less anyone else. That sheer loneliness caused the warlock to shift further into that sofa, near curling as much as his still sore, pained body allowed him.

Any further dwelling upon his boyfriend and that overwhelming greenery, however, was interrupted by a rather loud banging on his front door. A frown marred his features as he slowly sat up, his gaze traveling towards that door before, with a soft sigh, Sterling pulled himself off the sofa. His gait was more of a hobble then any real smooth walk, the man's leg was still bothering him, even after the surgery, that was surely only compounded by the stitches across his groin and down along his back. His eyebrows furrowed as that pounding only increased with each moment he made the person at the door wait. "All right, all right, I'm coming..." He muttered under his breath, using the furniture to support him as he moved towards that entryway. It took him several moments of fiddling with that lock before he pressed open that door, his gaze near immediately falling upon that aged canine in front of him. The dog was significantly large, prompting his gaze to raise slowly towards the woman that accompanied it, only to find that he actually knew her. That familiar face certainly caught him off guard and yet, any surprise or joy he might have taken from her presence was immediately engulfed by a sense of guilt. After all, he had simply left New York without any warning - he hoped she didn't hate him for abandoning her on that project to restore that muscle vehicle.

A weak simper crossed his features at the sound of his name upon her lips and yet, any words he might have offered her were near forgotten at the pointed inquiry at an object behind him. He turned, glancing over the entryway. It took him a moment to determine exactly what she was pointing out before a small shrug crossed his shoulders. "Oh, that. It's called an orrery. It shows the planets...this woman at the farmer's market gave it to me. She insisted that I needed it...something about something special happening when all the planets aligned...they haven't yet." He admitted with a hint of clear disbelief that that mechanical object was going to bring him any sort of good luck. He shook his head, turning his attention back towards her only to answer her first question, "I kinda moved here a few months ago -- sorry for up and leaving like that. I probably should have said something..." Not that he could have anyways. Memory loss tended to have such problem. Still, he doubted well she wanted to hear the woes that had afflicted his life since they last saw each other. "Uh...did you....want to come in? I mean...if you don't mind the mess." He inquired, his hand rising only to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish manner. After all, the apartment was definitely not in a state to receive guests...still, he doubted Harley would mind all that much.

STERLING TENEMBRAGE