when she's gone

Between his compass and wings, it did not take much time for Noah to get to the Celestine. Here he was now, perched on a large stone slab just beyond the small section of garden dedicate to Vi and Safrin. White wings tucked tight into his body, head lowered as he closed his eyes to pray.

Despite the heat, everything felt dark and cold and sad.

How Noah had gone as long as he had before he found out about Lena's death he didn't quite know. He was busy in Halo, yes, but seasons had now passed and Noah was just now sitting in the dark and empty and hollow grief of losing another friend. He could hardly believe that she was gone, taken from this world by a creature she voweed to protect and care for.

noah

you touched my heavy heart and made it light

Grimm

Predators are everywhere

The area near the shrine was a common area for animals to arrive. Whether they came through their own means or magical, the shrine drew them like a watering hole, a mixture of predator and prey mingling in the surrounding trees. Lena's notes mentioned it having something to do with the gods, but Grimm thought they might be drawn by the various offerings, unguarded food free for the taking. 

Whatever the reasoning, he made a point to swing by at least once a day, a pack of supplies clutched in his grip for those who may come seeking treatment like today. A colorfully feathered deer-like creature sat with a bloody and broken leg, one that looked too mangled to have been from a fall. Although not unkind, Grimm moved with steady and sure hands, one to keep the ramphire calm and secure while the other began to splint and wrap the wound. 

Everything was going well until something shifted in the space near them, the beady eyes of the creature blowing wide with alarm. With a low grumble, Grimm tightened his hold, eyes narrowing in annoyed focus on the linen clutched within his fingers. He didn't look up or even offer a gesture, his deep and growling voice carrying enough authority to make the words more than a suggestion. "Scram, mate. Yur givin' this ramph'r a heart attack." The Caretaker didn't know or care what was behind him, sure it had come for a reason, but prioritizing the task he was currently handling. 

Turning his head ever so slightly, the free strands of dark hair shifted, giving a glimpse of the ragged beard and tan skin beyond the hunch of broad shoulders. "I'll find ya afta." To see about whatever need the creature might have.

Noah did not move at the first growled warning. He remained where he was, talons curled into the stone, wings tight to his sides as if any loosening might let something vital spill out of him. The ramphire’s panic rippled through the air sharp and sour, and Noah angled his head away instinctively, lowering his face, making himself smaller despite his size. Only then did he shift his weight slightly, feathers whispering as one wing eased outward and settled again. It was a deliberate, quiet gesture of apology rather than retreat. His eyes tracked Grimm’s hands instead of the man himself.

I’m not here for it, he said at last, glacier eyes flicking to the man's. Or for you. A pause, heavier than silence. I came to pray.The words felt insufficient, thin as the first breath of ice over deep, churning water. He resettled himself more fully on the stone, tail flicking once before stilling, the heat now starting to register on his back from the unrelenting sun of Longheat.

noah

you touched my heavy heart and made it light

Grimm

Predators are everywhere

The attempts at minimizing the panic were admirable, but Grimm could still feel the weight of presence behind him, the scurrying of prey and heartbeats no matter how placating or gentle the creature may have looked. He gave a rolling rumble of a growl, too calming to be a threat for the beast behind him, directed at the feathered one beneath his fingertips. 

It surprised him to hear an Attuned voice, but years in the ring have taught him to hide such shock. His hands continued to move instinctually while his mind absorbed the new information. As much as he'd like to scare away every worshiper who disrupted his work, Grimm doubted the gods would appreciate his services. 

Fine, but shift befo' this becomes a waste of time. His eyes moved down the ramphire, assessing the situation as the fluttering heartrate pushed against the bandage, threatening to break the seal or burst a new blood vessel. If the man didn't shift, he'd be left with no choice but to relocate the animal, possibly risking more injury without the stabilization being completed.

Noah didn't want to shift. The grief would be too palpable on his human face, in the deep etches around his lips and in the downcast of his glacier eyes. Even the stone of his features would look cracked, torn apart again by the loss of another friend, amplified by the fact that he hadn't know for months. As wounded as he was, he wanted to break against the man's demands and tell him to go find somewhere else to be.

But there was something in the way his hands moved, and the fact that he was bandaging and animal, that gave him understanding (or, at least, assumption) of who he was now looking at: this was Lena's replacement.

A new wind of grief breathed over him and had he been a man, griffin, with less self control he would have made an audible sound of the internal pain. Instead, controlled and cold and Halovian, Noah shifted in silence. His immense, muscled frame lowered until it was just him, a man with bare arms and puffy, red eyes, sitting on the bench. Better?

noah

you touched my heavy heart and made it light

Grimm

Predators are everywhere

He didn't pick up on the hesitancy, didn't pay attention to anything more than his responsibility to the life in his hands. It wasn't his business anyways. If the man wasn't a wounded creature he was duty-bound to treat, he wouldn't bother lingering longer than he had to. The man could stay and pray or do whatever the hell he wanted for as long as he wanted, so long as it didn't risk him or the animals.  

The effect was immediate, the ramphire's heart slowing and its eyes closing as it gave in to the skilled hands of the Caretaker. Grimm didn't have to glance up to know that he'd shifted, and he didn't much care to see what the man looked like, so he kept his head down, pulling the linen wrap a little tighter now that the muscles had relaxed. Yeah.

Tension rippled through the muscles of his back as he rotated to pull another roll from his bag. The dark leather was worn with use, a floral design barely visible along the side. It was more Lena than him, but it served its purpose well, the pockets and sleeves organizing the aspects necessary to treat most conditions, plus a small slip for a notepad full of notes in beautiful handwriting, space at the back for new additions. 

Grimm pulled the white material out, placing the end in his teeth as he wrapped the next portion, calculating how much time the ramphire might need to recover.

I'll let it burn the way the sunlight burns my skin

Noah stayed where he was, hands braced on his knees, shoulders drawn inward as if he could fold himself around the ache in his chest. The quiet sounds of Grimm’s work, the pull of linen, the soft shift of the ramphire’s breathing, formed a steady backdrop, and in that rhythm memory slipped in.

The last time he and Lena had spoken, they had not talked about rest or small comforts. They had spoken of work. Of the long, ugly shadow the Family had cast over Caido, of the damage still festering in hidden places, of the vigilance it would take to be sure it never spread again. Lena had looked at him with tired eyes and spoken of the work to be done in the Celestine, for the Tower, and he had taken the time to clean the Vi and Safrin srhines. 

His jaw tightened. A breath shuddered through him, quiet, controlled, the way Halo taught its children to endure the cold. This place offered no answers. Only memory. After a moment, Noah pushed himself up from the bench, grief settling heavy and silent in his bones, and turned to leave.

FIN

The way I feel inside, the way the day begins

infinite inspiration and endless thanks to odd and sky