Aurelia
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
maybe they never will be
The seismic shift in Sunjata's emotions reverberated through their attuned bond, a jarring tremor that shook Aurelia to her core. The warmth of their reunion shattered, replaced by a cold dread that seeped into her bones. His words, whispered like a mournful lament, confirmed her worst fears.
Nate's gone.
A gasp escaped her lips, a strangled sound that echoed the hollowness in her chest.
Tears, once held back, began to flow, blurring her vision as she reached out to cup Sunjata's face, her fingers tracing the jagged scar that marred his once carefree smile.
The anguish radiating from him, a raw and unfiltered torrent of grief and guilt, threatened to overwhelm her. She felt his pain as if it were her own, a shared burden that pressed down on their intertwined souls.
"Oh, Sunjata," she breathed, her voice choked with sorrow. "I'm so sorry."
Her own regrets, her own guilt for not being there, intertwined with his, creating a tangled knot of shared loss. She leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his broad shoulders, offering a silent promise of support and understanding.
"We've both been through so much, Sunjata," Aurelia murmured, her voice thick with emotion. She pulled back from the embrace, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "The war, the losses... it's almost too much to bear."
Her eyes, glistening with tears, searched upward to meet his, holding a silent acknowledgment of the shared pain that bound them together. "But we're still here," she continued, her voice gaining strength with each word. "We're still standing. Scarred, maybe broken in some ways, but not defeated... We're survivors, Sunjata. And we'll keep fighting. For Nate, for each other, for a better future."
"That's why I came here today," she half-sobbed, a choked laugh escaping her lips as she fumbled with the pouch at her hip, "I guess this is supposed to help... I don't know." She held up the seedpod, its golden shell gleaming in the sunlight, but the gesture felt hollow. A desperate grasp at a fleeting hope.
Nate's gone.
A gasp escaped her lips, a strangled sound that echoed the hollowness in her chest.
Tears, once held back, began to flow, blurring her vision as she reached out to cup Sunjata's face, her fingers tracing the jagged scar that marred his once carefree smile.
The anguish radiating from him, a raw and unfiltered torrent of grief and guilt, threatened to overwhelm her. She felt his pain as if it were her own, a shared burden that pressed down on their intertwined souls.
"Oh, Sunjata," she breathed, her voice choked with sorrow. "I'm so sorry."
Her own regrets, her own guilt for not being there, intertwined with his, creating a tangled knot of shared loss. She leaned into him, her arms wrapping around his broad shoulders, offering a silent promise of support and understanding.
"We've both been through so much, Sunjata," Aurelia murmured, her voice thick with emotion. She pulled back from the embrace, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "The war, the losses... it's almost too much to bear."
Her eyes, glistening with tears, searched upward to meet his, holding a silent acknowledgment of the shared pain that bound them together. "But we're still here," she continued, her voice gaining strength with each word. "We're still standing. Scarred, maybe broken in some ways, but not defeated... We're survivors, Sunjata. And we'll keep fighting. For Nate, for each other, for a better future."
"That's why I came here today," she half-sobbed, a choked laugh escaping her lips as she fumbled with the pouch at her hip, "I guess this is supposed to help... I don't know." She held up the seedpod, its golden shell gleaming in the sunlight, but the gesture felt hollow. A desperate grasp at a fleeting hope.
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep
when you're ready to sleep
