// to the green lessons //
Maybe she was hoping he’d reconsider. That flying away to elsewhere wasn’t going to solve anything. That they could simply all stay together, just as they had for seasons now, plotting away their strategies and striving to desperately make something work. But she wouldn’t ask it of him – not now. Not when there’d been so many harsh realities slashed and clawed and broken apart, and no amount of selfishness (though small and meager) in her would allow for such words to go beyond the trace of a thought. She’d seen enough, heard enough, known enough in her life to understand the nuances of growth and progress could be beyond painful, but necessary.
She wanted to ask if he’d talked to Koa. If there was something else they could do.
Instead, she smiled, taking the cup and looking down into it, as if trying to peer into the liquid and find answers there. It would supply energy and nothing more; that she already knew, but she kept her smile, trailing through the halls and out onto the porch, where the sun threatened to peek, but not quite yet. Dapples of rays and light would come, and LongNight would be over, and more dread would fill her soul.
She sat on the steps first, leaning into the railing, taking in the sights and sounds of spring arriving. “It was busy. A lot more alpinas came in overnight. But they’re resting now.” She made no mention of the void birds Mittens had to chase off. “And most of the blink hares should be well enough to either return to the wilds today or tomorrow.”
She wanted to ask if he’d talked to Koa. If there was something else they could do.
Instead, she smiled, taking the cup and looking down into it, as if trying to peer into the liquid and find answers there. It would supply energy and nothing more; that she already knew, but she kept her smile, trailing through the halls and out onto the porch, where the sun threatened to peek, but not quite yet. Dapples of rays and light would come, and LongNight would be over, and more dread would fill her soul.
She sat on the steps first, leaning into the railing, taking in the sights and sounds of spring arriving. “It was busy. A lot more alpinas came in overnight. But they’re resting now.” She made no mention of the void birds Mittens had to chase off. “And most of the blink hares should be well enough to either return to the wilds today or tomorrow.”
Lena
// of soft, simple quiet beneath the sun //
