the darkness falls around me at night
”That’s—” I start, then stop myself, blinking like the words caught on the edge of my teeth. It takes me a second to gather them again, and when I do, I let out a soft laugh that clouds the cold air. ”That’s probably the coolest thing anyone’s offered me. Ever.” I glance sideways at him, grin tugging at the corner of my mouth. ”Maybe second only to the time a kid tried to trade me a dead seagull for a dagger when I was ten. That was a pretty compelling deal.”
I can feel the excitement catch fire in my chest—real, bright, not just something I’m pretending to feel to survive a conversation. I bounce once on the balls of my feet—not enough to bother the bruise on my hip, which still aches, but enough to release some of the energy building in me. It’s not nerves. Not really. Just a rare moment of possibility. I just settled in Torchline. Got family, a place to stay, odd jobs. But if I could still be part of something from there, why not?
I glance toward Zuriel, watching her finish the treat like she’s only half-listening to us, then back to Deimos with a slanted smirk. ”So—what does being part of the Guild actually mean? I assume there's some kind of recruitment trial where I have to slay a beast no one else has seen, make a dramatic speech about vengeance, and stare into the middle distance until the wind picks up my cloak?”
A beat. I tilt my head, voice softening but not losing the humor. ”Or is it more… real than that? Training? Assignments? Watching each other’s backs out in the wilds? I can do real. Just trying to get the right amount of foolishness in my expectations.”
I can feel the excitement catch fire in my chest—real, bright, not just something I’m pretending to feel to survive a conversation. I bounce once on the balls of my feet—not enough to bother the bruise on my hip, which still aches, but enough to release some of the energy building in me. It’s not nerves. Not really. Just a rare moment of possibility. I just settled in Torchline. Got family, a place to stay, odd jobs. But if I could still be part of something from there, why not?
I glance toward Zuriel, watching her finish the treat like she’s only half-listening to us, then back to Deimos with a slanted smirk. ”So—what does being part of the Guild actually mean? I assume there's some kind of recruitment trial where I have to slay a beast no one else has seen, make a dramatic speech about vengeance, and stare into the middle distance until the wind picks up my cloak?”
A beat. I tilt my head, voice softening but not losing the humor. ”Or is it more… real than that? Training? Assignments? Watching each other’s backs out in the wilds? I can do real. Just trying to get the right amount of foolishness in my expectations.”
Theea
and covers me in silence so bright
