Ashe
i find myself here alone on this dusty road
waiting for a sign to point me home
waiting for a sign to point me home
Remi’s touch is so heartbreakingly comforting it nearly undoes me. It seeps into the cracks I’ve long forgotten how to seal, soft and steady like sunrise through the shutters of a long-abandoned home. I don’t feel like I deserve it—not yet. Maybe someday I’ll find that kind of forgiveness for myself, but for now, I can only believe in theirs. It’s in the way Remi looks at me, in the subtle grace of his magic as it hums warmly beneath his skin. It’s in Ronin’s laugh, in his ridiculous grin—still somehow boyish and disarming after everything the world’s thrown at him.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever find my way back,” I murmur to Remi, my voice like wind brushing ash. Then I huff a soft, rueful laugh. “I still don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”
I feel bare, like an open wound—but safe with them in a way I forgot I could be. Their presence wraps around me like firelight in a cold forest, chasing away the shadows I’d grown too used to. I wonder if anyone else even remembers me… and quietly, selfishly, I hope it’s only them. It would be easier that way. Quieter. More sacred.
I laugh under my breath, nodding toward Ronin with a smirk tugging at the edge of my lips. “I may have acted like a ghost, but I’m too spiteful to die just yet,” I say, gaze flicking between them. “I wanted to wait until it was just the living left. Give you all the time with them that was offered.” I draw in a deep breath, one that catches when it reaches my throat, and my eyes sting again. “But I got to see Vai.”
There’s something holy in the way we’re standing here, like no time has passed at all. Ronin’s arm rests heavy and solid over my shoulders. Remi’s hand is curled into mine, his thumb a steady rhythm against my skin. I want to press my face into both of them, soak them in until I stop feeling like I might disappear again.
“It was crawling on your foot,” I say to Ronin, my voice lilting with dry amusement. “And I’m pretty sure you screamed.” Lifetimes ago.
Theea. Her name glows in my chest like a lantern lit from within. Everything in me swells with pride, with love I’ll never have enough words for. “She’s really a marvel, isn’t she? She wants to change the world.” I shake my head, glancing back toward the flickering remnants of the party behind us. The music is fading, the waves curling softly like breath against the sand. “But she had the audacity to get taller than me, the little shit.”
When I turn back to them, I swear my cheeks hurt from how much I’m smiling. I squeeze Remi’s hand in return, my heart impossibly full.
“Well, what’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve missed then?” My arm slides behind Ronin’s back, and I jab my fingers into his ribs with a wicked little grin. “And why do I have a feeling it’s about you?”
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever find my way back,” I murmur to Remi, my voice like wind brushing ash. Then I huff a soft, rueful laugh. “I still don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.”
I feel bare, like an open wound—but safe with them in a way I forgot I could be. Their presence wraps around me like firelight in a cold forest, chasing away the shadows I’d grown too used to. I wonder if anyone else even remembers me… and quietly, selfishly, I hope it’s only them. It would be easier that way. Quieter. More sacred.
I laugh under my breath, nodding toward Ronin with a smirk tugging at the edge of my lips. “I may have acted like a ghost, but I’m too spiteful to die just yet,” I say, gaze flicking between them. “I wanted to wait until it was just the living left. Give you all the time with them that was offered.” I draw in a deep breath, one that catches when it reaches my throat, and my eyes sting again. “But I got to see Vai.”
There’s something holy in the way we’re standing here, like no time has passed at all. Ronin’s arm rests heavy and solid over my shoulders. Remi’s hand is curled into mine, his thumb a steady rhythm against my skin. I want to press my face into both of them, soak them in until I stop feeling like I might disappear again.
“It was crawling on your foot,” I say to Ronin, my voice lilting with dry amusement. “And I’m pretty sure you screamed.” Lifetimes ago.
Theea. Her name glows in my chest like a lantern lit from within. Everything in me swells with pride, with love I’ll never have enough words for. “She’s really a marvel, isn’t she? She wants to change the world.” I shake my head, glancing back toward the flickering remnants of the party behind us. The music is fading, the waves curling softly like breath against the sand. “But she had the audacity to get taller than me, the little shit.”
When I turn back to them, I swear my cheeks hurt from how much I’m smiling. I squeeze Remi’s hand in return, my heart impossibly full.
“Well, what’s the most embarrassing thing I’ve missed then?” My arm slides behind Ronin’s back, and I jab my fingers into his ribs with a wicked little grin. “And why do I have a feeling it’s about you?”
i'll close my eyes and put my feet to the ground
'cause when i'm lost, i don't want to be found
'cause when i'm lost, i don't want to be found
