With every broken bone, I swear I lived
She left a smear of red behind. Against the perfect marble colonnades and the verdant garden surrounding the Court of Stars all that blood looked obscene. Was she making a scene again? How dramatic of her, to be so undone by what should be easily shrugged off. Just like how Thalassa nettled her into losing her head; she should have been able to swallow that hurt too. Shouldn't have spoken when she was angry, and shouldn't have gone off on her own once she realised that she lost more than a friend in the aftermath.
A whimper of agony broke her quiet. The pulling and tugging on her arm stopped, only to be replaced by a hauling that inflamed every hurt and bruised and fractured segment of her body. A nauseating swooping sensation made the world upend again - and water rose up to envelop her. Lukewarm and softer than any other, this too was eerily familiar. This tingle of the skin, this easing of pain and the pricking, tugging sensation of skin knitting itself back together. When she coughed from almost inhaling the water it was no longer a trigger to throw up again; she could breathe, unhindered by ribs that might as well never have been broken.
Clarity... took longer to return. Stirring slowly, the ancient untangled her limbs until she lay on her back in the fountain. Wheeling overhead, a cloud drifted across blue skies. It looked almost like a bird, if she squinted - like a griffin she'd once seen. Was it a long time ago, or just a moment? She couldn't tell.
Her head lolled sideways, following the path of rippling water from its cool kiss on her cheek to its origin. Near the rim, where someone lay slumped against the marble. Gold hair gleamed in the sunlight, sun-kissed and tousled; dazed, she reached out to touch it, wondering at the familiarity, trying to piece together bits of a puzzle that didn't yet make sense. Was this a dream? Was she seeing things?
"Li - am?" Maybe it was simply wishful thinking. She really missed him though; really wanted nothing more than to go home and never leave again.
A whimper of agony broke her quiet. The pulling and tugging on her arm stopped, only to be replaced by a hauling that inflamed every hurt and bruised and fractured segment of her body. A nauseating swooping sensation made the world upend again - and water rose up to envelop her. Lukewarm and softer than any other, this too was eerily familiar. This tingle of the skin, this easing of pain and the pricking, tugging sensation of skin knitting itself back together. When she coughed from almost inhaling the water it was no longer a trigger to throw up again; she could breathe, unhindered by ribs that might as well never have been broken.
Clarity... took longer to return. Stirring slowly, the ancient untangled her limbs until she lay on her back in the fountain. Wheeling overhead, a cloud drifted across blue skies. It looked almost like a bird, if she squinted - like a griffin she'd once seen. Was it a long time ago, or just a moment? She couldn't tell.
Her head lolled sideways, following the path of rippling water from its cool kiss on her cheek to its origin. Near the rim, where someone lay slumped against the marble. Gold hair gleamed in the sunlight, sun-kissed and tousled; dazed, she reached out to touch it, wondering at the familiarity, trying to piece together bits of a puzzle that didn't yet make sense. Was this a dream? Was she seeing things?
"Li - am?" Maybe it was simply wishful thinking. She really missed him though; really wanted nothing more than to go home and never leave again.
maea
