With every broken bone, I swear I lived
With clarity came memory. With memory came emotion. Soon enough she quietly regretted rejecting the consolation Noah had been offering, once the after shock set in and only the thinnest veneer of composure held her rattling pieces together. The apologies he spilled offered no relief. Like small stones tossed against a window pane they only bruised, reaffirming drifting recollections so that she wasn't able to forget. Over and over they re-played through her mind. The screech of the griffin, her reckless approach, ignoring every sign that suggested it was not interested in playing the way she had wanted. Pay attention to your surroundings. "I should have left you alone." Should have listened better, kept her distance, not been there at all... Would not have engaged in the first place, if she'd known it was Noah.
She knew what he felt about dragons.
"Wars have been fought for less," she replied again, lethargic and with no conviction behind the reassurance. She understood him - had once thought the same way with far less justification - but it didn't make her feel better. All she felt was cold. Numb dread as the sensation of falling and the impact against rock replayed over and over again until bile in her throat. Needing to distract herself somehow, sharp teeth latched around a thin wrist, biting down until the pain scattered the truth like so many shards of broken glass.
"You nearly did." Tears stung the back of her eyes. For a moment she thought they would fall, waited for the reaction to wash over her; but it never came. It sank deeper instead. Settled like a snake around her spine, its fangs bared and dripping its poison into her veins. "I nearly let myself die." Nearly broke the only promise she would kill to keep, nearly ruined the life of the only person who mattered more to her than herself.
"Gods, I'm so out of control... it's not even funny."
She knew what he felt about dragons.
"Wars have been fought for less," she replied again, lethargic and with no conviction behind the reassurance. She understood him - had once thought the same way with far less justification - but it didn't make her feel better. All she felt was cold. Numb dread as the sensation of falling and the impact against rock replayed over and over again until bile in her throat. Needing to distract herself somehow, sharp teeth latched around a thin wrist, biting down until the pain scattered the truth like so many shards of broken glass.
"You nearly did." Tears stung the back of her eyes. For a moment she thought they would fall, waited for the reaction to wash over her; but it never came. It sank deeper instead. Settled like a snake around her spine, its fangs bared and dripping its poison into her veins. "I nearly let myself die." Nearly broke the only promise she would kill to keep, nearly ruined the life of the only person who mattered more to her than herself.
"Gods, I'm so out of control... it's not even funny."
maea
