Damien
you are the storm before the calm
and the ache after the silence
and the ache after the silence
Damien’s hand steadied on Aria’s ribs as the cub wriggled, claws catching the fabric of his jacket. Her wide eyes tracked Zuriel first, then Belial, ears flattening before springing back up, curious and fearless both. He stroked a thumb down the line of her spine, the way you might calm a skittish horse, though the truth was she had more spirit than he could ever sand smooth.
“Found her while I was hunting in the Fangs,” he said after a beat, tone low, clipped. He didn’t dress it up, didn’t bother with a lengthy hunter’s tale; only the important truths. “Her mother was a man-eater. I didn't know about any cub until afterward... She’d have starved if I hadn’t stumbled on her in the cave.” The words hung heavy for a breath, but he let them settle and moved on. There wasn’t any use gnawing on the regret of it. Survival didn’t leave much room for sentiment.
Aria yawned, teeth small and sharp, and butted her head against his chest. Damien’s mouth pulled tight, something softer pressing through the stone. He lifted his eyes back to Deimos, weight settling in his voice. “Anyway, I went to Frey. First time I ever set foot in a shrine.”
He paused there, letting the words stand on their own, strange and new as they were in his mouth. “They said she can be my companion, if I earn it. There’s a quest—tasks I have to see through before the bond can be sealed.”
After a moment, he gestured towards Deimos' duo, curious about the peryton and the unicorn's own origin stories. "Was it the same when they became your companions?"
“Found her while I was hunting in the Fangs,” he said after a beat, tone low, clipped. He didn’t dress it up, didn’t bother with a lengthy hunter’s tale; only the important truths. “Her mother was a man-eater. I didn't know about any cub until afterward... She’d have starved if I hadn’t stumbled on her in the cave.” The words hung heavy for a breath, but he let them settle and moved on. There wasn’t any use gnawing on the regret of it. Survival didn’t leave much room for sentiment.
Aria yawned, teeth small and sharp, and butted her head against his chest. Damien’s mouth pulled tight, something softer pressing through the stone. He lifted his eyes back to Deimos, weight settling in his voice. “Anyway, I went to Frey. First time I ever set foot in a shrine.”
He paused there, letting the words stand on their own, strange and new as they were in his mouth. “They said she can be my companion, if I earn it. There’s a quest—tasks I have to see through before the bond can be sealed.”
After a moment, he gestured towards Deimos' duo, curious about the peryton and the unicorn's own origin stories. "Was it the same when they became your companions?"
