Noah watched the last of the smoke unravel and thin, the stubborn dark plumes finally giving way to pale steam and then to nothing at all. The sea reclaimed the crag in a steady, inevitable rhythm, waves licking at blackened stone as if erasing a wound.
His stomach twisted at the idea that the rest of Caido was dealing with these fires. Turning, Noah pushed his wings down once, twice, and his powerful form lifted away from the waves and more towards the sky. From his vantage, he scanned the horizon, eyes sharp despite the lingering sting of smoke. The world looked deceptively calm now—ice and ocean, distant landforms resting under a pale sky. It was too easy to imagine flames blooming elsewhere, unseen, unchecked, while they lingered here in the aftermath of a victory already won.
If fires were spreading, if Tanau’s influence or some other will was stirring them into being, then waiting in one place felt wrong. Deimos could not be everywhere at once, no matter how vast his forms or how relentless his resolve. If he found more smoke, more flame clawing where it did not belong, perhaps he could do something before it grew.
That's not good. Perhaps I should take a different way home and we can divide our efforts. Through the bond, the intention formed with quiet certainty rather than urgency, a sentinel’s instinct, old and steady, rising to meet a world that never stopped giving them reasons to stay watchful.
His stomach twisted at the idea that the rest of Caido was dealing with these fires. Turning, Noah pushed his wings down once, twice, and his powerful form lifted away from the waves and more towards the sky. From his vantage, he scanned the horizon, eyes sharp despite the lingering sting of smoke. The world looked deceptively calm now—ice and ocean, distant landforms resting under a pale sky. It was too easy to imagine flames blooming elsewhere, unseen, unchecked, while they lingered here in the aftermath of a victory already won.
If fires were spreading, if Tanau’s influence or some other will was stirring them into being, then waiting in one place felt wrong. Deimos could not be everywhere at once, no matter how vast his forms or how relentless his resolve. If he found more smoke, more flame clawing where it did not belong, perhaps he could do something before it grew.
That's not good. Perhaps I should take a different way home and we can divide our efforts. Through the bond, the intention formed with quiet certainty rather than urgency, a sentinel’s instinct, old and steady, rising to meet a world that never stopped giving them reasons to stay watchful.
noah
you touched my heavy heart and made it light
