DEIMOS
Bindings of lifetimes had those keen and stark clarities – that he’d done the same to her, once, bones riddled away in caves of icy convictions no longer there or anywhere but here. It didn’t make it any easier or any better, save for the promise of Caido with its immortal tetherings strung together on woe and uncertainty. No one had searched for him though; his death had been clear, distinct. Hers had been an enigmatic push and pull, a long, drawn-out measure in between the unknown that crushed and volleyed on the weight of too many tangibilities amidst a calculating mind. Left alone to brood and think too long on the possibilities of fallen friends was an unfortunate side effect of his tenures on many earths – he’d seen what happened, what occurred, what could scrape and slash and tear into a thousand cuts. A rendering of loss in all assortments.
He stilled at her murmur, took a long, deep breath and took the thorns out of his chest. The knowing. The waiting. The presumption of things that were enough. His jaw feathered out of habit, clenching downward on teeth and enamel so he didn’t flicker and distort in the present. He remained silent; listened, head tilting about Enzo, about simple rancor, of stopping within the Draig. Half-hesitant to say something, anything, but keeping it locked and tightened away – of knowing better than to launch oneself into the Cordillera.
Then an accidental plunge, between dragons and death. His gaze went towards the companion, eyes narrowing. In a different world, himself or Ru would never have hesitated in avenging; a culling, rather than knotting to one’s soul. Here and now though, it scarcely seemed to matter; people altered and changed, immortal stirrings bringing forth far more forgiveness, at least on the Valkyrie’s part. He couldn’t help his stone countenance towards the creature, despite knowing there’d only been self-defense and fear. How many others had committed the same, trying to save and salvage themselves?
His arms wove their way back around her shoulders instead, pulling her back into his chest, uncertain if it was relief, confusion, or the conflicted turning points of so many others gathered and rooted in him. “Quite a journey,” he began finally, swallowing down bile and looking across the vast, open sea, shaking his head where she couldn’t see. “Are you…,” better now, he wanted to ask, as if it was an easy thing to fix, when he knew it wasn’t. Instead, he tried for a different approach. “Settled?” Back into King's End and the life she'd chosen there.
He stilled at her murmur, took a long, deep breath and took the thorns out of his chest. The knowing. The waiting. The presumption of things that were enough. His jaw feathered out of habit, clenching downward on teeth and enamel so he didn’t flicker and distort in the present. He remained silent; listened, head tilting about Enzo, about simple rancor, of stopping within the Draig. Half-hesitant to say something, anything, but keeping it locked and tightened away – of knowing better than to launch oneself into the Cordillera.
Then an accidental plunge, between dragons and death. His gaze went towards the companion, eyes narrowing. In a different world, himself or Ru would never have hesitated in avenging; a culling, rather than knotting to one’s soul. Here and now though, it scarcely seemed to matter; people altered and changed, immortal stirrings bringing forth far more forgiveness, at least on the Valkyrie’s part. He couldn’t help his stone countenance towards the creature, despite knowing there’d only been self-defense and fear. How many others had committed the same, trying to save and salvage themselves?
His arms wove their way back around her shoulders instead, pulling her back into his chest, uncertain if it was relief, confusion, or the conflicted turning points of so many others gathered and rooted in him. “Quite a journey,” he began finally, swallowing down bile and looking across the vast, open sea, shaking his head where she couldn’t see. “Are you…,” better now, he wanted to ask, as if it was an easy thing to fix, when he knew it wasn’t. Instead, he tried for a different approach. “Settled?” Back into King's End and the life she'd chosen there.
i'm in the mood to dissolve in the sky
