PHOEBE
Phoebe lay on the ground of her cell in the Ironboldt Penitentiary, staring blankly at the ceiling. Though the effects of the blight were beginning to fade, she was still clearly very ill. Her honeyed eyes near blended in to the once-whites, now stained with black like her teeth. Her blonde tresses where tangled and dirty, dried blood and blight streaked through it. The same inky mixture had dried on her lips and chin and down her throat, the front of her dress stiff and stained with it. Her emotions were still a mess, though for the time she was calm, trembling fingers stroking the scaly skin of Pim’s wings as he lay next to her, staving off chill.
But where the blight relinquished its hold of her, she felt loneliness and guilt creep in. She knew she had done horrible, terrible, unforgivable things. Things that made her stomach lurch as she remembered how pleased she had been in the moment, enacting her rage and hunger upon those around her. A choked sob cut the silence, feeling the guilt bubbling up in her – not just for what she did, but for what she yearned for now. All she wanted was to be held, to be told it would be alright, that she wasn’t a monster – or at least that she wouldn’t be when this illness passed.
Who did she have left though? Roana kept her distance because Phoebe had always wanted her to. She had actually tried to eat Remi. She had attacked Sunjata who had left her for Lusea. She had been cruel to Rexanna beyond forgiveness. Emmett was dead. Who did she have left that cared about her even the tiniest bit that might overlook her transgressions, that could acknowledge the difference between her true self and the blight monster she had become? Black tears rolled down her cheeks, nearly invisible amongst the mess already there. ”I wish you were here, Frey.” she whispered, hoarsely, fingers curling into her tattered skirt. Frey, her friend. But this was no shrine, she had no gift, that they would appear was not possible. Besides, she did not deserve their comfort in the wake of her destructive rage. Instead she would lie there alone, until someone saw fit to release her.
But where the blight relinquished its hold of her, she felt loneliness and guilt creep in. She knew she had done horrible, terrible, unforgivable things. Things that made her stomach lurch as she remembered how pleased she had been in the moment, enacting her rage and hunger upon those around her. A choked sob cut the silence, feeling the guilt bubbling up in her – not just for what she did, but for what she yearned for now. All she wanted was to be held, to be told it would be alright, that she wasn’t a monster – or at least that she wouldn’t be when this illness passed.
Who did she have left though? Roana kept her distance because Phoebe had always wanted her to. She had actually tried to eat Remi. She had attacked Sunjata who had left her for Lusea. She had been cruel to Rexanna beyond forgiveness. Emmett was dead. Who did she have left that cared about her even the tiniest bit that might overlook her transgressions, that could acknowledge the difference between her true self and the blight monster she had become? Black tears rolled down her cheeks, nearly invisible amongst the mess already there. ”I wish you were here, Frey.” she whispered, hoarsely, fingers curling into her tattered skirt. Frey, her friend. But this was no shrine, she had no gift, that they would appear was not possible. Besides, she did not deserve their comfort in the wake of her destructive rage. Instead she would lie there alone, until someone saw fit to release her.
When dark creeps in and eats the light
Bury your fears on sorry night
For in the winter's darkest hours
Comes the feasting of the Vours
No one can see it, the life they stole
Your body's here but not your soul
