HARPER
The metal of the staff is warmed by foreign hands when he retrieves it, but it is a comfort instead of an intrusion. A reminder he is not alone - at least not in the war. Thumb cresting over the phantom warmth of Gideon's touch, Harper listens, head bowed like a disciple where he sits in the pew as the Priest's words wash over him. Invade him. Chasing the cold of empathetic doubt from the marrows of his bones where it had sunken in and chilled him from the start.
"They were people, once. Even before the war has begun, we've already lost so many." Pain tightens the corners of his eyes. They still think and speak, but they are effectively gone all the same. Yet ending them...he knows it will not be any easier, knowing that. With the vows he'd taken after escaping the compound to never take a human life at nearly all costs, Harper wonders if he'll be able to kill one of them at all.
You know you can, his mind whispers in dark betrayal, and Harper shudders hard.
It's not a concern he feels safe in revealing to Gideon however. Not for fear of judgment or disappointment, but the vulnerability that he would be forced to perform in order to explain.
"I have faith in her," he agrees softly. "She posed the potential of me leading Torchline when I spoke with her. It seemed a laughable idea at the time, but now...even if I don't lead it, perhaps there needs to be a change." Somebody else in Sunjata's place. In a way, Harper thinks the man would appreciate the chance to live outside the spotlight. At least it would grant him the opportunity to live the next two years at peace with Nate, before everything inevitably burned.
"They were people, once. Even before the war has begun, we've already lost so many." Pain tightens the corners of his eyes. They still think and speak, but they are effectively gone all the same. Yet ending them...he knows it will not be any easier, knowing that. With the vows he'd taken after escaping the compound to never take a human life at nearly all costs, Harper wonders if he'll be able to kill one of them at all.
You know you can, his mind whispers in dark betrayal, and Harper shudders hard.
It's not a concern he feels safe in revealing to Gideon however. Not for fear of judgment or disappointment, but the vulnerability that he would be forced to perform in order to explain.
"I have faith in her," he agrees softly. "She posed the potential of me leading Torchline when I spoke with her. It seemed a laughable idea at the time, but now...even if I don't lead it, perhaps there needs to be a change." Somebody else in Sunjata's place. In a way, Harper thinks the man would appreciate the chance to live outside the spotlight. At least it would grant him the opportunity to live the next two years at peace with Nate, before everything inevitably burned.
this is your ocean, an ocean of night
BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3
