How can you remain, Staring at the rain, Maddened by the stars?
She watched suspiciously as he dropped the garment down, and scrutinizing eyes proceeded to follow him out of the cave. As soon as he was out of sight she leaned forward and pulled the jacket to her, threw it around her shoulders. She drew her legs close to her body and wrapped herself up. For a while, it was all she could do. The jacket itself was cold, as if it had been hanging on a rack.
Then, when some warmth returned and the ache in her toes was no longer dull when she stretched them, she stood up on numb legs and walked wobbly steps to the mouth of the cave. Azure saw the forest before her, thick and ancient. When she looked up she couldn’t tell whether it was whispers of moonlight or sunlight that found their way through the thick canopy.
A hand searched the inside of her vest finding her water flask. When she leaned her head back to empty it she saw the cave spin and decided, despite considerations, to sit back down inside. She sat with her back to the cave wall, leaving little room between herself and the exit. The songbird wrapped the jacket as far around her body as it would go and waited.
The thing that rubbed her wrong about all this wasn’t the immense weakness she felt as all grip she had on her life spilled into nothing in the sight of one hungry monster. It wasn’t the sickening weakness running through her body, not knowing whether she would run a fever, vomit, or both. It wasn’t that this attack interrupted what was to be her repentant return to the Grounds, her plea for forgiveness. It was that she couldn’t, despite strained effort, muster enough hatred for the man who’d done this to her.
The moment the dark haired creature appeared back in her sights, Azure’s eyes narrowed, fixating on his every move. She didn’t let surprise or relief show when he laid out everything she needed. The girl immediately grabbed the knife, slipping it out of its sheathe in a rapid motion. She didn’t respond to his inquiry, deciding instead to give him a half aborted eye-roll and begin building the fire after setting the knife close to her reach.
It was his request that caught her completely off guard. It was the first time she looked at him without disgust marking the creases of her eyes. Instead, there was surprise, confusion and a hint of incredulous amusement. She broke eye contact, disliking this moment of sincerity. She snapped the branch in her hand to size and pointed it at him. ”We’ll see about that, mosquito boy.” She then threw it onto the fire and picked up the knife, striking at the flint.
Soon enough, smoke rose from the pile and embers danced their way around the wood. “You’re not very good at this Ascended thing, are you?” She prodded, testing him. Wondering whether the repentant visage would melt under her biting tone, and he would reveal a face far more dangerous, and far easier to strike back against.
Azure
