DEIMOS
Heave the silver hollow sliver
There were poignant memories, even amidst the clattering, ringing decibels of heartache and turmoil. The Basin hadn’t been without some essence of bliss and happiness, between betrayals, martyrs, and murders; cyclical in nature, hearts for hearts, lies for lies, wars for wars. They were not the same beings tossed in amongst the snow; grown or departed from those reaches of mountains and scorn, hostility and war, and yet not at all in the same instance, patterns repeating in reverberations and calculations, in tyrants and crowns. But he’d rather reflect on the better nuances now, the things that lingered well after his departure, his demise, the efforts made to be pieces of puzzles. The memories settled, and they took their turn tossing one after the other, a small smile segmenting its way back to his features, his eyes darting along roots and shadows, panels and cobblestones, before coming back to Rexanna (no longer the Thief; something else, evolved and adapted to a different world). “The lake that never froze was my favorite, but the hot springs were a close second.” It was where he’d collapse and breathe in the haze of exhaustion, it was where he could stare out over the open sky, lean back and recall who he was after the blood rinsed off his skin, his flesh. The lake was something else entirely, beautiful and serene, incapable of absorbing the frost and rime otherwise taking hold of the world. He’d lived amidst its banks too, patrolling and guarding, promising savagery even when everything else seemed lost and forlorn.Rexanna reached over and pinned the aurora crest on his tunic; something in his heart lurched and he wanted to fade away. He wouldn’t know what to do with such beauty – didn’t know how to thank her, didn’t know how to react, lowering his head at the small, delicate weight of it against his figure.
Curiosity was an indulgent master though, and he glanced back at her, a tone without malice, without contempt, without the boldness and distaste of duplicity or treachery laden in his voice. “Did you enjoy the Edge?” For all its parts – not just the days with Tembovu or caught in the crossfire of being an individual once of the Basin.
Unite and spread the heart apart
