the hailstorm
The softness after the bite of pain was something so disgustingly like going home that Neron found himself simultaneously trying to melt into it and recoil from it. In the end the former won out, as it always always did, the Hailstorm's eyes pressing shut as if in shame that he got to enjoy the comfort after the punishment. "Because I am weak," he said softly, quietly, truthfully. "Because try as I might to escape this family's ways, try as I might to leave it behind, it follows me always. And I cannot get away."
His tone echoed with finality, with gloom, with acceptance. Eyes fluttering open, he blinked up at Zariah and nodded to her. "Thank you for helping me to understand," he muttered.
His tone echoed with finality, with gloom, with acceptance. Eyes fluttering open, he blinked up at Zariah and nodded to her. "Thank you for helping me to understand," he muttered.