[PQ] Feathers & Fearlessness

stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires

There was nothing for him to do except watch as the birds climbed higher and higher, circling around the Spire and into the fog that lurked around its top. They disappeared into it, then dipped down, reappearing only to climb again. Rory's hands were woven into Talys's mane, his blue eyes moving from bird to bird, then simply waited.

It was over faster than he would've thought: the trio broke through the fog again and descended. Remi called a greeting, and Rory waited.

It felt like all he did was wait: wait for death, his or someone else's. Life was just a long wait for the impenetrable darkness.

Someone's cheerful he thought to himself; his heart was still tight in his chest, beating a little too hard, too fast, the aftermath of the worry and anger he'd felt towards his friend for his foolish mission. Why endanger himself so? Why..

But in the end, it had done him no harm. All three Attuned descended safely, Remi fluidly shifting into his human body and his smile took Rory's breath away again. Much as he wanted to be grouchy and call the alchemist out on what he'd been doing, the grin was too disarming. He sighed and shook his head, but when he looked up again there was light in his eyes and a small, defeated smile on his face. "I just came to watch," he said quietly, not really wanting to admit that he'd come to watch them die. "Did you find anything?"

It was a strange thing, those moments that sometimes occur. The ones that you can't really describe in a way that seems to capture the importance of them. Well it was the way he looked at me, you see..and his lips, did I mention how they flickered just that once? But in them, you can be quite certain of their magnitude, and so keenly feel the loss when they end. Looking at Rory now, that was the sort of loss he felt. That nondescript sort of hollowness that spoke of nothing, urging the alchemist to fill the silence with words where once he'd been contented to just sit in silence and watch the clouds. But that's the thing about moments. You can't force them, much as you might like to. "No, unfortunately." Remi replied, words buoyant as was his smile. Shrugging his shoulders beneath the thick padding of his jacket, he showed little of his disappointment. "I did not truly expect to. When Ludo said our answers would be found at the top of the Spire I was sure it could not be this literal but .. a quick flight was worth finding out." Running a hand through his hair (which still held a few feathers), he glanced towards Talys, still hesitant to touch any of Rory's ponies after their original encounter. "Shall we put some space between ourselves and the Spire? I seem to recall a fairly stern lecture about not lingering..." He said with a roguish smile. REMI I wish I could discover something that doesn't expire