to be lit up from within
vein by vein
Sailors and sirens, her eyes wandering from him and out into the abyss. She hadn’t heard any of them on her voyages along the sea, only the scraping of monsoons drenching them all, only the ghost whales trailing after their ship. Horrors and adventures, sojourns and the unknown; glancing for the figures, for the lack of reality shaping behind his gaze. Then they sunk to her lap, where Fangorn nestled and curled, protective, and she found she didn’t know what else to do for them. "There's nothing out there, Amun. You're safe here." For any of them with these ailments. Only company, only trial and error. No wonder Vai had seemed so exhausted.
But if she kept him occupied for the moment, then he wasn’t out amidst the danger, the ether, save for not listening to her warnings.
Then her canteen was slapped away, and she had to react quickly to catch it, to sigh under her breath. “Okay.” She didn’t have anything else.
And her blood wasn’t going to be an option. Melita wasn’t her uncle, willingly giving himself over, and she’d heard enough of the circumstances surrounding the taking of ichor to believe it wasn’t an experience she was ready for. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Warmer, her voice gentler, she pondered something else instead. “What if I find you some wine? Would that be better?” Than water – some notion of substance, but if he was Ascended, maybe it didn’t matter.
to be the sun
MELITA
