AURELIA
and my hands aren't clean
maybe they never will be
maybe they never will be
Aurelia let the strained silence overtake her, the desire to stop talking about it beoming far stronger than her need to get it off her chest. When Gideon told her she could bury her dead in Caido, she looked away, eyeing the roll of the ocean and chewing her lip. "Hopefully that's a privilege I won't need anytime soon," she muttered, glancing down to feed some spare branches to the fire. The flames popped and crackled as they bit into the fresh, dry wood. If her invisible intensity fed them too, she didn't notice.
Gideon commented on the inscription, a simple response. That was all, just sweet. Aurelia saw much more but, of course she did. She nodded and glanced back over at him, back at the blade as it reflected the fire on its shiny surface. Those words carved into it were still dark against the orange light around them.
One of the already-burnt branches lost its balance and toppled down from the fire. She made no move to correct it, only watching it smoke away in the cold sand. She didn't miss Gideon's wink as he spoke confidently about his preaching, and the fact that it might help her.
'In what ways?' was the only response she could think of but, she didn't say it aloud to him. He probably dealt with stupid questions like that on a regular basis and his practiced answers must've become dull. What you do has consequences, his words repeated in her head, striking her where it hurt - even though that probably wasn't his intention.
Aurelia, however, wiped away the frown and replaced it with a small smile at Gideon's approval of her choice of action. It wasn't so dissimilar from his own, actually, but she didn't mind that. Meant that she had the right idea.
"So, then, I guess I better get ready to do more stuff like this, huh? Aside from dolls, I mean." She picked up the bottle to take another drink and, when she had, she promptly tossed it into the sand beside him, turning to face him better. "Alright, let's hear it," she smacked her lips at the bitter taste that had just washed over her tongue, her face flushing for a moment, "I wanna see if you're as good as you say. Preach at me, really sell it to me, Gideon. I'll take it serious, don't worry," as if to prove her point, she forced her smile down and put on her best listening face, "Tell me about Ludo."
Gideon commented on the inscription, a simple response. That was all, just sweet. Aurelia saw much more but, of course she did. She nodded and glanced back over at him, back at the blade as it reflected the fire on its shiny surface. Those words carved into it were still dark against the orange light around them.
One of the already-burnt branches lost its balance and toppled down from the fire. She made no move to correct it, only watching it smoke away in the cold sand. She didn't miss Gideon's wink as he spoke confidently about his preaching, and the fact that it might help her.
'In what ways?' was the only response she could think of but, she didn't say it aloud to him. He probably dealt with stupid questions like that on a regular basis and his practiced answers must've become dull. What you do has consequences, his words repeated in her head, striking her where it hurt - even though that probably wasn't his intention.
Aurelia, however, wiped away the frown and replaced it with a small smile at Gideon's approval of her choice of action. It wasn't so dissimilar from his own, actually, but she didn't mind that. Meant that she had the right idea.
"So, then, I guess I better get ready to do more stuff like this, huh? Aside from dolls, I mean." She picked up the bottle to take another drink and, when she had, she promptly tossed it into the sand beside him, turning to face him better. "Alright, let's hear it," she smacked her lips at the bitter taste that had just washed over her tongue, her face flushing for a moment, "I wanna see if you're as good as you say. Preach at me, really sell it to me, Gideon. I'll take it serious, don't worry," as if to prove her point, she forced her smile down and put on her best listening face, "Tell me about Ludo."
but they can still carry you home
when you're ready to sleep
when you're ready to sleep
