how they armor themselves for you

DEIMOS And in your darkest hour, I hold secrets flame Ah, he’d known it wasn’t the right answer, not the perceptions, not the emotions, she’d wanted. Cold and colder still, and he breathed through the haze in his calm manner, eyes downcast, listening, always listening, before his resolute stare landed back upon her. “No, I will not. Nor has my allegiance to you changed.” His devotion, his loyalty, all still there, all in the foundation of everything he’d become – but this was on him. He followed and he cherished, but not in the way she preferred – and that was all he had to give. This was in his control, in his choices, in the way he had lived and breathed – for his love didn’t come on chains, tethers, and shackles. Didn’t believe it should. So he adhered to her command, to the phrases listed, understanding the position he was taking – no stars in his bones, no galaxies in his veins; his own being, capable of following, of giving, of granting, but within limits and parameters, of likely dying by blades and warfare, mortal and mortal remaining. The rumble began low in his chest, and exuded in finality, repeating. “I could have been made to shine with the light of a thousand suns. I could have had love and been loved. And I said no.” master of nothing place; of recoil and grace