DEIMOS
the ocean does not apologize for its depth
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
and the mountains do not seek forgiveness
He didn’t notice the companion; too busy listening, intent on Remi’s words. His eyes flickered downcast for a moment, over all the proportions of snow and the growth underneath, before a soft sigh pulsed and waged through his lungs. “At times, I will admit Ru and I are not great influences for one another. No matter how often I advised against certain actions.” Still dragged along because he was fearful for her safety – for the rage roaring underneath, for the vitriol and stupidity that always seemed to rear its ugly head whenever the Valkyrie snagged at her more stubborn proportions. The fire. The jail. The coup. “But I grew very tired of seeing her hurt.” Had Remi not seen those within his own family circle betrayed or marred in some way? Or did he expect those like Deimos to merely step aside, watch as so many others did, or pretend not to notice, not to care? That there couldn’t be repercussions or consequences for some, no accountability laden at their feet? Ignored, given full leeway?
Eventually his gaze returned to Remi’s, away from the trees, the timber, the boughs. The piercing questions thereafter were enough – justifiable too, given his actions as of late. But it was as if everything he’d ever done before; all the generosity, all the shielding, all the protecting, all the wielding, scarcely seemed to exist or matter. Maybe that was a lesson too. “You and Ru have your own decisions to make. I will not be involved in them.” A hard-fought distinction when it came to the woman he’d once ruled with – whose tempestuous edges he sometimes still couldn’t fully understand. If some other betrayal lined the way between Lullaby and Valkyrie, that would be their own trial and tribulation.
The comment about Morgan caused his brows to furrow, for he didn’t regard these motions or notions in the same manner. “I have only sought vengeance for those who have wronged me or my friends. Morgan betrayed me, and her people, well before we ever plotted a coup.” Amidst her embedded lies, her claims of neutrality, the farce of a world bent solely and focused upon a man who’d already demonstrated he couldn’t be trusted.
And for the Greatwood? When once so many of them had sought to help and assist? Was he now being burned and scorched for that too? He took in another breath, shaking his head. “I have tried to provide aid to many. That was all I was striving for. Have my actions from before not reflected that?” Nor had he ever gone against this world. Goals for the Old Gods. Defenses built. A Mathair carried back to her rightful home. “If you want me to make a pledge to never harm the Greatwood, just as I have done for Maeve and Torchline, then I will.”
Eventually his gaze returned to Remi’s, away from the trees, the timber, the boughs. The piercing questions thereafter were enough – justifiable too, given his actions as of late. But it was as if everything he’d ever done before; all the generosity, all the shielding, all the protecting, all the wielding, scarcely seemed to exist or matter. Maybe that was a lesson too. “You and Ru have your own decisions to make. I will not be involved in them.” A hard-fought distinction when it came to the woman he’d once ruled with – whose tempestuous edges he sometimes still couldn’t fully understand. If some other betrayal lined the way between Lullaby and Valkyrie, that would be their own trial and tribulation.
The comment about Morgan caused his brows to furrow, for he didn’t regard these motions or notions in the same manner. “I have only sought vengeance for those who have wronged me or my friends. Morgan betrayed me, and her people, well before we ever plotted a coup.” Amidst her embedded lies, her claims of neutrality, the farce of a world bent solely and focused upon a man who’d already demonstrated he couldn’t be trusted.
And for the Greatwood? When once so many of them had sought to help and assist? Was he now being burned and scorched for that too? He took in another breath, shaking his head. “I have tried to provide aid to many. That was all I was striving for. Have my actions from before not reflected that?” Nor had he ever gone against this world. Goals for the Old Gods. Defenses built. A Mathair carried back to her rightful home. “If you want me to make a pledge to never harm the Greatwood, just as I have done for Maeve and Torchline, then I will.”
for the space they take
and so, neither shall I
and so, neither shall I
