She has been trying to move forward.
Lilliana has been learning that grief, that moving on, isn’t one battle of moving upward. It is a war filled with many battles. Some days are better than others. Some days she learns to live with her mistakes and some days she condemns herself for them. Grief, she is learning, is a tide that can come in with full force and leave behind something new – something new to discover or find.
It can weather a soul but what Lilli is learning is the withstanding of it, of learning to let things come and go.
The proof of that is evident in the way her smile reaches her eyes, the way that it transforms the expression on her face. The fatigue that she feels when using this gift is replaced. The tiredness that crinkles around her eyes, that seems to settle in her bones and make her feel so tired is replaced with her ever-persistent teasing. Lilli still feels tired but the gratitude, the sense of purpose she gets from this chases away the exhaustion that wants to claim its due.
The irony isn’t lost on her that of all creatures she heals that the first is a fox. There is a touch of fate in the moment and Lilliana can’t help but wonder if this is her sign, if this is the smoke signal she has been searching for. But in the last dying rays of daylight and as the sun finally nestles herself below the horizon, she protests the darkness in a fiery hue that tries to linger amidst the midnight blue that comes rolling in. Had she not been so tired, she might have noticed Olver’s approach or at least become aware of the scent of the dun stallion as he drew closer.
Instead, it only when she hears the sound of snow crushing beneath the weight of hooves does she turn her head to find the familiar form of her former classmate standing there. Her relief exhales in puffs of air from her nostrils and her face warms with recognition, happy to see him again. ”Olver,” she beams.
But then he speaks.
Her eyes widen and then the smile follows suit. Olver has a voice, comes the stunned thought. She had wondered what he would sound like when the pair had traveled to meet Persea so Olver could participate in Tir's first assignment. ”That was.. I was repaying a favor to an old friend.” The soft smile becomes lopsided then and she peers up at him. Lilliana is still eager to smile (she can hardly contain it) and when their eyes finally meet, she grins.
”Olver,” comes her enthusiastic reply, laughter carrying on the last notes of the word. ”Your voice is beautiful. How does it feel? Is it everything you were wanting?” Her questions come breathless in rapid succession. Realizing this, Lilli steadies her tongue and she sends the stallion an apologetic smile, ”Sorry.. but you’re speaking. It’s wonderful Olver, truly.”
Lilliana has been learning that grief, that moving on, isn’t one battle of moving upward. It is a war filled with many battles. Some days are better than others. Some days she learns to live with her mistakes and some days she condemns herself for them. Grief, she is learning, is a tide that can come in with full force and leave behind something new – something new to discover or find.
It can weather a soul but what Lilli is learning is the withstanding of it, of learning to let things come and go.
The proof of that is evident in the way her smile reaches her eyes, the way that it transforms the expression on her face. The fatigue that she feels when using this gift is replaced. The tiredness that crinkles around her eyes, that seems to settle in her bones and make her feel so tired is replaced with her ever-persistent teasing. Lilli still feels tired but the gratitude, the sense of purpose she gets from this chases away the exhaustion that wants to claim its due.
The irony isn’t lost on her that of all creatures she heals that the first is a fox. There is a touch of fate in the moment and Lilliana can’t help but wonder if this is her sign, if this is the smoke signal she has been searching for. But in the last dying rays of daylight and as the sun finally nestles herself below the horizon, she protests the darkness in a fiery hue that tries to linger amidst the midnight blue that comes rolling in. Had she not been so tired, she might have noticed Olver’s approach or at least become aware of the scent of the dun stallion as he drew closer.
Instead, it only when she hears the sound of snow crushing beneath the weight of hooves does she turn her head to find the familiar form of her former classmate standing there. Her relief exhales in puffs of air from her nostrils and her face warms with recognition, happy to see him again. ”Olver,” she beams.
But then he speaks.
Her eyes widen and then the smile follows suit. Olver has a voice, comes the stunned thought. She had wondered what he would sound like when the pair had traveled to meet Persea so Olver could participate in Tir's first assignment. ”That was.. I was repaying a favor to an old friend.” The soft smile becomes lopsided then and she peers up at him. Lilliana is still eager to smile (she can hardly contain it) and when their eyes finally meet, she grins.
”Olver,” comes her enthusiastic reply, laughter carrying on the last notes of the word. ”Your voice is beautiful. How does it feel? Is it everything you were wanting?” Her questions come breathless in rapid succession. Realizing this, Lilli steadies her tongue and she sends the stallion an apologetic smile, ”Sorry.. but you’re speaking. It’s wonderful Olver, truly.”
LILLIANA
i left home on account of snow
(buried all the things i know)
(buried all the things i know)
@[Olver]
but it's all in the past, love
it's all gone with the wind