Dawn is breaking in multitudes of wondrous autumn colors as Litotes elegantly steps from the bank of the river. He had longed for the cold bite of a morning bath, and rivulets of water sparkle down his side and drip from the tangles of his mane and tail. He closes his eyes and breathes in the clarifying early-morning air, welcoming the season’s changing breeze as it forces shivers over his hide.
The pale man often does this: wanders from the Cove for a day, listening to the ever-changing gossip of Beqanna. Old habits die hard, and Litotes found he is much more miserable when he doesn’t appease the tug of politics insistent in his chest. Never does he wander too close to the volatile nature of the kingdom’s whims, living beneath the rule of a Curse is enough chaos for his family.
But he remembers: the busy life of a king, the weight of responsibility, how his heart pounded in the midst of battle and heartbreak.
For years, Lie has lived at peace. No terrible longing, no agonizing over his mistakes. He keeps his wife warm at night and dotes on their children. Even now, Lilt grows round with their fourth babe. For all he was in the past, all he thought he wouldn’t be, Litotes has shaped into a quiet, retired, attentive husband and father. How terribly restless his heart is, though, quivering when a particularly frightening bit of kingdom gossip passes through his ears.
And now he waits, ignoring the desire to return to Lilt and curl into her side (how he would smile, how his heart would still), water dripping delicately onto the muddied riverbank. Quiet, regal Litotes, wondering if he might truly return to the life that once agonized him so.
as it softly glides across your back
and i hope you leave right before the sun comes up
so i can watch it alone
