my shadow tilts its head at me,
spirits in the dark are waiting.
Rhonan has never been terribly good at paying attention to his family. He was quick to leave the Jungle every chance he got, and not because he had any good reason, but simply because he liked to get away. He’d love to pretend that he ran off to better himself, to make something of his life, but he’s a terrible actor and couldn’t pull off the lie. Even when he disappeared to the demon’s call, it’s not because he wanted to make himself better. He’d just been bored, and so he’d gone.
One hell of a poor choice to solve bored with. Those lives, those dreams, whatever they were, had changed him forever. Though he hadn’t yet figured out if they’d changed him for better or worse. Certainly, he was something now. Not something because he’d slaved in a kingdom and made a name for himself. Just something. He was very different than the boy who had escaped the Jungle so many times.
When Nayl finds him, he’s actually surprised to find that he’s actually glad to see her. There was some part of him that still thought she was dead. That his entire family was dead. Burned in the fire that consumed Beqanna, part of the horde that had killed Noah, that had tried to kill him. Which of course was completely stupid, because Beqanna wasn’t burned to a crisp anymore, so why would his family be?
Logic didn’t matter though. He’d never shaken the feeling they were dead. Couldn’t quite rid himself of it now, even with her light brush against his skin. It was sort of like seeing a ghost.
He was gold and white today, only because Nayl was here, though the shadows still clung at his feet. He couldn’t give them up entirely, enjoyed being wrapped in shadows far too much. It suited him. He’d never been the spotlight in his family, never would be, and never wanted to be. He’d always just gone off to be by himself, and he liked how he could dissolve into the shadows and simply disappear. A wonderful trick Rhynn had taught him.
“Nayl,” he says, as softly as he can. Which really, with Rhonan, isn’t all that soft at all. His voice is gravely, and he generally lack empathy and concern. He may feel some relief at seeing her, but he’s never quite figured out how to get those tiny little feelings into his voice. “Loitering in the Valley,” he says, to answer her question, toying at his shadow on the ground, and it grows and shrinks unnaturally. This is his unspoken answer to her question. He’s been playing with the shadows, learning, becoming stronger. It seemed like the most important thing, to learn control, before he tried to do anything else.
“How are you, and the rest of our family?” He finally adds. He hasn’t seen his twin or mother in so long, and he needs her to tell him they aren’t dead. Her presence alone isn’t enough to convince him.
rhonan.