04-09-2017, 12:33 PM
Lilitha immediately missed their touch, her heart aching as the pair of them stepped back, gave her distance. Even if she was the one who’d pulled back first. Still, it was easier to catch her breath as the odd tingling rush that their gentle exploration of her scars had awoken faded away. Not unpleasant, just...just new, and entirely unexpected. A little too much, all at once.
And then Spark’s lips were on her cheek, and that quiet ache in her chest eased. Better, this was better. This, she could do. She returned the touch, the furrow of her brow relaxing, her lips curving gently as she brushed the side of her nose against Spark’s cheek in turn. And Spear, running his teeth through her hair, oh, that was nice.
“It’s okay,” she murmured, leaning into Spear’s lovely, determined attempt to groom her mane. A lost cause, her hair was a wild tangle of red with a mind of its own, but it felt good letting him try. She rubbed her cheek against his strong, broad neck and gently scratched his shoulder with her own teeth. Half-heartedly, though. She was far more inclined to trace the line of his shoulder with her nose, breathe in the almost-forgotten scent of him, and reach up to wrap herself around him, pull him into a quiet little hug.
Yes. That was much better.
Spark’s cheek on her shoulder coaxed another soft little smile to Lilitha’s lips, and she turned her attention back to her friend, gently tugging her a little closer, draping her neck across Spark’s and breathing her in too, noticing as she did the way their scents were so much more distinct from one another now, less mingled and blurred until they could almost have been two halves of a whole.
“I suppose it’s only natural to grow apart some,” she said softly, with a quiet little squeeze to offer comfort and support. “You have your own lives to live, and sometimes that means taking different paths, spending time apart. Distance, where once there was such closeness.” And the way her indrawn breath shook and the sudden wave of sadness that washed over her told her maybe she wasn’t just talking about the two of them. “But you’re family, and that’s important. You’ll find a way to...to be there for each other, something that gives you both the space you need to grow but still lets you love each other.”
She hoped. She maybe even believed it. But what did Lilitha know of family? Maybe it was just wishful thinking, that anyone could ever make it work. Maybe it wasn’t just her, maybe everyone was cursed to suffer heartache and loneliness and loss, growing up and growing apart until there was nothing left of the strength and beauty of their bond.
“Thanks, Spark,” she whispered, pulling back to press her lips to the line of her friend’s shoulder. “I did miss it. It was gone just long enough for me to fall in love with my wings, and it...it hurt. A lot. For a long time. But it’s okay now. It’s back to...normal, I guess? Whatever that even means. I can use it without feeling like I’m burning alive, anyhow. Which is, I guess, a nice change of pace.”
Even if part of her had come to crave it. To love it. She could have stopped using it entirely, but that would have meant letting their god’s cruelty go unchallenged, letting the world win. And Lilitha was nothing if not stubborn. She’d used her fire more than ever, and survived the pain of it the only way she could.
And now?
She sighed, resting the weight of her head against Spear’s shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his solid strength. Now she’d find a way to let go. Or to adjust back, or something. She’d get there. One step at a time. For now, there were more important things. “Do you...I mean, do you live somewhere, do you have somewhere you call home? Or do you more wander?”
And then Spark’s lips were on her cheek, and that quiet ache in her chest eased. Better, this was better. This, she could do. She returned the touch, the furrow of her brow relaxing, her lips curving gently as she brushed the side of her nose against Spark’s cheek in turn. And Spear, running his teeth through her hair, oh, that was nice.
“It’s okay,” she murmured, leaning into Spear’s lovely, determined attempt to groom her mane. A lost cause, her hair was a wild tangle of red with a mind of its own, but it felt good letting him try. She rubbed her cheek against his strong, broad neck and gently scratched his shoulder with her own teeth. Half-heartedly, though. She was far more inclined to trace the line of his shoulder with her nose, breathe in the almost-forgotten scent of him, and reach up to wrap herself around him, pull him into a quiet little hug.
Yes. That was much better.
Spark’s cheek on her shoulder coaxed another soft little smile to Lilitha’s lips, and she turned her attention back to her friend, gently tugging her a little closer, draping her neck across Spark’s and breathing her in too, noticing as she did the way their scents were so much more distinct from one another now, less mingled and blurred until they could almost have been two halves of a whole.
“I suppose it’s only natural to grow apart some,” she said softly, with a quiet little squeeze to offer comfort and support. “You have your own lives to live, and sometimes that means taking different paths, spending time apart. Distance, where once there was such closeness.” And the way her indrawn breath shook and the sudden wave of sadness that washed over her told her maybe she wasn’t just talking about the two of them. “But you’re family, and that’s important. You’ll find a way to...to be there for each other, something that gives you both the space you need to grow but still lets you love each other.”
She hoped. She maybe even believed it. But what did Lilitha know of family? Maybe it was just wishful thinking, that anyone could ever make it work. Maybe it wasn’t just her, maybe everyone was cursed to suffer heartache and loneliness and loss, growing up and growing apart until there was nothing left of the strength and beauty of their bond.
“Thanks, Spark,” she whispered, pulling back to press her lips to the line of her friend’s shoulder. “I did miss it. It was gone just long enough for me to fall in love with my wings, and it...it hurt. A lot. For a long time. But it’s okay now. It’s back to...normal, I guess? Whatever that even means. I can use it without feeling like I’m burning alive, anyhow. Which is, I guess, a nice change of pace.”
Even if part of her had come to crave it. To love it. She could have stopped using it entirely, but that would have meant letting their god’s cruelty go unchallenged, letting the world win. And Lilitha was nothing if not stubborn. She’d used her fire more than ever, and survived the pain of it the only way she could.
And now?
She sighed, resting the weight of her head against Spear’s shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his solid strength. Now she’d find a way to let go. Or to adjust back, or something. She’d get there. One step at a time. For now, there were more important things. “Do you...I mean, do you live somewhere, do you have somewhere you call home? Or do you more wander?”