05-09-2017, 10:14 PM
He watched her step quickly off the path away from him in alarm and casually took a step backward himself, offering the security of a safer distance from which to judge his intentions. He didn’t speak into the startled wake of his initial pronouncement, but rather waited for her to collect herself. The stillness and patience of his frame belied the tension and anxiety that had roosted beneath the surface all day. The colour of his skin was warm in the rapidly fading halo of the set sun to their west, a light sheen of rapidly cooling sweat at shoulder and hock brightening him against the growing darkness around them.
He took a moment to observe her. The pale gold of her coat was like a halo, drawing the rest of the light left in the air against her skin like light silk. It was almost like looking at a mirage, hard to tell exactly where the curves and lines of her really ended. There was something about her. She may have been the only one within earshot, but there was more than proximity that had called out to him. Something was missing for her, just as it was for him. The stars were not yet visible above them in this hour between the sun falling below the horizon and losing the last of its light from the sky. The darkness was progressing to that peak just before the starlight would shine through it. There was no moon in the sky tonight. A new moon for this new chapter of his life. Indescribably, and intangibly, he already recognized a subtle shift in the direction of his life. What had seemed aimless wandering, steered by his whim and his will, seemed in retrospect a clear and forged path. Unconsciously, he was already resigned to Beqanna and a new beginning, he could sense that finding Alayaya would not be the conclusion of their venture into this strange world.
The wind, as if on cue, picked up around them now that the sun was set completely. It gusted briskly into the space between them as it rolled out across the meadow. He became acutely aware that his skin was damp. He mirrored her step toward him to avoid shivering. A smile crept briefly across his lips in mirror of hers. He had pliable features, and they were striving to be attentive and warm tonight. The cool slate of his eyes was still touched by the emptiness he was feeling, but the old embers of affability were stirring in them too.
”I’m sorry I startled you Naira,” he said, “my name is Seirath. I don’t mean to detain you if you are in a hurry – it is late.” He smiled again, and the smile was like a mask – pretending nonchalance – a charade so he could continue to avoid the fact: he desperately didn’t want to be alone. He could have borne it, if he had to, he had borne worse, but he would do anything to step away from the edge of that abyss for now.
“Were you on your way home?” He asked, buying a few more moments of her company.
He took a moment to observe her. The pale gold of her coat was like a halo, drawing the rest of the light left in the air against her skin like light silk. It was almost like looking at a mirage, hard to tell exactly where the curves and lines of her really ended. There was something about her. She may have been the only one within earshot, but there was more than proximity that had called out to him. Something was missing for her, just as it was for him. The stars were not yet visible above them in this hour between the sun falling below the horizon and losing the last of its light from the sky. The darkness was progressing to that peak just before the starlight would shine through it. There was no moon in the sky tonight. A new moon for this new chapter of his life. Indescribably, and intangibly, he already recognized a subtle shift in the direction of his life. What had seemed aimless wandering, steered by his whim and his will, seemed in retrospect a clear and forged path. Unconsciously, he was already resigned to Beqanna and a new beginning, he could sense that finding Alayaya would not be the conclusion of their venture into this strange world.
The wind, as if on cue, picked up around them now that the sun was set completely. It gusted briskly into the space between them as it rolled out across the meadow. He became acutely aware that his skin was damp. He mirrored her step toward him to avoid shivering. A smile crept briefly across his lips in mirror of hers. He had pliable features, and they were striving to be attentive and warm tonight. The cool slate of his eyes was still touched by the emptiness he was feeling, but the old embers of affability were stirring in them too.
”I’m sorry I startled you Naira,” he said, “my name is Seirath. I don’t mean to detain you if you are in a hurry – it is late.” He smiled again, and the smile was like a mask – pretending nonchalance – a charade so he could continue to avoid the fact: he desperately didn’t want to be alone. He could have borne it, if he had to, he had borne worse, but he would do anything to step away from the edge of that abyss for now.
“Were you on your way home?” He asked, buying a few more moments of her company.
Seirath - patience