07-19-2015, 12:55 AM
If this is to end in fire then we should all burn together
Twelve years. It had been twelve years since Drow had seen his starshine girl, on the night the world had ended. The night the Moon had died, and everything that had already been shit had burned the rest of the way to the ground. Not his starshine girl anymore, he supposed. He’d gone back to find her, to apologize for…for the night he couldn’t remember, for her face covered in blood and the knowledge that he’d hurt the girl. But Noellen wouldn’t see him, and wasn’t that confirmation enough that she didn’t want anything to do with him. He couldn’t blame her, not after what she’d been through. So she had been just one more thing weighing on his conscience, one more reason to hate himself and tear himself apart, one more reason to punish himself when he’d already had countless reasons and countless scars from the trying.
He’d wondered about her since then, of course. But he’d been…too broken, even after all this time. Too broken to try to make amends with one of the most important people in his life, for whatever he had done to hurt her. Too broken to do anything but respect her wishes and leave her alone, even if it killed him. Because what else could he do? She was better off without him. Without who he’d been back then, at least. But he’d grown up a lot since the world had ended. Somewhere along the line, the broken pieces of him had mended, had turned into something…solid. Steady. Stronger than the sad, scared, lonely little boy shattered by abandonment and loss and a broken heart. He’d grown the fuck up. And lately he had begun to wonder…if maybe it was time to try again.
He had checked the Dale already, searching out traces of his starshine girl where she had once called home. But there was no lingering trace of her scent in the rolling hills and valleys, not even on the clearest nights when the stars shone brighter than he’d ever seen before. Not a trace of the boy either, though that hadn’t come as such a surprise. Colts grew up and left their mothers’ sides, and this one had been nearly grown the last time he’d seen his starshine girl. Still, he had hoped for at least word of her whereabouts.
Drow had even gone back to the Field, his heart aching for all the years that had passed since that first day he’d seen her, sweet and shy and shining like all the stars in the sky were hidden inside her emerald green eyes. He’d been a bashful, naïve little boy, far too young to leave his mother’s side (and if he’d only known how short a time he’d have her, he would have never left her side…), still pale as moonlight with his soft baby coat that had slowly, so slowly turned to almost-black, just a hint left of the earthy shades he’d faded through on his way to adulthood. So innocent, he’d been so innocent. Still, no sign of her there.
In the end, he’d gone back to the Meadow. The Jungle had never been home, only the place he’d lived. And now that none of his family lived there, it had no claim on him. So he had made his way to the place every other homeless man, woman, and child eventually found, and he’d kept himself occupied learning its rhythms and trying to reach out, to find an anchor in a world where it felt like none existed. Who was he without his family to protect, to defend, to love? Just another body. Maybe someday he’d find them again, his brothers and sisters, any children they might have had. And in the meantime--
Sunlight glinted off a metallic coat, drawing his reluctant attention to a bit of melodrama playing out nearby. Some cold iron douche pushing around a beat up girl who looked so damn defeated he could…barely…stand it. No. His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on her dull dirt-brown coat, the way her paler mane hung limp and lifeless on her neck. There was no fight left in her empty green eyes, just resignation as she shook with pain and exhaustion. There was no starlight in those eyes, but they were hers.
Noellen.
Red bled into his vision, something that had only happened on the full moon before, back in the days when he’d been jagged and haunted and tearing himself to pieces just to keep functioning. The rage that washed away reason was familiar, caressing his veins like a long-lost lover even as it powered him forward, charging toward the man who thought he got to hurt Drow’s starshine girl. He would learn. The fucker would learn. Drow would be happy to teach him that nobody. Hurt. The girl.
He’d wondered about her since then, of course. But he’d been…too broken, even after all this time. Too broken to try to make amends with one of the most important people in his life, for whatever he had done to hurt her. Too broken to do anything but respect her wishes and leave her alone, even if it killed him. Because what else could he do? She was better off without him. Without who he’d been back then, at least. But he’d grown up a lot since the world had ended. Somewhere along the line, the broken pieces of him had mended, had turned into something…solid. Steady. Stronger than the sad, scared, lonely little boy shattered by abandonment and loss and a broken heart. He’d grown the fuck up. And lately he had begun to wonder…if maybe it was time to try again.
He had checked the Dale already, searching out traces of his starshine girl where she had once called home. But there was no lingering trace of her scent in the rolling hills and valleys, not even on the clearest nights when the stars shone brighter than he’d ever seen before. Not a trace of the boy either, though that hadn’t come as such a surprise. Colts grew up and left their mothers’ sides, and this one had been nearly grown the last time he’d seen his starshine girl. Still, he had hoped for at least word of her whereabouts.
Drow had even gone back to the Field, his heart aching for all the years that had passed since that first day he’d seen her, sweet and shy and shining like all the stars in the sky were hidden inside her emerald green eyes. He’d been a bashful, naïve little boy, far too young to leave his mother’s side (and if he’d only known how short a time he’d have her, he would have never left her side…), still pale as moonlight with his soft baby coat that had slowly, so slowly turned to almost-black, just a hint left of the earthy shades he’d faded through on his way to adulthood. So innocent, he’d been so innocent. Still, no sign of her there.
In the end, he’d gone back to the Meadow. The Jungle had never been home, only the place he’d lived. And now that none of his family lived there, it had no claim on him. So he had made his way to the place every other homeless man, woman, and child eventually found, and he’d kept himself occupied learning its rhythms and trying to reach out, to find an anchor in a world where it felt like none existed. Who was he without his family to protect, to defend, to love? Just another body. Maybe someday he’d find them again, his brothers and sisters, any children they might have had. And in the meantime--
Sunlight glinted off a metallic coat, drawing his reluctant attention to a bit of melodrama playing out nearby. Some cold iron douche pushing around a beat up girl who looked so damn defeated he could…barely…stand it. No. His eyes narrowed, zeroing in on her dull dirt-brown coat, the way her paler mane hung limp and lifeless on her neck. There was no fight left in her empty green eyes, just resignation as she shook with pain and exhaustion. There was no starlight in those eyes, but they were hers.
Noellen.
Red bled into his vision, something that had only happened on the full moon before, back in the days when he’d been jagged and haunted and tearing himself to pieces just to keep functioning. The rage that washed away reason was familiar, caressing his veins like a long-lost lover even as it powered him forward, charging toward the man who thought he got to hurt Drow’s starshine girl. He would learn. The fucker would learn. Drow would be happy to teach him that nobody. Hurt. The girl.
Watch the flames climb high into the night
Drow
(Okay, Drow’s plan is basically to barrel into Khaos and try to tear him apart. We’ll talk logistics and whatnot via AIM?)