His heart pounds at the sight of her. Finally, he processes what just happened: his panicked lion form, Rune cursing at him, stumbling and falling like a fool. He stands there, legs splayed and breathe heaving, hoping and praying that Kensa will heed his warning. For the first time ever, he longs to see her walking away from him, running miles and miles until no sickness may drown her like it is drowning him. i don't want your pity, i just want somebody near me
He wants to keep her safe. My god, does he need her to be strong - to live her life and follow her heart.
Litotes should have known: Kensa will not turn her back on him, no matter how he begs she will not turn tail and run. Feverous and aching, he cannot grasp the reality: her strength is what leads her to him; this is the life she has chosen to live. In his mind he is backpedalling, slipping across the ice in a desperate attempt to keep her from the plague (he is actually rooted to the ground by Kensa’s commanding voice). He coughs, goes limp as the pain in his throat racks his entire body.
The air is still and threatening as she approaches. He watches her with forlorn eyes, unable to believe that he is doing the right thing by listening to her. Lie is resigned by the time Kensa reaches him; he leans into her side when she offers it to him. He sighs, regretting each step as he takes it, diving deeper and deeper into fear with each passing second. He closes his eyes and allows the sensation of his companion’s side guide him. Rune shuffles about, settling on his back with her tail curled over her front paws, projecting clearly into his mind that she is staring intently at Kensa. He huffs in response but is too tired to argue.
When the ice changes to earth, Lie opens his eyes. Kensa is already peering at him with concern, though he knows that moments before she was ready to chastise him. He closes his eyes again when she questions him, reminiscing on the way the sickness took hold of his body overnight. He does not know how the lion came to him, just knows it started in his dreams and slowly changed his DNA (though he does have his suspicions about the plague).
Blood begins to trickle from both his nostrils, but he ignores it and takes a racking breathe: “I don’t know what happened, Kens . . . I patrolled Hyaline, redirected those passing through, and I got sick. Other than that . . . I don’t know. And as for this one,” he stops to gesture at the sand cat still staring unblinkingly at Kensa, “she won’t leave me alone. Her name is Rune.”
The feline hisses and bats Lie’s neck. You’d be a mess without me, she says, then lithely hops to Kensa’s shoulders. Rune curls into a ball in the cupped space between the liver chestnut’s withers and back.
I like her. Comfortable back.
Lie would be irritated but he is too exhausted. He longs to be as close to the mare as Rune is, but won’t allow himself the liberty.
“I think my lion-form has something to do with the plague. I need to tell Solace and Kagerus, but patrolling Hyaline has been exhausting . . .” he trails off, not speaking what hangs between them: he does not want to get anyone else sick. The cremello locks his gaze with Kensa’s, envisioning how he would hold her if he could, for even through the fog in his brain he can sense how muted she is.
“Are you okay, Kensa?”
guess i'm a coward, i just want to feel all right
@[Kensa] wowee this turned into a mouthful :x
