Golden eyes watching our every move
Losing time without the sun or moon
Taiga.
He knows of it, of course. Had perhaps even passed through a time or two. But if he had, he had never stayed longer than a moment. For a breath of time, he wonders why the shadows had brought him here. Perhaps it had been purely coincidence. A fluke of fate.
He should go, but his eyes settle on the woman before him, fixing there almost helplessly. He is so tired, and perhaps this would not be a terrible place to stop and rest. There is something about her that draws his curiosity anyway. Something that speaks to him, whispers for him to stay, just a little bit longer perhaps. It would make little difference in the grand scheme of things.
Unless she should fear him, of course. He had startled her, her gentle squeak telling him he had taken her by surprise. But then, she had rather taken him by surprise too, so he could not fault her for it. Now though, she seems more curious than frightened. Perhaps she would not fear him then, would not demand he leave immediately.
He watches her, unable to help himself. They way her skin shimmers in the dim light of the dying night is entrancing, in a lovely, ephemeral way. As though she might disappear at any moment, floating away one the barest breeze. A part of him wonders if he might catch her, hold her for just a moment. Not long, he thinks. She is like a shadow, not meant to be tethered or caged.
He is not quite certain how to answer her question. How does one explain their very existence when one does not quite understand it themselves? Would she be frightened to know how very similar he and the shadows are?
The silence stretches too long, and finally he forces himself to answer, still unsure what he might say. “I… am a shadow,” he offers rather lamely. “I think.” As though he might salvage such an impossible answer. He blinks at her for a moment, wondering if he had made any sense to her at all. “I’m Ether.”
He offers her a name, little realizing how easily his explanation might confuse such thing. As though he truly is the ether he had been named for.
ether