[private] walking in the shadows of your fear, ashhal

[Islas]

You think I'll be the Dark Sky so you can be the Star?
I'll Swallow you Whole.

It is rare for her to be away from Tiercel and the rest of their family in the evenings, but on this autumn night, she has let time slip away from her.

Instead of retreating back to the corner of Loess that was more or less theirs she remained in a mostly inhabited clearing, the last of the sunset having finally faded away, and her own eyes fixed to the sky above. It is a clear night, just as she had hoped, cloudless and bright. The stars appear, slowly at first, and then seemingly all at once. Ever since the eclipse she found herself watching the sky after sunset, just to be sure; as if her staring might somehow keep them from disappearing again.

She did not feel the same longing as before, looking at them. She did not feel that same urge to return them that had haunted her for so long, nor did it feel like staring at them only served to illuminate the emptiness that existed in the expanse of her chest. She had found things to fill that space with, things that swelled and filled until the captive star in her heart had to fight for room; the place that Tiercel, Kamaria, Isaure, and Tiernen took up.

But still, she reaches for that familiar light, simply to reassure herself that she still can.

She gathers up several threads of starlight, spinning them into compact orbs and letting them hover well above the Loess horizon. And then, one by one, she begins to send them across the velvet-dark expanse of sky, each one coming faster than the last. They shower through the dark, dissolving into stardust at the height of their arc, and disappearing entirely long before they could risk causing any sort of damage to the earth below.

There is no purpose to this, other than for her own entertainment, and as always, she does not consider that it might catch the attention of someone nearby.

Islas

@[Ashhal]

[Ashhal]

I tried to sell my soul last night
Funny, he wouldn't even take a bite

Ashhal had fallen asleep irritable. Of course, this is not a new occurrence, but for a while at least he had been slightly less so. Until the kingdom had begun to make it’s demands of him. He should have known it would, eventually. Should have known that is the price of living somewhere other than the wilds. He had known, but still it made something curiously empty and futile bloom in the pit of his stomach.

It is not that he does not have the time. He certainly doesn’t have the inclination, though that hardly matters. No, it is far more the reminder it brings. The reminder of the emptiness of his endless existence. He had once sought to fill it with loyalty to a kingdom. But then, he had also once been better than he is now. Not kinder, or in any way good. Merely less angry and bitter, less jaded.

He sometimes recalls how much more pleasant the world had been back when he didn’t have his memories. It’s tempting to return there even as he loathes the thought of it. But how could he, when misery has always been his most familiar mistress?

The light that explodes above him brings him instantly awake. A low and feral sound escapes his throat as he scrambles to his feet, wings flaring as he prepares for defense. But the second light that explodes above him draws his attention to the skies. At the third, his scowl deepens with a ferocious intensity.

Stalking from the small space he’d claimed as his own in the lee of two red rocks, Ashhal glowers around him until he spies a pale, glowing figure not far away. For a moment, she is almost familiar, then he shakes his head to clear it. He’s positive they have never met before, no matter how familiar she might look.

He erases the distance in a few clipped strides. His voice is loud and angry, the deep tones grating with his annoyance. “What the FUCK is your problem?”

@Islas