I had all, most, some and now none of you
Solitude and Imperia circled above him, their keen eyes searching for anything that might bring harm to their disturbed master. They would have taken up beak and talon to help keep him safe. They didn’t question his decisions, they just did as they were asked to the best of their ability.
The day was growing stale by the time he reached the edge of the plains. He stopped at the edge of the cliff that hung over the ocean as he watched the sky grow darker. His chest heaved and his jaws hung open as he gasped for breath after the intense exertion. Still the ravens circled above his head. Rhyme stood heaving as his worried gaze sought out the answers he so needed in the horizon. His tail hung at his marked alabaster legs and sorrow hung about him. Rhyme felt as lost as he had the day he’d been taken from Imperium.
The circling shapes of the ravens told her exactly where Rhyme was. They where like carrion birds, circling a wounded animal. Only, the injuries to her second where on the inside, and the birds where his companions not his enemy. Not that she knew this yet, trotting in the direction they circled and finding him was as far as she had gotten.
She caught sight of him, and approached with quiet steps. His two inches of height where unrecognisable these days, he didn’t seem to hold himself with the same pride he once had. It rankled her, that she couldn’t fix his heart. That she couldn’t truly understand the things he had gone through, and understand why he did the things he did.
Not that it mattered, because she had long since decided to stay by his side. Not as a mate, that ship had sailed, and well she was sad to see it go, she was simply grateful that she had not lost him. He meant more to her then he might ever know, this broken hearted knight on the edge of greatness.
“Rhyme” she whispered softly, seeing the distress in his eyes. It seemed every time she found him, it was there. He was between a rock and a hard place, with his family slowly turning against him, with his father cutting him off, with his past and Tana and children, the bad decisions he had made that were catching up to him. Or the right ones, that still didn’t lead to an easy course. He had it rough, her Rhyme. ‘What happened?”
Most people dont want to be nagged about threads - I do! If I owe you a post, tell me. I've taken on a lot of threads and gotten lost. If you want a post, tell me where, and i'll reply.
”Rhyme.”
It was both the most beloved and loathed voice, the voice of love and reason when he wanted hate and destruction. He turned, eyes wild with pain as he looked Shaye over. Her presence was gentle, and she offered him understanding as she asked him what had brought him to this state. His distress so obvious she had known to come to him only by the position of his ravens. Rhyme didn’t deserve her.
Breathing still ragged he looked at her for a long moment as he stood silhouetted against the darkening sky. He felt like he had come to yet another turning point in his life. He had two paths to walk, one led him to the welcoming darkness and the other the hard light of truth.
”Valentine doesn’t deserve my mother’s loyalty.” He stated, his voice oddly icy with the fire that flickered behind his eyes. ”She would rather stand with him than her own son.” There was venom in the last word. ”I have to take her, Shaye. I can’t live knowing that he has her at his side instead of mine.” His head lowered as his eyes bored into the ground, his long black fur whipping around his face in the wind. He knew that Shaye would never approve of his vendetta, but just thinking about Rhythm with Valentine after all he’d done made Rhyme’s blood boil.