all the fear of the fire at the end of the world
Epitaph Whump, whump, whump, the fall of heavy paws upon the earth, closer and closer. Those two massive forepaws were practically toe to toe with his own, and he felt impossibly small. He watched one rise from the ground, slow and calculated. His eyes screwed shut again, anticipating the coming strike. Instead, a gentle pressure under his jaw, tilting his chin upwards. He couldn't open his eyes yet. He wasn't sure what to do. Tattered auds pressed tightly to his skull, scared and confused. "I am a slave to my species, and in this I feel your pain." the words were muffled at first, until he broke the seal of his ears against his skull. The fear that was clenching his gut so tightly he scarcely felt able to breathe around it loosened its grip. Verdant gaze fluttered open to find a pair of amber eyes boring into his features. "We cannot dwell on this, our fear. Motif looks up to you- she loves you so much." the lion spoke the words so gravely. He knew this to be true, but hadn't been able to admit it to himself. In the eyes of his nieces, he was more than a slave. There was something in him that they could look up to, though he couldn't see it yet. The feline's grip felt confining. He was being forced to listen, and it would begin to wear on him all too soon. Already his heart was beginning to pound again, but he held his nerve. She was making a point that his subconscious had been failing to convey. The young child who had never known pain and been loved by his mother had been trying to remind him of the truth all these years. "You are her uncle. She may accept you and love you even as broken as you are, but you are obligated to be the role model she needs." She was right. He was failing in his role as a caregiver to the girls. He needed to be strong for them. He needed to be better, for their sake. But he was feeling his mind go fuzzy, with his jaw captured the way it was. The very act of coming out here had been so much for him already. "Think to yourself how you would feel if she stood before you the way you are before me. If she were to see herself the way you see yourself. Think on it hard, because I guarantee you she will find conflict in life someday... and she needs someone to take strength from." the lioness spoke her piece, and released his jaw from her grasp. Emerald eyes tracked the movement unthinkingly, always aware of those around them. As the large paw returned to the ground, he noticed that her stance favoured that leg more than the rest. She must have been injured during the fire, possibly even by his own actions? "Let me get you something to treat the damage to your leg." he rasped. "Did you cut it? Or twist it." he questioned, attention shifted from their conversation to his duties as Baldrian. |