Kill The Lights

It was mostly dark here... here in this place. He was usually lost in the complete darkness while in his dreams, he rarely had anything to wake up to and if he did, it was usually forgotten. The only real dream he remembered come morning was Allegro telling him he was killed. Maybe it was more real than a dream, but he wasn't sure himself.

His mind flashed with the images of his sister Azzuura, he could feel her with him. The way she looked up at him, and it was like they were the only two here on the planet. He took in every bit of her, it was the only way to let the pain of the loss of their parents over him. He felt different about her than he did Psalm or Solo, and it must have been obvious to his other siblings. He left because he didn't want to lose anyone else but he also couldn't handle the responsibility Allegro and himself had put on his shoulders. No one asked it of him, but he didn't see any other way. He knew Azzurra looked to him for that comfort and protection now, but today he didn't have to worry about anyone else but her. He was gripped by this feeling, a feeling of an undying love for her. It warmed him, he felt butterflies when she was in his dreams like this.

Stop.

His breath left him as he woke from his dream. He didn't jolt up from the surprise voice, his eyes just flipped open while he laid there close up to his sister. Gently he raised his head, nuzzled behind her ear while his eyes scanned the den looking for the source of the voice that clearly wasn't someone standing over him. He carefully stood from behind her, stepping over her smaller frame to leave the den. He closed the makeshift door behind him, hoping to keep the strange fireflies and creatures away from her while he was away. He never wanted to leave her alone, but aside from providing for them, he just needed moments to himself sometimes. Moments like this.

He moved out to the beaches where he had drug the raft up on the shore. They traveled a lot since they left the pack, but they did stay camped somewhere for a while too. Islands were safer for Azzurra, and they had the raft to travel to them. Before he could take a seat on the shores, the strange blue fireflies seemed to appear out of thin air and almost direct him to the raft with a gentle flutter. He was skeptical to follow their desires at first, but they had never really done anything bad to him. If the Fireflies had something to show him, he wasn't against that.

He decided to go after the fate of the wisps, pushing the raft out in to the sea and boarding it from the chill of the ocean water. There was no clear direction from the fireflies after that, so he just drifted along the currents away from the shore of the island.

It was quiet for a long while, the haunting colors of the moon reflecting along side the wisps. With the raft drifting along the ocean waters, he too looked down below at his own darkened and gold reflection in the rippling water. It was then that he had noticed the flashing image of his father before him on the water. But no sooner did he look up to see no one else there in front of him, or anywhere around in the water. The boy rose, scanning the dark horizons wondering if it was just a trick of the light or colored moon. Or maybe he was still dreaming. Maybe this was like the last dream he had met Allegro in.

A voice whispered in his ear from behind him, Stop, Balthier. The voice he had heard earlier that woke him up. It was Allegro speaking, or that's what he could remember of his voice. His head flashed around to the back of him, his paws following as his balance tipped the raft making it a little bumpy on the water. But there was no one there, only the fireflies that had joined him on the journey around the island. You need to stop what you are doing. He almost didn't need the explanation of what the voice, or his father was talking about. The feeling of the kisses and warmth he shared with his sister was what immediately came into his mind. He felt a near rush of anxiety over him, because he felt at heart what he was doing with Azzie was wrong. But it felt so right to be with her deeper than it felt to be with his other siblings. Maybe it was because she had been so sick and that he felt like she needed better care and attention. And it brought them together more when Allegro left them. He never really had a confirmation that it was wrong, that kissing his sister was or could have lead up to incestual desires. But it seemed he would have those words from his father down on him now. It was a huge guilt and burden, he couldn't deny his sister but he didn't want to be with her in a way to make them both outcasted or maybe one day lead to deformed children or anything of that nature. These weren't directly on his mind but the risks of continuing to be with Azzie, alone, kissing her, dreaming about her, wanting more without really even understanding what that meant. It really hurt his pride in some way.

The fireflies around him seemed to linger, and he hadn't really noticed but there were none outside of the raft. None on the island, none on the mainland, and none on the oceans anywhere in between. They were only surrounding him in some sort of bubble, like they were attracted to him or at least in this moment. It made him a little uneasy now, what if they led him out here for something terrible to happen to him?

"Balthier"