When threads are broken
Wicked
11-03-2022, 10:57 PM
The days were long, and the nights longer. Her garden had gotten overgrown by weeds as she struggled with the energy and time to care for the things she loved. It was hard to find the energy to face the day, when it was so easy to reflect on how much her life had taken a turn for the worst. It was too quiet in the pack lands now, and she missed the presence of the pack. She missed her children, one who was gone forever and the other whose explorations had taken him far from her. At her lynx’s insistence, she entered the greenhouse and surveyed the damage to her precious plants. It wasn’t long before she was knee deep in the work, pulling weeds and trimming dying plants. Ensuring energy for growing would be saved for where it was needed. She didn’t know how long she was at it for before her lynx came and fetched her. Silent and watchful, he dragged her from the greenhouse, and towards the edges of what had once been pack territory. ‘I’m not sure…” she said cautiously, coming to a stop at the edges. She didn’t want to leave, she couldn’t Dante was here. How could she leave her daughter? The lynx levelled his eyes at her, and she remembered how they had come to be together. Of the god she had angered. She swallowed, and nodded, following along after him. He bent her to his will so solemnly, she knew when he did so that he couldn’t be ignored. He led her from the pack lands, to the Steppe. A long and tedious walk where her mind filled with questions. When she arrived, the familiars there greeted her and thanked her for joining them to celebrate Samhein. Further investigation told her a little more about the festival and the thinness of the vail. There were mentions of wolves attempting to contact their loved ones, and at last she realised why the Lynx had dragged her here. A chance for her to find closure. She found a secluded spot nestled between some stones. Here she could block out the nose and pretend she was alone. Well. mostly alone. Her lynx sat across from her. His strange, glowing eyes settled on her, and she found herself looking into them. It was rare that she found the nerve to do so, but she found herself transfixed. There was so much colour and texture in those orbs, they almost seemed to glow. There was much of him that reminded her of the firefly man that had entered the world as messenger of her husband's God. It was after all he who had sent the Lynx to her. Why, she did not know. Guidance perhaps? Or a guard to ensure she did not stray again. She had angered him, and she would not easily forget it. For a long time she stared into his eyes, until movement brought her gaze downwards. Towards his paw, which held a plant that it took her a moment to identify. A mild hallucinogen. She frowned and looked back up at her strange companion. “Are you sure?” she asked softly, and he moved his paw closer. She sighed, and knew she was only along for the ride. She took the herbs, and closed her eyes, breathing softly as she tried to find a peaceful place inside of herself. Waiting for the herbs to work. After a time, she opened her eyes again. And the world bloomed with color. The strange light in the lynx’s eyes was intensified. It seemed to wisp away from him like a living thing. She looked at the fog of his eyes, and found herself lost in them in a way she never had before. Like there were world beyond his gaze. Or perhaps at least one other. As if his eyes were the vail that separated her from the afterworld. “”Dantalion?” she asked softly. “Dante, sweetheart, are you there?” she asked, her voice soft as she concentrated on her lost daughter. Picturing the girl in her mind. Remembering her sweetness, her courage, her love. Remembering who she was, and who Riva had lost. And she had lost so much in her life. Dante had been too much. The breaking point in what had already been a fragile heart. “Dante, please…” she whispered softly. Believing with all of her heart that her daughter was out there somewhere. Some part of her lived on, and that Riva could reach it. Here, in a moment in time when the impossible seemed possible. And that which should not be, could be. Already, she was here. A healer who had once believed only in what she could touch taste and feel, taking the plunge into the unknown and calling upon the memory of her lost daughter. In the hopes that there was something that she could connect to. |
