gemini season

movement draws their attention from the sky, and Spider turns to find a vaguely familiar face gazing back at them. it takes a moment to place him, brows lifting in a single upward sweep. “tree boy,” they remark, lips tugging up briefly on one side. a barely-there flash of a smile. “never thought i’d see you in my neck of the woods.” they look into his eyes and see rain, and wet earth, and the construction of a shelter between two soggy pups. a simpler time, free of the dark thoughts that dog their every step, the oppressive weight that sits, unyielding, across the line of their shoulders. the simplicities of childhood. they can feel it slipping between their toes like sand.

“Bas is my Dad,” Spider informs the boy, rolling their shoulders. a satisfying crack rents the air. “I’m sort of his heir? an approximation of it, anyway - me and Feathers are splitting the title. you met Feathers yet?” they’re confident that if Wilder hasn’t met Wylan yet, they will soon. the winged boy would befriend a dandelion. “don’t worry,” Spider adds, a glint of mischief in their eyes, “i won’t make you bow.”

"Speech"