the end
Fertile
09-27-2024, 05:10 PM
Although patrolling wasn't one of her duties, she'd taken to wandering the edges of the territory occasionally while her children napped with Thalia. It made her feel safer. Avalon was idyllic and peaceful, but she still had memories of Abaven's tragedies. Things were clearer now, and in some ways, as the fog lifted... it was worse. She experienced the grief all over again. Acrid smoke in her nose and lungs, the thicket burned to ash. Cherry red lava spilling down Mount Vulkan, coming to claim so many lives. No matter how lovely things were, there was always part of her that would be ready to have it snatched away in an instant. Which is why, when she came upon him, she had the strangest feeling - as if she had slipped through time. Suddenly she was small again. Theory stumbled, then righted herself. Her eyes careened crazily from side to side, and she had the thought to call for someone. In fact, her mouth almost formed the word: "Sh - !" In another lifetime, she would have called for Shaye. The closest thing she had to a mother. But Shaye was long gone, and she was alone with all of her ghosts. Instead, her strangled call to her mother sounded like a curse. So she finished it that way: "Shit." "Got yourself into a bind you couldn't fight or talk your way out of?" Theory said hoarsely, coming closer but staying at a good distance. He was injured, but he'd always been unpredictable. She wouldn't call for Corbie - if she did, Thalia would come, and the children would toddle along behind her. They couldn't see this. |
