The Bloodied Moon
11-21-2014, 12:29 AM
Walk | Talk | Think It felt like it happened simultaneously. Just as soon as she said his name, Bane slipped, slid, and very quietly deposited himself there at the base of the tree on the snowy ground. "Bane!" Instantly frantic - was he gone already, just like that? - Tahlia rushed to his side, her heart beat erratic and her sightless and seeing eyes wide as they searched his face. No, there was life in him yet. He still breathed, even if harshly, his cloudy eye still roved as if searching for her there beside him, and she could see the strain of his head as it moved minutely against the snow. He was still here, though only just. She folded her legs and lay beside him, curling her side against his as he coughed. The red upon the snow drew her gaze in a double take, seeing then the proof of the worry, the fear, that had plagued her the moment she heard him call for her. It had all been valid. There was something immeasurably wrong here, and there was nothing she could do. Her eyes filled with tears and her expression pinched painfully, understanding then what she had been trying so hard not to acknowledge. Bane's time was nearly over now. He was dying. He spoke to her, said her name, and though her voice was beyond her control, shaky and unsteady and full of her desperate sadness, Tahlia still answered him. "I'm here, I'm right here," she assured him brokenly as she blinked through her tears, a few already rolling away. Possessively, protectively, she coiled more tightly against him, wishing it was possible for her to shield him from his fate, to keep him longer. She was not ready for this. She was not ready to face life without him. He was her rock, her world. Everything revolved around him and their family, but without him...she could not imagine it. Tears flowed freely, unbidden, as he went on, stumbling through his words as he attempted to say his goodbyes. No, no, it was all happening too fast! He could barely speak, was too weak to move. Pitifully she whined, nudging a paw beneath his head to cradle it above the snow as she curled hers across his neck. "Please, Bane," she begged though she hardly knew why. There was nothing he could do about his condition, and he had every right to say what he did at a time like this. Yet selfishly she wished for him to stop, for everything to freeze so that she would not have to endure it yet. She needed more time! "I love you," she whispered unsteadily, holding him against her as she clenched her teary eyes shut and pressed her cheek against the side of his forehead, "I love you so much, Bane, I love you." She could not say it enough. Even if she had hours yet to fill up with the phrase, she doubted it would have satisfied her. Gently she kissed his cheek, his face, anywhere she could reach without unfurling from her position. He was her friend, her mate, her life. She needed him to know how much she cared, now more than ever. |