[O] Monday left me broken - Printable Version +- HELOVIA || The Way to the Sun (http://helovia.com) +-- Forum: Out of Character (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Archives (http://helovia.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +--- Thread: [O] Monday left me broken (/showthread.php?tid=21061) |
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Monday left me broken - Erthë - 10-07-2015 E r t h ë "And now I wish to God that The earth would turn cold And my heart would forget it's made of glass" Never before had the journey north been so long. Every limping step of the way, every creek and glade and towering mountain top reminded her painfully of the one who was no longer walking with her, two steps ahead and silent. They had talked about such silly things. Flowers and funnily shaped clouds, and which grasses were tasty and where dad might be when they got back. Useless things, pointless things, yet the lack of reply whenever she pointed out a particularly lush patch of grass was more painful than any of the bruises that littered her body. Mother's possessions were heavy. It had never struck her before how strong the small mare must have been, to carry all this so very effortlessly. Weighed down by chains and trinkets while the cumbersome ivory bow chafed beneath her wings, dragging the horn piece behind herself in a coil of the tactile tail, the progress was slow. But nothing weighed more than the knowledge that she was walking home alone for the first time, and that this would be the norm from now on. Summer was in full throw now. Everywhere the trees stood green and vibrant, every meadow and field lush and thriving. Grasses, flowers, herbs and shrubs bloomed vividly such that a heady perfumed breeze came wafting to her every now and then. The sun shone bright and warm from clear blue skies; wherever she looked there was beauty. Short lived, ephemeral, passionate. Oh, how she hated all of it. The sun stood high as she finally dragged herself past the sentinels into the Basin proper. Dread and sorrow lay as a lump of led in her gut. What would she even say to her father? How could she possibly explain what had happened, where her mother was, why they weren't together? Her own blood-stained, limping form aside, how would he take it, what would they do now that they were left behind, abandoned. How could she explain, when there were no words that could express the emptiness she felt inside? "F-Father?" She came to a halt near their usual resting place, a small cave on the outskirts of the valley. Out of the way for the main herd, private and still. Please be here, she prayed silently, because I cannot stand to be alone anymore. "And all the pretty tulips would disappear And never disturb me again" @Vadim Open, leaders and ranked are welcome to listen in. :3 @Random Event - HFH - infected with Halcyon Flats Headache RE: Monday left me broken - Vadim - 10-08-2015
RE: Monday left me broken - Erthë - 10-08-2015 E r t h ë "And now I wish to God that The earth would turn cold And my heart would forget it's made of glass" The cave was empty. With her heart sinking in the chest like a stone through water, dragging strength and courage with it, she shed the burdens on the ground. With a feeling of not really being there the girl looked about the barren shelter, vaguely surprised that it looked so small. She must grown a bit since last time she was there. Of course, then they had all crammed inside it as the cold spring rains turned the ground outside to mud, dozing and resting in the warm comfort of being together. So many things that would never happen again. So many words left unsaid, deeds left undone. How could the absence of such a small, quiet mare leave such a big hole? The loss was too great - how would she ever be able to go on, alone? A rattle of pebbles and shifting grass made her turn, slowly, to see Vlasi's familiar figure come racing towards her. Sorrow clenched tightly around her heart at the sight of her, and of the tall, pale stallion that followed behind. They slowed then, and the cerberus stopped. Their eyes upon her felt heavy, hot and uncomfortable. Her father's expression changed, at it was like a knife twisting within her heart. Relief of not having to explain, pain over causing him such grief, guilt and sorrow and the foul taste of words that needed to be said, the message she had to deliver. She opened her mouth to say it. Once, twice. But the words wouldn't leave her throat, and before she could try again he was there, warm and strong and steady as a rock. Like a ragdoll she leaned into his embrace, limp and weak and so exhausted. Burying her face into his chest Erthë cried, like she had never cried before in her life. "Daddy... I'm sorry! So sorry... it was my... my fault! If I hadn't... if.. " If only she had followed their usual code. 'If something happens, run.' But she hadn't. And now her mother was dead. "And all the pretty tulips would disappear And never disturb me again" @Vadim RE: Monday left me broken - Vadim - 10-08-2015
RE: Monday left me broken - Erthë - 10-08-2015 E r t h ë "And now I wish to God that The earth would turn cold And my heart would forget it's made of glass" In the end, it was that question that saved her. The need to speak about what happened overruled the fear that words would make it true, and by posing that difficult, heart-rendering question her own pain was forced back in favor of her father's. How confused must he not be, how sad and lost - just like her. But whom could he go to for comfort, now that his shoulder to cry on was no longer with them? So she started from the beginning, and told him everything. Expanding on the previous encounters with the gods, on the subsequent appearances of new lands, new monsters, recurring battles up until the announcement from the flaming God that the shimmering, new land was safe and protected. "... and when I told Mom about it she said that I should go there and play because she had somewhere she had to go. So I went, and after a while I saw fires begin to rain from the sky." Her tears slowly ceased to fall as she spoke. Slowly she calmed, but the sorrow remained like a shard of ice chafing against her heart. A slow, throbbing pain had begun to gnaw behind her eyes, but she thought nothing of it; she just kept talking, eager to get it all out before the details were lost to time. "I knew... " she continued, voice sinking into a whisper as the guilt threatened to overpower her. "Knew it was another fight. I should have turned and left, I should have... but I had been able to help them before, and I thought that I could keep out of reach again, like before. But the monster was so big... It knocked me over, and then... and then..." Feeling her voice break the filly closed her eyes and pressed herself closer to Vadim, in desperate need of his warmth, a proof that he was actually there. Only able to keep him cold in turn, the exchange was probably uneven and less than fair - but what child could ever tell what comforts a parent got from their mere presence. "Sh-she said...to tell you, daddy. 'I'm sorry. Goodbye." It seemed there were still pieces of her heart left to shatter. Another stabbing pain of grief brought on a desire to curl in on herself, convulse in pace with each strained beat. How would they possibly get over this? Such pain, such wounds... did they ever fully heal? "And all the pretty tulips would disappear And never disturb me again" @Vadim |