Essetia & Romul

And although I wasn't losing my mind, It was a chorus so sublime

There is magic all around us and yet not within us. We are dull, shattered glass, once painted, but taught to shed our light. Our pieces lay about carelessly, spurning those who touch us… what a shame we are. Even as the sunlight warms our surface, we are still cold, still chilled from too many nights in the dark, in our thoughts.  It pains me to imagine two saddened children searching for life and for answers and for love. But I am lifted by the thought of our sameness… two glass figurines broken by the time and yet, somehow, lovely.

The boy, a tragic result of circumstances unknown, nods his assent and I watch the lines around his velvet lips as he frowns. Instinctively, I want to reach out and smooth away those lines and again unearth the smile I’d delighted in just moments ago. Instead, I shy away from the imaginary touch and fall back into the shadows of the night, certain that they can hide my insecurities, fold them into the crisp fall air, and wash them away in a ribbon of moonlight.

But I haven’t the time to lose myself to the fantasy, at least not when Dreamer speaks. At times I am known to drift, to falter, but he tethers me to the ground, a rock amongst the waves that will one day rip me from myself. He mentions warmth and a place he once called home, but offers nothing more… I wonder why he has paused, ignoring to elaborate, and yet cannot find the courage to press him for more answers. “I grew up by the sea,” I answer uselessly. The statement holds no value now, nor will it ever again. It is for that reason that I surmise he does not wish to recall his childhood… and the reason I wish to bury my own.

Yet, there is more between us, a fragile tie that grows stronger only because we finally allow it. Dreamer mentions home and I listen with rapt attention as the word brings slight emotion to his shadowed face. It is fleeting and I miss it when it is gone, but I nod, fully understanding how Helovia has enraptured us both. “There are many things here… probably too much to outrun anymore,” I agree sullenly. As if to add to that fact, I glance around at the Threshold once more, finally seeing more than just the pines and oaks that tower above us, but the faces and the memories of others.

We had both decided to stay and fight our demons… but that would be a long journey and one that required help.

I turn back to Dreamer to find his eyes upon me, staring through my walls despite my efforts to keep them strong. Perhaps it is then that I realize he is carefully tearing them down, forcing me to stand when I wish to cower. It is that preoccupation that catches me beneath the heart when the boy admits that he would like to see the Dragon’s Throat- my home. I wonder if he too will call it home then… Will he call a place always by my side… his? I smile unabashed, genuinely happily. “You won’t be disappointed.”

I say it as if it is fact or as if I can dictate what Dreamer –Caneo- will feel among those people. Worry sets in, deep and heavy, but I hide my fraying nerves as best as I can and approach him with my muzzle outstretched to mimic his own earlier embrace. “I still prefer Dreamer.” Because that’s what you once were.