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11-23-2016, 10:30 PM
She should have expected the fervor of her mate's response, and a sigh collects in the base of her throat as the mare conveys her love with the biggest sacrifice - her own life. Lakota's eyes go soft, and Aodaun huffs softly from her other side, where he buoys her up. Faithful even to the end. Fearless in the face of death, so long as her soul is intertwined with his as they cross the bridge to meet the faces of her family. Lakota could hardly bear to think of the lost souls she would see on the other side; her granddam and her beloved Ithrim, whose honorary beads still hung in her mane. Even Hototo. The Poisoner would whisper in his spirit ears of the love his earthbound mother had for him, and the way her heart still ached for her lost son. Promising their reunion, and how Lakota would remain by the Earth Singer's side until their red-eyed family joined them in the heavens. But as Ktulu's passionate, sturdy voice wrecks through her thoughts, Lakota turns and tugs gently on her beloved's mane as the God gently reprimanded the Constrictor. "I'd never steal your life from you, Ktulu. You may offer it, but I shall not accept it. It is you who holds bearing in our herd, who has merit and history here. If anyone is to go, it will be me - the one the sickness afflicted." Her words were soft but beneath it lay the unwavering stones of truth, and she would not budge on it. However Lakota may feel about her self-worth, nobody could contest her honesty and truth. Ktulu would be the one missed, not the wraith of a citizen who had never put down roots, never made friends. And the death knoll sings its sweet songs in the thrum of the Earth God's voice, and the woman closes her eyes against the sway of sorrow that nearly sweeps her from her feet. She had known, somewhere in her heart, that this was the way it would be. That he could not heal her, even with all his might. That sometimes, nature had to take hold. That magic could not fix everything, that Lakota of all souls on the earth did not deserve to be cleansed and repaired by such pure, regenerative energy. But a part of her, a stupid part of her that had reared its head upon Ktulu's return, had not accepted death. Even as the rest of her had come slowly to terms with it, going through each stage of grief in silent grace, that one part had never budged. And it ached fiercer than the rest of her soul could have ever hurt her. Hope was the most painful thing to be crushed, in the end. And if she shed a few quiet tears at the God's announcement, well...only he and her lover would see her weakness here at her end of days. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice a little too choked for the grace she had been aiming for. Even she, it seemed, who had danced with death so often, could not face it straight in the eye. "I understand. It's more than enough, to pass in peace instead of pain. It's more than others are granted. Thank you." It was so hard not to cry, and she was furious at her own reaction. Hadn't she accepted this long ago? Ktulu didn't deserve this, to see her break down in the face of everything they'd feared. She deserved to remember Lakota as she always had been - strong, willful, elegant. Not like this. Never like this. At first she had simply meant a marking, or an item, something that would remind Ktulu of her last moments here. But he was a God, and if he had seen her last request deep in her heart where she could not fathom asking Ktulu for such a burden...she would not be surprised. A daughter. The only other thing she'd ever wanted, something she'd been wanting to ask Ktulu about when she came back home, if Lakota had not fallen sick. A sister for their son. A filly as pure and happy as Hana had been, when Lakota and Alleo were young. A new life. The circle completed - the balance leveled. Life out of death, just as it should be. She turned her wet eyes to Ktulu. "You don't need to say yes," her voice broke on a whisper. "It...it will be hard enough saying goodbye." Aodaun moaned sadly at her hooves, awaiting Ktulu's response. Awaiting the gentle hand that would pass over he and Lakota, guiding them into the ether. Lakota was glad that the God of the Earth would be the one to carry her into the next life - the only God she'd ever trusted in this land still stubbornly foreign to her. The only one to award her meaningful magic that could give life from love instead of seed. The one to give her Murtagh. Her son. She owed him so much. It was only fitting that he be the one to cradle her tainted soul in his gentle grasp, and carry her to a light she didn't deserve. |
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