break some bread for all my sins
It isn't long before the earth grows rocky and the air is tinged with sulfur. The scent is bitter and uncomfortable in Dahmer's flared nostrils, but it does not deter him. There is an unfamiliar excitement that swells in his muscled chest and whether it is caused by the heady sense of adventure or by the beast's beautiful companion, we cannot be sure. Little bit of column A, little bit of column B.
She turns to look back at him with bright eyes, readily answering his inquiry, and a small tugs at the corners of Dahmer's mouth. Lucrezia falls silent for a moment, but before the blue-eyed stallion is able to respond, she hits him with, I guess I just needed you. Dahmer tosses his head upward, a sort of thrilled surprise blatant upon his face. "You're not allowed to take that back now that you've said it out loud." The playful batting of her eyelashes pulls an amused chuckle from Dahmer and he speeds up his gait the smallest of bits to move closer to the peafowl mare.
He remains at her flank, allowing Lucrezia to lead the way so that he can take in the vast area that is Tephra - and she is the one who is supposed to be protecting him, after all. He's briefly distracted from the path before them following his assault-by-fly, but their conversation falls back into a comfortable rhythm just as if they had nearly always been friends.
Dahmer balks at Lucrezia's inquiry, letting silence settle between them. Their breathing, which was now bordering on heavy, was the only sound other than their hooves against the rocky loam. He debates whether or not he should give her a generic answer, a simple "I just don't like the cold," and he lets the words roll around on his tongue before he nearly spits them out.
Something stops him, though, and Dahmer sighs, "I lost my father in the winter," he pauses briefly to turn his blue eyes upward, gauging how far they were from the top of the volcano. They still had a good amount of warm, uneven ground to go. "He and my mother ruled the Subway, on the island Azza, where I was born. My father left safety in a blizzard to find a lost member of our herd and he never came back." It is the first time he has spoken about that winter to anyone other than his mother. Desole the Hellhound, Executioner's right-hand lady.
His mother had been devastated, and she had hardened because of it.
He had not thought it possible.
The black beast clears his throat and offers a lopsided smile to Lucrezia. His nostrils flutter and Dahmer crinkles his nose at the sulfur that has become more and more evident. "As much as I love adventure, it's starting to smell like shit up here," laughter accompanies his statement and he nudges the feathered mare playfully. "The view is worth it, though." And he isn't referencing Tephra.
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