cold in the violence after the war
hope is a fire to keep us warm
They had made it. So close now to the sea she can taste the salt on her tongue. She breathes deeply of the water-laden air, a small smile curving her lips. Her eyes shift to Dagen, pressed so closely against her side that their shoulders brush. She reaches out briefly, nose pressing comfortingly against the red of his neck. Whether it is for his comfort or hers though, she cannot quite say.
They forge onwards, their path curving towards the mountains that guard the bay they must reach. The knowledge had settled heavily into her heart at some unspoken point in time, a thing she cannot quite recall but possesses memory of just the same. They must reach the dark and stony beach, the water. And so, determination fueled by their too recent encounter with the sick woman drives her forward, her youthful features settled into stubborn lines.
She looks up when Dagen brushes her cheek, a faint smile of reasurrence touching her lips. Be careful, okay?
Always so worried and protective. He must know she does not need it though. But she loves him, and his worry is so very much a part of him. “Aren’t I always?” she teases, nudging him slightly as though to say he needn’t worry so.
Of course, they wouldn’t even be here were it not for her. But as far as she is concerned, that is neither here nor there.
She is silent as they make their way through the mountains, attention focused on the completion of their task. They are so close, the beach just now coming into sight. She can nearly feel it, an electric energy along her skin. It seems though, that it is not the near completion of their quest, but rather a deep-rooted instinct warning of her of encroaching danger.
When the beast leaps from the shadows, she reacts without thought, shying into her brother, her ears pinning flat against her skull. I’ve been waiting for you, it hisses through bloodstained teeth, the evidence of its conquests staining dirty fur. Brazen bears her own teeth in return, blunt though they are, eyes narrowing as she glares at the beast.
Intelligence sparks in it’s gaze, and she thinks it knows they cannot outwit him. But she would never go down without a fight. Dagen, it seems, is on the same page, though he tries valiantly to shove her out of the way. But she digs her heels stubbornly into the stony path, shoving him back.
The beast circles them, and Brazen follows its path with sharp blue eyes. Dagen doesn’t wait, taking the opportunity to immediately go on the defensive. Brazen moves then, opposite of Dagen, flanking the bloodied creature, allowing Dagen to distract him with his attack.
When the beast is between them, she lunges forward, striking for the vulnerable part of his belly, the only part she, so small and lacking in strength still, might hope to land a significant blow. A part well away from the rending power of tooth and claw. One of them alone might never have stood a chance, but together, they could keep the beast disoriented and in pain. Hopefully.
Or they could die. But at least they would die together.
Brazen
tldr: Brazen chooses to fight. She did get her bone armor back, but it still hasn't grown through her skin.
Word count: 545
