Out with the golden we sew // Crevan

[Kagerus]

kagerus

and in my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times

It has been a year since the last time I returned to my original dwelling place in post-Reckoning Beqanna. I am thinking upon it this evening as I stand next to Solace, enjoying her company in sweet silence as we consider the beauty of Hyaline's landscape. Atop my head, new antlers sit, a prize for having competed in the Alliance; occasionally I catch the way Solace sneaks looks at them, cerulean eyes glinting curiously. I resist the urge to play fight her, instead leaning over to plant a wordless kiss to the flat of her skull. Although we discuss all things as a unit, sometimes we are as silent as mutes: tied together by a force that transcends language, that exists between us without any maintenance required.

Eventually, however, I do speak; telling her of my plans for this night. She looks at me with deep seated trust, a smile gently curving the soft folds of her lips. Okay, she agrees. But be safe.

Sighing contentedly, I drape my neck over her whithers, closing my eyes as sleep beckons. Her figure against mine is warm and familiar, harbouring the potential for life in a way I've never considered until this fall. With the image and hope of a family dangling temptingly just behind the veil of my eyelids, I drift softly to sleep, at peace with my station and more so, with my love.

--

Some time later, however, I awaken elsewhere. The burbling of the river guides my steps as I meander closer, eyes scanning the moonlit trees for the face of another shadow-goer. Across my skin, clouded leopard markings glimmer subtly. And the antlers - multi-pronged and majestic - almost glow atop my skull, their weight still new to me though I carry my head all the higher for their presence.

Thus far uninterrupted, I slip into the river, halting as I find myself knee deep.