i’ve been training like a soldier; i’ve been burning through this sorrow
He does not sleep often, but he had been sleeping when his world turned upside down.
He feels the rumble first—distant, distinct, otherworldly—and perhaps it is the curse of never sleeping deep or the decades of training, but he wakes quickly. Nyktos rolls in the water, his body stretching out along the current where he had been resting, and angles his head toward the side, a series of quick clicking noises helping orient him. It has been years since he lost his sight and most days he no longer mourns it, but that doesn’t stop the gut punch in situations like this; it would be so much easier.
But he doesn’t dwell on it. He can’t.
Instead, he makes his way out, his body morphing into the sleek body of a black marlin—one of his preferred forms. The heft of it is familiar and he spears forward, focusing on what he can gather from the sounds that make their way back to him. He should check on Helice—the thought causes a twist in his belly and his chest clenches. He should try to find the Queen and ensure that she’s safe. The Prince.
But instead his body drags him forward, closer to the source of that unearthly rumbling.
He breaks the surface of the water, coming back to his more natural form, the watery scales running down his neck glistening in the weak light. It’s not the first time that he has come up for oxygen, although truthfully he can’t remember the last time he did, but this is…different. Something new.
His mouth thins as he moves forward through the waves seamlessly, coming up to land. His feet find purchase and he drags himself up, the water dripping off of him feeling like pieces of himself lost. A swallow and the churning of his thoughts dull as he picks up a familiar metallic tang in the air.
It couldn’t be.
Another step, flinging out his senses to map the area, and when it confirms where he is, his heart stops.
It couldn’t possibly be.
nyktos