[private] so give me hope in the darkness

[mariner]

MARINER

There is some tremor of something in his gut. The thrill of something he does not know how to identify. Something dark, he is certain.

He is not kind, Mariner. Neither of his parents ever had any kindness to pass on to him. So there is nothing in him that is grateful for the opportunity to teach someone something for their benefit. But he feels no overwhelming urge to interrogate exactly what his motivation is as she stretches out her dark wings and agrees. 

Instead, he grits his teeth to keep whatever sinister smile wants to crawl across his face at bay and nods. He has not done much flying in this darkness, primarily because he is not certain what he might encounter in the sky and would prefer to have his feet beneath him should he need to defend himself, but flying has always come easy. His mother had taught him as soon as she thought his wings could hold him, not for his benefit but because she preferred flying and did not want to be slowed down by a child.

“All right,” he says and stretches his own wings. He turns so that they are standing facing the same direction and gestures into the darkness unfurling in front of them. “Best to get a running start, flap your wings and just kind of… jump.” He shrugs and then demonstrates, breaking into an easy canter, unfurling his wings and casting himself easily into the sky. He floats several feet off the ground before circling back and landing nearby and returning to her side. 

Not a great teacher, really, but also not one with a whole lot of practice. “Try it,” he urges.

i’m a shot through the dark, i’m a black sinkhole
if it weren’t for second chances, we’d all be alone

@[Islay]

@[The Monsters] please mess with his sublimation!