If this had been death, he would have welcomed it with no hesitation. But this is too unkind for death. Too filled with the pain and despair and sorrow of so many. All of the things he has known too well and tried running from his entire life. They are reminders of a time he had believed without doubt his life should have been swapped for another.
Just as before when everything had grown to be more than he could bear, he retreated inside the predator living just beneath his skin. It’s a simpler life, filled only with the instinctual need to hunt, the metallic tang of blood, and lazy naps beneath the shade of an overhanging tree. And just as before, the small wren fluttering at his shoulders tries to lead him from the darkness.
Of course, Wren had learned long ago just how incredibly difficult it is to lead a creature as mired in their own wretchedness as Ion.
Yet today, for the first time in ages, he finally listens. It is night of course, though he can hardly be faulted for that. It is his domain after all. Even the strongest would find it impossible to drag him from his cocoon of safety and forgetfulness during the light of day.
As he pads slowly from the haven of the trees, his gaze travels to the sky. The stars glimmer above him, filled with a purity and beauty he isn’t certain he has ever truly known. It isn’t until another light - one that glows with the same ethereal softness of the stars overhead - flickers along the edges of his vision that he draws his gaze back down.
For a moment he stares at her, vaguely nonplussed at seeing her there. When a gentle trill echoes in his ear however, he grunts and shakes himself from his stupor.
The dark fur that ripples with his abrupt movement continues to shudder as the shift spreads across his body. Sleek pewter replaces thick black as he morphs from feline to equine.
The renewed trilling causes his ear to flick in agitation as a sigh escapes his lips. With a grimace, he steps forward and approaches the softly glowing mare that had snapped him from his reverie. When he settles beside her, he simply stares until tiny talons pluck at his forelock. With a grunt, he looks away before offering her a half-hearted greeting. “Hey.”
ion
in the empty of the grave, only distant dreams remain
@Islas