September 08, 2018, 12:02 AM
Nearer and nearer they drew, though of course she did not know it. Coelacanth knew their course; she had visited the woods before. Not by choice. There was a funny little feeling in Maegi's stomach when she thought of it. She'd known her family dealt in dark things, but to hurt such a sweet wolf. . .
Why had they done it? What had Seelie done to deserve such trauma?
Trauma. Maegi knew it as well as the lines in the pad of her clubbed paw. Etched deeper and deeper still, 'til it was an indelible part of her. The trauma that had occurred even before her existence, to mar her leg so--and the trauma that had come after. Lent the wicked scar upon her cheek, and the haunted look in her eyes.
But she had deserved it. Every fork in the road, she had chosen the wrong turn. Every choice had been incorrect. She had watched Miraak die, and done nothing. She had denied Vaati a chance to reconnect with his baby sister. She had let Cicero, Mou, Ramsay, Euron. . .all slip from her grasp. The pain that had come, that came, that would continue to visit her. . .
It was hers. She owned it. But she stood by the lake vehemently fighting against the notion of Coelacanth owning the same sorrow. She watched the cool ripples of water and thought, the flame-orange of her eye in the reflection staring unblinkingly back at her--
If I am Peryite, am I pain--both victim and aggressor? By coming with me, is Coelacanth doomed again? Are they all?
Why had they done it? What had Seelie done to deserve such trauma?
Trauma. Maegi knew it as well as the lines in the pad of her clubbed paw. Etched deeper and deeper still, 'til it was an indelible part of her. The trauma that had occurred even before her existence, to mar her leg so--and the trauma that had come after. Lent the wicked scar upon her cheek, and the haunted look in her eyes.
But she had deserved it. Every fork in the road, she had chosen the wrong turn. Every choice had been incorrect. She had watched Miraak die, and done nothing. She had denied Vaati a chance to reconnect with his baby sister. She had let Cicero, Mou, Ramsay, Euron. . .all slip from her grasp. The pain that had come, that came, that would continue to visit her. . .
It was hers. She owned it. But she stood by the lake vehemently fighting against the notion of Coelacanth owning the same sorrow. She watched the cool ripples of water and thought, the flame-orange of her eye in the reflection staring unblinkingly back at her--
If I am Peryite, am I pain--both victim and aggressor? By coming with me, is Coelacanth doomed again? Are they all?