Grief fell like freshly fallen snow and blanketed the shadow’s heart in a frigid sense of loss. The coward had not felt warm since he had received the news…
Osiris is dead. Leta too…
Dark legs carried the wayward son to the furthest reaches of the glen and then to the place where he had watched the snowfall with Meerkat. He stared at the spot where they had laid side-by-side with each other, his expression was tired. Where was he to go if he could not find peace even in the happiest place he knew? What was he to do with himself when he could not chase the ghost of his brother from his head?
Atlas’ sides heaved in a choked sob. He clenched his teeth with such force that he thought his head would burst from the pressure of it. Tears welled and fell from his eyes and the dark young beast slumped into the snow with a muffled cry. He buried his face into his paws, shameful.
He couldn’t even talk to the girl he liked.
I never even told my brother I loved him.
But he couldn’t seem to breathe well, and he pulled his head back to look at the swirling mass of grey in the skies overhead. Eyes clouded with tears; Atlas heaved. He had talked about his love with Leta before he’d said the words himself. He’d wondered when Osiris would make her his mate. He’d watched on with bated breath to see what great things he would accomplish next – for Atlas knew… that if there were ever to be a leader capable of great things, it was his brother.
Who was he to look up to? He did not understand how he could face such devastation without Osiris. He had never had to face a trial in his life without his brother – he had left their home out of sheer belief in what would be accomplished. Atlas knew that he would never live up to the remarkable life that his brother would have, but he had been grateful to stand at his side.
Atlas wept, unable to stop his desperate sobs from wracking his frame.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” his voice fell in a strangled whisper.
But he did not know who he was speaking to. The young man did not know who he could blame for the travesty that had fallen on their family. All he knew was that he was not nearly enough to fill the empty space that had been left behind. He never had been.
Snow continued to dance around the dark figure until his back had been draped in white and his figure shook from the cold. Atlas did not move from the spot. He felt that maybe if he remained there, he would not have to face the truth. If he could cling to the fleeting happiness he had felt, then maybe he could cling to Osiris as well.
Firefly Glen was no longer a home. It would only ever be Osiris’ unfulfilled dream.
And Atlas no longer wished to be there.
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »