Blackwater Islands the first of sixty thousand hours obsessed with you

written to 'angel of death' and 'bed head' by manchester orchestra.  will still get you a post to our existing one, but i had to kickstart my muse <3

lazuline was gone. 

she had left without saying a word.  though cerulean should have expected it from the coldness and distance displayed over the last few months, her absence was difficult to bear. there was little time to process the first loss before she was tasked with escorting away her remaining sibling, tearing the wound fresh again.

three, two, one.

so began the journey home.

she was the only one left and it left her bitter. she had sacrificed more for them than they'd ever know. she had risked her life to absolve them of wrongdoing in the eyes of moonglow. she had seduced the pharoh of akashingo to secure a trade deal that her sister's life had hinged upon. she had sold away her mouth and body to the prophet of blackwater.

her entire life had been spent devoted to others, but what about others?

what of the life she wanted to live?

she thought of ego, the children she had chosen not to have. a wretched sound struggled up to her throat where it choked and fizzled out. anguish and wrath washed over her in equal measure. with her tongue pressed against the relentless vicegrip of her teeth, she loosed a growl that burbled into a sob.

she wanted to become historic; to destroy the coast with an earthquaking thunder of rain and fury.  that fantasy followed her to fitful sleep where she dreamt of a storm that rocked the islands.  the trees, hazy in the rain, blew sideways behind her as she ran featherlight over the sand.  the ground begain to raise, rocks suspended in the air, illuminated spontaneously by cracks of lightning.

when she looked down she realized she was caught up in the storm she thought she'd had control of.  a jolt of fear extinguished her breath.

when she awoke, her heart was pounding in her throat the same way it had in the dream.  shaken, she abandoned the thought of trying to sleep through the night — instead she ran to blackwater, to @Ego, to all that remained.

ugh, this got out of hand xD

A gargoyle, ever present on the shores of the Sound, loomed at the front of the land bridge that led to Blackwater. The beast, cloaked in the night, looked outward through the dark trees and watched as the shadows lifted under dawnlight. He expected her -- his chest thrumming with impatience -- until at last, after days of many disappointments, she was there.

Ego knew it was her, even when she was but a smudge in the distance; he needed very little light to know the approach of his betrothed. The sunrise bathed him, bringing color to the relief and heartache upon his stony countenance, as he began to trot in her direction with his tail hoisted in relentless pride. It took him only a moment to recognize the fretful grief in her canter, and he came to a standstill to receive her -- steadfast as a riverrock under the rush of her rapid waters.

He could smell the anxiety still clinging to her pelt, and he needn't ask to know what plagued her. Upon first meeting her, she had made it abundantly clear that her priority lie with her sisters. Both of them were gone now, leaving her pitiful and yearning beyond his capability to mend.

His only welcome was a kiss upon her forehead and a hard-muscled embrace; reassuring her that he was there to shield her. But he was quick to cut to the bone of her agony and he did not mince words. Look at what they have done to you. His voice crawled low with anger, directed at the druids. If they cared for you at all, they would not have done this. It is unconscionable. And you would have me stand by impotently as you become destitute. This is not what I want for us. She would be his and no other's, or she would not be his at all. She couldn't expect him to respect those that had broken her, or allow her to continue obeying orders that were wholly against her will.

You are too loyal to them, and they do not deserve you. Leave with me, or return to that witch-pack; it is your choice. But I will never set foot upon that island nor speak their name ever again. And I can never respect you if you choose them.

mobile post!! i will owe you something with more substance

i was not due back until tomorrow, she said as she warmed under his embrace.

it felt girlish to say that a dream had summoned her back to him. it was more than that, though she didn’t know how to say it without seeming esoteric. the energy of her unconscious had been biding beneath the surface, and its unstoppable force revealed itself in the power of that storm.

the details did not matter.

she bristled, lips pulling back with impatience, then flattened her expression as he began.

i do not believe they ever cared, she replied bitterly. the druids of blackwater existed only to expend themselves in whatever way the listener desired. there was no concern behind their demands. they had seen her value and knew they could extract it, so long as she felt indebted to them.

but she didn’t anymore. viridian’s health had been restored and now her sister was the one acting out the whims of blackwater.

to hear him reflect her innermost feelings felt like being baptized; relief washed over her, and she offered him a soft expression.

i have been gone for far too long. you have done more for me by staying here than i had ever intended to ask of you. you have gone beyond proving yourself to me.

you are my reflection. i came before daybreak to make the same request.

so let us leave, then. to the mountains, to the forest, to the plain or prairie. i will follow you. we will find a place that stirs our hearts, where faint traces of our future reveal themselves before us.

as far as she saw it, there was nothing for them here.