[With her word of warning, he braces himself for the inevitable touch, and while it's still a surprise when it comes, he doesn't flinch away this time. He allows his hand to rest in hers, letting it go limp so her hand is all that's holding it in the air. It doesn't fall, so that means it's real. The malevolence swirls around his arm, dark and foreboding, but there's a warmth enveloping his fingers that hadn't been there before.
Drawing in a slow, shaken breath, he follows her advice and closes his eyes. Maybe, if he doesn't have to see it, he'll forget that any of it was there.
Instead he lets his thoughts drift to Lailah's question. His first arte...? His brows scrunch together, eyes still clenched, and he thinks back. Twin Flow had been his first real combative arte, and of course he'd learned to heal because Sorey couldn't keep himself out of trouble, but... the first time...
"Mikleoooooo, I'm so hungry..."]
When we were little... Sorey just turned five... I was starting to find my power, but I didn't know how to focus, yet. Gramps said to take my time, but I was so impatient.
[It had been so exciting, feeling that thrum of energy in his body come to life, something that had always been there, but mostly dormant until his mind was ready for it. He'd loved the feeling of strength moving through his limbs, at first wobbly and weak as a trickling stream, but over time, as he grew, it became a steady brook, a flowing river, a gushing waterfall--
He remembers the joy and wonder in Sorey's eyes, back then, each and every time he pressed his hands together and made them come alive with light.]
We found the ruins by accident. We weren't supposed to be playing there... the ground wasn't steady enough, and the walls were falling apart. Mason said there were too many prickleboars, and they were always aggressive that time of year. There was a hole in the wall...
["Sorey, be careful!"
"I just wanna look."
"You're gonna fall in."
"I am not! Hey, come here, I can see--"]
We fell in.
["I told you."
"You fell, too!"]
It was too high up... we couldn't climb it. And the sound wouldn't carry- all it did was echo through the chamber. We thought we'd find a way out if we explored it, but every path just took us deeper and deeper inside.
["We already came this way."
No, no, that glyph is different. See? It says go left."
"That's because we're on the wrong side of the room this time..."]
We were lost. It was hours before anyone found us. I was fine, but Sorey... it was too musty under all that stone, the air was dry... we didn't have any supplies. I... I don't think I really understood how different the needs of humans are until that day.
["The air smells kinda different this way... maybe we should try here? ...Sorey? Hey, Sorey!"]
no subject
Drawing in a slow, shaken breath, he follows her advice and closes his eyes. Maybe, if he doesn't have to see it, he'll forget that any of it was there.
Instead he lets his thoughts drift to Lailah's question. His first arte...? His brows scrunch together, eyes still clenched, and he thinks back. Twin Flow had been his first real combative arte, and of course he'd learned to heal because Sorey couldn't keep himself out of trouble, but... the first time...
"Mikleoooooo, I'm so hungry..."]
When we were little... Sorey just turned five... I was starting to find my power, but I didn't know how to focus, yet. Gramps said to take my time, but I was so impatient.
[It had been so exciting, feeling that thrum of energy in his body come to life, something that had always been there, but mostly dormant until his mind was ready for it. He'd loved the feeling of strength moving through his limbs, at first wobbly and weak as a trickling stream, but over time, as he grew, it became a steady brook, a flowing river, a gushing waterfall--
He remembers the joy and wonder in Sorey's eyes, back then, each and every time he pressed his hands together and made them come alive with light.]
We found the ruins by accident. We weren't supposed to be playing there... the ground wasn't steady enough, and the walls were falling apart. Mason said there were too many prickleboars, and they were always aggressive that time of year. There was a hole in the wall...
["Sorey, be careful!"
"I just wanna look."
"You're gonna fall in."
"I am not! Hey, come here, I can see--"]
We fell in.
["I told you."
"You fell, too!"]
It was too high up... we couldn't climb it. And the sound wouldn't carry- all it did was echo through the chamber. We thought we'd find a way out if we explored it, but every path just took us deeper and deeper inside.
["We already came this way."
No, no, that glyph is different. See? It says go left."
"That's because we're on the wrong side of the room this time..."]
We were lost. It was hours before anyone found us. I was fine, but Sorey... it was too musty under all that stone, the air was dry... we didn't have any supplies. I... I don't think I really understood how different the needs of humans are until that day.
["The air smells kinda different this way... maybe we should try here? ...Sorey? Hey, Sorey!"]