He gulped. His eyes were distant. He moved, impassioned, burning from within and her breath came jagged, now. She felt the flood of emotion washed over her and she could do naught to control it – as a Konti, empathy would always grasp for one last laugh. A cruel mistress. Liel tore her glance from him and flung her head to face the side, eyes of frightening silver now stinging with tears. They came. They went. Shadows lined his face as he stooped over, biting his lip. She inhaled shakily. The tears found their disguise within the gentle, pearly scales adorning the sides of her throat. Eternities could have passed before she whispered, “Take me with you.” Silence. He paused, regarding her coolly. Her voice echoed in the nothingness. She couldn’t believe herself. Leave? Leave her mother and her sisters, her cousins and her aunts, all she had ever known? He was stoic. “Follow if you wish, but I am not taking you. You leave on your own merit.” “Where will you go?” “Away.” “But – how will I find you, if you are too fast?” Her eyes grew wide, and she stood too, voice still a quiet plea. Was he smiling, or smirking? “Your persistence is tiring. If you find that Mura bores you, then take this.” When his hand touched hers, it could have been glass from the bottom of the sea. A piece of paper, a few words. He left. His back, the white cloak, and how the air around him was sucked in the movement of his limbs. The next time she saw him, days upon days would have passed. Farewell for now, Ethaefal. |