And I hope if everybody runs, you choose to stay
In the end, you will never be able to save anyone.
Her mother's words coiled like smoke of incence through the back of her mind. Fragrant, sweet. Cloying and comforting; it was not her choice to make. It never had been. All a starchild could do was shine a light in the dark and help others help themselves. What did that mean, for those who had turned their backs on the sun? She didn't know. Didn't want to know. It was safer to look only at those whose lives she couldn't bear to lose.
"Everyone dies. That is part of life. I can help people, for a while... but it's not for me to decide when it is over. That is not my role." It was her mother's words, echoed from numb lips. Seren wasn't sure she entirely understood - could she take a life, but not save one? - but she chose to have faith that her goddess and Mother did.
"Does it hurt you, to know me too?" The notion was unbearable. Was she causing pain every time she reached out to touch another soul? Unconsciously Seren took a step back. As if merely standing close to her might make it worse for him. A touch against her leg made her stop. Umbra coiled protectively around her, his presence a warm weight to anchor herself against. "I don't want that. I never want to hurt you."
Her mother's words coiled like smoke of incence through the back of her mind. Fragrant, sweet. Cloying and comforting; it was not her choice to make. It never had been. All a starchild could do was shine a light in the dark and help others help themselves. What did that mean, for those who had turned their backs on the sun? She didn't know. Didn't want to know. It was safer to look only at those whose lives she couldn't bear to lose.
"Everyone dies. That is part of life. I can help people, for a while... but it's not for me to decide when it is over. That is not my role." It was her mother's words, echoed from numb lips. Seren wasn't sure she entirely understood - could she take a life, but not save one? - but she chose to have faith that her goddess and Mother did.
"Does it hurt you, to know me too?" The notion was unbearable. Was she causing pain every time she reached out to touch another soul? Unconsciously Seren took a step back. As if merely standing close to her might make it worse for him. A touch against her leg made her stop. Umbra coiled protectively around her, his presence a warm weight to anchor herself against. "I don't want that. I never want to hurt you."
Seren
