CHULANE
why do things happen with no reason or rhyme?
why does it feel like we're running out of time?
why does it feel like we're running out of time?
It came and went in waves; the different emotions, the grief, the guilt, the fatigue. Auni was an anchor for Chuy, still healing from his own wounds, the injuries far deeper and more complicated than the vet could fathom, at least not without experiencing it himself (and he hoped never to). His mind whirled, influenced by the little luxere, ranging from dull numbness to a vague sense of barely-there-ness, fading in and out. He was so tired - and yet, had no desire to sleep, no desire to do anything except keep trying to exist in a world without her.
So he barely heard Loren's words, merely grunting a soft note in acknowledgement of them. Even the casual magic the healer performed on the kettle could not stir him, as his mind jumped from thing to thing seemingly at random - sometimes he could see her falling, falling, falling, outside of everyone's reach, other times his mind was just blank, empty, a null void that he only ever came out of when Auni nudged him or bleated.
He accepted the tea with an unreadable, albeit tired, expression. Auni happily munched into the apple offered, before rising from the bed to move and lean against his new bonded's calf - absently, Chuy let a hand drop to rest on the luxere's back in appreciation. He sighed, before taking a sip, belatedly recognising what Loren had made. He wasn't a huge tea person, but it was better than alcohol in his mind, and he kept sipping at it. With what felt like great effort, he brought himself back to this moment - despite being told it was alright to be this way, he still felt horrible for being so dull to his… whatever Loren was to him. Acquaintance? Friend?
"So where do you go from here?" he decided to ask, after an indefinable amount of time spent sipping at their tea in quiet, looking to the healer with some semblance of curiosity. "What's your next step?" Perhaps he was asking himself these questions too, or trying to see if Loren's answers could help shape his own… But who knows, really?
So he barely heard Loren's words, merely grunting a soft note in acknowledgement of them. Even the casual magic the healer performed on the kettle could not stir him, as his mind jumped from thing to thing seemingly at random - sometimes he could see her falling, falling, falling, outside of everyone's reach, other times his mind was just blank, empty, a null void that he only ever came out of when Auni nudged him or bleated.
He accepted the tea with an unreadable, albeit tired, expression. Auni happily munched into the apple offered, before rising from the bed to move and lean against his new bonded's calf - absently, Chuy let a hand drop to rest on the luxere's back in appreciation. He sighed, before taking a sip, belatedly recognising what Loren had made. He wasn't a huge tea person, but it was better than alcohol in his mind, and he kept sipping at it. With what felt like great effort, he brought himself back to this moment - despite being told it was alright to be this way, he still felt horrible for being so dull to his… whatever Loren was to him. Acquaintance? Friend?
"So where do you go from here?" he decided to ask, after an indefinable amount of time spent sipping at their tea in quiet, looking to the healer with some semblance of curiosity. "What's your next step?" Perhaps he was asking himself these questions too, or trying to see if Loren's answers could help shape his own… But who knows, really?
how do we keep going, through the dark?
why are we here at all, lost in the dark?
why are we here at all, lost in the dark?
