Slaine never knew what exact time it was. There were no clocks, but he could guess based on the tiny window in his room.
Not that he cared to. The time of the day was just another item on the endless list of things that didn't matter now.
Actually, that wasn't right. It mattered because once a day it made him feel upset rather than empty.
When he first arrived, it would wake him up. Now, he was used enough to it that he was awake before it began.
He covered his head with his pillow before it started.
Still, he heard it.
Chirp. Chirp chirp.
They were so loud. So painfully loud. And every morning they did this. With the rise of the sun, they would chirp and sing for hours on end.
He hated it.
Even if he could only hear them, they reminded him of her. He could picture her perfectly, watching the birds and admiring them as they took off for the day, her eyes sparkling in the light. It was the only thing that could be called beautiful. He had not been able to see much of Earth since returning - he could see glimpses out the windows, and he had seen some when he was transported here, and, sometimes, the warden would take him out to the garden (he hated the garden, though, but he didn't say anything).
Earth seemed different than he remembered. The sky and ocean were not as blue. The grass was not as green. The winds were not as gentle and the snow was not as white. There were not as many birds.
He wondered if she was disappointed.
For this part of the day, every day, he felt like was about to throw up. But there was nothing inside him to come out, so instead, he just cried.
Perhaps he wasn't as empty as he felt for the remainder of the day. Perhaps feeling like this and letting out made him empty later.
It was pointless to think about.
He clutched onto the necklace against his chest. The sharp cold of the metal against his skin and the rough edge of the chain digging into him was welcome.
"Seylum asked me to."
Long after Inaho had left, Slaine had yet to cry out ever tear in his body, though he had calmed to just sniffles now. His thin pillow was soaked, his throat was swollen.
Chirp. Chirp.
He wasn't expecting it, this time - he hadn't slept and hadn't looked at the window in hours.
Somehow, he finds the will to slide his legs off the bed. They brought him to his feet, and for a moment everything went dark. He wondered, in that instant, if this was the time that vision would never return to him, they he would numbly feel the hard collision of his body to the floor and that would be it. But for the first time since he arrived, instead of feeling welcome to that, he feels scared.
His vision did return. Though his knees were wobbly, he walked to the window.
A bird sat in between the iron bars of the window. It tweeted softly, its head tilted as Slaine watched it.
"Go," he nearly whispered, throat sore and voice hoarse. "Why are you looking in here when you could fly up into the sky?"
The bird only chirped at him.
He heard another chirp, and a moment later and another bird joined the first. It chirped again, and the first bird gave a reply.
"I see. You have a companion. That's good."
A few seconds of chirps, and then they both spread their wings and took to the air.
"Breakfast."
The warden was gone by the time Slaine turned around, and on the stool near his door there was now a plate and cup.
He looked back at the window.
Maybe today he would try to eat.
He held the necklace again - this time, gently. It was warm from the sunlight.
The birds outside sounded nice.
#ハピネスレイン. i hate the ending of a/z so much