Otulissa Leaves

Summary: Otulissa goes away with Twilight, leaving Cleve after his wing injury. Cleve's POV. One-shot that might turn into two-shot but probably won't because I'm lazy. TWT, and a bit OOC.

Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, I'd get a decent pair of socks.

"Cleve?"

That voice, that sound, those delicate syllables. They brought me joy, gathered warmth and life into my gizzard, breathed love into my soul.

Her voice.

"I'm leaving now."

They cut through my heart. In that fragment of time, I could feel my heart shattering in a million, billion tiny pieces, smaller that water droplets, more minuscule than flecks. The beat deadened, the pump silenced. The chambers, once filled with boiling blood in courageous times, were emptied. Nothing that remained was alive. I bent over slightly, my chest in pain, gasping for breath. Head dizzy, lungs bare of oxygen, I stumbled onto a ground perch.

She never noticed.

Of course not.

"I'm sorry. About your wings."

Those words did little justice to that fact that I was forever grounded, to never fly again.

And to think, I did it to save her. My beloved Otulissa.

"I – I thought I loved you, but I was mistaken. I love, I love Twilight now."

I looked now, directly into her shining amber eyes. The shining orbs, always reflecting a higher intelligence, were always my source of hope. My motivation when things went wrong. My comfort in the storm. My fire in the rain. As I stared, I knew I could never look away. She knew that too, but twisted her head around, shredding my heart once more, "Lissa," I croaked.

She frowned, her beak dipping a little lower. She never liked that nickname.

I was a fool for using it.

"Lissa, I – I…" The words stuck in my throat, and then scattered away. How I wanted to tell her how much I love her, cherish her. But I couldn't utter a single sound. I kept repeating the last word in my head, the sound like a broken record, mocking me.

I…I…I…what?

"What, Cleve?" She asked, knowing full well of my intent.

"I – I, lo –" I couldn't finish. Why was this so difficult? I had proclaimed my love for many things in the past. I love fungus. I love my mother. Hag, I've probably even said the phrase to a few cute owls.

But this was different.

I love you, Otulissa! I wanted to shout. Even if you abandon me, I'll love forever! I love you with all my heart. Every part of me acknowledges it. I need you in my life.

What a grand declaration.

But the words. They just wouldn't come.

"Otulissa," I tried again, my voice coming out a little below a whisper, "I lov…"

"Otulissa! We have to leave!" Twilight's strong, throaty call echoed through the hollow walls. I felt envious of his voice.

"I must go, Cleve."

Without another word, she lifted up her wings and lofted into the air. Lifted herself out of my life.

The verbal dam broke when she was halfway out of the sky port.

"No," I ran towards her, my wings flapping about uselessly beside me, forever locked in yeep state, "don't leave!"

"No, Otulissa! Don't leave me! I love you. I love you!"

A breeze ruffled through her pin feathers, setting her beautiful spots in frenzy. A tear crept into my eyes, and I brushed it away gruffly.

"I love you! No matter what, I'll always love you! I'll wait for you forever!"

"I hope you're happy," I added, my voice hushed. Silver threads of tears trickled down my face.

I really did hope for her happiness.

"I love you!" My voice was growing hoarse.

But she didn't turn around. Otulissa flew on, her graceful, lithe form now alongside a great gray's.

I knew she heard me.

But she just didn't care. She had spoken once of love, yet she had never me loved as much as I love her. She flew out of my life without a single backward glance. Nothing lingered in the shadow of her emptiness.

The deeper your dive, the faster you must rise up.

The higher your flight, the steeper you must fall back.

I'll wait for you, Otulissa.

FIN

A/N: Whew...kinda angsty and really not my type of story, but I wanted to try to make something sad. It was gonna be a songfic, but I couldn't find lyrics.

I got this from reading really cute manga "Momoko Sakura" (it's really old, like 1986 old).