Ouroboros
PROMPT 1: BEGINNINGS
SUBJECT: I am totally full of angst, and like, so is Colette? I guess? Implied LxC
WC: 837

Life ran in circles, with no true beginning and no true end. The insignia of Cruxis, which the Chosen was as familiar with as she was her own face, reified this simple philosophy: a never-ending circle, intertwined with a triangle that symbolized the elements that made life possible – land, sea, and sky. As for the other points of the holy emblem, those were confidential and were for the Chosen's ears only. It was a symbol and a constant, laden reminder that one day she would give all she had to give for the sake of the world.

Colette has always thought it was rather pretty, too. She wondered sometimes if anything could just be that simple. She would like the Cruxis insignia a lot more if it were just a pretty picture and not some elaborate reminder of her life's quest.

She clutched at the red crystal at her neck compulsively, feeling the strange stone rather suffocating at that moment. It was a part of her now; she'd been born with it in her hand, marking her forever as the Chosen of Regeneration.

It was a suffocating title.

She didn't want to think about it anymore and went over to her window, staring at the bright noon sky. It was strange to think back on events as only having happened that very morning, since it felt like a lifetime ago.

The Tower of Salvation loomed on the horizon, impossibly tall. Colette couldn't help but be in awe at how majestic it looked, but she also couldn't help the weakness in her knees or the unsettling gnawing in her gut. She frowned and decided those weren't very Chosen-like thoughts she'd been thinking.

The Cruxis Crystal was suffocating.

It was an absolutely beautiful day outside. Birds chirped merrily in the trees, which swayed gently in the wind. It was warm and a bit dusty outside, but not too much. There wasn't a cloud to be seen and Colette smiled a bit sadly, silently thanking Martel for making it such a beautiful day on her birthday. The people of Iselia gathered together in small, excited clusters to chatter about the Oracle and the Chosen and the Journey. She spied several children playing in the tall grass in the house across from hers and Colette smiled from her window on the second floor, thinking them all rather pretty.

It had barely been morning not two hours ago when the light of the Oracle split the sky and signaled the moment of truth for her. She had been at school with Lloyd and the others and the dozing people of Iselia had barely been getting started in their daily routines. She had been trying to pay attention during the Professor's lecture but it was all old news to her, as she received such lessons daily from the priests as part of her duty as Chosen. She had been thinking about how pretty Raine had looked with the sun in her white hair. She had been planning on suggesting to her teacher that she should wear her hair down more often, because it suited her. She had been thinking about Lloyd, and—

The sun caught the silver buttons of her best friend's shirt as he approached the house, knocking on the front door. Colette would've called to him with a big wave and a smile but the Crystal at her neck felt too tight, too big, too heavy. She clutched at the nape of her neck and forced back a grimace.

Lloyd looked so nice in the sun, the red of his coat and the white of his scarves bright for all to see. From her vantage point at the window she couldn't see the deep brown of his eyes but she imagined them, and smiled. She could see the red highlights in his hair that only appeared in direct sunlight; she loved those. She didn't want to think about never seeing him again, or about the Tower, or about the Journey, or about angels and dying, since after all this was only the beginning.

And then he noticed her stare and looked up, baffled. She stifled a giggle at his confused face and waved. He called out a greeting; she responded and told him she'd be down in a moment before disappearing from the window and retreating back into her bedroom.

Colette rushed impulsively to her nightstand and snatched the object there. She had been staring at herself in her small hand mirror ever since she got back home. She checked herself again for good measure and relaxed when she saw the now-familiar glint of ruby-red at her neck. It wasn't quite so strange and terrifying a thing to wear, she reasoned, since after all, it did just look like a big pretty necklace. With that in mind, she put the mirror down and trotted downstairs.

Needless to say, it was a strange and not at all pretty thing to think that just earlier this morning Colette Brunel had begun to die.