ION - I Own Nothing
"We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry."
~John Webster
~U~
With every raindrop hitting the ground, the world was blurred away.
It wasn't a bad thing, though. It was good.
With every second, the world became more and more focused, pain being washed away in favor of dancing. With each step, there was a chance he'd fall, but that was irrelevant. He'd forgot who he was. He'd forgotten what it meant to be him.
He forgot what it was like to just breathe.
Rain hit the roof, washing the world in crystals. He raised his chin to the sky, a smile lightly spread across his face. It was beautiful, the gray world filled with music only he could hear. He was so close, so close to freedom. Only degrees away.
As the temperature continued to descend into freezing grades, he just kept smiling. His arms and legs began to stiffen. But he welcomed it. He was so close. So close to freedom.
He'd done so much. Not much of what he'd done was good. Ever since forever, all he knew was pain. Yelling, words in his head accompanied by a numb cold. Ever since he could remember, all he'd been was a tool. Nothing more. A weapon to be used.
He was called a "Talon."
But he was no Talon. He never had been. He almost forgot this. But then... then, when he realized he was forgetting, he realized. He could never lose himself. Because names were just names. Pain was just pain. He couldn't let that change him. He needed to always be himself... never change.
He always needed to fly.
He knew at his heart, that's all he was. Just the sky. Soaring high, he'd never been created to listen to some Court. Never been created to be caged. He had to hold onto all that was left, protecting it with everything he had left. Even if that was nothing.
He had to protect it.
Rain thickened, his step still sure despite the ground beneath him turning to ice. He glided in between the tears, slipping between the air as if he were the wind himself. Even though he was thirty stories in the air, dancing on the edge of a roof with no net, ice forming beneath his feet, his face was serene.
Because all it took was another step.
Just one more step.
And everything would be okay.
It would all be fine.
Just like it was supposed to be.
No more pain filled his heart, knowing he was going to expiate his sins. He knew with one more step, one more lean, one more twirl, it would all be okay... everything would be washed away.
He took in the humid air, rain coating his throat. Jagged pieces of hail began to cut at his skin, but the blood release was not red. It was blue. Because he didn't need oxygen. The blood in his veins moved him, but had no use for oxygen.
Talons didn't need oxygen. They didn't need food, rest, eyes, hearts... they were just people with their souls locked away. But he wasn't a Talon.
Because he felt the beat in his chest.
He felt the tears on his cheeks.
He felt his soul crying. Mourning what it had done.
He was no Talon- never had been. He'd never forgotten who he was. He couldn't, he wouldn't, it was his choice. And in the end, that's all it came down to. All he could ever hold on to.
Choice.
No matter how the Court hurt him, no matter what they did, what they threatened, in the end, they could never, ever take away his agency. No one ever could.
He took the step, arms open wide as he cut through the air. He felt his body freezing in the Gotham air. He closed his eyes, smile so peaceful it seemed he was already an angel.
But before he hit the ground, he opened his eyes, tucking into a roll just on time. His body was stiff, frozen. He was honestly kind of surprised he didn't shatter. He stumbled, falling into an alley.
He didn't let himself die because he knew: He had to find his own peace.
He guessed the jump was just a way of playing with the idea. Because he wouldn't do it- he was another life. He could never take another life. Even if that life was his own.
He disappeared into the gloom of Gotham, silent in his footsteps. He would fix himself by fixing his wrongs. That's all he could do. All he wanted to do.
:Sometimes the most beautiful people are beautifully broken:
:R.M. Drake:
A/N: NO! I PROMISE I'M NOT STARTING ANOTHER STORY! I just... I needed an angsty, feelz-jacked story. Um, so this is a ONE-SHOT. But that doesn't mean I won't continue one day some day... maybe. If I feel like it. For now- it's a one-shot. As I said, I needed Talon angst and pain. Yep. So here it is. Hope you enjoyed! Please review if you can!
~Universe