AN:
This is an accompanying piece, I guess you could say, to my story "A Stronger
Circle." I guess it's just to elaborate on some of the emotions that went with
that story. It really parallels the events of the last chapter, and you have to
have read that story in order for any of this to make sense. And if you have
not read that, I suggest you do! :) This is not the promised epilogue, which is
up-and-coming, but this was shorter and easier to spit out. Hope you like, and
please review.
---
saw you last night
Kirel found Daja, standing by the seawall, her braids whipping against her
shoulders like flower stems. She was different; her face had matured so much,
somehow, in so little time. Her cheekbones were abrupt and her eyes held a
darkness to them, which was not sadness but wisdom. Her face had grown stronger
in appearance from the realization of sudden weakness, from the reality of her
mortality. Her clothing was loose, billowing around her, and her cape was red
for bloodshed. He approached her from behind, hearing her sigh. Or, was it the
wind that released a cool breath? His hands touched her shoulders; she jumped
slightly, turning to face him.
dance by the light of the moon
Briar
tended to his precious plant as they sat in the dim-lit workroom. His hands
were soil-stained, and his eyes held a tenderness to them. Satisfied, he set
the plant on a shelf, and he blew out the candle. He turned to the doorframe;
Tris stood there, watching him through sparkling glass. He had never looked
more beautiful to her, surprised, lit in a ethereal white shade of celestial
dusts. Amused, and somewhat touched, he smiled at her.
stars in your eyes
There were tears in Daja's eyes. She'd blame it on the mists of the waves,
crashing violently against the stone of that wall. But Kirel knew.
free from the life that you knew
Raeldro had formed a treacherous bridge between the three and Sandry. No one
would ever be able to understand what she had been through. No one would be
able to relate to her on that level. She would stay alone in that territory,
with nothing but her own darkness to console her, with all the windows shut in
her room. The only thing that would remain in that empty, black place would be
the crystal they had made for her; it would shimmer in its pouch, and she could
take it out whenever she wanted to. It was up to her.
you're the magic that holds the sky up from the ground
Tris leaned over Briar and pulled her glasses from her face. She kissed
him, pushing her mouth against his firmly, feeling lonely. Yes, she had longed
for him in the past. But she had longed for him them without knowing loss of
him. She now knew how terrible it was to doubt the presence of a person. She
would not let that terror go wasted. She would not let him go, wasted. She
bared the flesh.
you're the breath that blows these cool winds 'round
The wind blew, and Daja's cape encompassed them both. She kissed him with
the salt of her lips, her brown against Kirel's crisp whiteness. She kissed him
with her sorrow, hoping he might suck it from her. She knew pain; she knew
fear; she knew death. She was afraid.
trading places with an angel now
Sandry, in her room of pitch black, saw his ebony hair. She saw his hazel
eyes, dripping with lies like molasses. She murmured his name to the silence,
liking the way her lips formed. The end sound of the "o" pursed her mouth, as
though in a kiss. She saw him, gone from her. Perhaps it was for the best,
after all. The memory of him would have be enough to nourish her. There was
light in a pouch that hovered over her heart.
saw you last night
Tris lowered herself against Briar' cool skin. She slid against him, into
his hair, against his tongue. He held her, caressed the back of her spine, its
ridges like mountains. She wanted to see him, know him everywhere, every way. She
wanted to never forget the scent of him, his fingers streaking trails of earth
upon her shoulders. The shakkan was forgotten on its shelf.
dance by the light of the moon
Sandry opened her windows. The moon was full, nearly orange, being that it
had just risen. She found that it seemed bigger than ever before, yellowed like
paper, and very old. It lit her hair in gold, and the charm on her wrist
glinted in its brilliant light. It was almost like a sun; perhaps it seemed so
bright against such darkness.
stars in your eyes
Briar and Tris had somehow made it to their knees on the workroom floor,
closed together within the corner. He kissed her, moved against her. He shed
his shoes and shirt somehow; her hair was loosed into his working hands. He
loved her. He saw that when he looked into the hurricane that was her glance. In
her eyes, there was depth, such blackness and color all at once, and there was
his own reflection there, too.
free from the life that you knew
Kirel made her look at him. He raked his fingers through her braids. He
smiled, and rocked her like a ship at sea. She could be afraid, and she could
know horror. But she would recall, soon enough, those good things that made her
love life in the first place: she would begin to remember the passion of Kirel,
the romance of anvils and hammers, the purity of the sea salt tingling her
nose, the security of family and friendship. She would untie herself soon
enough from her past, cast herself adrift once more upon the sea of hope. She
would be found. She was going home to him, floating back.
saw you last night
Tris buried her face into his chest, twined her hands into his. She basked
in the light of his gaze, in the reflection of his dark skin against her own. She
sighed into his ears, saying nothing, saying everything. Briar smothered her
with his hands upon her freckled shoulders and released his passion for her,
drinking her with kisses upon her cheekbone. She cried. It felt so good to be
home, just looking at him, knowing him.
stars in your eyes
Sandry wiped lone droplets from her cheeks, each of which glimmered with a
tiny constellation of light inside. From her pouch, she removed that orb of
light, a crystal cracked and weathered. She loved it. She felt its hotness
against the pads of her fingertips. It was whiter, purer than that ancient
paper moon unfolding as it rose above her in the sky. It was home to her; it
was faces, and family, and love. Love – no, it had not died. It was still
there. It was alive.
smiled in my room
---
AN: The song is credited to Ben Folds Five and is titled "Magic." I
know, it's primarily a song about dying, but it's also a very lovely, romantic
song, and I figured it pieces together nicely with this. This was initially a
lot sadder and a lot more depressing and less hopeful, but then I listened to
Enya and it turned out like this. Go figure.
I like the make-out scene. ^^
Review.