01-30-2020, 12:03 AM
[font=trebuchet ms]As Rin passed by, she noticed the door to Stark's house ajar, and Stark and Nemhain standing inside. Come to think of it, she probably ought to check Stark's wounds to ensure they were healing properly. She figured he probably hadn't gone so far as to cauterize his own wounds, so he'd be easier to treat than Lemy, at least. With a small nod to herself, she entered through the doorway and glanced around.
The odor of dust in the air stuck to the sides of her throat as she breathed it in, achingly familiar. Though the house was distinct in its layout, the sense of abandonment, long-lost memories... that much was the same. At least it was still left standing for Stark when he'd returned. Not everyone could count themselves so lucky.
Twitching her ears, she turned her head to gaze at the wall, and the pictures framed upon it- her good sense speaking up too late to stop her from noticing the subjects framed within. Puppies, young, innocent, their resemblance to Stark plain to see. Family photos. Photos of those who were never forgotten, even as time passed and the world warped around them.
Soft sunflower eyes stared back at her, scarred by time. Torn away. Stranded. Lost and crying-
Rin clenched her jaw, her shoulders hunching. No. She shouldn't think about that, not when Nemhain was literally right there, not when she could feel everything. She couldn't put another creature through that, not even one that was supposedly a part of herself. Nemhain had insisted she would do this even if given the choice but why should Rin make that an excuse to make her suffer? There was no excuse to drag others down into her darkness the darkness that would slowly strangle her leaving little left but-
"How many times, Mother?"
"What were their names?" Rin asked out of the blue, her eyes glued to the floor, counting the grains in the wood. Lifting the loose end of her scarf with one paw, she quickly rubbed at the corners of her eyes until they were dry. If she got Stark talking, maybe she'd be too busy sympathizing with him to think about herself. Nemhain wouldn't have to deal with those runaway emotions, then. Maybe it'd do Stark some good to talk about it, too.
...but maybe she was going into territory she shouldn't have been. Maybe Stark didn't want to talk about it. "Only if you're okay talking about them, though," she clarified, lifting her head to glance back at him. "If not, I get it." She couldn't sacrifice one Elysite's mental stability for another Elysite's, no matter how much she owed it to Nemhain not to make her suffer.
The odor of dust in the air stuck to the sides of her throat as she breathed it in, achingly familiar. Though the house was distinct in its layout, the sense of abandonment, long-lost memories... that much was the same. At least it was still left standing for Stark when he'd returned. Not everyone could count themselves so lucky.
Twitching her ears, she turned her head to gaze at the wall, and the pictures framed upon it- her good sense speaking up too late to stop her from noticing the subjects framed within. Puppies, young, innocent, their resemblance to Stark plain to see. Family photos. Photos of those who were never forgotten, even as time passed and the world warped around them.
Soft sunflower eyes stared back at her, scarred by time. Torn away. Stranded. Lost and crying-
Rin clenched her jaw, her shoulders hunching. No. She shouldn't think about that, not when Nemhain was literally right there, not when she could feel everything. She couldn't put another creature through that, not even one that was supposedly a part of herself. Nemhain had insisted she would do this even if given the choice but why should Rin make that an excuse to make her suffer? There was no excuse to drag others down into her darkness the darkness that would slowly strangle her leaving little left but-
"How many times, Mother?"
"What were their names?" Rin asked out of the blue, her eyes glued to the floor, counting the grains in the wood. Lifting the loose end of her scarf with one paw, she quickly rubbed at the corners of her eyes until they were dry. If she got Stark talking, maybe she'd be too busy sympathizing with him to think about herself. Nemhain wouldn't have to deal with those runaway emotions, then. Maybe it'd do Stark some good to talk about it, too.
...but maybe she was going into territory she shouldn't have been. Maybe Stark didn't want to talk about it. "Only if you're okay talking about them, though," she clarified, lifting her head to glance back at him. "If not, I get it." She couldn't sacrifice one Elysite's mental stability for another Elysite's, no matter how much she owed it to Nemhain not to make her suffer.
tags (06/13/20):