Tlazolteotl

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Caught in a Snare

@silver21@DaftJive@Stanifly

The moth comes from somewhere behind Vicis and Silas, its fur glowing softly. Its body brushes against theirs as it passes, warm against their skin. Its wings fold close as it slips between them and through the vines.

Once inside, it walks to where Damien is. It lowers itself to the ground next to him and asks one simple question:

"What do you want, Damien?"

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

J̶͙̝̹͖͒̅̂̏͝͝ā̶̪̘̾̇̎̕y̷̗̦̖͊̀̑ͅ's̵̤̪̰̓͝ Sirpa's C̸̭͓̤͓̘̱̑̀̾͝͠ą̸̟͈̯͖͐̉͛̾̕͠t̴̩̺͆̂̓͐̕ḣ̵͉͍̣ȧ̷̫̙̞̐͘r̴̛̛͉̟̓̌̿͛s̴̛̮̞̫̝͉͆̈̀ị̸̗͓͍́͑ș̴̛͊̐̋͝t̸̞͗͐

@silver21

The Keeper sits motionless, limbs folded and tucked like a stone gargoyle.

Its head turns. The body does not. A full hundred and eighty degrees, smooth and slow, until those enormous eyes face Sirpa.

It blinks. Once.

"Jay asked for a conversation. But you have not said a word to them. Why is that?"

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@DaftJive


How you feeling?

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@DaftJive did you want to post for Silas before I continue?

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Caught in a Snare

@silver21@DaftJive

Damien's mother's brow furrows at his words, then releases, her face opening into a smile.

"Thank you. You're very sweet to say that." Her eyes trace his face, holding a love that outlives her memory of it. "If you were my son, I'd be very proud of you."

Turning toward the barrier, she places both hands on the vines and pushes them aside like a curtain, steps through the gap she has made, and is gone, taking the smell of lavender with her.

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Caught in a Snare

@silver21@DaftJive

She smiles at his answer.

"You remind me of my son, Damien." Her eyes go somewhere warm and distant. "It'd be cold outside and he still wouldn't wear his jacket. Said he was fine. Said it even when he was shaking." Quietly, she laughs. "So stubborn."

Then she glances around the room, checking for eavesdroppers, and leans in close. Her voice drops, as if she was about to reveal a deep secret.

"But I always brought it. Folded up in my bag, just in case."

Damien's mother goes still, her face emptied of the person that had been there a moment ago.

Slowly, her eyes refocus, drifting back toward him, heavy with sadness.

"He always says he's fine, even when he's not. He thinks I don't know. But I know. I know he's not okay. And I know some of it..." Her grip tightens in her lap. "Some of it is because of me."

Straightening with a start, she says:

"I left the iron on."

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@BaronOBeefDip Good good! It's great when the whole family helps! I have friends who are basically raising their babies alone and they just seem so stressed the whole time 😭

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

Caught in a Snare

@silver21@DaftJive

Through the chains, through the dark, the air shifts toward warmth.

And his mother is sitting beside him. Lavender clings to her clothes, dry and familiar, her hands settled loose in her lap. Most of her is somewhere else entirely, her eyes following a thought that keeps drifting just out of reach. Damien's mother has been losing herself like this for years.

After a moment she turns, not quite toward him but close enough, and her brow draws in the way it does when you look at someone and can tell, before you know why, that something is wrong. One hand lifts from her lap and hovers toward Damien.

"...cold. Are you cold?"

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@DaftJive Gotcha, no problem!



@silver21 Heads or tails!

◈ 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒 | Κάθαρσις ◈

@DaftJive I'm thinking of writing a post after Silas, but I realized I should ask if you're feeling well enough to write a post.