04-07-2019, 10:16 PM
Waters swirled and eddied, churned with mud. Thorns and blood and a tune that haunted, puppet strings lost in darkness. A father’s love. Nimeda itched to flee, like she had when the wolf chased her away, until the storm passed and her identity settled. She pressed the heels of her hands over her stinging eyes and yearned for kinder times. Warm waters soothed a soul meant for the sun. But how often she found the cool hallows of the dark places instead.
Pain nailed her back with a sudden start. “My name is Nimeda.” The gasp of a declaration centred her as surely as the throb up her ankle. She blinked like the time had passed unnoticed, to discover the rough pad of his thumb pressed against the wound on her foot. She wasn’t sure of when he had knelt, or why he felt the necessity to tend to such a paltry injury, not least when moments before his lip curled as vicious a greeting as his wolf.
The question lingered. For a moment she watched the pink blush of her blood draining into the trickling waters. “One of Need,” she said finally. The deflation of her mood treaded upon calmer waters, the joyous rush of her epiphany long since faded. Her chin sank on her knees, arms wrapped around. Ice curled her hair unnoticed. “It wasn’t always so quiet here. Old things wake and new things stir, but it’s slow. I like to keep the friends I find. They number few.” Brief consideration furrowed her brow into pained honesty. She had tried her best to help Calvin, and he had helped her in kind. But perhaps it was only a debt owed. She watched him from time to time, but he did not seek her in return. And Jon? He had been gone a long time, even in the inbetween place. “Well, one. They number one.”
Mara’s tower loomed, the story blended with the memory of her confession. One paint flecked finger rose as Nim tried to squeeze her thoughts into a more linear fashion. The kin had his own resonance if she let herself focus the wrong direction. She closed her eyes. “She is held against her will, in the waking world. But I am stuck here. The grimnir visits me from time to time, but I know his help will have a price. I asked for a secret, and the grey lady answered. She brought me here.” A gentle shrug followed, like the effort of plucking even that much toiled.
Pain nailed her back with a sudden start. “My name is Nimeda.” The gasp of a declaration centred her as surely as the throb up her ankle. She blinked like the time had passed unnoticed, to discover the rough pad of his thumb pressed against the wound on her foot. She wasn’t sure of when he had knelt, or why he felt the necessity to tend to such a paltry injury, not least when moments before his lip curled as vicious a greeting as his wolf.
The question lingered. For a moment she watched the pink blush of her blood draining into the trickling waters. “One of Need,” she said finally. The deflation of her mood treaded upon calmer waters, the joyous rush of her epiphany long since faded. Her chin sank on her knees, arms wrapped around. Ice curled her hair unnoticed. “It wasn’t always so quiet here. Old things wake and new things stir, but it’s slow. I like to keep the friends I find. They number few.” Brief consideration furrowed her brow into pained honesty. She had tried her best to help Calvin, and he had helped her in kind. But perhaps it was only a debt owed. She watched him from time to time, but he did not seek her in return. And Jon? He had been gone a long time, even in the inbetween place. “Well, one. They number one.”
Mara’s tower loomed, the story blended with the memory of her confession. One paint flecked finger rose as Nim tried to squeeze her thoughts into a more linear fashion. The kin had his own resonance if she let herself focus the wrong direction. She closed her eyes. “She is held against her will, in the waking world. But I am stuck here. The grimnir visits me from time to time, but I know his help will have a price. I asked for a secret, and the grey lady answered. She brought me here.” A gentle shrug followed, like the effort of plucking even that much toiled.