12-31-2017, 11:52 PM
In a flash, it seemed, her emotion had changed. Gone was the fight. Gone the refusal to back down. Gone the energy that had driven this earth goddess to teach him humility. Quiet acceptance....except that did not fit Valeriya. She was passion embodied.
Instead, he was declared Awakened, like that. He did not see the fire he'd seen in the empty lot outside. He did not see the desire that turned to animal rage when Illarion has seperated them.
Her smile was fiendish, but her words carried venom, barbs hidden among sweet expressions of belief. Was there a twist in her words, there at the end? His imagination?
Something was wrong. He tried to think of what it was. It had been so very long, trying to parse meaning with another person. He had been Regus too long. Foolish, in retrospect. Even Martin had held his tongue. He spoke, not caring if others were unhappy. Ignoring the unspoken meaning in the nuance of a phrase or the set of a mouth. Others had read his mood, not the other way around.
I repent of my pride, but the habit is still with me.
The prideful him would have taken the words at face value. But Valeriya was different. He was attuned to her. He wanted to be worthy of her. He wanted all of her. Her whole heart. But he knew that meant one thing. He had to give her what he expected. Hold nothing back.
Conflict did not scare him. Indeed, he was realizing how powerful it was. Only in conflict could truth manifest itself.
If they were equals, it went both ways.
"Something is wrong. Why are you displeased?" He didn't know. He had thought he'd expressed to her what she meant to him. What more could there be?
But he wanted truth. He valued truth. Only in truth could there be true communication. More than that. "The truth will set you free."
Edited by Regus, Dec 31 2017, 11:53 PM.
Instead, he was declared Awakened, like that. He did not see the fire he'd seen in the empty lot outside. He did not see the desire that turned to animal rage when Illarion has seperated them.
Her smile was fiendish, but her words carried venom, barbs hidden among sweet expressions of belief. Was there a twist in her words, there at the end? His imagination?
Something was wrong. He tried to think of what it was. It had been so very long, trying to parse meaning with another person. He had been Regus too long. Foolish, in retrospect. Even Martin had held his tongue. He spoke, not caring if others were unhappy. Ignoring the unspoken meaning in the nuance of a phrase or the set of a mouth. Others had read his mood, not the other way around.
I repent of my pride, but the habit is still with me.
The prideful him would have taken the words at face value. But Valeriya was different. He was attuned to her. He wanted to be worthy of her. He wanted all of her. Her whole heart. But he knew that meant one thing. He had to give her what he expected. Hold nothing back.
Conflict did not scare him. Indeed, he was realizing how powerful it was. Only in conflict could truth manifest itself.
If they were equals, it went both ways.
"Something is wrong. Why are you displeased?" He didn't know. He had thought he'd expressed to her what she meant to him. What more could there be?
But he wanted truth. He valued truth. Only in truth could there be true communication. More than that. "The truth will set you free."
Edited by Regus, Dec 31 2017, 11:53 PM.