[AW] the devil

[Abrin]

you are a murderer,
no matter how beloved

     It was a serious matter, but Abrin couldn’t help but crack a bit of a smile at Luvena talking about the firstborns owing her a blessing. It wasn’t that he doubted her, more that he agreed perhaps and enjoyed her willingness to comment that the world had cut her short too many times. She was owed repentance from the firstborns and Abrin wouldn’t have been surprised if she ended up being the sort of creature that would claim that favor even if she must shake the heavens to do so.

     It was her next question that surprised him a little bit. He met her gaze. Abrin could understand her grief, her frustration at the firstborns. Heretic was unpredictable, made from pure, unbridled chaos, but no one ever expected Heretic to save them. To worship and pray to a divine being with the utmost reverence, only to have them look upon your suffering and be unmoved? It made Abrin believe that the firstborns were crueler than Heretic himself.

      As he listened, his brain churned on the question she had presented him. Did he regret being king? It wasn’t a question he had ever let himself linger on much. Abrin didn’t do too much during his short reign, but he kept the Heretics together - for better or for worse. “No. No, I don’t regret it. To have had the opportunity to cause chaos and be the one orchestrating it all? I could never regret it.” It was a half-truth. He gave her a bit of a playful grin in an attempt to make it all the more believable. Abrin knew fully well that his rule was a jumbled mess in his heart. Regret wasn’t something that he tied to being king, but it certainly was a feeling that was inextricably coupled to a few events that had occurred during that time. Through and through, that stallion was and will always be a creature who thrived in chaos, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed suffering. Suffering and chaos may often be linked, but they are independent systems. Sure, Abrin can be a tyrannical, sadistic, wicked creature, but such traits only reared their nasty heads when it was their turn in the little game. They were simply actors in this grand play.

     The fallen king wished that were the same for those that had followed him. Heretic had wanted chaos, and with that Abrin was content, but so many had taken it further than that. Actions he had endorsed, that he had a helping hand in, left his stomach-churning. Abrin knew perfectly well that a tight leash would get him bit, and oh what sharp teeth those of the Heretics had.

     It was after a small moment of silence with his gaze shifting back out to the water that Abrin let words hum from his dark lips, “I do not envy you, little bird. Heretic may have not been kind, but not once have I ever believed they were to be relied on. For a godly being to feign love for its followers then abandon them in their time of need? That is perhaps crueler than anything Heretic had ever done.” He looked back at Luvena, “Would you have still followed them if you knew what was to happen?”

@Luvena



“Speaking.”

[Luvena]

Luvena

 



She saw the smile that came after her words if only he knew how much they had really owed her a blessing... Io Kairavi had won a wish from the firstborns. and just as the starry-eyed mare had given Luvena her leadership, she had also given her, her wish. A wish she would never regret using. Liatris had been one of the best things to happen to her, even if the rest of her life had been falling apart. He was her light. He still was, no matter where he found himself now. 


She wondered if he told the truth about not regretting it. She supposed it wasn't knowledge she would ever be meant to hold.  The grin that played across his lips was awfully convincing though. It reminded her to stay on her guard.  She dipped her head to the water to cool her throat while she listened, disturbing their reflections on the lake. 

"I..." she hesitated, lifting her head from the surface of the lake. "Part of me says I wouldn't... They played my heartstrings like a cherub plucks a harp. Giving me a home and letting it burn, letting me lead and then doing nothing to keep that leadership out of the hands of those who would abuse it. "  She smiled softly. "But another part of me knows I still would. Acrux gave me the ability to bear a child, something I thought I would never have. Vega gave me my life, and a place among the stars" She looked up to the sky, the sun having fully set had given way to the stars, which had slowly blinked themselves into existence.  Her eyes locked onto one spot, where she knew, had the firstborns magic not faded, her constellation would have been sitting just above the horizon.

She turned around to walk out of the water, the cold becoming too much now that the sun was gone.  "I suppose this is a new start for both of us" she stated as she reached the shore, turning back around so she could face him. "neither of us has a reputation here. We get to build a new one. For me, that means telling every person I meet that I'm capable of standing on my own. Most days that is." she let a small laugh huff out of her mouth, her breath visible. The spring air was still cold at night. "What does it mean for you? I'm not so hopeful as to think you won't try to stir up trouble. Though perhaps this time you'll think to do it in less harmful ways.... You don't seem nearly so terrible as I thought you would be, no offense. " she took the moment to lay down on the shore. Truthfully she was no more vulnerable there than she was standing up. "It's nice" she murmured "To speak to someone who knows"

@Abrin

Table © Camy