I THINK IT'S TIME THAT
YOU CRAWL BACK HOME SON
YOU CRAWL BACK HOME SON
Perhaps it is the heat licking at his spine, the sun beating down endlessly, perhaps it is simply a trick of his own treacherous mind; as he approaches the third guard, her bay coat shifts to a painted golden color, to the shape of his mother before the fire had stolen away her original body. Around him, he no longer sees sand, but the castle walls of Zion filled with smoke and ash, can hear the crackling of the flames as they edge closer and closer to the room where he and his mother faced off against each other.
“Please, let me live…” Adriana had begged, too, and it only strengthens the hallucination’s hold on him. After everything she had done to him, every attempt she had made to ruin him -- how easily she had resorted to begging, how quickly she had realized the monster she had created and set loose upon herself. He remembers -- he remembers the crack of breaking bones, so that she couldn’t escape the flames, except she had, hadn’t she?
She had burned and she had been reborn, except here was his chance to do it properly, to make sure she wouldn’t come back to plague him ever again.
Every step towards the guard brings back another memory of his mother’s hatred, of every word she had ever sneered at him, every attempt she had made to break his spirit into one of her willing pawns; they flash through his mind and fuel his rage into an inferno until he finally shatters beneath the trauma. The piebald leaps forward with all of his weight, grasping at her throat and wrenching until he hears the tell-tale snap of her neck breaking, until he can taste blood on his tongue when his teeth tear into her aorta, and when he releases his grip the guard collapses onto the sands with a gurgling gasp.
Despite the heat, he begins to shake, fighting off the grip of the hallucination until the sands swim back into view. Above him, the vulture caws in delight, swooping down and beginning to feast on the corpse before him; his stomach turns, and he clenches his eyes tightly closed, turning away from the sight.
He is supposed to be learning how to be gentle.
He is supposed to be trying not to be a monster.
Perhaps that is what he will always be, deep inside.
“Speaking.”
“Please, let me live…” Adriana had begged, too, and it only strengthens the hallucination’s hold on him. After everything she had done to him, every attempt she had made to ruin him -- how easily she had resorted to begging, how quickly she had realized the monster she had created and set loose upon herself. He remembers -- he remembers the crack of breaking bones, so that she couldn’t escape the flames, except she had, hadn’t she?
She had burned and she had been reborn, except here was his chance to do it properly, to make sure she wouldn’t come back to plague him ever again.
Every step towards the guard brings back another memory of his mother’s hatred, of every word she had ever sneered at him, every attempt she had made to break his spirit into one of her willing pawns; they flash through his mind and fuel his rage into an inferno until he finally shatters beneath the trauma. The piebald leaps forward with all of his weight, grasping at her throat and wrenching until he hears the tell-tale snap of her neck breaking, until he can taste blood on his tongue when his teeth tear into her aorta, and when he releases his grip the guard collapses onto the sands with a gurgling gasp.
Despite the heat, he begins to shake, fighting off the grip of the hallucination until the sands swim back into view. Above him, the vulture caws in delight, swooping down and beginning to feast on the corpse before him; his stomach turns, and he clenches his eyes tightly closed, turning away from the sight.
He is supposed to be learning how to be gentle.
He is supposed to be trying not to be a monster.
Perhaps that is what he will always be, deep inside.
“Speaking.”
@
note: the vulture is a persistent hallucination that eik likely won't be aware of unless he's still watching mattie's mind at this point lmao
