azrael
“Your mother sounds very wise.” For a moment, he paused, wondering if his own mother had been wise. It was a strange thing, not knowing the woman who gave you life. There were days he longed for the idea of a mother, but then, Azrael had never known the comfort of a mother’s touch, the love in her embrace, the warmth in her gaze. It wasn’t possible for him to know how much he had missed out on, but Azrael liked to think she would have been as kind as she was beautiful.
When she asks about his father, Azrael explains, “My people are called the Shed-Stars, and we come from a place far beyond these mountains. I know no father, and no mother. We know only the Tribe – and the tribe takes care of their own.” It was an overly simplistic way to explain his communal upbringing. While he didn’t have familial bonds to fill his childhood with laughter, there were different memories to warm his dreams.
He wonders where she came from – but she does not offer, and so Azrael does not pry. It was not in the stallion’s nature to steal away one’s secrets. To be honest, it wasn’t in his nature to even offer so much of his own story. Normally, Azrael was far from the others, lost to his mountains and his stars. But tonight, something had called him to this place, to her company. Call it intuition, or maybe an intervention of Caligo herself… but whatever the reason, Azrael was grateful. Despite his best intentions, he found the girl a rousing sort of company. He knew that beyond tonight, she would still be in his dreamscape. A vivid dreamer, it never failed to surprise Azrael when powerful events in his wakeful times assaulted his dreams. Elena, at least, would be a welcome addition.
When she nods to his suggestion, Azrael lets out of breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding – a breath of anticipation. “You cannot lose me, for the Caligo’s light will never leave me,”“Here…” he leans forward, slipping his glowing amulet from his neck and offering it to her. “To help you see, and to chase away the darkness.” As it nestles against her, there is a soft turquoise light which splays ahead, just bright enough to illuminate her path. “Be careful,” his voice is a hush against the wind, “for the path is crude and uneven.” It is not so dangerous to climb the mountains, but requires at least some dexterity and attention to one’s footing.
He led her through the Eventide Arch – stopping to gaze at its stained-glass windows, facing westward toward the setting sun. It is a beautiful symbol of hope, he muses – as Denocte’s gates opened to the world once more. Moving past it, they begin to climb together, leaving the festival behind. Upward they climb, toward the heavens, and through the fog layers which kissed the mountains. As the misty haze cleared, it became evident why Azrael loved the peaks so much.
Above them was nothing but heaven and indigo skies. Stars burst through the darkness like shining diamonds, several blazing across the sky, begging for wishes to be made. Azrael could count the constellations now, his own breath in his throat as he is taken once more by the beauty of it all. Every time he watched the night sky, it never failed to leave him breathless. “Look, just there…” he motions Elena toward a cluster of stars. “It is Aquila, the eagle… and there beside it, the Milky Way. On a night like tonight, the hazy band of stardust is brilliant and bright, like a great swath of silver painted across black. There is enough light now from the stars alone, that they need not rely on his glow for guidance. Now, it is Caligo who leads them – Caligo and their stars.
He turns to watch Elena, wishing to see the wonder through her eyes, and wishing to reach out and brush the strands of wind-tossed hair from her cheek. This touch was reserved for lovers, he knew, and so the man of aurora stardust resists… but Azrael offers her a quiet smile as she turns toward him as well.
This time, he doesn’t look away. “Have you found your mystery yet? His voice is a hushed whisper, almost stolen away on the summer wind, a whisper for only her to hear.
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