[AW] Here comes the sun...

[Coraline]

The silver girl-child knew self-punishment all too well. She knew the emotions that went with it…the desire to be free of it, but being unable because you feel your punishment is not harsh enough; not long enough; not “done” enough to pay for what you’ve done. But she was not one of the lucky ones. She did not go numb from the stress. Instead, it consumed her, making her into a wreck of nerves and fear, uncertainty and worry. To go numb would be a welcome relief; but perhaps that would make her everything she was not…she would lose all that she is. That just wouldn’t do. She had been on the mountain searching for answers, for miracles. She was searching desperately for something she knew she could never have again. Her dead best friend. He had been burned when Fantome set their home on fire…returning to look for her; but she was not there. Locked away in a magical coma that did not allow her to mentally grow, or to tell anyone she was alive; she was in the land in-between the living and the dead. He searched for her, was burned by a falling branch, seared and cooked while he screamed in pain. But he was able to get free. He found a new herd, and with his dying words, demanded that they tell her how much he loved her. She never had the chance to do the same. She was in love with him. From the moment she met him, a tiny child trying to push her away from his mother; she loved him. Their adventures, their games, their stories. She loved each and every moment of it. But now it was gone. She wanted to ask Oriens to bring her friend back; to let her at least tell him how she felt. It was all she had wanted from the moment she learned of his death. Hooves clattering nearby made the silver child hide in the trees; as hidden as a girl made of silver and black can do. She saw him approach an altar and drop his head. Certainly he had miracles he wanted, too, for why else would you come all the way up here? She stood where she was – hidden – and her tiny voice rang out to him. ”What miracles do you seek?” Perhaps he would think her a disembodied voice, or perhaps he would see her. The filly didn’t know, but either prospect scared her. You see, Coraline is mentally but a yearling, thanks to the magical coma she was in. Her body is matured as a three year old, but she hadn’t been able to grow mentally while she slumbered. As a child with an awful past, she fears everything, convinced everything is a monster out to eat her. She has much growing and learning to do. So, in her mind, he was going to kill her, too; but she had learned that she would rather face it than to run away scared. Worse than him trying to eat her…what if he actually thought she was one of the gods? She could no more grant wishes than sprout wings from her ears. She shuddered at the thought. She stared at him through the trees with her button eyes and waited. ”Speech”

| Silver chain from the pirate siren | Blue Macaw feather in mane | Image © Firenze Design @ Deviant Art