From the ashes a fire shall be woken

[bakeneko_excolo]

Voronin Manor, Wednesday, October 14th, Dusk

The sun was in the sky when the ember went out. It should have been a flare. A blazing inferno. Loud and changing the world. I am left with echoing ash in the corner of my mind.

Boku recovered from the choked bite of the late breakfast. I wrapped myself tight in ash and let him have his day with the boy of

Comments

[a_cheval]

Day off today. Stopped by the Boy to see Miss Miao, then met up with Boku to go riding. Cause I don't get enough of that every other day, course. Seen the smoke too, only it was right out the other side of town, and I don't reckon it was nowhere with folk in, cause there weren't much of a rush to stop it. Not much you can do when it's that far from the river anyway

[bakeneko_excolo]

I hear Pollux's whine first. Then the soft tread of Luke's feet in ash. Everything is ash. My eyes are dry, harsh with gritty salt, but his touch springs it loose. Hot tears against night. Against the darkness.

My knees still touch ash. "She is gone." Voices should not sound hollow. Grief is a selfish thing.

[a_cheval]

Know it ain't nice but I swear I nearly snatch my hand away when he speaks, cause it comes sorta sudden and even if it's real quiet it's real... just different. But I don't. "Who- um, who's gone?" Frown round at what's left of the place, and sure, there's a bit of wall here and there, old joists that ain't burnt quite through, slabs of marble cracked right in two.

"There weren't folks in here, surely?" Oh, god. That's horrible. When I look down the monster's crying, and I swear it twists something up inside me I never even knew was there. "you ain't had a friend in here, have you?" Fuck. And I never even knew, and all day it's been smouldering away, and... god.

Don't know what to call him, even. Crouch down next to him and touch his arm and tilt my head a bit, and it sounds sorta stupid but I say it anyway. "I'm real sorry. Maybe they weren't in here, though. Probably they're just staying at the Whitechapel, you know, till they get somewhere else to stay, or..."

[bakeneko_excolo]

He trails off as I shake my head. It is slow but certain. "She was here." I shape the words clearly despite my throat rough and tight. "Anushka Betsemianova Voronin. All ashes."

His eyes are heavy with compassion and, though the tears do not cease, I feel an easing within. "She was my first friend. First one to see me and smile, not shudder or cry out." I am not so young to think I shall have no others, not now that she opened the door. These things mean something. What else have you opened, oh my dear one?

My eyes focus on Luke once more and I remember something that I should tell him, "I kissed her. I did not realize the finality, it was a kiss goodbye."