awakenerd | Aurora - Rean Heart

"Pardon me?"

"Talk of being selfish or whatever. You can't propose to take on something like this and pretend it isn't being kind."

Without missing a beat.

"I most certainly can, because it is. I am simply not someone who rests on her laurels. That is all. I will be seeing you when I am finished, Instructor."

And she's off. She doesn't really get tired in the traditional sense, and since she believes she shouldn't, that should be even less of an issue in this heart, but she is going to seriously dig graves for.

Every.

Single.

Body.

It won't take as long as a human, but she is still only one (not-)person, so it's still going to take a long time.

He doesn't say anything as she works, but he does watch her. Because she believes she can do, she can do it. But there are hundreds of thousands of dead to dispose of.

It takes a long time for one woman.

At first it also doesn't seem to do anything really. There's so many corpses that one or two or a dozen or a hundred or a thousand make no dent int the piles of the dead.

Make no dent in the atmosphere.

But, slowly, very slowly, there begins to be a shift. And as she finally finishes about halfway, the light seems to get better, less gloomy.

She's used to being in places where time shifts oddly, so spending weeks or months doing this, really is not a big deal to her.

Yes, it is terrible, but it's supposed to be.

Every time she finishes a grave, she wills gladiolus and white heather flowers to leave behind.

But knowing she is having an effect only makes her more determined, and she keeps at it.

When she is two thirds done, Rean starts crying. It's silent, but he doesn't stop.

By the time she has buried the last corpse and all that's left is the bone throne, the blood to mop up, and Rean, he's curled in on himself sobbing.

And yet now, every step is lighter and heavier, the light is not bright here but it is gentler, and the flowers bloom on every grave.

Obviously most of the graves have no markers, but some do, small stones with a name. Just as most of the corpses had no faces or even genders. Some did.

She does use her magic to wash the blood away in a pure tide, not out of laziness or disrespect, this is simply the power of water. To cleanse and rejuvenate.

She is immensely powerful, but the fact that it stretches so far...is that something she could do normally or simply because she is using the power of belief in this place?

Perhaps it does not matter.

"The gladiolus flower signifies remembrance while white heather symbolizes protection and indicates that wishes will come true," she starts, as she finds him when her work is finally, finally finished.

"Are you crying?"

oh no OH NO? Is he gonna LOSE CONTROL? why is he upset??

He's just gonna like, sob here it's fine.

Her face softens and she imagines something very specific: that, at least for now, the chains don't disappear, they simply change. He is still bound, but they become several rings around her fingers, instead. He still will retain his emotional control, the curse will remain sealed as long as these rings exist, and they will continue to exist until she explicitly wills them otherwise.

She believes this with all her heart.

Then, and only then, will she close the distance to wrap her arms around his head and neck.

For now that does not seem to trigger any kind of murder? Maybe it did work.

What is definitely happening is Rean crying against her in great sobbing hiccups, keening and seeming like he might never stop.

She gently, patiently pets his hair and does not hush him. She imagines there's so much he needs to let out.

She will wait for as long as it takes.

It takes a while. She isn't wrong. There's a lot to cry about, and when he's done he looks worn with red rimmed eyes and dark circles, just leaning on her shoulder in exhaustion.

She holds his head with superbly gentle care.

"....."

He's quieted now, all the tears wrung out, for the time, and nothing to say in the wake of them. But he accepts the comfort of her hold without complaint.

She is content to hold him here for as long as he needs, truly needs. There is nothing less than patience in her embrace. He can be here for as long as he wishes.

It's a long time. Maybe as long as it took to bury the bodies. How many months has she been here in this one place?

But he finally seems to relax and sit up.

She believes she can shoulder his feelings, so she does. It is beautifully simple. When he seems to stop, she brushes back his cheeks her thumbs, her fingers slow and smooth.

"Better?"

He nods, closes his eyes, and leans into her touch, despite having been leaning on her he still seems to yearn for the contact.

"Thank you."

His voice is horse, but he's been crying for like a year.

"You do not need to thank me. I told you I was being selfish, remember? I did it all for myself."

She wills the bone throne to be broken down--she'll bury those as well--and wills a much more comfortable couch into being.

What type of couch?

Rean shakes his head.

"It doesn't matter what you say. I'm grateful."

A chaise, actually!

"...Very well. I suppose I can make an allowance. The flowers are acceptable?"

"They're beautiful."

"Ah, well...if you think so that is what matters."

She is a little pink in the face, BUT SHE'S STILL CRADLING HIM SO HE CAN'T SEE!!!

"I know what you said about needing to be controlled, but it seems clear to me that that can be done without literally chaining you to a, frankly, what looked more like a torture device than a proper chair." Which was probably the point!! But she doesn't like it.

"...I appreciate it..."

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