Post by Oziah Daybreaker on Aug 16, 2023 8:56:08 GMT
Delilah drifts into consciousness, woken from sleep by the shifting of the mattress under her. Oziah has left the comfort and warmth of their bed. In itself this is nothing unusual but when a minute becomes two, becomes three, she cracks one eye open, squinting into the familiar darkness of their bedroom. The shadows are deep and dark, circling Oziah where she stands in the middle of the room, barely visible in the low light from the banked fire. Delilah can’t see her face through the curtain of dark hair but she can read the tension in her back through the silk nightgown, every muscle locked in place. The only movement is the slight trembling of her hands, held up in front of her like a mystery to be studied and solved.
“Oziah?” A pause, and her voice sharpens in worry. “Is everything alright?” She pulls back the covers to swing her feet out and onto the cold floor.
Oziah turns her head slightly to look at her, her eyes narrowed and thoughtful, something ferocious on the surface of her face, a force begging to be let loose. She draws a deep, shuddering breath, and lowers her hands. A small, incredulous laugh escapes her.
“Better than alright.”
She takes Delilah by the hand and throws open the balcony doors.
The rain drenches them in minutes but Oziah will not be deterred, leading Delilah up to the north-west tower. Still holding her hand, Oziah stops for a moment, turning her face up to the elements. Her wet hair clings to her cheek, her nightgown to her legs, the bare skin on her arms is covered in goosebumps from the chill, but she seems beyond notice or care. She lets out another laugh and turns to Delilah, smiling wide.
“Do you trust me, my love?”
“Always,” the reply is instant.
Oziah lets Delilah’s hand slip from hers, slick from the rain, and climbs onto the parapet. Below her is a sheer drop into darkness, 60, 70 feet of nothing before she’d hit the ground and smash her skull open, but she’s laughing still, her delight almost childlike. She holds her arms out wide to Delilah, asking her to come join her.
Darkness glitters in the pale woman’s inky black eyes. Lightning flashes. In the second of blindness after the light, shadows coalesce to form the shape of her, solidifying as if Delilah was already there. Her arms encircle Oziah as her obsidian gaze never leaves her love’s sapphire blue.
She kisses her - mouth a brand of fire in the cold rain - and holds her tight, arms around Delilah’s waist, and drags her over the side.
For an endless moment there is nothing but rushing wind and darkness, and if this is how they die then at least they die together, skin against skin, but then Oziah’s eyes open, glowing. The normally cobalt eyes are a piercing shade of pale turquoise, so bright they’re almost white. In a burst of dark feathers a pair of massive wings extend from her back, stretching wide and carrying them both upwards again. Where she’s clutching at her, Delilah can feel the muscles tightening in Oziah’s back as she works the enormous 15-foot wingspan against the current of the wind. She climbs high, carrying them both further into the night sky until Fort Ettin is a toy castle far beneath them. The rain stops and Oziah pauses hovering mid-air, pure joy on her face. She seems beyond words, nothing escaping her but vindicated laughter and endless kisses that she scatters across Delilah’s face.
From the dark below, a shadow detaches itself from the rest and flies up to join them. Deimos lets out a piercing cry - not unlike a bird of prey - and circles them in a wide loop where they hang suspended.
Oziah rests her forehead against Delilah’s, calming her breathing.
“It’s time,” she says, with a smile deadlier than any sword. “I have my wings. I have a castle. I have a sword that rests well in my hand and fighters I can trust will come when I call.” She kisses Delilah again, once, quickly and fiercely. “You. I have you, my love. My shadow of death. I wouldn’t have any of the rest without you. I could not have done any of it without you, and with you by my side we’ll finish it. Archon. Leomar. Ankaa. They won’t stand a chance.”
A gust of wind buffets them but Oziah is an immovable rock in the sea of the dark sky.
“Together we are unstoppable.”
🇮 🇼🇦🇸 🇭🇴🇺🇸🇪🇩 🇧🇾 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇼🇦🇷🇲🇹🇭
🇹🇭🇺🇸 🇹🇷🇦🇳🇸🇫🇴🇷🇲🇪🇩
🇧🇾 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇬🇷🇴🇺🇳🇩🇪🇩 🇦🇳🇩 🇬🇮🇻🇮🇳🇬
🇦🇳🇩 🇩🇦🇷🇰🇪🇳🇮🇳🇬 🇸🇨🇴🇷🇳
🇷🇪🇲🇪🇲🇧🇪🇷 🇲🇪, 🇱🇴🇻🇪
🇼🇭🇪🇳 🇮❜🇲 🇷🇪🇧🇴🇷🇳
🇦🇸 🇦 🇸🇭🇷🇮🇰🇪 🇹🇴 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇸🇭🇦🇷🇵
🇦🇳🇩 🇬🇱🇴🇷🇮🇴🇺🇸 🇹🇭🇴🇷🇳
“Oziah?” A pause, and her voice sharpens in worry. “Is everything alright?” She pulls back the covers to swing her feet out and onto the cold floor.
Oziah turns her head slightly to look at her, her eyes narrowed and thoughtful, something ferocious on the surface of her face, a force begging to be let loose. She draws a deep, shuddering breath, and lowers her hands. A small, incredulous laugh escapes her.
“Better than alright.”
She takes Delilah by the hand and throws open the balcony doors.
* * *
The rain drenches them in minutes but Oziah will not be deterred, leading Delilah up to the north-west tower. Still holding her hand, Oziah stops for a moment, turning her face up to the elements. Her wet hair clings to her cheek, her nightgown to her legs, the bare skin on her arms is covered in goosebumps from the chill, but she seems beyond notice or care. She lets out another laugh and turns to Delilah, smiling wide.
“Do you trust me, my love?”
“Always,” the reply is instant.
Oziah lets Delilah’s hand slip from hers, slick from the rain, and climbs onto the parapet. Below her is a sheer drop into darkness, 60, 70 feet of nothing before she’d hit the ground and smash her skull open, but she’s laughing still, her delight almost childlike. She holds her arms out wide to Delilah, asking her to come join her.
Darkness glitters in the pale woman’s inky black eyes. Lightning flashes. In the second of blindness after the light, shadows coalesce to form the shape of her, solidifying as if Delilah was already there. Her arms encircle Oziah as her obsidian gaze never leaves her love’s sapphire blue.
She kisses her - mouth a brand of fire in the cold rain - and holds her tight, arms around Delilah’s waist, and drags her over the side.
For an endless moment there is nothing but rushing wind and darkness, and if this is how they die then at least they die together, skin against skin, but then Oziah’s eyes open, glowing. The normally cobalt eyes are a piercing shade of pale turquoise, so bright they’re almost white. In a burst of dark feathers a pair of massive wings extend from her back, stretching wide and carrying them both upwards again. Where she’s clutching at her, Delilah can feel the muscles tightening in Oziah’s back as she works the enormous 15-foot wingspan against the current of the wind. She climbs high, carrying them both further into the night sky until Fort Ettin is a toy castle far beneath them. The rain stops and Oziah pauses hovering mid-air, pure joy on her face. She seems beyond words, nothing escaping her but vindicated laughter and endless kisses that she scatters across Delilah’s face.
From the dark below, a shadow detaches itself from the rest and flies up to join them. Deimos lets out a piercing cry - not unlike a bird of prey - and circles them in a wide loop where they hang suspended.
Oziah rests her forehead against Delilah’s, calming her breathing.
“It’s time,” she says, with a smile deadlier than any sword. “I have my wings. I have a castle. I have a sword that rests well in my hand and fighters I can trust will come when I call.” She kisses Delilah again, once, quickly and fiercely. “You. I have you, my love. My shadow of death. I wouldn’t have any of the rest without you. I could not have done any of it without you, and with you by my side we’ll finish it. Archon. Leomar. Ankaa. They won’t stand a chance.”
A gust of wind buffets them but Oziah is an immovable rock in the sea of the dark sky.
“Together we are unstoppable.”
🇮 🇼🇦🇸 🇭🇴🇺🇸🇪🇩 🇧🇾 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇼🇦🇷🇲🇹🇭
🇹🇭🇺🇸 🇹🇷🇦🇳🇸🇫🇴🇷🇲🇪🇩
🇧🇾 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇬🇷🇴🇺🇳🇩🇪🇩 🇦🇳🇩 🇬🇮🇻🇮🇳🇬
🇦🇳🇩 🇩🇦🇷🇰🇪🇳🇮🇳🇬 🇸🇨🇴🇷🇳
🇷🇪🇲🇪🇲🇧🇪🇷 🇲🇪, 🇱🇴🇻🇪
🇼🇭🇪🇳 🇮❜🇲 🇷🇪🇧🇴🇷🇳
🇦🇸 🇦 🇸🇭🇷🇮🇰🇪 🇹🇴 🇾🇴🇺🇷 🇸🇭🇦🇷🇵
🇦🇳🇩 🇬🇱🇴🇷🇮🇴🇺🇸 🇹🇭🇴🇷🇳