09-11-2020, 07:05 AM
“No, it isn’t, dearest one.” Her dark gaze was unblinking. She touched his chin so as to be sure she commanded his attention, and spoke firmly. “They hunt us because they are afraid, and what men fear they seek to snuff out. Ironically, it is the surest way I know to create a monster. On both sides of the divide.”
She had no idea what Li imagined she did for a living, and neither had he asked, despite how much of his own life he had already shared. Nor did she believe he would ask, but she thought he must have some understanding that she was a weapon. She had not baulked at strangling him unconscious the night before, nor had any great trouble in doing it. The fingers that so gently cupped his chin had taken countless lives, and felt no remorse for it. But like any powerfully lounging predator, capability did not equal intent.
Of course the boy was dangerous; Nhysa had not been blind to the flying fireballs, even if she had been adept at ignoring them. But danger only ought to be accorded respect, not fear. No child asked to be born different. No creature deserved to be maligned simply for what they were. The Atharim were wrong.
“You are afraid,” she observed. Her tone was not particularly comforting, but neither was it scathing. Rather, she simply spoke aloud as she fathomed him out. “And that is why you sent him away.” Her grip shifted, and a finger pressed against his lips. She had not finished, and did not wish to be interrupted, even with a correction.
“How many times do you think that may have happened to the boy since he left your cult? Cast away. Hunted. Feared.” She had a soft spot for the odd and outcast; for anything, really, that made its home in the shadows. Li already knew that though, for they had philosophised at length over the wolfkin they had observed at the Almaz. In any case, she suspected the boy had chosen Li’s dojo with purpose, and had perhaps hoped for a kinder welcome. Especially if he had any inkling of the tattoo that would have once marked them brothers.
“This kingdom is yours, Li. You choose what does and does not happen here. But you put an open invitation across the door, dear one, and you cannot complain if it attracts a little trouble.” A smirk lifted the corners of her lips, and the finger against his mouth moved to tap him playfully on the nose. She was about to shift to offer him a hand up, but a question occurred then, tilting her head with the new consideration instead. “The Ascendancy offered clemency for Atharim that denounced their loyalties and registered with the Custody. Did you accept?”
She had no idea what Li imagined she did for a living, and neither had he asked, despite how much of his own life he had already shared. Nor did she believe he would ask, but she thought he must have some understanding that she was a weapon. She had not baulked at strangling him unconscious the night before, nor had any great trouble in doing it. The fingers that so gently cupped his chin had taken countless lives, and felt no remorse for it. But like any powerfully lounging predator, capability did not equal intent.
Of course the boy was dangerous; Nhysa had not been blind to the flying fireballs, even if she had been adept at ignoring them. But danger only ought to be accorded respect, not fear. No child asked to be born different. No creature deserved to be maligned simply for what they were. The Atharim were wrong.
“You are afraid,” she observed. Her tone was not particularly comforting, but neither was it scathing. Rather, she simply spoke aloud as she fathomed him out. “And that is why you sent him away.” Her grip shifted, and a finger pressed against his lips. She had not finished, and did not wish to be interrupted, even with a correction.
“How many times do you think that may have happened to the boy since he left your cult? Cast away. Hunted. Feared.” She had a soft spot for the odd and outcast; for anything, really, that made its home in the shadows. Li already knew that though, for they had philosophised at length over the wolfkin they had observed at the Almaz. In any case, she suspected the boy had chosen Li’s dojo with purpose, and had perhaps hoped for a kinder welcome. Especially if he had any inkling of the tattoo that would have once marked them brothers.
“This kingdom is yours, Li. You choose what does and does not happen here. But you put an open invitation across the door, dear one, and you cannot complain if it attracts a little trouble.” A smirk lifted the corners of her lips, and the finger against his mouth moved to tap him playfully on the nose. She was about to shift to offer him a hand up, but a question occurred then, tilting her head with the new consideration instead. “The Ascendancy offered clemency for Atharim that denounced their loyalties and registered with the Custody. Did you accept?”
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