09-11-2025, 11:54 AM
He got up and she didn’t watch, just let her eyes drift shut. The mattress dipped moments later with his returned weight. She heard the deep exhale of a sigh.
“For someone who says he can’t feel anything, you do a very good impression of wallowing.” Her tone was dry, and sharp enough to be mean, if it were anyone but Ori speaking anyway. “And yes sweetheart, I know you’re not.” Ori rolled her eyes and shucked the blankets to move about the room languidly retrieving her clothes.
What Nox said sounded like a confession. Something he was afraid to admit, as though he had been holding on to a sliver of hope for some time. Hope was always a mistake though, and perhaps Nox was beginning to realise it. She knew he wasn’t seeking advice, or even her opinion. Certainly he wasn’t looking for consolation. And perhaps because he wasn’t looking for any of those things from her, she was inclined to give a response. She eyed him as she pulled the tank over her head.
“You’re the lowest you’ve ever been and Rafael isn’t here. Does it actually matter if you were ever on the same page? Clearly you aren’t now. It was what it was. A little blip of sunshine. You need to get over it already.” As she spoke she pulled the packet from the pocket of her pants, just far enough to check it was still there. A glare darkened her eyes as she shoved it back in, then left the pants draped over a chair.
Oriena was cruel but also straightforward. Yesterday was yesterday. What Nox would get out of reexamining the past for truth was precisely nothing, unless tarnishing all those memories helped him finally move on. Given he was the one who’d pissed all over their fairytale, maybe he needed to feel like he’d dodged a bullet. Rafael might look like an angel, but he was still just a man.
She expected him to sigh, in resignation or because he felt she missed the point. She didn’t care either way, and returned to the bed to get comfortable while he ordered the food. His tastes changed there too, though it didn’t bother her either way. She watched him with a benign sort of curiosity: the ways he was both different and the same.
“For someone who says he can’t feel anything, you do a very good impression of wallowing.” Her tone was dry, and sharp enough to be mean, if it were anyone but Ori speaking anyway. “And yes sweetheart, I know you’re not.” Ori rolled her eyes and shucked the blankets to move about the room languidly retrieving her clothes.
What Nox said sounded like a confession. Something he was afraid to admit, as though he had been holding on to a sliver of hope for some time. Hope was always a mistake though, and perhaps Nox was beginning to realise it. She knew he wasn’t seeking advice, or even her opinion. Certainly he wasn’t looking for consolation. And perhaps because he wasn’t looking for any of those things from her, she was inclined to give a response. She eyed him as she pulled the tank over her head.
“You’re the lowest you’ve ever been and Rafael isn’t here. Does it actually matter if you were ever on the same page? Clearly you aren’t now. It was what it was. A little blip of sunshine. You need to get over it already.” As she spoke she pulled the packet from the pocket of her pants, just far enough to check it was still there. A glare darkened her eyes as she shoved it back in, then left the pants draped over a chair.
Oriena was cruel but also straightforward. Yesterday was yesterday. What Nox would get out of reexamining the past for truth was precisely nothing, unless tarnishing all those memories helped him finally move on. Given he was the one who’d pissed all over their fairytale, maybe he needed to feel like he’d dodged a bullet. Rafael might look like an angel, but he was still just a man.
She expected him to sigh, in resignation or because he felt she missed the point. She didn’t care either way, and returned to the bed to get comfortable while he ordered the food. His tastes changed there too, though it didn’t bother her either way. She watched him with a benign sort of curiosity: the ways he was both different and the same.
![[Image: orianderis.jpg]](http://thefirstage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/orianderis.jpg)