As the Crow Flies

Mother of Anubis

Puffy closed her eyes as the misty purple portal took over her, leaving a rocky feeling in her stomach. After a few seconds, she stepped out and opened her eyes to see the barren landscape of a blinding dessert.

The weight on her shoulders and the fog in her brain kept her moving at a slow pace. She dragged her feet down the cobble stone path, towards the mighty builds in front of her. She was still carrying every bitter memory, every heart wrenching emotion from that banquet. Her throat still felt sore from all the screaming. Her limbs were on the point of breaking, as was her heart, but she kept moving. She needed to find Foolish.

The sun felt hot on her bare shoulders. She had come directly from the Red Banquet and was still wearing the uncomfortable sweat soaked gown. After all the lava, the fighting, and the suffocating tunneling, trekking through the hot desert was just adding to the wear and tear of both herself and her dress.

Still, she always enjoyed the desert. It reminded her of the ocean with its rolling dunes and open sky. The smell of sand and the sound of wind rushing in the distance. Even though she couldn't remember everything about her past, she knew that her and her son would always have a connection to the ocean.

The only things obscuring her view were the colossal Egyptian buildings that Foolish had been working on. She'd only seen this place a few times when Foolish asked her for help with design plans, but he was always nervous to show her the finished product. He'd been working on it for months and he was always so passionate whenever he talked about showing her around, but now she was slowly making her towards the temple entrance all alone and in a state of anger, fear, and grief.

She paused and took a breath before climbing down the temple stairs. The lower she went, the cooler it became. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the drastic change from daylight to darkness with the only light source coming from the dim torches and shining glowstone.

As she came up to the entrance of the dimly lit temple, she could hear the low hum of a nearby beacon and the quiet crackle of fire. She dragged herself into the room, her muscles tensing in fear of what she might find. There were Egyptian portraits and hieroglyphics painted on the walls and floor of the room. The ceiling was so high that it appeared as if it were a blackened sky empty of any stars. In the center of the room was a platform with a beacon, surrounded by four fire pits. The green light emanating from the beacon shifted with shadows being made by Foolish sitting in the center. His hood was up and he was sat crosslegged, facing the statue at the far end of the room in a meditative state.

She wanted to call out his name, but the words got caught in her throat so the only thing that came out was a stifled sob. She watched as Foolish pulled down his hood and slowly turned around to lock eyes with her. The details of his face fell in and out with the beacon's light. Puffy's whole body felt frozen. Her heart was pounding and her lungs were tired. Foolish's gaze ripped from hers as he looked down at her right side.

"Did you carry that the entire way?"

Puffy looked down and noticed the axe in her hands. Her heart stopped when she realized that she had been dragging it with her the whole way. She opened her fingers and let it fall to the floor. It was still covered in Antfrost's blood.

"I..." It was hard for her to look away from the axe, but she forced herself to look back at her son. "What are you doing here?" She asked. Foolish slowly rose from the floor and stepped out of the green light.

"I was transported here. This beacon," She saw his gaze wonder towards the weapon on the floor, "is very calming. It rejuvenates me in a way." He sounded calm, but Puffy could sense the pain and fear behind his eyes. She took a step forward which brought Foolish's attention back to her. Warm tears streamed down her face and she watched as Foolish's expression softened. She took a few more steps forward and quickly broke into a run. Foolish opened his arms and when she finally reached him, she pulled him into a tight embrace. She stuffed her face into his robe and started to cry.

"I thought I lost you." She cried. She felt Foolish shaking in her arms.

"I'm ok. I'm here now." He replied. His voice was broken and quiet. She wanted to hold him in her arms forever. She wanted to protect him from every evil thing in this fucked up world. She wanted to take him back to the sea where those fleeting happy feelings and vague misty memories took place. But the fantasy was short-lived as Foolish began to pull himself from her embrace. There was no going back. There was no way to turn back time. All they had was the present, and each other.