The Nightscape

Giving In

A few days later, Lyra was seriously beginning to doubt her own capabilities. Anya had needed a lot of rest and food and drink to recover, and even then she wasn't back to her same self. Fighting off any monsters that came for them, and finding enough food was hard. She could always feel Xidros in the back of her mind, always waiting for her to call on him. She didn't. She wouldn't. Even as she felt time ticking by, even as she knew that the other members of his 'council' were being picked off and turned immortal one by one, she refused to speak to him. But she knew that she couldn't keep Anya safe for much longer, and certainly not forever, even if she was refusing to entertain that thought. 

"Lyra, I think we need to let this go." Anya said as they awoke one morning, her friend offering up what little food she had managed to scrounge to her. She wouldn't meet Lyra's gaze, staring at the ground and forcing the words out. Immediately, Lyra's hands dropped and she shook her head. 

"No, no, don't say that. We can still make this work." Lyra said, trying to force a smile onto her face. But Anya just shook her head. 

"No, Lyra, we can't. Even without Zidros coming after us, I don't think we can survive out here for much longer. Besides, let's be honest, the others will have either all been turned immortal now, or they will in the next couple of days. And then I'll be the only one left to focus on." She pointed out. Lyra shook her head again. 

"No, I'm immortal, and once I get the hang of this looking for food, I'll be able to give you a better chance. You just need to bare with me a little more." She insisted, looking around to see if she could find anything else for Anya to eat, just to prove her point. Anya shook her head. 

"Lyra, you aren't listening to me. The issue isn't even with surviving, it's with the fact that an incredibly powerful being who can and will possess us is going to be wanting me back to the library any time now. We- we can't fight that, Ly." She said, shrugging, tears welling in her eyes. Lyra swallowed. 

"But- but then what do we do? If we don't fight it, then what do we do?" She said, sitting down on the ground, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. Anya looked at her, being reminded of how they were ten years ago, when they had first met. Anya moved across to sit next to her, resting her head on Lyra's shoulder. 

"Do you remember that time in high school when the headmaster implemented a new uniform that we didn't like? And you wanted to start off a petition and get it revoked, but you'd done so many of them that no one would sign them anymore?" She asked her softly. Lyra shook her head. 

"Of course I remember, I was called out in assembly for it. It was bloody humiliating, how could I forgot?" She said, her voice tinged with sadness. Anya smiled. 

"That was a bit like this, you know? No matter how ugly the uniforms are, we couldn't get them to change it, and no matter how much we dislike Zidros, I don't think there's anyway to get out of this. And maybe that's okay." Anya talked to her, picking dirt out from beneath her nails nervously. Lyra thought on it for a moment. 

"Are you saying what I think you are?" She asked Anya, her tone impossible to gauge. Anya nodded. 

"I mean, if I had the ultimate choice, I don't think I'd be choosing to become immortal. The idea of living for a very long time is great, the idea of living forever absolutely is not. But if there's nothing else we can do... we may as well save our energy for later battles. If they're forced to drag us back there, it's going to be really hard to earn their trust. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?" Anya asked her, pulling away from Lyra to look her in the eyes. A small, slightly sad smile crossed her face. 

"I think so. Take 'em down from the inside?" Lyra asked. Anya nodded, a sly look coming over her face. 

"Exactly. I think that we both agree that what Zidros wants to do is wrong, correct?" She asked. Lyra sighed and nodded.