chaos and control | druig ✔︎

22 | blind

22 | I would know him blind

2023 - Tiamut's place of emergence

"You're not powerful enough to do this." Ajak stated, her voice clearer than ever, just like the message. "And you won't."

"Didn't you always say I could never learn how to fly? Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but I can fucking fly." Hestia hissed. She wasn't lying. Ajak had once told her that she didn't have enough control over her powers to fly, but today, she had proved her wrong.

"You're not a killer." Ajak continued, as if she wasn't hearing what the girl in front of her said.

"You don't know what I am." Hestia raised her voice. "You never came to check on me after we all left. Not once. How can you know what I've become, Sprite?" The girl spat out the name, like it was some sort of disease to her.

"Are you really going to follow Ikaris blindly?" She continued. "Is that- "

Hestia felt something piercing through her abdomen, right through her armour, like it was nothing. Looking down at where she thought the wound would be located, she saw nothing. Though soon, a knife appeared, clearly being held hidden by one of Sprite's illusions. Hestia gasped slightly, letting her eyes glide over the landscape, trying to find where the girl was hiding.

Ajak disappeared, but still Hestia could not see where Sprite was.

"I'm sorry, Hestia." She heard a whisper from behind her.

"Yeah, nice saying that after you stab me." Hestia retorted. Her legs gave out from beneath her, knees buckling under the weight of her body. Right before she fell over, she turned her head back to Sprite.

"So, do you want your knife back?" Hestia asked. "Or can I keep it?"

"I always envied you." Sprite looked down at the girl who was laying on the ground, holding her stomach. "And Sersi." She added.

"Because you get to live as one of them. And I never could." Sprite started to get angry.

"You know why I hated living with humans?" She questioned, Hestia pushing herself up from the ground with one arm, so she was sitting upright. "Because they reminded me of things I never even know I wanted."

"Because of them, now I wanna know what it feels like to grow up." Sprite's face contorted, her voice breaking slightly.

"Hey! You just had your first voice crack!" Hestia joked. "You're going into puberty!" Her lame joke only caused her in getting glared at by Sprite.

"I wanna know what it feels like to fall in love too!" She yelled, jealous of Hestia. "To have a family. And to know, in the end, I've lived."

Both stayed silent, Hestia letting the words get through to her, and Sprite calculating her next move. She held up her hands, making multiple more volcanoes appear.

"Asshole." Hestia whispered, narrowing her eyes at the girl.

"It's all over now." Sprite informed her, walking closer. "We get to start over somewhere new."

Out of nowhere, Hestia heard a loud thump, and Sprite's head flew forward, her body soon following. She dropped to the ground, unconscious, revealing who was standing behind her.

"Well, that was very moving." He stated.

"Druig?" Hestia asked in disbelief. "Hold up, does this mean I'm dead?" She looked down at her body, frantically trying to find a stone to hold. Grabbing ahold of one, she exhaled. "Phew, I can still hold things, I think that means I'm alive."

Druig smiled at her, strolling closer and grabbing her hand, pulling her up from the ground and wrapping his arms around her.

"So, how?" Hestia gazed into his eyes when they let go of each other. "How are you alive? I saw what Ikaris did to you."

"Can't get rid of me that easily." He smirked, leaning his forehead against hers and pecking her lips.

"Now, what do we do with this knife?" Hestia motioned towards the knife that was still lodged in her abdomen. Druig stared at it, a small gasp leaving his mouth. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, though I'd be much more comfortable if it would be gone." She deadpanned. Behind her, she read footsteps nearing. Turning her head around, she saw that Sersi was running up to the two.

"Oh Sersi, thank god, can you get this knife out of me?" Hestia almost begged the woman. Sersi looked at the two and Sprite, who was still passed out on the ground. "Sure." She sounded unsure, but she held her hand up to the knife, turning it into water.

"Thanks." Hestia nodded. "Oh, by the way, I don't think I can do it, not like this. I'm not powerful enough." Sprite's words as Ajak had gotten to her, more than she'd like to admit.

From beside Hestia, Druig nodded at the other woman. "This is your fight now." Hestia put a hand on Sersi's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. Druig's arm was around Hestia's waist, steadying her, seeing as the stab wound was slowly weakening her.

Sersi peered at the volcano, the only one that remained after Sprite's illusions had faltered. She exhaled, preparing herself, and sprinted over to the mountain.

Hestia felt Druig's gaze on her, and she turned to look at him. "You sure you're okay?" He asked, cupping her head with his free hand, tightening his grip on her waist with his other hand. "You're starting to look a little pale."

"It's not like this is the first time I've been stabbed. This is like the, what, third time?" Hestia quizzed. "I'll be fine." She detached herself from his hold, her legs giving out from beneath her within a second.

"Correction, I'll be fine as long as you'll hold me." She smiled sheepishly, making him chuckle and hoist her up from the ground. He wrapped his arm around he again, and the two walked over to the beach again.