Nightshade

Luka - No Regret, No Lies

Luka bit his lip "to be honest,  I've been thinking about the question since we got here,  since before the riddle. It struck me that it must be either the Smith or the wielder,  and well... I think it was Roland.  A blade,  no matter how fine,  it's truly made by what it's accomplished in the hands of it's most true User,  the blade is yet incomplete when it leaves the forge,  and a false tale behind it means nothing beyond entertainment. The truth... lies in action." He bit his lip and looked up at the massive statue of Roland, at her beautiful face and the strong lines of it,  at the hair,  carefully carved into a simple half pony,  and the simple yet elegant armor.  Lastly,  he looked up at the blade,  and the smaller silvery section of it. He knew it in his heart.  This was right.  He got up and began to walk over,  Shavronne grabbing his arm "wait... I..." Luka looked back at him "you won't lose me Shavronne.  After all,  I'm sure of this,  and that's all the riddle asks,  right?" To be honest,  he was a little scared they weren't right,  but he felt in his heart they were.  He leaned up and kissed Shavronne as the others watched,  seemingly unsure of what else to do.  Luka got out some rope and slung it around the statues neck,  and began climbing up the statue with the ropes assistance.  His forearms burned with exertion,  but he felt more sure with every step up the statue.  He finally reached the top, getting up onto it's head,  and he gulped, realizing he would have to climb up onto the arm,  he couldn't reach the tip of the blade from here. He climbed up,  stretching for handholds.  He felt his palms sweating,  and he wiped them on his jacket before continuing.  The air vents thrummed as though the very air was filled with the power of the blade.  He finally reached it,  and without hesitation,  he took hold of it,  pulling it away.  With a solid pop, it slid free of the rest of the statue,  and words echoed in his mind,  ancient and powerful "you have begun this journey.  You can never turn back." The phrase was ominous,  but he didn't feel afraid, more... forewarned. He jumped down,  using his delicate wings to flutter down.  He still wasn't strong enough to fully fly with them,  but he could use them to descend slower, as though gliding. He landed, and his heart leapt in relief and joy as he realized he must have made the right choice! He ran to the others,  who were gathered close by,  and Shavronne pulled him into a crushing hug. He panted a bit,  adrenaline still pumping hard.  "I... I did it shav!" He pulled away,  smiling proudly "you did... now let's get out of here." Luka and the others set up wires to rappel down, wind and snow battering them. and they quickly descended, careful to stay as close together as safety would allow. They finally reached the bottom,  and in the cover of the trees and cliffs,  the blizzard and raging storm... calmed.  Reduced to a soft, lovely snow with little wind blowing the flakes in swirls.  Shavronne stepped over to him as he got to the bottom "I know it looks calm here,  but the choppers would crash if we were to take off now.  Let's make camp here,  at the base of the cliff. Two people to a tent, make sure you keep the insides as dry as you can and close up those flaps.  We'll reconvene in the morning. They set up the tents,  and split up,  hera sharing a tent with Kelli, uriel sharing one with eri, and jophiel and mirral in another. Lastly of course was his own tent,  shared with his lover. They got in their tents,  shut the entrance,  and Shavronne lay with Luka,  their heavy coats shedded, unneeded in the warm sleeping bags.  Luka gently interlocked his fingers with the other,  looking into his eyes. "Shavronne... you seem upset still.  What happened?" The man was quiet,  his eyes filled with hurt.  "I saw her luka..." Luka knew exactly what he meant "it wasn't really her shav. It was what aeris forced you to see. For better or worse,  she's gone. In the past." Shavronne nodded and chewed his cheek "...it felt so... real... and awful." Luka softly kissed shavronnes warm lips.  "I know.  It'll never stop feeling awful,  what you did... all you can do is continue to do better. You owe it to your victims to not give up. And," He added with a small smile "to me.  Don't forget what I said." Shavronne blushed. On the helicopter,  Luka had shared with Shavronne that he wanted to marry him, when time allowed. Luka took another second,  debating bringing it up.  Shavronne looked at his conflicted face, and he reached out of his bag with the other hand,  cupping luka's face.  "What is it,  Libelle?" Luka looked away and bit his lip "it's... dumb.  I shouldn't bring it up when things are so... dire." Shavronne raised an eyebrow. "You have piqued my curiosity, please tell me." Luka looked into the others eyes,  searchingly. What if... he laughed? Or worse,  was upset? He shook off the bad thoughts.  He knew Shavronne would accept him,  no matter who he was. "Shav... I... I don't know if I'm a boy" there it was.  The first time he dared voice that little thought.  Shavronne lay in stunned silence.  "What?" Luka felt a little panic at the response,  and words came pouring out.  "When... my father... when he did what he did,  he forced me to be a girl,  and so I reacted instinctively.  I forced myself as far away from him and what happened as I could.  But in more recent days,  I find myself looking at beautiful dresses,  and hera, and well... my own body.  Luka was of course referring to his small breasts and dual genitalia, a marker of his fae heritage. Some fae, like himself,  were born somewhere between a male and a female,  he had learned.  For a long time,  it had made him insecure. But... he had come to love his body.  Love the beautiful soft curves of it,  how Shavronne touched it so lovingly... Shavronne spoke slowly, trying to choose his words carefully so as to not be misunderstood.  "Luka... i... I'm thankful you came to me about this. I know this is a very personal decision, but please know this.  I'm with you every step of the way.  Just like you are for me.  And if you'd rather wear dresses and go by a different name,  or whatever else makes you happy,  that's fine with me.  I want you to be happy Libelle." Luka blushed,  feeling his eyes well up with tears "i... I'm still thinking,  but I wanted to tell you first... thank you Shavronne."