The Sheathing of the Sword [DRAFT; DISCARDED]

Moonlight Musings

Keys jingled as the door to the apartment opened. Elegant dress shoes stepped onto the brilliant, lush purple welcome mat, and the door closed behind the man. Pale moonlight filtered in through the wall-length, transparent windows in the dimly-lit pent suite apartment; the light was almost as pale as his skin. The man set down his briefcase and removed his elegant, slender black trench coat, hanging it up on the ornately-carved and polished wooden coat rack by the door. 

Soft, slow steps treaded across the plush carpet as the man took his time, hands in his pockets as he made his way towards the ceiling-high window. His pale yellow scarf trailed behind him in his wake. He passed by the elegant and sumptuous couches placed artistically about the suite, as well as the easels upon which stood canvas portraits -- some done, others waiting to be started. His elegant shoe-clad feet carried him past the materialistic belongings he possessed, taking him to the enormous window.

The moon shone in all its glory, dominating the night sky with its luminescence. He stared at it, admiring the celestial body; it was truly a magnificent sight, standing out among all its companions in the sky, even though they were stars and it was not. That didn't stop it from shining the brightest amongst all those in the sky, and showing off its brilliance.

He usually only had eyes for the moon, but tonight he looked at the other stars. They were bright, to be sure, but they did not hold a candle to the moon. They never could. Most people would consider stars a far more respectable and impressive natural phenomenon than a satellite like the moon, but he was not most people. He disagreed very much with the majority opinion. The moon was beautiful, brilliant, underappreciated. It was the reason for tides as well, not to mention the obvious benefit of reflecting light and enabling humans to see even at night.

Most people simply considered the Sun the better of the two celestial bodies that dominated the sky every day and night. The sun provided warmth and life and light, of that there was no dispute. He simply felt that while the Sun got its due appreciation, perhaps even more so than it deserved, the moon was largely ignored. It was a bit upsetting that so many people chose not to acknowledge its beauty. 

But, then again, most people were stupid anyways.

 His dark eyes flickered between the stars and the moon. A small smile came to his face. Something supposedly inferior by nature was ultimately more outstanding than those stars that were born with the advantage of generating their own light. Fitting, he thought, for with hard work, even the born weak could defeat those blessed with natural disposition towards strength. Just like how the moon now outshone all those stars, a literal brilliant example.

"Are you watching this, old friend?" he asked quietly, to no one in particular. No one that could hear him here, anyways. "You were the Sun to my moon, always shining so brilliantly, side by side. Are you watching me now, as it is my time to shine?"

There was no answer; he didn't expect one. Silence reigned supreme in his apartment suite. Cars drove by on the street far below him, headlights shining and traffic lights flashing, but there was no blaring of the horns. No commotion. Most were asleep. When darkness fell, most fell to sleep along with it. Not him, however.

The night was when he felt most alive.

He admired the night as well. It was generally associated with darkness and malevolence and evil, but that wasn't necessarily the case at all. True, it may be associated with the unknown, but to him, that was simply all the more reason to appreciate it. Curiosity was a glorious thing, especially one as insatiable as his; it drove him to question, to investigate, to contemplate and theorize about everything he experienced. The unknown wasn't a danger to him -- it was a challenge. And he certainly enjoyed his challenges.