Heart of Ashes

Darkness Becomes Her

Long waves of pitch-black hair melded with the darkness surrounding her as he watched Nyx step gracefully out of the darkest corner of the room, the shadows almost seeming to hug her form like children seeing their mother after a long day apart. Her long robes clung to her, looking like she had taken the very night sky and draped it over her body, leaving it to flow behind her leaving a trail of starlit sky in her wake. Each step she took seemed to cause the room to grow darker, shadows slowly creeping out from around her when she finally stood before him.

"Hello, Mother. Feel like explaining something to me?" He spoke softly, his eyes filled with an affectionate frustration, even if it was only obvious to her alone.

A small smile crept across her lips as she looked at him, endlessly black eyes gazing at him as he watched worlds begin and end within their depths.

"And why would I want to ruin the fun so early in the game? Now come here and give me a hug. Do you know how long I have been waiting for you to call me?"

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He couldn't believe how long his Mother had been poking her fingers into things without his notice, although he still didn't know the full extent of things as she had vanished long before he was able to get her to admit to more than 'taking care of her extended family' by keeping her blessing somewhat active within the descendants of Kohmus's children.

It was most notable within specific lines through the centuries, the gift seeming to nearly vanish at times until suddenly appearing once more as the shadows would stir and dance about a child lost within a forest or cling to a teen in the desert to hide them from the burning sun. And the more he searched the shadows for memories of those he had once ignored, the more he saw a familiar curve of lips, slant of eyes, or tilt of a child's head.

Perhaps it had been the look of subdued pain on his face at her words combined with the images he saw or maybe it was the way the shadows had grown so still, but she had ended up pulling him into a gentle hug and telling him that "It will all be okay in the end. There is a reason for everything that happens, son of my heart." She refused to tell him what she meant, leaving soon after that with one last caress of her starlight pale fingers through his hair and down his cheek, looking at him as only a mother looks at their child.

It had never mattered to her that he was eons older than her, that he was not truly her child. No, she would always treat him as her son, to the point that even the legends of the ancient Greeks had no idea that she had not given birth to him, but had simply claimed him as her son because she had come to love him as such. And he had come to love her just the same, never able to deny her claim, until even her own children called him brother. Until even her husband had come to call him his son.

"Kohmus... It has been so long since you left me behind in hopes of rejoining her. Perhaps it is time to do what I should have done already and pay you a visit once more. After all, it will not be too much longer before it is time for That Day. I should make sure you will be ready when it all begins... Kohmus, I've missed you more than you could ever understand. How the endless centuries alone have pained me, oh son of my heart."

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Rae slowly walked into the club, their shoulders tense as they searched for a corner where they could simply observe the colorful scene that humanity had created within the large room. Neon lights filled the area around the bar while spotlights shone down in various colors upon the people dancing below. They would never fully understand humans, but their fascination with them kept them coming back to find out more.

As they slid into a seat farthest from the noise of the dancers, Rae took a small sip of the chilled water, a few slices of lime floating amidst the chunks of ice. Water slowly slid down the side of the glass until it finally dripped down onto the neon green band shirt they wore, the slightly worn words hard to make out.

"Is this seat taken?" Rae glanced up as they heard the softly spoken question, just barely audible above the music.

Standing there with a hand on the back of an empty chair was a man, his lips curved up into a wide smile as he looked down at Rae. Shrugging, Rae shifted slightly so their legs were no longer sprawled under the chair the man wished to sit in.

"Don't own the chair, so you are welcome to it if you want it," they said, plastering a smile on their face as they turned to look back at the people dancing amidst the lights that changed color every so often.

"You shouldn't force a smile like that. It doesn't suit you and I'd rather not have to see it after finally getting the courage to say hi to the only interesting person in this whole place," the stranger said with a soft chuckle as he pulled out the chair and sat down, elbows coming up to rest on the table as he leaned forward. "You look like you need someone to talk to tonight. I've got two ears if you want to borrow one?"

Looking back at the man, Rae gave him a thoughtful look for a few minutes before shrugging and turning away once more. "The person I like only sees me as a friend. Not because of who or what I am, that stuff doesn't matter to her any more than it matters to me. No, I'm simply too afraid to say anything to her and ruin what we have. And now I might have lost the chance to say anything. I saw how he reacted around her, I'm not blind. He felt something and once he gets curious about something, he doesn't let it go. He can give her anything and everything if he wishes to. How do I compete with someone like him if he decides he wants her?"

"Isn't it up to her to decide who she likes? But if she never sees you as more than a friend, you just need to decide if that will be enough for you to stay her friend or if you need to let her go. Sometimes things are meant to happen a certain way and it isn't up to us to decide which way that is, only how we are going to move forward from there. We rely upon the sun to rise each morning, but we aren't the ones who make that happen. It's up to the gods to see to that. All we can do is pray they will continue to bless us with their light. So, what will you do? Mourn a loss before it has even come or try smiling and letting your friend know she will always matter to you, no matter who she chooses to give her heart to?"