#eclipse saga

happy 11th birthday to the eclipse saga. one of the most epic and wild undertakings i ever engaged in as a writer. two different MiMs, three pitches, a corrupted nightlight and a myraid of super dope ocs thrown together with the rest of the guardians [and a random fuck off elf] to make the wildest plot I've ever gotten to do.

Asher looked around the room, once so familiar to him, now it seemed foreign and strange. He hadn’t been away that long at yet, in that little time, he’d forgotten so much. He’s forgotten how to relax now that the constant danger of the forest was gone. He’d forgotten what it was like to have a regular sleep schedule and often found himself lying awake for hours while his father and brother slept, or he’d feel sleep tugging at him when the sun and activity were at their highest.

Most, though, he’d forgotten his brother’s smiling face, the way his eyes creased as he laughed, the musky scent of his dad’s old jacket wrapped around his shoulders, his dad’s calloused hands cupping his cheeks.

He honestly hadn’t thought he’d see them again when he left initially - not really, deep down - yet here he was, swaddled in a blanket in his usual chair, propped up by practically all the pillows in the house, food simmering in a large pot over the fire in the centre of the room, Jarek sat at his feet, making shadow puppets on the ceiling while their dad chopped vegetables to add to the stew.

Asher stared up at the ceiling, watching as Jarek’s rabbit changed into a dog, then a bird.

He wanted to join in and make his own shadow animals but given that one of his arms was encased in bandages and hurt to move, he wouldn’t be able to make many.

He couldn’t do anything since the Eclipse. His memory after the initial explosion was foggy but he did remember waking up in a Lunar detention cell, unable to properly move his legs and with pain radiating through his right hand side. He’d been badly burned by the Eclipse’s energy. His injuries had been bandaged - presumably by a Lunar medic - but he was in agony all the same, red hot pain stabbing through him whenever he moved. He’d remembered the first time he got sunburnt as a child, crying desperately as his father had tried to soothe his raw skin. It was like that but magnified an unthinkable amount.

He hadn’t been able to walk properly since, thanks to both the pain in his burnt leg and his already temperamental muscles deciding to give out under the strain of the past few months.

Jarek has carried him all the way back to the Solar kingdom, not complaining once even though Asher was sure he was far too heavy, even for a Solar with enhanced strength.

‘Food’s ready,’ said his dad, breaking him out of his thoughts. Just how long had he been lost in those memories?

Jarek helped him balance a tray on his lap to hold his bowl. His dad had been the one to come up with the idea of using a tray now that one of Asher’s arms was out of commission for the foreseeable future.

‘Like when you were a kid, remember?’ he’d chuckled. ‘You were always spilling your food.’

He and Jarek has both done so much - the second a problem arose, one of them had the answer. When Ash got tired of having his food brought to him in bed every day, Jarek had volunteered to carry him between rooms whenever he wanted and had come up with the pillow idea when it it became apparent that Ash couldn’t stop himself slipping down his chair without something hurting.

His dad had been cooking all his favourite food since he came home and would lay awake with him at night, talking about this and that until Ash finally fell asleep.

Jarek would read to him when he got bored, his father had blankets stashed in every room in case Ash fell asleep.

They’d done everything they could for him and yet... and yet there was something lingering deep in his chest that neither of them could fix.

He knew they knew it, too. He’d seen then exchanging small, worried glances when they thought he couldn’t see. He hated to worry them but the ache in his chest just wouldn’t go away. Maks. Was Maks alright? He knew he was alive thanks to the Lunars who had watched over him while he was detained but other than that he knew nothing.

‘Hey,’ said Jarek gently, fingers brushing over Ash’s uninjured arm. ‘It’ll get cold.’

Trapped in his thoughts again. Asher sighed and made a small noise of recognition, picking up his spoon. Jarek steadied the bowl for him as he ate, making sure he didn’t knock it over.

‘Thanks,’ said Ash, quietly.