#fire lizard writes

Tonight is quiet, just like every other night in Subcon. Just as bleak and dead as it always is. Tenuem sighs softly to himself, coiling up in the grass and resting himself on his tail. His mane and fur are unkempt, his body frail and weak. Despite being dead, he’s never looked so lifeless. He always had a smile on his face, but now it was gone.

He swallows down the lump in his throat and speaks softly. “It’s nice to see you again, my love...” He dares not look up. 

He lets a beat of silence pass by before he speaks again. “...It’s... been a while, hasn’t it...? I’m sorry I don’t visit as often as I would like to...” His breath catches in his throat. “...I wish I had been there when they came. Maybe then... It would have been different.”

Another long pause. He can’t help but shed tears now. “...Funny, isn’t it...? The king of death itself... Can’t even bring back the one he loves most...” 

He cracks a bit of a smile as he touches the tombstone. He fights to keep his smile. He has to smile, he has to do this for her, just one last time. “...The Witch is due to break free again today, my love... I... I won’t have the strength to fight her this time... I used all of it up protecting you... And even then I failed...” 

A strangled cross between a sob and a laugh escapes his throat, nearly tearing up his composure as much as his heart was torn just a few days ago. “I-I guess, when she comes for me, when she- When she finally kills me... We’ll be together again.” 

Finally, he lets himself cry for the first time in days. He hardly cares for how he looks. Nothing particularly matters to him anymore. 

“...I... I’ve already evacuated the forest,” he croaks softly, removing his hand from the tombstone and placing a bouquet of flowers before it, “We don’t have to worry about any of the kids... It’ll only be me that she’ll get.” He leans forward, planting a kiss on the cold stone. His heart aches, remembering the warmth of his wife’s screen. “...I’ll see you soon, my dearest Athene...