#foughtforthefuture

It was starting to come together ... kind of. Very slowly.

Maybe she was kidding herself as the days and weeks began to slip by, with tiny steps being the only way to mark their progress. The house being made weather-proof again. Clearing the junk from the hidden harbour. Clearing the undergrowth and brush from where the fields used to be.

It was hard work, but it was getting there. Little by little.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Sarah eyed the tilled ground before her and gave a silent thanks that the field was only small. The lay of the land here at Caem meant small patches or workable ground were squeezed in at different points along the slope, unlike Galahd with its level ground of pastures for crops before the steep mountains and canyons took hold.

The ground was broken up and turned over, so next came planting. If the field was any bigger, Sarah knew she wouldn't have managed it on her own, and getting machinery all the way down south to Caem, and then up the steep slope just wasn't feasible. Closing her eyes as the salty wind blew around her, she checked her phone; no messages yet. From Caem to Meldacio was a five-ish hour drive with no traffic and no stops, but Kaleb and Selena had planned to make a few pitstops along the way to collect some supplies for Meldacio. A two-day round trip.

That had seemed daunting a few weeks ago, bust she had come to like the quiet solitude of Caem. The stronger floodlights at the road had been extended up the slope on the edge of he land, lights strung up along the pathway they had reclaimed. Lights meant safety.

' could you have picked a place any further south? the captain's given me a week, so i'm at your disposal.'

The voice made her freeze, knowing in a split-second who it belonged to, but afraid to turn around in case it was her emotions playing games with her. But Sarah did slowly turn around and lost her breath when she saw Nyx standing beyond the repaired fencing. She had crossed the ploughed earth before she knew it, pulling her boy into a needy hug.

"Nyx! I can't believe you came all the way here." She had asked him to swing by if he could, but it had been a hopeful dream; he had his job and life in the Crown City. Taking a step back to look Nyx up and down, Sarah couldn't keep the huge smile from her face; she hadn't seen him since he left Galahd.

"Tell me everything! How have you been? Libertus too!"

So much for a hero‘s behavior.

Somnus stood silently as Ulric unloaded his curse-riddled barrage of questions.

Some of the man‘s anger was understandable, but that did not mean he was deserving of answers. If Somnus even could give him those.

Truly, he had had no reason to follow after the hero. If this had been like all the fights and wars waged before. But now something had changed. The world had shifted. The last few kernels of sand would fall through the glass‘s neck soon enough.

And that was enough reason for Somnus to walk Eos and follow after this hero for a while. Because Nyx had been his last physical anchor.

„You are too aggressive. No one will give you answers to your questions like this.“

Somnus underlined his words with a throw-away-gesture, as he stepped past Nyx.

Keeping his armor on, it probably detached Ulric from the thought that he was anything but a faceless old king, who only came to judge and take his life. But for now that was the better alternative.

He still wasn’t accustomed to this new skill, and that was down to lack of proactive; it was difficult to improve on something when he didn’t have the time or means to practice it over and over again. 

But Petra didn’t know what else to do when Ulric had stormed from the hut and set his sights on that hunter heading to Kaleb and Sarah’s house. Marco, wasn’t it? One of the older hunters calling for ‘Ulric’ to come out and talk; Dave was calling a meeting in Old Lestallum later and no doubt Kaleb was wanted at it.

Okay, so the landing left a lot to be desired and Fortis coughed as she air was knocked from his lungs; he felt like he wanted to throw up. “That’s not important, what the hell were you thinking?! Pulling out a knife in the middle of HQ and getting ready to warp-strike, get a grip Ulric!” 

❝You look bored, Sir Ulric.❞

Truth be told, she was actually bored. Left one gilded cage for another, now spent her morning pacing the grandiose room of the Citadel that the King had prepared for her (even with the short notice). Feeling especially trapped with the myriad of maids that came in, oh, every five minutes to dote on her and the Glaive that stood ever vigilant... There must be something more exciting to do within these walls, yes? Even Ravus eventually grew bored of keeping such a strict watch of her back in Tenebrae, allowed some wiggle room.

A brow quirked in Nyx’s direction.

This was the one who stole mother away. The one who claimed to be her son. Pathetic little excuse of a child that he was.

His laugh was obnoxious. His whole stance was. His entire being.

He had a streak that was like this blond rat he had made his own. Reno. They both thought they always were in control. Well, reno surely wasn’t in control anymore… and Nyx would be the next.

That was the sole thought that kept Micah from continuing his wail for his mother. His focus shifted. Pale eyes boring into the man that stood there.

Failure son.

“… of course you aren’t looking for forgivenes...”

Pressing his face against the bars, fingers clawing around them, Micah’s lips parted in a teethy smile. His eyebrows slowly raising in mockery.

“You have proven that with how you treat your own mother… have you ever asked her for forgiveness? Probably not. You would never. You are too prideful. Too full of yourself… your mother could give you her last breath and you would rip it from her without sparing her a second glance.”

Tilting his head slowly, Micah’s eyes narrowed. He had seen him before… but where? There were only bits and pieces of memories. Of light and darkness. Dust and debris. Power and battle.

“...what is that empty and hollow destiny of yours?”