#judgementbound

[ x - accepting / @judgementbound​ ]  " sometimes people go and they don’t come back. "

     T'was in shadowed corners of bustling taverns that the loneliest of thoughts liked to seek refuge in wandering minds. With spirits in hand, and stories to tell, but no such audience to listen for a spell. Or rather, no one who would understand. The laughter, the anguish, the morals tucked between the lines of pages whose ink had long since dried.

     A boisterous bard, that was what he was known to be. A riot, a good time, a sight for sore eyes to those loyal few. Ever armed with tales of highest grandeur, and those of deepest sorrow. About the archons, their warriors, and those valiant all around. From the mightiest of heroics, to the most scandalous of white lies guaranteed to make one gasp, blush, and cry blasphemy all at once. Yet tonight, tonight he was but one of many. Just another patron, another bogged down in quiet rumination, seeking answers at the bottom of a cup.

     Eyes downcast and fueled with one drink, two, ( who was keeping count at this point? ) in the lull of conversation, admist the silence which followed, did Venti nearly forget that he was not quite as alone as it seemed. Lost in pitiless reverie, it was the voice that drew him out of it - familiar, startling, but a comfort all the same.

     " Since when did you become a mind reader? " Venti teased. " Must be a neat party trick, think you could teach me? " A diversion, a slight of words meant to conceal the truth, masked with a smile more teeth than genuine glee. There were those it worked on with flawless ease, and others with which there was no hope. He already knew which category his companion would fall.

     As such, did a lone finger twirl the rim of his glass ( half empty, or would it be half full if the mood were a tad lighter? ) Shifting in his seat, spine straightening from its slumped beginnings, a breath of air was pushed free at last - an exhale that released the momentary persona in little more than hushed whisper. " I know. " Whether it be death due they part, a difference of opinion, or a fond farewell. Mortal and immortal alike were bound to come and go… So why then, did their ghosts haunt him so?

     You'd think one would be used to this by now.

     He was not bereft of one who would know, who would understand, and yet… Yet the words held the oft waggling tongue captive, the truth rooted deep within his throat. Vines snared tight, unforgiving in their hold. Thus, a diversion, for what was one more between old friends?

﹙      @judgementbound      ﹚   ︰        «      𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥      »

this bone - deep divinity,      draped so carelessly:                burdened to those that live each millennia with a new face,      to bid farewell in spirit and in soul,      eyeful of the ever - parting mortal coil.      a breath from deity lungs that drafts   the very winds   upon which all birds soar      —          [      he thinks he could envy them,      perhaps,      with such unfettered freedom in their flight,      taken to the sky like it was   their birth right.      ]          formed to the sound of heartened laughter,      sincere in the way only   age - old acquaintances   can be.      soft tailwind carries the hue of his amusement along the distance that bridges two gods,      turning to face such   esteemed companion presence,      a touch of idle consideration veiled beneath exact scrutiny.

❛❛      who would have thought the day would come,      when the   immovable morax   could be   so malleable   after all!      ❜❜               for all the dramatics of his station,      glee will gladly take reign and   deposit the wealth of his mirth   at the other’s feet.              ❛❛      i can hardly believe my eyes!      ❜❜

Aether’s grip tightened upon acknowledgement; he shook his head against the other’s back- perhaps a clear sign he was upset. There was no reply otherwise- the tightening of arms, the very faint tremor.