#next chapter will be plot oriented

Their loom was one of the few pleasures they could afford. With everything that had been going on with Will lately, it had slipped Alyss’s mind one of the things she did in her free time. She put herself to work that very hour. She knocked all the dust of the last few weeks off her shoulders and remembered through muscle memory how to weave again. It wasn’t long before she was an expert again.

All of that happened after breakfast. She had to make sure of something before she began.

Will woke up a little later than usual. She expected that, because of how late he stayed up the last night.

Thinking about that night made her heart hurt. She had never seen him that way. Remembering the words he spoke, and the way he held onto her for dear life was like pushing her heart into her stomach.

Don’t think about it, she told herself. Don’t think about it, or you’ll just cry again. It was too late for that… and it was too early to cry.

Then she heard the door open. Will walked out of their room, hair tousled even more than usual (which was saying a lot; no matter how hard Alyss tried to tame it, his hair wouldn’t cooperate with her or anyone) and looking like he just… well, woke up.

Looking at someone when they woke up was, in Alyss’s opinion, one of the best ways to see somebody. All their walls are down, and somehow they trusted you enough to be the first person to see them that day. All naturally. Like that…

Like that, he looked like the embodiment of the forest. He was the warm, fresh air and a clear sky. Beautiful piano music. Rough, unpolished sketches explaining deep thoughts. He was beautiful from all the wrong angles.

Alyss’s heart swelled with love when she saw him. And, just like that, all of her tears were gone. “Good morning,” she greeted. It was now.

 They spoke nothing of the night before. All the things they wanted to say had been delivered and received, and the only thing to do was cry about it. But they wouldn’t do that.

Alyss explained, very vaguely, leaving about two thirds of the important stuff out, her new plan to save Will. He didn’t quite understand it, and she didn’t want him to. But she had one rule:

“While I am weaving, never, ever watch me.”

Will’s eyebrows raised, then came together. He took another sip of his coffee before replying. Will was, for some reason, really obsessed with coffee. He would joke about waking up every day just to drink coffee, whilst completely ignoring his girlfriend’s existence.

“Why?” he asked. “Will you get flustered by someone looking over your shoulder?” He chuckled, a little, as she did the same.

“Just don’t,” she said. “Promise me?”

“Yeah, whatever you ask. I don’t know why, but,” he took another sip, “I won’t look at what you’re doing.”

Alyss smiled. “Thank you,” she said.

Now she could begin.

 It hurt. It did.

If you’re feeling physical pain, then to take it away you can to concentrate on some other form of physical pain… like squeezing your fist together and digging your nails into your skin, or pinching yourself. In this instance, Alyss didn’t distract herself with a smaller form of physical pain. Everything, and all she needed to make this bearable was the thought of Will.

Alyss hissed, tugging at another feather that didn’t come out immediately. She decided to take a break for a second, to try and ease the pain… but every second she spent trying to heal herself she felt Will’s life slipping through her fingers.

She glanced down at her arm, again. No longer was it covered in spotless, almost delicate looking white skin… but instead, gorgeous, snow white feathers. They were her favorite part of herself, and now they were worth almost nothing. Not to her. But to others…

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tore out another perfect feather. Tears were welling up now in her eyes… every time she tried to ignore the pain, it got worse… She told herself she would get used to it in time.

But she had pulled enough now. A small pile of feathers rested on top of the loom. She pushed the other thoughts away so that could concentrate on morphing her arm back into a human’s. Once it was back, she could see evidence of that destructive act. Small cuts ran along her arm, backed by a large, red rash, probably there because of the stress she was putting on her skin. But it was small enough that she could wrap it in a bandage later. Nothing that wouldn’t go away in a day. Tomorrow she could pluck from her other arm.

Alyss began, slowly, easing herself back into the rhythm of incorporating something new into her process.

Once she was getting the hang of it, she began to sing a version of a folk song Will had taught her a few seasons ago… It had been “Sunshine Lady”, but she created her own version, “Sunshine Lover”, which better fit Will and sounded gentler to her than the gender specific version.

“Sunshine lover,

Color of beauty in your hair.

Happiness is the gown you wear.

I would follow you anywhere,

My sunshine lover.”

A smile crept to Alyss’s lips, as she remembered when he sang it to her. He was sitting with her by the fire, one arm around her, the other around their dog. He knew, from her open eyes, that she wasn’t close to falling asleep. And Will didn’t tell her he was singing her a lullaby to make that easier… but he didn’t have to tell her for her to know.

“Spread a little light around, sunshine lover

Isn't it true?

I love you, la da da daa.

Spread a little light around,

Sunshine lover.”

Every night, she would curl up next to him and he would sing to her, whether she was having trouble falling asleep or not. Every night, she memorized that melody a little more. Every night, while the harsh winter raged outside their window, she would try to stay awake a little longer so that his voice would never go.

“You are the one who lights up my sun.”

Alyss smiled, because, in her heart, a tiny piece of hope was glittering. She held up her work in front of her… the first of many. The cloth wasn’t highly priced, but her feathers would be.