dawn burned

she hissed when the word lady left his lips. he was not to blame, perhaps, but the word carved through her all the same. medusa had been a lady once. a beautiful girl. soft skinned, desired, protected, or so she had believed. but she had been turned into something else.

no longer a lady, no longer a woman, no longer even beautiful. a monster, truly. over the years she had learned to polish the edges of herself. to soften her shape, to mimic humanity, to dull the terror in her presence. to avoid the hunts. to avoid the screams. to avoid becoming a legend whispered in the dark.

she had never wished for a deadly gaze. never wished to turn flesh into stone. she was not offended by his fear of looking at her. if the stories were true, and they were, one reckless glance could end him. ❝ i am not a lady ... ❞ her voice trembled, tongue brushing sharply againgst her teeth. not fragile, restrained.

❝ and you can look. it won't turn you into stone. ❞ there was irony there. a thin, bitter curl of it. it was true, though. she had learned. she had forced herself to learn. after so many years, she had choice. control was survival. ❝ you don't even know how you ended up here ? ❞

curiosity sharpened her gaze, but it was edged with suspicion. confusion flickered across his features. too genuine, almost. too unguarded. wasn't he a demi-god ? one of them ? divine blood had never meant innocence. lost, confused. or pretending. was this another trick ? another hero's story waiting to be written in her blood ?

brows furrowed and wings situate at his back the moment she deemed it safe. tanner couldn't help himself looking at her more closely after she denied being a lady. she certainly looked like one to him - minus some aspects of course. " aren't you? " his deepening confusion was genuine. " but. . .isn't eye contact how it's supposed to work? "

gods help him the one time he thought he understood something and here the supposed myth herself was telling him he'd got it all wrong. tanner blinked several times in an attempt to refocus attention. now that he'd stopped briefly fearing for his life, fatigue and hunger nipped at thin heels. " no? well yes, i mean- " he raises additional feathered limbs " - i know HOW i got here but not. . .geographically? my brain doesn't er always work right. "

❝ the gods envy us. they envy us because we're mortal, because any moment may be our last. everything is more beautiful because we are doomed. ❞