6/10/2025, 2:37 AM
His eyes never dared to avert from hers, unwavering, catching even the quietest of movements with a stoic calm. He saw the faint furrow of her brows, the shallowness to her breath-- yet, still, no words parted from his lips. He merely observed as her honeyed gaze fell to the ice floor, searching, as if an answer lied hidden within its twisting veins.
She doesn't remember. Her admittance, soft and genuine.
And if he had not witnessed his own descent from the heavens-- unscathed, his windswept fur his only testament-- perhaps he would have labeled the woman a fool. But his birth into this strange land remained a mystery as well. They both were united in a dance of madness, placed in a world that seemingly reserved no place for them. Until memory served him, the two stood on equal footing.
The man allowed the word 'astray' to drift within his mind for a touch longer, like smoke in the atmosphere. A silent exhale left his lungs. He had yet to make sense of it all. The heat of the sun lapped at his spine, and Voss remained retreated in his silence, his gaze veiling his unspoken thoughts. And for a moment, his irises drifted to the world beyond. The wintery titan loomed, his presence as cold as the glacier, indifferent. Not quite welcoming...but neither dismissive. And, for him, that was enough.
"Only the gods know," Voss murmured, his tone blunt, each word coated in frost as his breath curled into the air. The man took a few steps forth, halting by the ebony woman's side and dipping his head to her shoulder. Proximity did not shake his composure. He took in her scent, sifting through the shelves of memory, trying to trace her notes back to some familiar region.
Perhaps in vain.
"...But to be led astray, you'd first need to have a place of belonging."
Yes. He knew where he was supposed to be. Where he belonged. And as one who operated under the code of the divine, a haunting thought loomed overhead: perhaps this was punishment. Voss drew back, gesturing his head towards the horizon's blue edge.
"How long have you been here? Where do you hail from?"
She doesn't remember. Her admittance, soft and genuine.
And if he had not witnessed his own descent from the heavens-- unscathed, his windswept fur his only testament-- perhaps he would have labeled the woman a fool. But his birth into this strange land remained a mystery as well. They both were united in a dance of madness, placed in a world that seemingly reserved no place for them. Until memory served him, the two stood on equal footing.
The man allowed the word 'astray' to drift within his mind for a touch longer, like smoke in the atmosphere. A silent exhale left his lungs. He had yet to make sense of it all. The heat of the sun lapped at his spine, and Voss remained retreated in his silence, his gaze veiling his unspoken thoughts. And for a moment, his irises drifted to the world beyond. The wintery titan loomed, his presence as cold as the glacier, indifferent. Not quite welcoming...but neither dismissive. And, for him, that was enough.
"Only the gods know," Voss murmured, his tone blunt, each word coated in frost as his breath curled into the air. The man took a few steps forth, halting by the ebony woman's side and dipping his head to her shoulder. Proximity did not shake his composure. He took in her scent, sifting through the shelves of memory, trying to trace her notes back to some familiar region.
Perhaps in vain.
"...But to be led astray, you'd first need to have a place of belonging."
Yes. He knew where he was supposed to be. Where he belonged. And as one who operated under the code of the divine, a haunting thought loomed overhead: perhaps this was punishment. Voss drew back, gesturing his head towards the horizon's blue edge.
"How long have you been here? Where do you hail from?"