The sky burned.
Not a healthy fire, not pure, cleansing reds, oranges and yellows. This was a sickly blaze, obscured by smoke like poison and threaded with desperate veins of lightning.
It was a sky from a madman's nightmares of the end of the world.
"Wake up," muttered X'zenn, in case he was the madman. "Wake from this." Alas, he did not. It had been a vain hope. After all, he seemed cursed to remain sane, where so many others...
Incongruously, he found himself thinking of Nihka. A slight curve to his lips. That he should remember the name of an Outsider.. but then, she wasn't just any Outsider, was she? A goddess. A goddess of the night, of the moon, the midnight sun. Of passion, that. Of love.
If the Nunh was a god, it made sense for Outsiders to have gods too, right? Weaker gods, to be sure, but.. powerful in their own ways. That he, X'zenn, Warlord of the Glade, could have killed her, fighter to fighter, he had little doubt; that he had not wanted to, and more, was not sure he could have wanted to, was proof enough to him of that power.
She should be a goddess of the Falling Stars. Of the Blessed.. if they could take Outsiders' weapons, their ways, their books and inventions, they could well take their goddesses too, right?
A shock of realization; surely that was exactly what the Nunh had been doing, bringing her to them. Taking her to the Caves... and, without a doubt, taking her. Over and over, to win her over to him... Who had won that battle? For battle it surely was.. and that X'zenn himself did not automatically assume the Nunh's victory, as he should, was proof enough that the beautiful moon goddess had sunk her long, long fangs into his own soul...
"You have an interesting expression."
His expression turned flat, suppressing both the fondness of memory and the disturbingly sharp pang of jealousy as he imagined the black-skinned female in the Nunh's arms. Turning, he regarded the male beside him with what he hoped was studied indifference, tinged with irritation. Irritation which grew as the male in question's own smile widened fractionally in response. He clicked his tongue.
"Do you have nothing better to do, X'indro?"
"Right now? Not really. Like you - and X'ioun, and X'akkel, and Rrain - I wait on X'ogun's pleasure. Also like you, my mind wanders to fond memories... oh, don't look at me like that. I won't tell. So. Whose pretty face occupies your thoughts?"
"You see too much..." muttered the northern Warlord, irritated.. though not especially worried. He understood X'indro, too. And so, rather than evade.. "The dark-skinned Outsider. Nihka." A twitch of brows was his reward; he'd surprised the pink-eyed male. X'zenn smirked, though the expression faded quickly. "I wonder what she would think of this place. If she would see the beauty.. the love, in this.. nightmare."
No response came, and so after a moment the Warlord turned to regard his fellow, and found him pensive. That.. calculating thoughtfulness of the male that made him so dangerous. X'zenn's ears twitched back a fraction; had he made a mistake? But the other Warlord grinned suddenly.
"The world is changing quickly, isn't it? Ah, look.. he returns. Success, I think."
X'zenn followed his gaze. X'ogun was walking back from the floating metal board.. the console, he'd called it. His expression was closed, but there was that in his stance that agreed with X'indro's statement; the Fallen had figured out how it worked.
"I know not if there is love to be seen in this," the Southern Warlord murmured, still smiling, as X'ogun made his way over. "But there is certainly beauty... like I said, the world is changing, and not slowly. We shall see great things, I think, and soon. How many of us will die on the way, do you think?"
X'zenn shook his head... then looked at his fellow sharply, frowning. "That is no idle question. You have an idea."
A nod and grin in response. "That's why I like you, Zenn.. smarter than they give credit. The answer.." he nods to X'ogun, "is right there."
"...the Advisor, rather than the Nunh."
"Yes. You know where X'zarann is. And in this, we can see why."
X'zenn let out a breath, closing his eyes. Yes, of course.
"Preparing the next generation."
"Indeed. The price of war, yes?"
A nod.. and then a smile. X'indro noted it, tilting his head.
"Too many of us are still frozen in the old ways anyroad. It will be.. cleansing."
"Ah... again you surprise, my friend. Of course, I have no intention of dying."
"Neither do I. I have things yet to do."
"Such as seeing your moon goddess again..?"
It was X'zenn's turn to grin.
Not a healthy fire, not pure, cleansing reds, oranges and yellows. This was a sickly blaze, obscured by smoke like poison and threaded with desperate veins of lightning.
It was a sky from a madman's nightmares of the end of the world.
"Wake up," muttered X'zenn, in case he was the madman. "Wake from this." Alas, he did not. It had been a vain hope. After all, he seemed cursed to remain sane, where so many others...
Incongruously, he found himself thinking of Nihka. A slight curve to his lips. That he should remember the name of an Outsider.. but then, she wasn't just any Outsider, was she? A goddess. A goddess of the night, of the moon, the midnight sun. Of passion, that. Of love.
If the Nunh was a god, it made sense for Outsiders to have gods too, right? Weaker gods, to be sure, but.. powerful in their own ways. That he, X'zenn, Warlord of the Glade, could have killed her, fighter to fighter, he had little doubt; that he had not wanted to, and more, was not sure he could have wanted to, was proof enough to him of that power.
She should be a goddess of the Falling Stars. Of the Blessed.. if they could take Outsiders' weapons, their ways, their books and inventions, they could well take their goddesses too, right?
A shock of realization; surely that was exactly what the Nunh had been doing, bringing her to them. Taking her to the Caves... and, without a doubt, taking her. Over and over, to win her over to him... Who had won that battle? For battle it surely was.. and that X'zenn himself did not automatically assume the Nunh's victory, as he should, was proof enough that the beautiful moon goddess had sunk her long, long fangs into his own soul...
"You have an interesting expression."
His expression turned flat, suppressing both the fondness of memory and the disturbingly sharp pang of jealousy as he imagined the black-skinned female in the Nunh's arms. Turning, he regarded the male beside him with what he hoped was studied indifference, tinged with irritation. Irritation which grew as the male in question's own smile widened fractionally in response. He clicked his tongue.
"Do you have nothing better to do, X'indro?"
"Right now? Not really. Like you - and X'ioun, and X'akkel, and Rrain - I wait on X'ogun's pleasure. Also like you, my mind wanders to fond memories... oh, don't look at me like that. I won't tell. So. Whose pretty face occupies your thoughts?"
"You see too much..." muttered the northern Warlord, irritated.. though not especially worried. He understood X'indro, too. And so, rather than evade.. "The dark-skinned Outsider. Nihka." A twitch of brows was his reward; he'd surprised the pink-eyed male. X'zenn smirked, though the expression faded quickly. "I wonder what she would think of this place. If she would see the beauty.. the love, in this.. nightmare."
No response came, and so after a moment the Warlord turned to regard his fellow, and found him pensive. That.. calculating thoughtfulness of the male that made him so dangerous. X'zenn's ears twitched back a fraction; had he made a mistake? But the other Warlord grinned suddenly.
"The world is changing quickly, isn't it? Ah, look.. he returns. Success, I think."
X'zenn followed his gaze. X'ogun was walking back from the floating metal board.. the console, he'd called it. His expression was closed, but there was that in his stance that agreed with X'indro's statement; the Fallen had figured out how it worked.
"I know not if there is love to be seen in this," the Southern Warlord murmured, still smiling, as X'ogun made his way over. "But there is certainly beauty... like I said, the world is changing, and not slowly. We shall see great things, I think, and soon. How many of us will die on the way, do you think?"
X'zenn shook his head... then looked at his fellow sharply, frowning. "That is no idle question. You have an idea."
A nod and grin in response. "That's why I like you, Zenn.. smarter than they give credit. The answer.." he nods to X'ogun, "is right there."
"...the Advisor, rather than the Nunh."
"Yes. You know where X'zarann is. And in this, we can see why."
X'zenn let out a breath, closing his eyes. Yes, of course.
"Preparing the next generation."
"Indeed. The price of war, yes?"
A nod.. and then a smile. X'indro noted it, tilting his head.
"Too many of us are still frozen in the old ways anyroad. It will be.. cleansing."
"Ah... again you surprise, my friend. Of course, I have no intention of dying."
"Neither do I. I have things yet to do."
"Such as seeing your moon goddess again..?"
It was X'zenn's turn to grin.
![[Image: MBLxxyE.gif]](http://i.imgur.com/MBLxxyE.gif)
