Conversation before sunrise

T

TheCavernMonster

Cav || Caligo


It's dark in Myln Arbor, though sunrise soon approaches. The sky is already tinged with blue-green, and the clouds appear black as early dawn light silhouettes them.

Fallen leaves crunch softly under feet, one cloven, the other metallic. The tiefling navigates his way through the foliage, eventually coming to a bit of a clearing, surrounded by giant mushrooms. He lays flat on his back, staring up at the last few stars still fighting for visibility.

"Vale, Aethrim," he says after a moment.

"It's been a while since I've talked to you, I'm sorry about that. I just...I wasn't sure where to go. I can't find your grave anymore, not since they renovated Mitrona. You weren't ever actually in that grave, though, I suppose..." He gives a bitter smile. "Anyway, how have you been?"

There's a long pause. The long grass tickles his cheek. "I know you can't answer me, but I'm hoping you're doing well. I'm doing..." Caligo is silent for a long moment. "I've been worse," he concludes.

"I'm learning magic now! Aeromancy!" He raises a hand to demonstrate, and fog swirls around the area, before rapidly dissipating. "I'm not very strong yet, but I'm studying hard. Elduin's the one teaching me, he's a Lunarmancy Archmage now. Have you checked up on him at all?"

He pauses again, waiting for a response that will never come. Caligo's expression turns a bit sour.

"Will you...do me a favor, Aeth? If it's alright. I'm not in any place to ask for them, but if a de'nevir named Raska or a goblin named Badger enters the land of the dead soon...take care of them please? They've both done some awful things, but they're both good people. I promise. Just a bit foolish."

Silence again. A breeze ruffles Caligo's hair, and he sighs.

"Am I cursed, Aethrim? Is there some-... some spell on me that I'll always lose those I care about? Am I destined to be a mourner? If so, why? What did I do?" Caligo sits up. “I'm sorry, you don't need to hear any of this. Just a sad man pushing 40 with two thirds of his heart on the other side of the veil." He chuckles.

"It's like you said once: This is not a world without pain. Without grief. Without cruelty. This is a world with all three."

Caligo stands, preparing to head back into town. He does need to talk with the Khari'cerr, after all.

"Vale'tar, Aethrim. I'll be by again in a bit, I'm sure... Say hi to everyone for me, will you please?" He smiles up at the treetops around him. A smile intended for a person who no longer exists.​
 
It's dark in Myln Arbor, though sunrise soon approaches. The sky is already tinged with blue-green, and the clouds appear black as early dawn light silhouettes them.

The air is clean and clear in the forest canopy. The dawn light and the rustle of leave in the gentle morning breeze makes the tops of the ancient trees a deligtfully liminal place. There, above the highest brances, sat an elf. Her feet dangled over the edge as she looked down upon the clearing below, watching her favorite visitor make himself comfortable.

When he spoke, she responded.

"Vale, Caligo."

She waited while he got his words out, not needing his explanation but happy to listen if it made him feel better about his absence.

"I've been well, filo. Better than well. I've made new friends, met some old ones again. I've gotten more... comfortable, in this new eternity of mine. Plenty of time to adapt, after-"

Her words were cut short as Caligo began to speak again. What he said took her by surprise.

"Worse?" She slid forward on her branch, dropping to the one below it to sit ever closer. "Worse how? What have I missed?"

As he began to tell the lost chapter of his story, she settled. relaxed. "Oh, you meant worse than me."

She chuckled, leaning forward to listen in more. "Archmage? So soon? And why are you telling me this and now his father? Gods, mi solis would be so proud. I should check in on both of them, honestly. It's been... too long."

She dropped another branch down as Caligo's expression changed. She studied it, checking what details she could pick out from her distance. New things, mostly. Signs of age: wrinkles, scars. Unsightly things, but not everyone has the privilege of dying young to keep themselves looking clean. Not that Aethrim didn't wear the stresses of her life with pride.

"A favor? Filo, you're always in a place to-" She paused, her own expression growing equally sour as the names were spoken. "Right... them. I have them, unfortunately. Not Raska, he's still with you as far as I know. The other one, though. Vile thing. Beastly spirit. Devilish."

She stood up on her branch, pacing back and forth as she spoke the ills of the goblin that she couldn't have said to their face. "I know they were you friend, but you didn't exactly keep the best crowd. Always did have a soft spot for- Cursed?" The question shocked her. She descended the tree further, settling on the final branch before the ground. Still, as ever, unseen.

"Cursed, filo, no. Never. You lose because you live, and you mourn because you love." She laid out across the tree, resting her head as close to Caligo as she could without moving again. It wouldn't make him hear her, but it brought her some comfort. "You didn't do anything but survive, Caligo. You made connections. Connections stronger than blood in a world so keen on spilling it. You loved, you lost, you live. Your pain isn't meaningless. That pain means you remember them. You remember me, and that keeps me coming back, does it not?"

Aethrim sat up straight. She sat in silence as Caligo spoke again. The almost motherly look of reassurance on her face turned to one of pain. Her cheeks tightened and her eyes began to water as she listened to the tiefling recite his own obituary.

"I wrote that." She sniffled, choking back the first tears she'd cried in what may have been decades by now.

"I wrote that the night Mythanthar killed you. The night I may as well have killed you. Why do you hold those words so close? Why does my worst mistake mean so much to it's sole victim?"

Her posture sank, and she slid backwards from the tree. She landed on the ground next to Caligo, her head as his feet, facing up to the sky opposite him. Her hand fumbled to find his, and though they met in appearance to her she felt nothing. He felt nothing. They were side by side, but worlds apart.

"Why are you still so good, Caligo? How has this world not broken you?" She laid flat on the ground still, not stirring as the weathered tiefling stood. Her arms sprawled out beside her, still fighting back the urge to sob there on the forest floor. She wanted to, and for all she's endured she deserved to, but it wouldn't be right if her now. Her time to cry was over. It wasn't her time to feel sad anymore.

"Vale'tar..." The words were feeble. "I'm... sure they'll be happy to hear from you."​

Obviously this isn't canon. I just felt like a piece that made me cry reading it deserved a response that made me cry writing it.
 
Last edited:
RoadkillCatgirl said:
It's dark in Myln Arbor, though sunrise soon approaches. The sky is already tinged with blue-green, and the clouds appear black as early dawn light silhouettes them.

The air is clean and clear in the forest canopy. The dawn light and the rustle of leave in the gentle morning breeze makes the tops of the ancient trees a deligtfully liminal place. There, above the highest brances, sat an elf. Her feet dangled over the edge as she looked down upon the clearing below, watching her favorite visitor make himself comfortable.

When he spoke, she responded.

"Vale, Caligo."

She waited while he got his words out, not needing his explanation but happy to listen if it made him feel better about his absence.

"I've been well, filo. Better than well. I've made new friends, met some old ones again. I've gotten more... comfortable, in this new eternity of mine. Plenty of time to adapt, after-"

Her words were cut short as Caligo began to speak again. What he said took her by surprise.

"Worse?" She slid forward on her branch, dropping to the one below it to sit ever closer. "Worse how? What have I missed?"

As he began to tell the lost chapter of his story, she settled. relaxed. "Oh, you meant worse than me."

She chuckled, leaning forward to listen in more. "Archmage? So soon? And why are you telling me this and now his father? Gods, mi solis would be so proud. I should check in on both of them, honestly. It's been... too long."

She dropped another branch down as Caligo's expression changed. She studied it, checking what details she could pick out from her distance. New things, mostly. Signs of age: wrinkles, scars. Unsightly things, but not everyone has the privilege of dying young to keep themselves looking clean. Not that Aethrim didn't wear the stresses of her life with pride.

"A favor? Filo, you're always in a place to-" She paused, her own expression growing equally sour as the names were spoken. "Right... them. I have them, unfortunately. Not Raska, he's still with you as far as I know. The other one, though. Vile thing. Beastly spirit. Devilish."

She stood up on her branch, pacing back and forth as she spoke the ills of the goblin that she couldn't have said to their face. "I know they were you friend, but you didn't exactly keep the best crowd. Always did have a soft spot for- Cursed?" The question shocked her. She descended the tree further, settling on the final branch before the ground. Still, as ever, unseen.

"Cursed, filo, no. Never. You lose because you live, and you mourn because you love." She laid out across the tree, resting her head as close to Caligo as she could without moving again. It wouldn't make him hear her, but it brought her some comfort. "You didn't do anything but survive, Caligo. You made connections. Connections stronger than blood in a world so keen on spilling it. You loved, you lost, you live. Your pain isn't meaningless. That pain means you remember them. You remember me, and that keeps me coming back, does it not?"

Aethrim sat up straight. She sat in silence as Caligo spoke again. The almost motherly look of reassurance on her face turned to one of pain. Her cheeks tightened and her eyes began to water as she listened to the tiefling recite his own obituary.

"I wrote that." She sniffled, choking back the first tears she'd cried in what may have been decades by now.

"I wrote that the night Mythanthar killed you. The night I may as well have killed you. Why do you hold those words so close? Why does my worst mistake mean so much to it's sole victim?"

Her posture sank, and she slid backwards from the tree. She landed on the ground next to Caligo, her head as his feet, facing up to the sky opposite him. Her hand fumbled to find his, and though they met in appearance to her she felt nothing. He felt nothing. They were side by side, but worlds apart.

"Why are you still so good, Caligo? How has this world not broken you?" She laid flat on the ground still, not stirring as the weathered tiefling stood. Her arms sprawled out beside her, still fighting back the urge to sob there on the forest floor. She wanted to, and for all she's endured she deserved to, but it wouldn't be right if her now. Her time to cry was over. It wasn't her time to feel sad anymore.

"Vale'tar..." The words were feeble. "I'm... sure they'll be happy to hear from you."​

Obviously this isn't canon. I just felt like a piece that made me cry reading it deserved a response that made me cry writing it.
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Hurting me. You're hurting me. /pos
 
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