#i'm a little teeny bit iffy on eiar!jed in the second part b/c that bit (which is dream like away) required playing around w/ concepts

[roastedlizlow]

DAY NINE - SKY PAIR: Levi/Jed WC: 1949 NOTE: Levi’s easily my favorite of the boys for Ashen Hawk. I really like how his ending was handled, honestly. Boy did... the entire story throw me for a loop. I felt insanely called out when Levi was basically called a puppy that followed Jed around though, and the fact that his stellaset badge is like, three dogs (including him)... I love to have a type! I use both of Jed’s names in here (I debated sticking to Jed only, but Eiar worked better in a section). I got... really into this one! 

A bright, sunny sky suits Levi more, Jed thinks as she puts down her pen, scurrying to give her letter to Lavan. The first true instance of this thought had fully come to the surface when she encountered him on their last days of true freedom. I love him, and want to see him laughing, smiling, under the clear, blue sky.

It’s persisted ever since, permeating until it becomes one of her strongest.

He deserves affection, all that has been driven away from him. There is no taking away the sins that stain his hands, but she will gladly take them, and warm them.

Her thoughts do not change as they lay in the snow, within the vicinity of the snowdrops. Wrapped in the embrace of one another as the exhaustion of the world weighs them down, Jed cannot help but accept this. The letters they’ve shared, such trivial, little conversations.

“Jed, is this really okay?”

“Yes. Levi, I want to be with you.” Forever and always...

Jed wonders how she didn’t realize it earlier, with how comforting it felt to be around him, with how accepting they are of each other, no matter what. Why did the fog cloud that part of the truth too? Could the reason be because she had long closed her maiden's heart, to live as a boy? Does it really, truly matter now, when they are at ease, in each other’s arms?

“You’re cold, you know,” she jabs, but it’s soft, a hint of mischief in her voice.

“Haha, yeah,” Levi grins, “but you’re warm. So, so warm. Thanks a bunch, for being here.”

To what they share between them, to the eternity that will never leave them, they press closer together, hands, arms, foreheads, everything, as the freezing, white blanket begins to fall upon them once more. Where will they go now, when town in not an option? Who will they be now?

Simply Levi and Jed, to each other, that’s all.

They don’t need anything else certain. Things will fall into place as they come. It’s been so hectic lately, that being able to be so close, on the same side of things, means that much more. It satisfies them so much, quells them so much, that their setting becomes what they decide to stay in. No moving until later, let their eyelids blink, slower, slower, until the shut, with gentle smiles on their faces.

Good night. I love you. Words thought, but not said. They revel in these, because they will always, always be together now.

The reliable handyman, who harbored secrets with her work, and the quick-tempered, book-loving younger of the Wolg Clan heirs, two souls banished, for reasons clear to those that knew them personally, and to those that didn’t, too. They say their farewells to the universe they always knew, and venture out to the beyond.

All while gradually drifting to sleep.

“Oh! Your hair’s getting longer again!”

“Mmhm! It’s gonna feel weird, having it long again.”

“Well, I think you look good, now matter what length it is.”

“Oh, Levi...”

“I can’t kid with ya on that, Eiar. It’s the truth!”

These times are much simpler. Unbound by the pains that tangled them down, they are allowed to live as they were meant to be. Eiar is very much a tomboy, and Levi encourages it wholeheartedly, much to the exhaustion of his older brother, Lavan. What? Does he think she’s going to get seriously hurt? That’s ridiculous! She’s super tough, and does her best in everything.

She’s a girl who can out eat them both (though, perhaps that’s not something to boast about), one that has an iron stomach. She can cook, and she’s strong and adventurous. She can handle herself, no problem, and Levi admires that a lot!

The incident of her getting her hair suddenly cut short is probably one of the ones Lavan would use as reference to her needing to be more careful, but it’s not like Levi or Eiar knew that her hair would get tangled up like that. She didn’t miss a beat, either, immediately asking for something for something to fix it with. “Well, I guess it’s just... gotta go.”

“That’s right, you got into an argument with Tee about who knew me better...”

“There’s no way that Little Chick knows you better than I do!”

“Yes, yes, you don’t need to get riled up about it.”

Eiar finds him so endearing! He’s always been inclined to follow her around, when he’s not stuck in a book, but Eiar’s not much different, is she? She’ll often plop right down next to him with a blanket, asking him if he wants to read more of that book they started. A twinkle will then appear in his eye, nodding vigorously as he takes the book in hand and picks up right where they left off.

“Tee’s not someone who’ll actually know how cool you are anyway,” Levi says.

“Oh? Hmm... Would you dare call me cooler than Lavan?”

“Hey, hey, you’re both great for different reasons!”

Eiar laughs, expecting that answer. She has a lot of memories with the two of them, due to growing up so close. The time they tracked mud into the house, only to get scolded by Francisca and Lavan, then immediately after, they made a mess playing around with the decorations they were supposed to prepare.

There are the letters too, silly, little things they’ll have Lavan pass along to the other, where they talk about nothing in particular -- they see each other often enough to deem it absolutely unnecessary, but they can’t help it at all.

Sorry my handwriting is so messy. Yours is really neat, Levi.

Yours fits you, Eiar. That’s what nice.

“Say, Levi, I’ve got something to show you!” Eiar suddenly states, picking up her dress with one hand, marching over to Levi and grabbing one of his arms with her other.

“A-Ah, this isn’t going to lead to you pushing me to avoid Lavan, is it?”

“No! Did you want it too?”

“N-Not at all! Reverse situations like that are embarrassing...”

“Besides, I think that’d only happen if one of us made him mad,” again, becomes her implication.

Levi is about to speak before his friends chime in passing, “Levi’s really got a girlfriend! Joined at the hip, again!”

Levi, and Eiar too, both fluster, and run quickly off, the young lady turning to be a guide on this crisp, spring day.

Once they reach just before where Eiar wanted to go, with Levi wondering just why they’re going this far, Eiar looks up, seriously at him, “Close your eyes, Levi.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because I said so! What if the only way to avoid being struck down was to do so?”

“Haha, that’s definitely not how it works.” But since it’s her, he’s not worried. He knows, too, that her example was just to get him to laugh. Compiling, he closes his eyes, letting her pull him along a little further. Suddenly, he feels her grip loosen, and he’s about to peek, concerned for her, for being alone without warning.

As if she knew, she speaks, already a small distance away, “It’s alright! I’m right here! You can open up now.”

He does so, and the sight, all of it, is beautiful A field of colorful flowers, and her, right in the middle. “Eiar... this is...”

“Right? It’s just like the scene in the book we’re reading,” she spins around trying to really take the entire scene in, but it feels best when he’s in sight, since this is what she wanted to show him. “I discovered it the other day...” when I was on a errand for a kind old lady, but those are details she’ll withhold (sitting around gets boring!), “And when we got past that scene, I knew I had to share it with you!”

Levi steps over to her, carefully, of course, since these flowers look pretty delicate, “Thanks, Eiar. You really are...”

She’s the kind of person Levi figures he’d feel alright with liking, no matter what. She’s not just a girl; she’s Eiar, the one who saves him when he’s in trouble, the one that relies on him, and he can rely on. He likes being near her, and he’s quick to her defense. (He’s always been really smitten, some might say.)

Most of all, her hands, with fit in his well, are really warm.

He looks down, and an idea pops up, right on sight. Levi bends over, picks a flower and, side-stepping so he’s right in front of her, and places the flower so it’s sticking out, behind her ear. It’s uneven, quick, but he’s sure of it -- she’s gorgeous.

“Levi..?”

“It was in another book, one we haven’t read yet, but you’d like it.”

His wide eyes are more than enough for her to get a glimpse of how she looks. Coupled with his expression, she can’t help the fact of her heart drumming. She’s sure she’s visibly affected too, but -- mmm, this feels right! And Levi’s smiling..!

If there’s one thing she’s certain of, it’s the thought that rises to above all others. She beams, matching the wide grin he has, which doesn’t stop, even as his cheeks dust over, even as she takes both his hands in hers. The crystal clear sky allows them both to have their entire world to become them alone, with the brightest, largest star brimming down a spotlight, as if given them both a blessing, as if solidifying everything she can’t contain.

She loves him, loves him so, so much. She wants to keep listening to him read the stories he loves, talk about how driven he is because of them. He’s adorable, even when being teased, and the moments are never, ever dull. This happiness that’s making her feel light as a feather bursts, and she can’t hold back her words a moment longer.

“I’m definitely right! A bright smile, under the sun suits you best!”

“Wha--”

“Levi’s just like the sun!”

Footsteps, a boil inside him. It hurts. It’s freezing, but there’s nothing to numb this away. They -- They were the most important people left to him. He knew one of them had to go, but she... He sighs, wishing they had gone a little further out, hoping he would have to see his foolish younger siblings like this.

He thought he lost them once but to actually know, now, is a sorrowful reality to bear. He regains his bearings, as much as he can for the moment, and reaches down, brushing aside the snow, to get one last clear look.

They’re smiling...

“Joining me like this, how interesting a thought, for the head of the Wolg Clan to humble a mere traveler this way.”

His gaze falls upon the Traveler for a moment, but he turns away, wordless. He knows they are meant to buried, away. No ceremony, for the exiled.

“So this is the outcome,” the other continues, “a town of sinners, with two sets of shoulders to accept the burden. How interesting... the laughter she sought unravels in her dreams.”

“You... who exactly are you?”

“Hmm, I wonder,” he closes his book and puts a hand to his chin, “who am I to you? What do you make of me?” He snaps his fingers, a gust of wind spins the snow at just the right moment, “I’m curious about what story your path will make of you now, Lavan of the Wolg.”

When the wind subsides, he is gone.

Thus, we end the story of the daughter of the witches and the loyal dog that adored her no matter what.