Though his eyes trailed after the pair, Nigredo could not register the departure. Only an absence. A brother missing. Even fragmented as he was, the child understood he should have followed, taken after him like times before, but his legs wouldn't move. His knees collapsed. Nigredo fell against his hands--palms slipping, blood streaking--and shuddered in the resulting waves. He hadn't realized he, too, was hurt.
Pieces of his mind resounded in agreement. The violet haze fell away, and the child leaned into his forearms, head nestled against fists. An aspect of this moment felt familiar yet opposite: the witness now turned wreck. Beneath the strands of black hair, Nigredo looked up at Albedo, expression his usual vacant. And with the act, he understood perfectly. As he always did.
In the end, it didn't matter; comfort was not something he would be given.
"Play?" Nigredo repeated, one more echo for the count. Slowly, he pulled himself to a sitting position, arms cradling his midsection. The gun and the blade laid bare at his knees. "Yes," he continued without a smile. "Let's play together again."
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Pieces of his mind resounded in agreement. The violet haze fell away, and the child leaned into his forearms, head nestled against fists. An aspect of this moment felt familiar yet opposite: the witness now turned wreck. Beneath the strands of black hair, Nigredo looked up at Albedo, expression his usual vacant. And with the act, he understood perfectly. As he always did.
In the end, it didn't matter; comfort was not something he would be given.
"Play?" Nigredo repeated, one more echo for the count. Slowly, he pulled himself to a sitting position, arms cradling his midsection. The gun and the blade laid bare at his knees. "Yes," he continued without a smile. "Let's play together again."