Mirrors

The winter cub falls limp in Their arms, all still but the steady thumping of her heartbeat. Before She can take back control, He carries the cub away, back out above ground, and places her in the middle of a field where They were first seen by her in another form. He imagines the cub's mother is still nearby searching for her, so They leave as quickly as They arrived.

Returning to the cavern through a haze of black smoke, He looks into the crystals, now vacant of the beast haunting within its walls and the cracks left against the surfaces, now showing only a clear image of Their own reflection.

He bites back a sob, both confusion, and resentment festering richly in his narrow eyes, smothering the tears not yet fallen, "Why would you do that?"

The reflection alters gradually to that of a young girl with moonlight hair and dark sable skin. Her eyes resembling smoldering coals display a fire dancing tauntingly as if daring him to snap first. She does not frown nor smile, but rather stares with an unclear gaze. When She doesn't respond after moments of waiting for some kind of reaction, He screams, slamming His hands repeatedly against the image of Her, "Why? Why! Fucking tell me why you wrenched- horrible-" Her laughter echoes just like before, snuffing out all other sounds. His face pales ghostly white.

"She got too close, " She says simply, displaying a crooked grin so sharp it could shatter the reality around Them. The resemblance of that grin brings back a memory of a self He once was. A self He never wants to return to, to ever be again. That self was a monster. A mad, horrible monster.

He snarls, "She's just a child!

"And children make you soft!" She snaps back. Her tone becomes moral to her hard words, "Have you forgotten what it is that we are doing here? Why we are weakening? To live as we are is to forfeit every idea that makes one merciful. To give meaning to the meaningless while being immortal is truly meaningless and that will always be your downfall, and I won't let you snuff yourself out with your emotional baggage. Not when we have been so useful to one another."

He laughs bitterly, "Do you think I care about living forever?"

"Our survival depends on it. When she returns-" This time He cuts Her off.

"She's gone! It's been eons for fuck's sake! Can't you just let it go?" His voice breaks near the end as His desire to suppress His emotions had long been tossed aside. It doesn't matter anymore. What fractured pieces remain of his humanity He holds close to His chest because He no longer yearns for the same as She. Their motivations long split in two, yet He here He remains trapped by Her nonetheless. He's shaking just like before, but the pain is tolerable. He doesn't falter.

Her eyes burn hot, blazing angry scarlet to white-blue heat as she glares into His icy silver and violet hues brimming with tears.

"You know she's gone, and it's our fault she's not coming back, " He whispers through clenched teeth, trying to keep His voice steady. He hardly remembers what she looked like let alone her name, but the obsession is is constant, always coming from Her. "Please, just let me breathe for once without you jabbing at my neck."

Her glare turns into a scowl the longer They stare at one another. Eventually, She responds, "I don't want her near the box again or hear its music. You keep her away from that and I'll respect your wishes."

His response is sharp matching Her gaze, "You and the others will not harm her."

She scoffs at that, "The others have no say, they bend to our will, my will. And as long as you respect my demand I'll keep my word and my distance."

"I want full control this time. No exceptions."

Her eyes narrow, lips curling into a snarl, "You're thinking of going back for her, aren't you?"

His expression doesn't alter, confirming Her suspicion. She sighs, "You never learn. She's going to die with or without my involvement. You can't protect her from cruelty forever. Life is full of it. Nothing sweet ever lasts. Especially now that the sun is gone. It's going to get cold, very cold and you don't have the heat to keep her warm. You're a cold thing, a bad thing, the stuff of nightmares have you forgotten that?"

He doesn't respond, but She knows the effect of Her words, and how well they wound deep under His skin. His jaw is held tight, the tension in His muscles twitching. He's in pain, more physically or mentally, it's becoming harder to tell. She grins not caring which, "You'll lose your temper, and get angry, and we both know what follows after. I will give you back control. And I'll let you believe in you're little pathetic gimmick to try and convince yourself that you aren't a monster like we both know each other to be. We both know sooner or later you'll come crawling back all bloody and worn and I'll be there waiting to burn through your veins until you're numb to the pain."

Abruptly Her hand shoots through the crystalline glass and grips His throat, pulling Him in close enough for Her to rip out His tongue using Her teeth. She growls, "You may have lost all hope of my girl ever coming back but I am patient and I know she is not gone. I will find her again and she will be mine for all of eternity. And I am willing to wait forever if it means countless sacrifices just to get closer to her. Now leave me alone and play with your new toy until you've broken all her bones."

Flinging Him back, He stumbles over onto the pitch-black ground, nearly vomiting from all the pain festering inside his stomach and chest, but not before watching Her reflection fade back into the dark along with his own. Then it's just Him left to fight off the ravenous hunger bound to His soul alone. He can feel Her warmth no longer mended to His body. So Her fire, Her energy exists now outside of His reach until He begs to be taken back into Her embrace.

He growls irritably at Himself for having second thoughts. For the first time in eons, He's free from Her. As free as He can be at least, and His very first thought is of Her power and warmth, the way it welded them together too perfectly. They became something more powerful that shouldn't even exist. They couldn't stop it so why bother trying when the simple answer was to let it flourish? He knows better now, but it's too late to change anything. Knowing this He gives into that ravenous hunger the same way They gave into Their darkest nature and allows Himself to sleep.