174

[Inari POV]

A needle, a vein that rose through the arm and down the body. One that connected throughout everything and with a call, rose with a pulse. 

The pulse quickened, a beat that was undeniable to none but myself, it roused me with a call of its force and for a moment it stilled. A gasp, a breath.

It brought light to my face and a sense of absolute peace. A cadence that shone of nothing but life. For a moment everything was fine, then I rose once again.

That cadence beat with every step of mine, with every rise of my breath and every fall of my chest.

It stuck with me as I took Damien in my arms and assessed his condition. The way that his breath rose and fell, his pulse. Even just the color of his skin and the clamminess of his forehead. 

In his sleep his forehead scrunched with focus, all as I placed him upon one of the tables, all as my hand fell onto his stomach.