Walk Along this Broken Road

Anger rippled in his body as he watched two identical forms be towed behind the dungeon’s keep, lifeless and gone. The major followed after them, his fur itching to flare up with aggression but heat never rage passed those emeralds that glimmered so true with emotions he didn’t wish to confront. By the time he had gotten to where the guards were, there were pits already being dug, leaving with him one to form in his stomach. His gaze shifted between all of those that were here, including ones that no longer had souls inhabiting them, remaining silent for a few long moments as he took in the scene before focusing solely on the ones working.

“I’ll handle this, you jailers go back to do your namesakes. You are of more use there to ensure no one else breaks in or escapes again,” he commanded, getting the look of confusion from those that stood before him, but none would seem to argue. One even seemed a touch nervous. Chances were that they didn’t want to be covered in dirt anyway and rather mindlessly drone around the cells, no more than buzzards waiting for one to drop dead. He did hear some whispers before they accepted the order with typical organization of any soldier though it was hardly as disciplined as one that actually served the force of this nation. He didn’t move as one brushed past him rather rudely, holding his ground as he leered at the man that would shy a little away at the intensity of his eyes. “Watch it,” he growled, a caution before he might snap.

Soon he would be alone, the paw steps drifting by slowly fading the further they got until they would vanish back into the prison halls to go back about their duties.

Letting out a sigh, he would walk over to the tilled dirt, nails swiftly being caked in what became more so mud the further he got down. Each heave was deliberate, but it became a struggle the longer he went. He was quick to blame it on fatigue, ignoring the moisture that saturated his face, assuming it was sweat. If only it would stay out of his eyes, blurring his vision over and over again, burning him as if made of acid. It had taken hours of work for him to make the hole deep enough and wide enough, deciding against making them separate as he turned his head to look at the bodies before pulling them both down into the soil. He made sure to place them together, almost hugging in the way they were posed.

“Together forever,” he muttered, looking down at them for a while, rubbing the sweat from his eyes to take away the string before he would start to cover his childhood friends with dirt. It would be a slow and grueling occasion as his mind traveled to a time when they really were friends. War, government, beliefs and goals had all got so heavily in the way of what was once a short moment of happiness in his life years ago. Such a feeling hadn’t touched him since.

Now there was no chance of it ever coming back as every inch of their pelts would be covered, though it would be a while yet before he would be finished with this pathetic ceremony to give them at least some semblance of respect in their passing of having someone that knew them bury them.

Art By Raven, Code by Ashon

i see your fantasy
you wanna make it a reality paved in gold

*before the ghost thread with reuben*

It was the day after Reuben being slain, and occasionally the crowd would gather and talk about what transpired the day before, but Rayne grew numb to it all. She slept on the outskirts of the city, unable to go home, and unable to sleep much due to nightmares. There was no closure between her and Reuben, and while she knew he was wanted for his crimes she didn't know how quickly his sentence would be carried out. She thought she had time, but she was wrong.

She found herself traveling back to the center of the city where it all happened, but she would find it overly crowded. As she pushed past the bodies of wolves who gathered she heard talk about the prisoners being buried. Her heart sank at the realization that it wasn't just Reuben who was put to death, but Sullivan too. She immediately felt sick as she rounded the building of the prison, gulping back the feeling that she could throw up as she caught gaze of a man laying dirt across a grave who she immediately recognized. If it weren’t for him she would have never known of the brother’s demise. Rayne knew immediately who he was burying, but the sight of one grave threw her off before it clicked that he buried them together.

Rayne walked closer to his side as she stared at the risen mound of dirt, it was all that was now left of them. She clenched her teeth together as her heart beat wildly in her chest, hot tears tinted her cheeks as she looked forward, daring not to case a glance at the man beside her while she silently sobbed.

code // art

A presence wasn’t noticed till the bounds of earth were replaced over the corpses that would fertilize the land in unison, though the face he would see was hardly the one he would have expected. The girl that resembled a forest scorched to ashes, how fitting in a way if she were to burn what remained, yet, she hardly appeared to be the flame that tore it down. He looked far more of such a beast even as tears lined both their eyes. He wouldn’t look at her directly, only allowing the corner of his vision to catch her frame, no better off knowing her name despite a past encounter. She had tried to enter the prisons that day and he denied what would have given him a promotion. He was the cause of what dirtied his paws now. Life was taunting him, it would seem, twisted up in remorse by offering him a sparrow to pluck out his eyes if she so chose, though did she know?

He had not set down the guillotine upon two necks, but he had readied the string that had led to it, sending heads rolling.

A grin pulled at his lips as he dipped his head down and closed his eyes, empathy lacking toward the woman that lingered so close yet out of reach. “I hope those tears are for the innocent and not the reaper of a shared life,” he stated, blaming it all on Reuben for why they stood here now, both grieving as strangers played by a man that destroyed more than just his own but also Sully’s life. Perhaps that story wasn’t so different from his and his own brother though the love that binds the twins were far more beautiful than the political upturn that tore away Gwydion from himself.

Slowly he opened his eyes once more before passing a glance in her direction that was far more obvious with the way his head tilted. “Sullivan did not deserve this fate but it is of no surprise his loyalty remained even after being used as a scapegoat by his own blood. Cruel fate or devious fae made it so they would always be together, even in death in an unkind trial,” His voice was strained, husky as he tried to keep the sorrow out but failed to detach his emotions from his tone.

Art By Raven, Code by Ashon

i see your fantasy
you wanna make it a reality paved in gold

I hope those tears are for the innocent and not the reaper of a shared life

Slowly her eyes would navigate in his direction, her chin tilting slowly to follow. She could feel her heart grow heavy not only with sorrow, but anger for the words he chose to speak at her. "They are for both," she spoke coolly, her tone hardly holding any kind of shame for her words. Rayne liked to believe she knew Reuben even though there were parts of himself he withheld. His heart was not laced with malice though he was given a very unfair hand. Reuben would have never surrendered Sullivan, and until his last breath he held the regret for his brothers misfortunes. The entire thing was horrible and she would not stand idle as the copper and ivory man verbally slaughtered Reuben before her.

He wasn't done, and it was very clear that he disliked Reuben and valued Sullivan over him. Rayne would not choose because what happened to the both of them was very cruel indeed, but she could not help but to grow more fragile and angry as he continued.

Rayne turned to face him, her cheeks stained with the trails of previous tears but behind her icy hues grew a flame. "That's enough," she spoke sternly at him while her nostrils flared, her heart hammered wildly in her chest. "I will not allow you to speak of him that way, I understand your preference, but Reuben loved Sullivan...This has everything to do with the Army and the sheep that serve them." Her voice bubbled, venom laced behind every word. "They follow so blindly those who could give a fuck less about them. Anyone enlisted is nothing more than a pawn who have false promises hung over their heads." She inhaled a sharp breath, exhaling through her frustrations of it all, while her gaze never once left the man before her.

code // art