lapwing
It was always Yuri who looked after the village children during their romps outside the outskirts of the forest. Despite his partial blindness and lame leg, he was a source of comfort and security for the children.
Directly ahead of us, I could see the two towers rising from the mists. They looked foreboding, with their pointed spires and sleek black stone walls. Beside me, my companion swallowed hard.
"Is there an elevator?" he laughed uneasily.
I shrugged. "No matter. We have to get to the top either way."
The binding was tough and slightly fraying. He ran his fingers lightly along its rough texture and shivered. He could only vaguely imagine what lay behind its covers.
Fingers trembling, he opened the book.
"I'll always be right here, right by your side."
Until today, I can still remember those words. Even after he vanished, even after I realized that he may never return again, I remembered those words. They had etched themselves into my heart, even though I never let anything linger in me for long. My heart was always untouched.
Laura sat placidly by the fire, watching as the red flickering tongues danced back and forth in the brick hearth. She felt wrapped in a sort of soft comfort, despite all that was going on outside. She sighed deeply, rubbing her hands together, which were tired and worn from the work she had done, tending to wounds as a healer.
His body lay limply upon the stretcher as it was brought into the building. Nyroc immediately ran to his side, his mind blank. Cyrus was white, as white as a sheet, but the blindingly red stain on his chest made Nyroc dizzy from the colour contrast.
How can someone have so much blood in him? Nyroc thought, terrified. He was scared, scared to death for his friend, who was still as death.