[open] hear the sound? angels come screaming

[basilisk]

down your voice, I hear you've been bleeding
make your choice, they say you've been pleading
HEAVEN HELP US NOW

The sun was setting slowly. Fire raced across the sky, oranges and golds that put vibrant spring blooms to shame. Nothing could compare to this beauty, this pallette that Mother Nature had set forth. Dusk twined cool, milky fingers in among the bright hues, adding her more subdued colors to the sky's canvas. Phrixus stared in wonder at the utter beauty. Never before had the sky struck him as one of the most marvelous sights he could behold. He pondered for a moment. The sky was a painting. Consisting mostly of blue and white, it was everchanging. For minutes every day, it was afire with colors ranging from ferocious scarlet to a pale, glowing yellow. And then for hours more, the blue deepened to coal black, studded with glimmering diamonds. Truly, the sky was taken for granted.

A pang of grief lanced through Phrixus' heart, as he thought of Helle. His beautiful sister would've appreciated the sky for what it was. Though it paled in comparison to her own visage. She was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen--nothing could compare. Not even the sky with its molten, subtle elegance. Of course, Phrixus had never desired his sister in the way a stallion desires a mare. But he had always had an eye for beauty. And after being with his sister, he never did find himself attracted to any mare. His sister was the blinding flash of sunlight, and any other female he looked at was dim, weak. Moonlight, no, starlight. Hardly enough to see anything by, let alone appreciate it.

Phrixus drifted back to the present, feeling morose. He missed his sister. Not for her beauty, but for her company. Being around her was a release from the grim reality. Her bright, bell-like laugh could make him forget, if just for a moment, that the world was overrun with sickly, crazed animals. Her wit could delight him into ignoring the fact that humans were a constant danger. Her compassion would make him ache with the yearning to be as kind as she was--enough that he'd forget about his yearning to simply survive. Surviving on his own was somewhat easier, though it hurt deeply to admit. Finding food for two was twice the work of finding a meal for one. He never had to worry about her coming to harm--there was nothing that could hurt her now.

Phrixus continued to stare at the sun as it slunk below the horizon. No longer did its beauty touch him. For now, it meant only one thing--night was coming. He stirred from his perch atop a small, jagged cliff. As he stepped away from the edge, it occurred to him that the bluff was high enough that a jump would probably end his life. Almost immediately, he dismissed the notion. He had no desire to die. Only to escape the misery that permeated his every moment of existence. He lived each day in the hope of some relevation, some epiphany that would suddenly make life worth living once more.

"Well, damn." He said aloud, then cursed himself. Sound was the enemy, though its greatest strength was also its greatest weakness. What would give him away to others would give them away to him. He turned back to his bluff. settling into a comfortable position. He resolved not to sleep, to keep watch for as long as he could manage. Which, with any luck, would be the entire night. He could sleep with the sun beating down on him, knowing that even the infected, insane animals would hesitate to approach a stallion of his size in daylight. This he assured himself of, even as he began to doze.

COUNT: 627
STATUS: open to anyoneee.
COMMENTS: feel free to startle him out of his skin. c: