“does the sky really want to be black — stripped of life and colour, reduced to nothin’ despite the GRANDEUR of its vastness?” she counters, picking up the metaphor ikaris put down and unraveling its threads further, letting philosophy bloom where argument once stood. “or does the sky simply offer the stage upon which the stars can shine? i’ve always believed light and darkness are far closer than people think — really, they’re the two sides of the same coin, unable to exist without the other. bright things are easy to love, but darkness? it persists without praise just so light can exist at all. tell me, my dear ikaris, is that not just as noble and brave as anythin’ the light does, if not more?”
“observation duly noted. now, the million-dollar question remains: what to do with it?” she holds his gaze the way she holds her smiles: with tenderness. she’s content to let the question drift off into the air as a rhetorical flourish, but if the eternal chooses to answer, dazzler would be more than pleased to be illuminated by his view.
“oh, eros is just very… eros,” alison laughs, her funny bone struck clean by the dryness of ike’s delivery. “i can’t even argue against that with a straight face. light travels faster than sound, and some people seem brighter before they speak,” there’s no malice in her voice when she quips about the titan of limerence, only with the kind of mild exasperation she and ikaris share a tad too well. “with eros, however, there is no false’ advertisin’ ... what you see is exactly what you get. tragically.”
her ears perk up faster before the rest of her catches up. while her mind prepares to welcome ikaris’ message, her body makes ready for war in an instant. ike’s question, despite the oncoming dread of a threat yet to be seen, blesses her nerves with ephemeral relief; the relief that she’s not hearing things, the relief that then allows alison to act instead of merely react.
“oh, dear. impeccable timing,” she remarks wryly as cerulean fires ignite around her hands — small, concentrated blazes of light that lick and curl against her palms, a simple protective measure as she primes herself for defence. the luminary enables herself to hover slightly; attempting to steady herself on tremulous land would be a failed pursuit. while surveying the area for clues, her eyes find his again: “ten bucks says that’s a sentinel comin’ our way. should be a piece of cake to deal with those robotic, murderous PINHEADS… unless i’m terribly wrong and the only thing i’ll end up eatin’ is my own words.”