Gentle Lights Ch)2
Back at it again at the Krispy Kreme
TW: Graphic depictions of injury, Anxiety, Light spooky shit ngl
Angsty but gets better!
Side note: Not sure how many chapters this will be. So buckle up I guess 🤷♀️
~***~
Shuddering breath filled Izogie’s lungs.
Her eyes shot open only to slam back shut at the searing light invading her vision. A weak groan bubbled from the warrior’s throat as sensation began to slowly return to her.
Izogie’s body felt completely crushed by fatigue. The pain from deep in the static was now sharp. Tangible. Close, so close and everywhere beneath her flesh.
The warrior could feel blood, sweat and grime festering on every inch of her. The beginnings of fever coiling over her limbs with thirst ripping at her throat and mouth with merciless claws. The two work in tandem to slice dry cracks into her lips, to turn her tongue to sand, and to drum a steady ache in her skull.
But she was alive.
Despite it all she lived. The thought was enough to make her laugh in triumph. Chapped lips slowly stretched and twisted into a gentle smile. But the only sound Izogie could manage was a reedy wheeze too feeble to be heard over the breeze…
~***~
Consciousness soon became an illusive commodity. Lucidity even more so. Fever burned the strength from the warrior’s waning muscles, clouding her mind with boiling delirium. Much like before, Izogie was left adrift. But the void wasn’t there to shield her anymore. Instead she lay stagnant. Solid. Sickly.
On the odd occasion, when she had the strength, Izogie would gather her focus and attempt to move. Starting small she would flex her fingers then her toes. All the while stubbornness trailed behind her every twitch. With each small venture it demanded the warrior gather her courage and open her eyes.
But the soldier refused. She wasn’t ready to face the world. Opening her eyes would mean perceiving reality. A reality where she was a failure, a deserter, a weak and broken soul barely clinging to a pitiful shred of life.
Opening her eyes could mean the possibility of having no way forward. And what if she did survive? Would she be able to face her sisters? Her mentor? Would she be able to face Nawi?
Would her old life even be within reach?
Suddenly something cut through Izogie’s delirious spiral of worries. A sound faint and gentle with a bubbling lilt that held nothing but warmth and kindness. Izogie held her breath, her senses tuning into her surroundings to the best of their ability.
Tensely the warrior strained her ears. Soft wind rustled nearby foliage, crickets played their nightly symphony, and distant waves lapped at a shore. Yet nothing matched that wonderful sound.
She must be hearing things.
Izogie listened intently for a while. Only it didn’t repeat. The only sounds were that of the natural cacophony of the night. Filled with disappointment, the warrior chalked it up to her delirium spilling into reality.
But it came again! Clearer this time! Was it… laughter? Yes! Warm laughter echoed just on the edge of the wind. It pulled at Izogie’s heart, filling her with… hope? The more she listened the more she yearned to stand up and follow it.
This strange laughter filled the warrior with another more foreign feeling. Little by little all the fatigue that bogged down her limbs began to lift.
Surprise forced Izogie’s eyes to fly open. She was instantly met with burning and blurring vision fighting to focus. After a few minutes the world came into view…
Stars dotted an inky sky. The moon hung low and bright, bathing the land in shimmering silver. To Izogie’s right, a sprawling coastline framed the horizon.
To her left, mist curled and threaded itself between the dense foliage of a jungle. Izogie herself seemed to be wedged at the base of a cobblestone wall.
She lay at an awkward angle, as if she had been carelessly dumped over the side of the wall. Luckily her body was hidden from view by a dense canopy. Though the warrior couldn’t dwell on her surroundings long.
In the corner of her vision a small light flickered briefly. Izogie froze. She must be seeing things. Though fear spiked through her when a twig snapped to her left.
At the mouth of the jungle.
The warrior’s heart was pounding in her ears now. Was it an animal? A person? She was too sickly and injured to defend herself! Anxiety stabbed at Izogie’s gut as she strained to detect any potential threats.
She found none.
Another snap. Closer this time. Yet frantic eyes detected nothing. Dread forced a tremor down the soldier’s spine and Izogie’s soul damn near left her body when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. A scream tried to tear itself from her throat.
But she was so parched, hardly any sound came out. A soft gasp and confusion quickly replaced fear. The warrior’s eyes were met with a breathtaking sight.
A woman?
Her skin glimmered and shone as if she were made of solid starlight. Brilliant locks curled and pooled around her like a flowing river. Deep pools of vibrant brown peered down at Izogie with curiosity while plush lips sported a serene smile. She looked like a moonbeam personified.
Her beauty knocked the wind out of Izogie. She lay there dazed. This seemed to amuse the shimmering woman. She chuckled, sliding closer and leaning downwards. The world came to a screeching halt when Izogie felt a kiss being pressed to her forehead. Their eyes met again when the beauty pulled away.
Izogie could still feel the imprint of her lips on her skin. It tingled and crackled as if lightning was seeping from it and into her body. Energy pooled in her gut, liquid and cool.
A strong sense of calm washed over the soldier like a wave. The glittering woman gave one final smile before the sensation filled Izogie completely and her vision was overcome with white light.
~***~
“Is… really her?”
“Found… border…”
“Strange… in the… storm.”
“Alright?... she be healed?”
Now this was getting ridiculous! Unconscious voids again? Really? Annoyance blossomed in Izogie’s chest. But for some odd reason, this time, when voices cut through the dark they filled her with joy.
Despite her exhaustion, excitement forced her eyelids to open. And for the third time, she went through the painstaking process of adjusting her vision to the waking world.
Only this time she was greeted with the sight of homeland familiar faces. Gasps split the quiet as three figures rushed to the warrior’s side with the closest leaning over Izogie excitedly.
“N-Nawi?”
~***~
@mybonafidefeelings @zeezeecave @shanas-baby