@foglands: did you ever love me?
nia's chin lifts, gaze flitting to his features. she looks them over, watches them harden at her refusal to answer, and not at the sly grin concealed beneath her hand, working her jaw. finally, she meets his eyes: they're a dark and stormy sea, but she knows her look cuts through him, like the slicing of lightning through ship's decking.
"did you?" he asks, growing frustrated.
she's met with the echoing of mama, and trudging footsteps, and small hands in wolf fur and the soft snores of a young boy. met with the clasping of cool hands, and the shared, roaring fires to thaw them out. a pity it did nothing to melt the ice concealing her heart and blister the cobwebs dangling between her ribs.
nia clicks her tongue, observes his expression a few moments more, and assumes that this thought keeps him up at night when all he has is the harsh wind cry for company. he mocks her withdrawal from feeling; she is not a fool, and she notices the brokenness that wraps around his question, hopes the expectation was not for enveloping arms, or a toast from matching goblets, or comfort.
blistering fury creeps in, eyes darkening from blue to black, licked by flames. so she answers quickly, rumbling laughter dying in her throat, "no." it’s fuelled by obstinacy, and truth. and finally she cocks her head, delivers her final blow:
"i could never love such a weak thing."