1) warm, glowing embers (for the Calibur characters of your choice)
december prompts
She had avoided him at every turn, saying that she was too busy tending to the children to speak to him. Yunseong knew better than to take her excuse at face value. Ever since he had mentioned the Sword of Salvation, Talim seemed uncomfortable.
She sat alone now, by the smouldering embers of a small fire she had made after having put the children in the camp to sleep. Yunseong had sat outside the small makeshift tent as he polished his sword and listened to her stories of the wind. The last child to fall asleep was Arslan, whom Talim had allowed to lay his head in her lap. From the opening of the tent, Yunseong had watched tears glide down to his ear as Talim stroked his hair. Arslan spoke, but Yunseong was unable to make out what he was saying. Talim did her best to smile as she responded but Yunseong could see that she herself was holding back tears.
Now that the children were safely tucked into their beds, Yunseong hoped she would finally speak to him. With his sword, White Storm, propped on his shoulder, he approached her from behind. "That was some story," he lightheartedly greeted.
Talim immediately sat up and gasped, her head shooting back to look at him before her shoulders relaxed. "Oh, it's you," she said as she quickly swiped at the area beneath her eyes. "I'm...glad you enjoyed it," she said politely before turning back around to stare at the embers of the fire. She pulled her knees up and gave a resigned sighed as she rested her chin on her forearms.
Yunseong watched her for a brief moment, feeling somewhat awkward. "Mind if I...uh...sit with you?"
She looked back at him and straightened her posture, then wordlessly gestured for him to sit. Yunseong did just that, sitting down a respectful distance away.
"Is he...getting better...?" Yunseong asked. "Arslan, I mean."
Talim stared at the fire with defeat in her eyes, then shook her head. The orange of the flames reflected off of what appeared to be new tears. "...I've tried everything I can think of..." she murmured. Silence fell between them, with only the sounds of crackling wood to fill the space. "...I don't mean to offend..." she finally spoke. She turned to him. "but I don't understand how you could want such a wretched thing after knowing what it did to Arslan."
Yunseong had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Just because it could be used for evil doesn't mean it itself is evil. It's just in the hands of the wrong people, you know? It's called the Sword of Salvation for a reason," he explained himself. If Talim was convinced of his position, she did nothing to indicate it.
"There's one more thing I wanted to try to save Arslan but...he won't let me..." Talim said, changing the subject as she looked back at the fire.
"Why?" Yunseong asked. "Does it hurt?"
"It's a purifying prayer," Talim explained. "It shouldn't hurt him if he himself is still pure of heart. But...I suppose he assumes that is not the case."
Yunseong watched Talim with knit eyebrows, then shifted his gaze to the fire and thought for a long quiet moment. He gripped the hilt of his sword, then pulled it across his lap before a prideful grin spread across his lips. "I have an idea. You just leave him to me, okay?"
Talim shifted where she sat and looked at him with confusion. "If I may ask... what are you going to do...?"
Yunseong laid back, setting his sword to the side and folding his arms under his head. His chest swelled as he grew impressed with his own idea. "You'll see."
