I know your face. (Nervoux)

[Nervoux]

Thalia Rose

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Dancing slowly in an empty room
Can the lonely take the place of you?
I sing myself a quiet lullaby
Let you go and let the lonely in
To tear my heart

Thalia's eyes remained on the grass as the silent waves of wind swept over it. In the dark, the grass appeared almost gray, leaving her in a black and white universe where she feared she might get lost. The grass rippled along the ground, appearing to her eyes as a vast black ocean, or atleast looked like the blurry pictures she used to stare at in school, the sight leaving her mouth falling open in a state of awe that something so beautiful could exist. If only she could go there and escape the barren universe she lived in at that moment, where nothing seemed to make sense.

New thoughts had begun to spill into her mind, ones that didn't help the mood around her in the slightest. Surfacing from the agonizing thoughts were the assumptions that love could not exist in a universe that was so cruel and mad, or... it never lasted. Her mother, whipped to death by the hands of another human just for her love for her desire to run through the trees and be a part of nature. Her father, leaving the life he once loved because of the loss of his wife, leaving the one child that used to be the reason he woke up each morning. And then there was Sebastian, the reason she was in such a broken state, stabbed in just a split second, causing him to crumble to the ground without a second to cry out in pain. Love. It never lasted.

A shiver of cold ran down her spine, the slight feeling bringing her back to a completely different time, where things seemed atleast a little... whole; colorful. Thalia stared up the road, the memory bringing her back to the spot she and the boy she used to love stood. In a wisp of smoke, two figures appeared standing on the dirt road, their eyes locked on the other's in a state of curiosity and longing. The girl, with her black hair whipping around her bruised face, reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of bread, stuffing it in the boy's hand with a small smile. The boy had consumed it in a minute, reaching out to brush his hand against hers.

Thalia felt the same feeling in her hand at the same time, a light gasp escaping her as the feeling jolted through her arm. Her gaze moved up to Neil, realizing that he had said something while she was in her memories, his voice fading in her ears like the two figures down the road. The girl and the boy seemed to wave at her before they left, as if saying it was time for her to move on and forget the past. They disappeared the same way they came, in a wisp of smoke that drifted up into the night sky, them being to only color in the black and white world.

She almost had the urge to reach out to the disappearing figures, as if to call out to them not to leave her, though a part of her... wanted them to. Wasn't it best for her if they left? Would it leave her empty, or just make room for something new to enter the space? She didn't know the answer to the question, leaving her in a conflicted state of confusion that wasn't even needed. Sebastian wasn't there any longer, so why did she wish to keep her grasp on him so tight? Why couldn't she let him go; let him drift up into the sky in a wisp of smoke? The answer was obvious.

"Have you ever heard the story of the Moon-mouse?" The question was quite random, though it did cause a spark of interest to surface within her. Her wary eyes turning to him slowly, her gaze holding his once more, seeing the stars reflected in his brown eyes. Color in the dark universe, the brightness of it seeming to draw her closer. The gentle sound of his voice also swept her in, as if he spoke any louder, it would shatter the delicacy that existed between them. They were both walking on a thin sheet of glass, where anything too abrupt would send it shattering to the ground in a split second.

Thalia simply shook her head, forgetting what the question even was as she watched his hand move toward hers like a snake slithering in the gray grass. The jolt returned inside of her as his fingers intertwined with her bony ones, his hand cold, yet sending warmth through her. She couldn't help but stare in wonder as he pulled her hand up to his face and brushed it gently against his cheek. The feeling of it caused thousands of emotions to immediately stir within her, a light gasp catching in her throat for the millionth time.

That cheek... it belonged to Sebastian. 'It belongs to Neil,' a reasonable voice whispered to her, but she ignored it. She was suddenly swept back into time where Sebastian had been reaped, her feet flying as she rammed into the warm enclosure of his arms. Her hands had gripped his cheeks on either side, the soft texture of them reminding her exactly of this moment, except the urgency she had felt then was gone. This time... it was pure emotion, and emotion that she refused to get herself into once again.

And just as quickly as it had happened, her hand dropped back down to the ground with a soft thud, the disconnection from him sparking confusion in her melancholy gaze. Thalia glanced up at him, his apology drifting up into the air as he refused to meet her look once again. She kept her eyes on him, the soft intensity in them able to send confidence through her once again.

"There will come a time when I will have to let go of Sebastian. I can't hang onto him forever." Thalia's voice was so gentle; so delicate, causing them to crack on the sweet taste of his name. It left her with an empty feeling that she would never be able to fill again. But, that didn't mean she couldn't try.

Slowly, she allowed herself to reach out to him once again, her fingers intertwining with his once again. The pleasure that entered her caused the smallest of smiles to fall upon her lips, for the doubt that she still felt of the strong emotion sparked her pessimistic thoughts to surface. For that moment, though, she allowed herself to enjoy the moment and push them away. She leaned slightly against him, "Now, what was that story?"

Thalia watched as Sebastian drifted up into the sky in a wisp of smoke.[/blockquote][/justify][/size][/color]

[Dancin]

Ocean Neil Miller

I can't help the grin that spreads across my face as Thalia pulls my grip back into hers. A strange fluttering in my stomach fights against the guilt still heavy in the back of my mind. I watch Thalia's lips tug into a tiny smile and grin broader; if I'm helping her, wouldn't that be what Sebastian would want?

"Now, what was that story?" She asks, her voice suddenly louder than it had been the whole conversation. I glance up at the moon again, smiling, and then sigh. I lean backwards onto the grass, putting the bright moon into my constant sights and tug up blade absent mindedly.

"Okay so, Once Upon a Time, there was a mouse. This mouse was very independent; he hated that the other animals made fun of his size, and so he always tried to prove he was strong. " I paused, watching Thalia for a moment before continuing.

"The mouse would do crazy, dare-devil things like scuba diving and cliff jumping, all to prove that he was brave. The other animals would try and talk the mouse out of these stunts; they were scared he was going to get hurt. Then one day, the mouse got an idea for the most daring thing he could ever do. The mouse was going to climb to the moon.

For the next few days, the mouse climbed the tallest things he could find, but none got him close enough to the moon to touch it. He tried so hard that he didn't sleep, and one day he fell asleep in the air and fell!

Down, down, down he fell, so scared of hitting the ground until suddenly, he stopped falling. When the mouse looked up, he saw that the tallest giraffe in the forest had caught him, and protected him from the ground. Then, the giraffe lifted the mouse up, high above the trees and the mountains, right up to the moon! The mouse reached out to touch the moon, nibbled a bit of cheese off the end and scrambled back down to earth. And from then on the tiny mouse and the tallest giraffe in the forest were the best of friends."

My voice trailed off into the silence. I stared up at the moon for a moment, thinking of my mother and the stories she told us as boys. Her words had been so elegant, so able to spin the story into reality. My words had fallen flat on my ears, dull and lifeless.

"Sorry" I mumbled, tossing an arm over my eyes. I could feel my consciousness slipping, making everything hazy. I groaned loudly and rolled onto my stomach, kneeling and then dragging myself to my feet. I held out a hand to Thalia.

"You must be tired...I know I am." I said, giving her a small smile. "I'll walk you home, and then go find somewhere to sleep outside the fence."

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