The sharp words from his mother still ring in his mind. He knows he had replied in kind, but he can barely remember what he had said. He is unused to arguments with Evren, who has been his best and only friend since the day he was born. It has left his mind in a fog of adrenaline, anger, and anxiety.
The Voice whispers that she has abandoned him, but he does his best to tune it out. Logically, he knows it is wrong. Yet, oh, how persuasive it is. He can feel its poison sinking into his bones as he takes his first steps in a land he has never before seen. It blurs the features of his surroundings and lifts the weight of gravity until he feels as though he is walking in a dreamworld.
He barely feels real.
It is then he senses it: the Change is coming for him again. It creeps on him slowly, riding on the listless warm breeze that stirs his damp forelock. Then, all at once, it is battering against him like the sea against the coast and he can feel his identity slipping from him again.
He becomes nothing once more. He becomes They.
Time slips away from Them, and the next thing They know is They are standing before a huge pool of water, strange trees crowding it on every side. The sun beats on Them mercilessly from overhead, casting a glare on the surface of the water that hurts Their eyes.
They take a drink. It tastes bitter, like sulphur.
Han lifts Their head and watches the way the land shimmers in the distance. They have never seen a mirage before, and They cannot tell if it is real or a figment of Their imagination. But They do not question it. In fact, They find a strange comfort in the unreality of its existence. The way it moves and seems as though it will blink out of existence at any moment is familiar in the strangest way.
Han reclines in the sand beneath the shade of a tree at the water’s surface, and casually drops Their gaze to observe Their reflection.
When had They started crying?
1; mutt; sooty buckskin; 16.2hh wfg
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