now what?

[small_magics]

Isibel gates the demon and all of the useful books except the parts about summoning Darkness (which she burns) into the cave where they've been sleeping.

She stays there. Their physical presence is a comfort; their mental presence works over arbitrary distances and at least they're not awake to read her.

She reads the books. Just for something to do.

Comments

[small_magics]

She snuggles up. He's so warm.

"There are times when you sleep and times when I'm focusing and times when you're focusing, and then I don't hurt, and maybe I'll - get used to it, somehow - and even if I don't, in a thousand years I'll be gone and you can go on without me and I won't hurt at all."

[endragoned]

Blinking back tears, he settles a wing around her and kisses her forehead.

[small_magics]

Snuggles.

She barely thinks of anything, now. Maybe that's how it will stop hurting. She'll flinch away from thinking until her brain stops trying to do it.

[endragoned]

No. That is no good at all. He loves her mind, every piece of it, he just - wishes he could love it from farther away.

[small_magics]

She's not sure she knows how to put it back together again now anyway.

[endragoned]

Her beloveds could help... but of course that's the problem, isn't it?

He sighs, and cuddles her, and stops thinking. It's easy enough by now to do nothing but snuggle.

[small_magics]

Snuggle. Thoughtless comfortable snuggle.