Aoife

He was dead.

It was over.

His heart didn’t beat. His lungs didn’t breathe. His wounds were no longer healing.

He was dead.

We were safe.

His blood was dribbling down my chin, slowly pooling beneath me. I didn’t like that. I was tired and weak and my head hurt and I didn’t want to be here anymore. I wanted to go home. I wanted my sheets and pillows and soft clothes and squishy stuffed animals. I wanted Erica. I wanted Willow. I didn’t even really know how I got here. One second I was following the centaurs, then all of a sudden he was dead, and I’d killed him. I must’ve stopped time. I must’ve bitten him. I didn’t really remember.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Willow. She was sitting in a tree. It looked so nice up there, so cozy compared to this. I wanted to join her there. I took a few shaky steps towards her, but it was hard. I must’ve hurt my leg without realizing. Everything hurt, honestly. Everything but my wings, they didn’t feel much at all. I figured I should probably fly over there instead. I crouched low, and then I leapt with all my might.

I fell, landing face first in the bloody dirt.

Right.

I forgot.

My wings… I couldn’t feel them because they were ashes. I wanted to stand back up, but it was really hard. It was getting dark, and I felt tired. Maybe if I just napped for a little bit, I’d feel better. That sounded smart, I think.

“Aoife!” Willow was yelling at me. She’d dropped from the tree and had her hands on one of my horns, jostling me around a bit. “Don’t close your eyes, babe. Don’t go to sleep. Please, Aoife! Stay with me, ok? Please don’t go!”

She was crying. I didn’t really get it, it was just a nap, and I was really tired, but I didn’t want to make her upset. I guess I could try to stay up a little bit longer if she really wanted me to. I think Erica was there too. She looked kinda blurry, but she was fussing with something a little ways away. I was a little annoyed by that. She should probably be comforting Willow right now, but I didn’t think she’d just ignore her like this unless it was important. I forgave her.

“It’s ok, Willow. I’ll stay awake a little while longer if you want.” At least, that’s what I tried to say. I was still all lizard-ey though, so it mostly came out in a series of chirps and hisses. It seemed like Willow understood anyway.

“That’s right, baby. Just stay right here. Just keep talking to me. Erica’s gonna take care of you.” She turned away for a second, calling over her shoulder. “Is it ready yet?”

“Almost…” Erica moved faster for a second, working harder at whatever she was doing before a subtle pulse of magic wafted out from her hands. “It’s done!” She hurried over to me, kneeling beside Willow, a potion in her hand. I guess that’s what she’d been working on. Huh. “I need you to drink this for me, little lizard. Do you think you can do that?”

I wasn’t really thirsty, and I was too sleepy and stressed to do anything fun, but Erica had clearly worked hard on this potion. I managed to open my mouth, just a bit. She poured it down my throat, and after a bit of coughing and sputtering, I managed to choke it down.

It left a warm feeling in my stomach, one that radiated outward until it was coursing through my whole body. The pounding headache faded ever so slightly, and I began to see the world with a little more clarity once again. The fog that had been dwelling over my thoughts thinned as well, patching some of the gaps in my memory and helping me recognize just how close to death I’d come. The pain that had enveloped my being began to ease as bones were mended, burns were healed, and gashes were closed. I didn’t even know how hurt I was until I finally felt better.

My wings though, they didn’t heal at all. I guess it made sense. There was nothing left to heal, the tatters that were left were all dead tissue. It made sense, but it hurt to realize. It hurt worse than the flicker, worse than the sun, worse than the physical pain I was in right now. The beautiful, delicate wings that Willow gave me were dust on the wind, and I didn’t think I’d ever fly again. I needed them gone, if only so I wouldn’t have to think about them.

With half a thought, I shifted back into my more human-ish form, curling in on myself as I started to cry. It was over, we were safe, but I’d never fly again, and every time I looked at my back I’d have to remember what he took from me. It wasn’t over. It would never be over. I’d never be safe, not from the memories, and not from this pain. Erica took me in her arms, pulling me tightly against her chest as Willow pressed herself against my back.

“M-my wings-!” My voice broke as I tried to speak.

“I know, little lizard, I know.” Erica reached up to scratch at the base of my horns, gently running her fingers through my hair in the process. “I can’t imagine how much that hurts, Aoife, but we’re here for you. I promise you we’re here. We have the entire rest of our lives together, ok? We have that because of you.” She nuzzled against me slightly, gently bonking her horn against mine. “You were incredible.”

“But Willow! She gave them to me, a-and now they’re just… gone.”

“And they were beautiful, Aoife. They were beautiful, and they meant so much to me, but they don’t mean as much as you, the person, the woman I fell in love with. They don’t mean as much as us.” Willow had moved slightly, and now her head was resting on my shoulder as she whispered in my ear. “Something awful happened to you today, but it doesn’t change that. I still love you more than you could ever imagine, and I know you still love me. I don’t need your wings to remember that.”

I cried for a long time after that. Long enough to watch the shadows get longer as night began to fall, long enough to get hungry, long enough for the tears to truly dry up. A lot of it was sorrow, a lot of it was grief, but some of it was from joy. I was hurting right now. A lot of people were probably hurting, but now, we might actually get to live long enough to heal. When the pain faded to numbness and the tears stopped flowing, I looked at the two women I loved most in the world.

“Let’s go home.”