What the Morning Brings | #NaNoWriMo2018

[ 09 ]

"Why shouldn't I trust you?" he finally croaked out, the words heavy on his tongue. He was still wary of her, but she had saved his life, so at least he knew she wasn't trying to murder him.

Her dusty lips pursed, and he saw hesitation flicker in her eyes. But her conscience must have won out, because she answered his question.

"I'm not a good person," she said shortly. She looked away from him, not wanting to meet his gaze, but Ori could still see the bitterness reflected in her deep brown irises. He softened. Though he had only known her for a little while, and though she said otherwise, Ori could tell that she wasn't a bad person. People who thought they weren't good people were generally wrong.

"I don't believe that," he said, a firm edge to his tone. She didn't look threatening or harsh, like she had seemed when she had first emerged from the shadows. He had been wrong about Blithe, but something felt right about her.

"Thanks," she whispered. "That makes you one of the few that thinks so." She smiled tentatively at him.

Ori smiled back. He wanted to get to know this mysterious, intricate girl, and at this rate he had plenty of time to spare. At least now he had an ally in this messed up circus.

"I'm Ori," he said, sticking out his hand. If she thought anything of his previous lie, she didn't show it. "What's your name?"

"Woe," she said. "It's Woe."

This time, Ori accepted it. Though strange, Woe did seem to suit her.

"So," he began hesitantly, not wanting to risk their fragile relationship, "what exactly was all that?"

She pursed her lips, looking straight into his eyes as if she were pleading with him. "I control people's fears."

He took an involuntary step back and she flinched.

"It's ok, I understand. I'm used to people being afraid of me," she said darkly, and Ori winced in shame. He wished he could be more nonchalant, but he had always been a scaredy-cat.

"I think I need to go," he apologized. "I should probably get back to Blithe. She wanted to show me around."

Woe's entire face contorted into a grimace at the mention of Blithe's name, like a shadowy veil had passed over her. There was history between the two of them, but Ori wasn't going to pry. He had already learned enough secrets for one day.

"Yeah, you should definitely go find her," Woe answered, her voice thick with defeat.

She snapped her fingers and a portal whirled into existence like black cotton candy spinning around a stick.

He wanted to thank her, but now didn't seem like the good time.

What she had said earlier was wrong. He was nothing like his namesake Orion. Orion was a chivalrous, brave knight, but Ori was nothing but a fearful coward.

He took a deep breath, faced the hole, and stepped inside.

He could feel the gloom trying to hold onto him, but it wasn't able to get a grip. Still, he broke into a run.

He lept through the end of the tunnel and into the cool air, until gravity flipped and he came crashing down to earth, his orbit cut off as instantly as it had begun.

"Ori! Is that you?"

He rubbed the dirt and gravel from his eyes to find himself staring into Blithe's concerned face. He scrambled away.

"Where have you been?" she admonished. "I was going to introduce you to my friends, but it's nearly night already! You missed dinner, and now your meeting with Master Agelast will have to wait until tomorrow."

Ori wasn't too upset at missing his meeting with the ringmaster, but his stomach rumbled at the mention of dinner.

Blithe rolled her eyes and shoved a warm roll into his hands before striding off.

He followed behind her uneasily, ripping off chunks of bread and shoving them into his mouth in an attempt to satisfy both his hunger and his anxiety.

They walked through rows and rows of tents until the lights and bustle of the circus fell away.

"This is yours," Blithe said, stopping in front of a small one striped with white and swaths of starry sky.

"Thanks," he murmured, swallowing the last of his bread, but she had already disappeared.

Ori looked at his star-striped tent. It looked lonely and forlorn.

You wanted a new life, right? His inner voice asked. Don't you want to be adventurous? Don't you want to be brave, like Orion?

He knew the voice was only telling him what he already knew. Despite Blithe's trickery, it had been him who followed the music in the first place. The circus was dangerous, but he wasn't going to sit in his tent and do nothing about it.

He turned his back and walked away, returning to the distant hum of music and smattering of applause.

He hoped Orion could be proud of him now.

[ a / n ]

I've been really hesitant to post these next few chapters because I don't like them. I feel like they're really boring and need more plot asdfghj but I didn't want to go too long without updating ;v;

so sorry for basically giving you guys a trash chapter but i'm going to work on it. i might cut this in half and merge it with another  so stuff actually happens