What the Morning Brings | #NaNoWriMo2018

[ 15 ]

ORI

Ori gasped for breath, his chest heaving in and out as he struggled to inhale. He coughed and coughed, but he could still feel the thick black gloom clogging his throat. Rays of light pierced his eyes like a thousand small daggers, and sand rubbed against his star-less skin, rough and warm. Everything was too bright, too strong, too much.

"Are you ok?" Woe's voice sent a headache pounding through his skull like an earthquake.

He winced as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His vision swam and blurred at the motion. When it cleared, he saw Woe kneeling on the ground in front of him, staring at him with wide, concerned eyes. Her irises had melted from obsidian back to dark chocolate as if all the darkness had been bled out. Her hair was wild, more than usual, with strands fraying in all directions, and her cheeks were flushed bright red. Though her palms pressed firmly against the ground, he could see the remnant wisps of gloom drifting around them like fog.

"Ori, I swear I didn't mean to do it," she whispered, drawing his focus back to her face. "I shouldn't have let it happen again. I'm so sorry."

Despite Ori's exhausted mental state, he knew that her words rung true. Whatever she had shown him had been awful, but he could read the horror and shame sprawled across her face in an unusual display of vulnerability. So he swallowed his curiosity and didn't ask about what had happened the first time.

"I know you didn't," he said. "But what I saw..."

"What did you see?" she asked, her eyes widening. Ori swore his curiosity was contagious.

He lowered his voice to a hush. "You killed me, Woe." He could still feel the spot where Artemis' arrow had pierced his skin. As he spoke, a phantom pain struck him just above his heart, and he rubbed at it.

Woe grabbed Ori's anxious hand and laid it on the ground, her hand hovering over his for a moment. "Tell me exactly what happened," she said, drawing her hand back. Despite her attempts to remain stoic, fear laced her words. Woe was afraid, and that scared Ori even more than his vision.

So he told her everything. He told her about Blithe's smoldering entrance, Scorpius' senseless rage, Canis Major and Canis Minor's loyal deaths. Finally, he arrived at the part of the story he wanted to share the least. He worried his lip, but Woe glared at him until the words tumbled off of his tongue. Finally, he told her how she had betrayed him.

Woe sat back and faced her palms toward the sky. Though the wisps of gloom from her anger had long since dissipated, she stared at them as if she could see the darkness that lingered behind.

"We can't let your vision come true," she decided, adding softly, "I can't let it."

"Hey," Ori said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "this burden isn't on you. It takes more than one star to make a constellation?"

Woe shook her head, but Ori wasn't going to take no for an answer. Whether she liked it or not, they were in this together, and he wouldn't let her bear the burden alone. He stood up and offered her his hand.

Woe stared at him as if he were crazy.

"Don't worry," he said, crossing his arms with mock hurt, "I just want to show you something."

"Fine," Woe smiled, "as long as this 'something' doesn't entail you following me into a shadow portal and almost dying again."

"Deal."

✦✧✦✧

"Does everyone here have magic?" Ori asked, staring at the velvety sky.

He and Woe sat beside, their legs dangling off the side of the roof. Despite her warning from the previous night, Woe hadn't protested when she saw where Ori was taking her. She must have known that it would comfort him to be so close to the sky, even though it was too early for the stars to be out.

Ori wanted a distraction, something to think about besides his impending doom. Whenever he tried to think about the vision, all he saw was Blithe, her face split in a wicked smile, and Woe, her moon-tipped arrow humming through the air.

"In some way, shape, or form, yes. Every performer has magic," she answered. Even though she didn't say it, Ori knew by the way she glanced at her hands that she was thinking about her own magic. Woe couldn't see the beauty in her magic, but Ori could. In himself, not so much.

"Do I have magic?" he asked, turning over his own hands. "I passed Blithe's horrible initiation, and I became Orion in my vision, but I can't have magic. Wouldn't I be more special if I did?" Ori had always wanted to be special, to be more than an ordinary boy living an ordinary life, but now that it was a possibility he wasn't so sure. Magic didn't seem like the lighthearted stuff of fairytales anymore. The circus' magic was messy and complicated and he was already tangled enough in its web of sugar-spun lies.

"Yes," Woe said without hesitation. A part of Ori's heart sank, but another part rose. "You willed something into existence. You became the stars. You must have magic. It might be buried deep in your bones, but it's there." She spoke with surety, but somehow it only made Ori less confident. Woe could more or less control her magic, but Ori had no idea where to even begin. "When the circus appeared in your backyard, did you hear that tinkly music?" she asked.

Ori looked at her in surprise, his face giving her all the confirmation she needed.

"The circus doesn't contain magic, it is magic," she explained. "That's why you heard the music that night. It was the magic in your blood and body harmonizing with the melody of the circus' magic."

"How do I find my magic?" Ori asked. "I don't hear any song inside of me... but I did feel it in my vision," he added, remembering the wonder of the stars speckling his skin and the power of the bow resting in his hand

"Magic isn't like astronomy. It doesn't have such clear rules. Its boundaries are fluid and ever-changing, and it manifests in everyone differently. I have my gloom and Blithe has her wings. There are people here who can see the future and heal any wound. No one's magic is the same." She looked at him funny, and Ori got the suspicious feeling that he wouldn't like what happened next. "It takes different things to trigger a reaction." She leaned in close, and in a flash Ori understood.

"Wai-"

In one swift motion, she shoved him off the roof.

[ a / n ]

hasn't anyone told Woe that she can't kill off the main character? what nerve!

anyway, here's some food for thought (feel free to answer in the comments!): when was the "first time" Woe showed someone their fears? what do you think Ori's vision meant? any plot predictions/foreshadowing? why did Woe push Ori off the roof? do you think it will work?

as always, thank you all so much for reading! if you have any other reactions, questions, etc, please leave a comment! <3