(Pure)
Down the drain, another storm is coming today
You breathe heavily as you run, the moist sand sticking to your bare feet. You run past life you never knew existed, you run past plants that can't grow anywhere else, and you run past the raging storm that swallowed you as you slept. Your hair is soaked and your bone mask is wet. You wear natural animal skin, showing any passerbyers your constant need for clothing. You were dropped into the desert by Elara when you threatened to execute her, and then fought back. It just happened one day. She must have thought you were a normal red. She must have thought that as a servant, you wouldn't do anything. She was wrong. And she was wrong to throw you into a desert, as you are a newblood, and you can control sand.
Sounds the same, we're barely living, fading away
And as the rain began to get heavier and heavier, you start to slide off your feet, turning your body sideways to ride the sand like a skateboard as you kept your hands in front and behind you. You can see the sun and the same place the clouds end. It's so close, yet so far away. You hate the feeling of getting wet, yet this cold water is a refreshment. For the desert, it does rain a lot. You can use this free water. You are used to cutting open cacti with your bare hands and drinking that, but the normal fresh clouds are what can ruin or make your day.
In the end, our fate is fading, are we all dead?
Once you reach the area unscathed by rain, you dive to the hot, steaming sand. It's refreshing against your body. You practically bury yourself in it, trying to raise your body heat. Rain has never felt good for you, especially when you wake up in it.
You look up at the sky, lifting your hand up to block your eyes from the beaming sun. You don't understand why you don't just give up. Why haven't you just laid down and stopped getting up? Why do you push yourself every morning? Is it for just the experience? One day, do you want to get saved?
A star came up for us but no, we couldn't touch
You spread your arms out, stretching yourself before your hand makes contact with something hard. You retreat, spinning onto your stomach and you crouch in an attack position. Through the skull you wear in front of your eyes, you can see an almost buried body in the sand. It is still breathing, but with as fast as the storm is coming, won't survive much longer. You look behind you. The storm is not so close, yet not so far.
Slowly, you begin to crawl towards the human being. They are tall, much taller than you, and not as nutrient as they should be. You can see their socks pointing out from the sand like cacti. You crawl until you shade their head with yours, viewing it without the sun on it. You haven't seen a human in a while. How did he get here?
You poke his cheek, resulting him to turn his head. Quickly, you retreat. He's alive. Obviously, he was breathing. But he's responsive. And alive.
When our prayers became more than a dream
And then, he opened his eyes. His eyes were a sparkling blue. You backed away until your back felt the piercing brush of a Joshua tree. He looked around. And you closed your eyes. You didn't want to see his first reaction to you. Fear? Concern? Worry? Anger? You wanted to have none of it embroidered into your brain.
If you're here and alive, scream it into the sky
"Are you..." he doesn't finish his sentence. You open one of your eyes, looking at him as he stares at you. One of his legs was buried under the sand, but the rest of him was propped up. He keeps his eyes on your uniform that you haven't taken off in years.
"No," you respond with a stern voice. You are surprised by how deep your voice is. You hear it often in yelps and roars, but speaking normally feels strange now. Maven crouches, matching your position. Instead of playing along with his foreigner games, you stand. You try to push all of your feelings away. This is nothing, you promise yourself. You need to protect this boy and who he is.
"The storm is coming," you turn your body around before looking back at him, "follow me." And then you start on your journey. He follows you slowly, his leg burning from the unusually warm sand. Obviously, he doesn't like the feeling of it. But this is your game, not his. If he doesn't want to catch up then you won't slow down for him.
"What is your name?" He asks. You don't respond, walking silently passed creatures of all kind that Maven cowers away from. After more silence, he tries again.
"Where are we?" He asks. He turns his face away from the back of your head, embarrassed to be revealed to so much of your skin. He's used to classy dresses and groomed hair. How did he end up here?
"I don't know," you answer truthfully. He is shocked to hear your voice again but is happy any other way. Your mind is too occupied to pay too much attention to him.
Lemme know if you wanna believe
"Stand back," you say to him as you put your hand out as a line for him not to cross. He stays quiet, watching the world around him for any signs of why you stopped him. He thought you were just a scavenger red who was born and raised here. So he was shocked when he saw the layers and layers of sand in front of him raise to above his height, opening like the mouth of a beast.
"Let's go," you look behind you to the storm. Then, you take Maven's dirty hands into yours as you lead him into your den. There are stairs made of sand, seeming uneasy to step on, but as he does he finds it surprisingly rough. There are homemade lanterns on the walls, helping Maven see his way down. He is surprised at how deep it goes. It feels like he's been declining for miles.
"Did you make this?" He asks, touching the walls as he walks. You hum as a yes. You made these mere months after realizing you were stuck, and you are still working on it.
Finally, you two reach the main room. There are animals; thorny devils and fennec foxes running around in the underground. Maven has never seen those animals in his life. He was shocked at their forms and habit.
"There is a storm coming, so I let them take shelter," you explain as you take your mask off of your face. You place it in a corner before turning to Maven. He's still, shocked at how beautiful you are. He never expected you would look like that from under your mask.
Yeah so, watching the sun go down
Maven began to ask you questions, and you answered them to the best of your ability. At first, he dodged the wild animals like they were the plague, but as he sits down on the sandy floor he began to let them crawl over him. You found it humorous. When Maven asked for food, you shook your head. Food is only for the mornings, mornings without any rain. You felt bad for him. But you can't relate. He is a silver, one of royalty. He'll never understand survival tendencies.
Til the day comes again, I guess it's bye bye bye
"Stay, here." You whisper once you hear the distance thunder begin to disappear. Maven sat alone as he watched you walk up the stairs. You are truly animalistic, reflecting your years you've spent in isolation and animals. He finds it unique. You would be perfect in a war setting, he imagines. You are quick witted and intelligent to the point that neither red or silver can come. You have experience that you can share with the soldiers on his side.
He laughs to himself, looking around at the room. No, you wouldn't be good at war. But you would be good at teaching about survival. Maybe that's what he'll use you for.
Every step and regret would disappear from mind
"The storm has passed." As you returned, you let the sand opening remain wide as the animals took note of your gestures and began working themselves back upstairs. You look at Maven, who is memorized by your gaze. You are truly a warrior and a scary one at that. Maven can see the moon from where you stand and began to wonder how long he's been down there.
"And you will sleep," you step closer to him before crouching to his seated level. "Sleep is good for silvers," you add almost mockingly. He squints. You don't like silvers, you just made that obvious. He almost laughed.
"I am a good silver," he lifts his arm, "no bracelet." He realized his missing bracelet right when he woke up. With no fire to ignite, he is just a mere human at this point. You examine his wrist, and then his other one before looking into his blue eyes. You don't say a thing before standing and walking away. Maven watches you as you sit on the other side of the room, watching him.
"Sleep." You repeat, stretching your legs out in front of you. Maven smiles to himself before doing the same as you, turning his head and pretending to close his eyes.
We know it'll end so for now we're staying friends
At night you retreat back up to the surface. You think about food, and if Maven will appreciate the type of food you capture. Well, he has no choice. Either eat wild mammals or starve.
You capture your food before cutting the middle of a cactus and wrapping it in the skin of the animal. Water, for Maven. Food, for Maven. Why are you treating this human-like they deserve to live? They are a silver, probably the reason you are even here. You should just let him die. But you don't.
When you return back to your den, food and water in hand, Maven is truly asleep. It calms you.
You make an opening in the wall to keep it cool before sitting on the floor next to Maven. He's probably used to thick, expensive beds. You're surprised he even managed to sleep.
Salute the dead, paving the road we know up ahead
You fall asleep next to him, trying not to touch his silver skin. It feels like poison to you. It feels like something you shouldn't be protecting or adoring. But it intrigues you and makes your heart turn in its cage.
Hey, hey, hey, do really think we should rendezvous?
Inside a desert never ending, you'll see it soon
"Do you ever think we'll find a way out?" Maven asks as you hand him the cold meat you prepared the night before. You don't eat, you give all of your food to him. He stares at it like it's the most disgusting thing he's ever seen.
"No." You admit truthfully. He looks at you with sorrow lased in his iris'. It seems to hit him at that point. Being stuck in the desert for the rest of his life.
"I'll protect you," you also admit. You sit in front of him, reaching out your hand to touch his leg. His heart accelerates with the action before he turns away from you. You remove your hand, doing the same. You have never felt so weird in your life.
If your heart is alive, scream it into the sky
"Thank you." Maven says. You close your eyes. His voice, so peaceful, gets stuck in your head. You think about it a lot. It's what helps you work against the starvation and lack of water. His voice, his eyes, and his silverblood refuse to let you give up. He gives you the hope that one day maybe you will escape, hand in hand, and admit to the world that everything will be alright. But for now, you try to come to his desires for satisfaction to yourself. And he appreciates every second of your presence as he tries to figure out how a beautiful red became the queen of the desert.