~•~
Hi mom :)
Cally rises with the dawn, the sun streaking into the small hut in little rays of transparent warmth. The heat of the morning sun is pleasant to her shaded limbs, the fire having burnt out sometime during the night. She arises slowly, awareness returning languidly to her senses.
As she gains consciousness, she notices warmth against her back as well. Actually, perhaps warmth is not quite the correct term. Burning is more accurate; hot, flaming heat along her spine.
Cally jumps awake, her body jolting away from the heat source. She whips around and is startled to see thick, orange flames curling upwards. They lick dangerously at the peak of the tarp tent, precariously close to the tree branches themselves. Cally coughs on the smoke as she looks frantically for an exit.
That's when her eyes alight on the very source of the problem itself. Atlas sits on the other side of the raging fire, his eyes filled with a destructive glee as he watches the flames rise higher and higher. A bundle of dried reeds and twigs are held in his arms, occasionally releasing a few into the fire. Cally has never seen him smile before, but he is very close to it now.
"What are you doing!?" She exclaims, already diving across to take the tinder away from him.
"It gets bigger the more you put in," he says in wonder.
"Yes!" She coughs. "That's how fire works!" She rips the reeds out of his hands, startling him from his pyromaniacal reverie. He looks at her in utter confusion as she grips his wrist and drags him from the smoke-filled tent. He goes with her willingly, wondering what has upset her so.
Once outside, Cally releases his wrist and anxiously turns around. Thankfully, the tent is not on fire, yet, just completely filled with smoke. She bends over, elbows on her knees as she hacks and coughs. Her eyes glance reproachfully up at Atlas, bothered to not see him in a similar state of distress. He looks down at her, arms crossed casually over his chest.
Cally stands up to her full height, still much shorter than he, and jabs a finger in his chest. "Are you insane?!" She asks, eyes fierce with anger. "That's my house! That's my house you nearly burned down! Do you have any idea how dangerous your little stunt was?! You could have killed me." She jabs her finger at him after every clause, bouncing on her toes like a boxer ready to fight. "You--you... pyromaniac you!"
She finishes her rant with an angry scowl. Cally knows she must look at least a little scary. She feels like she could be shooting lasers at him through her eyes. He nearly burned her home to the ground! Her little house would have been nothing but ashes in the sand if she hadn't awoken when she did. For heaven's sake, the man was a menace!
Atlas watches with utmost amusement.
His jaw aches with the effort of keeping the smile from his lips; however, his eyes clearly display the glee in his countenance. Of all the things he has put her through, this is the one she is most upset about. He has never seen her angry like this before and it is his favorite of her emotions thus far. Her tiny hands, fisted at her sides, nearly shake with rage. Her lips pull down into a pout, brows furrowing to form a crease above her nose. She probably is very angry, but to him she is no more threatening than a clam.
Atlas could almost describe her as cute.
"But did it burn down?" He asks, gesturing his arm wide.
Cally's bravado cracks. "Well, no, but--"
"Did I?"
"That's not the point!"
"But what if it was?"
"You are insufferable!" She shouts. "What if you had burned m--" All of the sudden, she stops. As though she had been doused in a bucket of cold water, Cally's entire body tenses as she realizes her mistake. In her rush of adrenaline, she had forgotten who it was she had been speaking to. She had forgotten that she was speaking--was insulting--the very man who held her fate in his hands.
"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't... Shouldn't have..."
Atlas advances towards her a step, craning his head down to meet her lowering gaze.
"You were going to ask what would happen if you had been burned, correct?" His voice is low, steady.
"I..." Cally wrings her hands together behind her back, tucking her chin away from him. "I for... forgot--"
"Forgot what, to be afraid of me?" He asks, bending down to look into her eyes. He holds eye-contact for a long moment until she breaks it. Cally's shoulders inch up to her ears, shrinking herself even smaller. He places a finger under her chin, lifting her gaze up to meet his own. "I wouldn't have let anything happen to you."
Her eyes widen, lips parting at the unexpected statement. They fill with a little light she had lost over the many weeks spent alone.
"Honestly, I've put way too much effort into keeping you alive. I can't let anything happen to you after all the time I've spent on your safety." His reply is blunt and callous, but somewhat comforting nevertheless. Despite not having the best intentions, the point is still the same: he wouldn't have hurt her.
Cally takes a deep breath as Atlas retracts his had. She swallows, the fear that had taken over her thoughts slowly dissipating. A long silence is drawn out between them, during which Atlas remains astute to her passing emotions. Confusion first overtakes her countenance, followed by resignation, then finally settling on peace.
"Just please be careful with the fire next time? It's dangerous," she says quietly, evenly.
"You should at least thank me before you go patronizing me," Atlas quips.
"Thank you? For doing what?" She asks, crossing her arms defensively.
Atlas chuckles mockingly. "Oh, don't tell me you didn't even notice."
"Notice wha--"
Atlas reaches a hand forward, ignoring Cally's flinch. His fingers delicately stroke her hair from her temple all the way down her long, flowing golden tresses. His fingers glide smoothly and without the tug of a single knot or tangle.
Cally first watches him with apprehension then with shock. "Did you..."
"It looked awful, so I decided to fix it. I think I did a rather sufficient job of it. Plus, you didn't even wake," Atlas admits as he pulls away.
"You... You touched me in my sleep?" She asks with mild anger.
"When else would I have done it?" He parries. "You flinch at my every movement," he snaps his fingers in front of her nose, receiving the desired result. "See?"
Cally is momentarily at a loss for words. She frowns at him, more than a little disturbed by his reasoning. "And that is a reasonable excuse?" She asks. "I have every reason to be wary of your actions, especially actions which include the handling of my body."
Atlas tsks sarcastically. "So ungrateful..."
"You could have at least asked for my permission. It is what most people do."
"Most people as in humans, correct?" He crosses his arms over his chest, an aloof look taking over his countenance. "Oh, so you humans are so much better, huh? Such perfect little do-no-wrong animals."
"It is human culture to ask before touching someone, yes," Cally defends. "There are some who break those rules, but usually we stick to the idea that you only touch someone with permission."
Atlas narrows his eyes. "What do you mean? If it is in your culture to ask for such things, why do some ignore that?"
Cally draws a blank, not exactly sure how to explain. He has a point, but unfortunately things aren't always that simple. "Yes, but there are some humans who think they are above those rules. They think they have the right to override someone's words."
He takes a moment to ponder her words before responding: "Does this happen often?" He momentarily forgets about their current argument.
"Do you remember the conversation we had--what you warned me about--the first night you were... Had two legs?" Cally asks.
"Yes." he replies slowly, understanding where her thoughts are leading.
"Some human men behave the same way--"
"What are you saying?" He asks harshly. "That we are somehow comparable?"
"Yes," Cally bravely replies. "Not all humans do such despicable things, but some do and of varying degree, just like your kind would do to me."
"Our actions are excusable. We would never do those things to our own people. You humans are our prey, which gives us the right--"
"No, it doesn't!" Cally harshly replies. "Whether it is against your own people or another's, the actions are still the same. It is disgusting and wrong for both parties regardless of biological makeup." Cally feels the sting of tears behind her eyes, a result of the heavy emotions waying on her psyche. "Humans are capable of terrible things, just as your kind are capable of terrible things. But my people are also capable of doing good." Her voice grows softer, eyes looking up to his dark, hooded ones. "Just like I'm sure your people can do good as well, I just don't think I've had the opportunity to see it yet."
Atlas remains emotionless to her eyes, but his insides twist with anxiety. Everything that he has ever convinced himself of is being dissolved thought by thought through the words of a creature he never imagined himself capable of conversing with. His mental image of humans crumbles before his eyes as the reality of her words ring true.
"So you see, then," she whispers softly, intimately. She steps closer, throwing him off with her uncharacteristic bravery. "We are not quite as different as we may seem."
~•~
Atlas observes her from the opposite side of the fire. She sits silently, occasionally tending to the flames which flicker in the darkness. Her countenance is one of peace and serenity. No harsh lines of anger mar her brow, no signs of sadness or grief twist her lips. Malice is no where to be found, only sublime tranquility.
After everything she has been through--everything he has put her through--she remains resilient. She still grieves for the things taken away from her, he has witnessed her moments of weakness, yet she still has the goodness--the love--to accept his kind as capable of virtuous acts. It is baffling, to say the least. He has done nothing to provoke her acceptance, yet he has gained it nonetheless.
She lays her head to rest, eyelids closing softly, lashes brushing cheeks turned rosy by the sun. Soon her breaths even, her chest rising and falling. Atlas listens to the steady beat of her heart as it thrums repeatedly in her chest. The soothing sound almost lulls him into a slumber of his own, but he forces himself to remain awake.
He has a human to protect, after all.