Primal

Chapter Twenty-Three

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Chapter Twenty-Three

 

The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for. ~Fjodor Dostojewski

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The air around his body was cold, and Aeron could tell that winter had finally arrived. His bare chest took on the cold front, but his internal body temperature only adjusted to keep him warm. After tracking down her fading scent for some amount of days, his bloody feet had finally caught up to her. He had tried to keep track of the number of setting and rising suns he saw, but it was impossible to not lose his count. The past week or so was constant running; only allowing his feet to stop so he could sleep or eat when he knew his body was on the verge of collapsing. He couldn’t believe it, but there she was, picking berries in the distance. They were the only kind that thrived in the cold months, and probably her only source of food besides the small winter mammals that just came out of hibernation.

She looked happier than he ever remembered her being. Every movement that she made seemed lighter somehow, her smile shining through in every action. He smiled himself at the sight, happy that she finally found some source of happiness other than her addiction to a boy still hung up on his ex lover. Zander was no good for her, he knew that, but he made her so happy in the time they had together. He leaned against the thick trunk of a nearby tree, watching her intently with his little red jewel. She didn’t notice him as she began to pop the berries into her mouth one at a time, even going to the extent of tossing them into the air and trying to catch them. She dived and maneuvered, catching each one with almost perfect precision. Aeron didn’t judge her; she had been on her own for a while and obviously had to do certain things in order to entertain herself.

 

Eventually, while trying to catch one, her eyes landed on his leaning form. Her body froze, the red dot falling to the ground and rolling into a patch of brown grass. “Aeron?” She whispered, standing there in shock as she watched for some kind of movement on his end. He began to walk towards her slowly, his movements slowly speeding up before he was running at her at almost full speed. When he reached her he let out a small breath, his hands meeting her face. “I caught up to you! I found you!” He exclaimed, his voice joyous to find her alive and well. He was so happy that he didn’t notice how uncomfortable she looked, her body tensing under his touch.

Noor frowned up at him, shying away from his hands. “Don’t talk to me. Don’t touch me. Don’t look at me. Just…Turn around and leave.” She couldn’t look him in the eye, her vision faltering from his face. She had gone so long without him; she didn’t know how to accept him back into her life. He had practically abandoned her on the mountain that day, leaving her to whatever demise she would eventually meet. “We’re both just destroying each other, Aeron.” He felt a sharp sting in his chest, her words stabbing at him over and over again relentlessly. He felt the anger build up within him, and suddenly it was all bursting out at once.

“I did all of this for you!” He yelled, grabbing her by her shoulders. He roughly forced her to look at him, his eyes spouting tear after tear. “Zander died for you! Yuna died for you! Everyone here died for you, not for me!” Each word he spit out at her caused her to flinch back in pain, her eyes squeezing tighter. It had been months since they had abandoned their quest, and yet being together now was like nothing had ever ended.  “You’re the one causing all of this destruction! I’ve only tried to piece everything back together! I’ve only…”

“Aeron, stop.” Noor whispered, cutting his words off quickly, forcing her head to face the ground suddenly. “I never wanted this. I never asked for any of this. Poison is never a good thing, and we’re poison to everyone around us when we’re together.” She watched Aeron look over her shoulder, and she knew he was watching another feather fall. Neither of them spoke, and finally they met the gaze of one another.