Swan Song || The Lost Boys - & The One Who Found Them...

Chapter XV ~ ᛉ (Algiz) Part I - Crossing Bridges...

__________

I opened my eyes to the sound of deafening silence; a silence I could not only hear but also see since there was neither sound nor movement, nothing to challenge the senses.

How long had I been singing? It was hard to tell. I had completely lost myself in the song; had savoured every single line of the lyrics, had taken in every single note. Right now I felt like I had just snapped out of some very deep trance.
There was a gentle tingle in each of my fingertips from stroking the strings of my tagelharpa, slowly fading.
My eyelids were heavy as iron, aching to drop again, but the sight bestowed on me compelled them to remain open.

I found myself eye to eye with Marko, his fully dilated pupils unapologetically glued to my own.
The grey-blue ponds that surrounded them had regained all their tranquility, & that amber glow of rage & bloodlust had faded without a trace. His young, handsome features were relaxed, softening more with each second, & near the corner of his mouth I thought I saw a slight twitch, like he wanted to smile, however no smile appeared.

It took me a while to realize that he had extended his arm in my direction, his hand wrapped in a fingerless glove inches away from my own, fingertips stained with blood & dirt.
I let the tagelharpa slide down my lap before pushing it aside, slowly inching closer to take the young half-vampire's hand.
Despite his hand being bigger than mine it felt oddly fragile, also his fingers were trembling. Unfortunately not for long...

" Marko..? "

He blinked once I whispered his name, slowly but surely stepping out of his daze.

A smile rolled over my lips.
" ...how are you feeling? "

But he wouldn't respond, at least not with words. His fingers tightened around mine for one tender squeeze before his hand, much like a marionette cut free of its strings, grew limp & slipped out of mine. His eyelids dropped like curtains, putting an abrupt ending to our intimate moment.

I gasped, instinctively picking up his hand again to tug at it.
" Marko?? Marko?!! What is wrong--- "

" He passed out from exhaustion ~ "
A baritone voice right next to me cut me off, followed by a large silhouette that appeared in my field of vision & reminded me that there were other people in the room as well.
I peered up to see a still shirtless David, kneeling on the edge of the couch & eyeing his unconscious brother with stoic features.
" ~ the adrenaline from earlier must've worn off. Lucky for us. Now we can take a closer look at his wounds. "

Steel-blue eyes drifted in my direction.
" Your voice truly does hold a certain power. "

" I... I don't think it was my voice's doing. It's the music that heals. "

" If you say so ~ "
A faint smirk illuminated David's features before his attention drew back to the unconscious Marko & I got up to make room for him, only now realizing that I had been sitting in such an awkward position, my left foot was completely numb.

It was when I took a couple of steps back that I noticed Paul sitting on top of the couch like an owl, still panting from the previous battle with his brother & beyond doubt grateful for my intervention. Seeing him so quiet & absent-minded would most likely always feel weird to me since it was so 'out of character', & as far as I could tell no one but Marko was capable of bringing Paul's vulnerability to the surface for everyone to see. The silence, the thought.

The humanity he still possessed yet never showed.

" Do you guys need my help..? "

David to my left shook his head.
" You have done your part, Lily. We got this. Although we could use a couple of bandages & some alcohol ~ "