the faith you prove

Ezekiel de le Poer · 04-04-2011, 09:29 AM

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Word Count: +3

The most terrible thing within Ezekiel was a talent his father lacked—if he had so chosen, this boyish wonder, this charm, it could be made into pretense and warped many a trusting heart to dark deeds. He knew this because he had done it. Corruption had not yet grasped his heart as it had with so many, but like the world, he had been touched. It was inevitable.

He sensed this capacity within Alaine, which was why he did not push her. His instincts had turned him against the children from the start, but she loved them and he would protect them because they were kin. No matter what else, they were kin. This foolhardy faith in his bloodline had carried him into the wilderness and stranded him there for two years. This time he recognized, at least, that something was Wrong. He had not sensed it in Talitha, but her wickedness was perhaps a fault of the most vile things she had suffered.

Perhaps this was why he sensed it within Alaine, though he did not know her and knew nothing of her past. Or, perhaps, he simply imagined the world as it was. There was little romance within him for the lives of beasts. Earth was a savage place, and he knew that all too well.

Her memories carried her away but she remained grounded and spoke with the same indifference to her illiteracy as so many others had. Again, he thought of his sister. “I could try teaching you some,” he offered, fingers scratching at the back of one hand. “Or I could read it to you, if you would want.” This too, was offered with little emotion—he did not indicate anything besides the fact it was an offer, aware that the wrong tone might make him come off as cruel.

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