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Aurox

Aurox ran, not knowing or caring where his body took hiet away from the circle, from Zoey, before he committed another atrocity His feet, fullyhih the winter dor over his body, eh Aurox

Confusion-he hadn&039;t on and perhaps even Rephaiainst his will!

Despair-no one would ever believe that he hadn&039;t intended to harm anyone He was a beast, a creature of Darkness Neferet&039;s Vessel They would all hate him Zoey would hate him

Loneliness-and yet he was not Neferet&039;s Vessel No ht No ed to control hi what he&039;d seen tonightfeeling what he&039;d felt tonight

Aurox had felt Light Even though he had not been able to eoodness in the nized the beauty of it in the invocation of the ele threads had claimed and controlled the beast within hi ritual that had cul the touch of Darkness froh for hih for Aurox to realize what he&039;d done Then the just anger and the understandable hatred the Warriors had felt for hih left to flee and to not kill Zoey

Aurox shuddered and h his body, leaving him bare footed and bare chested, clothed only in ripped jeans A horrible weakness overwhel, he slowed, stu to a walk His mind was a war Self-hatred filled hi or caring where he was, until he could no longer ignore the physical needs of his body and he followed the scent and sound of water At the edge of the crystal stream Aurox knelt and drank until the fire within him was sated and then, overcome with exhaustion and emotion, he collapsed Dreamless sleep finally won the battle within him, and Aurox slept

Aurox woke to the sound of her song It was so soothing, so peaceful, that at first he did not open his eyes Her voice was rhythmic, like a heartbeat, but it wasthat filled her song Not that he felt with her the way he channeled violent eed his body fro carateful He didn&039;t feel those things with her, instead it brought to hies of joy and allowed the possibility of happiness to play through his waking mind He couldn&039;t understand any of the words, but Aurox did not need to Her voice soared, and that transcended language

Waking more fully, he wanted to see the owner of the voice To question her about joy To try to understand how he could create that feeling for himself Aurox opened his eyes and sat up He&039;d collapsed not far from the far ribbon of clear water that drifted softly, aze followed the strea a sleeveless dress fringed with long strands of leather decorated with beads and shells, stood She danced gracefully, beating out the rhythh the sun was just lifting over the horizon and the earlywas cool, she was flushed, warm, alive Smoke from the bundle of dried plants in her hand drifted around her, see her ood He didn&039;t need to channel her joy-it was palpable around her His spirit lifted because the woman was so filled with the e back her head and her long hair, silver streaked with black, easily reached her slender waist She raised her bare aran totiht up in her song that he didn&039;t realize she was turning to face hinized her then This was Zoey&039;s grandht before He expected her to gasp or screarass at the edge of her strea ceased And she spoke in a clear, calm voice "I see you, tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na You are the shapeshifter who killed Dragon Lankford last night You tried to kill Rephaied hter as if you meant her harm Are you here to kill ain, drew a deep breath of the cool, cleanair and concluded, "If so, then I will tell the sky that ood day to die I will go to the Great Mother tomy spirit" Then she smiled at him

It was her smile that broke hi voice he barely recognized as his own, Aurox said, "I am not here to kill you I ao"

Then Aurox began to weep

Sylvia Redbird hesitated for only a sh his tears Aurox watched her tilt her head up again and nod, as if she&039;d received an answer to a question Then she walked gracefully to hibreeze

She did not hesitate when she reached hi her bare feet beneath her, and then she put her arms around him and drew his head to her shoulder

Aurox never kne long they sat like that together He only knew that as he sobbed she held hi a chant and patting his back in time to her heartbeat

Finally, he pulled back, turning his face away in sha his shoulders and forcing hiaze "Before you turn away, tell me why you wept"

Aurox wiped his face, cleared his throat, and in a voice that sounded young and, he thought, very foolish, said, "It is because I aaze "And?" she pro breath and admitted, "And because I am so alone"

Sylvia&039;s dark eyes widened "You are more than you appear to be"

"Yes I areed with her

Her lips tilted up "Can a beast weep in sorrow? Does Darkness have the capacity to feel loneliness? I think not"

"Then why do I feel so foolish for weeping?"

"Think on this," she said "Your spirit wept It needed to mourn because it felt sorrow and loneliness It is for you to decide whether or not that is foolish For me, I have already decided there is no shame to be found in honest tears" Sylvia Redbird stood and held one small, deceptively frail hand out to him "Come with me, child I open my home to you"

"Why would you do that? You watched ht, and wound another I could have killed Zoey as well"

She cocked her head to the side and studied him "Could you have? I think not Or at least I think the boy I see at this moment could not kill her"

Aurox felt his shoulders slump "But only you believe that No one else will"

"Well, tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na, I am the only person here with you at this h?"

Aurox wiped his face again and stood, a little unsteadily Then he took her delicate hand very carefully in his "Sylvia Redbird, your belief is enough at this moment"

She squeezed his hand, smiled, and said, "Call me Grandma"

"What is it you call me, Grandma?"

She smiled "Tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na is my people&039;s word for bull"

He felt hot and then cold "The beast I become isyou tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na will take some of the horror fro of so, child"

"Tsu-ka-nv-s-di-na I will re shaky, he walked with the ickal old wo lavender fields It was ly wide porch Grandave him a hand-woven blanket to wrap around his shoulders Then she said, "I would ask you to rest your spirit" Aurox did as she asked while Grand softly to herself, built a hearth fire, boiled water for tea, then retrieved and gifted him with a sweatshirt and soft leather shoes fro was finished, Grandmahim food from a purple plate

Aurox sipped the honey-sweetened tea and ate froly "The food is good The drink is good Everything here is so good"

"The tea is chamomile and hyssop I use it to help me be calm and focused The cookies are my own recipe-chocolate chip with a hint of lavender I&039;ve always believed chocolate and lavender are good for the soul" Grandma smiled and bit into a cookie They ate in silence