Page 55 of To Trap a Soul

What Lindiwe thought and believed didn’t always align with his own morals and imagery. Her belief in higher beings, and her human emotions, ideologies, and morals, often clashed with the lack of his own.

I’ll work on this.He would try to be more human for her.But that’ll require I study more souls.He was not human, nor was he even an Elf. He wasn’t mortal, and he knew that meant he lacked comprehension of her capricious emotions. Her heart was tangled and indoctrinated with principles he just couldn’t understand, as he’d never felt nor experienced any through generational upbringing.

First, though,he thought, as the grass and wildflowers around him sprouted in vibrancy, and he took another step onto the inky ground and more grew.First, I must grow Tenebris.

In the distance, a mountain range rumbled as it shoved through the nothingness and replaced the endless horizon.

I would like to make... a home.

For the souls he guarded, and for himself.

A gust of wind fluttered around him as he tested how to wield something invisible to the eye. It appeared to realistically wavethe stalks of grass, rustle the leaves above him, and spread his mist out before it naturally collected back to his incomplete form.

I wonder what will become of our offspring in the meantime.

He kept the viewing disc active, watching Lindiwe as she traversed the world while he created his own. He looked at it often as days, perhaps weeks, or even months bled into each other. He moved as slowly as she did while she explored Austrális, seeming to wander the very horizon available to her with their offspring.

Every day, they seemed to grow, even if they didn’t noticeably change.

She continued offering a diet of mainly fish, once muttering how she worried they’d grow too many animalistic aspects and become a conglomerate of creatures. Humour sparked at the notion of what that could mean, as he also thought they’d look odd with too many features.

Lindiwe did find another snake for them to eat, although he wasn’t sure what kind. It did reshape their serpent skull slightly, but only in a way that made it bulkier with a stronger crown.

Not once did he speak to her, as he doubted she’d appreciate his intrusion.

He looked away for what felt like a moment as he created and shaped a mountain range properly. The task took quite some time, as it was large, and he had to sift through many human memories to have references for his art.

It was the echo of a charming giggle that brought him back to his disc.

He peered into the mana, to Lindiwe and their offspring swimming in a body of water. Weldir paused his task to give them his full, silent attention, and even made the mana home in on her face while he leaned into the disc.

This is the first time I’ve ever heard her laugh,he thought, noticing her big doe eyes crinkling at their corners. Her lips were upturned before she squealed and threw her arms up when the tail of their youngling quickly circled and sprayed water over her.

Sunlight poured over them and the moss-covered rocks, sand, and grassy edges of whatever sparkling pond or lake they swam in. A few dragonflies buzzed around them, occasionally stealing the attention of their offspring as they playfully chased after the sound.

Then, when she stole back their awareness, they pursued her with lightning speed as she attempted to swim away. Considering they were unable to see, they were rather dexterous in the water. He wondered if they were able to smell her through the water, perhaps taste her through their pulsing gills, or if they could feel the vibrations of her movements.

They sunk whenever they stilled and quickly swirled their tail under their weighty body to keep it above water. If they dropped beneath the surface, they did so purposefully and shot out to latch onto any part of her body that they could. They gave a trilling call of delight when they caught her, and proceeded to nuzzle their bony face against any part of her skin they could.

They are very attached to her.As she was to them, by the fact that she grabbed them underneath their armpits and lifted them in the air to spin in the water with a laugh.

His mist tightened around his form until he appeared fully humanoid before releasing again. An emotion lashed his consciousness, and although he wasn’t sure if his assumption was correct, he thought he may have felt... gaiety.

Their joy was almost contagious, which wasn’t something he’d expected to experience vicariously through them.

It even outweighed the desolation that pervaded his thoughts about being incapable of sharing in any kind of bond. He was anoutsider, had always been an outsider, and their companionship brought on a longing he hadn’t felt in quite some time.

I am glad she has taken to them.

He tried not to dwell on those negative emotions and let the sound of them exhilarate his spirit as he completed his task. He brought his focus back to the mountains he’d been forming, yet, like he was unable to stay away, his gaze often flittered back to the viewing disc. Especially when Lindiwe babbled playfully.

There was an unknown emotion glinting in her eyes as she held them under their arms and swam backwards. It was not a gaze she’d ever shone upon him – something warm and welcoming. Kind and trusting.

No, she only ever looked upon Weldir suspiciously, and with an unfriendliness that cut through his misty form.

“I think I finally have a name for you,” she cooed at their offspring, a smile brightening her features. “Since you have a snake skull, how about... Nathair?”

They softly squealed while straining their clawed hands out to her, since she was keeping herself out of their reach.

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