cratty gus gus

23/02/26

Sibana looked up at the vast sky and she felt alone. Small. Like a dandelion seed in the wind. There was probably nothing out here for miles. Or perhaps there was and it was all hidden, keeping out of the way. Somehow that felt worse. She felt her own hearbeat through her ears, thrumming away in her chest. Out here, right now, it felt like the only constant and it was comforting. She cocooned herself further in her jacket and fell asleep to stark nothingness. --- She was beautiful, glamorous -- eyes like magma, skin sepia, her hair was a long shower of locs the colour of obsidian. And yet, she wasn't there entirely. It felt like she might be gone if Sibana so much as moved an inch. Sometimes if she tried to focus on the woman's face too hard, her mind started to wander. It was a face that wasn't designed to be looked at closely. 'Who are you?' 'You can call me Tewisst', the woman said. The words skipped the distance between them and appeared instead in one ear. At this point Sibana was quite sure she was probably dying. Of dehydration or hypothermia, she didn't know -- probably both. But it was pleasant enough and she had nothing better to be doing. 'I'm...', she thought, 'I don't suppose that matters anymore. Call me Sibana' 'Pleased to meet you Sibana. You're a long way from home, aren't you?' Sibana nodded, but she was tired. 'It's amazing, isn't it. I don't even know what year this is. What year is it?' Tewisst shrugged. 'I lose track.' Sibana eyed her as best she could, eyes feeling heavy. 'You must be quite old' Tewisst pondered this. 'Yes, I must be' She drew closer, knelt down. Sibana was surprised to feel a hand on her wrist. 'You're not long for this world,' Tewisst frowned. Sibana gave a wry smile. It faded. 'Probably not,' she said. 'I'm a bit scared' She covered it with a breathy chuckle. Letting it hang felt worse. 'Oh don't be. It feels like sleeping', she smiled. 'Just like sleep. But I don't think this is the right time for you' She stroked Sibana's hair and Sibana squeezed her eyes shut. 'I'd avoid closing your eyes' Sibana opened them again. Something like cold water ran through her, it staved off whatever was coming a bit longer. She felt arms under her armpits, lifting her to her feet like she was no lighter than a mouse. She couldn't really feel her legs but they seemed to be doing a fine job of holding her up. 'Sibana, do you want to live?' 'Um. Yes. I mean, not really. I don't know' It was a strange place to be mentally. She had nothing at all to live for and yet... 'Do you want to die?' She still couldn't feel her feet. Her body felt far away, and she felt the strong urge to take a nap. Her throat began to ache. She swallowed down the tears threatening to well in her eyes. Her throat felt like sandpaper. 'No', she said quietly. There were molten hot hands on her cheeks. 'Then, if you keep me company, I will lead you to civilisation. It will be hard. I don't have much left in me, but I can keep you alive' Sibana breathed deep. Breathing was a bit of a chore. 'Hard is fine. As long as it's possible' 'Then let's get going, hm?' She began a slow pace in the direction that Tewisst pointed. It took a lot of effort. Her legs felt like lead and she could never seem to catch her breath, but she kept the momentum going. Something seemed to push her. 'Thank you', she rasped. ---- 'Something is shifting, but I can't tell what. My range of influence is limited from here.' 'What kind of shift?' 'Like something waking up after a very long time' 'Are you sure you aren't talking about me?' Tewisst scoffed. 'No, not you. Though perhaps it might have woken you.' Sibana's brow furrowed. 'Woken me? Is this something like you?' 'If it is, it feels... far older. But as I say, I can't be certain' 'Because you're bound here' 'Yes' 'Tewisst' 'Yes?' Tewisst looked at her. Sibana saw the molten red of her eyes, the marble of her skin. She didn't know what she was asking, but it was worth a shot. 'Could you hitch on me?' Tewisst's face never seemed to change, but the pause was full of thoughts. 'You saved my life. I can't do this without your help.' 'I couldn't do that. You should live your life. I can't let you help without changing that, and I couldn't take that back' 'What would you need to do?' 'It's unthinkable' 'The unthinkable's already happened. Tell me' 'If you accepted me into yourself, I'd become anchored to you. I'd see what you see, go where you go. But the risks alone -- you'd be giving up any semblance of a normal life. You could not have children. You would outlive your loved ones' Sibana thought about this, then shrugged gently. 'I've already done that.' Tewisst eyed her. 'I want to help you', Sibana said, 'let me help you.' 'You owe me nothing' 'Still, I want to help you.' 'You have so much else to live for' 'Listen, I don't want a normal life. That's been and gone for me. I don't want to pretend all this never happened. I like being out here. I like being with you. Something is out there and I might be able to help figure out what it's up to. But right now I'm still dying and you're trapped here.' 'You like being with me?' Sibana felt suddenly self-conscious. Her cheeks felt hot. 'Yes.' Tewisst appeared to have a moment. She cupped Sibana's cheeks softly, smoothing her flesh with one very warm thumb. 'Are you sure? About this?' Sibana raised her chin. 'I'm sure. Change me however you need to change me.' Tewisst's face drew closer. 'Final chance', she said. Sibana's eyes fluttered shut. 'Thank you', she heard. Then there were molten hot lips on hers. All of a sudden her mind was among the stars. Inside the rocks. Inside a molten pocket under the earth. She was in the oceans, in the wind. She was part of everything, and it was vast beyond comprehension. Everything was inside her. Moving down her throat, past her heart, settling under her ribcage. She breathed in and her lungs carried a hurricane's worth of wind. Then her feet were on the ground, and her eyes opened. She was alone again, for the first time in a while, but she carried something now. Some small seed, some looking glass between her lungs. Only now could she comprehend Tewisst's size. Tewisst wasn't just the spirit of the mountains. She _was_ the mountains, and she was the caldera deep beneath them. She was, quite literally, as old as the rocks themselves. Sibana had fallen in love with a mountain.