CLimbing the ladder - Ruin's escape part 3
The sand was hot against Ruin's paws, the wind arid and dry, as it raked across his face, blowing his ears about uncomfortably. He had been in the desert a few times, but this was different. He no longer had the constant hum in his mind, and it felt...strange without it. The oppressive hand of the empire had been with him his whole life, ever since they adopted him from the Orphanage and raised him to be one of their best weapons.
The Scorpion had seen potential in him, the military had used precious resources to train him, to hone his skills, so he could best serve their interests. That idea that he was valuable had kept him going all these years, and to suddenly have that tether cut felt...solemn. He felt like he lost something, and was lesser for it.
Now, he padded through the sand with Miyuki at his side, and the four young phuzo asleep on his back. Their weight meant nothing to him, so he had no qualms about carrying them. To be honest, he doesn't really remember much beyond meeting them, before finding himself out in the sand, with the city at his back.
He had been so tired, he must have simply been thinking too deeply to notice how far they'd gone. He cast a glance over his shoulder once more, staring forlornly at the city that had been his entire universe. A sorrow filled his heart and rose up within his body, causing his eyes to sting and blur, as warm tears began to streak down his rugged snout. What was this feeling? Why did his heart feel so tight, and his lungs so small? Why did his paws want to turn him back, to run back through the city, looking for the faces that surrounded him as a child? Why did he feel reluctant to leave?
A small sob escaped him, as he stared back at Praque, thinking about Velius, Archimedes, Leuc, Adonis....The Scorpion. Had they all made it out? Were they still trapped inside? or worse? He remembered the swell of pride he felt whenever the Scorpion deigned to respond to his queries, how he felt seen and valued, and now his heart was torn in two as part of him wanted to protect those phuzo.
A darker part of him coiled underneath the sorrow, whispering how he doesn't need any of them, and how that city did nothing but hurt him and belittle him, and how he should be happy, and hope the whole thing burns to the ground.
His heart broken, Ruin shook the darkness from his mind and hung his head, letting the tears continue to silently fall as he padded after the concerned Miyuki, who stood ahead of him, quietly watching without judgement. She reached up to gently stroke his flank, muttering some condolence for the loss of his home.
Ruin simply shrugged a little, leaning in to her touch as she steered him southward, and the trail of tears in Ruin's wake marked the canyon forming in his now broken heart. His only comfort was the knowledge that soon he would be with his little love, and then perhaps the strange melancholy would evaporate.