athenashe nourishes the poison in her veins As the brown hued man beside her agreed to grant her wish, a smiled crept on her features as his deep voice rang out across the silent lands. The beginning of the story wasn’t all monumental, but as soon as the story got along, she became hooked. She hung onto his every word, her amber eyes burning a hole into the side of his ebony face. Inwardly, she wondered if this was a story about himself or a story that he was just making-up for the sake of her pleasure. However, by the way he began to smile as if he remembered it like it was yesterday gave away the answer. Seeing him smile made her own grin grow larger until he glanced over at her with a questioning look. As their eyes met, her smile slightly faded while she seriously began to think of an answer for the panicked boy in the story. Before she could even think of one, however; he moved on, continuing his lovely story. A story just for her.
She too once had a treasured alone place when she was young, a place where she’d go to get away from her father’s wrath. None of her family knew where she would go when Father got into one of his moods. She’s walk through a creek to ruin her trail, so none of them could find her, especially Father. If Father had found her, she might not be alive right now. Athena would slip away to a little meadow complete with another small, trickling creek full of life and at times herds of deer would move through there. The spring was the most beautiful time to go. The flowers were always in full bloom and life was fully active. It was the most beautiful place when she was growing up, but now that she has found her lake, it wasn’t as beautiful as she thought when she was younger. The lake somehow held so much more beauty in its currents and steady breaths. The way it could listen to her pain, hear her laughs, and feel her anger. The lake was a part of her now. And always will be.
She was speechless once he finished his story; all she could hear was the heartbeat in her chest and the steady breathing of Eden besides her. Exhaling the breath that she didn’t know she was holding, she finally began to speak. “That was beautiful. Thank you.” She murmured, her eyes meeting his deep sea green ones for a moment, before she turned away to gaze out across the lake, the lake that always seemed to listen to her when no one else would. The lake never left her. While everyone else abandoned her, her lake was always there for her. As these thoughts ran through her broken mind, an angry flame lit in her chest. Burning eyes glanced over to meet Eden’s, “Do you think of me a fool? Am I worthy enough to lead Poison Path?” She inquired, the turmoil in her eyes beginning to surface completely. It would seem the storm was on the horizon and the lightning was about to come crashing down.
“They left me, while I stayed and tried piecing everyone together again. I was too worried about everyone else being okay that I neglected my own self. I let my emotions fester until they became so infected that I couldn’t bear it. I put everyone before my own well-being and what did I get in return? Nothing. I raised their children and pieced their pack back together. I never left. I never betrayed them. I stayed! I suffered for them, expecting them to return! But, they never did until months later when they came sauntering back, expecting me to step down and give their children back.” Pausing a moment to glance back out towards the lake, her anger was rising higher and higher. All she needed was a listening ear that was all. It would seem Eden would just have to bear with her. “How could I just give up the children that I loved and cared for, for six months? How could I give up a family that I poured sweat, love, and tears for? They didn’t deserve them anymore. Poison Path was not theirs any longer. They broke their own rules and I should have given them the consequences when I had the chance. But no, I have a heart. I have a damn soul. I am not a cruel bitch who tosses her dearest family out to the trash. No. They are the cruel ones to expect me to give up everything that I worked my ass off for. I may not have created this pack or the children, but I keep them all alive and together while they did not! I gave them my all!”
She had been holding in all this pent-up anger for too long. Emotion was running high and at those last words, her voice cracked and she began to sob. Hot tears ran down her cheeks, but her regal head never fell down to look at her feet. No, her burning eyes stayed pinned on the lake in front of her. The only one that has ever seen her this angry and emotional had been Tlarx, but he was gone now. So now Eden became the unfortunate one to have to listen to her ranting and raving. Several moments passed before she looked away from the lake and her tears beginning to seize. Fiery eyes met the sea of green, her voice becoming soft, almost a whisper. “I just want all this to be over with. I want to be happy. I don’t want to be like this anymore, Eden.”