By the Skin of Our Teeth

[skyler manfield]

Sometime during the lullaby, Cael had reached up and taken her hand, gripping it so tightly it almost hurt. She didn’t pull away though, he was clinging to the only comfort offered, and she knew that lifeline probably seemed as fine as spider silk and just as tentative at the moment. Instead, she placed her other hand over his, covering the ugly scarred brand on the back of his hand, as if hiding the horror of his experience, although she knew it was impossible to conceal the ugliness of what Reznik had done.

His eyes were closed, his voice smooth though hushed when he finally spoke. Somehow he had known the song - Skyler had no idea when she chose it, it was the only lullaby she knew, the most soothing tune she could think of. But he had heard it as a child - before she was even a squalling reminder of her mother’s negligence. She’d no idea it was a Salvic lullaby - none of the whores at the brothel had been Salvic, most had never even been out of Radasanth, much less Corone. That left only one person who could have sang it to her.

“Hawk,� she replied, more in response to her own thoughts than to Cael’s question, “He must have sang it to me when I was little. I suppose he translated it for me so I’d know the words. They used to scare me a little.�

Lifting her hand from the back of his, she absently traced the edges of his pale brows, then down over his eyelids - his skin was almost translucent, and the circles under his eyes were so dark it could have been from being hit, but it was more likely just poor nutrition and poor sleep. Her grey gaze surveyed his face, then flitted up to the wall next to the cot at the corner of the cell - there were tally marks scratched into the grime that coated the stone, and she grimaced at how many there were. He’d probably stopped long before now. One could only count so many days in the dark.

“It’s strange, because I never remembered that until now,� she admitted softly, bringing her mind back to his question - he wouldn’t want to talk about how long he’d been here, and she didn’t want to think of how many times Reznik had visited in the duration, “I’d never thought of Hawk that way before. He was never the lullabies and cuddles type. But now I wonder… he sang that song to me like… I was his child.�

The memory was more clear now, it was not long after he’d found her in the council room and taken her under his wing. She’d been a tough kid, not one for tears or tantrums. By that time she’d already killed two men, and Deacon had more than once partaken of what he felt was rightfully his. Perhaps it was after one of those nights, when she’d wandered back to her room like a ghost, and Hawk hadn’t been able to figure out why she wouldn’t speak to him. That part of the memory would likely always stay just out of reach. But she did remember him pulling her into his lap, much as she’d done with Cael, and singing to her. His voice had been much more melodic, deep and resonant, his native accent emerging as the words left his lips. He’d rubbed her back like the child she was, and Skyler had simply lain there, curled around herself in silence, absorbing the song as she tried to forget her own personal nightmares.

“You should eat again - if you can,� she recommended, changing the subject, “I know I need to.�

Without shifting him out of her lap, Skyler was able to reach the backpack and began pulling supplies out. Setting two apples, and the chunk of cheese on the cot beside her first, she then pulled the flask of whiskey from her pack as well. Her stomach rumbled loudly as if in response to the sight of food, however simple, and she looked down at Cael with a soft giggle, although she wasn’t sure why she thought it funny.

“I think your stomach could use some real food, and your mind could use some real drink,� she recommended as though it were her professional medical opinion, “The apples are perfect, and this cheese is sublime. Besides, they’ll go bad if we don’t eat them soon.�

With a tilt of her head and a twinkle in her eye, she dangled the flask in front of his face. Skyler was sure they both remembered what had happened the last time he drank from one of her flasks, and she was sure even he could see the humor in it now.

“Don’t choke on it this time, okay?�