heartgear

Bedtime Stories

Added 2025-05-23 16:09:57 +0000 UTC

“What if someone taught me again? Would I be…able to?”

“To read?” Astraea asks. L nods. Astraea leans back, looking at the bare rafters overhead. “I don’t know.”

“Can we at least… try?” It hurts to hear herself sound so fragile. Like her words are about to crumble to dust.

“L, o-of course!” Astraea straightens, lifting the book so that L can see the pages too. “Of course we can try. Do you - “

“ - n-not tonight.” L huddles down. “Today has just been so - I mean, for now, could you just…"

She looks wistfully at the book. Astraea leans forward.
“You want me to read it to you?”

L nods, swathing herself in her wings. Astraea smiles shyly and tucks closer, smoothing the novel on her lap. L closes her eyes so she doesn’t have to see the words she doesn’t understand, focusing instead on the comforting warmth at her side. The soft music in Astraea’s words as she begins to speak. She can feel it in her head - the wind in her hair, salt spray on her lips, waves pitching her up and down. Carrying her to an adventure she can lose herself in, at least for a while.

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Excerpt from Imago Ch22: What Lies Within

L sure does take a lot of her namesake through this story :<