Live and Let Die

LERRIN

It was strange, Lerrin realized in that moment of facing death, the little details that stood out.

The Hallowed Grounds were so silent, he heard a gust of wind flutter in his ear as it ruffled his hair, and whipped Reth's black hair across his cheek.

Reth stood over him, his warm-brown skin glistening with sweat, the rounds of individual muscles reflecting the sun as he moved a step closer, his rugged face drawn down in sadness.

And his eyes…

Lerrin saw in the male that stood over him the eyes he used to see in his father. The eyes that regretted pain. That sought strength, but not at the cost of someone else's weakness.

Lerrin saw in those eyes the heart he wished he had.

Lerrin's knees hurt from hitting the hard-packed soil that was growing hotter by the second under the afternoon sun. But he didn't care. He was about to die.