The Fallen

Thankfully, the humans provided bowls and spoons. Gruel without utensils would have been disastrous.

They returned to their places silently.

Sufi took a moment to roll his bed to create a structure to sit on.

Stold admired the idea, but did not duplicate the action. Regaining his previous position required more energy than he currently possessed.

Sufi eyed him as he tumbled down in a boneless heap.

They ate in silence, not looking at one another.

Stold scraped his bowl as clean as possible, resolving to digest every molecule of the tasteless substance.

"Shall I return our utensils?" Sufi asked.

Stold's fingers clenched around the bowl. His stomach growled.

He... needed. He desired more. The portion allotted did not sate his hunger. He found he did not wish to return the small items.

"Stold... it is not logical to keep dirty dishes in our sleeping area."

But when would they be called up to get more dishes? To fill their bowls again? Their stomachs again?

Stold blinked down into his empty hands. Sufi had removed the bowl without his noticing. His head jerked up as his companion returned to smooth his sleeping mat.

They carefully insured that they did not meet one another's gazes until the setting sun pulled a dark blanket over their world. They stretched out, side-by-side, as habit and space dictated. Curled on their sides, facing one another.

"I am sorry I touched you," Sufi whispered in a voice low enough that hopefully, only Stold heard.

"It is not logical to apologize where no indiscretion was intended."

Stold closed his eyes. Tried to not feel the sensation of the gruel settling and putting a strange pressure on his heart. Tried no not feel the shadow warmth of Sufi's fingertips on his skin. The fleeting brush of a mind just as broken and lonely as his own.

Broken, lonely, and so very different.

"Tell me about who you lost."

Stold did not sigh.

Sufi had listened to his breathing. Known he didn't sleep.

"Mother. Father. Sister."

"Younger?"

"Older. First year in the VAS."

He heard the rustle of Sufi nod, his hair scratching against the roll. For a long while, he assumed Sufi slept.

"I didn't have any siblings. My bondmate was..."

Stold squeezed his eyes shut. Swallowed hard.

"T'Vazi lived next door. We saw each other every day. Walked to school together. Ate lunch together. She tutored me in history class. I can never remember the important dates like she can."

From the glance Stold inadvertently received, he knew of their closeness. It outshone even the bond he had with his parents. Put the affection he felt for them to shame. The unbearable pain of the gaping hole she left in his mind.

"You were fortunate to have had such compatibility with your intended."

He heard the rustle of hair again.

"At the moment, I envy you," Sufi's voice fell even quieter. Admitting to such a base emotion... "For not possessing an arranged bond to be broken."