The Core

It didn’t take long to push through all of the silver trees and emerge in front of the dull house. They both stood, staring at the house and neither moved. Taylon dropped the bags and plopped his butt into the snow and Lark stared at him.

“Don’t look at me like that, sit down,” he said while patting the ground next to him. Lark looked at the cold snow and shivered. Slowly, she sat into the snow. It was cold and wet and she felt the liquid seeping through her clothes. She made a disgusted face and Taylon’s laughter filled the silence of the snow.

“So,” he said, holding out the ‘o’ awkwardly. “Here we are, in the snow, freezing our butts off, literally in your case. Now would be an excellent time to ease my curious mind! Don’t you think?” He asked, raising a brow and smiling. Lark huffed and blew a piece of chocolate brown hair out of her face. Taylon saw that Lark didn’t look too convinced. “The faster you do it, the faster we can get inside and get dry clothes.”

This brought Lark’s attention to her soaked butt and the moisture was seeping through the rest of the fabric, she grimaced. “Treticha is next, the Advisor of Technology. He likes to know everything, he’s quite the know it all. He doesn’t quite care for secrets,” she said with a smirk. “Then the dynamic duo is Ornic and Ereisa, the Advisors of Sin and Moral. They go everywhere together; they’re connected at the hip.”

Taylon interjected then with a hearty chuckle, “Ornic must have had a field day with Andor and me.” He laughed again thinking of the many things that Andor and he had done that was considered ‘sinning.’It ranged from sleeping casually with woman, although that more Andor's suit, to cursing like sailors, Taylon only cursed like so when appropriate. He shook his head as Lark cleared her throat.

“Yes and you probably gave Ereisa a heart attack,” she said, laughing a little.

“You don’t seem too displeased about that,” he said, noting the gleam in her eye. She blushed though; clearly embarrassed that she had let her guard down enough for him to be able to analyze her. She shrugged, trying to move on from that conversation. “Well?” Taylon persisted.

Lark sighed, “I suppose I don’t really care for Ereisa much. She’s sort of pompous and cynical. She always has her nose in the air, like she’s better than all of us. It’s only because she thinks she can do no wrong.” Lark laughed a little. “The irony of it all is that she’s quite the pushover if Ornic is involved. She’s supposed to keep the world holy, but allows Ornic to run wild.”

Taylon smiled and nodded, willing her to go on. “Your mother mentioned the Advisor who creates things, she does exist. Her name is Merieta and she wills everything to life and to death. She is aided by Lavena, the youngest of The Core, who is literally the imagination of The Core. Carno is the Advisor of Common Knowledge, everything that already is and forever will be.” Lark sighed, “Of course there is me and Zorac. Well, that’s everyone; all ten of us.”

Taylon shivered a little, thinking of how these ten people controlled everything he knew. It was a crazy thought, but plausible. Something was responsible for the creation of Palimea and this was an explanation that was living in front of him. At that moment, Lark’s visible markings seemed to glow. “Sort of eerie,” he commented.

“What do you mean?” Lark asked, wondering what was going through his head. It was easy for Lark to grasp and understand. In fact, it was what she lived. Taylon shrugged and Lark observed the emotions that crossed his face: confusion, suspicion and then curiosity.

“That’s all you guys do then? You just control Palimea?” He questioned. Lark bit her lip softly, would she dare go into the conversation about the rest of the world? Could he even begin to fathom how small his world really was? Taylon locked eyes with her and it made her decision all the more difficult. She couldn’t lie to him, he had done nothing but trust her.

“Well, to an extent,” she finally said. She left room for him to question if he wished, which she didn’t doubt he would. But, she also allowed him the ability to pass over the conversation and leave it at that. The look on his, however, showed that her first assumption was correct.

“To what extent?” He questioned, raising an eye brow. Lark bit her lip again and looked around her. She didn’t know what to say or even how to explain to someone that there whole world was different. “You can trust me,” he said, noticing her conflicted face, “Who am I gonna tell?”

“Andor, Rhiana or anyone,” Lark commented. Taylon locked his hazel eyes with Lark's silver ones. He found her hands once again and intertwined their fingers. Lark's heart started beating faster for she had never had much male contact and even this little bit made her uncomfortable.

"You can trust me," he persisted. Lark wanted nothing more than to trust Taylon. She wanted nothing more then to let go of all the secrets and confide in him. But, he was human and he wouldn't be able to handle it all. She let out a heavy sigh. "Please," he said, desperately.

Lark looked over to the forest and Taylon followed her gaze. He was perplexed and she was conflicted. She could endanger them all by just telling Taylon the truth. She couldn't do that to him or his family. "There's a lot more than what you think inside the woods, Taylon. I can't say anymore than that though and please don't make me," she finally said.

Although he was frustrated with the need to know more, he understood his limits. It obviously took Lark a lot to tell him secrets and he wanted her to confide in him if she wanted to. He suppressed his curiosity and stood, offering Lark his hand. She took it gently and he pulled her up, tight against his firm chest.

She pressed her nose against his chest and took a deep breath. He smelt like fire and she smiled softly because it was soft enough to be enjoyable. "What are you doing?" He asked, staring down at her with pure confusion twisting his features.

Lark's pale cheeks turned bright red, "Taking notes. I like to know every detail. You smell like a warm fire," she commented. Taylon chuckled and his chest shook as he did so. He had such a hearty laugh that Lark let out a small giggle.

"I think we need to get you inside," he commented. He let go of Lark, reluctantly, and retrieved their bags. "Besides, you need to change. Your ass is soaked and I don't want you to catch a cold." Lark look down at her butt, where the fabric was significantly darker then the rest of her pants and blushed again.

"Yes, I'd like to change," she said, following him inside.