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“It’s dawn.”
Ren woke up to see Lizzie leaning over him, her long pink hair brushing his arm. She grinned at him, her deep green eyes sparkling. “Come! Let’s watch the sunrise.”
Ren sat up in bed. Bigb was curled up next to him, snoring softly. Ren brushed his dark curls away from his face. Through the window, he could see the rosy dawn.
He threw off his blankets, stepping out on the cold stone floor. He climbed onto the bridge, sitting on the wall.
He watched the purples and pinks push back the dark blues of the night sky. He felt a breeze on his skin, but his soulmate was warm enough he didn’t feel the cold.
She took him by the hand, pulling him to his feet and onto the roof. He’d follow her anywhere, and she knew that.
If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel what Bigb felt- the warmth of their blankets, the deep haze of sleep, his dreams (fiery red curls and yellow-gold eyes, the faint smell of rotting flowers, stitched-up skin).
He didn’t close his eyes. He wanted to see the sunrise- he could talk to Bigb once the sun was in the sky.
It was still dark, but he could just see the light in the East- pink and rosy gold in the midnight sky, promising the sunrise.
He sat on the edge of the roof, and Lizzie leaned into his side.
The clouds were a particular shade of pink- like cherry blossoms or azalea. Like her hair.
He could almost see her, sitting on the wall next to him, pointing out the shapes in the clouds and singing softly. A yellow-gold thread tying their wrists together.
“No matter what happens down here,” she said softly, “the sun will still rise. That- that’s lovely, I think.”
“I think so too,” Ren said, just as soft.
It was strange, because as much as he wished Lizzie was here with him, he was glad that she wasn’t. He was glad that she didn’t have to play this stupid game.
He watched the sun come up over the horizon. It was beautiful. He hoped, that wherever she was, Lizzie’s sunrise was just as beautiful.
“Even if we’re not here tomorrow to see it, the sunrise will be just as lovely. It almost makes me feel better about this stupid game.”
Ren hummed in agreement. “The world will keep on keeping on, even if we don’t.”
Lizzie sat on her pumpkin roof, leaning back against the stem. It was still dark out, but she could almost see the dawn over the eastern horizon.
She could just make out her paths- the ones she and Scott had made- in the darkness. She’d liked the task; it had been much simpler than some of the other tasks she’d heard about.
She heard a wolf howl in the distance. She looked up sharply; then she realized it was just a wild wolf, or possibly one of Pearl’s or Cleo’s. They weren’t calling for her.
She pressed closer into his side, seeking warmth. As a Yellow, he ran hot- not the feaverish heat of a player who was Red, but noticeably hotter than Light Green’s average temperature. Lizzie was Dark Green, her skin cool to the touch.
She wondered if Ren had so much trouble adjusting to her absence in Double Life.
She missed him terribly. She was glad that he didn’t have to play another one of these stupid games, but at the same time, she wished he were here, next to her.
She could picture it, if she closed her eyes- the way he would sit next to her, playing with her hair. The way she would point out a shape in the clouds, and he would make up a story about it. The way she might start singing, and he would harmonize with her.
The rising sun painted the sky in purple and pink and orange and gold. Ren tucked a lock of pink hair behind Lizzie’s ear; it was the exact shade of the clouds in the distance.
She traced out the shape of a howling wolf in the clouds. The sky was getting lighter, the sun coming up from the east, lighting everything up in gold.
She made a quiet, selfish wish on the rising sun; that she would get to see Ren again.
He didn’t care for the Southlands or the northern lights or the western sky. Ren would always look east, towards the rising sun.
Ren stepped out onto his bridge. He looked over to Martyn’s door. There were very few things he didn’t share with Martyn- the sunrise was one of them.
He wandered his way to the cherry blossoms. He wasn’t even aware of where he was going until he was standing on the steps, pink wood under his feet. The sky was turning pink, then, as dawn came in from the east.
She was sitting on the steps above him. Her long pink hair had been swept up into a ponytail, and her pink canary wings were wrapped around her.
He climbed the stairs and sat next to her. Lizzie opened her wings, wrapping it around him and leaning into his shoulder.
“Sun keeps rising,” she said. “Even when we’re not here to see it.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t see the sunrises in Secret Life,” Ren said softly.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t see them in Double Life.” She looked at him- her eyes were the same deep, dark green they had been when he first swore himself to her. They had changed so much since then, and yet- and yet sometimes he felt like he was still in that faerie circle.
They sat in comfortable silence.
“Jim’s going to win this one,” she said abruptly.
He huffed out a laugh. “You think so?”
“I have faith in him,” she shrugged. “Scar does too.”
Ren loved Jimmy- it was almost impossible not to- but he didn’t have much faith in him, at least in the way of winning. It was one of those impossible things, like Cleo forgiving Bigb or a player with wings being able to fly.
“I had faith in you,” she said, nudging him.
“Had?” he asked, looking at her sideways.
“Have,” she corrected with a grin.
The sky above them was painted in a thousand colors- blues and purples and pinks and golds, lighting up the world below. The sun peeked over the eastern horizon.
Even if in the morning they found themselves enemies, Ren didn’t want to watch another sunrise without her by his side.