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Tender fingers traced silhouettes over AJ's collarbone as the soot on her tongue mixed with the subtle taste of glow berries, a shallow breath getting caught in the decay mage's lungs and coming to a halt with the remnants of dirt and ash that could never fully clear from her system.
Her hand clutched desperately onto the tangled mess of Drift's curls as if it was the only thing stopping the earth mage from slipping back into the soil she'd long since grown familiar with.
"Open Book?"
"Yeah?" Drift breathed out as they broke apart for the first time in what felt like years, their foreheads pressed together as they breathed in each others sighs.
"I'm sorry."
"What? Why are you sorry?"
A heavy silence fell over the pair as AJ took the time to study her lovers face, freighted eyes darting across her features, inspecting every freckle and scar and committing it to memory.
"This isn't real- you- you're not here. Not anymore."
"AJ, I-"
An all-consuming aroma of smoke, lavender, and day-old beer overwhelmed AJ's senses as the feeling of Drift's breath against her lips faded from existence and her breaths became her own once more.
The warmth of their bodies pressed against each other was abruptly replaced by the cold ache that lingered in her bones at all times, the inescapable chill only made worse by the heat-repellent countertops her head laid upon and the empty beer bottles that surrounded her near-decaying body as her eyes weakly flickered open.
The first thing she registered was the harsh sunlight that forced it's way through her dorm room window and attacked her bloodshot eyes.
The dark blue tint of the glass makes it a little more bearable, at the very least.
A steady rhythm pounded against her skull with an unadulterated persistence akin to that of an animal in a cage, desperate to taste the freedom for at least a minute more.
Once reality finally settled in, AJ lifted her head from the countertop—an action that took much more effort than she'd like to admit—and glanced around the room, somber eyes landing on the odd dots of teal that reside in the corner, staring back at her in a merciless taunt.
A singular petal falls from the wilting blue orchid as the decay mage stands from the barstool abruptly, heading towards the neglected lifeform and snatching it from the surface it laid upon with ambivalence.
AJ takes a few steps back and fixes her gaze on the defenceless flower, turning it around in her hand as if all the memories it carried could be stripped away just by the light hitting it at the right angle.
A small piece of paper tied to the stem catches her eye, two measly words staring her dead in the eyes instantly making her shoulders tense up.
Open Book.
She doesn't even consider flipping the note around to read anything else before firmly tearing it from the stem, turning around at a resolute pace and tossing the note into her fireplace, extending out her arm to toss the flower in with it before hesitating.
A second petal threatens to fall from the flower, hanging on by a single thread as AJ retracts her arm from the fire, shoving the flower into her backpack and rushing out the door, making her way towards the pub.
AJ was lucky enough not to run into anyone as she traversed through the academy halls, the sun beginning it's departure from the sky as she stepped out into the cool night air.
Since leaving her room, AJ's stride refused to relent for a single second. It wasn't until she'd passed by that godforsaken tent that her pace finally came to a halt, stumbling over the dirt and gravel below her feet.
The decay mage took one glance over at the familiar structure and reached into her backpack, pulling out the blue orchid and dropping it into the dirt ahead of her.
Sharply forcing her gaze to the side, she squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her boots into the ground, burying the mournful flower into the earth, the remaining petals separating from it's stem as it died on the same soil it was born.
After all, how long can you kiss the ground that someone walks on before it's a grave that receives your affections?
...She could use another drink.