Chapter 3172: Little Flames |
The wedding came and went.
It was a splendid affair... that was what a human would have said, at least. To the shadow, it seemed like more of the strange behavior the tribesmen showcased when leaving him offerings at the mouth of the cave.
There were solemn movements. There was incoherent mumbling. The elderly shaman performed a dance... she was surprisingly energetic for a woman of her age, but somehow still retained enough stamina to offer devotions to the crude statues of the six great gods that stood in the village's small shrine.
Tatal, at least, looked beautiful in her wedding attire. With amber and carnelian sewn into the fabric and decorating her hair, she seemed like a flame... a small flame, no different from the candle she had held when visiting the shadow in his cave for the first time.
The groom... was not bad, no matter how much it pained the shadow to admit it. The youth seemed glum for a while, but after seeing Tatal for the first time, his eyes ignited with a silly kind of fervor. That mesmerized glint told the shadow that the two human children would, perhaps, be alright.
A few days after the wedding, Tatal came to his cave in high spirits.
"Shadow!"
She called the shadow out each time, even though his vast darkness encompassed the entire cave, and he never left.
The shadow studied the young woman for a moment. Confirming that she was in a good mood, he asked in his usual cold tone:
She beamed.
"Well? Did you see him? Isn't he tall? Isn't he handsome?"
The shadow had no sense to distinguish a handsome human from a dull one, but the boy from the Grey Wold tribe was indeed tall.
‘What's the big deal about being tall, anyway?’
The shadow was inexplicably displeased.
"I saw."
He did not offer further commentary.
Tatal laughed boisterously.
“My husband is the most handsome man in the tribe! No, in the neighboring tribes as well! Even though he doesn't have a beard yet... ah, but I am sure it will grow eventually!"
The shadow sighed.
“You humans are certainly fond of hair."
Tatal gave the darkness a pitying look.
“Of course. What kind of man doesn't have a beard? Let me tell you... my grandfather's beard was the thickest in the tribe. That was why he was the manliest."
The shadow felt like there was something wrong with that statement, but what did he know?
He didn't have a beard, either, and he wasn't really a man — he was a disembodied shadow. There was some kind of causality between the two facts, and he wasn't going to bother discerning what it was.
What he was sure of, however, was that men without beards were far more handsome and dashing. The shadow did not know where that confident opinion came from, but felt that he was right.
“I brought you hawthorn wine. Do you know what wine is, Shadow? The Grey Wolf people brought it with them. It's delicious!"
Tatal produced a gourd and offered it to the darkness. The shadow stared at the gourd dubiously for a few moments, then answered in an indifferent tone:
"I do know what wine is. However, I won't drink it."
Tatal grinned.
"Oh, no. What a pity. We can't let this wine go to waste, though, can we?"
With that, she retracted the ground and drank from it with a satisfied expression.
‘This vixen...'
Tatal knew perfectly well that the shadow did not eat or drink. In fact, she knew it so well that she had been secretly stuffing herself with the offerings the villagers left on his altar ever since she was a little girl. The shadow wasn't going to eat them, and the little glutton saw no reason to let all those sweet things go to waste.
Satisfied with the wine, Tatal looked around.
"Anyway... this marriage thing. It's great!"
She scratched the back of her head.
“Have you ever been married, Shadow?"
As Tatal took another gulp of the wine, the shadow gave her an unamused look.
Then, he answered honestly:
“Many times."
He had lived hundreds of thousands of lives, after all.
Tatal spat out the wine.
"W—what?"
Her voice trembled.
"What do you mean, many times? That's not allowed, Shadow! You can only marry one person, for life!"
The shadow answered in an emotionless tone:
"If you're human."
Tatal stared at the darkness, then scoffed.
"When would you even have time to get married? You never leave your cave! You're lying again."
At that moment, the shadow did something he had never done before — in this lifetime, at least.
He chuckled.
His voice sounded a little amused when he spoke:
“You're right. I have no time to get married."
As he said that, though, he seemed to remember something.
A beautiful radiance. A reflection of white flames dancing in someone's eyes. A soothing warmth permeating his entire being...
An almost unbearable sense of longing.
The shadow was confused.
Why would a shadow like him long for light?
It didn't make any sense.
Just like Tatal and other humans never made sense.
He remained silent for a long while, then said quietly:
“Congratulations on your marriage, Tatal. I am glad that the groom is to your liking.”
She smiled.
“Thank you. I am glad too."
After taking another gulp of the wine, she added:
“Makes me feel like hunting that damn bear was worth it!"
The sound of her laughter filled the cave. The shadow noticed that, somehow, he wasn't irritated by that noise anymore.
Soon, having finished the wine and gushed about her new husband enough, Tatal returned to her tribe, leaving him alone in silence.
The shadow remained motionless, quiet.
In his mind...
The reflections of the white flame were still dancing, filling his chest with an indescribable ache.
Then, however, he dispelled that strange state and settled into his usual position. Watching, waiting.
Knowing that there was nothing to wait for, and that he had already seen far too much.
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