Waves splashed up against Beak’s body, dousing the now… strangely ruffled feathers. They looked broken now, somehow, even though none should be so. Some were poking outward at weird angles, while others looked snapped and tilted. None had yet detached or floated away, but it’d not surprise me if they started to. Especially since the waves were rather rough.

Vim was also hit by the wave, but like the many before he barely noticed. He was standing on her body, staring out at the open sea. He was clothed… which meant he had once again likely ruined his clothes, but I couldn’t fault or blame him.

He had sat with his friend to the end. Though it hadn’t been long, really.

We had arrived at the sea, and Miss Beak had flown down to land on this white beach. It was honestly… beautiful. But right now I couldn’t find it in me to enjoy the views, or the setting sun in the distance.

Instead all I could focus on was Vim. His back was turned to me, but I could see the crestfallen shoulders. He looked tired again.

A glowing pink orb was in his left hand. It was much brighter than the one we had given Landi. It was so bright that it was almost startling… but I assumed it was because it was freshly removed from… well…

I gulped, and glanced to the hole that Vim had made. To dig out Miss Beak’s heart. It was rather visible. There were a bunch of feathers askew near it, and that area was much darker than the rest. Stained with blood.

Vim had genuinely just… ripped her open. With his hands. Digging into her, as to get the heart. It had been a little startling, honestly. Vim hadn't been gentle, at all. His friend had died, so she hadn't felt it, but... I had expected him to be gentler.

If he had done that with that other Monarch, then it made all its screams and thrashing make a lot more sense. Anything would have reacted so to something like that. I wonder if he did that with every creature he faced. I mean, it made sense… they were so big and strong, it wasn’t like he could fight them normally. I had faded in and out of consciousness back during the Lumen incident, but I did remember hearing that creature scream and roar. Odds are he had attacked it the same way.

I flinched as a strong breeze blew in from the sea. One that honestly wasn’t as cold as it probably felt.

Trembling, I wrapped my tail around myself as to better try and keep warm. I curled up a little more, squeezing the blanket closer that Vim had wrapped tightly around me.

The sky had been cold. A very strange type of cold. One I’d never felt before. It chilled me to the bones… and honestly had not been very enjoyable at all. The lack of finding it fun at all wasn’t just because I was upset or emotional over what was happening either.

Vim and I had rode Beak’s back… covered in her feathers. Thanks to how big they were and how many she had, we had sunk into them a little. Between the massive feathers, Vim holding me and the blankets he had wrapped around me, I had not gotten to see anything. All I’d been able to experience in the sky was the noisy wind, and the severe cold. The chill had seeped into my bones. The chill reminded me of the many nights in that pit back in my home mountains, during the winter. It was nearly the same, but different.

It had felt like we hadn’t flown very long at all. Maybe an hour or so… but it had been enough. I was now freezing, and somehow unable to get warm again.

I should start a fire…

Looking away from Vim, who was still standing still on Beak’s body and staring out into the sea, I glanced around at the pretty beach.

Yes. There were plenty of old, thoroughly dried, sea-wood logs all over. Plus not far off the beach were thigh-high wheat stalks and grass. Ones that looked dry enough that they'd burn easily.

But as much as I wanted to start a fire… I didn’t want to get up. I didn’t want to unfurl or leave the blanket, what little comfort it gave.

I huffed and glanced back at Vim.

And found him gone.

Hm? I panicked for a moment. He had been standing up on her body for some time now… so finding him gone was alarming. Especially since I couldn’t find him again. I scanned her massive body. Following the huge mound of feathers, only half submerged even though many hundreds of feet out into the ocean. Her huge, long neck… and the massive beak and head, also still above the water. Her beak was angled, and when the waves hit just right it disappeared from view.

Vim really was gone. I scanned the ocean around her body, and…

“You should have started a fire, Renn.”

I jumped, and the brisk movement hurt thanks to how cold I was. I glared at the man who stepped up to me, walking slowly as to not kick up too much sand. The sand here on this beach was very light for some reason, flowing even in the wind.

“I was just considering it,” I answered.

He nodded… and then came to a stop an arm’s length from me.

He was soaked, dripping with sea-water… and his clothes clung to his body oddly. But… it wasn’t his appearance my eyes fell to.

Holding out a bright pink orb, Vim waited for me to take Beak’s heart from him.

“Vim…” I whispered.

“I’ll make us a fire and a camp. Over that hill is a nice little area… just give me a minute,” he said, and leaned forward a little more to bring the heart closer.

I groaned as I shifted the blanket, and before I could even get my hands all the way free, he dropped the heart into them.

“Careful…!” I mumbled as Vim stepped away, heading behind me. Likely to the place he wanted to make camp. Probably beyond the sand.

“One moment Renn,” Vim said again, leaving me.

Sighing at him, I shifted and dropped the blanket a little. Even though it made me shiver a little… I found myself a little warmer all the same.

Miss Beak’s heart was a little bigger than the one I had held before. Landi’s had been rough, with edges, and about the size of my fist. This one was likely half more the size, and was a smooth and perfectly shaped orb. More like the one I remembered in that forest, that Vim had given to Bray. I held it with both hands, running fingers along it… and couldn’t find a single flaw or bump.

It felt smooth beyond reason, and it glowed far brighter than Landi’s had and not just because of the pretty color. It was so bright that looking into the center of it was actually a little difficult. It was like looking straight at those mirror-lamps that some places of the Society had.

Just like Landi's, this one felt impossibly light. As if the ocean breeze could easily snatch it from my hands if I weren't careful. And it was warm.

It didn’t pulsate as often as Landi’s had, but when it did there was a strange… wave of warmth that exuded from it. It was warm enough to actually make me feel better, yet not so hot that it was strange.

It felt like a rock that had been sitting in a fire for hours, but was now cool enough to touch.

Holding it close, I sniffed as I stared out into sea. At Miss Beak’s body.

What a wild turn of events.

We hadn’t even been speaking for more than a few hours. Then she just…

Someone moved the bags near me, and I startled again as I turned to see what it was. It sounded like an animal trying to rummage… but it was just Vim.

He was now naked. And looked as if he’d dried off already. None of the sand was sticking to him, not even near his feet.

Watching him dig out another set of clothes, I sighed at him. I wanted to complain that he’d likely just ruined his only good set of clothes, again, but knew better than to say it aloud.

She had been his friend. A pair of clothes as sacrifice to spend her final moments together was not a price worth complaining about. At all.

Yet this was his second, or in a perspective third, set in such a short time. Not only had he ruined and lost his better set of clothing, he had also lost his leathers. They had been melted by the Monarch in Landi's nation.

We no longer matched. And Vim didn't even seem to notice, at all. So I really wanted to snivel, but...

But…

I coughed, and pulled my blanket closer. I kept the heart near my chest, to try and get myself warmer.

Glancing over to the body of the Monarch, as Vim got dressed, I wondered how it had happened so quickly.

She had landed… on the beach. She lowered, to let us get off her. Then she and Vim had simply walked out into the sea.

I’d stayed on the beach, although honestly I wasn’t sure if it had been the right choice or not. I had been cold. Freezing. And… very unsure of what to do or say. I had been able to tell that they had exchanged a few words before Miss Beak just… sat down… then she had laid down… then…

She had simply passed away. Within minutes of sitting down.

Being out there I would have been able to hear what they had said, but then I’d be even colder. And… well…

It was likely they had simply just said goodbye.

And she had been Vim’s friend, not mine.

My eyes welled with tears as Vim sighed and sat down next to me. I rocked a little as he sat up next to me, close enough to feel his heat.

“I’m so sorry Vim,” I said as I looked at him.

He didn’t look as if he was hurt and I also couldn’t tell if he had cried or not… but…

Well…

I’d seen him wipe his face a few times. From here. While he had dug out her heart. Many would have likely argued he had done so only because of the sea, the waves that hit him, but… I knew better than to assume that.

Vim wasn’t bothered by the sea. At all. But he was bothered by tears.

“I’ve not held this many hearts, so one after the other, since the wars,” Vim said softly.

He was staring out at the horizon, at Miss Beak’s body… and…

Leaning over, to rest more against him I shuffled under the blanket. To bring the heart out. Once it popped up over the blanket, and its bright light appeared, he glanced at it.

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Offering it to him, Vim instead ignored it. He glanced away, back to the body.

Ah… maybe he didn’t want to hold it. Maybe he had given it to me not because I’d find it interesting but… well…

Returning it to my embrace, I decided to carry it for him. If he’d let me. If it hurt him that much, where he didn’t even want to look at, then…

I suppose it made sense. They were their hearts. It’d be like holding Nory’s or… I tossed those thoughts away quickly, as my throat constricted in emotions.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered. And not just the heart. Vim being affected that much over his friend’s death was beautiful too, in a morbid sort of way.

“Mhm… this was a severe loss. One of the worst in a long time. I wasn’t expecting this at all,” Vim said softly.

“I don’t understand Vim… was it just age? She just… didn’t look as if she was dying. Not until the end when she started wheezing and trembling,” I said.

“Yes. Not much else can kill them, barring extreme violence,” Vim said gently.

“Why now? When we arrived…? You had even said you originally hadn’t intended to go see her right? What is the timing of that?” I tried to comprehend it.

“She… likely just held on. Until I arrived. She was likely ready to die ages ago. Years ago. She held on through sheer will, just to say goodbye,” he whispered.

My blurry eyes began to leak.

Vim shifted, and I felt him shake his head. “Three Monarchs in fewer years. Then those things in Lumen. If it was just Monarchs and beasts I’d chalk it up to happenstance and fate just being weird, but this… Miss Beak…” he stopped talking, going lost in thought.

“I’m not happy anymore, Vim,” I said softly, thinking of the conversation we had been having before we met her.

“I’m sure,” he said with a sigh. “Of all times for me to have asked…”

“Who was she, Vim?” I asked.

“Miss Beak…? She was… the daughter of one of the strongest Monarchs to have ever existed. They had ruled over an entire legion of lesser Monarchs, and their servants. In our terms, she’d have been a princess. One to inherit a mighty throne… until I took it all from her,” he said.

I squeezed her heart, and wished I could have spent more time with her. I had been able to tell her my story, but had only heard a little of hers.

“Why’d you kill her parents Vim…?” I asked softly.

“They had been cruel beyond measure, Renn. She had begged me of it. So I destroyed their kingdom… reducing it to a sea of salt…” Vim then sighed. “She forgave me. Gave me insight. Always willing to share her wisdom and perspective, no matter the problem. I enjoyed talking with her,” he added.

He then shifted, as to glance at me. Or rather, my blanket… likely the spot where the Monarch’s Heart was hiding.

“I had relied on her to devour hearts. She was old, and powerful. She was able to completely ignore their corruption, and absorb them,” he said.

“So… are there more hearts inside her body?” I asked as I glanced at it.

“No. when I say absorb I mean it literally. She had been able to decay and absorb them inside her, adding to her own. Landi can survive the corruption, but she’s not strong enough to do such a thing. And Bray is near her end, I can probably only give her one or two more before she too fades away. And not a one of her damned children have been born with a heart either,” Vim complained.

I blinked at the information. So those other wolves had been her children…!

Normal ones. Not Monarchs.

I gulped… and wondered if Miss Beak’s comment about eggs had been related. Had she… been trying? Even without a mate?

Vim sighed heavily, rubbing his face. He looked more exhausted than ever. “With this I’m down to three. What am I going to do when they’re all gone, Renn?” Vim whispered.

I had no idea what to say. He sounded so broken. So hurt.

Was that tone because his emotions? His loss of Miss Beak, his friend? Or was the inability to feed these hearts to someone, or something, capable of absorbing them… that big of an issue…? What was torturing him more right now, I wonder?

I slid my fingers along the heart beneath my blanket, and wondered why these things were so dangerous. To make him this weary.

“Can… can I eat them? Or you?” I asked carefully.

“No. Without hearts of our own, even if we survived and acclimated to it we’d be unable to absorb other ones. Plus even if we perfectly accepted the heart, it’d cause issues. The power of these hearts come with a cost, one way or another. For Landi it was a part of her sanity. And even then, once dead, the hearts still remain,” he said.

“So… doesn’t that mean eventually, no matter what, there will always be a few hearts left? No matter what?” I asked. If they could only be destroyed by being absorbed by another, then… even if you did it perfectly, at the end, there’d always be at least one left.

Vim inhaled deeply, and sighed. “Yes. My original plan long ago was to take the last heart myself,” he said.

“Vim…!” I didn’t like the way he had said that. At all.

“Come on Renn. Let’s get you warmed up,” he spoke quickly, likely because he didn’t want me to talk or confront what he had just said.

I grumbled and groaned as he stood, and pulled me up with him. This was one of the times I didn’t feel like waiting patiently for him, at all.

Glaring at him as he guided me towards the hill, where behind was smoke flowing into the ocean breeze, Vim turned to look out at the ocean.

I paused, as he did, and we both looked to her body. Still there. Still motionless.

“Did… did it hurt?” I asked softly.

“I’m sure she had been in pain, yes. But… her death had been swift and easy. Like passing in her sleep,” he whispered.

We turned away and headed for the hill. As we crossed over it, I found a large fire. Vim had gathered up a bunch of very large driftwood logs, and set them alight. The fire was bellowing thanks to the intensity and the strong ocean breeze. The fire was taller than both of us combined.

“I’ll get our bags,” he said softly as he deposited me near the fire. Close enough that I could tell once I got warm enough, I’d be scooting away shortly after. Yet right now the heat was balming, and felt great.

Sitting patiently, I was glad that there was still some sand here. It was a mix of sand and grass, so it was the perfect composition. Hard enough to not sink or shift, but soft enough that I knew I’d be able to sit for a long time without complaining.

Vim returned shortly. He deposited our bags not far behind us, and then promptly took a seat next to me. I had to scoot closer, since he hadn’t sat directly next to me this time.

“Feeling okay Renn? You’re still trembling,” he asked.

“I’m feeling better already. It was… strangely cold up there,” I said.

“She was desperate. She flew high, and fast. Under normal circumstances she’d have flown lower… forgive her,” Vim said softly.

“I wasn’t complaining Vim. How high had we been, anyway?” I asked as I glanced up. There were lots of clouds, but they weren’t dark.

“Higher than any mountain peak,” he said.

I blinked, and wondered if that was true. I mean… it likely was, Vim didn’t lie about that stuff… but…

“May I see it?” Vim then asked, extending his hand.

Ah. I nodded as I handed him the heart.

He’d already grown calloused enough to face it. Fascinating. He really was strong, in more ways than one.

He took it carefully, and lifted it as to stare at it. I watched his eyes as he studied her heart, and I noticed the reflection in them. His eyes looked odd with that pink hue.

Watching him, I curled my legs into me and wrapped my arms around them. Both to get warmer… and to steady myself. I wanted to latch onto him, but knew right now wasn’t the moment.

“A Monarch’s power can roughly be told by how bright they shine. She had been… very strong,” he said softly.

Oh…? So the light wasn’t just random? “Because she had absorbed other hearts?” I asked.

“Yes and no. Absorbing them does make your own stronger, but not by much. Rather your true strength comes from how close you are to the source. Beak had been born from two originals. A direct descendant,” he said.

“Originals…?” I asked. Did he mean… two Monarchs? Or…?

“Her parents had been created by their god. Directly. In fact, Beak had been alive during the reign of gods, though hadn’t fully matured until after their fall,” Vim said.

I soaked up the information, and once again wished I could have spent more time with her.

“She must have been very wise,” I whispered. All the things she must have seen, and known! It was…

I blinked as I realized that what was why Vim had cherished her. Why he called her his friend.

She had been from his era.

“We argued a lot. Differing beliefs and whatnot… but yes… she was wise beyond measure. I’ll… miss her perspective. Hopefully I and the Society don’t need her input from now on, her ideas had saved us on many occasions,” he said softly.

Oh… “Hm,” I wasn’t sure what to say.

He took a deep breath, and lowered the orb. To his lap. It gleamed, but he no longer was looking at it. “She never joined the Society. Refused to meet anyone. I wish I had brought others to her,” he said softly.

Frowning, I shifted. “She… wasn’t a member, Vim?” I asked. Surely she had been, right?

“No. I saw her as one, yes, but she herself didn’t. In fact… no one else had even known about her, as far as I’m aware,” he said.

Squeezing my legs, I felt horrible.

“She’d been alone…?” I asked softly.

He nodded. “She preferred it. I’m glad she spent some time with you, before going. Thank you Renn,” Vim said to me.

Blinking the tears, I nodded.

What did I even say during moments like these?

Vim stared at the roaring fire, and his eyes narrowed. He had thought of something that bothered him.

For a long moment neither of us said anything. I kept my eyes on him, as I worried about what to do or say.

He looked angry… which was completely understandable, but…

Beyond that anger, hidden within, was obvious sorrow.

Coiling my hand out from my blanket, I reached out to take his. He allowed it, as I leaned closer to him. Resting my head on his shoulder, I decided to just… be here. For him.

That was what I had wanted, and needed, all those years ago. It was what I had been searching for after Nory.

With my head on his shoulder, I wasn’t able to watch his expression… but it was for the best. Especially as I felt one of his tears slide onto one of my ears.

It was a tickly feeling, like tiny raindrops falling onto my ears. Thanks to the angle. Yet I focused, and kept them from fluttering and fidgeting. As to not bother him.

“My friend is gone,” he then whispered as he squeezed my hand.

I squeezed his hand back, and stared at the glowing orb in his other hand. He had started squeezing it too. Likely far harder than he was my hand.

“I used to hate them, Renn,” Vim then said.

“Hm…?”

“Monarchs. I hated them. Despised them. Hunted them with a fury you’d not comprehend. It was those like Beak who taught me to abandon that hate. To see past my hatred, and see that they too were victims. As much as the rest of us,” Vim said.

I gulped a very heavy emotion, and turned my head a little. To see him.

He was crying. Or at least, had been. There were tear stains on his cheek.

“It hurts to think of how many I had slain. Those I had hunted who hadn’t deserved it. Like Beak. Those I could have been friends with. Those I could have spared,” he whispered.

“Vim…” I squeezed his arm again.

He smiled and nodded. “I know. I’m just being melancholic,” he said with a sigh.

“No, Vim… it’s okay,” I said quickly.

“No. It is not.”

Yes. It was.

But how did I convince him of such a thing?

I could barely convince myself the same thing.

He sighed. “Feeling warmer?” he asked.

I nodded, though my heart was the warmest right now. Full of emotions, churning and twisting within me.

“It’ll get cold tonight,” he said.

Yes. The ocean. “Will… will her body be okay? Should… we burn it? Like the other one?” I asked.

“It’ll decay quickly enough. Especially in the sea. Without the heart inside it, there’s no danger. It’s now just like any other large carcass. Like a whale. It’ll just help the ecosystem,” he said.

“You took the heart of that other one out too, though?” I said.

“That had been covered in toxic sludge. I hadn’t worried over the body, but the gunk,” he said.

Ah.

“Plus I’d rather not burn my friend. It’d just make me hungry. Even if she’d likely find it hilarious if I ate her,” he said.

My blurry eyes welled with more tears as I laughed. “Vim…!” I pushed against him a little, to scold him.

He chuckled, and I was so happy to hear it.

Thank goodness he was so strong. So much more than me. It let me be strong too.

The two of us laughed at each other for a moment, and then a much lighter air settled into silence. The world suddenly felt a lot warmer, a lot better.

“Thanks for being here Rennalee,” he then whispered.

Sniffing, I nodded as I squeezed him closer.

Returning to laying my head on his shoulder, I took a deep breath.

Keeping the orb in focus, as the rest of the world around it became blurry… I leaned ever closer to him.

I was glad I was here too. But not just to have met Beak before she had passed.

Clinging to him, as he silently cried, I thanked the world for letting me be here.

For the man who likely had always endured these moments alone.

Just as I had.

At least from now on, we could endure together.