The darkness never scared her.

How could it? She had always felt light beaming inside of her no matter how
invasive the darkness or how deep the shadows were. At night, when the beasts of
her world skulked out from their hiding places to run rampant, she was unafraid.
Others looked up to the sky and saw nothing more than sparkles. They would
see the barest glimmers of light sources too far away to even imagine. But she
could feel all of them. The stars burned hotter than any forge. Their cores collapsed
upon themselves over and over while their surfaces boiled and bubbled with
incinerating intensity.
And she could feel it all.
Vailarouk had only ever been cold once in her life. When the Universe she
loved had callously torn her mother from her grasp, when it watched on in silence
as she bled out alone and afraid. It was only then did the stars seem to retreat from
her presence. Only then did the light not come to her.
Over many years, the frigid ice that coated her soul was once again graced
by the stars warmth. She could feel Telvasalis sorrow side by side with hers.
Vailarouk realized that if her Lady of Light had been able to save her mother, she
would have. And though the light would never fully disappear, there were places it
could not reach. Not yet.
She could still feel the chill sometimes. When the sky wept, so did she. For
even though she could still feel the light and the stars, there was a part of her now
that needed to be reassured they were still there. Hanging in the sky like a cloud of
embers, as they always had been.
When the chill would set in, she would desperately grasp at the charm around
her neck. Three black feathers held together by a tiny gem. The jewel meant almost
nothing to her, despite her father telling her it was some special skyblood gem.
The feathers were her mothers, taken from her crest. She could never forget the
way her mother used to fuss with it. She had always said she wished her crest was
smoother and easier to maintain, like Vailarouks. When she was stressed she would
run a clawed hand down the back of her head, frantically trying to keep the feathers
still. Those feathers were Vailarouks now, she took care of them better than her
own. It was all she had left of her.
She would swear until her dying breath that one of those stars was her
mother. She knew it was more than a little farfetched to say. Perhaps a more nave
mind had pretended to notice a new star in the sky not long after she was gone. She
had heard some say that she just picked a star at random every time she
mentioned her mother. She wasnt convinced.
Why did it not matter then which planet she was on? It was in the same place
in the sky everywhere she went. Head straight up, and then tilted halfway to the
side. It would be in her right eyes peripheral. Shining with a slightly bluer light than
the ones around it. It was in that exact place.
 Every. Single. Time.
She didnt let what the others say bother her. The light had guided her
mother away from her realm. She was among the stars now. Another pinprick of
light that every melancholic individual saw when they gazed at the faraway stars.
Did she provide them comfort as she had done to so many people in the
past? Vailarouk liked to think so.

These assassins were almost pitiful. With two of them having run in fear
and one knocked unconscious, the fourth backed up against the temple wall.
Vailarouk had seen more than enough to know these were amateurs at best. She
had come to pay her respects to the leaders of Dozhtol, the planet that had made
first contact with her people long ago, and these degenerates had attacked her
right outside of their meeting place. She needed to make sure they regretted their
actions.
Dont you dare touch me, you damned Feral! The Humota mans voice was
soaked in hatred that barely hid the terror below. He folded himself against the wall,
trying to put as much distance between him and the glaive-wielding feathered giant
in front of him.
Would a Feral show your compatriots such mercy? You all proved to be
barely a challenge, I could have ended your lives if I wanted. Vailarouk leveled the
blunt end of her glaive at her assailant. She knew about the other races disdain for
her kind, the beast races touched and mutated by the dreaded Beastmother, but
it still surprised her how deep that disdain went with some people.
Then just do it! Our employer is going to kill us for failing anyway, so no
matter what happens I die because of you! You couldnt have just died like you were
supposed to, huh? The disgust in the words that he spat out pierced her, cut her all
the way down to her light.
The cold inside of her saw an opportunity.
End this pathetic excuse for life.
They werent spoken words. The idea manifested in her mind like a fungus,
filling the dark corners of her thoughts.
Show him, show them all, why they should be afraid.
Her wings spread wide, and she spun her glaive around. The rounded blade
gathered the light of stars above it, imitating their glow. All of the malice in the
Humotas eyes drained, only debilitating horror remained as Vailarouk closed the
distance.
Her glaive sprang forth.

When the Humota opened his eyes, he did not see what he had imagined his
whole life. His Progenitor, Imerisis, was not there waiting with open arms. He could
not look down upon the Universe as if he were a part of it. In truth, the only thing he
could see was the face of the beast that he thought to have cut him down.
Vailarouks face was pained, as if she was fighting a horrible battle in her
mind. She leaned heavily on her glaive, its blade now embedded in the brick next to
the Humotas ear. A part of her knew it was unwise to leave herself open so close to
an enemy, but another part assured her that her enemy was far too stunned to
react.
One deep breath. The darkness receded from her mind, only slightly. Another
deep breath. She could open her eyes. Another. She lifted her head to face the
Humota. One more. She spoke.
It was people like you that took something very dear to me, She spoke
through gritted teeth, I will not be what you want me to be. The glaive was
ripped from its place in the bricks. She took another breath and placed the blade in
front of the Humotas neck. Grab your friend and leave this place.
The Humota sidled his way around the blade that followed his every move,
even as he flung his partner over his shoulder and ran. He left the alley faster than
he had thought possible carrying another on his back.
Vailarouk planted her glaive on the ground and put most of her weight on it.
Her breathing was slow, her vision blurry. She strained to lift her head. Straight up,
and tilted to the side. There it was. There SHE was. In her right eyes peripheral.
Where she had always been. Where she would always be.
Her body became lighter, the pain in her head lifted. She stood up straight to
get a better view of that little blue light. The sound of her assailants footsteps had
faded completely now. The light filled her once again, searing that agonizing cold
away from her soul.
She knew she should have left by now, but the blue light was still there, in
the corner of her eye. She figured she could stay and stargaze for a little while
longer.
It wasnt the darkness that scared her.
It was the cold.