Darkness fell on the sky above as Lilith let her shirt fall to the ground and knelt beside the rushing stream, letting her fingers skim the surface for a few moments before slowly sinking her arms in nearly to her shoulders. The severe chill of the water permeated her senses, creating a bone-deep ache that she gladly welcomed as she stared through her rippling reflection, watching the ribbons of crimson trail through it as they washed away from her skin. She supposed that she could have cleaned herself in the blink of an eye, willing it to be so as her Divinity allowed her to. It would have saved her the pain, the discomfort that came with letting her arms submerge in the frigid water.
"But then what lesson would
I have learned?" she mused solemnly, half-directing the question to the small terrier sitting patiently on the bank beside her. He gave a soft, short whine and lay down, head upon his paws, eyes still fixed upon her.
"Yes, precisely," she agreed, gently scrubbing at the spots where the blood had dried and couldnapos;t be washed away as easily. "I wouldnapos;t have. If I am to live in Creation, Adam, I must make myself subject to its rules as much as any Human."
Her eyes dropped to the fading red of the stream, the scent of terror and anger finally dissipating.
"At least as much as such things are possible," she added quietly. Satisfied that the blood had been washed away, she pulled her arms from the stream, her jaw clenching momentarily as the nerves awoke from their hypothermia. She shook the water away and sat back, contemplating the events that had brought her to this point. Remorse was a new feeling for her, the need to repent a gnawing hunger sheapos;d never before experienced. But for what?
Adam gave a small bark and crawled into her lap where she scratched under his chin affectionately while she thought. It was her third mission on Earth, this time in the outskirts of a city. The door to the small apartment had opened easily enough to reveal a tableau sheapos;d witnessed many times from Paradise. The father stood angrily over the mother, the elder child shielding the eyes of the younger as they huddled in the corner.
She had only meant to stop him, to teach him, to change him. But she still wasnapos;t used to the frailty of the Human form and his arm had come off in her hand, the screams of the family filling her ears, their terror stopping her heart. She tried to set things right, put the arm back as it was, but it was too late. The blood was everywhere except within him.
"I didnapos;t mean for him to die," she whispered. "He was only supposed to see-"
Her eyes closed as she swallowed back tears, a sense of direction filling her, guiding her to the next place, the next mission. She wanted desperately to reject it, to return to Paradise where she had no power, no Duty, where for eternity she could be only a harmless observer. But Adam gave a whimper, lapping affectionately at her fingers, and she warmed again.
"Youapos;re right," she sighed. "I canapos;t give up. Who would I be if I did?"
Reaching out for her discarded shirt, she pulled it back on before standing to face East, Adam cradled to her breast. She set her jaw as he barked, once, twice, his stubby tail wagging against her arm as they set off at a brisk pace for the main road. They had a lot of distance to travel.
"After all, tomorrow is another day, Adam," she said. "And Grandfatherapos;s work shall never be done."
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