vexnir

It is a fight but not one others can see.

Climbing up the hill, Em fought to stay silent as they hid under cover of darkness. His mother held his hand, fighting for breath as they hurried up the dirt road. His backpack was heavy and he whined, trying once more to tell her to stop. He wanted to take it off, he wanted to sit down. He wanted his papa. The city lights shone beneath them, sirens ringing in the night. Flames burst out from one of the buildings below, dark smoke roiling up into the sky. His mother shushed him, eyes wide, white circles in the dim light as she saw their home burning. They'd left just in time. What little of their lives remained was in the bag on her back an

The deck of cards sat on the bar, the night coming to a close. No one else but the small group, the core of the Northern Snakes, remained at Vinny’s. It was odd, the way the tarot beckoned them. Twenty one cards, the major arcana. Vincent saw them, but wouldn't go near them. Hanging back behind the bar, he watched the four soldiers. Emro was the first to reach for a card, the dark Southerner wondering where they had come from. "What are you doing?" Erik hissed, uncomfortable with being at the gentlemen’s club, though it wasn't his first time. It was Xepher's birthday and Sven had talked him into it, his older brother wanting to