Oblations by M. Faye David didn't want to save the world; he didn't have any massive hopes of single-handedly destroying the 'Counsel,' or saving the innumerable humans suffering at their hands. He wanted to be with Leaf. It had been the only thought that had ever kept him going through the trials of joining Daybreak's ranks. It was the only thought that dominated him while he watched the Daybreak operatives that night, hardly listening beyond his meandering through his own mental fog. He never wanted any of it...he only wanted to be with Leaf. The sky was coming on black when David and Leaf departed the compound, lacy trails of orange, yellow and fire-red clouds clinging to the crests of the mountain range, the dusk sun a splotch of blood against the pyre. The sun lit Leaf's pale face, making him look heroic and beautiful, determined to win the battles that Daybreak had convinced him were in the works. A religious zealot, like a young priest, lit with the light of his god, willing to die for that god. David wanted for a moment to reach out and grab his shoulder, shake his fragile form and scream into his benevolent face the truth of man. Heroes die for causes; fools kill themselves for them. Leaf wouldn't listen if he did, though. Leaf was his own, entranced by the mission he imagined for himself. It was stamped in his lucid step, his violet eyes beneath his thick black lashes, the hard line of his full lips and the serene determination in his smooth, cool flesh. They'd drawn him into the battles in his mind beneath the mop of silky brass- colored hair. "We're going to right wrongs, David." Leaf spoke softly, his steps slowing to a halt as he stared out over the mountains. The breeze stirred his hair, sending threads of gold softly whispering over his high cheekbones, staring at the sun going down. David shook his head, his eyes dark and his expression furious. "That's what they said during the crusades." He retorted, the polar opposite of Leaf as much as a photographic negative was. Pale in a startling fashion, his soot-black hair cropped short and spiky, his eyebrows straight and sarcastic, his lush black lashed eyelids always low on his golden eyes. Leaf looked strikingly natural, as pure and beautiful as summer rain where David was disquietingly beautiful as lonely winter nights. Their differences ran deep as bone. "Time has worn on you, David, and too many life times have made you cynical." Leaf spoke, his eyes sliding from the sunset to David. "I could say the same of you. You're too inexperienced to gauge reality for what it is. You think that because you're fighting for a noble cause that conquest is inevitable." Leaf clenched his teeth, his eyes falling shut. "Another lecture, David? Sometimes I wonder if you're more interested in being my father figure than-" David's eyes blazed with black fire. "Don't be a fool, Leaf!" He snapped. "You always turn everything into a personal attack on you! You're the one who dragged me up to this stupid compound." Leaf's eyes were bright and hurt, his gaze fully on David. "I wanted you to understand, David. You never want to understand anything beyond what you've already learned. Don't you ever want to learn something new?" He replied, his eyes fierce and full of accusation. "How can you say that when you never try to understand me, Leaf? I give everything just to make you happy. I rip my heart out, tear my soul apart and rearrange the night sky just for you. And you can't try to understand the words I don't say when I'm speaking to you." David cried, his eyes torn and splintered into a thousand shards of emotion. Leaf stepped closer, a foot from the boy. "How can you say that when you refuse to accept my perception of what is wrong -- you don't have to agree, David...if you would just look and accept my opinions as valid, if not right. You can't love someone if you don't respect them, David." David's hand flew out of the increasing dark, his fingers soft on the back of Leaf's neck as he pulled Leaf against him, his arm encircling Leaf's waist. He held him so tight, Leaf's hands immediately on David's back, holding him. The world was slow and lucid outside of them, Leaf's face nestled in David's shoulder, his hair soft against David's closed eyelids and lips and David, clutching Leaf hard, trying to undo the damage of the world inflicted upon them. David's soft words were spoken into Leaf's hair, barely audible. "Don't ever say that." He breathed. "Don't ever say that again. I love you." He repeated the words, his heart aching emptily in his chest. Somewhere in his mind and soul, he felt the world and fate trying to tear them apart. He swore to himself that he wasn't going to let that happen. He would fight the armies of the world, if just to remain with Leaf. He only wanted to be with Leaf...