She was clever, perhaps too much for her own good. Devi has been thinking about this ever since that day on the Springs with Ziggy. She also thought about how he stopped her. The mostly emotionless bird furrowed her brow and mumbled to herself as she stepped off the Olympus beam-pad. "Not today, they won't. I'm much too clever for that. No one will." Devi knew Volare would be close behind. She would have to be fast. She was. She thought he was seeing other women. In some ways, he was. The hammock got awfully cold when she was alone. Was it her fault? It was. Devi sprinted towards the rushing ocean's embrace. The well-worn boots on her suit made neat yet recognizable imprints in the sand. Her last marks upon the universe wouldn't last more than a couple of hours. The tide would come in as it does every day, and Devi hoped that it would wash away any trace of her quickly. She doesn't want Volare or any of the people who cared for her to see them. She wants them to assume that she ran, that she was a coward, anything. Anything but this. She knew that she wouldn't last long without her suit's tanks. The air supply circling around her head would probably last her five minutes at most. That's enough time to get to where they can't find her. Devi paused at the edge of the water and stared at the seemingly infinite expanse of moonlit water that stretches out before her. The stunning expanses of starlit sky hung out above her. A view like that would make any sane person turn around and reconsider. Devi isn't one of those particular individuals. She has been unhinged ever since the incident at her village, and the worst part is that she was aware of it. Her right hand went to a special pocket on her belt. One that she never opens anymore. They're there. Good. The sleek waterproof bottle made a rattling sound as Devi opened it and poured out as many of the little white morsels as her hand could hold. Devi got them a long time ago to help with her issues after the event. She opened the specialized slot on her helmet and opened her beak. Most of them found their home in her beak, but several of them scattered into the depths of her suit. No matter. She swallowed them and strode into the water, feeling as empty as the vacuum of space. The suit is heavy. It's built well. It clings to the bottom with ease. She doesn't even bother to turn on her lights. Devi has no use for them. She descends into inky depths. Devi knows there is a drop ahead. She has explored it many times in the daytime. Step after step is uncertain, and she expects nothing to be there with each footstep. She can't help but think as the red light labeled "OXYGEN LEVELS LOW" switched on inside her HUD. How many people has she hurt? How many bad things has she done? Does it even matter? Has she become what she resents? She doesn't find out, for her next thought is cut in half by nothing. Devi falls forward and tumbles into it. She feels it. Thinks it. And becomes it. And the universe ticked on at the same pace as it always has, and always will.
