The Edge

Penny Rose awoke to Lucif's voice almost purring in her ear. "We're here, child," it murmured, it's tufted ear tickling her forehead as it turned its head back to speak to her. The sound of foreboding it the words were clear, even as it was gentle.
Penny Rose raised her head from the warm, soft back, and her eyes filled with unbidden tears, feeling the warning tension and knowing the journey must go on, despite the deep sleep that had rested on her for a moment. She stretched and carefully slid from Lucif's high back, it kneeling to let her descend. The soft grasses cushioned her feet, but even so the ache in her joints spoke of her exhaustion, and Lucif's nose snuffled her ear comfortingly, stroking its forehead against her a little. Penny Rose looked up at it and smiled wanly, reaching for its shoulder again. "Where is here?" she asked, almost to distract herself from what was surely the next challenge.
"The Edge of Dawn. Look." And Lucif stepped to the side to let her see over the edge that was just before them.
Over the precipice Penny Rose could see - nothing. The drop seemed infinite, ending in a gray mist, before them a gray mist - lightening ever brighter in the Dawn. Lucif was tense, but it sat gracefully nonetheless, glancing at Penny Rose. "It has been gray for a long time. The dawn has not broken for years."She looked back and reached again for its shoulder as she stepped nearer the edge and peered over it. Suddenly, a paw planted itself in front of her, keeping her from wandering too close and when Penny Rose looked up, startled, she saw the worry between Lucif's brows. "Not too close, child," it said, using its paw to then draw her close. Its tail was twitching, but Penny Rose stood and leaned against it, and heard the deep, unbidden purr from its chest.
Suddenly, a bright gold lit the entire deep gray mist before them, and an orb broke free of the waves of gray below them, shining. Penny Rose heard Lucif draw in its breath, startled. The orb grew and grew, rose before them, and flew into the sky. As it moved past them, it expanded and Penny Rose saw the surface of it as it shot past. It was lit from within, like a lantern, the brightest lantern, shining through the translucence of reflective gold. But it was the shapes running over it that made her draw her breath. The characters ran and jumped about on it, burning and emerging, disappearing. Foreign and then familiar, Penny Rose sensed rather than read their meaning. It spoke of hope and the tales of history that were the heart of the light.
Lucif watched it, transfixed. The reflection in its mirrored eyes lingering longer than it seemed the orb was in front of them.
Lucif's purr had stopped in awe of the light that had risen in front of them. Now it turned its enormous head, and gazed at Penny Rose, as if transfixed. Penny Rose looked back, unflinching. "That was beautiful," she breathed, her eyes sparkling. Lucif nodded, but said nothing. It simply laid its head on its paws before her in a deep bow, the second time on this longest of days.
She looked at it, a frown of confusion between her brows. "You are the Reader," it said solemnly, "but you have done more than ever I expected. You have brought back... hope. For you can read the histories and know their meaning. It is clear, now." Then the eyes rose to her level once again, and the nose snuffled her ear in a gentle, sympathetic nuzzle. "But you are young, my dear - so young. So young and so brave."
Penny Rose blushed. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she realized the weight of Lucif's words and she hoped - and feared - it was right. The mirrored eyes reflected back Penny Rose's wide ones. The creature circled behind her, its large paws nestling on either side of her as it sat down behind her. "It's all right to fear, child. But you must know what you are - brave and good."
Tears came to Penny Rose's eyes and she turned into Lucif's furred chest, the blazon of white catching her tears as she wrapped her arms around the beast and let herself cry. A comforting purr flowed beneath her cheek, and a large head bowed to shield her.
The girl and the creature stood upon the edge, the morning light shining on their embrace.