Fantasy The Chosen of Seven

[Jayus]

'Well that wasn't very nice.'

'I agree with Kito. You should've been a bit nicer.'

'I mean she did talk about her own family a wee bit. You coulda spoken about ours.'

'Another valid point from Kito.'

'Thank you, Nayeli!'

'Thank you, Kito!'

"Would you both shut up." Fekitoa mumbled between gritted teeth wound so tight he was almost grinding them down to dust. He could barely recognizing his own thoughts anymore amongst the ramblings of the two other personalities in his mind. He was vaguely aware the crowd had gotten quieter and a few small children were staring up in him in shock mistaking who he was talking to for them. Fekitoa could not even bring himself to care in the slightest.

Marching onto the boat his blood was boiling pass the mark of someone ready to snap. It was rather difficult, however, when the one person he wished to snap at was himself.

'I'm really sorry, but you still didn't handle the situation well enough. I mean it was an innocent question with no ill meaning behind it. Miss Phoebe has no idea of your past or upbringing! Again sorry.'

'How the both of you talk I'm having trouble telling who is who.' He growled back yet he had to agree with them. Looking at her he felt the tiniest tinge of guilt at how he had spoken to her. He hadn't been very open or very willing to engage in a conversation in a while. Kito being more bubbly and friendly possibly made him the worse companion of the two. And usually he didn't care, but seeing the situation at hand he felt he should start to.

'Very wise decision.'

'I approve.'

'I don't need feedback and will you two just try and be quiet among the yourselves or just I don't know think quieter.'

He was vaguely aware that Phoebe was speaking to him, but caught the tail end of her conversation.

"Land of the Sun Dragon?" He repeated just to be sure. The first words he'd said to her since the mention of his father. It still felt weird to try to talk at all to someone that wasn't his mother after the mention of him.

"Sounds... hot." He finished his train of thought awkwardly not entirely sure how to show his enthusiasm properly or how to continue a conversation correctly.

"You seem to know a lot about it." He continued. He listened to her for a bit and nodded, stance rigid and uncomfortable. Very desperately he tried to find words, but his mind was elsewhere. Every fibre of his being was telling him to go away. Him wanting to chat was too uncomfortable for him to bare.

"I'm... going to try sleep." He said, eyes staring at the ground. Without anything further he turned around and walked to their quarters, walk determined but head unsure. He still had a lot he wished to say and strangely enough for him no will to say it.

He wasn't sure how late it was. It was dark, but it had been for awhile, yet he was certain it wouldn't be light anytime soon. He had been tossing and turning in his bed unable to find a comfortable position. Kito and Nayeli allowing him to overthink everything he had done up until this point in time was wearing him down to a tiredness that should no leaving with sleep. He chucked a pillow at his own face hoping that would drown them out fully aware it was useless. Rising from his bed he decided he would walk around until he got tired. Or at least fly leisurely for a little bit. Upon reaching the deck he noticed he wasn't alone. And on the side near the edge stood another passenger. He had the mind to turn around and not bother them, but he recognized her silhouette. Whether it was the silver lock of hair catching the starlight or just the small mannerisms he was used to he knew exactly who it was.
He debated whether or not to start a conversation, but he was sorely overruled. Quietly he approached her.

"Rough night?" He asked, his tone coming out more as a command for her to answer rather than casual like he had hoped. Either way he carefully approached and stood quietly next to her. His hands resting on the railing, his eyes studying the sea. His presence softened, watching the gentleness of the night reflecting faintly on the still water, the silvery froth of the waves rising at the careful touch of the boat. He hardly ever saw a body of water this vast, but he knew he wouldn't be tired of it.

"Kito is terrified of water." He spoke randomly, his eyes still fixated on the view in front of him, but his jaw was a bit clenched, his own body trying to stop him from speaking.

"He's not very good with his wings. So he's afraid it'll weigh him down and he'll drown. I personally think its quite pretty. Like a flowing mirror." His stare fell from the sea to the floor of the ship. His ears picking up the steady creaking of the wood and the gentle whistling of the wind.

"I'm not an approachable person. And I don't like being approached." He admitted, his taloned hands scratching deeply into where he was holding.

"It's never bothered me before. But I can sense I'm not making it easier for you. So I guess..." He thought for a moment, he could very easily just say he was going back to bed like he had earlier in the afternoon or when they were at his home, but he decided to fight through his will to leave. His feathers ruffled and rose with his increasing stress.

"... I apologize." He said his head gesturing towards her, but still focusing intently on the floor. His next few words came out slow and forced.

"I... would... like... to... talk." Cringing heavily, his mouth curled back in a disgusted snarl. His eyes widened slightly, like he was no longer seeing the floor or his own idea of the world, but for the first time seeing the reality of it all. He looked up at her. Her eyes softer than they were in the light and catching all the stars in a curious web. He swallowed, not used to talking so much.

"I understand you and Kito know each other quite well and talk often enough, but we don't. And I can gather you want to know a bit more about me and I do want to know about you. So... I don't know how to carry on this conversation. But you get what I'm trying to say. So.. I don't know... ask something? I'll be honest."

SepiaInk

 

[TerraBooma]

"The sun eh? Yeah...it sure has a mind of its own, that's for sure. It's kinda admirable. No matter what crap goes on in the world...it always keeps rising in the morning." Romon smirked. "Guess we've got a lot of work to do still, when you want to head back to the rendezvous? The other lights haven't gone up yet, so clearly we've got time." He motioned back to the library. "I mean, we're here, and we've got time to kill. So...only one thing to do really. C'mon." He stood up from where he was lying down watching the sun, a mischievous grin on his face. For most of the other people he knew, the suggestion would probably be a bit weird. But for Adruo....well, he already knew how she'd take it. "We have a very important mission!" In his mind, he called to his daggers. 'Okay guys, she really likes books. I know...most people back then didn't really read, and your probably even older than that, but I don't suppose you have any literature suggestions? You two probably know a few to pass the time, or did you really just yell at each other for a couple centuries?'

Returning his focus to Adruo, he lead her back towards the main building. He figured she'd catch on at some point, but when they got to the entrance, he made a grandiose gesture. "Alright then Adruo, we're here for my personal mission, now it's time to complete yours. We've traveled light on the way here...because we needed to move fast. However! This was not a journey you need to make a lone, and it just so happens I have enough money left over from being Elven Blade and general work to hire a cart we can drive back to the capital. So! Given we seem to have little trouble foraging, and are qutie happy sleeping in the dirt, I have a quest for you! Adruo Draiton, your mission should you choose to accept it? Fill said cart with as many books as you can find and they will willingly part with. Sound like a good quest to you? In exchange? You uh...gotta help me learn to read better."

 

[SepiaInk]

Phoebe had been trying to hold it in, but as soon as she opened her mouth to reply, a snort broke out and the giggles followed. She couldn’t have picked a worst moment to laugh, honestly, not when the other Chosen was trying his hardest to open up. Her own upset stomach certainly didn't enjoy the clenching and unclenching of muscles, but all she could do was cover her mouth to stifle the laugher.

“I’m sorry,” she said the second she was able to catch her breath and wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes, “I don’t mean to laugh at you, honest.”

She forced herself to stand upright, back against the rail so she wouldn’t be facing the waves, and stared up at the confused harpy. In the low light, his red eyes seemed to shine brighter somehow, but there was no moonlight for his beautiful feathers to reflect, which was a shame. The darkness was not too much of a problem for her, but she wondered if Fekitoa could see her just fine.

“I guess I’m just surprised to find someone who’s worst at this than me. Though I’m aware there are certain people in my life I should thank for that. As a child I was very,” she let her gaze drop to his wings, feathers still ruffled, and tried to find a more gentle word for what she was really like in her youth, “reserved, let’s say. Still am a bit, I suppose.”

Her gaze locked with his again, but she took a more casual pose, relaxing her muscles and leaning further into the rail, ignoring the instinct to stay clear of the edge. To get rid of the rest of her stress, she let out a deep sigh, and then attempted a soft smile.

“Listen, I’m glad to hear that you want to make an effort to open up to me. But if you don’t want to, then you don’t have to do it. The last thing I want is to force anyone into anything. Talk when you feel like it, and I will listen.”

That was good, she thought. It felt good at least. Her colleagues back at the library would be proud.

“But if you insist on having a conversation, and since both us seem to be having trouble sleeping, then I welcome the distraction. No one’s here with us, so maybe now you can tell me more about the Great Sword?” She searched the space between his wings and found the telling glint beneath the evolving fabric. The fact that Fekitoa had actually brought it with him reassured her that this was a partner that she could rely on, despite everything, and that turned her smile into something a lot more genuine and grateful.

“How does it feel? Have your ever carried a weapon before?” she asked with a bit more excitement, forgetting herself and staring openly at his hands, the sudden urge to touch them resurfacing. “Is it any different?”

As she listened to him, a thought struck her. At first she hesitated in voicing it, enjoying the lighter mood that had settled between them too much to break it now, but Fekitoa had said he was willing and maybe it’d only be a big deal if she made it so.

“You know, I’d been meaning to ask, why did the sword only start working after you… shifted, so to speak? Does it only work with you, Fekitoa?” That could pose a problem in the future, she thought, but decided not to voice that particular worry. “How does Kito feel about that? And the sword…”

There was a pause here, Phoebe’s cheeks turning red at the fear of sounding silly as she thought about her next words. She’d had her suspicions about the sword being sentient, but she never got to confirm it with Fekitoa.

“Does it know? Does it feel both of your presences inside your mind?”

Jayus​

 

[Jayus]

Laughing was not the reaction Fekitoa was expecting. He stood still in a state of shock. Watching confused as she laughed at him with more gusteau then he thought possible. He could feel himself becoming flustered, but while this did not rise into a hot flush beaming across his face the small feathers around the nape of his neck grew into a large plumage.

Eventually her laughter died down and a smile crept across her face and spread widely into a genuine grin. No hidden emotions, nothing plastic or fake about it. Fekitoa was a little taken aback by the whole thing. It was an odd sight, not one he was used to. He was in slight awe of the whole thing and he felt like he had somehow achieved something with just a pleasant smjle on her part. Is this why Kito liked making people happy? He had a feeling he could learn to get used to this quite easily.

Her quip about him being unable to talk, if anything, got him quite offended. His feathers puffed with his raise in tone.

"I don't like talking I am not incapable of talking there is a vast difference mind you." He scolded.

Quickly he was distracted by her question. He looked down at Nayeli, still tucked safely in the crook of his wing.

"I would carry a small knife around. Nothing for anything too serious just to cut open a few things or peel or a few swipes out of warning to anybody who attacked me. You know. if the arms didn't scare them off at first." Fekitoa said in an effort to make a joke, but it came out in a voice as dry and devoid of humour and touched with just the slightest hint of sarcasm. He didn't dwell on this too much howe very and carried on with his train of thought.

"But nothing to a magnitude of this scale. This rather beats something rivaling a butter knife."

He waited expectantly for her to ask him another question. Hoping he had given enough of a reply for her. He didn't understand why it was so important for her to find him someone she's able to talk to. He knew he needed to for the sake of the journey, but somewhere in the back of his mind he was developing the need to want to. At least that's what he thought.

"Interesting question." Fekitoa mused. He thought for a bit. Surely he couldn't be the sole wielder of Nayeli. Semino himself had spoken to Kito first not him. Fekitoa's eyebrows creased and he drummed his fingers on the edge of the boat in an effort to think. Nayeli wasn't being particularly helpful, reassuring Kito she most definitely likes him a lot and that he was not a bad person whilst Kito kept apologizing for merely existing. Fekitoa suppressed an eye roll. So dramatic.

"Perhaps it was because I defended us without attacking the creatures. Kito fully charged at every opportunity he got and Semino is known to be the nicest of the Gods. And besides Nayeli didn't reject him. Kito would've been dead if that were the case." Fekitoa shrugged off his answer to show he wasn't completely sure if he was right, but that was his best case to explain the strange event.

Her next question left Fekitoa looking physically drained.

"She's another presence in my head and honestly? It's crowded. Kito is already talkative enough." Fekitoa now rolled his eyes and let his body relax against the ship, pointing to his head half-assedly.

"They're mad at me now." He said and grew silent, mentally trying to win an argument against two people. He sighed.

"Okay, alright I'm sorry." He mumbled under his breath. He had almost completely forgotten she was still there, but her gaze caught his and he looked up into her dark eyes, gleaming despite the darkness, a silver silhouette eclipsing her features and making her look more like a figment of his imagination than a real person.

"Thank you." He said allowing him an excuse to tear his gaze away and at the floor. "I can't remember if I told you this when I first told you about Kito, but as you can imagine people aren't exactly very open to the idea of being civil to a Black Condor, let alone one with two personalities. Now three." He said the word Condor with as much disgust as a child would about vegetables. He hated the title and he hated he couldn't get rid of it. "So thank you, it really means a lot to m-... Kito and I." He finished and cleared his throat.

"So do you have anymore questions? Because I do have some I'd like to ask you and you may stop me if they're too personal."

SepiaInk

 

[SepiaInk]

“No, please, you don’t have to thank me,” Phoebe interjected, eyes going wide as she gestured frantically between them.

“That whole curse thing is just a load of-” she caught herself just in time, stopping herself from swearing. It was such a bad habit, she’d have to start working harder to weed it out. “It’s just superstition,” she spit out instead, and somehow that word still came out sounding like a cuss.

“That’s the world we live in, unfortunately, were people let superstition and fear guide their lives. We…” She had to stop there, crossing her arms and shifting her weight around to ease the discomfort. “I know you had it much worse, but Ghost Deers aren’t exactly considered a good omen either.”

The mood was turning too sour for her liking, so Phoebe’s thoughts raced to find something to bring some light back into the conversation. "But there are still places where that’s not the case at all,” she continued, perking up.

“At the Grand Library people seek the truth for themselves. There is no place for superstition and the doors are open to anyone who seeks knowledge for the sake of it, regardless of their standing in life. I think you would like it there.” She stared into the red eyes of the harpy, that same proud and dignified smile she’d wear so often when she first started working at the library blooming on her lips. It was surprisingly easy to picture the harpy working there, or how his eyes would overflow with excitement and wonder as he discovered all the secrets and treasures the Southern Archives had to share. “It’s a fresh start, a place where people could care less what you are or look like, but rather what you have here,” she said, lightly tapping the side of her head.

“I don’t care about the curse,” she declared, voice firm and resolute. “Just like you don’t care that I’m a shapeshifter.” It was odd, but it was only after she’d said it out loud that she realised how truthful those words were. Despite her fears and all the care she took to show as little of that side of her as possible, neither Fektioa and Kito ever treated her differently because of her race.

“And I’m grateful for that as well,” she confessed with a warm smile, unable to resist bowing her head just the tiniest bit in gratefulness.

After hearing him speak, Phoebe’s smile faltered a bit and surprise took over. “You have a question for me? Sure, please go ahead. It’s only fair if I answer one of your own.”

The fact that it was a personal question already left a tight knot in her stomach, but she tried her hardest to remain calm and listen to him. She could handle a simple question, could she not?

Jayus​

 

[Jayus]

A glazed look fell over him. He could only try to imagine such a wondrous place she spoke about with such a blissful nostalgia. It sounded too good to be true. That someone like him could be free to roam such a beautiful place. Without any discrimination. That he could just enjoy the quiet simple existence of knowledge, himself and books. A silent paradise of few sounds yet so much freedom.

"It all seems so magical. One day..." He said in a soft voice so vulnerable with wishful thinking it was as if Kito had slipped out for a moment, but the moment had past and a steely hardness locked his jaw and steadied his glare.

"I had no idea it was that difficult for you." He found himself saying sorrowfully. "The thought that you had to go through discrimination of any degree is disheartening. I don't see why condemn a whole species. Me? Sure I'm odd even for a harpy, but you? People are idiots." He said clucking his tongue. The thought that a whole group could undergo such hardship was beyond him. A whole culture of people understanding the mutual displeasure of being hated. At least they were lucky enough to be alone together. Much like himself.

A silence fell between the tense pause of her reply and his expectant question. The words clung to his vocal chords with no indication of leaving. He mouthed the ghost of a phrase that had yet to arise to the surface, but never once had he thought it possible to hear it aloud. In all honesty he wasn't sure if he would have gotten this far. He cleared his throat, trying desperately to grasp at the sentence that was so close yet pushed far away by his own need to keep a distance.

"I'll start simple. We're heading to your weapon now? Any thoughts about that? And I missed the Choosing. What was it like? Meeting your God?" He spoke quickly and he did most definitely want to know this about Phoebe. He realized he had no idea what she was like. A shadow of a person yet spoke with as much of an excitement and vibrancy as a child learning the gift of insight. He knew so much from Kito and yet nothing of value. This was something he wanted to know, true, but not what he really need to know. After some time he spoke again.

"Ah yes, now my actual question. I understand family is a... touchy subject. And I would like to know about yours. What they were like. If they frequented this library." He thought about earlier. To the forest where Phoebe was wandering in her own memories. Her eyes flaring up with emotion and scenes he could only makes guesses about. Whatever happened with her family was a story in itself.

"But I won't force you to talk about yours. You saw today I don't... particularly enjoy talking about mine. But if you do wish to talk about your family I will... attempt to talk about mine. I can't promise I'll get very far." He said with a smirk, but the uncharacteristic note of fear hid beneath the innocent phrase. "In fact if you would rather not answer you can ask me another instead." His deep rose-tinted eyes shone with an inquisitive glint in the pale darkness of the night. Dawn not climbing over the horizon anytime soon.

SepiaInk

 

[SepiaInk]

Phoebe brought a thumb to her lips and started chewing on the overgrown nail, surprised and a bit disappointed when instead of the metallic and slightly acidic taste of ink, all she felt on her tongue was salt and wood. Frowning, she lowered her hand and crossed her arms to shield herself from the cold breeze that had picked up, then looked up at the eastern night sky to anchor her thoughts.

“Curiosity, mostly,” she replied after some reflection. “There wasn’t much material regarding the weapons back in the Archives. All I have are Adruo's notes, which are a great help but still not sufficient.”

Nothing ever is, a voice at the back of her head reminded her. She tugged sharply at a lock of hair to shut down that odd bit of self-deprecation and continued.

“Also,” she hesitated, biting her lip as she mulled over what she was going to say next. “I’ve been told this is a problem that most shape-shifters share, but it’s true that I’ve never felt comfortable wielding a weapon, of any kind. The most I can handle are knives, and even those don’t feel quite right. My body treats it like something foreign, a source of danger instead of something that can protect me from it.”

Her gaze dropped to one of her hands, which she clenched and opened a few times, trying to remember the last time she’d held her dagger and instead getting lost in the sight of her palms, suddenly reminded of why she didn’t like staring at them to begin with. They also felt foreign to her and she knew why. Her hands were different each time she shifted, no line or ridge on her palm ever the same, though scars were often the exception. Just one of those shapeshifter things she could never seem to get used to.

Her train of thought derailed as a result, and she had a hard time getting it back on track. It took a while, but she managed to remember what else Fekitoa had asked. She painted a very brief image of the Choosing and how the God of Poison had approached her but she refrained from going into any detail and spoke in a rushed manner. It was getting difficult to talk about the Gods without letting her resentment and frustration show, so it was better to just refrain from speaking about them altogether.

“You didn’t miss all that much, really,” she declared, and left it at that.

Then Fekitoa asked about her family.

Touchy subject indeed, the harpy was completely right on that one. But she’d also been expecting that sort of question for a while now and had been mentally preparing for it, not that it made it any easier. Still, she’d told the harpy that she’d try to answer any of his questions, this included. Plus, they’ve been a having a pleasant conversation so far, she didn’t want to be the one to end it on a sour note.

“My parents have never stepped foot in the Great Library,” she blurted out, deciding that if she held back her words or thought too long about it, then nothing of substance would actually come out.

But, as excepted, her body was refusing to follow her mind. Her heart clenched and the knot in her already upset stomach tightened. Giving herself a moment to breathe, she reminded herself that she wasn’t speaking out of any obligation, that she could stop at any time and that would be alright. Fekitoa opening up to her did not require her to do the same. But she did want to open up to him. To share her story with someone other than herself.

“In fact, they don’t know much about my current self because I haven’t seen or spoken to them since I came of age. I left them both back at our hometown in a forest just west of Eden, and travelled alone until I found a job at the Great Library. I-”

I left them all alone at our lowest point. Made a selfish decision because I thought I knew better. I have no idea if they’re even still alive because I’ve been too afraid to go back. I never got to tell them how much I loved them before I left. I’m a horrible daughter!

“I.. how were they like, you ask?” The tears were starting to well up and she stubbornly wiped her eyes with her sleeve, turning her back to the harpy so he wouldn’t see them, though she realised it was a bit too late for that. “They were shape-shifters like me, both of them, which meant I was going to get the mutation one way or another,” she said, falling back on books and theories for comfort.

“Ghost Deers have a very low fertility rate so it’s not surprising that I was their only child. Like a lot of shape-shifters these days they chose to live as mostly humans, so I was born and raised in a large town. I know I was lucky to be raised by both my parents, and loving ones at that, that’s not a privilege most shape-shifters get. We have a reputation of being loners for a reason, I suppose.”

Against her will, her thoughts went to the former Semino chosen, wondering to herself if the wolf shapeshifter had grown up with a close family or had been abandoned like most.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve pretty much proven the stereotype by leaving them behind to find my own path, huh?” she voiced that realisation, lips curling into a misshapen smile.

For some reason, those words seemed to snap something in her and Phoebe found herself having to force down a sob. The dam was too close to breaking so she shut down everything, falling back on the wooden rail for support and shutting her eyes as she tried to regain her bearings, but her chest felt too tight and it was hard to breathe.

“I’m sorry,” she pushed through clenched teeth, not sure who the apology was intended for.

Jayus​

 

[Jayus]

Fekitoa regretted the question. He was enjoying being so open with someone for once and seeing what idle chit chat was really like. He had always observed it while he was inner, watching as Kito attempted to talk to anybody with a friendly face and hands clasped firmly behind his back. It seemed tedious to him, but he felt for some reason, that chatting with Phoebe was slightly above his low expectations. Yet now watching her entire body clenched, shielding itself into a human wall trying desperately to contain the floodgates of her emotions that he realized the error of his ways. Family was a touchy subject for him, why did he think it would be less delicate for her?

He wasn't sure what to do. Comforting someone was uncomfortable for everyone involved and the hug they shared a week or so earlier felt more like a dream or a delusion. He wasn't sure whether to reach a hand out to let her know he was still there, but he feared she wouldn't be much longer if he did that. So instead he moved a little closer to where she was making sure there was enough space between them. Hoping quite doubtfully that his presence would be a bit calming.

"You're not a stereotype." The words came out with a lightness his grave voice was not used to. Emotions of anything other than disdain rarely passed his lips.

"From what I gather the decision mustn't have been an easy one and if you left you left for good reason. If they can't understand it then I think you made the right decision. You may say I don't know the whole story, but I doubt my opinion would falter even if I did. You did what you thought was best for you. You didn't have malicious attentions at all."

The wind had died down and the sea was calm. Barely the creeping of the boat could be heard and the faint whistle of air between sails sung softly in the background. Which is why Fekitoa's sigh sounded much louder than he had intended.

"I did say if you spoke about yours I'd talk about mine." Fekitoa slipped down to floor and crossed his legs, his wings folded tightly around him in a protective cocoon. He stared off in the distance and not once did his gaze slip to his companion, eyes staring holes into the far end of the ship.

"My father was the rebel of the village. Not in the bully kind of way, but his life mission was to irritate as many people as he could. Which is why it was such a shock that he ended up with my mother; the supposed 'Mother Hen'. Anyways when they had..." His voice was already shrinking into a whisper and he forcibly cleared his throat with great effort, like he was trying to force down a rock rather then cough out a few words. "When they had me everyone told them to get rid of me. That they wouldn't blame them for passing me off to some apothecary or researcher. It was just my luck my dad was someone who way of going against the village was second nature and mom was too caring for her own good. They taught me how to behave outside the home, but inside I never felt judged. Everything was fine. Everything was fine until when I was seven-"

He paused a bit, his wings were contorting around him like a lamia, slowly he released the grip on himself. He could sense Phoebe may have been getting concerned, but he assured her he was fine. That this was nothing.

"When I was seven. My father took me out outside the village. I have no idea where to was the goal, but along the way we were attacked. Bandits I think, but I dont remember their faces. Dad sent me running in the other direction... He... he..." Now Fekitoa was gettjng angry at himself. Emotions were for sensitive people not him. And this was nothing, he was just tired of repeating the same story five thousand times. He was determined to finish this story. He took a deep breath in.

"He didn't come back. And everybody blamed me. That it was my curse that killed him. And then mom grew weaker, from grief or something else, but again they blamed me. Said I should've died that night. Didn't even have the decency to say it behind my back. I kept trying to explain that it wasn't my fault, and to be honest I can't even remember it was me or Kito our memories blur. I just remember trying so hard and nobody would listen and it only got worse and I got so tired of explaining myself to people who didn't care and I just wanted everyone to stop, to leave and at times I thought I should've left that I should've gone, that mom would've been happier with someone else, with my dad, not me, never me, I was the waste of space, I was the problem, none of it would've happened if I was gone if I was just gone-" He didn't realize he was shouting. That his voice shook with the ferocity of an earthquake. He didn't even notice his hands were digging so deeply into the ground that a few talons had broken off.
He quieted down, his face twisting back into his emotionless expression with cold stare he wore too often. The fire in his roaring red eyes dying down into an ember and the cold whistle of the sails filling the silence. It felt like there was nothing inside him. That he had screamed out all the anguish he had boiled down for years and was now hollow. He wasn't even sure what he was staring at anymore, his vision was blurred. Why had he done that?

"I'm sorry."

SepiaInk

 

[SepiaInk]

Phoebe slid down the rail, letting her body sink to the floor of the deck and claim the spot right next to the harpy. He flinched at the contact, muscles growing taught at the points where they touched, but otherwise remained still, eyes staring at some place beyond their reach. Or maybe just hers.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” she whispered after a while, voice heated and breathy.

There was a fire burning in her chest, not the homely kind she'd see flickering in Almas' fireplace, or her own moonlight fire glowing through the deep inky shadows of the forest, but a dark and silent one that yearned to spread and consume all things rotten in the world. She hated how familiar it was, that sweet taste that came with the though of setting it free and gazing upon the ashes in its wake. But she knew all too well, how that sweetness came with corruption, an ache that sunk into every bone in her body, a heat that throbbed and swelled and threatened to consume her instead.

So she let all of it go in a deep breath, blowing out the fire, for now. In these moments, darkness would fall like a curtain over her, and she’d be left alone to find another light, no matter how weak. But not this night. The stars shined bright above, and she wasn’t alone.

“You did nothing wrong,” she spoke, her voice like a caress in the dark.

The harpy’s breathing had begun to even out, the rise and fall of his chest making the feathers on his wing brush against her side. There was a pleasant and surprising warmth radiating from them, and before she could think too hard about it, she decided to lean further into that black plumage.

“You know what my parents would tell me whenever I felt … like a burden? 'No matter what anyone tells you, existing is not a crime. Don’t let anyone punish you for it, not even yourself'. Specially not yourself.”

Phoebe let her gaze travel across the body beside her, stopping when she found his eyes. There was still a glaze over them and she felt this sudden and desperate need to melt it away.

“Our past and our troubles may not be the same. But you know what? Seems to me like both our parents had nothing but unmeasurable love for us. Why should we believe a stranger’s word over theirs? The words of the only people who truly care for us, no matter the circumstances.”

Sitting up straight, she leaned into Fekitoa, trapping his gaze under hers. She raised her hand, and it hovered for a brief moment before settling over one of his arms, fingers combing through the shorter plumage there.

“And I promise you that, if we make it through this journey and trial alive, I’ll take you and your mother to the Grand Library, and I’ll do everything in my power to make a home for you there if that is your wish. A better home. One that will still be there because you will have assured it for her and yourself as a Chosen. How does that sound?”

Jayus​

 

[Jayus]

Fekitoa stared blankly ahead. Mindlessly thumbing over the same words he had thrown out loud barely seconds before, and the echoes of his voice beating into his very skull. He couldn't shake the words off. Shake the feeling of his whole body being caked in dirt. That no matter how hard he scrubbed away at the remnants of what was he would still find a trace of it and experience it all over again. They were only the retelling of a long since past memory yet they stung like fresh lemon on a bleeding wound.

He could hear her words trying to cut through the thick mist of his clouded ideas, but he couldn't understand them. His eyes darted to her quickly and he could see it. A desperation to help. His eyes began to swell up. He knew that look all too well. And just like that he could here with the clearness of crystal what she was saying. He stared hard trying to read her, but it was simply because he found it to difficult to believe the words from this particular open book. He breathed out a sigh dancing between the line of shaky and strong and reached for the hand resting on his arm. He gave a light pat, allowing him to rest his hand on hers a few moments.

"You keep saying if. I know I was not there since the start, but I hope that from this point on you'll be able to say 'when'. We are going to get out of this battle alive and we will all go to the library together I can assure you. I have complete faith." A spark of determined energy lit up his firework eyes and he gently dropped his hands. "But come, it's getting rather late and neither of us will be in the best of shape if we don't sleep soon." Standing up he offered the same hand to her to help her up. His face crinkling slightly, a small wry smile cracked through his icy exterior.

"I'm looking forward to that trip to the library. But let's finish this one first." He said the last sentence with a lightness that could only be described between friends. At least thats what a small part of him hoped for. Wishing her goodnight he made his way down to his bed.

"Oh and Silva." He said before he was about to settle in. "Thanks for tonight. I... appreciated it."

Falling onto the bed he allowed himself Kito begged to switch claiming it had been long enough and he was itching to get out. Fekitoa was reluctant at first, but caved for the oppurtunity of some peace Once Kito was in control Fekitoa was lost to a deep sleep. Kito, however, found tears streaming down his face in a wild gush and every part of his body trembling. He moved his hand over his mouth to stop it from being even more loud than it was. Kito felt left in both shock and sadness. He didn't realize how much pain it caused Fekitoa to look back.

"Then what." Kito spoke to nobody in particular in a shaking whisper barely audible to the human ear. "What about Aletta?"

SepiaInk