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Post by Kelpie-River on Sept 4, 2019 18:36:31 GMT -6
Characters: Ashwin & Sunniva Location: Home (Outside Inaria) Time of Day: Night Weather: Storming
Ashwin's heart was beating a tattoo against his ribs, and he wished to the Gods that he could silence its drumming, or at least soothe the rhythm until it was something more manageable. It didn't help him that the storm's lightning was intermittently lighting up the windows, the thunder rattling their pains, as rain streamed down, flooding the outside world. His throat was dry, no matter how much he swallowed, and he could almost feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. Together, these signs were all indicative of the fear that ruled his mind. He was terrified to knock on his sister's door, even though he trusted Sunni to the ends of the earth. Ash had always been close to his little sister, feeling as though they were both outsiders in this home, despite the way that his parents tried to make him feel welcome. The strange, side-eyed glances that Sunniva always garnered made his heart go out to the girl, and they'd grown closer as they both grew up...incredibly fast due to the use of aging potions.
As another burst of lightning illuminated the house, Ashwin jumped slightly. He could see his body, outlined in the white light of the lightning strike, for just a moment before all was dark again. He knew that he was imagining it...he had to be...but his sides looked just that much rounder to him. Shuddering, he tucked a loose strand of his mane behind his hear, cleared his throat, and knocked on the door gently.
"Sunni?" he inquired, trying to be quiet lest he wake his other siblings, Moree and Khepri. Khepri was just a baby still, and Moree...well...she hadn't trusted him after she'd caught his outburst of destroying the family altar. She'd cleaned it up for him, but there was a tension there which hadn't been before. That was another thing he had in common with Sunniva; neither of them felt that connected to their Patron Goddess. In fact...Ashwin had heard tales of a new goddess, which he'd shared in secret with his unicorn sibling, and she'd taken to it like a fish to water.
"You awake?" he held his breath, waiting for an answer. Please. I need you, he thought, as he waited with baited breath.
WC: 380
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Post by empyre on Sept 5, 2019 11:51:55 GMT -6
Sunniva laid on her bed, propped somewhat melodramatically up on her pillows to rest her chin on the windowsill. Outside a storm raged relentlessly against the glass, lightning blinding her every so often. She was happy to not be caught out in the poor weather, but she also couldn't help but feel trapped within the walls of this house. Maybe it wasn't fair of her to be so bitter, her parents seemed to be trying now at the very least to connect with her. The fact was, though, that it took a blind child loving her --because he knew no better-- to change their hearts. It was all too much. At least Ash understood her, and maybe that's why she'd bought that potion, to be his age and maybe when she got herself a steadier income they could live in their own house together. She'd been saving away spare coin already for such a thing, in fact.
She nearly missed the soft knock at her door, ears swiveling back at the sound. Had she imagined it, perhaps just a sound from the storm? But the soft call of her name that followed had her slipping from bed and hurrying across the room, opening the door a crack, then wider when she caught sight of her brother.
"Ash?" She asked stepping back to let the colt come in, her golden eyes quickly taking stock of the dark stallion. Was he hurt? Had he been out in that storm? "What's wrong?" She pressed, stepping closer to him to rest her head on his withers in a hug. She felt an icy of stone anxiety settle in her gut as she felt her brother's heart beating too hard, too fast, in his chest. "Come on, sit down." She urged, nudging him towards her bed, careful and ever conscious of her horn as to not hurt him.
WC: 313
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Post by Kelpie-River on Sept 9, 2019 17:28:46 GMT -6
Ashwin took a deep breath, winding his way inside the girls room at her urging. She always knew when something was wrong, although he had to admit that it wasn't hard to tell right now, with the way his heart was beating, and his little form shivered in fear. Trying to calm himself, he clambered into Sunniva's bed, curling up amongst the warmth of the covers. It did little to ease the chill along his spine, but it was better than nothing.
Ashwin blinked back tears, as he pressed up against his sister's side. He was frightened, to say the very least, as well as confused and uncertain. It was a lot to be holding all at once, and it was wearing on him something awful. With another shaky breath, Ash focused on getting himself calm enough to speak. He needed to tell Sunniva what was going through his head, or she'd just worry. That was why he was here, after all.
"Sunni," he said, his tone quiet, hushed. "I...something h-happened," he stammered, staring down at his hooves. "I...I was out in town, and somebody knocked my amulet out of my hair, and they...they broke it," he sobbed. He knew she would have noticed the lack of his more masculine features, but no one had really questioned him. Kali and Dae were so busy that they hadn't noticed, Khepri and Owain were...their own unit, and he had been avoiding Sunni and Moree out of shame. "And...I...I went out and met a guy," he began, not sure how he could tell his little sister what was running through his mind.
WC: 273
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Post by empyre on Sept 14, 2019 21:07:48 GMT -6
Sunni settled in next to Ash, and nodded when he explained his missing amulet. She'd noticed he hadn't been wearing it and figured it had been broken, or taken. She thought for a moment that would be it, that he would just be having a hard time with living with his body. She could understand that to a point, there was a lot she wanted to explore about herself, but simply hadn't the time or space. She stilled, her ears slowly laying back in dawning horror at his last words, however. Surely, he wasn't... "Ash..." She said, voice low and brimming with the fear now gripping her own heart. What were they gonna do?
It startled her, then, that it really was a matter of what they would do. Together. Whatever was going to happen would happen and she would be there for the fall out, she would be there when the dust settled, and forever after that too if she had to. It was them against a world full of people who told them they were wrong, or if not out right told them, said as much with their looks. Even her own parents weren't exempt from this.
It hit her then, that she had a responsibility now. To this child. They would grow up in this cruel world and this intolerant herd, but they would grow up in a household that would love them no matter what fins, feathers, or horns they came out with. She would be the mother she never managed to have.
Springing up from the bed, Sunni hurried over to her dresser, pulling a drawer open and sifting through the fabrics to the jar of coin she had stashed. Gripping it in her golden teke she came back to the bed and dropped in on the sheets in front of her brother.
"Let's do it. Get a place." She said, probably sounding frantic and every bit as rushed as her thoughts were, running through her head faster than she could truly think them, "I- we'll... we can go somewhere nobody knows us... I can-... I'll be it's mom." There she'd said it now, no taking it back. "We can say it was adopted. I'll be the mom, we'll get you a new amulet. Nobody will ever know."
WC: 383
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Post by Kelpie-River on Oct 25, 2019 12:40:06 GMT -6
Ashwin's eyes welled over with tears that he could not hold back, as his sister embraced him, promising that everything was going to be all right. That she could help him strike out on his own, make his way in this wild, terrifying world. The fact that Sunniva was on his side released the weight off of Ashwin's shoulders, and he felt his body slump as the tension began to leave him somewhat. He stared at the coins on the bedspread, figuring what they had there. It was probably enough to strike out..maybe. Just maybe.
"What will we tell Ama and Dad?" he inquired, his tone hushed as he continued to converse with Sunni. "After all, we can't just sneak off in the middle of the night....and...I....I don't want them to see you in a bad light. Which is bound to happen if you take responsibility for being this foal's mother," he stated. It felt a little silly to say this, as he knew of Kali's...hostility towards their daughter, and Daemyn's struggle to understand and lover her just the same. But what he didn't want was for them to see Sunniva any worse than they already did.
WC: 200
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Post by empyre on Oct 30, 2019 8:07:58 GMT -6
"Ash..." Sunniva murmured, climbing back onto the bed to sit next to her brother, "You can tell them whatever you'd like, but I think Dae and Kali's opinions on me aren't exactly going to be changing." she fell into silence for a few moments, but soon enough shook her head. Now wasn't the time for her to contemplate her relationship with her parents, right now Ash was more important.
"You can tell them the truth, if you'd like, but they might try to stop us..." She pointed out, picking up a coin from the jar and twirling it nervously with her teke, "Whatever you think is best, I'll support it. You know them better than me, anyway." There was no bitterness or resentment in her tone, she could never be upset with her siblings over their parents; wasn't their faults that she was the way she was.
"You're all I've got, Ash, so I'll follow you wherever we have to go. We'll have the little one, too, and I'll make sure they know they're loved more than anything in the world." she said softly, finally dropping the coin back into the jar and laying her head on Ashwin's back.
WC: 199
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Post by Kelpie-River on Nov 29, 2019 21:12:38 GMT -6
Ash sniffled, holding back a new wave of tears as he felt his sister's warmth against his spine. He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, and when he woke find that everything had gone back to normal. "I can't...I can't believe I made such a dumb mistake," he whimpered, using his Teke to tuck a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "All the things I *could* have done, and this was what I picked?" He let out a sharp exhale of breath. "But...you and me...we can take care of this," he promised, looking up at Sunni with the slightest of smiles.
"I...I don't think Ama and Dad need to know everything," he added, pondering the thought. "It's about time I started looking for a spouse and a home of my own anyway," he stated with a sigh. "I guess this will just light a fire under me to make sure it gets done."
WC: 160
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