[PRP Jauhar] Finding Lost Secrets (Talisia x Dris) FIN

[Sabra Knight]

Talisia rubbed her hands along her arms nervously. While it was still refreshing to be in the rainforests away from the ice of Zena, the girl was still hesitant about adapting to certain changes. From fur and long clothing she now wore an outfit that had been made for her. The materials were very light and airy, but gorgeous in color and she was still thankful for Callum's help in acquiring them.

Still..."Just how silly do I look, Silva?" Peeking around to see no one else in her little hiding spot, just a clearing that existed in the trees near her temporary home, Talisia twirled to let the ribbons of silk dance about her bare ankles. She smiled as she slowed and touched the fabric once more in her fingers, "It really is nice...if not revealing." She commented to the raptrix who just silently turned to settle back in the shade. Like Talisia the beast was trying to adapt to the sticky heat.

No wonder her father was so miserable in Zena. The heat and the beauty of Jauhar was astounding compared to the frozen mountains of her old home. It truly was a whole new world, "I wish I could have seen it with you, papa." Sighing the girl fiddled with the familiar pendant that hung heavy around her neck. The battle had definitely slowed down her search for her father's roots, and now she wondered if she would ever be able to figure out his story.
 

[Painted Moose]

Dris'rynne led her little sisters back home, carefully keeping an eye on the loads of laundry in their arms. Any time they veered off course the other would pull her sister back on the path with a little laugh and a look at Dris'rynne. It was an unspoken rule; don't cross big sis! ...unless she's sleeping, of course.

As they walked the three sang a family favorite;

"Look into my eyes,
Now you're getting sleepy.
Are you hypnotized
By secrets that you're keeping?
I know what you're keeping,
I know what you're keeping.

Got a secret,
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save.
Better lock it in your pocket,
Taking this one to the grave.
If I show you then I know you
Won't tell what I said.
'Cause two can keep a secret
If one of them is dead."

Being away from home had set Dris'rynne on edge, and yet...it had been freeing. She was concerned about her family, of course, but for the first time she had been able to do as she pleased without worrying over how it would affect them. Just traveling back to Jauhar had been an adventure worth retelling.

Sauti held nothing on her home, though. Sauti's harsh landscape didn't hold the same vibrant, indigo trees of Jauhar, nor the flora and fauna. And of course, she was doubly blessed to see that her family had returned.

All she had to do was introduce them to Talisia.

She stowed the freshly laundered clothes in a basket, using a pulley system to raise it into the tree as her sisters climbed. Somewhere above her mother would be cooking and papa would be reading over the sales reports. It would be peaceful until the girls got there. Just thinking about it made her smile.

"I'll be up in a minute. I'm just going to grab our guest."

After she'd made sure they were up far enough to handle things on their own, Dris'rynne turned away from the tree in search of the hybrid.

(The Pierces - Secret; Lyrics)
 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

Her ears rang with the faint patterns of noises through the trees. Were the girls heading back already? Talisia frowned shyly as she tugged one last time at her new outfit. Maybe it wasn't too hot to invest in a cloak as well...feeling her face flush the girl took one last moment to rub the feathers on her raptrix's head, "I guess I should just learn to deal with it." So many changes...all too soon.

Ever so slowly Talisia began to hum under her breath. Even though he had died years ago the hybrid had often found that any melody she remembered from her father kept her calm. It was her shelter in the harsh world and the memory of his silvery gaze which gave her hope. She was no where near as good as her twin with music, but the little bit of talent did show.

Gently leaping over a fallen branch Talisia began to move back towards Dris'rynne's home to see if anything new was happening. Not expecting to run into anyone she began humming the melody even louder than before. A bedtime melody that her father had often sang to her as his own mother had sang to him.
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

"Why do you smile
Like you have told a secret?
Now you're telling lies
'Cause you have sworn to keep it.
But no one keeps a secret,
No one keeps a secret.
Why when we do our darkest deeds
Do we tell?
They burn in our brains,
Become a living hell.
'Cause everybody tells,
Everybody tells."

She couldn't help herself from continuing the tune as her languid pace brought her thicker into the dense rainforest. Dris'rynne could barely continue the song, though the lilt carried through all the same.

All the more to her surprise when she found it melting into another's voice. The two harmonized for the briefest of moments before she discovered it was Talisia who was singing, and Dris'rynne shut her mouth. Her brows furrowed. "Did the girls teach you that song?" How else would she have known it? Not many knew it in this area anymore, and fewer would have shared the knowledge with an outsider, much less a hybrid.

Shaking her head, she motioned over her shoulder, "Dinners almost ready if you want to join us. Don't be surprised if mom acts a little odd; she's like that all the time."  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

Surprise flickered on Talisia's face as she stared towards Dris'ynne. All it had taken was a second to slip back into the past and another second of cold reality to shatter her dreams. Blinking back her stinging tears the girl brushed a hand up as if dirt had landed there, "No, I've known it for a while....is it a common song here in Jauhar?" She asked quietly. Surely it was and her father had just picked up on it at the time. How else would Dris'rynne know it?

Flushing Talisia nodded slowly, "I suppose so...are you sure it'll be okay?" Since coming back from the battle the hybrid had been a bit skittish about meeting Dris'rynne's family. How would they take to her? She was a hybrid after all and a stranger...

Plus now with the song touching the heart the girl felt as if her whole body was on edge.  

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Dris'rynne felt senses heighten. "No, it's not." She answered calmly, her voice a low murmur. This...was something they were going to have to talk about later. Right now, they needed to meet the pack.

"Yeah." She cleared her throat and repeated it in a louder, clearer voice. "Sure. You've been an invaluable help since they've been gone, and they know that." Past that, she honestly didn't know how her family would react. At least her grandparents wouldn't be there; that was their only saving grace.

She turned and walked back to the home tree with far less enthusiasm than she originally had. That song, the connection...it was enough to invade her every thought. No matter how much she tried to avoid it, it was there. Nagging. With every step she took up the vine ladder, every pull to a vine it stuck with her.

When Dris'rynne finally pulled herself up onto the landing the voices she had tried blocking invaded. Her three walled home was completely exposed on one side, allowing her to get the full grasp of it from the first floor.

The twins were playing with a pair of dolls, obviously newly gifted, and Niyani sat with one leg crossed of the other in a wingback chair. He had several scrolls sprawled across the 'table' the crossing created, his eyes scanning over each one. Her mother, Briza, hummed a little tune herself as she set the table with a fresh, veggie based meal. For the most part the Dris'rynne highly resembled her mother. They were both on the petite side and while Dris'rynne had gained her wider hips her mother also had a bountiful chest, that even in her older years never failed to turn heads. She was a beauty, but there was a quiet nervousness about her. As if she were always waiting for a pin to fall. Her arms shook as she sat a bowl down on the low table, and she would have dropped it entirely had Dris not moved to take it from her.

"Wha-! Oh, Dris'rynne, sweetie, don't do that. I'm fine." Briza smiled, anxiously looking over the edge in anticipation for their guest. "Is she...is she here?"

"Yes mother, she should be right behind me."
 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

It...it wasn't? Talisia's brown furrowed in confusion before she followed Dris. So many questions lingered in the air between them and honestly the girl was half tempted to stop there and then to ask them. How could her father's song....be known by Dris? Loose threads tried to connect into place, but the fog of memory and the mystery of her father's past continued to elude her.

The knot in her chest only worsened as she began to climb. Surely no one else would be quite so nervous about meeting a family, but the hybrid had no true idea of how to react to one. She definitely had never known anything stable or even similar to what a family would be....her own had been cold and abusive save for her dear brother and even he was on a chain around her.

The lively family that she saw when she climbed up was definitely different. Even the 'beasts' she had been originally introduced to had become dear to her in a sense. A small smile flickered across Talisia's face as she watched them playing with the dolls. Maybe in another life she could have done the same?

Her bi-colored gaze slowed as she watched mother and daughter interact. So that's where Dris gets her looks. A slow smile flickered across her features before she finished pulling herself up onto the landing. Maybe Talisia wasn't the only one nervous about this meeting?

"I'm here." Her quiet voice floated behind Dris and the hybrid stuck her head out from behind her nervously, "It's nice to finally meet you."
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

The beasties continued to play, completely unphased by their hybrid house guest at this point. Their father, however, looked up from his scrolls to take her in. It wasn't long before a soft smile broke across his face, and he was rolling up his work to sit it on a nearby desk. He stood, and took up a rag to wipe the ink from his hands as he crossed the room. "It's nice to finally meet you, Talisia." Once his hand was clean enough, he held it out to her. "My names Niyani. Thank you for helping Dris with the girls; I'm sure I don't have to tell you what a handful they can be." He chuckled.

Dris'rynne stepped to the side, just ever so slightly, so that her father could see her without giving up whatever security she gave to the other girl. When she looked to her mother a sense of dread overcame her. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Briza stood with her hands clutched on the back of a chair, hiding behind it as if it were a shield. The way she looked at Talisia was like she was looking at the walking dead, and her eyes never veered away from her pendant. "That's...That's Kaleo's ....why do you have it? Did you take it from his corpse?!"  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

Social graces... Normally one who could easily adapt to social needs, Talisia found herself freezing around a family. So was this what a full family looked like? There was the tiniest hint of jealousy and wonder in her heart at the sight. Blinking as the hand was offered to her, Talisia slowly raised her own to grab it. A man's hand, a father's hand...how long had it been since she had touched her own father's hand?

Her face flushed as she realized she had been staring, "Oh, it's not a problem." Talisia lowered her gaze towards the floor with a sweet smile, "It's really me who should be thankful. If it hadn't been for Dris I wouldn't have had a home these past few weeks. The girls just add to the charm of home." She added teasingly. Almost just a few more moments and she would have found herself more at ease and ready to interact. Too bad disaster had to strike.

Blinking in surprise Talisia found herself taking a step back away from the shifter, "Kaleo?" The hybrid whispered while her hands automatically rose to clasp around her necklace, almost like a shield of protection against the fear rising in her heart. She had never spoken the name out loud herself, but she had heard it a million times as her mother rampage throughout their old home during her fits.

It sent shivers down her spine just to remember those nights. But a sense of reality came back over Talisia as she realized that Briza wasn't chasing after her, but rather hiding from her. Why? The hybrid felt stinging tears in her eyes as she forced herself to look towards the shifter, "How...do you know my father's name?" She whispered before shaking her head, "Surely you mean a different Kaleo....I was given this when I was a child.... by my father." The words hung heavy in the air as she looked around ever so slowly before her gaze looked towards Briza once again. Talisia' brow furrowed as she desperately sought her memories to find any clue to any of this. Did...did her father actually have a connection here all along?

Is that even possible?
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Time seemed to grind to a halt as the tension hurried on. It grew like a monster, transferring from Briza to her family, and bouncing off the girl she couldn’t take her eyes away from.

Dris’rynne made eye contact with Niyani, the two of them unsure what to do. Both sets of eyes moved to the young girls, however, who had stopped their play to look worriedly at their mother. “Girls, go to your room.” When they resisted, Dris’rynne barked the order again and didn’t back down until they were scurrying up the vine ladder to the second floor. It wouldn’t save them from all the vocalized argument, but at least they wouldn’t have to see it.

When she turned around Niyani had moved to Briza’s side. He reached for his wife in an attempt to console her, but she slapped his hand away. Dris’rynne had never seen her mother like this; like a wild animal caught in a trap, waiting for the blade to fall. “Your...Your father?!” Briza shrieked.

And Talisia...Dris’rynne hadn’t been away of how fast her heart was pounding until it nearly stole her breath. “Mother, lower your voice. You’re going to scare the girls…”

Briza turned her attention to Dris’rynne sharply. “You let this happen! You brought this into our home!” She pointed a finger at Talisia, but she shook so hard that it was hard to tell exactly what she was pointing too. “Kaleo was supposed to be my husband, we were going to be married and he left...he left me behind…” Briza was close to hyperventilating, and Niyani fought through this wife's claws to hold her tight to his chest from behind. “HE LEFT ME BEHIND WITH A b*****d SO HE COULD GO OFF AND DALLY WITH SOME ZENA WHORE.”

“Briza!” Niyani snapped. Despite the pain in his chest, he tried to calm his wife, but his eyes were on the girls. Now that he looked at them...they looked more similar with every passing breath.

“The necklace...That’s the one, isn’t it?” Dris’rynne turned to Talisia, even though her words were directed to her mother. “The one he was going to give you before he left. It had a matching partner, but you didn’t want it...not until he came back…” It was odd, hearing her biological father’s name for the first time in a heated argument. Dris’rynne knew little of the man, but this...it was all too much for her to handle.
 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

Talisia's heart wanted to jump out of her chest. Already the hybrid girl was shaking from the shifter's reaction towards her necklace. Could it really be that this Kaleo was her father? Dris'rynne's mother seemed so certain of it. No, no, no, no... Her father wasn't the type of man to just leave someone behind like this! He was so pure hearted and loving....there was no evil in the heart that she remembered so fondly.

Her gaze burned with unshed tears as she glanced between mother and daughter. “No…” She protested, the softest of whispers. It wasn’t Dris’rynne’s fault! Neither of the girls had known that this was going to happen. Talisia had never even dared fathom exactly how deep a connection her father had left behind for her in Jahaur. At the mentioning of marriage Talisia’s gaze widened even more.

This woman was supposed to be her father’s wife? But….what about her own mother? Why would he have left a fiancée back here like this? So many questions ran through her mind, but the girl knew one thing. Her father was a true and honest man. “He…must have had a reason.” She protested quietly, “Are you sure…that you are talking about my father?” Her mind felt so fuzzy, and her mouth so numb. b*****d? Briza had a child by her father? It couldn’t be the girls…they were too young. Slowly, ever so slowly, it became obvious how Niyani was staring between both her and Dris.

Her denial stopped short as the necklace was mentioned once more. A matching set? “Ciaran’s necklace?” Talisia felt her breaths coming in short gasps, “So it wasn’t for us, but for you?” Her bi-colored gaze swept through the room as if seeking answers from the trees. Finally as her gaze settled on Briza and the woman’s obvious grief Talisia felt her world shift again. Forgetting to steady herself the hybrid sat down hard on the ground, “He was supposed to come back to you?” Finally the slow tears started rolling down her cheeks, “Papa wasn’t like that…he wouldn’t have lied to you. Surely something….something happened…” She gripped her skirt in her hands as she desperately sought answers. Foggy memories…hadn’t he always had foggy memories?

“My mother was a scary woman…” Talisia whispered quietly before looking back up towards Briza, “I don’t know what happened or why, but your Kaleo was lost in Zena. His memories, his life back here…he really couldn’t recall much of it.” She frowned as she concentrated on memories from long ago, “I was just a child when he died, but his stories were always of him traveling never of living here. He always trailed off as if he couldn’t remember something dear to him…”

Her gaze was both sincere and grief stricken as she looked towards Briza once more, “I’m sorry…I don’t know what to tell you.” Instead she just hung her head, preparing for the flurry of insults or even an attack. Her mother truly was an evil woman. Why else would Kaleo have never come back here to his fiancée? Instead he had given birth to two twins and became a slave of a woman in Zena.
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Briza could no longer support herself. Though she was gripping the chair's back with all of her might, her legs began to give way and were it not for Niyani she would have fallen. The woman was sobbing openly now; great, wracking sobs that echoed through the forest around them. A part of her soul that had been patched over had been ripped open, and the weight of it crushed her.

Dris'rynne couldn't look at her mother. What could she say to make this situation better, to help it all just go away? Her mother had been getting stronger, and now...now she feared the woman would never be the same. Whatever reason Kaleo had had for staying away so long was irrelevent; the fact was that he had never returned, and had sired offspring with another woman. The details didn't matter to Briza. The man she had loved more than life itself had been with another and that was enough to break her. "He was supposed to give one to me when he came back." The statement was shattered, mingled in between her tears and attempts to breath. "He said he would...Kaleo promised he would come back..." Niyani turned her then, pressing her tight to his chest. She clutched at his shirt, finding solace in the man who had picked her up once before.

Even as he soothed his wife, Niyani watched the girls above her head. He had to address Dris'rynne twice, the second time raising his voice, to get the girl to look at him through the fog in her brain. "Take Talisia and go to the forge. I'll come down for you two later."

She wanted to stay, and it showed in her hesitation. Dris'rynne's heart was torn in two directions; wanting to both help soothe and erase the hurt in the women around her without addressing her own. Where did all of this leave her? They had been told that he had died; it was just as simple as that. She had been able to live with that knowledge and the grieving had ended long before she was old enough to really understand what it even meant.

"Come on, this isn't the time for that." Dris'rynne murmured to the upset hybrid. Not just any hybrid though...another sister. And there was another...She had started to offer her hand, but the hesitancy in her heart prevented her from going much further than that. She retracted it, balling it at her side in the fabric of her skirt. "We have to go. Now." Instead of waiting for the other girl's response, Drisrynne leapt off the landing onto one of the thicker branches below her home instead of taking the ladder. She was never one to run away from her problems, but right now...she wished she was a thousand leagues away.

The climb down wasn't much easier; not when she could still hear her mother. Every scream was an arrow to her heart that caused Dris'rynne's entire body to clench, and the echoing cries frightened her. By the time she had reached the forest floor she was shaking, unshed tears glistening in her eye.
 

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

With each sob, Talisia felt a part of her own heart ripping open. The precious memories of her father had always been a treasure to her, but now that open crack felt wrong....it felt stolen. Pieces of what others said now started making sense. The curse of her eyes, the fact that she shouldn't exist...all of the darkness crept back into her mind. Along with that was the same mourning feeling she had been so numb to in the past, now finally ripping through her spirit.


Silently she hung her head. If Kaleo had promised, then surely he would have came back. What sort of monster was her mother then? That hold...the scary power the ice woman had presented truly was something. Talisia and her twin truly were abominations then. I'm a result of a stolen life. Oh gods, why was she here? Out of all the things she had imagined when finding her father's connections in Jauhar, none of them were supposed to be like this.

Talisia saw the hesitation and felt another shard go through her heart as Dris'rynne, no her sister, pulled her hand away from her. I wouldn't touch a monster like me either. It was true Kaleo's blood ran through her veins, but that offered no grace from the other half of her blood. One last hesitant look towards the broken woman before her pierced Talisia's heart one more time. This was a scene she would etch into her memory, a memory that would solidify her hatred against her mother.


Slipping down the ladder, rather than climbing Talisa passed the last few rungs to tumble towards the ground. As she landed the hybrid just froze on the ground. A part of her just wanted to run away, to forget all this happened...but she was no coward. "I'll take any punishment." The girl whispered quietly, "I shouldn't even be here, I'm so sorry." Even if it wasn't her fault that she was born, it was still her connection to her mother that damned her. Her mother had done this, ruined a family that had a perfect chance for happiness. Her whole body was shaking, but she couldn't falter now, "Whatever...I need to do to help...to make up for this....I'm willing to do."

But truly she was lost. What could she do? Her mere existence had shattered Dris'rynne's mother and now if she ran...she couldn't run. She had to make up for her mother's evil. Yet she doubted the woman wanted her help, but at the same time...Dris. Talisia's gaze flickered towards the shifter, her half-sister. What could she offer save for memories? Memories that should belong to the other girl, not to her. All of those moments with her father had been stolen as well.
 

[Painted Moose]

Sabra Knight

Sorry for bailing; got roped into making fudge (the candy kind). I'll tag as soon as I get back, though!

It took longer than it should have for Dris'rynne to notice Talisia's flub up. She turned, as if in a daze to look at her, staring with unseeing eyes until the world around her became more clear. "You don't know that." Dris'rynne said after a lengthy pause. Her face was unsympathetic and frozen; a precaution for herself so that she wouldn't give in to her own rampant emotions. "Maybe this was the way things were supposed to go. We aren't Gods so we can't ever know for sure."

What could she even do to help? Just her presence was enough to upset Briza and Dris'rynne didn't know what to do with her. Of course she would take her to the forge, but after that...? This time, when Dris'rynne offered Talisia her hand, she didn't falter. No matter what had come before it wasn't the girls fault, and she had been nothing but kind to Dris.

"Come on, we have to keep going." Was her stalwart reply. Her voice was low, barely above a murmur, and her hand visibly shook. There was a lot going on inside Dris'rynne that she couldn't risk setting loose.  

[Sabra Knight]

Painted Moose

I'm hoping that was the finished tag. xD

Talisia frowned at the thought, "How cruel they must be then." The barest murmur left her lips as she rubbed her arms once more. As a child she had been so carefree, but once Kaleo had left her life everything changed. The stares of others had become much more prominent in her mind and their whispers...oh the whispers had never stopped. Even in the darkest corner of her mother's home the girl still had felt the judgement from outside.

A hand reached out through those memories towards her and Talisia found herself just staring in confusion, "I..." As the hand shook so did Talisia's. Still she offered the faintest smile, mixed with sorrow and thanks, as she took Dris'rynne's hand. She was right they had to keep going.

Inside a part of her still hesitated as she took one last look over her shoulder. No matter what had happened and what would be happening, Talisia knew that she owed some form of debt to the greiving woman above. Even more so towards Dris, her half-sister, who had never known the father that Talisia had indirectly stolen. At the thought she let go of the other girl's hand to start moving forward, "You know the way to the forge better than I. So lead the way."