|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:04 pm
Corra 1
The beach stretched endlessly before Corra, the crashing waves singing against the shore. The air smelled of salt and damp wood, the scent clinging to her skin as she watched the distant Isles of Chibale hover on the horizon, dark shapes against the setting sun. She’d always liked this place—wild, untamed, untouched by the weight of expectations. It felt like freedom.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:04 pm
Niabi 1
Niabi stood beside her, arms folded loosely, her gaze set on the waves instead of her daughter. The wind tugged at her dark locks, strands slipping from her braid as if reaching for something far beyond her grasp. She had been here before—years ago, when she was still young, still unsure of herself. And now, she was here again, listening to the daughter she loved more than life itself, dreading what she had already known in her heart.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:04 pm
Corra 2
"I’m going to become a warrior," Corra said, her voice firm as the tide. "An Alkidike warrior. Not an earthling class, not something halfway. I’ll be just like you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:05 pm
Niabi 2
Niabi closed her eyes for a moment. Not like me, she wanted to say. Not like the frightened girl she once was, struggling to hold a sword steady. But Corra wasn’t like her—she was fierce, bold, and unshaken. Niabi admired that, even as it twisted something deep in her chest. "You don’t have to prove anything," she murmured. "You already belong."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:06 pm
Corra 3
Corra’s fingers curled into fists. Belong? She let out a sharp laugh. "To who?" she challenged. "To Ast? To the warriors who will never see me as one of them? Just because I live near them doesn’t mean I belong to them." She turned, dark eyes burning. "And I will prove myself. To them, to Aisha—to everyone."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:06 pm
Niabi 3
Niabi finally met her gaze. There was something so painfully familiar in Corra’s expression, something she recognized from the reflection of her younger self. The need to be seen. The need to be worthy. "Being an Alkidike warrior isn’t just about proving yourself," she said softly. "It’s… it’s a life. A way of thinking. Of being."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:07 pm
Corra 4
"Good," Corra shot back. "Because that’s what I want."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:07 pm
Niabi 4
Niabi’s fingers traced the edge of her fabric necklace. You say that now. She had said it too, once, back when she believed that being a warrior would make her whole, when she thought wielding a weapon would silence the fear lodged in her throat. But Corra’s fire was different from hers. Corra had never been afraid. Not of a fight. Not of anything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:08 pm
Corra 5
Corra exhaled, turning her gaze back to the waves. "You don’t think I can do it," she muttered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:08 pm
Niabi 5
Niabi’s chest tightened. "That’s not true."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:08 pm
Corra 6
"Then say it," Corra said, voice clipped. "Tell me I can be one of them. Tell me I won’t always just be ‘half.’"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:08 pm
Niabi 6
The words lodged in Niabi’s throat like stones. "You… will be strong," she said carefully. "You already are. But…" She hesitated, fingers twitching against the fabric of her necklace once more. "Strength isn’t just about fighting."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:09 pm
Corra 7
Corra clenched her jaw. "Then what is it about?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:09 pm
Niabi 7
Niabi’s gaze flickered to the horizon. "Knowing when to stop fighting."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2025 2:10 pm
Corra 8
Corra’s lips parted, then pressed into a thin line. She turned away, watching the tide drag over the sand, erasing their footprints as if they had never been there. "I can’t stop," she admitted after a long pause. Her voice was softer now, but no less determined. "I don’t know how."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
