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 Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 7:55 pm
❖Stage 2 - Solo 1❖ The nightmares didn't plague Ai as they had when she was young, but they came to her, all the same. Months could pass before the same images would creep back into her mind, disrupting all semblance of peaceful sleep.
They always returned her to Sauti; thrusting Ai into a mass of bodies struggling to destroy one another. She was always deaf for the first bit; simply a spectator, unable to react or run away from the scene laid out before her. A leafling woman would be decapitated feet away from her, the woman's blood bathing the earth in it's crimson liquid before her body collapsed atop it. The attacker, an alkidike, would shake the blood off her blades as best she could before returning to the fray.
All at once sounds bombarded Ai; from all angles, they assaulted her, bringing the now young again warrior to her knees. Screaming, endless screaming; the cries of the dying, the howls of the victorious, the shrieks of the desperate...When she was young she hadn't been able to process any of it, but now that she was older, even in the nightmare Ai knew she had been truly terrified.
The righteousness that had once filled her soul fled. Even though the nightmare was always the same Ai still felt the panic as if it were fresh. She would jump up to her feet, dodging an incoming blow only to have a sister defend her. The older woman would scream, "Fight or get out of here!", before ending the earthlings life.
She shouldn't be this afraid; shouldn't be this petrified, unable to move. This was not Ai's first battle, nor was it likely to be her last. She had even taken a life before! So why now, why was she running, hopelessly searching for her mother as if Xai was the only one in this world who could make sense of it all?
And then she would see her. Rage would inevitably color Ai's vision red and everyone else disappeared from sight. Like the lighting of a torch the room shifted from a roaring battle to a quiet space, completely devoid of color save for the woman standing before her.
Iona
Ai wanted to attack her, but her body was static, unable to move. She was frozen mid-strike with one leg poised in front of the other, blade raised high above her head while her sister calmly walked to her. As she moved Iona's dreads would fall away; one after the other, like clumps of dirt being brushed off a radaku's back, until she finally stood bald before Ai.
"How does it feel, to be forbidden to see Mother Aisha?"
When Iona spoke it was both her sisters voice, and that of a stranger. Something darker; more sinister. The two voices intertwined and echoed in the void, putting a chill in the air that made Ai's fighting spirit retreat even further. Hands that were both familiar to her and yet, so strange reached up to cup her face.
"You failed her. You're worthless. If you had been a better daughter you would be by her side, and our mother, Xai, would still be alive." Iona would smirk then, and lean in close, her mouth just to the side of Ai's ear, "How does it feel? Knowing that I'm free and you're waiting to die."
This was the nightmare that awoke her in the middle of the night. She would listen as a terrified woman howled into the darkness, only to realize too late that it was her. Miira had long since given up on trying to comfort her after such an episode; she would push the older woman away and try to pretend she was 'calm' when her hands were shaking.
Fiya, however, wasn't so easy to dissuade. The young elarian had long since developed a routine of making her way to Ai's room without saying a word. She would put a hand on the alkidike's shoulder, gently jostling her back to the 'real' world before climbing in the bed with her. At first Ai had pushed her away as well; outright shoving the child away from her.
But these days, when the nightmare came upon her, Ai would move over. She would wait for Fiya to snuggle into the blankets and hold her arms out, waiting for Ai to curl up against her. As much as she would deny it Ai had begun to rely on that sisterly embrace...
...especially since it was a 'sister' who caused her nightmares to begin with.
(WC: 758 )
[2]
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 10:34 am
❖Stage 2 - Solo 2❖ Every time she turned around there were more lotus blossoms clung to the sides of Elzira like little pink parasites. It was hard to find something like that 'sweet' when all Ai could think about was the long term effects such mass breeding had to be having on their goddess. What if she couldn't support that much life, all at once, as young as she was? It had to be wearing on her; especially if she'd created a mystic this early in her life.
Ai chose to pray from a distance now, rather than getting as close as possible. She was as devout now as she was ever likely to be; finding time to pray to both of her goddesses, and find comfort in their guidance, but this...this made her sick. Day after day, week after week a new elaria would be placed into the arms of the women who wished her into the world and in one case, one horribly disgusting case, three had been born to one pair. Three! What did they need with three infants?! Couldn't they see what a drain that was? How hard it must have been for Elzira to care for all three of those brats and keep them protected from the world?
She'd long since chosen to keep her comments to herself. The last time Ai had approached the subject to what few elders Zinris possessed she was dismissed and scorned.
"Be happy, sister; we've been blessed with so much."
"Don't scorn what you can't possibly understand; Elzira has chosen to grant these wishes out of her own volition. Who are you to question her?"
Who, indeed? She was no mystic, no elder; Ai simply was. For many a year she had been happy enough just to be a part of the fight and her blades had served faithfully. Surely that should have been enough.
And yet, Ai wasn't satisfied. As a daughter of Aisha, a sister to Elzira, she felt it important to look after her younger sibling when so many asked miracles from her. At the moment she was doing just fine, but what of the future? What if she burned too brightly and one day simply stopped producing blooms? What then?
"You are old enough to ask for a daughter of your own. Does that hold no appeal to you?"
Ai scrunched up her nose and snorted. Sitting atop her tree branch as she was, watching on as couples cooed over the little blossoms, Ai decided that it most certainly did not hold any appeal to her. Not yet, anyway, and to have her legitimate concerns brushed away, then to have that brought up...it was more than a little insulting.
As if she could be paid off with an infant.
Oh yes, we see you're worried about our growing population, take a baby, you'll feel better. As if it were some sort of infectious plague that would simply sweep her worries away and replace them with the maternal understanding every other alkidike in this damn camp seemed content to drown themselves in.
Besides that, even if she wanted a daughter of her own, Ai was from the old school of thought; that one needed a partner, a stable home, before having a child. Ai's current partner was far from supportive of the elarian initiative, and didn't seem keen to change any time soon. Maybe one day Akacia would see the elaria in a....more pleasant light, but it was doubtful that she would ever mother one.
Which, in her current reality, suited Ai just fine.
"Your mother would have seen the importance of a strong, healthy populace. How are we to ever defend our home if we don't have the numbers to do so?"
Xai would have known what to do. Her mother was an impressive warrior; solidly built in both mind and body, with an internal fire that could have powered any forge. There was no doubt in Ai's mind that she would have moved on from her last partner out of simple need; Xai would have found a strong woman to attach herself to, mothered a few more warriors and done her part for the movement.
Xai was also dead because of the movement.
The faithful was dead and the traitors had lived. Iona still walked free in Oba, but at least Vilasini's corpse rotted in a forgotten corner of Yael. That much at least brought Ai peace.
Why were these women not worried about the weaknesses of their kin infecting the new generation? How would they cull their numbers before it spread, like it had in Chibale? Ai doubted anyone would support her if she suggested killing the weak as children, so the risk was still so real, and with Elzira doing so much...
She needed to calm herself.
Ai knew that she needed to think less of the coming horrors and more on what she could do to prevent it. She would need to take a more hands on approach with the elaria that were allowed to breath. If Elzira was determined to bring so many into the world then she would need someone to act as their teacher; someone who didn't think them blessed or fragile. Ai would have to be the one to whip the elaria into a fighting force worthy of their goddesses attention.
And maybe then they would be prepared for the day it all came crashing down.
(WC: 905 )
[3]
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Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2017 11:41 am
❖Stage 2 - Solo 3❖
Over the past few weeks there had been little time for Ai's love life between her work with the elaria and her secret 'project'. Both had eaten up so much of her time that what moments of freedom she managed to snag were often coupled with such debilitating exhaustion that any attempts at 'romance' were dead in the water before even seeing Akacia.
Which, honestly, was just depressing, but Ai had a plan for that.
Months of building had left Ai with an impressively solid structure all her own. No longer would she be sharing a home with her mentor and little Fiya; no, now she had a home all her own far from Zinris and all the elaria trapped within. Because of the distance she had been able to keep it a secret for the most part; although, it had been obvious she was building something, what with the amount of pre-cut timber she was dragging off into the woods.
It was a modest little thing, but sturdy and as Jauhar in make as she could possibly obtain given the circumstances. Most of it was built into an existing tree, but since the plant itself wasn't nearly big enough for an entire home Ai had made a few modifications. Mainly, a few rooms attached to the side in such a way that it wasn't a complete eye sore and actually made it look, dare she say, cute.
She'd even spent time on the landscaping of all things. Ai made sure to accent the naturally growing crystals of the tree, as well as to use as many glowing things as possible to bring light to her home. It wasn't Chibale by any means, but by the time she was done with it the warrior was stupidly proud and couldn't wait to show it off.
However, simply bringing just anyone wouldn't do, and to make it special for her special someone was going to take that extra bit of work.
For that Ai had secluded herself away from everyone for a solid week. She told as many of her sisters as possible that she was going on a hunting expedition, even going as far as to give Akacia the same story, but in all honesty, she was prepping for what she hoped was a horribly stereotypical romantic rendezvous. Because, in all honesty, she deserved it.
Her life hadn't hit 'normal' yet, and Ai was going to make it happen, even if it was just for a night.
For hours she'd buffed out the interior of her home, smoothing the wood down so that no matter what surface was...brushed up against there would be no risk of splinters. Every table, chair, counter, step...It had taken hours, and left her home dirtier than ever, what with the plethora of wood shavings, but after a thorough sweep Ai was happy with the results.
She'd even tried her hand at sewing, in an attempt to make plush cushions for the bedroom....and when that ultimately failed Ai snuck into Zinris and took several from a particularly bitchy elder. While she wasn't home, of course, to minimize the risk of being caught.
Thievery aside, most of her efforts to build a 'home' were earnest. It didn't take long to get it all in order, once the actual structure itself was built. Transferring all of her belongings had been a little trickier, so Ai had brought over the bare minimal, at least for the moment. After Akacia had been thoroughly surprised, in as many ways as Ai could manage, then she would make the move more publicly known. Of course, she didn't expect her girlfriend to move in with her, but catching a moment alone would be a lot easier now then ever before. She wouldn't have to worry about others barging in on them, or panic over a little one seeing too much...
Ai decorated the interior of her home with images that seemed like a good idea at the time. There were several of her prized skulls, with little flowers coming out of the mouths and eye sockets. Big, blooming blossoms to juxtapose with the structure of creatures long since dead. She scattered petals atop the floor, leading them up the stairway into her personal bedroom. Tonight was going to be absolutely perfect, she was going to make sure of it.
And now, all she had to go was go get the guest of honor. That was going to be the tricky part. She didn't want to outright tell Akacia where they were going and she expected her girlfriend may have a few foul things to say about why Ai had outright avoided her before this point, but maybe if she was nice enough they could work around it? Or, since she wasn't particularly nice to begin with she could simply kiss her just to calm the other enough to listen.
Ai cleaned herself up and styled her dreads as best she could before deciding she was ready. Everything was buffed, waxed, prepped and ready for Akacia's arrival. All she had to do was go get her.
Unfortunately, by the time Ai was ready to retrieve her girlfriend she'd found that it was already well into the night and that...made her frown. How had time gotten away from her like that? She could either risk traveling at night on her own to get her or wait until tomorrow.
Deciding the flowers and candles wouldn't wait, Ai decided to risk it. After all, she'd put in all this work and she wanted to get some kind of reaction out of it.
(WC: 934)
[3]
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Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 9:47 am
❖Stage 2 - Solo 4❖ The rain fell heavy in Zinris that night. It cloaked the land in a dense fog, spreading throughout the trees and creeping in through open doorways. A warm, out of season fire kept it and the chill that accompanied it at bay. Ai stoked the fire, encouraging it to swell before sitting back on her haunches.
Fiya was playing behind her; that much she could hear. She knew the child had brought out her wooden swords and was trying to match the skills she'd been taught in class. The elaria was clumsy, often tripping over her chubby toes, but at least she was trying. Ai reached for a kettle and heard a fall, followed by thinly veiled sniffling. With a sigh, she filled the kettle with water before hanging it above the fire, and got up, making a half turn to see just what had happened.
The little one was on the ground, one knee pulled up to her chest with a quickly forming bruise darkening her skin. Ai saw her lower lip quiver, but she didn't cry or yowl like she used to. Sometimes Ai forgot that she was making so much progress, and was taken aback by it. When she'd first arrived at their home she'd been an excitable, squalling mess of a girl, and now...now she was turning into a proper young warrior, with just enough spunk to still be her own.
It annoyed Ai, but also made her a little proud that Fiya clung to her individualism. Maybe she would always cry first, maybe she would always goof around and hurt herself; at least it made things interesting.
Ai bent at the knee, and gently moved Fiya's hands away to look at the bruise. "It's not that bad; you won't even feel it by morning."
Fiya sniffled, nodding her little head with a swath of crimson dreads falling around her face. Ai had attempted to style them into the decorative bun Miira kept them in, but Ai was no Miira. She lacked a mother's touch, and was thankful that she could at least pull the child's hair back into a ponytail. Otherwise she would have been tripping on her dreads and bringing further embarrassment to herself.
"Do you think mama's warm? It's cold tonight."
Both girls turned to face the doorway, as if they could see into the rain, across the island itself and find Miira. The woman had been gone for almost a month now, and while Ai had tried to keep Fiya's spirits up she worried herself. What could be taking her so long?
"I'm sure she is. Your mother's smart; she can take care of herself." The kettle blowing was the perfect excuse Ai needed to get away from the child's worried eyes. She stood to make her way back to the fire, biting her lip once she was out of sight. Maybe they should send a search party after her? Miira hadn't gone alone; at least three others were with her, so surely the other families were just as concerned? Perhaps she should bring it up tomorrow. Maybe even one of them would watch Fiya for her while she went herself.
Ai sprinkled a few leaves into two cups before pouring the hot water in. She let the combination steep for a few moments before going back to Fiya, cups in hand. She passed one to the child, warning her of it's warmth, before sitting beside her on the floor.
Miira was going to be just fine. They just needed to keep faith and take things one day at a time.
Right?
(WC: 600 )
[2]
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Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 10:32 am
❖Stage 2 - Growth Solo❖ A storm the likes of which Ai hadn't seen in ages tore through Zinris. It flipped leaves on their sides, exposing their pale underbellies and plastered homes with thick sheets of rain. Even with the little hut covered, virtually impregnable by the elements, Ai could still feel the walls move. She heard the rain hitting against the roof, beating down as if it wanted to break in and drown her.
The whole ordeal had Fiya terrified. She was still so small, and virtually anything spooked her, much to Ai's chagrin. It was why she hadn't left Miira's home, which had once been her own as well, to check on her new place. Ai wasn't scared of the storm so much as she was wary of it, but Fiya...she clung to the alkidike's leg, following her around the hut like a radaku pup and jumping at every crack of thunder. No matter how many times she told the child to calm, and that it would pass eventually she still seemed on edge.
When Ai could handle it no more (honestly, there was only so much you could do when you were constantly bumping into a child) she turned, preparing to scoop her up and plop her on the bed when she heard the sound of fervent banging upon the door. Fiya's eyes widened, and Ai frowned. She pointed to the bed, a silent command for the youngling to go to sleep, before leaving the room, turning just slightly so she could verify her order was being followed. Fiya had climbed into her cot, but instead of prepping for bed she'd simply brought the blanket up around her shoulders, covered her head and was currently trying to cover her ears with a pillow.
There really was no hope for her if thunder scared her.
Ai shook her head and pulled the door closed before making her way to the entrance. The banging hadn't stopped; if anything it had picked up, gaining a sort of urgency that border lined desperation. She wrenched the door open, ready to chew out whoever was causing so much noise when the world stopped.
Several older alkidike, women in their fortieth years of life, pushed past her into the great room carrying something on a make shift stretcher. Had it not been for one of her elder sisters closing the door the rain make have taken them away, because Ai...was too stunned to move.
Every one of them had an injury of some sort. One was cradling a stump where her arm should have been, others had bandages that spiraled around their limbs, but the worst...was the one who remained still, unmoving and discolored on the stretcher.
At one point they must have tried covering her. A dark cloth had been moved around by the wind, exposing a majority of the deceased's form and her fatal wounds. Ai could count at least seven arrow shafts, some whole and others snapped in half, still embedded into her flesh with countless other holes serving as markers for the arrows that came before them. What stuck with her, however, was the one that remained in her eye, lolling about with her head as the body was jostled around. It stopped only when they settled her on the ground and pulled the cloth up over her head.
While the others collected themselves, several just collapsing onto the various bits of furniture in the room, Ai tried to wrap her mind around it all.
Miira was dead.
"What happened?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried in the near silence of the home.
"Yaeli. We came too close...thought we could handle them, but..." She couldn't tell if the woman's voice was breaking out of sheer exhaustion or grief. "She shielded us. If it hadn't been for her we never would have gotten out at all." When the woman started to openly sob, her voice getting louder in the small space, despite the storm outside, Ai snapped.
"Don't. Fiya's still awake."
"She deserves to know. This was her mother-"
"I'll tell her, in the morning. I don't want her to see...this." Ai gestured vaguely to the mutilated corpse, trying her best to stay calm. Even when she had murdered Vilasini she didn't feel a rush of emotion this strong. Her birth mother had never really compared to Miira; Miira who had taken her in when they were left for dead, had given her blades and taught her how to defend herself.
When she exhaled her breath was shaky, and her hands, though clenched at her sides, couldn't stay still. "Stay, until the storm passes, but when it does..." Ai felt her throat close up. The words seemed to curl up and die in her heart, along with her old mentor. The elders needed to be told; the body would need to be dealt with, her spirit celebrated and passed on, but...
Ai couldn't bring herself to do it. Not yet.
At that moment and the hours that followed all she could do was concentrate on holding back tears. Miira's body was taken to Ai's old room, where the door was closed, but even with that physical barrier between them she could still see it. That would be a lasting memory, burned into her mind for years to come.
She had never wanted to be closer to Akacia than in that moment, but the storm was just too much. Even if she could leave, and make it to her girlfriend safely the chances of Fiya waking up to learn the truth without her
was too high. In the wee hours of the morning, with the rest of the household asleep, Ai opened Fiya's door to check on the child and found her fast asleep, burrowed under her blanket like a little bug. She slowly closed the door, and moved to place her back against the wall, sliding down as the last dredges of energy fled from her. Before her backside hit the floor Ai was openly crying, pressing her forearm up against her mouth to muffle her sobs so no one would hear.
---------------
Ai never realized she had fallen asleep until little hands were on her shoulder. She jumped, earning a surprised squeak from Fiya, and straightened her spine. Everything in her ached as a direct result of sleeping where she had. She stretched, grimacing when her back protested, and pulled herself up to stand.
"The elders are here. They wanted to talk to you alone about something." Fiya curled her toes on the worn floor, rocking back and forth as she did when she was unsure. "Ai...how come all of mommas friends were here this morning? I saw them leaving, and they were carrying something big..."
Ai didn't know what to say. She had assumed that by staying close to her door that she would be alerted as soon as Fiya woke up, but apparently the exhaustion had gotten to her first. At least the covering had stayed on and she hadn't seen what Ai saw...
Instead of answering Ai reached over to cup Fiya's head and pulled her close. She bent over at the knee, despite her various aches, and placed a kiss upon the top of her head. "I'll be back."
Unsure, but trusting, Fiya nodded, making her way back to her room.
Ai ran a hand through her dreads as she walked. Each step felt heavier than the last, as if she were trudging through muck. By the time she made it to the great room, and found an elder waiting on her, Ai already wanted to go back to sleep.
"I am sorry for your loss, sister Ai. Miira will be missed."
Ai knew her names; she'd seen the woman countless times over the years, so it shouldn't have been so hard to place in that moment. She reached up to rub her face. Just hearing Miira's name in that moment made her eyes burn, and she couldn't afford to cry again. It was so difficult to think this morning, and all she wanted to do was hide. "The others...they removed the body?"
"They did. I thought it best that Miira be put to rest, and to minimize the trauma for her daughter." The elder stepped forward, reaching a hand up to place on Ai's shoulder, but hesitating. Her hand hovered in the open air before she dropped it back at her side. "I came here to speak with you about Fiya. As you know, both of her mothers have passed, and she will need a guardian. Several of the women you saw last night volunteered to take her in, and since you know her best I wanted your opinion on which would make the best care giver for-"
"She's not leaving." Ai's voice was low, and murmured.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear-?"
"I SAID Fiya is staying here. With me." She didn't even really know what she was saying. Nothing so primal had ever come upon her as the need to protect that child did in that moment. The thought of having that child taken from her, right after her own mother had left, was too much. "You said it yourself, she's lost her mothers already and I know her best. What do you think it would do to her if she lost me too?"
"Ai, let me be frank; you have never expressed anything but disdain for the elaria. When you have been tasked with watching or caring for the child you seem to be perpetually irritated with her." Either Ai's tone or her words had ruffled the elders feathers, and in that moment, the two women stood nose to nose. "She needs to be cared for; to be raised with love. I'm sure you can make her physically strong, but what of her mental health? What of your own? Don't think we haven't noticed how distant you've become. You've served well, but do you really think, in your heart, that you're ready to be a parent?"
"...No, I'm not." Ai met the older woman's eyes with raw determination in her own. "But I am ready to step up and do what needs to be done. That little girl-" She jabbed her finger at a door neither could see; a door hidden by a hallway that Ai knew by heart. "-is about to have her world shattered, and I know what that feels like. I lost one mother in the war, executed the other because of her weakness, and now I've lost someone I felt was a mother in my heart to yaeli."
When she was much younger she had raged against the yaeli, but now...Ai had grown so much over the years and she hadn't even realized it. She had come from out right hating the elaria to finding them simply irritating instead, in the sort of way one finds rambunctious children irritating. She didn't hate them anymore; had even considered having one of her own in the future.
Somewhere along the line Ai had found a sort of stability in Zinris. They had built up a community for her to feel a part of, and she had people she could trust. She had love in Akacia, and now she was risking it all to help raise this child. Akacia may not love her after this; after all, her girlfriend vehemently disliked the elaria. It would hurt, to lose her, but Fiya needed her. The little girl had already told Ai many times that she felt safe with her, as strange as it had sounded at the time, and Ai just couldn't leave her now.
"Please, I beg you, don't take her away." Ai had never begged in her life, but she felt no shame in doing it now. Her voice cracked, tears building in her eyes as she spoke, "I love her, and I'll let her know every day. Don't let her break the same way I did."
The elder waited, and with each moment that passed Ai's blood chilled all the more. Would she still deny her?
But in the end the elder smiled, and reached out to take Ai into her arms. "You've come a long way, sister. I'll leave Fiya to you and should you need any help I'll be there."
Ai hiccuped, sobs of both mourning and open relief bursting out of her. She reached out to hold onto the elder. At some point she would need to tell Fiya all that had happened, but right now...right now she just needed to breath.
[Ai has had a complicated relationship with Elzira and the elaria ever since they came to be. In this solo my goal was to show how far she's come as an individual, in accepting that the elaria aren't something to be hated or even an annoyance. She'll be adopting a Fiya [an NPC] so that the little elarian doesn't have to have her world rocked more than it already is. In doing this she's opening her heart to an elarian, possibly destroying her romantic relationship with Akacia [who openly hates the elaria] by putting someone else's emotional well being above her own. She has openly admitted to loving Fiya and caring for the child as if she were a part of her family from the beginning.
My hope is that this will start a new chapter in Ai's life; one of acceptance and peace. A happier chapter; one where she can finally settle into a new life and start something grand.]
(WC: 2,091 )
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