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 Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 5:39 am
༄ x A Day in the Life x ༄ Kiwena was only permitted to watch.
Whenever the troupe was set to perform, ey took up a place in the back of the crowd, alongside all the strangers who’d come to view the display of skill and talent. The show was one ey knew by heart, even when various small changes were implemented to spice things up or add intrigue. If there was to be a new routine enacted, Kiwena already knew all the steps, all the motions, all of the work that went into it. Frequently, ey even knew that ey possessed the talent to perform it, emself, since when eir father learned something new, it was always passed to Kiwena with startling immediacy, and Baun wouldn’t perform an act unless ey knew it well. The elder Moaki wanted and expected eir child to know everything ey did, since one day, Kiwena was to take up dancing for the crowds.
But for now, ey was only permitted to watch, and it was so frustrating to be left out when ey knew ey could add something, if the group only planned for it. It was true that Kiwena’s father, Baun was an exceptional dancer: a master of movement, positioning, effective use of the dim lighting around em to create deep shadows that seemed to contort to eir will… Eir displays were lovely, enough so to draw a crowd, but it wouldn't be so forever.
Kiwena was young, and ey wanted to start being a part of things now, so that ey might have recognition now. Ey routinely practiced with eir father so much that ey could mimic anything the older Moakai did. Baun even commended eir child on Kiwena’s quick learning and excellent form, with the only consistent complaint being a shoddy, hesitant, directionless, and unhelpful ’Something’s off…’ that ey could never seem to fix. So why was ey still condemned to only be a member of the audience, when whatever ey was doing wrong couldn't even be properly explained or corrected?
Eir movements and form were what they should be, so shouldn't that be enough?
Baun claimed it was because ey was still a student of the arts, and sending a student into an established and relatively popular performance when ey was untried and untested just begged for something to go wrong. As a teacher and father, Baun didn’t want to risk the disappointment over it being Kiwena’s fault that their show wasn’t as perfect as planned. Even if several of the other parents didn’t have near so many fears and were more than willing to allow their own children to participate, Baun still refused it of eir own child. Whatever that ‘something’ was that happened to be ‘off’ (that Baun either couldn’t or wouldn’t identify) was beginning to frustrate Kiwena to no end.
Apparently, eir comrades were starting to take notice.
“That glower will be permanent, if you let it settle on your face too long,” came a voice from Kiwena’s side. Ey didn’t need to look to see the speaker: a Moaki only a season or two older than Kiwena, child of a pair of eccentric and chipper stage-setters, someone who’s role was inconsequential at best- particularly when the show was already underway. Seti didn’t seem bothered to not be occupied at the moment, unlike Kiwena.
“Quiet,” Kiwena muttered. “It’s rude to speak at a performance.”
Seti wasn’t deterred. Kiwena had spent all eir life growing up alongside the troupe, so all of them were familiar with eir cold demeanor, and it had come to the point when almost none of those eir age took it personally. Seti in particular, though, really liked to jibe at em. “You don’t look like you’re enjoying it, anyway,” Ey retorted in amusement. “And it’s affecting the crowd around you.”
Kiwena cast eir glare around em, and saw only those situated in the audience in front of them. None to the sides, and none behind, only a few watching from above. That was how Kiwena liked it, to look on from the back in silence. “What crowd?” Ey grunted, narrowing lightning-colored irises in Set's direction.
“'What crowd,' exactly," Seti grinned. "No one wants to be near you. You’re scaring potential audience away with that glower.”
Ey scoffed. No one cared about the expressions of a twelve-year-old child. Certainly not enough so to not view a nice show, and ey'd purposefully settled in the rear so as not to be a disturbance. But if Seti thought as much, that was fine. The effort and noise it would take to correct em wasn't worth potentially disrupting the act for anyone near enough to hear them. “I wouldn’t need to glower if I had a place on stage,” ey murmured instead.
Whatever control Seti had over the volume of eir voice was immediately gone. The older Moakai snorted and hooped and choked as ey tried to control emself. Kiwena didn’t dignify the muted outburst by looking at em (though ey couldn't suppress a grimace), but it wasn’t enough for Seti to just laugh. “That’s exactly why you aren’t!” The other chuckled. “It’s your expression. It sucks. You look annoyed instead of graceful, serene, majestic… Your dad isn’t going to let you on stage ever, if you keep looking like that.”
“False. Something as asinine-”
“I’m not wrong,” Seti interrupted. “Believe whatever you want, but I’m telling you that you’d make more headway if you could be at peace with yourself, like… ever.” With a hum and cluck of eir tongue, Seti turned and began swimming back the way ey’d come. “Anyway, think on that. It’ll be over soon, so I’ve got to head back to start getting some things packed away. Kiwena, try smiling, if you can.”
Somehow, Seti’s assertions only made em frown harder.
A Day in the Life Status ༄ Complete Word Count ༄ 961 Growth Points Awarded ༄ 3
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Posted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 5:59 am
༄ x Deep in Ka'lei x ༄ “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve traveled to Haukea, and if there is information to be had-”
“No, it wouldn’t be the first time, but the appropriate season for travel to the reef has already passed. It will be too warm, and the trip would be burdensome physically and financially. Think of the children. We’ve been careful to shelter them from summers near the reef.”
“The children are more likely than you to show some tolerance, Alameya. At their age to have an opportunity to learn and see what others of our kind haven’t for generations, it would be near cruelty to keep them sheltered!”
“It isn’t necessarily about sheltered and seclusion, it’s about safety- our way of life!”
“Just because you are frightened-”
“There’s no way to even know for certain if the rivers have opened up-”
“So it might be worth learning just for that purpose!”
"The reef children gossip as though it is the very spirit of their existence and the breath of their lives. They will say anything to keep themselves entertained, whether it is truth or not. We couldn't expect to just go to Haukea and hear the truth.
"You think they'd lie?"
"I can't imagine they would get together as a council and decide to spread this rumor in particular without some grounds-"
"They might!"
"No, the Hapuna are too lazy-"
From there, Kiwena could make out little more than the basic noise of several voices shouting over each other from eir position behind the closed stone door of the troupe’s living quarters. Even with eir ear pressed near as ey could manage, the adults’ discussion had deteriorated quickly. And it didn’t help that from behind em, the cluster of other children ey’d been left with were minding their games more than any conversation their parents were having about potential journeying. Even Niqua, who Kiwena might have believed would have some interest, was more occupied with Seti and some bartering stone game than trying to uncover whatever intel the adults were hiding.
“Excuse me,” Kiwena huffed as another pair of siblings came close at eir back. “Would you give me some space and some quiet? I’m trying to listen.” Ey turned to shoot a glare at the two trespassers: Mae and Mahi, two chattery Moakai ‘girls’ who had little regard for personal space and silence, and whose parents came up with the most uninspired names.
“Kiwena is always telling everyone to shut up-”
“It’s important this time!” Ey snapped in response to Mae's quip and eyeroll. “Is no one else curious even a little if we’ll be going to Haukea? Does no one care if we’re pulled from our home just to chase some silly rumors?” If everything ey’d gleaned from listening at the door was true, then there could be others, the Mainlanders, out there who were looking into the potential of heading to the ocean… Though some of the adults were wary, some were curious. Even Kiwena’s own father had some interest in learning the styles of the mainlander performances, if it was true that the rivers and oceans were connected once more.
Kiwena wasn’t sure ey wanted to go to Haukea. The troupe had of course been before. Their finned neighbors weren’t so foreign to em that ey was frightened or even wary. But Kiwena wasn’t so fond of the journey. They’d already done a show in Haukea the season before, so it should be several more before they went again. An impromptu trip for information wasn’t exactly what ey was interested in, and if the great rain (though rain meant little to Kiwena and the Moakai that resided in the deep sea trenches) had brought them into contact with the freshwater races again, Kaha'iko and Menehune might make their way into the edge of Ka’lei soon enough, without the troupe needing to travel at all.
Mae and Mahi were a pair who could apparently not be more indifferent. Mae shrugged and slipped to hover at eir sibling’s side. “I like to go to Haukea. Everyone is so pretty and everything so bright!”
“But it doesn’t matter what we want, anyway,” Mahi added a bit more flippantly. “They’ll decide, like always, then we’ll go or we won’t. You can listen at the door, but you’ll only know their choice a tiny little bit before the rest of us.” Eir red gaze traveled down to the crack in the door, and Kiwena's position kneeling down near to it. For half a moment, ey thought the other would say something more, but Mahi's potential words were cut off by eir sibling.
“Minutes before, at most,” Mae agreed. “So might as well not be so grumpy. You can play with us to help take your mind off it, if you want. We’re gonna go hide! Seti said he’d find us!”
From at Niqua’s side, Kiwena spotted Seti cast a grin toward em and Mae and Mahi. The older child waved pleasantly and winked, and Kiwena knew immediately ey wanted no part of any games that involved the three of them, and in fact, felt something almost akin to disgust at the mere thought. “Pass. I’d rather know minutes earlier if we’re going to have to travel again. Thanks for offering, though, I guess.”
With a roll of their eyes, the pair went off to hide, while Kiwena held eir post near the stone door, waiting patiently for the chatter on the other side to calm to a reasonable discussion once more.
Deep in Ka'lei Status ༄ Complete Word Count ༄ 918 Growth Points Awarded ༄ 3
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Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2018 11:40 am
༄ x Of Us x ༄ As eir comrades had pointed out, Kiwena was privy to new information only a mere handful of moments before the adults emerged to announce the news that yes, a trip to Haukea would be in order. There was no need for the group to travel immediately, as the mission was one more for information than for performance, and it might be better to give the reef-dwellers time to actually gather accurate intelligence before expecting much from them.
But soon, they would make the trip to see the Hapuna and any mainlanders who'd decided to visit the reefs.
Immediately, Kiwena had been frustrated- annoyed eir parents and troupe mates were being so unreasonable in this regard, particularly since eir parents hadn't agreed with em, as Kiwena had thought they would. The mainlanders would bring with them new styles, a different culture, crops they'd never had access to before, materials they could use to craft dance costumes, and most importantly, they would bring their entertainment.
Initia and Baun were curious enough and eager to perfect their performances, using whatever 'new' styles they could.
Kiwena shouldn't have been all that surprised that eir parents would take interest in learning dance, performance, and entertainment from a race like the Kaha'iko, but ey had been. Surprised and offended, since it had seem so obvious to em that there was no need to make this trip. If the mainlanders had access to the ocean, they would make their way into deep water eventually... In eir frustration, ey'd retreated to solitude in the back of the cave system that served as eir troupe's home. Ey wanted to be left alone to sulk be demure, but among such a large and invasive group as eirs, not everyone would be interested in just allowing em to be.
Though ey might have been surprised by the voice that reached eir ears, slow and smooth as if ey'd been born a singer. "You didn't linger."
Niqua. Kiwena's lightning-colored irises flicked over eir shoulder as eir twin came within sight of the luminescent bulb that gave away Kiwena's position in the dark. Ey might have expected Seti to find em, or eir parents, but Niqua didn't often waste eir precious time interacting with Kiwena. And ey didn't usually mind. Eir suspicion mounted, and Kiwena couldn't help but feel mistrust toward eir twin. There wasn't any reason for Niqua to have come after em, just as there'd been no reason for em to 'linger' after the adults had made their announcement.
"Why should I have," Kiwena retorted roughly, knowing that the suspicion was probably palpable in the water and certainly in eir voice.
"So that you might learn," Niqua responded with a shrug. "You'd been so intent on it earlier, yet you hear one displeasing thing and... poof!" Ey made a gesture with eir fingers, abruptly popping eir hands open and casting peculiar shadows on the back wall of the cave. Kiwena tried not to grimace as the other Moakai continued. "It really is unbecoming... To have such noticeably offended emotions over basically nothing. Though I'm not surprised."
It was a bait, and Kiwena knew it. Though knowing as much didn't help em to reign in the added dose of irritation that blossomed at Niqua's words. Eir sibling had always been like that... Where Kiwena preferred solitude and found emself easily annoyed by others- any others- Niqua was the opposite. Not exactly social or friendly, but capable enough of loyalty, patience, and amicability. The younger Moakai was someone others might call a 'friend,' and Kiwena... Well, ey just wasn't. Niqua excelled in areas Kiwena had no patience for, and that frustrated em too.
“So you are pleased, then?” Kiwena demanded curtly. “It suits you to waste our time on this journey, when we have so many things still to learn here?” And Niqua, with eir need to learn both of their mother’s talents was surely much busier than Kiwena. It disgusted em that eir sibling could be so flippant.
And, in fact, Niqua smiled. “Mother says I’m doing very well. Ey has a lot of praise for me, both in the design aspect of my tutelage… and performance. I even fashioned a set of shorts with tassels for Seti. He said they were lovely and he’d wear them for me soon.”
Another spark, shifting from plain annoyance to almost aggressive rage. Kiwena kicked up from eir spot at the cave floor with enough force that ey hovered in the water briefly before drifting down to eir feet, bright eyes pinched angrily and locked on eir twin. Ey wanted to say that it was just how foolish Niqua was. ’He.’ They’d never spoken like that. Their parents had taught them better- smarter than everyone else. “He,” Kiwena hissed softly, “Has always been nothing but a distraction to us. You know that- ey bothers everyone indiscriminately! And how could you even find the time to-! Why?”
Something cool and tight coalesced in eir gut. Kiwena had never been good with people. Ey rarely felt distinctly pleased as there was still so much to be done and so much to learn. There wasn’t time for pleasantries.
And Seti was nothing but a nuisance. Ey’d always believed that. With eir silly laugh and dopey grin and fingers that hands that had no regard for personal space. Kiwena had never liked Seti. But in that moment, as eir twin clucked and bragged about Seti doing anything for em, Kiwena felt a hurt. Ey should be angry at the older Moakai for disrupting eir little sibling’s practices- it clearly happened often.
Instead, ey only felt a new and bubbling frustration for Niqua.
’He said he’d wear them for me soon…’
For Niqua.
“You’re wasting your time with em. And mine by being here,” Kiwena muttered. Even if ey wanted to be upset and wanted to tell Niqua to shove off and wanted to know the why for these feelings, ey couldn’t. There was nothing to be done. It just would have been nice if eir twin would leave em alone…
Niqua strolled forward, undaunted. Eir sibling could be mean, but ey knew Kiwena wouldn’t make any moves to actually harm him. “I haven’t yet gotten to why I’m here,” Niqua retorted.
There was a brief second where eir twin’s eyes almost seemed to glimmer in the dim lighting, where the glow of their lures was just so so that Niqua’s eyes looked shining and especially pleased, delighted even. Kiwena would never admit to being curious, but ey flicked their fingers through the water to suggest that the other Moakai might as well get on with it. And maybe Niqua had expected more excitement than that on eir twin’s part, but ey obliged.
“We’re going to Haukea-”
“So I’ve heard.. I know that much.”
With a puff and flippant swat to swish a soft current Kiwena’s direction, Niqua raised eir voice over eir sibling’s. “But what you didn’t stay to hear because you are impatient and quick to frustrate is that, while we’re there…”
Niqua as good as had em there. “What?”
“Father said you might do a small performance for the Hapuna. That way, if you mess up there, it shouldn’t affect our reputation here.”
“Ey’ll let me-?”
“Or rather…” And suddenly, that coolness that had coalesced in Kiwena’s gut turned a bit sharper and more biting. “We might perform for them.” The repulsion must have lit Kiwena’s face immediately, for Niqua offered only a tiny smile. “We’ll have to work together… I can dress you, and if you guide me through the dance patterns you think best suit the crowd, I will dance with you…”
No. Ey held the word on eir tongue, but Kiwena already knew with certainty that ey did not want to share any stage with eir twin. ...Yet ey did want to be on stage, and that was something that had still been kept from em, despite how often their father commended all eir efforts, eir form, eir grace…
“We could start now, Kiwena, and we’ll have many days to practice and time on the road- We could speak to any hapuna we meet along the way, maybe they’ll know ways to improve-”
“No,” Kiwena uttered. “Not… not today, I think…”
The quick trail of words that spilled from Niqua’s mouth stuttered to a halt. “You won’t do it…?”
What would ey do? Even for just Hapuna along the way, the opportunity to truly display eir talents was momentous… Ey would be stupid to turn it down, even if it meant sharing a stage with Niqua, but… The thought was still so displeasing, biting at eir insides. Sharing the glory with eir sibling of all people? Perhaps things would be different if it was Seti, but- No, it wouldn’t be. Foolishness. Kiwena did not want to share, but ey wouldn’t pass it up.
“Tomorrow, maybe…” Ey decided quietly. “I’ll… think about it.”
Niqua would receive no more assurances than that, and ey didn’t ask for any. Without another word, Kiwena’s younger twin swam off, leaving em to bask in darkness once more, disrupted by only the soft glow of eir bobbing lure.
Of Us Status ༄ Complete Word Count ༄ 1528 Growth Points Awarded ༄ 5
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Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2018 2:23 pm
༄ x Behind it All x ༄ "Kiwena, child, come here. Let us speak."
From eir position with eir chest pressed to the stone floor of the troupe's dwelling quarters, back bent sharply over, and feet dangling above eir head, Kiwena heard eir name. For a moment longer, ey allowed emself to remain undistracted. It was important for em to keep eir body limber, particularly if ey was to perform alongside eir sibling. Niqua wasn't talentless, and Kiwena had no desire to be upstaged by eir younger twin.
Though it wasn't Niqua who approached em now. Instead, Baun, Kiwena's father and primary mentor, glided through the water before em. As Kiwena slowly righted emself and lowered eir legs with a soft, contented groan at the feeling of eased tension, Baun cast eir gaze around the cave entrance. "You are alone," eir father commented.
Kiwena thought little of it. "I prefer it this way," ey replied smoothly. "It's peaceful, and I don't like to be distracted."
"I see..." Kiwena shifted, settling emself on the mat of reeds in a cross-legged position. Baun's eyes were intent on em, plainly calculating. "Is it not lonesome sometimes, to be by yourself so often?"
Not in all of eir recollection did Kiwena remember any conversation that had started like this before. Ey'd always practiced, stretched, and learned alone, unless eir parents willed ey and Niqua to train together, as they sometimes did. And ey did not consider it to be a 'lonely' endeavor. Others only served to frustrate em. Niqua was too playful and Seti to invasive. Mae and Mahi were chattery and loud. Maybe once or twice ey thought that he might like to perform for others, but beyond that... "Mm... No," Kiwena decided at length.
Baun was silent for a moment longer, watching with calculating intensity as eir child stretched eir arms over eir head and arched emself backward. Kiwena had always been a child of single-minded focus... And perhaps that was Baun and Initia's fault. They'd told em ey'd had a purpose, something ey must achieve and excel at. Kiwena would need to replace Baun in eir role of performer one day, but it seemed as though the youngster had little room in eir mind for much else.
With a quiet hum, Baun moved to take up a post behind eir child, gently spotting em and holding em steady as Kiwena attempted to force emself into more convoluted shapes. "Have you ever considered why your mother and I might feel the need to join our efforts with those of the troupe?"
Ey hadn't, though Kiwena couldn't fathom why that might be important. What eir father and mother had done was in their past, and ey wanted only to see the future- a future where he was a talented Moakai with renown and notoriety. Ey could be the best, eir parents had said. "No."
"Would you care to learn?"
"I... suppose..." Though ey wasn't sure if ey'd ever felt less certain of anything. Baun had never said anything like this to em before, and ey wasn't entirely sure if ey liked where it was going.
There was silence for several heartbeats, and Kiwena didn't allow what could be said or how ey might feel about it to deter em. Ey bent forward, and Baun continued to gently help em stretch as ey gathered eir thoughts, until finally, "You must know there are very few children your age who have been afforded the opportunity to see all that you have seen... To go where you have gone. Our waters are dangerous and treacherous to even the most skilled of our hunters and navigators."
"I don't like going anywhere-"
Baun's grip around Kiwena's bicep tightened slightly, not enough to be painful, but still a plain warning. "You weren't raised to say anything near so ignorant," Eir father retorted gruffly. "You have been blessed with privileges and talents other children have not. You were born among an amazing family of individuals- and not just your mother, your twin, and I. Do you believe we would be so happy and cared for if not for the others?"
Kiwena squirmed, fidgeting slightly as he shifted to lessen both the physical pressure of eir father's grip and the more uncomfortable swell that rose in eir gut at eir father's words. "You and mother are the most talented... The others are just stage setters and pack-carriers..."
"Those 'pack-carriers' have protected you on the road and kept you fed with their skills. We would never have expanded past Ekewaka without them. Enough." Ey released the younger Moakai's arm with a tiny jerk to bring Kiwena around to face em. "Be still. Look at me." Begrudgingly, Kiwena did. "Had I known how ungrateful and conceited you were becoming, I may not have taught you anything."
"I'm not-"
"Be silent. Your comrades have as much value as you do, yet you think they're beneath you. It is a disgusting attitude." Kiwena's stomach dropped, and the ability for words entirely left em. Ey blinked as eir lips pinched shut. "I know what you're missing. More than grace and form, what you lack is passion, compassion, and an understanding of what people want to feel when they watch a performance. You go through the moves, but you've learned nothing else. You should feel something beyond vanity when you dance for people and when they enjoy it..."
"I felt love when your mother smiled at me for the first time after ey watched me, and for every time after that... And you do not even act as though you want to understand more than your own selfish desire to be applauded."
Kiwena's body was stiff now, despite all the warm-ups ey'd been doing before. Ey coiled eir arms close to em and tucked eir legs in. "I don't think that should matter, so long as I do the rest of it right..."
Baun shook eir head. "My child... It is truly a sad existence you're leading yourself into. I am so frightened that it was my guidance that led you to this. Even Niqua doesn't suffer from the same problems. It is only you... I cannot force this special brand of understanding upon you, and if you choose not to learn, your twin will surpass you. Niqua is open and willing to accept new things, adventures, and knowledge. You reject so much behaving as you do."
With a quiet sigh, Baun's gaze turned upward, to the dusky darkness overhead. "One day, your mother and I will be gone. The parents of the people who would be your friends will have passed, and there will be no one to instruct them to remain calm and patient with you... What do you suppose that will be like?"
Kiwena wasn't sure ey understood. If all the 'adults' in their troupe passed on, it would only be fitting that the children took up the vacated roles. Kiwena would be a dancer, as eir father was. Niqua would be a tailor, Seti would help with all the elements that made up the surroundings of Kiwena's stage... That was what they'd all been raised for. "I suppose we will try and go about it the same way we are now..."
"I have never treated my comrades as you treat yours. I have their respect, and I respect them in turn. Do you? Consider that for your future..."
Respect, friendship, and love... Kiwena had never had a conversation with anyone about such things. Ey knew ey must give special respect to eir parents and elders, the ones who taught and raised em. But eir friends, eir comrades...? No one had ever said ey'd needed such things...
Behind it All Status ༄ Complete Word Count ༄ 1276 Growth Points Awarded ༄ 4
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Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 8:57 am
༄ x Reconciliation x ༄ "You can do this," Kiwena encouraged emself sternly as ey peered from the the opening that served as entrance into eir room and out into the troupe's common spaces beyond. These people were eir friends and family, and if ey was being perfectly honest, no one had ever gone out of their way to be mean to em. If anyone among the troupe was harsh and unyielding, it was surely Kiwena, emself... So what was there to be afraid of?
Kiwena's eyes narrowed as ey considered. It wasn't even a fear surely. Ey'd never been afraid to speak eir mind, and ey did have quite brash opinions on most others that ey'd never not shared. All eir comrades knew em well enough and had an idea of what they might expect from em when ey was near...
So 'fear' wasn't quite the right thing to call it. Ey definitely had an anxiety, though. Kiwena disliked change, and ey disliked being wrong and improper almost more than that. Eir father had told em that ey would not be able to perform at eir best if ey continued to act so brusquely and carelessly toward eir companions, but that was all ey knew. Going up to any of them while attempting to be companionable would surely come off as recognition that ey had performed incorrectly in the 'friendship' aspect of eir life, and Kiwena wasn't convinced yet that that was something that needed to change, only that it should, because that was what eir father and mentor had recommended.
Ey just had no idea how to go about it except to be straightforward, as ey usually was.
Niqua was likely the easiest and most obvious target. Eir twin had even approached em recently with an interest in performing and working together. Though the idea was really and truly abhorrent (Kiwena had never held much affection for eir hatchmate), it helped to know that Niqua was at least already prepared and wanting of this peculiar change.
It would be simple to just agree that they could perform alongside each other, so long as Kiwena could muster the courage to approach the younger Moakai.
"It will be easy," Kiwena reasoned as eir bright, lightning-colored irises trained on eir target as Niqua sat on a reedy floor-mat, dutifully weaving seaweeds into some form of garment that Kiwena couldn't fully see. "Niqua isn't even like me... Ey will be pleased that I have agreed. I know ey will be. I know ey will be." Eir younger hatchmate did successfully forge stronger bonds than Kiwena had... If they'd ever butted heads, it could only be because of Kiwena. So it should fall to em just as readily to ensure that they could be amenable.
Ey could do this. Of course ey could. Ey was the older sibling, after all. It was up to em. It was up to em, and ey could do this, and there was nothing more to it than just walking out to Niqua and-
Before Kiwena's very eyes, the circumstances shifted.
It was, unfortunately, not a favorable shift. Seti glided to Niqua's side, two sticks each with a pile of shucked molluscs in eir hands. Seti settled down on Niqua's mat, and Kiwena immediately felt a heat crawl up the back of eir neck and a bile on eir tongue.
If nothing else, ey'd known what ey didn't want. Ey hadn't wanted to deal with a group, and certainly not with a group that involved Seti... Though Kiwena knew it was entirely unreasonable and distasteful, whenever Seti was around, eir stomach still roiled with twists and discomfort. The other Moakai wasn't mean, and ey even hung around Kiwena willingly on occasion, but... Kiwena frowned, and eir body hunkered back farther into eir room.
Ey wanted to be ‘wrong’ in front of Seti less than ey wanted to be wanted to be wrong in front of anyone else. Seti was the type who wouldn’t be above laughing at em, and if Niqua was there as well, ey’d probably join in, and then they’d both be laughing at em and wondering why ey was acting so strange...
Kiwena’s flush blossomed further through eir skin just thinking about it. How embarrassing!
It didn’t help, though, that Kiwena knew ey had to do this regardless. Even if ey put it off now and continued to sulk until the situation was more favorable, it wasn’t ever likely to be ideal, and the more moments ey wasted, the less time ey would have to prepare something truly remarkable. Something with Niqua, but remarkable nonetheless. Ey’d never actually looked very hard to see what eir twin was capable of, but Niqua was working on eir tailoring even now, and ey had been the one to approach Kiwena with offerings of camaraderie. Niqua was clearly trying to make it work. Kiwena wouldn't be the one to disallow it. Ey couldn't be.
Ey steeled emself and moved silently toward the duo.
They were both seated as ey approached, and their conversation was so quiet and soft that it almost struck Kiwena as being intimate. Did they often spend much time together? Niqua had teased that Seti may be interested in em, but Kiwena could hardly take it seriously. They were all just children after all, a long way off from anything like what their parents had. But children or not, as Kiwena approached, it felt obvious that the pair held some sort of special favor toward each other.
It needed to be interrupted anyway. Ey did wish ey wasn't the one to do it, but since ey had a mission and was available, it fell to Kiwena to distract them from each other. This felt like a more sensible purpose than 'making sure Niqua understood ey was prepared to work together.' Ey knew he disliked the idea of Seti favoring anyone with eir silly smiles and gentle laughter- or even the barking laughter sometimes reserved at what Seti considered 'foolish' things that Kiwena might say- Ugh, Seti made all of existence feel complicated and uncertain, and Kiwena couldn't even begin to unravel why.
Perhaps Niqua would be an aid in that regard as well, if they were to be spending any substantial time together.
"Niqua." Two pairs of eyes raised to meet eirs as Kiwena uttered eir twin's name. Neither of them looked pleased certainly, as they gazed back at Kiwena, but they didn't look entirely displeased, either. Even Niqua didn't seem offended by eir twin's presence, and perhaps was actually curious, and if Kiwena thought to leap to conclusions, maybe Niqua even looked hopeful. But that was surely nonsense because for what purpose would it be true? It couldn't matter all that much to eir younger hatchmate if they were capable of performing successfully together...
So focused on Niqua was ey (the goal was to speak to eir twin, after all, not anyone else) that Kiwena hardly expected Seti to say much of anything. A foolish expectation, considering, "Well hullo, beautiful. This's a bit of a surprise."
Annoyance was easily the first thing Kiwena could identify of eir emotions at the words. Easily, always when anyone else opened their mouths, annoyance would follow. But beneath that, ey thought ey felt a tingling pleasure- 'beautiful', and a quieter upset that whatever Seti might say was probably not entirely honest. Irrelevant. All those feelings were irrelevant. Ey'd come to speak with Niqua. So Kiwena ignored the bait, and turned instead to eir hatchmate.
"You... wanted to know if I would be capable of performing with you... working with you, if we were to dance somewhere along the road to Haukea together, for the first time." And if ey was being honest, ey should admit to being uncertain. Ey should come out and say that ey didn't know if ey was capable, regardless of whether ey wanted to be or not.
But Niqua didn't see all of the uncertainty in the assertion. The younger Moakai's delicate lips curved upward ever-so-slightly, and ey gave a dip of eir head in agreement. "I did."
'I would like to try,' was what Kiwena thought to say. Ey couldn't do much more than that, and there wasn't any type of guarantee that ey'd be able to get along well enough with anyone to have a successful performance. But the words didn't ring with any confidence, and Kiwena wasn't one to enjoy appearing weak, uncertain, or afraid. So instead, ey uttered, "You'll need to follow all my instructions. If I don't think we can successfully execute a certain move or perform in a certain way, you'll have to do as I say, whether you agree or not."
And for the first time, Kiwena saw eir twins lightning eyes light up in that same way eirs did when ey was indignant or frustrated. They were not entirely dissimilar, really. Niqua, however, did not immediately act on it. After but a moment, ey calmed, lashes dipping shut and posture easing. "Then you won't have a say in what I dress you in, I suppose. Is that an acceptable compromise?"
Ey wasn't sure it was. Leaving anything to Niqua seemed like potential for disaster, but Kiwena still wasn't entirely sure what eir twin was capable of in that department. "It can't be too restrictive."
"It won't be."
Kiwena's eyes narrowed, but what choice did ey have? Ey'd come this far. "Fine," ey quipped. "I will give you some time to ready yourself, but we'll start tomorrow-"
"We can start now," Niqua retorted back. "I don't need time."
"Fine."
"Fine."
So perhaps they were still just a small ways off from complete understanding and reconciliation, but Kiwena thought it was a step in... a direction that ey'd agreed to do anything with the other Moakai. Only time would tell from here, and hopefully they would have a better idea of the limits of their capabilities before they left for Haukea...
Reconciliation Status ༄ Complete Word Count ༄ 1657 Growth Points Awarded ༄ 5
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:24 am
While struggling to adapt to eir father's advice in Haukea, Kiwena escapes from the troupe during the morning, hoping to get a little space and vent a little steam. Instead, ey is met with a youth from the riverlands.
The Perfect Gift Status ༄ Ongoing PRP Post Count ༄ 1 Growth Points Awarded ༄ 0
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