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 Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 1:34 pm
"More or less." Zakia shrugged before reaching for her cup. "There's always more to learn, but it's been too long since I've been to Chibale. My sisters mean a great deal to me, and I don't want to grow so far apart from them that I can never return." She'd heard about it before; in rare circles and hushed rumors. Full blooded sisters who turned their back on Aisha completely to live as earthlings did. She couldn't understand why though; if her mother was able to blend her connections with earthlings and still stay true to her goddess, then why couldn't they? Hybrid families were created all the time and yet...they had just left. At some point she may want to seek them out, to talk to them and find out why, but for now Zakia was just trying not to become one.
Before lifting the tea to her lips, Zakia leveled out not one, but three spoonfuls of sugar and swirled them into the mixture. Once it was nice and horrendously sweet she took a drink with a contented sigh.
"I had hoped to spend a little time with Kuno too before I left, but-," She sighed around the rim of her cup, "-it seems like he's a little busy these days and not just with work."
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Posted: Sun Aug 25, 2024 1:38 pm
Zakia's statement made Azreal frown, the mage's fingers tightening around his cup as he tried to focus on the warmth for comfort. "Is that so? I didn't realize Aishans would cut out someone simply for being away for too long." What an arrogant bunch and that was a lot coming from the egotistical mage. Though Azreal realized that they did have their community and Zakia being here in Zena was very strange for someone who was nearly full-blooded Aishan and training in their ways. It was simply a fact that he kept avoiding, acting as if ignoring her heritage would keep her here in Zena longer rather than allowing the inevitable to happen. She had left them before to live in Chibale, not coming back for yearly visits for years, so why would it surprise him that she was returning once more? Chibale was her true home, not Zena. The very thought made his fingers twitch, Azreal raising the cup to his lips for another drink of tea to try and hide the downward twist of his lips into another frown.
Though that frown could not seem to disappear, not when Kuno was also mentioned. "Ah, yes." Azreal let out a sigh as he lowered his teacup, thankful that he could show his disdain as it was towards another subject and not completely related to Zakia. "He's too busy for his current family, but I'm worried he'll be coming home with a new family at this rate. I'm not prepared to babysit nor would I want to even consider it, honestly." He truly wasn't that fond of the girl that his brother was chasing either, something about her was unsettling. Azreal definitely did not trust her enough to turn his back, not even for a few seconds. Not that he had gotten a good chance to truly get to know her, their few moments in passing had simply been that with Kuno leaving yet again as soon as Azreal even managed to step foot into the sanctuary. Though that was also partly his own fault for studying up north for so long, Azreal realized. He was so distant from everyone as of late, the mage not knowing truly how to bridge the gaps between those that he once couldn't get away from while growing up. How ironic that Azreal once fought for a moment of quiet, wanting some space and now seemed to only have quiet now that he had returned home.
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2024 9:07 am
"I don't think they would ever cut me off entirely, but being away for so long as made things...difficult." She'd always faced some prejudice because of her mixed heritage, but that might have been overlooked if she'd been raised in Chibale. Instead her mother had traveled, primarily between Jauhar and the upper reaches of the continent, before going to Azehra. Mnyiri lived as one of Aisha's daughters in her own way, and Zakia...well, she was still trying to find her path. "It isn't easy to build bonds with my sisters when I've been away for so long." Even the few friends she'd managed to make during her last stay had gone on to form packs with others. They were still sweet to her, at least from their letters, but a distance was building.
"You don't really think Kuno would do something like that, do you?" She said it with a little half grin that started to melt nearly as soon as the words were out. "...goddess he would." He wasn't a fool, not in the least, but from what she'd seen of Kuno around that girl she had him chained to her little finger. Zakia 'casually' drank from her tea cup and tried not to think too hard on it. Maybe...maybe he was at least being smart about it?
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Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2024 1:23 pm
"Ah, fair enough." Replied Azreal though his frown lingered. It wasn't his place to be upset if she had others to worry about, but it didn't stop the pang of jealousy that went through his chest at the thought. "Then it only makes sense that you return soon." He acknowledged after another moment, trying to avoid the emotions that he still fought to understand. Another sip of tea, the hybrid settling in his seat the more they focused on Kuno, and Azreal nodded as he lowered the cup.
"If I could have sent him away with a special herbal blend of tea then I would have. I doubt she would have ever trusted something from me, however." Replied Azreal in all seriousness, not even joking about the matter at this point. "But I can only hope that his companion knows better and wants to avoid any hassles for the time being." It was one thing to play around and another thing to be worn down with that level of commitment, at least that was his hope since he knew there was little he could do to stop his brother while he was out adventuring around with whoever tagged along. "I'd rather go back and take on classes immediately than deal with something like that. Though I will need to return within the next couple of years, my mentor was hoping I could replace him when he retires." Azreal acknowledged, his expression growing distant again as he looked away from Zakia and back to his tea as if studying the ripples there. "As it is....once you finish your tea I can help, if you need to prepare anything before departing." And that was where he was at. Zakia had her path and he had his own, so it was simply best to accept that...right?
[Azreal 10]
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Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2024 7:22 am
"If it's any consolation, I don't think Mero's the type to trap him like that. If it happens it happens, but I don't see her going that far." Relationships and children were so vastly different between the two cultures that sometimes it took Zakia a moment to remember what worked for whom. While it wouldn't have been impossible to trick someone into having blooms it was so much harder than batting one's eyes and rolling in the hay. Which is probably why it's for the best you got to Jauhar.
She didn't belong here, not really, and the more she spoke with Azreall the more apparent it became. He would go on to replace his mentor, she would join her sisters in Chibale and that was that. It was simple, clean, and it...shouldn't have felt as odd as it did. Like there was so much left unsaid, but he was already cross enough. She didn't want to push him further.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." It wasn't as if she had much left to pack but spending that extra time with him, when it very well might be her last for a few years, would be nice.
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