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 Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 11:27 am
Kaalnia was visiting her sister, as she often did, and was staying in one of the spare rooms of the tree in Emeka, built in case their little family expanded. Obviously, Kaa wasn't there to stay, but she liked how she was made comfortable anyway. Nice people, her sister lived with, Dyakida included, even if the Artisan could be a bit cold at times. She'd already tried to date all of them, though, and they'd all either refused her point blank, slapped her, or slapped her after they learned she was a cad. Didn't mean she needed to give up on them, of course. She could always try again, and she often did, unless they were attached or not interested in women. Sometimes they even gave her a second chance. Or a third, but she had to be very lucky for that.
That wasn't what kept her up tonight, long past the hours that normal, rational, alkidikes would be in bed, alone or cuddled up to a youngling or a lover. Kaalnia, however, was studying. It was very unlike her, hence why she was doing it at night, away from the curious and teasing eyes of her sisters. She wasn't sure if she minded whether they knew or not how studious she could be, but she felt that what she was studying - and the capability to be anything other than the carefree dancer Kaalnia - was kind of personal and, also, that rare kind of personal that she didn't share.
She was studying funeral rites.
She'd picked up, here and there while in Zena, scrolls on the Earthnling's worship of their goddess Bergchi, apparently the lady of cold and death and the mother of the ice tribe. Of course, Kaalnia didn't believe in Bergchi. Aisha was clearly the only real one or, if they were real - which she wasn't going to discredit entirely - the only one powerful enough to be real, to really be the mother of a people. Not that Kaa was particularly devout, but it was pretty undeniable that Mother Aisha was awesome.
Anyway, these scrolls had been pricy and they were pretty heavy stuff. It took a lot of careful reading to get what the passages were going at, and to even decipher what the Earthlings had written, and she was always very ready to go to sleep by the end. But it was feeding some need that she had, something that had begun long ago but had woken during the battle and the long journey to Zena and back, and she was feeling the better for it.
She was at a particularly confusing bit now, one that made her head ache with its obnoxious complexities. She pressed the palms of her hands to her eyes and stretched. "Ugh..." she mumbled, "Why's it gotta be so hard?" Maybe because she didn't know, exactly what 'it' was...
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Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2014 5:18 am
Yitzah's nightmare monsters came, right on schedule. As she fell asleep, she knew they would come, but knowing didn't make it better, and didn't stop them.
It didn't stop them from tearing away her life. It didn't stop them from running through the dark forest of her nightmares. And it definitely did not stop them from killing her sisters over, and over, and over.
And it didn't stop the nightmares from coming back, night after night. It had, though, been many nights, and Yitzah had become very good at biting back her screams as she woke up, drenched in chill dewy sweat.
Her throat was raw and her tongue was sore, but she knew - she knew she hadn't screamed, and that was some small comfort. She toddled up out of her bedding, her limbs still heavy from the nightmare, and drowsily stumbled through the quiet tree to Dyakida's room, peering inside.
She would have her nightmare. Then she would have to find Dyakida. And then she would be safe. That was how it went. That was how it was supposed to go.
She scanned the room for the artisan's familiar, lithe, shape, seeking out the sprite's glow for a clue to her presence in the dark room. '
She wasn't there
Yitzah's heart began to race again and she swore she could feel the nightmare-beast's fetid, warm breath on her back. She thought she could hear its clicking steps.
She scanned the room frantically.
She wasn't there.
Yitzah began to panic, letting out a whimper as she ran into the room, sifting through the beddings, Dyakida's tools, anything the artisan might possibly or impossibly be behind.
She wasn't there.
Yitzah curled up in the center of the room, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth, back and forth, terrified again. The nightmare was still there. She hadn't found Dyakida, and thus she wasn't safe.
Yitzah started to cry, shaking.
She wasn't safe.
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Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2014 9:47 pm
Right. This was insane. She'd been looking at the same passage for the last few minutes and it still wasn't making sense to her. She was determined to understand it, though, if only because she - Kaalnia- - didn't leave things half finished.
She shook her head, her antennae waving as she tried to loosen the fog that crept onto her mind. Ugh. She closed the scroll, putting a place marker in to help her find where she was.
Later.
She was going to take a break now and see if she should sleep or not. She stretched again, feeling joints pop and crackle, and then she stood up.
First, she'd take a walk down the winding wooden hall. Then, maybe a snack. And then, maybe after that, bed, if she wasn't feeling up to reading more.
She was walking past the artisan's rooms, when she heard an odd sound. Odd, especially since the Artisan was not in the tree tonight.
Kaalnia poked her head in to make sure that everything was in order, because it would be a real bummer for Dyakida to come back and find that a wild animal had come in and done stuff to her room, like nested in it or something. Or worse, there was always worse.
At first, she saw nothing, but then she heard the sound again. It was all too familiar.
Tears.
Kaalnia frowned, scanning the room again.
Oh.
Hey.
It was that strange quiet kid that always hung around Dyakida. Kaalnia walked in and crounched near her, watching her for a moment. The poor thing was crying and shaking, and Kaalnia couldn't help feeling sympathetic.
Poor kid; losing her sisters and mother all in such a short time..
"Hey." she said, reaching out to touch the girls shoulder, "Whats wrong?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:26 pm
Yitzah's pulse skyrocketed at the touch on her shoulder and she shrieked, punching out at Kaalnia before scampering up and getting to her feet, backing away, her hands raised to protect her chest and her tearstained face.
The monster was attacking her and Dyakida wasn't there to provide safety so she had to fight it! She'd punch it, she'd punch it good, yes she would! She snarled again at the shadowy figure that had touched her, making shaky mock punches at it.
When it did not attack or move, she blinked, confused. She could make out the shape of antennae and the soft curves of flesh, none of which the nightmare monsters had. And then, in the faint light of the luminescent fungi, she recognized the shape as a sister, and, as she began to calm down enough, the markings of a specific sister.
She relaxed her arms and turned away, muttering something wordless and probably unfriendly under her breath. Stupid woman, scaring her like that. Yitzah tossed her head scornfully, her dreds falling across her shoulders, and hoped the woman would get the message and go away.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 6:26 am
Kaalnia yelped as the kid punched her in the shoulder. ”Ow! Damn it!” she cursed. The brat could punch hard.
She raised her hands in a pacifying gesture. ”Whoa, hey...” she could see the terror on the girl's face, the frantic fearful panic that Kaalnia knew all too well. ”Shhh... shhh, kid, you're safe...” she said soothingly, staying still, her hands still open and showing. The child wasn't even really awake, she knew, just dreaming a nightmare that invaded the waking world. Kaalnia knew all about that... Mother Tree, she knew.
”It's not here.” she said, daringly, ”It can't get you here. Kaalnia had no idea what had scared the child so thoroughly, or what haunted the girl's dreams, but she could guess, and what it was didn't matter as much as it's existance.
”There. There you go.” she cooed, approaching quietly as the girl relaxed. She was waking up now, the nightmare receding back to it's dark realms, whatever it was. And stay there. she snapped at it. It could stay there, and hang out with her nightmare.
She put a hand on the girl's shoulder as Yitzah turned away – getting messages was not Kaalnia's strong point. At first, she had no idea what to say.
”Hey... Wanna get a snack?” she managed to offer, smiling pleasantly.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 3:36 pm
Yitzah didn't believe Kaalnia. It could get her here, it had gotten her sisters, why not her? The nightmare knew no walls or doors or trees or roots or even ground. The only way to escape it was to run, and run, and run...
But as the dreams began to recede and she began to wake up, Yitzah knew, with waxing certainty, that she was safe, for the time being, from the nightmare.
She grumbled something, trying to shrug off the woman's hand. Get off of me. Leave me alone. she lashed out silently, her back tensing away from Kaalnia's warm touch.
Did she want a snack? No. Yitzah wanted to remark petulantly, and turned away, trying to convey it with her stance. Her stomach betrayed her, hungry after all the running she had done in the dream, gurgling quietly and hopefully at the mention of a snack.
Reluctantly, she turned to Kaalnia, pouting, her arms crossed.
Fine.
She'd have a snack.
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 10:54 am
Kaalnia decided she would take the tummy rumble as a yes. She offered the girl a grin. ”Well come on then.” she said, beckoning, ”And don't tell anybody. They get so pissed when someone goes through their stores...” she laughed – quietly, so as not to wake the others in the tree, ”Seriously, I think they have, like, a list of all the stuff that goes in and out. Some of our sisters can be so ridiculous, right?” she didn't expect an answer, ”They need to relax. Really, everybody does. Obans or no Obans, we all need to just relax.”
She stepped down the stairs, turning to make sure the brat was following her. ”But I guess I should keep my big mouth shut, right? I mean, who am I to say that someone's gotta relax?” her smile dampened into something less cheery and more sympathetic. ”Its hard for people like us to relax...
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 11:56 am
Mother Aisha, did this woman ever shut up? She was always so loud and obnoxious, and even when she was being quiet, like now, she was obnoxious. Yitzah scowled as the woman babbled on, not really listening. Something about Obans and relaxing – nothing worth thinking or talking about.
Yitzah looked away, thinking about nothing in particular and noting how the tree's walls sloped and warped. She wondered why it wasn't all straight. With an Artisan like Dyakida in the house, she would think that there would be better woodwork.
But apparently not. They had to let the tree be natural. Yitzah thought it was stupid. Flat lines were better than curvy lines. Flat walls were better than curvy walls. Curvy walls and trees and strange things were only for the nightmares and dreams, and should stay in there.
Yitzah did not like the warped walls of the tree.
Her shoulder prickled with the sense of being watched and, warily, she turned back to Kaalnia to find the woman looking at her. She stopped, shifting uncomfortably. She eyed Kaalnia suspiciously – what did she want?
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 8:59 pm
”You know, people like us...” said Kaalnia conspirationally, ”People who've, you know, seen things...” she shook her head gently and shrugged, turning back, ”I mean, everybody's seen things, right, but you know what I mean, yeah?” she walked down the stairs and beckoned Yitzah to the kitchen, tossing her a tart fruit.
”Trust me on this, kid,” she said, ”The food helps. It really does.” She took one of the fruits herself and bit into it, ”It doesn't get rid of the nightmares, but sometimes it helps you sleep well enough to not have them...” she frowned at the fruit, ”Though if you're not careful, you just end up with really weird nightmares instead.” she shrugged and swallowed the whole thing, chewing a bit before grinning at Yitzah, ”But hey, at least they're different, right?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:06 am
Yitzah stared. How did she know about the dreams?! How did she know what Yitzah had seen?! She squinted suspiciously as she followed Kaalnia into the kitchen. She had to know. She caught the fruit and ate it, not taking her eyes off of Kaalnia, and listened to her talk. She raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by 'weird', she wanted to ask. This was weirder than any nightmare. She was the one with the nightmares, and it was just her, nobody else. What right did the older Alkidike have to claim that she knew anything?!
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:10 am
”You want to know how I know, don't you?” Kaalnia assumed that was what Yitzah's startled eyebrow meant. Either that, or her eye was itching, and Kaa didn't think that was the case. ”I'd want to know, if I were you.” she continued, ”I'm thinking you think that it's just you that has nightmares of bad things happening again and again, right? Right?” she smirked, ”Well, guess what:” she said, leaning in with a gleamingly mischevious smile, ”You're not.”
She leaned back ”I had them too, once upon a time.” she said, watching for Yitzah's reaction.
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:14 am
Yitzah glared at Kaalnia defiantly for a moment, stunned. And then she began vehemently shaking her head. No. No. No. Nobody else had the nightmares, nobody else. Just her. She was the one who had seen the bad thing, so it was just her that would be afraid of the bug people, and it was just her that would dream about them. That was why she had to grow up to kill them, her other destiny aside from being Dyakida's assistant. She hopped off the stool and, in a very confrontational pose, held up her fruit and snarled at Kaalnia. She'd throw it at her, she would! Liars deserved to have fruit splashed on her face!
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:18 am
”Oh?” Kaalnia looked at the threatening fruit, mildly, ”Don't believe me?” she shrugged, ”I wouldn't believe it if I was you, I get it.” she stayed seated, ”So, you know what, I'll prove it to you. Yeah. I'll prove it.” she studied Yitzah's face. She was impressed with its expressiveness, how the girl's face moved around and showed the most subtle of emotions. ”Well?” she began, steeling herself for her offer, ”You wanna hear one of my old nightmares?”
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:22 am
Yitzah found her fury to be reassuring and familiar in its heat. Kaalnia was a liar, a loudmouthed, annoying liar! Yitzah knew she should throw her fruit right then and there and show her what Yitzah thought of her. But she hesitated.
Had Kaalnia ever lied before? As adults went, Yitzah had been under the impression – until this moment – that Kaalnia couldn't lie. Dyakida lied occasionally, and Yitzah envied her that skill. The other sisters, too, lied. But Kaalnia – from what little she knew of her – just kept talking and didn't care what she said.
And what if she was telling the truth? It was impossible, but Yitzah sort of... hoped... it wasn't. She lowered her fruit, glowering. Fine. Kaalnia could tell her story, but if Yitzah thought she was lying, then Kaalnia would get... the fruit!
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Posted: Sat Dec 20, 2014 10:31 am
”I'll take that as a yes.” she said, swallowing. She was – mostly – over her constant nightmares, but dredging them up again also dredged up the old fear. Screw the fear she thought. And so, without a look back, she lunged into her story.
”Well, mine opened in one of a few different ways. I would be with Brie, or maybe with Dyakida, or – sometimes – alone. We'd be walking somewhere, and we'd be talking, and then I'd get a bit ahead, look back, and they wouldn't be there. And then the scene would change, you know? Or, if it was pressed for time, It'd start in the arena. You weren't at the tournament, I'm pretty sure, but in the dream, the arena is huge and sandy. The sun is, like, blazing down and I can barely see anything but the dark blue figure at the other end. He's usually far away, but in a blink of an eye...” she snapped her fingers, ”He's suddenly right there. I ususally can't move, and when I can nothing I do will beat him. He knocks me to the ground, and I feel his blades go in and it hurts like crap and I can feel myself bleeding out...” she shuddered, her eyes growing distant as she remembered, ”And then I see his face. His damn face - all twisted and contorted and angry and I know he wants to kill me, I know he's going to kill me, and then he grins – nasty and evil and full of teeth - and I know he'll like it. Sometimes, I can't even struggle when he brings his really sharp sword down. Thats when I wake...” she shook herself a little, smiling sheepishly, ”That's when I would wake up from my dream in a cold sweat. I didn't even want to sleep and, you know, it wore at me for a long time... Made me pretty sick.” she shrugged, reflexively dismissing the era of pain she had gone through...
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