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 Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:54 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:55 pm
Here they were at each other's throats again. How often did this happen? Seemed like nearly every day at this point. Both mother and daughter were at the end of their ropes. With each argument the shouting intensified, the words got harsher, and the tension between all family members was as tangible as the ground they walked on. And, oh how Mariam wished she wasn't on it now. If only she could fly away from this all. If only she'd been allowed to learn. None of this would even be a problem. There wouldn't be any fighting and their family would be happy. But no. Because of her mother's stupid fear, Mariam was forced to walk the earth like the rest of her family. Permanently grounded for the rest of her life. If her mother had her way, that is. And Mariam wasn't at all interested in letting that happen.
And with the most indignant hoof stomp ever seen this side of the lake, Mariam intended to make that very clear, "I'm not a child any more! Stop trying to control my life like I am one. If you think you can stop me from learning how to fly you're sorely mistaken. I don't need your permission. I can do whatever I want!" Somewhere in the distant future, Mariam would look back on this day and cringe at how absolutely atrocious her behavior was. This reflection on her past wouldn't be happening any time soon, though and right now she was convinced she had every right to react this way.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:56 pm
How she had managed to raise such a stubborn and ungrateful child, Celeste had never been able to figure out. She and her mate had given Mariam everything she could have possibly asked for. Food, shelter, love, those pretty bracelets the Kawani tribeswomen had made. Absolutely everything. Except flying lessons. Not that Celeste nor her mate could have ever taught Mariam anyways. In spite of the golden wings perched on her back, Celeste was incapable of flying more than a few feet above the ground. Not from any sort of injury or physical disability. Simply because she was terrified of heights. And she certainly didn't need anyone telling her how ridiculous it was for a Wind Soquili to be afraid of heights. She'd gotten plenty of that in her childhood and wasn't interested in reliving it. And as for Mar, well a pure-blood kelpi certainly wasn't going to be able to teach anyone how to fly.
But why did it matter so much anyways? There was nothing special about flying. You couldn't appreciate all the flowers and animals and bugs from way up there. Everything was just blobs of color. Or, that's how she imagined it to be anyways. Obviously she didn't actually know what it was like. But she didn't need to know personally. Nothing about it was appealing to her. All that wind in your mane and clouds in your face. She could barely hear anyone around her when she was flying at just a meter off the ground. Could you even hear yourself think all the way up there with that much wind? None of this was enough to deter her daughter though. Celeste tried to think of every possible horror story to scare Mariam off the idea but nothing worked.
And it was terrifying. The thought of her daughter all the way up there sent Celeste into mild panic. There was no telling what could happen. She had nightmares about watching Mariam fall from the sky to her death. And she had them more frequently as their arguments increased. She would wake in the middle of the night with Mar nudging her, asking if she was alright. This conflict was taking a heavy toll on their family and she wished it would just go away. But there was so much stubbornness between the two of them that there was no hope of that ever happening. So they continued to fight.
"Really? You can do whatever you want? Then why don't you? Why don't you go off and learn how to fly? What's stopping you, huh?" If only Celeste could have known the effect her words were about to have. While her heart was in the right place, her words came from anger and frustration and nothing good was to come of it.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:17 pm
For a brief moment Mariam was stunned into silence. Not because she now saw the err of her ways. Certainly not because her mother's words were bringing some sense to her. No, she was silent because now she realized the truth and that was nothing. Nothing was stopping her from doing exactly what she wanted. Like she said, she wasn't a child any more. She wasn't bound by the commands of her parents any longer. Sure, she'd said things like that before. When her legs were still a little lanky and her wings still had a few fluffy baby feathers clinging on. When there was still a small part of her that feared what would happen if she disobeyed her parents. But all of that was gone in an instant as she finally realized that she truly was free to do whatever she wished.
"Nothing." It was a bit strange. She'd always fantasized about her liberation being a bit more triumphant and with a lot more sneering in the general direction of her mother. But that single word was all it took. It wasn't even spoken loudly or with the level of contempt she had anticipated. It was actually quite cold and empty. Much like her expression. And the reaction it got from her mother was so much more satisfying than anything she had ever imagined. That wide-eyed look of shock and slowly growing panic. It was now or never. If Mariam didn't walk away now she never would. And she did. The sneering she had expected to do finally showed up as she heard her mother demanding she turn around immediately. But it was going to be a very long time before Mariam faced home again.
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