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 Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2015 7:35 am
Alexin threw the rock angrily. It wasn't the first she had thrown, and honestly, she doubted it would be the last. Unshed tears burned at her eyelids, but she refused to let them fall. She refused! What was she, some weak lowbl- and she caught herself again and picked up a larger rock, sharp edges pressing into her palm. She threw it with a grunt, and a loud crack as it hit a tree, then a softer plop as it hit the murky swamp water. She was shaking, and that was unacceptable. She had to be in control. She had to. It was the only thing she had left - and another rock was thrown, this one skipping across the water slightly before it got caught on weeds and fell into the muck.
She stood stock still, a paragon of control but it wan't enough, she didn't feel any better, it wasn't enough and Mum and Dad were at home recovering - if you could call that ruined shack a home it was nothing like her real home but then she couldn't go back anymore could she so maybe that shack was all she had left - another rock, torn from the ground now because she'd used all the surface rocks that were small enough for her to lift, went sailing through the air and into the brackish water. It was inevitable, no matter how she threw them. Maybe this had been inevitable too.
Maybe her parents were always going to get injured in the line of fire.
Maybe she was always going to be a disappointment to the empire.
Maybe she was always going to be too young, too small, too weak to do anything useful.
Maybe if she could stop goddamn shaking she could think her way out of this.
Her nails, usually so pristine, were flecked with dirt and the varnish was chipped. They dug into her palms hard enough to leave half-moon cresent welts but they didn't quite draw blood as she unclenched to reach for another rock and throw it as hard as she could at a tree. The resounding crack of bark giving way was viciously satisfying.
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Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:02 am
It had been surreal, returning to his hive, looking over the still relatively furnished space from the doorway, knowing he'd never return. To his credit, Aprife brought back a decent amount of the past to start his new life. Among the practicalities like beetles were many fond memories, notebooks full of childhood secrets, plush bee toys, and the faded, bee-spotted matching mugs he and his lusus shared. Of course, there was his lusus, too, safe and undisturbed. Above all, Aprife was thankful for that, thankful he'd made it there before the drones did. He couldn't say the whorl of emotions surrounding everything he'd been dealing with that lay surging beneath his steeled surface had diminished much, but a touch of happiness found itself mixed in.
In fact, Bumbs hadn't detached himself from Aprife's shoulder since the night they'd been reunited. He was still settled there when his charge left the makings of their new hive in search of one Muerte Perist. They'd promised to meet back here after visiting their respective hives, but he hadn't returned yet. It hadn't been that long, though. Aprife wasn't particularly worried. Yet.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's head back," he muttered after a short walk, shrugging his shoulder to rouse his lusus. The small hum that accompanied the honeybee's liftoff sounded a lot more like a cat's purr than any noise an insect would make. It made the yellowblood's entire body relax, at least until a loud crack jolted awareness back into him.
The swamp made many noises, but Aprife hadn't been here long enough to dismiss any of them yet. If it was an enemy, he'd see them captured and made useful before they were ended...
Creeping closer, as quietly as one could expect to through this kind of unfamiliar terrain, he came up behind a child. As they faced out into the swamp, Aprife recognized them, but not as any member vouched for before Kursha's betrayal. A defector. Aprife was extremely suspicious of each and every one of them, even the kids.
"Hey. What are you doing out here?" he near-hissed as he moved in on Alexin, his fluffy, disarming lusus fluttering up behind him. Even with the jovial grin he'd slipped back into place, Aprife was no where near as innocent looking as his dad.
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Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 4:20 pm
Alexin needed to go back to her hive at some point. They had stuff there, useful stuff. Stuff the rebellion could use. Stuff she could use. Her weapon, her medical kits, her medical BOOKS. (maybe if she'd brought them with her things would have gone differently.) (She couldn't think like that.) Alexin hadn't noticed Aprife's approach, because she was busy dealing with the whole repressing-emotions thing. So when he suddenly spoke, she let out a sound not unlike a shriek, and whirling, threw the rock in her hand at him. Whether it hit or not, a low groan immediately came afterwards as Alexin noticed exactly who she'd thrown a rock at - whilst she wasn't aware of Aprife's role in the rebellion, he was definitely a rebel adult. Aka the people she was supposed to be IMPRESSING, not throwing rocks at. Scrambling over the grassy area inbetween the two of them, Alexin ran up to Aprife and with a face of extreme embarassment bowed. "I'm sorry. you uh. You startled me. Are you okay?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2016 11:54 am
Luckily for Aprife, the child's startled throw wasn't exactly accurate and the rock went sailing past him without so much as a sidestep. Only Bumbs reacted, fluttering wildly as if the stone had come within inches of him (it hadn't) and retreating to his charge's hair to hide. If the yellowblood didn't know for a fact his lusus was overreacting, he might've been vaguely annoyed at their would-be assailant.
"It's fine," he answered quickly, waving a hand to dismiss their worries. "We're fine. I've had worse shot at me, y'know." The smile never faltered as he admitted that. Even a kid, royalist or rebel, would know that much.
"Might want to keep your guard up in a place like this, though. Never know what might sneak up on you... Case in point," he gestured vaguely between the two of them. "Don't think the Queen's lackeys are gonna be catching up with us anytime soon, but you never know."
There was an obvious disdain in the way he emphasized his words, but it was a purposeful one. Aprife wanted to see how or if Alexin would react.
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