Inherently Innocent

Playing With Fire

Juniper pushed away Dera's hand from her shoulder once more.

"Why?"
"Why what?" Asked the ishine.

"Why any of this? Why do the Marulls do what they do, why do the ishine do what they do?"
"It's not just the Marulls or the ishine, Juniper. What about the guards at the program? What about the others that look from the settlement? And those ishine that wanted to attack Trix and Ro? Those that come and attack you now? They all play their parts in this indescribable place. But what about those that do less evil? What about Onix, humans that help from within, what about you? Of course you might also be flawed. You might be the topic of discussion on the other side of this war, why do they do what they do? Nobody knows. We just know we want to live, and live better. Some go a step further and want others to live better too."
"And some want others to rot and die," Juniper clapped her hands on her legs and stood up.

"That's why you're going to stop Cove. He isn't helping anyone but himself. If you became the settlement's leader, then," Dera had to close her mouth when she saw Juniper's stare.

"I'm never, and I swear, never going to be the leader of the settlement. I'd much rather see it in anarchy."

The human, or rather, the nymph, walked around a tree. They were at the edge of the forest that adorned Horizon Hill. Juniper kicked the grass of the cemetery.

"I was never treated like a nymph. I didn't suffer like them. I don't deserve to be the face of their fight, or even call myself one."

"I suppose that's up to you to decide," Dera whispered. "But what matters is what you do. So will you do it?"

Juniper offered a hand for Dera to take and stand up. The ishine took it. Only then Juniper nodded.

"I have another question. How did you come across this knowledge?" She asked Dera.

"Most of it rests in your veins. I could easily access the story of your ancestors because of it. But I knew it from before, in much less detail, because Onix taught it to me. The settlement you found me in was a remnant of the fighting forces against the migratory wave, but that wasn't always my home," Dera turned to give her back to Juno. She reached down her spine and pushed aside several leaves until a streak of white lines was seen. " After the battle, I looked at the humans from afar, trying to continue my duty of teaching the ishine. I would learn about them and tell my kin. But I was captivated with how you functioned. Eventually, I lived inside the settlement walls while our species could co-exist. I only left after I was attacked again, this time by humanity, on the day your grandmother was killed and the connection with mars was severed. That day... I don't know how many ishine we lost. Some of us were simply sleeping on the streets, some might have even been in human houses. We were all rushed out, attacked by the very same people that lived beside us. Once outside, well. We had to return to our roots again. I cannot deny we were angry, preparing retaliation. News hurried across the world, telling us of the violence that was forming from the mountains, aimed at the settlement. But one day she came. One of the few ishine that remained in the settlement, most likely because humans couldn't tell them apart from themselves. She came and spoke to us, spoke to me. Onix made sure I knew the story, knew what humans were fighting for. She convinced us of standing down, leaving them alone. She promised a peaceful future where we could live together again, and her stories were sincere. I really liked all the parts they fell in love." She smiled, looking at the grass. Maybe she pictured seafoam she would never be able to see outside of the memories of a deceased person. "Onix told me these stories to be more sympathetic, and I taught them to the others. I believe that narrative was the most effective weapon we could bear in this war."

Juniper frowned, feeling her throat tight.

"You're not a teacher. You're a storyteller."

Dera turned. The wind pushed her short leaves forward, resembling the golden aura of a saint in its nature. She smiled. "What's the difference?"