Content warning: implied self-harm ideation.
Krinynor held a special games night for Ris' birthday, and Paekanta baked a delicious cake for the occasion, but without Saryar, Rumour, and me it was meaningless. Everything felt so mercilessly, dreadfully meaningless. Two and a half months she'd been without her counterpart, the only one to have stayed with her after life fell apart. If, only if, she ever came back, it would be at least three more.
Ris watched the snow falling outside, covering the cobblestone streets, muffling the sound of children playing, biting at the edges of her room where the fire's warmth couldn't quite reach properly. Muddied, soggy socks hung on the mantle. A collection of teacups stood on the nightstand. Paekanta usually came this day of the week but she'd caught a cold and had to stay home, and she'd been busy last time too. A half-done artwork laid on the desk; it was Paekanta's birthday gift to her, a beautiful bouquet of intricate flowers inked by the Seelie's hand and left for Ris to bring to life. She moved from the rug in front of the fireplace to her desk and picked up a coloured pencil to work on it some more. Sometimes things felt ok, like now when she focused on a task, although life still often felt mangled, like when she lay in bed awake at night unable to sleep. Yet, Krinynor and Paekanta were so kind to her – mistaking her for a good person worth caring about –, and she'd gotten to know some of the other workers too... Maybe time would forget her memories and she could start again here, eventually.
But it had been nearly a year since she saw her family, and she couldn't possibly speak to them again now, couldn't face them to explain the reason for Saryar's death. Just when Ris thought it might begin to ease, grief and misery found new reasons to linger in every nook of her life. Running from her past and surrounding herself with strangers didn't seem to do a good job of numbing the pain, only stirring the coals. So, through the snowfall and early evenings, she prepared for a new journey – just like last winter, but this time the journey would fix things.
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When The Moons And Mirrors Rise
Fantasy***TW: minor character death at the end of Part 1 (ch.42), resulting in intense grief and reactions in Part 2 (including implied SH/su!c!de ideation)*** Ris' twin sister is the chosen one, but she is a Cursed -- how can she save the Cursed and Encha...
