invisible string ↝ ao'nung

XVII ; My Tears Ricochet

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞
I didn't have it in myself to go with grace
And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves
You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same
Cursing my name
Wishing I stayed
You turned into your worst fears
And you're tossing out blame
Drunk on this pain
Crossing out the good years
And you're cursing my name
Wishing I stayed
Look at how my tears ricochet
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞

The silence was deafening.
No one moved. No one even shifted their gazes to the Sully's. Sylwana's mind raced. What should she do? Fleeing further into the forest would lead the Txepìvam straight to them; it would be too loud. Her eyes met Kiri's.

Slowly, she took a deep breath. She raised her finger to her lips, and widened her eyes. She studied Kiri, Lo'ak, and allowed her hand to gently grip Tuk's, before she let go. She lowered her finger, and she pinned her brother and sister with a glare that she hoped said don't move.
Kiri was gaping at her, and Lo'ak was shaking his head frantically. Sylwana stood.

Her simple movement guided everyone's eyes to hers. The clan began to panic, their hands desperately telling her to stay put. She shook her head, and their eyes fell on her siblings. They understood. None of them were warriors, none of them were trained to fight or defend themselves. They couldn't stop her, no matter how much they wanted to.
Tsireya stifled a quiet sob, and before Sylwana knew what has happening, Spider was standing up too, clasping her hands behind her back. "Struggle," he whispered as they neared the warriors. "Make it believable." She gaped at him, before letting out a cry of pain. Spider shoved her forward when she planted her heels into the ground.
She walked into view, watching when their eyes immediately narrowed in on her. She stuck out like a sore thumb. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she was waiting for them to march forward and grab her. Spider shoved her forward again, and this time she fell forward. Slowly, further away from her siblings. She let loose a sigh of relief when they didn't move. They were staring at Spider. Sylwana didn't know if he had met the Txepìvam, but by the way they warily eyed him, she guessed not. However, the humans stepped forward, and one of them reached their hand out to him. "Spider?" The woman asked. Spider froze, then glanced at Sylwana and nodded. The human smiled. "The colonel will be pleased to hear you've been found." Sylwana frowned, but Spider avoided her eyes.
They tied Sylwana's hands and marched her forward, a human pressing a gun into her back. The woman and Spider conversed, but Spider merely gave her noncommittal answers until she stopped talking to him. Sylwana bit back the tears forming in her eyes; she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
And as they walked the edge of the village, she knew. She wasn't getting out of this one.

Ao'nung frowned when he saw the Txepìvam and the humans retreating. What was their goal, what was their reason for coming here and destroying his village? Revenge? It seemed petty, and yet all his knowledge of humans led to the same conclusion; they were cruel, petty beings with tiny brains. As far as he knew, they hadn't killed any villagers. But he prepared himself to hear a few names in the coming hours. A warrior named Mireya told him and the other young warriors to head to the forest; he didn't complain, he was tired and angry and he wanted to make sure his sister, his friends, and Sylwana were all okay. He led the group back through the village, discovering the eerily silent clearing where the villagers had been staying. The other warriors rushed to the families, but Ao'nung was frozen in place. A tiny sob broke him from his strange reverie, a feeling of uneasiness settling over him. Rotxo suddenly popped his head out from behind a large tree, but he didn't smile or call Ao'nung's name. Instead he frowned and returned to his spot behind the tree.

Ao'nung raced over to him, only to see Rotxo, his sister, and the Sully children in varying states of distress. His uneasiness lifted only slightly when Tsireya rushed into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder. But it fell back into place when she began profusely apologising.
"What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked her. "And where's Sylwana?" Nobody met his gaze. "Where is she?" he repeated, and his tone of voice was so rough that Tsireya stepped away from him. Kiri sniffled, and took a deep breath before saying, "She's gone. Sylwana and Spider... they are gone." Tsireya burst into a fresh set of tears.
"What do you mean, gone," Ao'nung's hand rested on the handle of his knife, and he gripped as hard as he could. Rage began swelling distantly in his heart. "Dad's gonna kill us," Lo'ak muttered absentmindedly, as if he hadn't heard the conversation. Kiri nodded her head.
"Rotxo," Ao'nung demanded. Why was no one telling him where she was? He had been longing to see her, hold her, hear her voice. So where was she?
"Ao'nung," Rotxo's voice was hoarse, but he finally lifted his head and looked Ao'nung in the eye. Almost immediately, Ao'nung's stomach dropped. "She and Spider sacrificed themselves. The Sky People have them."