The Past Leaves Scars

Chapter 9

Starstreak

­Starstreak returned to her and Seth's makeshift camp gripping two dead rabbits she'd caught in the forest by the ears. "You hungry?" She jeered at Seth as she noted that a campfire had been built and lighted in the time she'd been gone.

Seth rolled his eyes at his sister as he strolled over to the last sacks of a large pile of pillaged items, they'd taken the night before. He'd emptied and organised the other sacks they'd had as well in the time Starstreak had gone hunting, and he knelt and began to do the same with the last ones.

The pair had ridden their horses through the desert for the rest of the night stopping once they reached the forest that abruptly cut off the sweltering sand from the rest of Seathia. They were constructed as a means of protection from the Sanistery.

Hadn't that worked well? Y'know, because the Sanistery proceeded to build their outposts in the border forest after advancing and destroying various other towns and cities, and, oh yeah, entire kingdoms. Yep. .

Starstreak dumped the rabbits close to the fire, she would skin them later, and walked over to her horse, tugging the two rolled-up blankets made of polar bear fur from the back of her saddle.

"So, what's the deal with the haul this time?" Starstreak asked, dusting the blankets off.

Could've been better. Seth replied with a wry twist of his fingers. You missed the hidden stash in the wine cellar.

Starstreak raised an eyebrow, feigning offence. "Oh, and I suppose you would've found it, asshole?"

Seth's eyes squinted with a smile that was hidden behind the skeletal mask that covered the lower half of his face, No doubt. He signed.

Starstreak rolled her eyes a smile tipping at the corner of her mouth as she began to set out the well-used fur blankets near the fire. Seth came over after she was done, taking a seat on one of them.

You think we're doing the right thing, yeah? Surviving the only we know how? He signed, his snow-white skin shining in the dappled sunlight coming through the trees around them.

"We survive. That's what we do." Starstreak said without a second thought.

Yeah, but is it- I don't know- enough?

"As long as we have each other it should be." Starstreak frowned at Seth's weird onslaught of questions.

You ever wonder about settling down, Starstreak? Away from all the chaos.

"What, like in a cottage or something?" Starstreak's smirked with amusement. "What's next, you're gonna ask me if you can have parties and boys over?"

Starstreak narrowly dodged a slap to the face from Seth and burst out laughing at the way the tips of her brother's sharply pointed ears turned pink. You're a real dick sometimes, you know that? He scowled at Starstreak.

"You're the one who tried to push me off my horse several times today!" Starstreak argued playfully. "But no. I don't really think about settling down or whatever that much. I think as we are. Besides, the 'chaos' is fucking everywhere! have to find an obscure island in the middle of the damn ocean to get away from everything. Even then you be safe."

I can dream, besi-

"Dream of parties and boys?" Starstreak grinned mischievously.

I hope you perish a very painful and slow death before Malum himself tortures you for all eternity in hell. Seth glared, his hands dancing through the air.

"Please, it'll take the entire Sanistery to kill me." Starstreak gestured to herself.

Seth just rolled his eyes. I'm going to skin those rabbits. Mainly because I can't skin you.

Starstreak snorted and laid back as Seth got up to do exactly what he said.

Looking up at the ceiling of weaving branches and leaves showering the clearing around Starstreak in spots of sunlight, she thought about what her brother had said.

We survive. That's what we do.

Yeah, but is it- I don't know- enough?

Was it? Starstreak thought so. She had looked at Seth in that moment as if he was losing his fucking mind, but was right...As annoying as that was to admit.

They'd been out here, 'surviving', for what? Six years? than that if you counted surviving the first twelve years of their lives with their parents.

Whatever. It doesn't fucking matter how long we've been doing the same old shit. We're fine. Completely fine. Just the two of us. Couldn't be fucking better.

That was a lie. It could be better. It could be better if the Sanistery stopped cleaning up villages before Starstreak and Seth could get to them. That would sure be great. Maybe then they could pillage something of actual value.

Well, there's another problem. Starstreak almost laughed out loud at the thought that they had pillaged so many villages, and yet she doubted that anything they could sell would earn them enough money to buy the tiniest of shacks in any pretentious Aratky or Windwalker city.

Snobs. Starstreak help but think. She screwed up her face remembering the time when she and Seth were 14 and a Windwalker girl had told Starstreak her mismatched eyes were stupid and ugly.

Well, guess what? Your face is stupid and ugly. Starstreak had retorted and smirked as Seth snickered beside her.

The girl was then dragged off by a boy who was brother. Starstreak had felt a tiny amount of remorse over that afterwards, remembering that the other sibling pair had white hair and that that meant the two Windwalkers had been treated as shitty as Starstreak and Seth.

That remorse had disappeared in an instant when she turned to Seth and found him bright pink in the cheeks staring after the white-haired boy as he dragged his wretched sister somewhere else in the town, they were in. It was fucking hilarious, that was for sure.

See. We have plenty of fun by ourselves. We need anyone or anything else but each other. fine. We are O-fuckin'-kay.