in which a girl with a heavy burden tries to find her way through the trials and torments of the earth they've come home to.
OR
in which she must rebuild.
EMBERS
JOHN MURPHY
DEATHLIES 2016
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN T...
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O N E
In the wake of the storm, Althea's mind was calm, settled. Almost too quiet. The fact that it was so, so quiet made her uneasy, jumpy. It granted her a lot of nervous energy, which rocketed through her body at every waking moment; kept her awake in the darkness of the night.
There were many nights she would sit outside the cave, knees pulled to her chest and blade on the ground beside her, just in case. And she would lean her back against the cold stone and stare at the stars.
They moved and yet were unmoved. Trembled in the light of a bigger star and yet shone brighter and brighter and brighter with no fear of their end.
Althea didn't fear the end itself. She feared the finite end of death. It marked the point where your life no longer mattered. Where you could no longer have an impact, make a change. She realised that in her time on the ground. It was what encouraged her to bite the bullet and pick up a sword.
What made her choose fight over death.
Althea would sit beneath the stars until someone, usually Jaya, came out and told her to come inside.
Sometimes Jaya would sit with her for a while, in silence, but still let her have a few minutes more before making her come inside once more.
On this feeble night, Jaya sits down beside Althea and leans back against the rock of their home with a tremendous sigh. The sky girl looks over her shoulder, offering a slight smile.
"Will there ever be a night you won't come out here?" She questions, and Althea's starry smile only grows wider.
"We are creatures of habit," She replies, stretching her legs out and pushing the toes of her boots into the soil, churning it.
"Why can't you sleep? We train for hours every single day, we hunt, we run, we are up at the crack of dawn, and yet you still can't sleep. I can't understand why not." Jaya had been thinking about it for days in the wake of the battle. The girl was no warrior. She got tired quickly when they sparred.
"I just can't," Althea responds shortly, her jaw clenching and her eyes turning back to the sky. "My mind doesn't sleep." Her fingers dig into the supple skin of her legs, nails cutting into the fabric.
"Then work harder. Fatigue exceeds whatever's crawling around in your head," Jaya insists, her temper flaring.
"I would know, I've tried." She closes her eyes, breathing in slowly. "Just because I need you to train me, doesn't mean I've never harmed another before." Her head bows in the memory, in shame.
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