Are we the same?

Ismailia Tiamat

Paws thundered upon the terrain like horses hooves. Her breathing was ragged, yet with every paw step she tried to breathe deeper, longer; fighting against the burning in her lungs. It was strength, it was stamina, it was her body purging away the tightness of anxiety that crawled within her muscles. She had tried to run for longer, far away from the thrum of the Barracks. She had to get away from the noise and listen to the hushed quiet. The soft chirps of birds, the ripple of the streams. Do what Kvothe had introduced her to; train her mind.

She soon stopped as she crested a stone-cliff edge, below was quite a drop, further into the redwood. Icy paws slammed to the ground and her blazing body stopped-just about. Earth flung up around her and a pant began. The heat evaporated from her maw and whispered into the crisp morning air, she looked up to the skies as snowflakes began to drift lazily down, down, down. Winter was here.

She dragged in a breath, it was sharp against her nostrils. It burnt. A wince hissed as she drew in, yet as she closed her oceanic gaze; she tried to home in on the sounds. All she could hear was the thunder of her heart. All she could feel was the ache in her chest.

Khepri had caused this, this unsettlement. This nausea. Though he had not done anything inherently wrong in their last meeting- she had been vile. She had snapped. She had been aggressive. She was not herself. All she could think about was how he had left her. How he had abandoned her.

And how much she missed her Mother.

The thought of her Mother passing did not plague her dreams as much as it had done, training had put a stop to that. It had given her something to focus on, something to drown out the grief. But it did not stop the emotions that came with it. Funnily enough, they always had a way of resurfacing when she least expected-in the quiet moments.


@Nassar


"We are all young and naive still."

code & art by claerie

T

o say that she was close with her niece was to be generous, and that caused a strain on Nassar's heart. Being the daughter of Khepri, she was on thin ice with Ankh. It had been a wonder that she had been granted entrance into the Tiamat manse, let alone have access to the resources and prestige that the Tiamat name afforded. Through Nassar's pleading and begging and promises, the keys to the castle had been acquiesced—but at what cost? On paper, she was not to associate with her father. In practice, she was granted leave to visit him in quiet, to keep her relationship far from the matriarch's watchful pink eyes. Nassar had tried her best to fill the role of parent, but she had failed miserably. With two litters of her own and a squadron of soldiers to manage, she had been present but superficially so. Friendly, but not... comfortable.

And so it created strain whenever she saw the cracks in Ismailia's armor. That deterioration which, while always present, ebbed and flowed. Whenever Nassar caught glimpses, she would quietly weigh the consequences of approaching her niece. On one hand, Nassar knew that she could offer insight and help. On the other, she risked overstepping on what was already a bond composed largely of regret and mere familial relation.

Still—sometimes it was worth trying.

After having noticed that the young soldier had left the barracks behind, Nassar had finished dolling out the day's tasks before following after. She kept her distance and scrutinized the country side of signs of the young woman's passage through the forest. It required a fair amount of patience to track her which, all things considered, was good to see.

What about being close to the sky makes things easier? Nassar wondered as her paws carried her up higher in elevation. When at last she arrived at the cliff top, she stopped some distance away. She considered returning to the barracks but stopped herself from wasting the trip—and the potential connection. And, as she thought back to her meeting with Khepri, she felt her heart constrict slightly. She did worry for her brother. Substantially so.

"Ismailia," she called after a moment. "How do you fare these days?" That said, she felt like she knew the answer.

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

@Ismailia

Breathe in, then out. Repeat. A silent mantra whispered to the burning chaos within. Her thundering heart would slow. Her ocean eyes closed; she would sit, near the cliff-edge. Her fiery pelt rustled in the winds that whistled around her. Snowflakes would drift onto her nimble paws and sharp muzzle.

In, out. Repeat.

Icy brows furrowed as the sounds of crusty earth and settling snow crunched under paws. Her dark-rimmed ears twitched. Another was approaching. For once, she hoped it to be a smaller mammal. Dare she wish for prey.

"Ismailia, How do you fare these days?" A voice soft and approachable. But one all too familiar. Her eyes quickly opened and much like a Soldier reporting for roll-call, she was upon her paws (gracefully) in no time. "Nassar," She greeted the Lieutenant Major with a respectful bow of her head. "I... am fine," She took in a small breath, before letting out a hefty sigh. "All things considered." She offered a meek smile, finding Nassar's burning gaze. Was this a test? No.. there seemed to be genuine warmth within her tone.

Ismailia had never had a problem-so much-with her Aunt. Nassar was always so busy, either with her role or her Children that she could understand how the weight of a freshly abandoned yearling Niece at her doorstep, would alter things. She had always been kind, if not approachable to Ismailia, but that did not soften the scorn and prejudice given by Ankh, the almighty Matriarch. Many, she suspected, would follow suit of their oh so great leader.

"And you?" She quickly wanted to distract her mind, quell the hairs that stood upon her ice-kissed spine. " Congratulations upon your Betrothal, Colonel Kvothe will prove to be an excellent husband, I am sure." Her smile grew, one of genuine warmth. Kvothe had helped Ismailia in more ways than one, she could not think of a better Match...

Ankh did have some sense, after all.