Flashback Why do you seem so sad?

[Tia'aria]

90th of Spring, 495 AV

She kept running a hand through her hair, tangling thin fingers in the pale strands as she tried again and again to feel how long it was now, hoping it had grown longer since the last time she had run her hands through it a few ticks earlier. Her mother had decided to cut it recently, to her great shame and irritation. Tia'aria had fought it in a most unladylike fashion and been reprimanded with the firm smack of her hand she had learned to avoid. She wasn't a demure Konti, which Alis'ana liked to blame on her rambunctious older brothers more than a noted lack of Konti presence in Riverfall.

Aria sniffled when she felt no noticeable difference in the length of her hair, distraught that she lacked the straight, long, smooth hair she had been growing out as long as she could remember. She felt like her mother had betrayed her by cutting her hair, not realising her mother probably had a good reason for it. She felt so bare now, vulnerable without a long curtain of hair to hide behind.

She sat in Lapis Park, feet dangling over the ground as they swung back and forth, hand in her hair as she vainly tried to stimulate it into growing, tears in her eyes, and a very intense, although childish, appearance of distress on her face. Because even though her mother had been gentle before Aria had begun fighting, she still felt betrayed.

[Khal'iah]

The young Akalak born to the name Khal'iah Vojak wandered about the streets of Riverfall, his home and native land. Though there were heaps upon heaps of activities that he could be busying himself with, such as training with numerous types of weapons, partaking in literature, or even simply body building, he instead chose to wander about and mull things over. It had been less than a month since he and his family made the voyage to Konti Island in order to lay to rest a beloved member of their household: De'na, Khal'iah's twin sister. Out of al the immediate family, it was Khal'iah whom was the most devastated by the passing of the vibrant girl, so much so that Khal'iah had trouble focusing as of late. So, with his morning and afternoon training sessions completed, the young warrior opted to spend his freetime roaming his city, thinking and trying to come to terms with the sadness welling up within him. It was, by far, the most difficult task the Akalak ever had to accomplish; as stifling the tears from falling was like attempting to stop a flood with his bare hands. Nonetheless, he managed to keep himself together enough to walk into Lapis Park without drawing any undue attention to himself. Admittedly, it was a beautiful day in his opinion, and as he looked around to admire nature's majesty, he seated himself upon a bench without regarding the person sitting upon it. Then, he heard a sniffle and turned his attention to the child seated beside him. Surprise marred his expression when he saw her, on the verge of tears, and instantly set about assessing whether or not the child was alright. "Hey there! Are you okay?" he inquired quite simply, leaning over to see if she had hurt herself in any way.

[Tia'aria]

Tia sniffled when the Akalak began to talk to her, childishly enjoying the attention. She should have exercised more hesitation rather than allow histrionics to dictate her actions, but she was young: a child in a society outside of the warm, gentle Mura. Riverfall's children were different from Mura's and the presence of one woman in her life from the island was little compared to the influence the children native to the city had in Tia'aria's life.

"My hair, it's gone! She shouted with teary indignation. The worries of a child were nothing compared to the Akalak's troubles, but they dictated her happiness all the same. My mom cut it away and now it looks ugly!" Her mother also had a reason, something Tia didn't understand, but that was beside the point. It didn't make her happy!

"I'm not okay." She finished as new tears sprang to her eyes.

[Khal'iah]

At first, a slight sigh escaped the lips of the young warrior. It was not a sigh of annoyance because he had "wasted" his concern upon her, nor was it a sigh of impatience because he had a crying child beside him. No, it was a sigh of relief, for the child was unharmed and he was reassured of thus. Instead, much to his amusement, she was plagued with a much simpler dilemma. Apparently, the child's mother had hacked off her hair and it was ugly in her opinion. Khal'iah didn't really have an opinion on the subject and counted himself fortunate. His hair consisted of dreadlocks that he had been growing since before he could walk, so he never had to fret over haircuts or anything similar. Nonetheless, despite his current situation, the youth was not so absorbed into himself that he would ignore a sad child... "Little one," he said softly, attempting to calm her down with a giant, warm smile and gentle words, "your hair is only gone for now. Yet like the grass and the trees, it will grow back. And fortunately for you, it will grow back soon!" He was uncertain if his words would do much, so he decided to add: "Besides, it is far from ugly. Your mother did an excellent job of making your hair look quite cute, in my opinion anyways." What was the harm in throwing the child a compliment? Perhaps she would stifle her tears and accept the compliment with a large, happy smile of her own...or she'd just slap him and continue to cry...

[Tia'aria]

"It will grow back?" In the midst of her horror and sadness, his words reached her, and her tear-streaked face lifted, her teal eyes expression some measure of hope, and her thin lips turned into something of a small smile. A sudden expression of horror overtook her again. "I don't want my hair to be like grass! That's icky! Everybody will tease me about it!" Oh, she was so ready to cry again, the tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes, before she reclaimed her senses and pressed her palms to her eyes to wipe away the budding tears.

Sniffling, she leaned back and looked up at him again, imploring. "Will it really come back, as quick as grass too?"

[Translucent]

Congratulations On Your Hard Work!

Tia’aria:
XP: +2 rhetoric
Lores: Usefulness of long hair,

Khal’iah:
XP: +1 observation, +1 observation
Lores: Loss of a twin,


Notes: Don’t forget to edit your grade request 

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