Strange New Friends (Drusilla)

[Kellan Lucia]

The facts surprised Kellan. He never knew that Symenstras killed their mothers. The thought alone made a familiar twinge of sadness haunt him. His mother was so close, he practically saw her every week somewhere in the city, yet he could not speak to her. She was right within his reach yet he could not get the words to escape his lips. He could not say he was sorry. In his own wat he had poisoned his mother. He left her at her weakest moment because of his rage. Toran had been the lynchpin in the Lucia family. Without him the whole family did not seem functional. Kellan always thought that he was the life of the family but the truth was when Toran died he took the life of the family with him. Still, these were feelings that he would never share. This dark person who reminised about the past needed to say deep down within him. He did not need to go back to who he was. It made Kellan happy to see the girl feeling so passionate about life. He often forgot to revel in how great life was. "I bet it was hard not to know your mother." Kellan was trying to move his mentality back to the sunny person he usually was. "I think it is nice that you value life. I hope you have good luck with your sub-race. The worl is always better with less death." His voice seemed to have a pained edge to it. He tried hard to hide it but emotion kept bubbling up. He shook his head and the colored beads that were sparingly strung in his hair tinkled from the movement. He looked at Drusilla and gave her a small smile. "Many people here do not know their parents either. It is uncommon for Inarta to marry. Mostly we just reproduce." He gave a small chuckle and figeted with his necklace. "As kids we are part of one large group called the Yasi. We do things called Bendi tasks and from those tasks forge who we become castewise. Anyway, it is silly for us to get really close and connected to our parents if we are going to live as a group as kids. Besides, so many Inarta are born from simple one night relations. At times it is impossible for us to even figure out who our parents are." At times the fire-haired rider wished that he had never even known his family. Then none of the pain that he felt from small reminders of his twin or seeing people with their mothers would be unexisant. "Sometimes it is better that way..."

[Drusilla]

Drusilla looked at Kellen, " Even though I never met her, my mother. A part of me is always crying out for her comfort, like a small lost child. Dealing with the fact that I killed my mother, hangs heavy on my back. I feel guilty and I always will.....I like to think somewere out there my mother and Lady Avalon sit together in a tranquil place feeling nothing but happiness and peace."

She lowered her head," To Symenestra family is of great importance. We value our blood lines. A one night stand would never feel right to me, I seek a partner not a fling. Other races rarely mate let alone marry us. They find us elegant and refined to look at, but our long venomous fangs drive them away. To not know one's family must be horrible. Who do you seek for comfort?"

Drusilla could feel Kellen's sadness it was overpowering. She had to mentaly restrain herself from hugging him. Drusilla was extreamly emotional, a very un-Symenestra trait. She had a hard time to keep for crying from time to time. She was a very loving girl. Why had she been born a Symenestra?

[Kellan Lucia]

One night stands and flings. These were topics that were never really looked down upon within his race. They were a fast and free people. They did not have time to be tied down with things like love and partnership. Kellan did enjoy flirting. In fact it was what he did with the majority of his free time. He knew deep down he wanted love but there was no time for that. "Life is fast here" Kellan began, almost as if he was in a poetic trance. "It is fast and free and one cannot expect to have a lover to come back to everyday if life here is so dangerous. Love is comfortable but with that comfort there is alway the ever looming fact that the moment one says hello they are begining to say goodbye." He wanted to let it all out. He wanted to lay it all on her and explain why he felt the way he did but he just couldn't. He had never really told anyone except Kovac and that was in a moment of weakness. Kellan mulled over Drusilla's question. Who did he go to when he was feeling alone? The truth was no one. He did not have anyone to turn to. Beau was but a friendly rival but he was nothing more than that. Kovac, well Kovac was Kovac. He was moody and he often wrote Kellan off as a overly cheerful little pretty boy. Kellan's parents were out of the question. He had not spoken to them since he left their house in a fiery rage claiming to never want to see them again. His dark past seemed to have a nasty way of creeping up on him. "I don't seek anyone for comfort." He never really noticed how alone he was. Lyra seemed to be his closest friend and it had been a while since he had even heard from her. Kellan bit his lip. This meeting had started off so well. Why did his stupid emotions have to interfear with everything? Kellan looked over at the bubbling stream. "Wind Reach is different that other places. We are not particularly loving or close. We make friends when we can but the real important thing is surviving. Companions mean nothing when you are funeral pyre in Mt. Skyinarta. Life is hard and fast, that's why so many Inarta are twins or tripletts. Only the toughest survive." Kellan mulled over what he had said and then looked at Drusilla with his golden eyes. "I'm sorry, I really must be more constant with my emotions." He was embarassed about the almost sudden change from his normal happy additude to an almost dark and depressing version of himself. "I guess I just have a lot of stuff I have yet to deal with." He really hoped his new friend would not try and pry on that remark. Although he needed to deal with his issues he did not want to share them. They were his own cross to bear and he liked to keep them hidden deep down where no one could find them until the unfortunate events like this one. "Well this was quite the first impression, eh?" He wanted to lighten the mood but he was not so sure he could. Only Drusilla's responce would truely tell.

[Drusilla]

"Yes, life is fast and free... But the faxt that every goodbye may be your last, is what makes it a worthwhile and special bond. Both partners must understand how fragile live is. When my father met my mother and they started a family, they both knew what could happen. If one's hello ends up a sad good-bye, one should just be happy that the person graced their lives for however long."

"Emotions are what make us people. Shutting them out is the worst a person could do, and even I am guilty of this..." Drusilla leaned forward towards Kellen in a carefull hug. He smelled of spices,it was most pleasent, "If you ever need comfort, someone to talk to, or anything else. Feel free to seek me out. Like I said earlier I will not pry, if you ever feel that telling would help..... I am here." She smiled, "Quite a first impression.."

She let go of the Inarta.Wondering how odd they would of looked to other Inarta. Their hair like fire and ice. Drusilla smiled, " How cold is the river?"

[Kellan Lucia]

The Symenstra's words resonated with Kellan. He had been so preoccupied with trying to sheild everyone away so he would not get hurt that he forgot how it truely felt to have someone close to him. Yes, there were fleeting friend and aquiantances but never true friends. He never did have someone to come home to. Even Amon, the man who he held in such high reguard had his eagle Sakima to turn to. He wanted to let the girls words soothe his now raging emotions but the fact was that Kellan's last goodbye to both his parents and his brother were not pleasant. He had been so ruthless in his words and now nothing was left but the sting that they left behind. It would have been less painful if it only hurt him. He could live with the pain. What truly pained him was that he hurt his parents and it always seemed that the moment that pain began to dull he would see him in the courtyard of the sky or in the market and it would hurt again. It would always hurt again. Before Kellan knew what wa happening Drusilla pulled him into a hug. His heart raced for a second thinking that maybe the sweet girl was just a cover and she was going to eat him. He felt no fangs peirce his skin though. All he felt was the embrace of Drusilla' arms around his body. No poison and no pain. Then he heard the words that he had been scearching for since the moment Toran had died. "I am here..." Kellan hugged Drusilla back and bit his lip trying to not let his emotions pour out. "Thank you, I will be sure to keep that in mind." He gave her a smile as he watched as she walked to the edge of the water. Knowing that he was not so alone helped to lift his spirits. "That water is not too bad. Do you want to go in?" He began to pull off his shirt to get in the water. It had beena while since he had gone swimming in the river. His skin was pale as all Inarta's was and his body was more toned than one would expect. When the normal button up shirt was on one could not see what his torso looked like but in the summer sun it was clear to the the scars the traced his chest, abs, and arms. They were reminents of his childhood in Wind Reach. The scars were common for guys like him though. As a man born in Wind Reach he grew up constantly getting into fights with the other Yasi. It was like play to them. More vibarant than his scars were a few tattoos that lined his skin. From the purple and blue stars that wound up his right arm to the cursive words that seemed to flow across the top of his chest. They read "The Sun Will Always Rise Tomorrow", a mantra that Kellan tried to follow but often failed to keep up. He walked to the river and stood at the bank. The water was not too deep but it was refreshing. He looked back at Drusilla and gave her a smile, a genuine one. "You coming?"

[Drusilla]

Drusilla gave a warm smile, despite her fangs, " Most certainly, just give me a second....." She gave a playful grin and turnned away. Drusilla was not about to go swimming in her long black dress. She began unbutton the long garment. She folded the dress setting it down, "Don't you laugh at how pale I am." Drusilla said peeking out from behind a tree. She walked out from behind the tree wearing a cami and a pair of shorts. Her figure was very lean and feminen, although not lean enough to lack curves. She had curves aplenty, along with pale ash skin.

She approched Kellan, "Now I'm ready." She took his hand and walked into the water. It was much like the Grotto. She loved to swim. Drusilla made her way out futher. In a blink of an eye, she went under swimming happily. Drusilla stayed submerged for some time., only to emerge in front of Kellan. She hoped to surprise him...Had it worked? She parted her hair allowing her to see.

[Kellan Lucia]

Although Kellan was a guy he made a habit of not looking as girls undressed. He found it dishonorable to them even if the undressing with innocent like it was here. Kellan looked down at his toes in the water as Drusilla pulled off her dress. As he looked down his eyes looked at his belly button where a bull-ring sat in the middle of his toned abs. If there was any posession he owned that meant the world to him it was that ring. As long as he had it he felt as though everything was not lost. He ran his finger over the peircing and sighed. He was a big fan of peircings as most Inarta were but his bellybutton peircing was not a peircing he had intended on getting. It just seemed right for when he got it. His many peircings on his ears seemed just natural as did his peircing in his nose but the ring in his belly button had been on a whim and yet it meant more than anything to him. He smiled in rememberance. Although the memory was not a pleasant one it was what connected him to what mattered. It was the only thing that did. Kellan was not a very big swimmer but he got into the water with Drusilla anyway. He kept his pants on but his shirt was left behind in a heap with his shoes. She was very pale but that did not come as a surprise. Her race had very light skin. Kellan did not dive into the water like Drusilla did. He was not the best swimmer. He knelt down in the cool water and felt the water run though his fingers. "So Drusil-" He stopped midsentance when he noticed that his friend was no where to be seen. He looked around confused until she popped out of the water. Kellan's eyes shot wide open like a deer that had been seen by a hunter and he fell back onto his behind. The water spashed around him as he fell. Kellan was not that easy to scare, he had grown up in Wind Reach, the home of the hearty eagle riders. He grew up with his fellow Yasi sneaking up on him and holding makeshift knives made out of stone to his throat. It was all in the spirit of play. He had done the same to his red headed playmates when he was young. Still, he did not expect a scare when he was spending time with the soft spoken Drusilla. He looked up at her and laughed. He had not had a good scare like that since he was still doing Bendi Tasks. "You really got me. I must admit, I am not an easy guy to scare." He flashed her a smile from his seat on the river bed. There really was no reason to get up now. He was all soaked and his fiery hair was dripping in his golden eyes. He stood up and shook out his hair like a dog, dropletts of water flying off in every direction. His hair was all disheveled, or at least more than it usually was but his signature Kellan smile was back in place. He flicked the water on his hand at Drusilla playfully. His mood was now offically put back in order. "I should have known better than to go swimming with a maiden of the water. I can barely swim myself." He was speaking with his regular playful tone. "You know what they say. Inarta are people of the sky, not the water. Okay, they probably say the first part but you get my point." Kellan felt good finally being rid of his negitive mood. He really hated when it popped up. It helped that at least he didn't need to suffer alone anymore. Even the knowledge of that made him feel a lot more succure.

[Drusilla]

Drusilla took a seat next to Kellan in the water. She was laughing happily and close to tears. "I'm sorry! I-I couldn't help it! I didn't think you would fall in!" She was still laughing and kicking her feet, like a child. Drusilla stopped and turned to Kellan. She caught his eyes and the giggles returned. "I'm sorry, I can't stop!" Somehow, Kellan had gotten Drusilla out of her melancholy shell. It had been around a decade sense she had laughed so hard.

It took a good ten min. for Drusilla to settle down. Although, a big grin was plastered on her face. "I thought you weren't scared of anything, you said that earlier.......Errm, now that I've scared the living daylights out of you.... What's next?" She splashed Kellan back, her white hair swirled around her in the water as if it a life of its own. She looked Kellan over, "Have a fondness for piercings....and tatoos?" She stared at him, "Still think I'm going to eat you?" She asked in a flirty tone.

[Kellan Lucia]

Drusilla's laughter was almost contagious. Kellan even found himself laughing along with her for no reason. It felt good just to laugh with someone. He had not really laughed in a long time. If he ever did laugh it was alone. It was nice to share happiness with someone. He gave her a smile when she said she couldn't stop laughing. "Don't worry about it. It is good to finally laugh with someone." After some time Drusilla calmed down. She commented about him not being afraid of anything. "Naw, I have fears.I can't really think of any off hand but I have them." As the two of them swam in the water Kellan noticed Drusilla's eyes on his tattoos and peircings. She asked about them and of course, Kellan was proud to talk about them. "Yes, Inarta have a common love for tattoos and peircings. With the lack of books and paper around here we need to put our art somewhere." He smiled and held out his wrist to show the words Wind Reach scribed in black on his pale skin. "I guess youu could say I am patriotic. I am a bit in love with Wind Reach." He smiled and then traced his fingers over the stars that ran from the middle of his pointer finger and his thumb. "These are for my love of the night sky along as this tattoo here." He pointed to the moon and stars on the lower right of his back that trailed to the front of his stomach. He continued on talking about his eagle and paw print tattoos. Then he got to his most meaningful tattoo. Kellan turned his golden eyes down and traced the cursive print that sloped around his collar with his finger. "This is the most important to me. I got it a week after my brother died. I was so devisated and my mom only knew one phrase that would calm me and that was No matter what happens today the Sun will always rise tomorrow. A week later I got it tattooed on my chest or at least part of it.". The actual tattoo read "The Sun Will Always Rise Tomorrow". He shot a sly look at Drusilla. "Have you ever thought about getting a tattoo?" He could not imagine a girl like Drusilla getting a tattoo. It did not seem fitting of her. She was sweet and soft. Kellan was an archer and an eagle rider and both were people who generally doned tattoos and peircings. He could see Drusilla with her ears peirced at most but a tattoo? Never. Kellan felt a small sting in his chest as Drusilla joked about him being afraid that she would kill him. Kellan knew that she was joking but he felt bad that even for a second he had thought she would hurt him. "No, I trust you Drusilla. Don't prove me wrong though." He smiled and ran his fingers through his hair. He was a bit like a cat in the way he didn't like to get his hair wet. It was thick which meant it took forever to dry once it got wet. "I've lived in Wind Reach my entire life, I don't feel the need to do anything in particular. Is there anything you want to do?"

[Drusilla]

Drusilla smiled as Kellan explained his tatoos, they all had a story. She liked that. "Who does your tatoos?" Drusilla asked still looking at the markings. She froze for a moment, thinking. Reaching out she traced the moon with her finger, although all Kellan probably felt was her 'claw'. Nodding she made up her mind ranking each mark in order of favorites. " I really like this one," trying to keep from asking of his brother's death she focused on the tattoos. "and this one. A beautiful saying witn great meaning."

So his brother was the core of his pain....No..His twin.. She understood. More than the pain of the loss of a mother she never knew. More than the pain of seeing an angel of flames fizzle out to black, lacking emberous flecks. More than the pain of being cast out by a woman ment to replace her mother. More than all this combined, was Kellan's pain...His other self had been lost... She had another soul to visit next spring at the shrine.

"If I got a tattoo, I know what I would want," Drusilla figetted,"But, It hurts really bad I've heard... I'm afraid to get one.." She felt childish for a fear of needles and pain. An embarassed look overtook her face, "I'm a wimp aren't I," an attempt to smile was made. " I dislike needles...a lot.."

"If there's nowhere you wish to go, let's be lazy and stay here.." Looking at Kellan's hair, she saw small braids. Many Inarta had them, decorated with feathers and glass beads. With her long hair that would take forever. She laid back in the shallow water arms behind her head, lazily thinking.