Completed Strata, Seas and Sky: A Sykan Tapestry V.1

[Selene Curare]

Spring 72nd 520 AV

Selene set the lap loom empty before her, nails sticking out from each end for her to create the weave. She was creating the first of a set of three woven fabrics that Rainmere, Pelly and her had designed, inspired by Syka, that they would build into a room divider. The first one was inspired by the ocean on Syka’s doorstep. Setting out her materials before her Selene ran her fingers over the wood dowling, the shed stick, weaving shuttles, weaving tapestry needle, scissors and her comb. The yarn she had picked out for the ocean was a periwinkle coloured tweed wool, a brandeis and cerulean coloured boude cotton and a thin silver cotton. Selene had never seen a tweed or boude wool before but had been inspired by their water wiggles when she spotted them at the Mercantile. The tweed wool wobbled like gentle waves creating a zig zag, and the boude was like gnarled wet hair that had curled on itself. Lastly, she had also picked up a deep green giant boude, which had these lovely big bubbles that reminded her of the seaweed that sometimes washed ashore, and a pale pink loosely spun wool.

She held the periwinkle tweed in one hand across her body dragging her fingers along its length until she had an arm’s length of thread and then repeated this until she had three arm lengths of yarn and cut it from the rest of the bundle. First she had to wrap the yarn on her weaving shuttle to prepare it and keep it organized while working. Taking the end of the yarn she placed it on the shuttle’s groove and slowly wrapping it back and forth across the body of the shuttle from one groove to the next. She kept it flat, shifting the thread so it didn’t pile up on each other. If it piled up, then it would pass through her warp threads easily. Once the center was full she used the edge creating figure eights to avoid bulk. Once the periwinkle thread was completed, she moved on to preparing each of the other threads. Most of them wrapped easily but the boude created a difficult pregnant shuttle that she knew was going to be difficult to pass through the warp. We’ll see how that goes…I might have to tackle it a little differently when I get to that part if it won’t fit through the warp easily. Selene considered.

“Tell me about the Oceangems.” Selene introduced the topic of today’s weaving session. She was introducing Pelly to weaving and the two had taken to discussing Svefran culture. Selene was enchanted with the footloose frivolity which was so contrary to how she had been raised.

“Hmm…well…that’s a broad question, what do you want to know?”

“Well…I mean the only real Svefra’s I’ve met have been Oceangems. Pinn, Ardein, Diondra, You and Marino. Are you the “classic Svefra” group. I guess…the Symenestra are a fairly homogenous group since we’re such a small race and so unwelcome in most parts of the world. There are some extreme fragment out there – Sym like me. What about the Svefra?”

“Well…we’re very large…I don’t know how many of us are out there. It’s difficult to count since there are so many pods all over Mizahar and so many births and deaths every year.” Selene winged with jealousy, thinking of the delicate treasure in her abdomen. In Kalinor, every child was zealously loved, guarded and treasured by the whole community. Her fathers claim to fame having been his ability to produce three children, a practically unheard of success rate in both the harvest and impressive virility.

“We aren’t small, we aren’t large, but we’re one of the oldest pods in the Suvan.”

“The Suvan?”

“The Suvan Sea is the sea in the middle of Mizahar where you find most of the Svefra. We all share a devotion to Laviku and our pods operate in the same ways…But, we are the oldest pod and the last Lia of all Lia’s was from the Oceangem pod. If there was a pod to emulate or guide the others it would be the Oceangems. I’m sure your people have different ways of worshipping Viratas right?”

“Yes of course, we all interpret Viratas will differently,”

“It’s the same with the Svefra. We do everything for our father Laviku, but not every pod honours him in exactly the same way. My pod often provides guidance, leadership and thoughtful discussion to the other pods when there are concerns or anything else.

At least, that’s what our pod is known for. We spent a lot of time and effort keeping up to date with what’s happening in the Suvan with our Svefran cousins. Personally, I’m not as interested in the Suvan gossip or telling others how to live their lives, at least not as interested as my brethren. Which is fine, the world needs teachers and leaders.” She gazed down at the radiant brow of her child and caressed his already curly locks, “I just want to be a mother, to anyone who needs it,” she explained humbly.

The greatest teachers are the parents of Mizahar. Everyone can be a teacher and pour their knowledge into empty vessels, not everyone can be a parent. Teaching someone how to be. What’s more difficult and more humbling than being responsible for the kind of person an innocent little bundle turns out to be. She’s an Oceangem through and through. Her mind might be wading shallows but her heart is as deep as the outer oceans. Selene thought kindly, running her fingertips over her friends hand.

“You’re a beautiful mother,” Selene whispered.

Word Count: 944
**Template credit to Lumi**

[Selene Curare]

Spring 72nd 520 AV

“You would have been too,” Pelly whispered back, her voice quivering with emotion. It was the first time she had acknowledged Selene’s likely death.

“What about your Tavan?” Selene broached wishing that even her darkest ennui could be dispelled as easily as mentioning a Tavan in the presence of Pelly.

“Ella? She’s an old hand at it now. she’s had several calves, that’s what baby dolphins are called.”

“What makes her a good mother?”

“Well dolphins do everything a Svefran mom should do, but to the extreme. They’re the ideal. They carry their babies for almost a full year sometimes, that’s another half pregnancy. Can you imagine?” The two women both winced together, imagining months longer with swollen ankles, demanding bladders, and the bizarre cravings that endlessly distracted any work they tried to get done.

“They give birth like us and have to nurse like us. Like us, they don’t get much sleep when their babies are first born. Then they teach and care for their calves for three to six years teaching them all about diving, dangers and food. But, they teach through play inspiring creativity and enthusiasm in their children. Sometimes, it’s hard not to get frustrated with a screaming babe, a tantrum throwing tot, or a hormonal teen. But, dolphin’s patience seems unlimited. My mom said that humpback whales were better mothers because they can only feed in the cold waters up north. But, their predators are also there so they migrate more than 3,000 click to warm waters devoid of predators to give birth and raise their young for several months. But, there’s nothing for them to eat all that time! By the time they go back north with a baby old enough to survive there they’re weak. She said that motherhood is about sacrifice. But, I don’t think the first thing a babe should know is pain.” She realized what she had said only as the last words left her lips. Gasping quietly she shot Selene an apologetic look. “Not that everyone..uhm…has a choice in the matter…” she whispered apologetically. Selene breezed past the comment, even as a wave of pain threatened to drown her. I’m a humpback mom…but I know I won’t make it back home.

Selene turned her attention back to the loom. Each nail was about a quarter of an inch apart, which would make a fine weave which would work well with the thin thread, but would make threading the thicker threads trickier. I’ll tackle it anyway...the triangles will be too bulky I think then…. Next, she placed a very thin broad sheet of bark with a smooth edge into the division and butted it up against one edge. This would provide a flat edge to weave against and give space to fix the top of the tapestry around the dowel she assumed would be at the top of the room divider. She hadn’t gotten the specifics on how that would be made yet, but it was the process that was used to fix hanging tapestries to branches and the like. Better safe than sorry.

She removed the shed stick now that the dowel was in place to keep the threads separated. Next, she flipped the loom so that the weave would start on the opposite side of the bark. It was a trick she’d learned after her first creation had become unravelled from this one missed step. It would make a nice hold against the bark. She moved the shed stick up and down through each two threads again, continuing across the whole row. Prep complete Selene looked to the design she had drawn out to guide her weave, and scanned it.

The first foot was the cerulean blue, followed by stripes of cerulean and brandeis blue for another few inches. Above that would be three equilateral triangles of periwinkle framed with silver. Like mountains, or waves, peeking out behind them there would be two triangle tips in the valleys between the triangles made of the deep green wool. The background would be cerulean and would come up a couple of inches above the triangles and the triangle patter would repeat, although they would be slightly off center of the ones below them such that two half triangles would be on either side and two triangles in the middle. This back and forth between three and four triangles offset by each other with green peek-a-boo triangles in the background would continue up ¾ of the 5 foot length. The silver thread was also used in the background every second row to give the fabric a glistening watery feel. At ¾ up the sheet a row of four triangles would cap the waves and the last top would be woven of the pale pink with silver threads in evey second row to emulate the setting sun on the waves. The design itself was ambitious, Selene had never used so many types of thread and colours in a weave before – fortunately, the design itself was relatively simple since it was composed only of triangles and straight lines interchanging.

Rainmere and Pelly had wanted gentle waves, but given the variety of threads and colours Selene had vetoed the idea. It would be too difficult to make the waves consistent since tension would alter them and Selene was sure it would end up looking an indistinct mess. Plus, the two women born into the Svefra way might see the waves as friendly lapping rolls, but Selene was the one having to weave the fabric and in the name of artistic license, she thought the waves looked a lot more menacing than that.

Word Count: 940
**Template credit to Lumi**

[Selene Curare]

Spring 72nd 520 AV

“Marino’s Tavan’s name is Twist. I assume for all the delightful tricks he does. What did you name Ella after?” Selene changed the subject quickly as she resumed her attention on the loom.

“She’s a spinner dolphin, like Marino’s. But she’s a different subtype known as a dward. A spinner dolphin is also known by the Svefra more officially as Stenella longirostris, and a dwarf known as Stenella longirostris roseiventris.”

“There are different types of dolphins?” Selene asked, leading the conversation away from the emotionally burdened conversation of motherhood. The conversation had felt as heavy as the weight around her abdomen.

“Of course! The ocean is more diverse than even the Falyndar jungle!” Pelly claimed.

Tilting the shedding stick to separate the warp she then pulled out the cerulean blue wrapped shuttle and unwrapped enough of the thread to cover the diameter of the loom. With the shedding stick separating the warp she drove the shuttle through the parted seas to the other side. She pulled the thread on either end towards the bark and picked up the weaving needle at her side. It was large and bulky with an angled tip that would allow it to move in and out of the thread more easily than a straight needle would. She took the end of the wool and threaded it through the eye of the needle. Near the bark the threads were closer together and would now need to be woven.

She moved the needle up and down between the threads smoothly and easily. The first few lines were going to be made of a simple tabby weave, the first weave she had learned. She wove it through the first few threads and then then lifted the loom to pull the thread tight to fix the starting point. Lowering the shed stick she used her comb to bring parts of the thread down. Tilting it sideways she placed it between the threads at some intervals and dragged the thread toward the bark. This created arching leaps of thread across the diameter of the loom. Now that the mounds were made she turned the comb parallel to the warp and pulled the threads down so that they were flat and tight against the bark.

[/i]First row complete[/i] The first row always filled Selene with eagerness and excitement, like the first step in an adventure. Set yourself up for success She’d always been taught, If your first row isn’t done well, you won’t make it through the rest. And she had been right, it had always been the case. Anytime Selene was too impatient to make the first row perfect, she’d soon give up on the project in frustration. You’re creating something from nothing, you have to do it with precision, patience, and passion to get perfection.

“Okay okay, let’s play a game,” Selene offered, clapping her hands in front of Crane to make him laugh and try and clap his hands in imitation. The two women exchanged a look of endearment as the little Svefran calf giggled at the two of them.

“You pick an ocean species, and make a rhyme to tell me about it. I’ll pick a weaving technique or tool that starts with the same letter as your word ended with and make a rhyme out of it,”

“You’re a regular clown fish Seal! But yes, who doesn’t love a rhyme!” Even Crane clapped making the two women laugh again, “Well I certainly can’t say no now! I’ll start,” Pelly twirled her hair and cradled Crane against her breast.

“Dolphins are toothed whales
Every other creature pales
Males are big and long
And make a sweet song
Their chirps and thrums and whistles
Are epistle’s
To Svefran ears
No other creature are its peers
Intelligent, creative, motherly and giving
Helping Svefra make a living
They are mothers of the sea
Adding milk to the tea
Holding their calves in their wombs for 10 moons
Little crescent water boons”

“Only a Svefra could make a rhyme in ten ticks flat,”

“No, only a Pelly could,” Pelly corrected, sticking her tongue out.

“Can you explain a couple things? What do you mean by toothed whales? What do you mean males are big and long – are females not? What is epistle’s? What are chirps, thrums and whistles? My favourite part was when you described their nursing in the water as adding milk to the tea, that’s a beautiful visual. ” Selene listened as she worked on the simple tabby weave.

“Awe Seal, you really know nothing about the ocean! Whales are all those creatures with the horizontal tails, some of them have teeth and some of them have bristles like a toothbrush,”

“Why would they have bristles?” Selene interjected, the teeth made sense to her Rip, tear, shred. Sure! But, how could you eat anything with bristles?

“You ask too many questions,” Pelly said, waving at Selene with mild annoyance.

“Dolphins are sexually dimorphic, which means one gender is larger than the other. Epistle’s are letters. Those are descriptions of the sounds dolphins make, chirps are like birds, thrums are lower and whistles are…well whistles…and they have bristles because they filter feed, which basically means that they use them to separate really tiny creatures from water.” Pelly rapid-fire replied as simply as possible to Selene’s barrage.

“Okay, okay, so my turn,” Selene paused at her work. Okay, I need an “S”” Because I can’t think of a common word that starts with an “N” Selene chuckled to herself, although Pelly didn’t seem to argue the small cheat Selene was making.

“Selvedge is a good edge
A good weaver will hedge
All their bets on a thread end wedge
You wouldn’t leave your home without your hair in good order
A weaver wouldn’t leave fabric without a good border”

Pelly bounced Crane on her knee and holding his wrists clapped his hands together. “See! You do the Oceangem name proud!” Pelly proclaimed as Crane squealed from the bouncing. Selene blushed at the compliment but couldn’t reply, she still didn’t think Pelly understood the implications of granting her use of her last name and couldn’t bear the symbolism of abandonment of her Kalinorean heritage she felt went with the acceptance. Even if it made her more difficult to track should word ever get back to the far flung land of Lhavit or Kalinor of her presence in Syka.

Word Count: 1,066
**Template credit to Lumi**

[Selene Curare]

Spring 72nd 520 AV

“Alright, So “S” for ME!” Before Selene could interject and remind the woman that her letter was the last one in the word she had already launched into her rhyme. Classic Pelly…her internal sun evaporates all her thoughts sometimes, but Selene thought it with affection and listened to the rhyme intently.

“Sea skunk, Sea cow,
The black and white ocean sow
Hourglass dolphins are maestros
With their noise echoes
They’re black and white
And bottlenose bright
They’re picky beasts with small packs
Mantis shrimp are their snacks
The smallest of the ocean mothers
But don’t underestimate these blood brothers
They swim in the cold
But no less bold
Let it be told
On their beauty, brains and body I’m sold.”

Pelly scrambled for rhymes to end the poem. Selene opened her mouth to ask a rush of questions to Pelly’s rolling eyes.

“What are maestros? What are noise echoes? What’s bottlenose bright mean? Why are they picky? What are mantis shrimp? Mm…the rest I think I understand,”

“You mean…the last 2 lines?” Pelly laughed, “Maestros are talented musicians, noise echoes was a reference to their use of echolocation, kind of like bats, to locate food, bottlenose dolphins are said to be the smartest dolphin species, they don’t eat the same variety of food other dolphins eat, mantis shrimp are tiny protein shakes in the water, and and…I think that’s it.” Pelly replied in one long breath.

“Why does a whole pod of dolphins follow the Oceangems? You said there are numerous species - can dolphins of different species travel in the same pod?”

“Dear Laviku, do you ever stop asking questions? Sure, different species make up the pods pod. We probably bond with the dolphins most readily because they’re intelligent, intuitive and empathetic but they’re also playful and enthusiastic. I think dolphins are the only critters that like to party as much as we do.”

“Do they follow you because they’re your Tavan or do they usual travel so far?”

Pelly seemed to be considering whether to answer or not, but given Selene’s focus on her work she decided it was simpler for the Sym to ask questions while working than to talk. “They travel long distances even if they’re not following a Svefra pod. Actually, dolphins aren’t only in saltwater either – we’ve seen them in freshwater rivers as well.”

“What do you mean saltwater and freshwater?” Selene’s questions were rattled off without consideration for the Svefra, her curiosity too piqued to think about courtesy. Pelly didn’t reply for a moment, playing with a squealing Crane on the floor while Selene wove. The Sym waited patiently while she worked, not rushing her roommate.

She removed the shed stick, and then reinserted it at the dowling drawing it down the loom and tilting it so that it separated the threads again. She pulled the shuttle through again. Selene held the end attached to the previous row as she brought the thread down into a curving bow. If it wasn’t done right it would create a bow and she would have to re-do dozens of weaves. She used the comb again to create the several hills and then again flat against the thread to pull the second row tight against the first. Removing the shed stick, she wove it back through the threads in the opposite pattern, up, down, up, down she recited carefully to herself, if she missed or skipped on it would create a flaw in the fabric. Once she had the stick through again she repeated the same procedure with the cerulean thread until she had about a foot of cerulean thread built up.

The tabby weave created a rough textured look, especially with the heavily textured thread she had used. Selene smiled to herself, Even with a single colour it looks quite nice and textured, just like the water. Admittedly, I started with the easier one since it’s easier to make a rough appearance with just thicker thread than a smooth appearance. But, regardless quite nice. Now the stripes. She finished the cerulean thread by threading it into the weaving needle, over, under, over, under a few rows and bringing it into the back and tucking it in with the comb. The cerulean and brandeis strips were also made with the tabby weave, a simple over and under for shorter intervals before swapping colours and starting the thread in the same way as she had started the first thread. It was tempting to tie the thread when starting and stopping when she was younger, but it created a very messy ugly backing and wasn’t necessary if you threaded and tucked the beginning tightly enough.

Time for triangles Selene considered as she brought the periwinkle wrapped shuttle into her long clawed hand. She began the first couple rows as tabby weaves to set the base for the triangles. Hmm…now I have to measure the triangles so they’re even… Selene considered and using one of the long shedding sticks she made tiny black marks with her quill to divide the stick up like a rules using the warp strings as the markings. She marked each 1/3 measurement which would mark the peaks of the triangles and then tied a scrap of thread to the warp at the height and location of the peaks and valleys. I don’t have a ruler here…so that should do the trick… She was admittedly moderately annoyed that the triangles wouldn’t be as geometric and perfect as she wanted, but without a ruler she wasn’t going to get any more particular. Besides, the loom was made with a ruler, so the warp should be relatively accurate, She reasoned.

Word Count: 942
**Template credit to Lumi**

[Selene Curare]

Spring 72nd 520 AV

Weaving was the art of patience. The art of repetitive motion and consistency creating something beautiful. It was an art that had ripened with the meditative family practice her family did every morning before breakfast hypnotism.

“Freshwater is what you find inland, away from the oceans.” Pelly finally replied. She didn’t have Selene’s patience, but perhaps she’s more patient than I thought Selene considered, realizing how much her questions were like a warp that Pelly had to weave her answers into. Ever so patiently, knowing that each answer would create a demand for more questions.

“It doesn’t have any salt and you can drink it without it tasting foul. Saltwater is what you find in the oceans, it’s more buoyant actually so it’s easier to swim in. Dolphins don’t need the saltwater, they get most of their water from their food, but saltwater places have more space and the prey which most dolphins prefer. There is one dolphin that can live happily in both though, the Tucuxi. You can find them in Falyndar supposedly. Otherwise, dolphins are adapted to one or the other. I’ve heard the saltwater also has healing properties, salts and minerals that clean our infections and assist dolphins healing when they’re attacked or injured by objects. It’s extremely tricky for dolphins to find the quantity of food that they need in freshwater areas – the ocean is a feast by comparison. Especially in large pods.”

“You mean, it’s EVEN harder to swim in a lake or river?”

“Well, in a river absolutely, cause you’d also have to swim against the current. That’s the force of the water against you as it goes from high ground to low ground. But theoretically yeah, I think it’s more noticeable for ocean mammals who are much heavier and whose lives depend on swimming quickly and long distances. In general, people are too ungainly to notice the difference compared to the giant creatures in the ocean.”

Selene nodded, her warp of curiosity filled with the thread of Pelly’s answers. Next, she focused on the triangles. Unwinding three lengths of the periwinkle thread she gave herself extra slack to begin the process and threading it through the needle. She created four lines of weaving for each slightly shorter row, eyeballing the steepness of the edge and hoping it didn’t taper too quickly or too slowly. If it does, I’ll just have to make sure the other triangles are the same, that’s what matters, Selene decided. She ducked the needle up and down through the warp four times, each time she got to the looms edge she moved back in the opposite up and down motion. She made the next set of four shorter by dropping one line of the warp and continued to do this until she got to the tip. This time she created a small knot at the back of the piece and cut the string with her scissors and duplicated the pattern two more times so that three triangles spanned the breadth of the loom.

Pelly gazed at Selene’s nibbling fingers, painstakingly correcting a mistake the seventh time with clear admiration. “You know what I’ve realized you’re no Seal, Selene. But, you’re not a dolphin like I said last time either. You’re actually a Circhos.”

“Hm?” Selene grunted, focusing on untangling the knot she’d made. Fat fingers… Selene cursed her pregnant cursed fingers.

“The story of Circhos is a tale of misunderstandings, mistranslations, and general nonsensical manipulation.” She smiled when Selene looked up at her in confusion, Is she mocking my common?

“It’s a morality tale on accuracy and fastidiousness,”

“Hm…fastidiousness of fact…I like that,” Selene nodded, showing she was paying attention.

The silver frame was made with many rows of the thin silver thread following the edge of the triangles. She repeated the technique for the triangles in their valleys, but starting small, wider, and tapering again. This was the trickiest part of the weave and Selene had to re-do them several times to make them the correct size. First she used only two rows at each width which made the caps too short, but four made the rows too long and the triangles were taller than the periwinkle ones. Three was just right and she wrote that down in her book along with the other measurements. Three panels. All the same..

These smaller mountains were a deep green and Selene grinned, she hadn’t realized it at the time but placing the darker colour in the background worked well making it appear further away thank the pale blue triangles in the foreground. I’ll have to remember that happy accident, Selene thought to herself, since the only reason she had picked the blue as the larger triangles was because the ocean was largely blue and the little green tips were supposed to represent floating seaweed.

She continued with the Cerulean background this time preparing two shuttles, one with the cerulean and the other with the silver thread and swapping the tabby rows between each of them. Who would have thought that a little creativity could make such a simple weave so effective, Selene congratulated herself. Sure, the triangles weren’t identical as the tension in her inexpert hands shifted bowing the edges so that they weren’t perfectly straight. And sure, the silver thread was buried in the cerulean more than she wold have liked because she didn’t know how to create a floating thread that would have given her the effect she really wanted. But. It was creating a rather appealing geometric structure, helped by her accidental run-in with colour depth.

Both women had given in to silence for several hours while Pelly fed Crane and heated some of the food Selene had made for herself the previous day over a fire in the front of the house. The sun was beginning to set when Selene finally finished the waves and had started on the pink setting background at the top of the five foot strip of fabric.

Word Count: 996
**Template credit to Lumi**

[Selene Curare]

Spring 72nd 520 AV

“I thought you might. You see there once was a Svefra who explored the seas and beaches trying to describe all the animal life in as much detail as Fratava could allow for. He described this creature called a carcinium, as soft-bodied after the thorax, with a tail that curled tight like a baby’s ear shell and a body like a spider. It has two red horns and forwarding pointing eyes topping the end of stalks. Around its mouth it has hair-like appendages like an insectivorous goatee and two divided feet that it snatches prey with. There are two other smaller pairs of feet beside them. But, there is one that is different than the other carcinium, or hermit crabs, it lives in a nerita shell and its right divided foot is very small while the left one is very large. It walks on the left foot more than the right, like an old man hobbling on a cane. The nerita is a large, smooth, rounded shell. In storms the crabs hide under rocks.”

While she told her story, Selene was creating a pink woven sky with a tabby weave her hands falling into the pattern with ease now that the difficult attention seeking triangles were completed. She could feel her hands cramping and aching with the effort of the long day, but she was eager to see the project through.

But, the nerita shell was mistranslated into common as the kiroket by another human sailor. Other words were Svefran jargon and neologisms that he was forced to omit for his inability to translate them. The bisected feet were called fissures, so it was thought that it had three fingers and three nails on each foot – the sailor thought this was common sense – instead of trusting the Svefran account. The Svefra had described the hepatopancreas, a digestive gland in the hermit crab, as red to differentiate it from another crab, the ceryx, who is poisonous, and whose gland was black, but the human sailor didn’t understand the diversity of crab-life and didn’t know what a hepatopancreas was, instead he translated it as a shell and the shell became black and red.

Then, an Akalak in Riverfall overheard the story and changed the Kiroket to Circhos, I’m not actually sure what language or why, but then the creature was interpreted as attaching self to rocks and not moving during storms. It became this red and black limping creature that was so terrified of bad weather it had to stick itself to rocks and hide. An innocent little creature was lost in translation until it was interpreted as a cowardly gimped creation.”

Three more, Selene thought as she gazed over her creation removed from the loom.

“Don’t forget that you’re an innocent little creature, my little Circhos. Laviku watches over you.” Pelly reached over and squeezed the Sym’s hand gently, leaning forward to sprinkle a kiss on the tip of her nose.

The two embraced and Pelly wrapped an arm over the shorter Sym’s shoulders.

“It’s beautiful.” Pelly praised.

Word Count: 507
**Template credit to Lumi**