Flashback Duotone [Khristian]

[Sera]

Timestamp: 53rd Winter 506 Age: 9 The air was warmer than usual, this was the first thing Sera noticed as she wandered through the streets of Avanthal, unsupervised. It was mid afternoon. The snow had soaked through her boots, leaving her socks and boots soggy and squishy, but she really didn't mind. She was finally free and off to make her own life decisions. The people of Avanthal were going about there own business, yet Sera, being the child that she was, needed something new. See, her parents were very overprotective. They would let her older brother, Khristian, go where ever he liked without much worry. Hell, they even allowed Nica to go off on her own sometimes. But no, “Sera is too young”, they said. She NEVER got to do what she wanted. Sera was jealous of being the “baby” of the family. She was going to prove that she was capable of taking care of herself. It was the only way. That morning, she asked her parents if she could go play in the Sculpture Yard. They said “no”. She fought and argued with them all morning, in front of both of her siblings. It just wasn't fair. Why couldn't she get to do what she wanted to do?! And then she said to her mom, “I am not listening to you. You can't control me. I can do what I want. I will do what I want. You can't stop. Just you try!” She cried and whined and yelled. Okay, she was a brat, Because she had threatened to “do what she wanted” and “go where she wanted”, Sera was not allowed to even go to The Northern Star while her parents worked for the day. No child care for her. Instead, she was sent to shadow her father at work, as well as not being allowed to leave the Skyglow Hold for several days. Nica and Khristian were given even more freedom. This angered her something fierce. Sera was determined to prove them wrong. And no one could stop her. Not even Morwen. So, Sera had snuck away from her father's watch. He had been teaching a few teenagers some carving techniques and the young vantha girl had decided that would be the best time to leave. Her father didn't even look up when she got up. He paid no attention as she left the hold. He wouldn't have any idea... until he saw the note she had placed on the worktable. All it said was, “I've run away. Don't try to find me. I'm leaving Avanthal for good. - Sera” As she walked, some people looked at her questionably. One woman asked, “Sweetie, where are your parents?” “Oh, Daddy just sent me to pick up a few things.” Was the reply Sera gave, as she just continued walked. The woman didn't seem to believe her, but didn't stop the young girl. A couple other people questioned her, but she was resilient and just kept moving. Nothing was going to stop her. Nothing. Though, she knew she needed to find a way out of town. The Icewall Gates. That would get her out. The girl carried nothing with her but the cloak on her shoulders and the clothes on her back. Her eyes were orange, determined. Nothing could stop her. No one could stop her. She was going to be free. Free from her horrible family that was always so mean. And free to do whatever she wanted. So she walked, head held high.

[Khristian]

Age: 15 Khristian was worried. Sera, his younger sister, had been having a rough couple of days. A few days prior, she had fought with their parents and it had not ended well. Especially for Sera. She was being forced to stay with their father at his work during the day for the next several days, and she couldn’t even leave the hold. Personally, Khristian thought that their parents were being a bit harsh, but punishment is punishment. If that’s what they chose then there was little he could do about it. Except... Their parents trusted him. They knew he was strong and could generally take care of himself with no problems. Perhaps, if he asked, they would allow Sera to spend the day with him instead. With this in mind, Khristian was headed towards the workshop where their father worked, a dead set look in his jade green eyes and determination shown in the set of his shoulders. Any passer-biers knew from his stance to stay out of his way. His stubborn nature was a well known throughout the hold and they knew not to block him when he’s in such moods. The door to the workshop was within sight. Khristian entered and spotted his father who was busy with his teaching, but nodded to him none the less, yet no Sera. Glancing around for her, he found the room to be empty of her. Odd. Something on the table caught his eye. Was that a piece of paper? Curious, he headed over and studied it. It read “I've run away. Don't try to find me. I'm leaving Avanthal for good. - Sera” Khristian’s eyes flashed olive green. Sera? Run away? Didn’t she know how easily she could be hurt?! Grabbing the note, he rushed out of the workshop, earning an odd look from his father. As he charged towards the exit, the others in the hallways all jumped out of his way. His eyes had darkened to a deep maroon, his anger clearly shown. How could she be so stupid? Haven’t I told her a million times the dangers of leaving Avanthal on her own? Have we all told her?! The note crumbled in his grasp as he clenched his fists as he exited the hold onto the streets. Sera was in so much trouble when he found her. His first thought was to head to the main entrance into Avanthal, so he took of sprinting in that direction. Other Vantha jumped out of his way as he barreled his way through the streets, others glaring and yelling as he rushed past. Normally he wouldn’t be so rude, he was taught better, but this was a special situation. “She had better not have left the city yet. Oh, if she’s left the city, she’s dead. I swear! And if anything’s hurt her, they’re dead too!” Khristian was screaming as he ran, waving his fists around. Finally, he reached the main gate. He was lucky that he traveled to this gate often, any other entrance he’d be completely lost before even reaching it. His eyes combed through the area. She had to be here! Then... There she was! Sera was headed towards the gate just a little ways ahead of him. The gap between them was quickly closed as he rushed over to her. He grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from her runaway attempts. Any relief he felt at finding her was quickly overshadowed by his anger as he locked his maroon eyes onto Sera. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Khristian ground out his words, anger dripping from them as he pulled Sera away from the gates. “Do you know how dangerous this is? Do you know how easily you could be hurt out there?!” He continued tugging her. “C’mon, we’re going home and you are in so much trouble!”

[Sera]

As she walked, thoughts of adventure and chaos filling her mind, she started to hear someone yelling. There was something familiar about it. Sera slowed her pace, listening. It almost sounded like... “Khristian!” She screamed, protesting as he held onto her wrist. His grip hurt. She sniffed a cry back before yelling, “Let go of me!” She pulled back, trying to tug her arm free, but it was no use. “Let go!” She glared at him. As she looked, she noticed that there was something different. Her mouth opened slightly. His eyes weren't their usual green tones, they had turned to a dark red shade. Sera stopped fighting and just looked him in the eyes. 'Oh Morwen... help me. He's upset. I've never seen him like this before.' She thought to herself, her stomach turning. Then, he questioned her. He was definitely angry. Sera looked down, avoiding eye contact. Why is he mad at me? He knows what's been going on... Then he tried to pull her towards home. Sera wasn't going to take that. Nope. No way. Not ever. No. Sera tried to pull away from him. “I am NOT going home! EVER!” The girl dug her nails into her brothers hand, trying to pry his fingers off of her wrist. It was no use, he had a good grasp on her and obviously had no intention of letting her go. With a exasperated sigh, Sera lifted her wrist to her mouth. “You can't make me!” She chomped down with her teeth on his hand, forcing him to let go. Out of her own shock for her actions, she stepped back. Not waiting for his response, she continued, “No one wants me there! Daddy didn't even come after me himself, he sent you!” She pointed at Khristian accusingly. 'Oh crap, I bit him!' She stepped back, a bit fearful. 'And I yelled at him.' The truth was, the whole situation hurt. And as much as she wanted to run to Khristian and cry to him, she couldn't just give up. Sure, she had thrown tantrums before. And yes, she knew better. But, she wanted to prove to them that she was old enough to do things by herself. So, she had to follow through. She just had to. On top of that, she knew she was too far in this tantrum to turn back. She knew she was going to get in trouble if she returned. There was no way things would be okay if she returned home. She couldn’t face her family. So, Sera decided she would never go home. Not with Khristian. Not with anyone. Ever! Sera was determined to prove them wrong. The young girl turned on her toes. Maybe it was the little dancer inside of her that made her take care in her movement, or maybe it was the faith that her brother wouldn't actually do anything to hurt her. Either way, she was getting away from him. The young Vantha took a run for it. She moved her legs as quickly as she could, following the Icewall that nearly surrounded the city. Of course, she didn't know where she was going. She just ran. Her only goal at this point was to get away from Khristian.

[Khristian]

Sera struggled in his grip, determined to get free and yelling at him all the while. Khristian rolled his eyes at her. There was no way she’d be able to break free of his grip. She wasn’t strong enoug- ”Ow!!” She bit him. She bit him. She bit him. Rubbing his hand idly, Khristian stared at her in disbelief. “No one wants me there! Daddy didn't even come after me himself, he sent you!” He flinched back slightly. Perhaps he should have shown the note to their father instead of just rushing out of there. He would probably know better than Khristian on what should be done at the moment. What if he hadn’t been able to find her? More people would have made finding her far more likely. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? This wasn’t the first time that Khristian was cursing his own tendency to rush into things with no forethought. His thoughtlessness could have easily led to his sister being hurt. He opened his mouth to tell her the truth. Their father just didn’t know, it wasn’t that he didn’t care. Then Sera turned and ran. “Shyke!” Khristian bolted after her. She was sure to die if she made it past the gates and lost him. He couldn’t let that happen. Luckily, she was shorter and therefore slower than him. He easily caught up to her before grabbing her around her middle and lifting her up off the ground. “Gotcha!” Immediately, Khristian spun around and headed away from the gates, a troubled expression on his face. What would he do now? He could take her back to their parents, tell them what happened, and let her be punished for her actions. Half of him was sorely tempted to do this. Did she even know how much trouble she had caused him? Did she know how worried he’d been? Of course not. At least, she wasn’t acting so. But... the other half had seen the hurt and fear in Sera’s eyes. Personally, those weren’t two feelings that he could allow. Especially not from his little sister. Khristian nodded his head. A decision had been made. He’d take her somewhere else, perhaps to the sculpture yard she’d wanted to visit, to sit her down and speak to her. They could talk about how she’s feeling and perhaps he could lessen these negative emotions she’s had recently. His eyes turned a determined jade. Yes, that was exactly what he would do.

[Sera]

She didn't make it far. “No!” Sera let out a loud, piercing scream as arms wrapped around her. She kicked her legs, trying to get out of her brother's arms, but it was no use. He was stronger than her. “Let me go Khristian!” She screamed again, struggling all the same. “You can't do this! You can't!” She tried to push away from him, but couldn't. “Let go of me! Let go of me!” Her arms flailed around, trying to figure out a way to get him to release her. “LET GO OF--” She choked out the words. Tears built in her eyes. “-go... Let go...” She hiccuped a sob and before she could help herself, she was crying out large sobs of tears. Out of defeat, the young girl wrapped her arms around her brother's neck and leaned against him, drenching his shoulder in tears. Her body shook as she cried, but there was comfort in being in her older brother's arms. She felt safe. And even though she was still upset about the recent events at home, she felt like everything would be okay. Khristian always had this effect on people, at least Sera thought so. 'Maybe I was stupid!' She hiccuped again. 'Where was I going to go anyways?' Though she'd never admit it, she was incredibly thankful that Khristian had stopped her. She knew how stubborn she was and if she had made it outside, she wouldn't have the courage to return because she was so prideful. But, Sera hated feeling weak. She hated looking like a child, or even acting like a child. And she knew that she was just proving her parents, her family, to be right by throwing such a fit and running off. She closed her eyes, cursing unfamiliar words at herself as Khristian carried her. 'I have to stop crying. I have to stop crying.' The girl bit her cheek in an attempt to distract herself from the tears that poured down her cheeks. After a bit, she had managed to control the crying, and she just held onto her brother tightly. She didn't even know what to say. She knew he was taking her home. She knew that soon her parents would be yelling at her even more. Hell, the young Vantha was surprised that Khristian wasn't yelling. He was staying rather quiet. 'They're going to kick me out.' She worried. 'They're going to abandon me.' She opened her eyes out of fear. 'They don't want me. Why would they even care what I do? They don't want anything to do with me. I'm a failure. I'm worth nothing. I don't even like our Hold.' That's when she realized where Khristian was taking her. The Sculpture Yard? Suddenly, she knew why he was quiet. He was going to kill her. Or turn her to ice. Or something of the like. “Please let me down.” Sera asked, her voice shaking. “Please let me down.” If she was going to make a run for it, she needed her brother to believe that she was calm. Her eyes darted around, looking for any place to escape or even to hide. Her brother could fight. She'd seen him fight before. What if this was her punishment? The young Vantha girl MAY have had a little over active imagination..

[Khristian]

Khristian smiled as Sera wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. She really was upset over this whole situation. But she was accepting him and not fighting against him carrying her. He wrapped his arms a little tighter around her, trying to give her some comfort. Hopefully his sister would start to feel better after he had a little talk with her. He glanced around, a bit confused at the looks he was getting from other pedestrians as he walked. It didn’t cross his mind that his earlier charge through the streets may have been upsetting to others. Was there something on his face? Being watched wasn’t normal for him. Oh! I’ve got it! It’s because Sera’s crying. He nodded to himself. Poor thing. Rubbing at her back, he glared at anyone who dared to stare at his baby sister. They were nearing the sculpture yard, but something was off... Khristian glanced down at Sera, brows drawn together in worry and eyes a deep evergreen. She had gone rigid in his arms. Was he not being comforting enough? Suddenly, his sister began to ask him to put her down. She sounded so scared, even through the even voice she tried to keep. Now he was really worried. Stopping, and without a care for anyone who might be walking behind or around him, Khristian crouched down, holding Sera securely in his arms. Pulling Sera’s face away from his shoulder, he looked at her in concern. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He noted of the panic in her eyes as he wiped a stray hair from her face. His next words were softer. “You can talk to me. I’m worried about you.” Sera was such a small girl. How could something so small make him worry so much? He didn’t know what he’d do if anything ever happened to her. She was like his achilles heel. His one weakness. And he loved her more then anything. Even Morwen. Smiling softly, Khrisitan hugged her close and kissed the top of her head. “You know I love my little sister, right?”

[Sera]

"Please... Please please please.... let me down!” The girl begged. Her eyes looked around. There were many beautiful and exciting sculptures. Her eyes narrowed on one in specific. A large polar bear standing on his hind legs. “Please let me down!” She whispered, then looked him in the eyes. He set her down gently, calmly. Khristian held her near him, trying to provide comfort. Sera's heart began to race quickly. Her eyes looked back towards the polar bear sculpture. She knew that if she planned it right, she could run and hide behind the sculpture. The young girl spotted several other large sculptures nearby. If she planned it right, she could run between them, then circle back and leave the way they had entered. Her brother held her close, and tightly. She knew he wanted to comfort her, but what were his intentions after that. Was he just trying to buy her trust? And then he said those dreaded words, and kissed her forehead. The girl stiffened. “How dare you lie to me like that?!” She pushed away from him, out of his grasp. “You don't love me! I know what you're doing!” She screamed at him. “I won't le-” She choked, “-et you.” With a stomp of her foot, she ran towards the large sculpture. The girl slid to a stop, and moved around the large bear. She took a deep breath, then peaked her head around the side. They don't want me home. They'll never want me back. And they sent him to kill me. Sera took a deep breath and ran towards another sculpture, tears running down her cheeks as she slid to a stop behind a large sculpture. She took another deep breath and waited for whatever Khristian's next move would be.