Completed Seashells down by the Seashore (Aidara and Sairque)

[Sairque]

Surrounding her, swelling far above her head, traitorous waves hid from her the four-limbed shark that pounced on her with all the murderous intent of her finned brethren. And what self respecting Endal would let a redheaded fish get away with that? Despite smooth and practiced strokes, she couldn’t force herself up, she had to pull away to get away from Sira. Sairque’s head eventually burst out of the water, salt burning in her eyes but not stopping her from slinging the hair and water out of the way so she could have a clear line of sight to her assailant.

Sai laughed at the boastful response and gleefully threw herself back at Sira to return the lovely gift of snorted salt water and tears of salty pain. Playfully wrestling with the Kelvic, she finally got a good opening when Sira paused to glance around. Dropping beneath the frigid water, Sai swept down and grabbed a hold of the Kelvic to throw her up and away. She went much further than expected, but the Endal didn’t have time to gloat—black despair and slimy jealousy suddenly encompassed her mind as the outermost edges of Aidara’s hands fell on her chilled skin.

She felt the emotions before her desensitized skin had even registered that there was a person attacking her. Impulsive fury washed through the bond just as she was forced underwater by Aidara’s weight. Belatedly, she processed the tangle of human speech from the relentless washing of waves. “What are you DOING?! She’s mine,” those were the words Addy had used. She’s mine roared with palpable hate.

How she had missed the black tendrils squirming through her mind, she couldn’t guess. But now, bolstered by physical connection, they invaded with painful sharp clarity. Surprise was the last self-generated emotion, and her enjoyment of that was only allowed a fraction of a second. The black depths of the water were light and breezy compared to the barrage of mental violence Addy unleashed on her. The tugging current carried her screams to and fro, the flight leader putting up no resistance and instinctively curling up to protect the vital parts from the rain of blows. They weren’t screams from the flesh rent by nails and knuckles, nor from the scrub of salt that quickly added a lovely tingly sensation to the mix, they were wordless protests of the invasion of her mind; muted objections that escaped in billowing bubbles more often than into the freedom of open air, and encompassing all the passive action that she could manage under the infusion of her sister’s loathing. Exposed with no defense against the destructive feelings of the single person she loved, Sai buckled and the scant seconds it took for Aidara to work herself out of the fury dragged on into eternity. Her hands covered her ears, as though the orifices were passageways for the pain. The demanding burn in her lungs didn’t even penetrate. Nor did the healer’s eventual horrified apology.

Over head, Catabasis screeched and dropped out of the air into the shallows further down the beach. Sensitive to the flow of information that passed through the twins, he did little better than Sai. His Endal passed along Aidara’s emotions, and although not on the amplified scale she herself experienced, they overwhelmed his limited telepathic capacity. His ability to communicate was relatively weak, and their bond only worked due to Sai’s strength in that area. Even with the short distance he was projecting, all his efforts amounted to a flood of images in which the twins were happily spending time together. Otherwise, he could summon up the will to lash out at his Rider’s attacker, but was stymied by the fact that they were entangled together. The Eagle screeched, in furious pain, at the trio below him in the water until two of them ran off and he could reach forward to scoop his wrecked Rider up. Her body was limp in his grasp, a sensation he had never experienced while carrying the athletic and daring Inarta. As carefully as he could, he deposited her coughing body on the sandy beach. There was no way she would survive the flight up to the aerie while wet and nude.

Sai clawed at the sand, pushing up onto her hands and knees and reflexively trying to dispel the salt water from the sensitive flesh of her throat. Her head reeled and pounded, pain closed in and exploded out—not from where blood poured from her lip, or trickled down from the corner of her eyebrow, or even from the three scratches starting at her hairline and extending in bloody lines down the side of her face to her jaw. Her brain had been the fruit, her skull, the blender, and Addy, the blades. After the last gulps of water spewed into teeny puddles in the sand, Sam’s body decided she could then do as she pleased and promptly fell over.

Catabasis looked like a mother hen, hopping this way and that, pecking at the sand and plucking up stray clothing. He had two coats and four boots, one pair of bryda, and none of it belonged to Sai. But he pecked along, determined to accumulate the necessary garments for a safe trip away from the lunatic elder twin and her little friend. Both of whom were huddled together after Sira closed the distance with a few flaps of her wings. He had never felt Sai so distantly before. It was as though her mind had gone into emergency shut down; he couldn’t find a lick of Addy anywhere.

For the rider, however, Addy was still there, although the channel between them had been mercilessly clamped shut as never before. Perhaps it had to do with the involuntary, defensive nature of this block. With the nonsensical notion that Aidara was dead, the fear propelled her up. Much to the displeasure of Catabasis, who dropped a pile of clothing on the stumbling invalid and returned her to the earlier state of sprawled in the gritty sand.

Dress yourself and we will depart, he informed the quickly recovering woman as she jerked on Addy’s bryda and her own vinati.

Leaving a pile of boots behind, Sai shoved her arms through the sleeves of her katinu and took decreasingly faltering steps toward Aidara. What she was going to say, she knew not. What she was going to do, also a mystery. But, she did know that she needed an explanation and to figure out what had just happened to their bond.

oocSo, take as long as needed for Sira and Addy to talk, I didn't specify how far away Sai is.

[Aidara]

Rage and confusion blinded Aidara as she struggled through the sand away from the beach, short legs pumping hard with effort as her feet sunk and slipped on the unforgiving terrain. More than once, her steps faltered and the woman fell, catching herself at the last moment from face planting. Swiping angrily at equally angry tear as she rose from her hands and knees to trudge forward again, her footsteps faltered at the soft thud of something large landing in the sand behind her. “I don’t want to talk! Just let me go!” Addy cried out, the warble in her voice leaking a bit more emotion than she had intended. Taking a deep, ragged breath the healer propelled herself forward, finally breaking free from the grasping sand. The change in resistance sent the woman skidding into the grass, bent almost in half as her legs continued to work in overdrive. It took a few awkward, zig-zagged steps before Addy pushed herself upright and began to run blindly. Well, until she ran into the tree. The woman had identified her pursuer moments after the thud. She knew Sira was close behind, and possibly her sister as well. She had to get away. Looking over her shoulder to gauge the situation, Addy ran head first into the only tree within thirty yards. Of course she would run into a tree, right when she was about to run away successfully. In the process of twisting her torso to avoid falling onto her face…again… Sira grabbed her shoulder, yanking her around to face the other woman and nearly knocking her off balance again. Each question that was fired received either a facial twitch or a light blush across her cheeks. Green eyes stayed pointedly fixed on the spot between the two womens feet, her hands clasped behind her as she seemed to try and arch away from Sira’s touch. “I’m going far away. You can outrun shame right? Sairque and yourself did nothing wrong, you were just being…natural… with each other and it’s my problem that I hate it, right? And you are mine. Well, in my head. I guess. I labeled you that way. I think. I don’t know. Sai is mine, too. But in a different way. I….. I don’t know.” It all came out in a rush, words tripping over one another as Addy tried to explain her extreme reaction. Speaking of her sister reminded the woman of their bond, and she quickly and firmly moved a metaphorical boulder across the opening to their connection, blocking Sai out completely. They needed to talk, and the last thing that would help would be emotions bleeding over into each others heads. Back to Sira. Embarrassed and ashamed, it took Addy many, many moments of standing there like that, looking at the dirt while Sira clasped her shoulders tight, as if trying to squeeze information out of her, before the healer could meet the kelvic’s gaze. When she did raise her eyes, she was surprised at what she saw. There didn’t seem to be any overlaying anger, at least on the surface. Sira looked as though she harbored just as much confusion as Addy did herself. This made the blush that was splashed across her cheeks deepen. Maybe Sira didn’t feel anything for Aidara at all. And then this would really make her look like an idiot. "Of course the first time I actually fall for someone, they don’t like me back. How stupidly shallow does that sound? I hope you and Sai are very happy together. I mean, of course I want my sister to be happy! What was I thinking! UGH!” Internal monologue slipped through her lips before she realized what was going on. When she did, cheeks went from bright read to deathly pale. And Addy simply stood, at the brink of unraveling at the seams, as she stared in horror at Sira and Sai, whom the healer could still see by the water’s edge, being dropped into the sand by her giant eagle and slowly gathering herself for the trudge towards the pair of women. Love triangle, indeed.

[Sira]

“I’m going far away. You can outrun shame right? Sairque and yourself did nothing wrong, you were just being…natural… with each other and it’s my problem that I hate it, right? And you are mine. Well, in my head. I guess. I labeled you that way. I think. I don’t know. Sai is mine, too. But in a different way. I….. I don’t know.” Sira stared wide eyed at Aidara as she stammered through her explanation, and her confusion grew even more. Was Addy truly so oblivious? Did she truly not notice the way Sira acted around her, or the way she always watched her then tried to look away without being noticed. Of course she was natural with Sai. They had a common bond. Both of them were hunters, and they understood one another. Sira respected Sairque as an Endal and a flight leader and liked her as a friend, but that was where it ended with the two of them.. at least from Sira's point of view. It was Addy who produced the unnatural feeling in her, or at least the feeling she was so unused to. Scared, frightened, intrigued, and undeniably attracted in more ways than she could comprehend. When Addy finally did make eye contact with Sira she did see confusion in her eyes, but also genuine concern. For reason's Sira couldn't comprehend Aidara's emotional distress was pushing Sira to the edge of insanity. Aidara couldn't be sad, not when she could do something about it! "Of course the first time I actually fall for someone, they don’t like me back. How stupidly shallow does that sound? I hope you and Sai are very happy together. I mean, of course I want my sister to be happy! What was I thinking! UGH!” All of the sudden it all clicked in her head. Everything Sira was so confused about, everything that Aidara was freaking out about, it all made sense... sort of. Sira had never even considered the thought of love, or anything beyond a physical relationship for herself. The idea of allowing someone that close to her was insanity, but she found herself wanting to let Addy that close, to let her in where no one else was allowed to go. "I hope you and Sai are very happy together." Sira shot a glance toward Sai upon hearing those words, seeing the woman slowly making her way towards them. She could tell the wounds weren't too severe. Sairque was more stunned than anything, and her eyes quickly met with Aidara's again. "Addy," she said softly. With every word she spoke Sira felt excitement and fear, her heart pounding so hard she just knew Aidara would hear it, "...I have no interest in Sai beyond friendship. ...it's you I want. It's you who gives me butterflies every time I see you. It's you who turns me from fearless Endal into... into a girl who covers you in sand and dives into freezing cold water just to get you to come play with me." Sira had never in her life opened herself up to anyone before in such an emotional way. Never had she felt such a strong connection, such a powerful bond with anyone. Even if she didn't quite understand it, she knew Aidara was meant for her as much as Sira was meant for Aidara. "It's you who makes me feel scared and happy all at once.. and I've never felt anything like that before. It's you Addy... it's been you since the beginning."

[Sairque]

On the heels of this declaration of love at first sight, Sai stomped into the picture.

“That’s funny, Sira,” except her tone was mostly venomous with an imperceptible sprinkling of amusement. “Because I’ve never felt anything like that before, either,” Sai growled, eyes burning holes through Addy’s pale face. Her right hand, scars rolling over the tendons and veins, lifted toward her left shoulder, fingers curling into claws and then a fist that shook with either fury or the effort not to whip it across her sister’s delicate face.

Belatedly, the meaning behind Sira’s words registered and she glanced sharply at the Kelvic. Letting them finish their conversation, on the other hand, never occurred to her. Having never actually been interested in the same person as Aidara, it wasn’t implausible that the attack had had nothing to do with any serious feelings aside from petulant selfishness that colored all of Addy’s desires. Naturally, no more importance was attached to this declaration of love than to any of the other’s that the healer had received over the last ten years. Well, it was important to Sai, because it squished the first serious attention she had wanted to give someone. Which is what made Aidara’s assumed spoiled actions all the more hurtful.

This might have been slightly different had the foolish healer not taken the trickle that was still seeping through their empathetic bond and completely blocked it. So there she was, stuck in her head all by herself because Catabasis had taken offense to her blatant disregard for his advice. And both of these things further incensed the violent woman.

“Could you,” Sai, looking both quite offended that Sira was still standing here at all and quite sure that the Kelvic lacked intelligence, “go…somewhere?” A suggestive wave toward the mountains far, far in the distance where she couldn’t insert her love-sick foot into anything important. And far away from the embarrassing and shaming conversation the twins were about to have. Right after Aidara explained her impulsive and violent attack. Something that hadn’t happened since they were sixteen and Addy had gotten jealous over Sai’s bond to Catabasis.

Speaking of, the glowering Eagle stepped up behind his Rider, not trusting, and quite disappointed in, the healer. And the pasty little Kelvic that was causing all of this.

[Aidara]

"I....It's me?" Staring vapidly at the statuesque woman that stood before her, Addy eventually realized her mouth was hanging open and snapped it closed. Mind and heart racing a like as her mouth opened and closed a few times, she finally gave up the futile attempt to make words and continued to stand blinking dumbly. "But how can you....Sira. People don't like me, they just want me. Sick, sad truth I realized years ago. I got what I wanted that way, so I played into it, accepted it, got used to it." Green eyes lost their vacant stare, and pinned the Kevlic down with this new, intense gaze. "You're saying you like me like me? That's impossible." Sexually, she was more than experienced. An adult, in so many ways... Emotionally, she floundered in this new sea of feelings like a baby trying to swim. With her lips taking up a rather petulant pout, Addy crossed her arms over her chest. "Sai is the only one who ever needed me. That's why..." Realization hit. Sai was the only thing in the world that had ever been there for her, through thick and thin. Just what one would expect from a family member, right? But the twins shared something deeper than most could possibly understand, with the ability to share emotions without words, without the need for words. To understand someone else so deeply.... And she'd punched that right in the face. Literally. There had to be a good reason for her to attack something so sound and secure in her life, for something so...fragile, foreign and new. Letting her arms drop down to her sides, Addy refocused her gaze on Sira, who stood before her, so open and hopeful. Even in knowing her for such a short amount of time, Addy knew that this was a big deal for Sira. To let someone in. She could see it in her eyes. It sent a shiver down her spine. "This... is meant to be, isn't it?" Normally, the gushy mushy stuff would have made Addy gag as it left her lips, but she wasn't joking. Not this time. "Could you...Go somewhere?" Sai's tone was like ice down Addy's spine. Each word grated in her ears, the feelings she knew were behind them causing her physical pain. Instinctively reaching out for that bond, the healer didn't realize how much she depended on it until the mental fingers of her mind closed in on the void where the bond should have been. Groaning out loud, Addy lifted her arms to hug around her slender torso, as if she was cold, or trying to hold her insides...inside. "Sai... No please. I'm sorry." Addy had started out pleading, almost reaching for her sister, almost stepping forwards and ready to go down on her knees and beg. She would do anything to get Sai to forgive her for her insolence. It was a mistake, it was for Sira... but then when the tall, redheaded woman galloped all around her mind, Addy's spine stiffened, and her tone became defensive. Sai would not hurt her. "I hit you, she didn't." In response to the way her sister snapped at Sira. Turning to the woman in question, Addy ran her hands slowly over her face, as if trying to wipe the pain and desperation from her eyes. Instead, she managed to just wipe away the beginning of her tears. In a low voice that she knew Sai would be able to hear anyway, Addy pleaded, hoping Sira would understand "...please? Just until... we've had a chance to talk?" There was no reason why Sira should take kindly to being told to go away, but Addy tried to put all her emotion in her eyes, trying to tell Sira silently that Sai worked differently than most, and the moment was very delicate. Addy had to protect them both. Addy wouldn't hurt Sai, or so she thought. With the whirlpool of emotions that turned inside of her, it took the woman much longer than necessary to realize that she'd already hurt her sister. The delicate balance had been disrupted. Usually, Sai took charge and Addy went along for the ride, comfortable with letting her sister decide. However, when it came down to it, and Addy wanted something... Sai would give it to her, or get it for her, whatever the cost. Sai was the spine of their relationship, Addy was the mouth and the limbs. Now the woman needed a spine of her own, to work through the giant mess she created. First, there was a defeated sigh as her gaze dropped to the sand, away from the women that stood before her. Both had their hearts on their sleeves. Sai, because Addy could read her so well, and Sira because she'd just spilled said heart out onto the sand. "Nope, we need to discuss this. Here, now. With words, not fists. I'm one to talk, right? I guess if you need to punch me, Sai, get it over with. It's only fair." It was her first feeble attempt at having a spine, but she held her ground and stood waiting for which every woman decided to speak first.

[Sira]

Sira's eyes danced back and forth between Sai slowly approaching and Aidara in front of her as she spoke. It was true, she had spilled all the mushy gushy stuff that she usually kept bundled up inside, but for Aidara it was worth it. She didn't know if it was love or something to do with being a Kelvic, but it didn't really matter to Sira, it was real enough for her. Sira couldn't help but smile as Aidara floundered over her emotions, neither of them were very experienced in this sort of thing. "Addy... if it was just physical, I would have... well. Let's just say we wouldn't be dancing around the subject like this." In her head Sira knew it was true. If her only interest in Aidara had been physical, she would have simply done as she usually did in such situations.. dragged her to her room and be done with it. No, this was definitely something more than purely a physical interest. "Could you go... somewhere." Sira hadn't realized Sai was so close. Had she overheard everything they said to each other? Sira might not have spilled her guts so readily had she known the flight leader could hear every word, but then again she might have. The implication of Sairque's words slowly registered in Sira's brain, and golden eyes suddenly came back to focus and locked onto the flight leader. In an instant Sira measured the Endal up. She wasn't certain if she could take Sai if it came to blows, but she didn't think things would get that bad. Although.. they already had. She wasn't about to just leave, though. "I will not go somewhere," she said in a voice that made it very clear she was offended by the thought. "This fight is my fault, and I will not be dismissed simply because you cant..." Sira's voice trailed off and the defiant look on her face slowly vanished as Addy began to plead with the two of them. Addy tried to defend Sira, but it was a weak defense. Sira might as well have punched Sairque in the face, being the cause of the whole mess, and she knew that was why Sai wanted her to leave. She couldn't face the problem head on, not both of them at once anyway. At least that's how Sira saw things at the moment. Then Addy turned to her and begged her to go. Taking it kindly was not really the best way to describe how Sira felt right then, but she kept her mouth shut, staring back at Aidara. She knew this was important to the woman, and as much as she did not want to leave.. how could she not? Sira took a step back from Addy, her eyes falling to the ground, and let out a quiet sigh. Meanwhile, Addy decided it was time to stand up to her sister. "Nope, we need to discuss this. Here, now. With words, not fists." Sira took a few more steps backwards from the pair, seemingly retreating. Addy was facing Sairque as Sira raised her eyes back to them both. This entire situation was out of control, but it was important that the two sisters be okay with each other if Sira was to pursue her interest in Aidara. Locking eyes with Sairque once more, Sira spoke up. "You talk. I will go. When you are ready to deal with me, have him call." Sira motioned to Catabasis with her head, then took another step back. In a swirling poof of light and other stuff she shifted, then beat her wings hard at the ground lifting into the sky. She didn't wait for a response from Aidara or Sairque. She didn't bother to look back at them as she flew away. Perhaps it was a little immature of her, but they were all being a little immature as far a she was concerned. Sira did not go far, wanting to stay close enough for Catabasis to call her assuming Sairque allowed Aidara to ever speak to her again. But she didn't just circle overhead either, heading first for her abandoned possessions further down the beach. Gathering up her things she felt a strange object in her bag and pulled it out, looking down at the small seashell, the entire reason she had come down to the beach in the first place. The notion that she would get chewed out again later for not getting his precious shell brought a slight smile to Sira's lips. In wake of all that had just transpired, her trouble with her own siblings seemed a little thing indeed.

[Sairque]

Because it wasn’t, as she had first assumed, a one way connection between the Kelvic and the healer.

I hit you, she didn’t.

Sai ‘s eyebrow jumped, what, did Addy think that she’d forgotten that part? That she missed her twin leaping on top of her, dragging her under the bone chilling water? That she couldn’t still feel the sting of salt water grating in her broken flesh? And then to top it off, that broken rendition of an Inarta, that pale imitation of a Wind Eagle, decided that she wanted to get in between them.

There was no room, no little niche, not a door or a window to, not a hammer strong enough to bash an entrance into the space of mind Sai and Adaira wrapped each other in. They lay together, naked to one another, not even a buffer of air separating them, banded together stronger than any Wind Eagle bond or love connection, separated from the world by the reality they created together in this space. Nothing crept into this hallowed nest save for the mortal-crushing hurricane of their relationship. They existed as two distinct beings to the farce that called itself Skyinarta, a place, a time trying to chain them down and define them for the world’s ease while in actuality they thrived only as two sides to the same coin. How deep did one go, the line could never be struck down the middle, where did the Aidara portion end and what could Sairque point at as proof that she was her own being. How could that be chained and ripped apart by anything less than the strength combined of every last scrap of will and fate that bound them?

Sira could dig and dig and dig until her fingernails ripped off and her hands wore away to bloody stumps and she would be no closer to joining them in their twisted exile. Sira was nothing but trappings in their life. For all the turmoil that surrounded the pair, and for all the pushing they were doing against each other, all the learning, painful as it was, none of it altered the reality of their existence any less. None of it could be laid at the feet of an outside party. There was no room between for such a guilty party to exist. There were only trappings. Sira. A scarf. Catabasis. A home. Skyinarta. A responsibility. Sira. A scarf. Something thin, without depth, that could be rent in two. Sira’s broken and bloody body would make no larger an impact on the Flight Leader. The end of the Kelvic’s attempt to gain entrance to their world, however, would be most satisfying and pleasurable. There was no amount of pain and physical destruction that could deter Sai. Her own body was at the mercy of that which the bond dictated.

Not a single action of her life entire couldn’t be traced back to Aidara. The status. The ambition. The work. That determination poured into scrapping up the ladder of their society could just as easily be applied to destroying someone. She was a baby, easily molded by their compulsions, and at the whim of this symbiosis they had. But that whim was deadly and obeyed with no question. Both she and her sister would die at her blade before they were separated. This was the basis. This was the bottom. This was everything that made Sairque a human stripped away to the simplest parts. Humanity erased.

…simply because you can’t… Sai hung on the words, waiting for the ending so she could show Sira exactly what she could and could not do. The quivering energy that had been limited to her curled fist just a moment ago coursed through her body. Her hands could feel that long elegant neck crumbling between them, her knuckles could feel the sharp snap of meeting her face, her body could feel the release of tightly electric energy, that satisfied sigh. Addy had reached for her, she had tried to latch onto their bond, all was righting itself. Except Sira. Sira made herself something to be handled. She couldn’t see the forces at work, she couldn’t accept that she wasn’t part of it. Aidara had to tell her.

Sira met her eyes, giving her a command, referencing Catabasis like he was a servant. Sira would not live to see the fruit of her new love with the healer. Sai could wait. Patience pooled in large supply now that she felt the scrabbling her sister was doing for their bond. All righted itself. Aidara felt the snap of the defensive block lifting and the complete torrent tore through either of the twins. Behind Sira, small dots on the beach that she wasn’t looking at, Sai fell to her knees, hands clawing at the churned sand as she lurched forward. There was little enough coming to the elder twin from Sai’s end, a rage that hadn’t been this stirred up and forced into this cold of an edge in years. But Aidara could tell that their bond had expanded inside Sai until nothing else had fit, the rage not warring to continue existence but a tool embraced. Addy's renewed presence filled her until she lost that hard core that was undeniably unique from Aidara, then, like a rubberband, it snapped back.

Looming over the women, Catabasis’ body language mirrored his bonded’s. He had been through a lot with the twins, carefully monitoring their mental relationship and shoring up any weak spots that could provide a means of one sister leaking into the other. He needed their screaming. He needed the war that raged because their relationship had been sealed in steel since before birth and they had not the experience to know. They had saved him and here he bristled. He watched his rider engulfed by the fear of Sira trying to even touch that. He watched as she passed through that fear to mindless and deadly servitude. His beak snapped up as their connection surged to life and his Rider became inundated with all the shame, excitement, love, and determination of Aidara that forced Sai’s mentality to expand back toward something human once more.

[Aidara]

The shrinking form of an eagle flapping it's way into the distance held Addy's attentions for long than it should have. Worry stacked mountains on her small shoulders, maybe three or four on each side from the feel of it. Dragged down by the tremendous weight of guilt the woman slumped as she turned back towards Sai, lips parted slightly in preparation to deliver some snarky comment about her personality, driving people away, and having nothing to say about it. The absolute torture on her twins face made her gasp, small hands coming to rest over her mouth in complete shock. One foot and then the other slid backwards in the sand as Addy started to retreat. The first thing that startled the woman was the void she felt once more upon reaching for their bond, despite the emotion written plain across her sisters face....she felt nothing. The second was simply the sheer amount of emotion that Sai radiated. Never, ever had Addy experienced this before. Not to this degree. Her first instinct was to run away from the unknown, or lash out at it. The last few years had been hard on her, as she struggled daily with the fear that one day...her sister was just going to leave. Despite reassurances from her twin, Addy felt like a ticking time bomb. Not only did she offer nothing in benefit to her far superior sibling, but she could just feel her sanity wearing thinner and thinner. Each morning at dawn, before Sai woke up Addy crept from her room and into her sisters, just to make sure that she was still there. While her twin never seemed aware of this ritual, in the passing weeks it was done with increasing amounts of panic. And now she had done it. She really had created a rift between them. No, a gaping chasm. Acting upon those fears, letting her insecurities do a number on their relationship. Addy acted upon her second instinct. After taking a few steps back as Sai fell to the sand, the healer darted forward in an attempt to catch and cradle her sister before she crashed to her knees. With her arms extended before her, ready to scoop up her sister, a brick wall of emotion slammed into Addy's head. Unaware of exactly what had been going on in her sisters head, of the battling identities, Aidara was not ready for their bond to be reopened like a floodgate. The think, heavy, dark, undulating mass of emotion erupted into her skull, trickling down her spine and along every one of her nerves. The anger, primarily, and the acute sense of loss stung at her extremities like needles in her finger tips, her toes, nose, ears, lips. The sadness seeped into her chest, slowing her heartbeat and restricting her lungs. Guilt and the left over jealousy fused with her stomach and made it churn, roil and clench as bile rose into her throat, the acid burning her esophagus not even comparing to the pain throughout her body. Hours and hours this went on, the completely paralytic wave of emotion. Well, in reality it lasted only a few minutes. But even though the pain, the anger and the guilt, Addy couldn't help but rejoice at the reconnection of their bond. The filling of that void in her head, the twanging of anything along the strings of their bond lifted her heart. Shunting the majority of the emotions that leaked over from her sister into the little Sai-Box in her head, Addy was finally able to breathe normally. It was then that she realized her eyes were closed. Not only that, when she opened them and took a deep, refreshing breath of....sand, she realized she had collapsed. Struggling quickly to her feet, the healer turned and bent over her sister, forgoing the usual ritualistic removal of every sand particle. "Sai.." she managed to gasp as she hooked her arms down under her twins form. Leaning back and sitting down all in one motion, Addy pulled the prostrate form of the flightleader up and into her lap, positioning Sai's legs over her own outstretched ones, wrapping her arms around her torso and resting Sai's head upon her shoulder. And then she began to croon a little bit, rocking her sister back and forth like one would a baby. She wasn't doing it in a demeaning way. There was no one around, save her pissed off eagle, as witness. This was just an older sister stepping up and kissing the boo-boo's of her little sister. "I'm sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. It's scary, because I know exactly how you are feeling right now. That dark, ugly feeling in your mind? I battle that every single day. Sometimes I am lucky enough to lock it away, but little bits trickle out. Tendrils of the stuff wrap around my words and actions. I live with the fear, and the hurt, and the guilt, and the jealousy every day. Someone is going to take you from me." It wasn't until Addy glanced up at the sky, wondering when it started to rain, that she realized she was crying again, her tears falling to splatter on her sisters cheek and forehead. "I like Sira. I may even love her...but even the closest, deepest bond between us doesn't even scratch the surface of you and me, Sai. You are me. I am you. There can't be one of us without the other. They can try, whoever they are, to keep us apart, tear us apart, whatever they want to do...but it won't matter. It doesn't matter. I'm nothing with out you." As mushy as it all sounded, it was a revelation for at least the conscious twin. Unsure if Sai could even hear her, Addy continued to ramble on anyway. Her fears were silly. In what world would her sister really abandon her for someone else, for something less than what they already had. What they would always have. "I'm an idiot. And I've been an idiot for quite some time. I've let this evil, dark thing rule my actions for some time. As you can probably see now...well, no maybe not. Are you even awake? ...how hard it is to deal with. I hope you will forgive me, or let me fix this. I hope...." Her sentence trailed off into a whisper, and finally no words at all. Addy stared out over the water, watching the waves rise, curl and crash into the shore. She watched the wet foamy fingers of the sea grapple at the rocks and shells in the sand, trying to drag them back into the depths. The metaphor fit perfectly, and as she continued to rock and pet and try and soothe her sister, she wondered if she was finally free from the grappling fingers in her own skull, wondered if her sister would ever forgive her. The tears ran anew as green eyes spotted the distant, wheeling form of an eagle and knew this was only the beginning.

[Sira]

Sira stood examining the small seashell for a bit, thinking about everything that had just happened. How could something as innocent as playing in the water turn into the disaster that had just occurred? How could something as simple as two people sharing feelings for one another become the emotional hurricane that tore through the three of them. It was something Sira had never seen coming, though perhaps she should have. Twins were not uncommon in Wind Reach, in fact single birth is more the oddity, and all twins seemed to share some kind of connection. But for Sairque and Aidara it was more than that. Whatever they shared it was something that Sira would never; could never be a part of. Sira pulled on her Katinu, deciding not to shift and began walking down the beach away from the twins. The sword in her bag smacked against her back as it bounced with each step, and Sira played with the little shell in her hands. After a while she put that in the bag as well and just walked along, feeling the sand beneath her toes. Her anger had faded by then, leaving her feeling calm and able to think things through. What was it she felt for the avora, she wondered? Was it truly love, or just some unknown form of lust? Sira had never felt, nor even considered the notion of love beyond that which she extended to her mother. All previous relationships in the past had simply consisted of her grabbing a random man or woman she fancied attractive and dragging them to her bed, or more often to their own. The notion that Sira could love somebody was completely alien to her, though she had never denied it was possible.. it had just never come up. And what if this wasn't love? What if this had something to do with her being a kelvic? She knew that, usually, kelvics bonded to a single person in a relationship that to them resembled love but to everyone else resembled a master/slave relationship. Sira would never allow herself to be someone's slave. She served herself, and she served Wind Reach, but was nobody's slave. She was an Endal, a protector of the mountain. ...but what if she was bonding with Aidara in that way? What if her feelings were merely instinct, the kelvic side of her forcing her to blindly love another? Was it even a true feeling the kelvics felt? Sira was unsure.. she knew next to nothing about her own species. Whatever it was, as she walked along the beach pausing every so often to pick up a shell and toss it in her bag, Sira found she didn't really care. The truth of the matter was, she did like Aidara. She was drawn to her in ways she could not control, and saw no real reason to fight against it. She liked Sai too, and if things had been different might have pursued a physical relationship with the flight leader. She could not deny her attraction for the woman. But with Sai it was like it was with any other man or woman she might set her sights on, a simple physical attraction coupled with an enjoyable personality. There were no strings attached to make things complicated. Sira stopped walking, having put considerable distance between herself and the two women, then plopped down into the sand. She glanced down the beach toward them, but found they were hidden by a slight dune she had apparently crossed. Supposing it was for the better Sira simply sat, skipping shells out over the water occasionally but mostly just watching the waves roll in. Unfortunately there were strings attached... Sai was attached to Aidara, and Aidara to Sai. And apparently Aidara had found the strings to Sira's heart. Life would never be simple for her, she had accepted that a long time ago. But was she ready to make it even more complicated? ...Sira was surprised to find that she was.

[Sairque]

Curled into a ball, the likes of which she’d not retreated into since a very small child, the younger sister burrowed into the reassuring embrace. Her face pressed completely into the woman’s shoulder and neck, the world never had a chance to re-intrude and interrupt the boo-boo kissing occurring on her over expanded mind. Aidara’s voice caressed and filled her ear canals as though it had hung a ‘No Trespassing’ sign on the lobes and prevented even the slightest rush of wind or crash of wave to dilute its soothing sounds. Round and round her those empathetic words wrapped, helping her to sort through the mess of their bond, identify the little bits and pieces that Aidara’s explanation related to. She smelled of those purple flowers she liked to bathe with and her skin was hot, but Sai had never felt such a perfect, all encompassing hug. Though the reassuring words and presence of the healer comforted and calmed the staggered woman, the most rehabilitating part was the steady flow through their bond. Pushing the frenzy of the dangerous incident to non-existance was a slow and steady slideshow of what she assumed were Addy’s memories. Sai watched piecemeal representations of their life together. Some were dark and hard to understand, the images clouded with fear, others were vibrant only in certain parts where memory-Aidara had done something similar to this afternoon’s attack and fuzzy in the parts where memory-Sai had reacted. Addy’s box was bigger, the sides less concrete and impermeable. True to her natural inclination to gloss over the details of the hurt once she’d been mended, and indeed, Aidara had known exactly what to do and say to help her, Sai focused on this new revelation. Yes, I’m awake, what are you doing? The utter silence drew out on Aidara’s end, but Sai didn’t notice. The healer had turned the show off. Almost. Fuzzy, Sai thought she could feel something like an ocean view deep, deep in Addy’s box. So Sai dove in after it. No...no...it was a dark tendril of foamy ocean water twisting a skull and turning Aidara into a malicious and self centered witch. The knowledge wasn’t an image, but a feeling, nebulous. In fact, she wasn’t quite sure where it came from. It had been so sure, true, it had been there. Focus shifting off their expanded bond with difficulty, it seemed to be everywhere, the unsettled woman took stock. Aidara. Addy. Addy! The only things nearby were Addy and Catabasis. Yes! Catabasis. He was frantic, pounding. She could feel his mind there trying to get to her. What…why...what was the problem? Sai mewed into Aidara’s shoulder, twitching restlessly for one brief moment against the solid form soothing her before falling still once more. Catabasis looked at the two women, towering over them as still as his Rider, feet spread out to either side of the healer and legs bracketing her, tail dropped and creating a breaker against the mild breeze. He knocked on the door to Aidara’s thoughts, something equivalent to if he’d tapped on a shoulder to get her attention. You have to let her go, he told the healer cryptically. And when she balked, or dropped the Rider, whichever, the Eagle hastily tried to placate the elder sister. No, she didn’t have to accept that Sai was her own person, or give up all claim to the woman. Nor did she have to release the woman and let her plop over into the sand. He’d just had to put a tight clamp on his reactions while speaking to the elder twin. Mentally, telepathically. Do you remember when I told you not to mess with your bond? You have her swaddled up so tightly inside your own mind that she cannot exit your protections. Quite the genius strategy, really, he couldn’t help but retort, to get her attention off you and Sira. The comment was low, and a distraction for her from his own worry. They messed with their connection too often, shoving things through, blocking things out, something had to snap eventually. Sira, he called with careful poise. I believe the healer needs your assistance.