- Invitation Status
- Preferred Character Gender
- Female
- Genres
- Fantasy, Romance, Magical
The water was so temptingly close now. Within reach of invading her skin, and destroying every last scrap of the girl these people thought they knew. Any moment now the spirits she long ago banished from her mind would come to take their child home. She could see it now in the shifting colors of the water; every slow tear revealed just how utterly she did not belong. Asrai could wait a century for someone to reach out and claim her as family, but why should they when every part of her these people knew had been fabricated? Asrai was protecting them, or so she told herself anyway. She wanted to keep them safe... these people she wished so desperately to claim as her kin. Why couldn't the world be made of wants and wishes? Life would have been so much easier for all six of them.
As it stood, falling into the fountain and disappearing seemed easiest... But the caretaker had frequently reminded Asrai that most times, easy didn't equate to happiness. There was no chance for happiness in that pool of water no matter how hard she wished there would be. And maybe her family knew that, too. Why else would Lucas of all people come to sooth her? She didn't very much trust him, but the wounded child was just that, and couldn't bring herself to turn him away. Her tears did not cease, but at least he brought her back to reality.
He almost began to speak, but before words could amount from his inhaled breath, Asrai's worst fear slid from the vibrant surface of the water. A nimble hand reaching for her own, finally here to steal her away from family and happiness. She flinched backwards but found herself too close to Lucas to escape from the pale appendage. The cry of a frightened animal fluttered to her lips and died just in time for the frightening fingertips to... caress her face, and wipe her tears away...?
Curiosity bubbled up in the pit of her tight stomach, but all too soon she was being swept away from the threat by Lucas' own two hands. Was he... trying to protect her? The fierce glimpse in his gaze led her to believe so, despite the reserves Asrai had toward her elder brother. It was weird, being protected by someone... in a way it seemed like he was claiming her as his property, his family. And she was happy about it. With the smallest trace of a smile she inched up to stand by Lucas' side, diverting her eyes to the robe-clad woman slipping gracefully out of the fountain. Was she the owner of such a soft hand? Confusion and curiosity were starting to take the place of her fear, but still she remained close to her family, in the off chance this woman really was here to take her away.
No sooner had she arrived did the woman start to speak, letting loose the tales of a wish sign and the war between earthly beings and their makers. For such a young girl Asrai surprised herself with understanding quite a bit. But this was a little too much for even her mind to completely comprehend. She wouldn't begin to understand what the woman wished to involve them in... Not until her hands raised, and she conducted a progression of images into their memory. The vision was so vivid it was difficult to believe they weren't on that very battle field. Human bodies were strewn about as if they were speckles of dirt, and every here and there the corpse of a fallen Angel stood out like some rare jewel. The death tally was a hundred to one, and still her human brethren charged against immortal beings, using their comrades' fallen blood as a reason to keep fighting on.
It was terrible... And for a brief moment Asrai questioned whether she had the right to identify with humans as if they were her brethren to claim. But was she not as mortal as her brothers and sisters? Could she not consider the citizens from their home town her people? The Gods were too out of her reach to sympathize with, and after watching such a one sided slaughter how could she not identify with the humans?
A thought occurred to her as the visions faded, and Asrai turned her gaze to her troubled siblings. Did they feel the same way? Were any of them actually human? But more importantly, did any of them wish to protect the makeshift family they all belonged to, or that town of obnoxious and somehow pleasant people? There were so many unanswered questions and only now were they finally beginning to get the answers they so yearned for. They came slowly at first, filtering through the mind like old memories that were just beginning to wake. But as the intensity of this strange girl's magic increased, the answers soared swifter, as if they were starved from attention.
Near the peak of her mental maturation, a pin prick seared from the back of her neck and down the base of her spine; so quickly had it come and go that Asrai wasn't quite sure whether it really happened. But after looking around at her siblings and noticing the rich new markings that painted each skin, the little girl could only assume a similar tattoo marred the flesh beneath her pretty white dress. She wouldn't be able to look until much later, but hiding beneath her hair was the broken half of a black and white opera mask. Pieces of its visage crumbled down the back of her neck and followed the line of her spine, eventually transforming into trickling water drops that glowed the color of a pure blue sky. Upon her lower back the water pooled, reaching around her hips to carve intricate streams down her thighs. Eventually the makings faded to a pastel white, painting the top of each little foot with a large tribal tear-drop.
Just like that, a part of her secret identity revealed itself on the surface of her skin. Those markings made Asrai feel bare and naked; exposed to the people she only wanted to gain the acceptance of. But if she ever hoped to gain their approval and love, those secrets could no longer become barriers between Asrai and her family. She would have to tell them everything. That was one of the facts she'd been enlightened on. And now, the final piece was being revealed to them. They were being asked to make a choice, and Asrai had made hers long before this strange woman asked them to do so.
There was only one thing to do in a situation like this. Asrai would choose her family, just as Lucas had chosen her. But her family entailed more than just the people standing around this fountain. It entailed every last man, woman and child from their village. And every being in between. Humans as a whole, and mortal beings beneath the eyes of the Gods. They were her family, her people. And it was time to accept them, so that one day they would accept her.
Silently Asrai stepped away from Yumi and Lucas, making her way back to the fountain. She was no longer scared of the water there, not while the caretaker stood watch just above. If no one else would speak she was determined to be the first, to prove to them just how sincere her feelings were. With a deep breath she climbed up onto the fountain's edge and pressed her hand to the stone caretaker's chest. He was solid and strong, just like she always knew him to be. And he was family. Just like the rest of them.
"You are my family. And I'll protect you with my last breath. But our family includes more than just the people here. It includes our father, the caretaker. It includes the nice men and women who provide us with food and friendly faces every day. It includes the young children of our village who were unfortunate enough to evade escape." With another deep breath she removed her hand from the statue and took a step away, teetering on the edge of the fountain, just inches from the water. "Our family is bigger than just the human race. It involves all other mortal species we belong to. I know I'm not the only one who feels as if they don't belong. We all have secrets, and for many of us those secrets revolve around the fact that we can't rightfully call ourselves human... But we're still family, aren't we?" Asrai was dangerously close to outing herself, but there was something much more important for her to say before that could happen.
"We owe it to our people, our family, to protect them with our special gifts. If we truly are more than just weak, parentless human beings, how can we even begin to think it's not our place to help the community of people we come from, and who has, up until now, kept us safe?"
As it stood, falling into the fountain and disappearing seemed easiest... But the caretaker had frequently reminded Asrai that most times, easy didn't equate to happiness. There was no chance for happiness in that pool of water no matter how hard she wished there would be. And maybe her family knew that, too. Why else would Lucas of all people come to sooth her? She didn't very much trust him, but the wounded child was just that, and couldn't bring herself to turn him away. Her tears did not cease, but at least he brought her back to reality.
He almost began to speak, but before words could amount from his inhaled breath, Asrai's worst fear slid from the vibrant surface of the water. A nimble hand reaching for her own, finally here to steal her away from family and happiness. She flinched backwards but found herself too close to Lucas to escape from the pale appendage. The cry of a frightened animal fluttered to her lips and died just in time for the frightening fingertips to... caress her face, and wipe her tears away...?
Curiosity bubbled up in the pit of her tight stomach, but all too soon she was being swept away from the threat by Lucas' own two hands. Was he... trying to protect her? The fierce glimpse in his gaze led her to believe so, despite the reserves Asrai had toward her elder brother. It was weird, being protected by someone... in a way it seemed like he was claiming her as his property, his family. And she was happy about it. With the smallest trace of a smile she inched up to stand by Lucas' side, diverting her eyes to the robe-clad woman slipping gracefully out of the fountain. Was she the owner of such a soft hand? Confusion and curiosity were starting to take the place of her fear, but still she remained close to her family, in the off chance this woman really was here to take her away.
No sooner had she arrived did the woman start to speak, letting loose the tales of a wish sign and the war between earthly beings and their makers. For such a young girl Asrai surprised herself with understanding quite a bit. But this was a little too much for even her mind to completely comprehend. She wouldn't begin to understand what the woman wished to involve them in... Not until her hands raised, and she conducted a progression of images into their memory. The vision was so vivid it was difficult to believe they weren't on that very battle field. Human bodies were strewn about as if they were speckles of dirt, and every here and there the corpse of a fallen Angel stood out like some rare jewel. The death tally was a hundred to one, and still her human brethren charged against immortal beings, using their comrades' fallen blood as a reason to keep fighting on.
It was terrible... And for a brief moment Asrai questioned whether she had the right to identify with humans as if they were her brethren to claim. But was she not as mortal as her brothers and sisters? Could she not consider the citizens from their home town her people? The Gods were too out of her reach to sympathize with, and after watching such a one sided slaughter how could she not identify with the humans?
A thought occurred to her as the visions faded, and Asrai turned her gaze to her troubled siblings. Did they feel the same way? Were any of them actually human? But more importantly, did any of them wish to protect the makeshift family they all belonged to, or that town of obnoxious and somehow pleasant people? There were so many unanswered questions and only now were they finally beginning to get the answers they so yearned for. They came slowly at first, filtering through the mind like old memories that were just beginning to wake. But as the intensity of this strange girl's magic increased, the answers soared swifter, as if they were starved from attention.
Near the peak of her mental maturation, a pin prick seared from the back of her neck and down the base of her spine; so quickly had it come and go that Asrai wasn't quite sure whether it really happened. But after looking around at her siblings and noticing the rich new markings that painted each skin, the little girl could only assume a similar tattoo marred the flesh beneath her pretty white dress. She wouldn't be able to look until much later, but hiding beneath her hair was the broken half of a black and white opera mask. Pieces of its visage crumbled down the back of her neck and followed the line of her spine, eventually transforming into trickling water drops that glowed the color of a pure blue sky. Upon her lower back the water pooled, reaching around her hips to carve intricate streams down her thighs. Eventually the makings faded to a pastel white, painting the top of each little foot with a large tribal tear-drop.
Just like that, a part of her secret identity revealed itself on the surface of her skin. Those markings made Asrai feel bare and naked; exposed to the people she only wanted to gain the acceptance of. But if she ever hoped to gain their approval and love, those secrets could no longer become barriers between Asrai and her family. She would have to tell them everything. That was one of the facts she'd been enlightened on. And now, the final piece was being revealed to them. They were being asked to make a choice, and Asrai had made hers long before this strange woman asked them to do so.
There was only one thing to do in a situation like this. Asrai would choose her family, just as Lucas had chosen her. But her family entailed more than just the people standing around this fountain. It entailed every last man, woman and child from their village. And every being in between. Humans as a whole, and mortal beings beneath the eyes of the Gods. They were her family, her people. And it was time to accept them, so that one day they would accept her.
Silently Asrai stepped away from Yumi and Lucas, making her way back to the fountain. She was no longer scared of the water there, not while the caretaker stood watch just above. If no one else would speak she was determined to be the first, to prove to them just how sincere her feelings were. With a deep breath she climbed up onto the fountain's edge and pressed her hand to the stone caretaker's chest. He was solid and strong, just like she always knew him to be. And he was family. Just like the rest of them.
"You are my family. And I'll protect you with my last breath. But our family includes more than just the people here. It includes our father, the caretaker. It includes the nice men and women who provide us with food and friendly faces every day. It includes the young children of our village who were unfortunate enough to evade escape." With another deep breath she removed her hand from the statue and took a step away, teetering on the edge of the fountain, just inches from the water. "Our family is bigger than just the human race. It involves all other mortal species we belong to. I know I'm not the only one who feels as if they don't belong. We all have secrets, and for many of us those secrets revolve around the fact that we can't rightfully call ourselves human... But we're still family, aren't we?" Asrai was dangerously close to outing herself, but there was something much more important for her to say before that could happen.
"We owe it to our people, our family, to protect them with our special gifts. If we truly are more than just weak, parentless human beings, how can we even begin to think it's not our place to help the community of people we come from, and who has, up until now, kept us safe?"