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“Let’s not forget it.” Jaliqia caught hold of Aika’s elbow, expression stern, though it was open.

“Family listens to one another’s concerns and tries to work with them. I cannot do that for you, my family, unless you speak your mind. A marriage is always built upon communication. It is best we learn to communicate now, Aika, instead of struggling later.”

She let out a short sigh. “Besides. There is always a reason to talk about what’s bothering us.”

Aika rarely found such a reason, aside from not prolonging whatever conflict avoiding conflict had ironically caused. Her jaw tensed. She didn’t want to discuss it, but she would need to if she wanted Jaliqai to leave her alone about it.

“I am afraid,” She managed, “Not of the crags necessarily, of leaving everything my-” Not home, she couldn’t say home; not to Jaliqai. “-of never seeing the cove again.”

“I know-” What did she know? She had never left home, as in truly left it. “I know that once I leave I can’t return, I can’t visit, I can’t…”

All of those things were true, and Jaliqai’s expression softened at Aika’s revelations. Of course she was going to miss her home, and the people she had known there.

Of course she could not return. Jaliqai knew this. She had been remiss in not addressing it sooner.

“Aika...I know that it will be difficult to leave everything behind but -- in the end, it will be for the better. Your sister is not a kind woman, and eventually her wrath would have even fallen upon you. She would have tried to do something like burning you to death in a barn, rather than have her will defied.”

She reached out, making to tuck a lock of hair behind Aika’s ear.

“My family will never abuse you. I will never abuse you. You will not have to live in fear anymore.”

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Jaliqai watched Aika’s retreat, heart twisting in her chest, looking vaguely wounded before she carefully wiped the feeling from her face. It wasn’t easy? It should be the easiest thing in the world. They were in love.

They were to be together – they’d done everything they could to be together. They’d…They’d defied all odds and now Aika was getting cold feet?

If it had been Jaliqai. If she had been the one to leave her people and come to be with Aika? She would have been excited. She would have been jubilant. Why wasn’t Aika jubilant?

“Aika, you get to be free,” Jaliqai tried, “you get to be with me, to make your own life the way you want it to be. I know…that it can be scary to leave the comfort of your home, but that is the wonderful thing about my family’s way of life – our family’s way of life. No matter where we go we bring home with us.”

She tried on a warm smile, reaching her hands out toward Aika once again. 

“No one will try to hurt you in the Crags. You will be a beloved family member. No conditions attached.”

No matter where one goes home follows. A thing Aika would likely come to learn in less pleasant ways, should she make it to the crags.

“I don’t want to talk about this.” Aika resisted the urge to pull away. “There is no reason to, it will just be upsetting.” To her, to Jaliqai.

It would be better for her to battle with this in silence, alone. If she kept it to herself there would be no argument over it; no upset, no conflict, no anger.

“Let’s go back to camp. Let’s forget it.”

“Let’s not forget it.” Jaliqia caught hold of Aika’s elbow, expression stern, though it was open.

“Family listens to one another’s concerns and tries to work with them. I cannot do that for you, my family, unless you speak your mind. A marriage is always built upon communication. It is best we learn to communicate now, Aika, instead of struggling later.”

She let out a short sigh. “Besides. There is always a reason to talk about what’s bothering us.”

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Pulling from their kiss with a smile, reluctant, she gazed levelly into Aika’s dark eyes, searching.

“Well? Aren’t you?” She knew well enough that it was a distraction. Aika had been avoiding this for weeks now, and had become increasingly unoriginal in her tactics as Jaliqai chipped away at her façade. 

The smile she attempted to force was weak and didn’t hold. “Yes… of course.” It was unconvincing even to her ears; eyes averted, she took a step back. “But it isn’t- it isn’t as simple as…” As she wished it was.

She took another step back, hand slipping from Jaliqai’s. “This isn’t easy.” To put it lightly.

Jaliqai watched Aika’s retreat, heart twisting in her chest, looking vaguely wounded before she carefully wiped the feeling from her face. It wasn’t easy? It should be the easiest thing in the world. They were in love.

They were to be together -- they’d done everything they could to be together. They’d...They’d defied all odds and now Aika was getting cold feet?

If it had been Jaliqai. If she had been the one to leave her people and come to be with Aika? She would have been excited. She would have been jubilant. Why wasn’t Aika jubilant?

“Aika, you get to be free,” Jaliqai tried, “you get to be with me, to make your own life the way you want it to be. I know...that it can be scary to leave the comfort of your home, but that is the wonderful thing about my family’s way of life -- our family’s way of life. No matter where we go we bring home with us.”

She tried on a warm smile, reaching her hands out toward Aika once again. 

“No one will try to hurt you in the Crags. You will be a beloved family member. No conditions attached.”

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“Yes,” Jaliqai agreed. She came to wrap her arms around Aika as the other woman released her hand, wanting to remain close to her. “I am so happy that we are finally able to go home. That we’ll finally be together for real. That we can start our life together.”

She squeezed her arms about her fiancée tightly in her happiness.

“Aren’t you excited?”

She wanted these things yes, but the cost of them is what had her so torn. Was she excited? It was a simple question with a complicated answer. One Aika did not want to give.

And so instead she brought a her sword calloused hand to her fiancé’s cheek and pulled her in for a soft, slow kiss. Perhaps she would take it as an answer or perhaps she would not think to pursue one.

One could hope.

Pulling from their kiss with a smile, reluctant, she gazed levelly into Aika’s dark eyes, searching.

“Well? Aren’t you?” She knew well enough that it was a distraction. Aika had been avoiding this for weeks now, and had become increasingly unoriginal in her tactics as Jaliqai chipped away at her façade. 

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“It does not have to be so serious,” she answered easily, waving her free hand. “There’s a lot of fun to be had in practice, if you’re doing it right.” She leaned her forehead against Aika’s, smiling deeply in the ease and familiarity of the gesture.

“I’m not here to spar. I’m just here to be with you. We haven’t had much alone time since the wedding.”

Aika closed her eyes.

There was much truth in that. They had not had much opportunity to be alone after the wedding. Practically none. Hanae and Batbayar, or both, were always somewhere nearby. There was no time or logical reason to stay at an inn either and so they all slept under the sky, at the same camp ground, far too close for any real privacy.

With a brief squeeze, Aika released Jaliqai’s hand. “We are indeed alone now.” Unless Hanae should suddenly get over her bloodied knee. Aika could not imagine how Hanae would have fared should Manami ever have turned her wrath upon her.

“Yes,” Jaliqai agreed. She came to wrap her arms around Aika as the other woman released her hand, wanting to remain close to her. “I am so happy that we are finally able to go home. That we’ll finally be together for real. That we can start our life together.”

She squeezed her arms about her fiancée tightly in her happiness.

“Aren’t you excited?”

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“You looked so serious,” Jaliqai said fondly, good natured mirth in her words, “I didn’t want to disturb you.” 

The sun shone dappled through the leaves, making Aika’s hair appear blacker, if possible. Around her shoulders, Jaliqai’s own dark braids shone red as clay when the sun hit them just right.  

She reached out, sliding the ends of Aika’s hair through her fingers absently. 

“No I’m here alone. Batbayar is fretting over Hanae. I think he is in love.”

A small, sour knot formed briefly within her chest at that statement. It was a joke though, right? Maybe? It was hard to tell at times. Aika chose not to respond to it.

Satisfied that all remains of the snake had been removed, Aika stuffed the cloth back into her satchel.

“Practice is serious.” Aika shrugged. “Generally speaking.” She could certainly think of a few sparring sessions that had not been.

She laced her fingers with her fiancé’s free hand. “Did you come to spar? I do not know how good of a partner I will be; I have worn myself out a little.” Not terribly, but enough where she knew she could not push herself too much farther without jeopardizing her strength in fending off a potential attack.

“It does not have to be so serious,” she answered easily, waving her free hand. “There’s a lot of fun to be had in practice, if you’re doing it right.” She leaned her forehead against Aika’s, smiling deeply in the ease and familiarity of the gesture.

“I’m not here to spar. I’m just here to be with you. We haven’t had much alone time since the wedding.”

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“Impressive,” Jaliqai praised from where she’d been silently watching her fiancée amongst the trees. Aika had been disappearing to be alone more and more often these days, and she had little love for this change in her lover’s personality.

Jaliqai had known from the moment they’d shared the kiss in the great hall at that fancy house in the far South of the Fire Nation that Aika was not…convinced. No, if anything she had taken steps backward since that time, away from what little progress they had made in the department of her sister.

It worried Jaliqai more than she cared to admit. She had seen that it worried Batbayar and Hanae too. 

The young woman slunk forward, revealing herself to Aika, a smile pressed firmly over her features. She was determined to have a talk with her. A real talk. A talk in which Aika finally opened up to her about what was going on.

All she needed was the opportunity, in Jaliqai’s mind. She simply had not had it before. Not while they had been travelling to the wedding. Not while they had been there. Not in the hours and hours they spent together with the other two members of their party since then as they absconded as quickly as was possible toward Jaliqai and Batbayar’s home, and safety for good. 

“Your skills are unparralled.”

“Thank you.” She said, because it is a thing one says. There was a quiet pause before she continued, “I didn’t hear you.” How long had Jaliqai been there? Clearly she had allowed herself to become too absorbed in avoiding her thoughts. A dangerous thing.

The snake was thrashing a little too close to her ankles, Aika took a step back and around it to evade the chance of being bitten. As she approached her fiance Aika mirrored her smile though it did not entirely reach her eyes.

Aika’s fingers picked at the lacings of her satchel. “Are the others with you or are they back at camp?” She doubted that Hanae was with her. The handmaid generally did not come to watch her practice unless invited to do so.

The satchel opened partially and she proceeded to fish her fingers within it in search of a rag to clean off what little gore the serpent had left upon her blade. She removed a cloth that had been stained with a minor scrape Hanae had incurred upon the road earlier in the day, one she might had been annoyed at stopping over had it not been someone she held any fondness for. It took little work at all to clean off what little the snake had left behind.

“You looked so serious,” Jaliqai said fondly, good natured mirth in her words, “I didn’t want to disturb you.” 

The sun shone dappled through the leaves, making Aika’s hair appear blacker, if possible. Around her shoulders, Jaliqai’s own dark braids shone red as clay when the sun hit them just right.  

She reached out, sliding the ends of Aika’s hair through her fingers absently. 

“No I’m here alone. Batbayar is fretting over Hanae. I think he is in love.”

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Between… || Closed RP

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Hanae had gone from oddly absent to terribly present. Aika knew why, and while a part of her did not like feeling like Hanae was thinking out each move made between them during the journey to the Northern border, a part of her appreciated it. The more distance closed between her and the crags, more so herself and home, the more what conflict she felt grew.

It was growing hard to see the absence of Manami’s mistreatment and more so the destruction of what closeness they had shared. Was it really all that bad? Had she become so swept up in the opinions of outsiders that her vision of their relationship had become distorted. Hadn’t they built a sandcastle together during the festival of salt while waiting for the crowds of Northern nobility within their home to thin for the evening? They watched the ships pass earlier in the day and discussed how their ancestors might have chosen to plunder them, what weaknesses they noticed upon first glance.

If their relationship was so dreadful could they have shared such peaceful moments?

The muscles within her arms had started to ache and burn with the extra effort and extended time she was placing into her forms. If she sat still there was more room for her mind to be active scouring through unanticipated twists and turns; practice was repetitive, comforting.

Out of the edge of her eyesight there was a thin flashing ribbon of green and the swordswoman brought her blade to meet it. Thud, thud; the severed pieces hit the ground quietly. Aika had a strong idea as to what she had felled before her eyes even cast down upon the wriggling halves of the harmless green tree snake. Bordering somewhere between apathy and mild curiosity she watched the back half slow to a twitch while the other continued to writhe.

“Impressive,” Jaliqai praised from where she’d been silently watching her fiancée amongst the trees. Aika had been disappearing to be alone more and more often these days, and she had little love for this change in her lover’s personality.

Jaliqai had known from the moment they’d shared the kiss in the great hall at that fancy house in the far South of the Fire Nation that Aika was not...convinced. No, if anything she had taken steps backward since that time, away from what little progress they had made in the department of her sister.

It worried Jaliqai more than she cared to admit. She had seen that it worried Batbayar and Hanae too. 

The young woman slunk forward, revealing herself to Aika, a smile pressed firmly over her features. She was determined to have a talk with her. A real talk. A talk in which Aika finally opened up to her about what was going on.

All she needed was the opportunity, in Jaliqai’s mind. She simply had not had it before. Not while they had been travelling to the wedding. Not while they had been there. Not in the hours and hours they spent together with the other two members of their party since then as they absconded as quickly as was possible toward Jaliqai and Batbayar’s home, and safety for good. 

“Your skills are unparralled.”

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“Lee,” she tried. It was a simple enough name for a Southerner but it still fell from her tongue strangely in comparison to his. The difference in mother tongues would be glaring to anyone.

“What are you doing out here all on your own Lee?” She took a bite of her own fruit, slowing for a moment to appreciate the nutty flavour of the flesh. A small noise of appreciation escaped her. “Being forgotten? Trying to be, perhaps?” 

He didn’t seem like someone who wanted greatness. Not from the way he spoke.

Perhaps he was being taciturn, though. She was very obviously a Cragwoman, by her dragon-elk, and she had found that not many in these parts were very eager to have her around. She’d been subtly chased from about three different towns already.

“Not exactly.” Zuko sheaths the dagger and stuffs it back into his tunic, “But, thank you for the apple.” 

He begins to gather his things, realizing he’s spent his time here just a moment too long. There’s a river to the east, but the map he bought from one of the villages seems to be outdated. Still the hope of water is more than enough motivation, and a flaw is not unexpected from a map worth one copper piece. 

“All i’ve seen around here are ostrich-horses.” Zuko says, carefully stepping around the elk, “What’d you trade for it?” 

“Trade?” She looks at him in confusion a moment, uncertain of what he means. Then she realises that he must mean Altantsetseg. The Cragwoman snorts.

“No you are mistaken. I raised Altantsetseg from when he was a calf. My people herd dragon-elk as our trade....one of our trades.” She crosses her arms, a hip jutting out. She regards the scarred man with the raise of an eyebrow.

“I did not, how do you say...? Barter for him.” 

Jaliqai smooths a hand over the elk’s soft neck, and then up to his great crown of antlers, settling there easily on one of the many velvet branches. 

“Why? Are you in the market for one? I could help you, but you will have to come with me very far North, and I will not be turning back to go home for some time yet.”

Strangers on a Path | Closed RP

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“Well I suppose that that is a matter of perspective…and whether you wish to be known for great things.” Jaliqai patted her dragon-elk’s neck, clearly relaxed and uncaring about the eavesdropping charge leveled at her by the scarred boy before her. 

“I for one do, so I guess it would be terrible to be forgotten.” She reached into her saddle bag, retrieving two chestnut-apples and tossing one of the glossy red fruits toward him. 

“I’m Jaliqai. What’s your name, stranger?”

“Maybe some people just aren’t meant for it. Greatness, I mean.” Zuko sighs, “Some people are just doomed and forgotten from the start.”

If he wanted more talk of achieving greatness then he could have just stayed with his uncle. Still, Jaliqai’s tone did bring some comfort. It had only been less than week and already the old man seemed to follow him in some way. 

He pulls out his dagger and begins cutting the apple into slices. 

“It’s Lee.” 

“Lee,” she tried. It was a simple enough name for a Southerner but it still fell from her tongue strangely in comparison to his. The difference in mother tongues would be glaring to anyone.

“What are you doing out here all on your own Lee?” She took a bite of her own fruit, slowing for a moment to appreciate the nutty flavour of the flesh. A small noise of appreciation escaped her. “Being forgotten? Trying to be, perhaps?” 

He didn’t seem like someone who wanted greatness. Not from the way he spoke.

Perhaps he was being taciturn, though. She was very obviously a Cragwoman, by her dragon-elk, and she had found that not many in these parts were very eager to have her around. She’d been subtly chased from about three different towns already.

Strangers on a Path | Closed RP

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Strangers on a Path | Closed RP

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“Didn’t anyone tell you? Eavesdropping isn’t an invitation. Besides, doomed or not, isn’t being forgotten just as bad?” 

“Well I suppose that that is a matter of perspective...and whether you wish to be known for great things.” Jaliqai patted her dragon-elk’s neck, clearly relaxed and uncaring about the eavesdropping charge levelled at her by the scarred boy before her. 

“I for one do, so I guess it would be terrible to be forgotten.” She reached into her saddle bag, retrieving two chestnut-apples and tossing one of the glossy red fruits toward him. 

“I’m Jaliqai. What’s your name, stranger?”

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DO NOT REBLOG ; JUST REPOST.

TAGGED BY : @littlesistersword

TAGGING : everyone

NAME: Jaliqai

NICKNAME:  Jal, Jali

GENDER: Female

AGE: 25

DATE OF BIRTH: 82 AG

OCCUPATION: Heir to her father’s Clan; next Chieftain of the Clan (Current Chieftain as her father has passed away, but her own family doesn’t know yet).

██▒   APPEARANCE

EYE COLOR: Black

HAIR COLOR: Dark brown

HEIGHT: 5′7″

SCARS: A light scar on her left cheek from a narrow miss with an opponent’s arrow once. It stretches back across her ear. A long one on her right side from a skirmish gone wrong.

OVERWEIGHT: No

UNDERWEIGHT: No

██▒   FAVORITE

COLOR: Maroon

ANIMAL/S: Dragon-Elk

MOVIE/S:  -

TV SHOW:  -

FOOD: Jaliqai is a total foodie. She pretty much loves everything, especially because she doesn’t get much variety in her own diet up in the Crags. Coming South has been great for her food wise. I think she particularly loves roast duck.

DRINK: Tea, rice wine

BOOK: None.

██▒   HAVE THEY

PASSED UNIVERSITY: No

HAD SEX: Yes

HAD SEX IN PUBLIC: Yes

GOTTEN PREGNANT: No

KISSED A BOY: Yes

KISSED A GIRL:  Yes

GOTTEN TATTOOS: She has a dragon tattooed up her left side.

HAD A BROKEN HEART: Yes

BEEN IN LOVE: Yes

STAYED UP FOR MORE THAN 24 HOURS: Yes

██▒   ARE THEY

A VIRGIN: No

A KISSER: As in casually? No.

SCARED EASILY: No

JEALOUS EASILY: No

TRUSTWORTHY: Yes

IN LOVE: Yes

SINGLE: No.

██▒   RANDOM QUESTIONS

HAVE THEY HARMED THEMSELVES: No

THOUGHT OF SUICIDE: No

ATTEMPTED SUICIDE: No

WANTED TO KILL SOMEONE: Yes

DROVE A CAR: A what?

HAVE/HAD A JOB: herding the dragon-elk, helping with things at camp; everyone pulls their weight at home no matter their status.

HAVE ANY FEARS: Losing Aika, not being adequate at her job as chieftain

██▒   FAMILY

SIBLINGS: All deceased.

PARENTS: Jin and Mina

CHILDREN: None

PETS: Altantsetseg (her dragon-elk)

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littlesistersword:

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Aika hid once again. Jaliqai felt her heart sink, her own annoyance mounting in what seemed opposition to the diminishing of Aika’s own. She wished that she would tell her if she was mad. She wished that she would yell, or at least tell her what bothered her, or argue until they had settled their differences.

Instead, she hid away all of her thoughts. 

“Don’t make that face. It’s worse than the alternative,” she told Aika glumly, starting to take the lead since Aika had halted in such motions. 

“We’ll get changed and head out. Do you wish to say goodbye to your mother?”

Aika shrugged halfheartedly, retaining her empty expression.

“ I don’t care either way. “

Up ahead she could see a rather ornate woman she recognized as the Mistress of Flowers speaking with the more promiscuous of the Ty sisters. By the way the older of the two periodically moved her her fan subtly to obscure her mouth it was likely they were gossiping about someone or other. Such past times never appealed to Aika.

"If you want to you can, but I don’t really care.”

Jaliqai bit off the urge to growl at her fiancée’s blasé reaction, instead grunting as she turned fully from her, paying no mind to the ornately dressed guests who had stolen Aika’s attention as she made her way from the crowded room.

She would be glad to get these silly things off and put her own clothes back on.

The Wedding | Closed Rp

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Forced to stop she half stumbled but recovered. “I know that you love her, and it’s difficult for you…but embracing her like that will have given us away.” Jaliqai kept her tone even, reasonable.

“We’ll have to leave tonight.”

They would have to leave, of course. She couldn’t argue with that. Lingering here with Azula about was a horrible idea, not unless they could catch her somewhere private. They couldn’t risk waiting around for that moment though, not if Jaliqai needed to get back to the Crags quickly to deal with her uncle.

“ Then we’ll leave tonight .” Aika replied flatly, expression diminishing from annoyed to something devoid of expression; blank, unreadable. “ I did not think we’d spend much time here anyways. You have a wedding of your own that needs to happen with Batbayar. ” It was an idea she was still less than fond of. At times she still wondered how many spouses might join their family after she married Jaliqai.

She would have to approve of them, but really what choice would she have? Aika didn’t doubt that Batbayar had been less than thrilled about hers and Jaliqai’s engagement.

Aika hid once again. Jaliqai felt her heart sink, her own annoyance mounting in what seemed opposition to the diminishing of Aika’s own. She wished that she would tell her if she was mad. She wished that she would yell, or at least tell her what bothered her, or argue until they had settled their differences.

Instead, she hid away all of her thoughts. 

“Don’t make that face. It’s worse than the alternative,” she told Aika glumly, starting to take the lead since Aika had halted in such motions. 

“We’ll get changed and head out. Do you wish to say goodbye to your mother?”

The Wedding | Closed Rp

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Aika… 

Saying nothing out loud, Jaliqai kept her expression carefully neutral as Aika embraced her sister and held her gaze, looking more conflicted than she had ever seen her. Manami would certainly know there was something wrong now, if she hadn’t outright guessed what they had planned.

They would have to move their timeline up anyway – she had antagnoized Manami enough that Jaliqai was not convinced she would wait to visit her wrath on them until a later time.

They would have to leave that evening. 

She allowed herself to be dragged along by Aika, staring back at Manami a few moments before finally turning her attention to the path that her fiancée struck out ahead of them. 

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she finally ventured, out of earshot of the heir to the cove, “She’ll know there’s something wrong. We’re going to have to move up our timeline.”

Of course she would know something was wrong. The Aika Manami grew up with hated parties, would do anything to keep from attracting attention, and was incredibly uncomfortable with public displays of affection. The latter was slightly less true than before, but the rest…. Then of course it was only a matter of time before her mother spread news of their engagement to anyone willing to lusten.

Aika stopped abruptly and turned to face Jaliqai “ Shouldn’t have done what? Embrace my sister for the last time? “

Forced to stop she half stumbled but recovered. “I know that you love her, and it’s difficult for you...but embracing her like that will have given us away.” Jaliqai kept her tone even, reasonable.

“We’ll have to leave tonight.”

The Wedding | Closed Rp

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Jaliqai looked sidelong at the serving woman. No doubt she’d been sent over to cut the tension by offering the drinks, but it had seemed to have the opposite effect. She reached out delicately to accept a glass from her tray, offering a smile that did not quite reach her eyes before turning away from her.

“I will not,” Jaliqai finally said in response to Manami. Something in the warrior’s hands would stop her reaching out to throttle the heir to the Cove. She would remember the event until the day that she killed the witch standing before them with the infant in her arms. 

Really it was unfortunate for Manami that she had failed to kill her…Because the other woman would learn to regret not having done so. 

“We should go,” Jaliqai announced finally, turning her attention back to Aika. “This party has become rather dull, and I find my taste for the food has become rather stale.”

Thank the spirits.

Aika had been tired of this party from the moment they entered it. Far too many people had taken interest in them from the moment it had come out that Jaliqai was from the crags and after their rather public scene a couple minutes ago there was bound to be a few more attendees wanting to pry into their business so that they’d have a story to tell their friends, acquaintances and casual enemies.

“I agree.” She sounded a bit more eager than she had intended. It didn’t matter. Jaliqai wanted to leave and Manami knew Aika well enough to know that she found large gatherings unpleasant.

Just the same, she gave her sister a light embrace. Undoubtedly the last one she would be able to. An uncomfortable sinking sensation weighed heavily within her stomach. She was doing the right thing, right? Right. This wasn’t ‘normal’, or 'healthy’. It would be easier if she focused upon the night Manami burned her for eating the last dumpling, how she tormented poor Taro- not all the more pleasant times that came to mind now.

As Aika released her the right words seemed elusive and so she said nothing, meeting her sister’s gaze and holding it before turning away and taking Jaliqai’s hand. She pulled her fiance with her, steps swift and light, leaving Manami behind before she could think to do otherwise.

Aika... 

Saying nothing out loud, Jaliqai kept her expression carefully neutral as Aika embraced her sister and held her gaze, looking more conflicted than she had ever seen her. Manami would certainly know there was something wrong now, if she hadn’t outright guessed what they had planned.

They would have to move their timeline up anyway -- she had antagnoized Manami enough that Jaliqai was not convinced she would wait to visit her wrath on them until a later time.

They would have to leave that evening. 

She allowed herself to be dragged along by Aika, staring back at Manami a few moments before finally turning her attention to the path that her fiancée struck out ahead of them. 

“You shouldn’t have done that,” she finally ventured, out of earshot of the heir to the cove, “She’ll know there’s something wrong. We’re going to have to move up our timeline.”

The Wedding | Closed Rp

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pullofthebowstring:

littlesistersword:

The note of concern in her elder sister’s voice tugged at her almost painfully; reminding her of times in which there was no conflict between them, the moments in which they were close.

“If anything has wearied me it is not Jaliqai.” Which is obviously what Manami was implying. Aika placed her hand over her sister’s though she did not meet her eyes. “ I don’t understand why you two can’t get along.” The swordswoman removed Manami’s light fingers from her arm.

It was a naive thought, she knew. Both of them had personalities that were strong and did not mesh well. Jaliqai held fast to her noble sense of morality while Manami believed that way of life was for those desperate to be valued as ‘good people’.

“It is difficult,” Jaliqai commented dryly, “when one party attempted to burn the other alive inside of a stable. It puts a damper on most social interactions outside of said incident, in my experience.” 

Indeed, if the other woman hadn’t been holding the baby, Jaliqai might have taken her opportunity and killed Manami on the spot.

I would be doing everyone a favour. 

Manami rolled her eyes at Jaliqai’s response. “Now, now, I knew you wouldn’t die,” Aika had no idea that there was some truth to that, “besides, that was months ago. You really need to learn to let go.”

Aika took note of the approach of a tall brunette servant, pink clad in robes far more ornate than would have been permitted of their position in the cove. How impractical. On her platter was another array of gold cracked wine cups.

“My ladies, would you care for a-”

“What does it look like I have in my arms?” Manami’s voice was smooth, and her eyes narrowed. “Do you think I should have a drink?”

“Well, I, no-”

“Do you also think it is your place to dictate what I do?”

“You should go.” Aika muttered to the girl, a warning. Manami was in a mood and she didn’t want a third party to suffer any of it, that would only draw it out further.

Jaliqai looked sidelong at the serving woman. No doubt she��d been sent over to cut the tension by offering the drinks, but it had seemed to have the opposite effect. She reached out delicately to accept a glass from her tray, offering a smile that did not quite reach her eyes before turning away from her.

“I will not,” Jaliqai finally said in response to Manami. Something in the warrior’s hands would stop her reaching out to throttle the heir to the Cove. She would remember the event until the day that she killed the witch standing before them with the infant in her arms. 

Really it was unfortunate for Manami that she had failed to kill her...Because the other woman would learn to regret not having done so. 

“We should go,” Jaliqai announced finally, turning her attention back to Aika. “This party has become rather dull, and I find my taste for the food has become rather stale.”

The Wedding | Closed Rp