Wax pools against wood worn smooth from years of reaching, eager hands. Firelight dances across the words in front of her, drawing a crease to her brow and a new ache to her eyes. Though she'd rather read beneath the beauty of the moon in the Observatory, it's a luxury she can scarcely afford with such a weight hanging over her head. There would simply be too much time wasted between books, especially with how she jumped from cover to cover following the rabbiting trail of her own thoughts. Instead she clenches her eyes tight, wings fluttering at her back in agitation as she tries to clear the blur from her vision and refocuses on the text before her.
The fungus grows as a parasite mostly on living deciduous trees...it has been extensively studied for effects on digestive system cancers...
The time slips from her once more as she fixates on a new form of fungus and its medicinal properties. It's difficult to research this particular problem, the Blight. It infects flora and fauna alike, and threatened the human population next. Nephele feared it advancing, mutating even more. How could she rest until it was defeated? This was more than her home at risk, it was her people. Her sister.
Speak of the devil...
Nephele winces as she lifts her head, curls cascading across her cheek as she looks up briefly at the sound of footsteps. Gods, but her neck was aching. She'd never managed to learn no matter how many years went by - her posture would simply always be horrendous when she was deep in a book. She only distracts herself with the entrance for a moment, handwaving it away mentally. If it was another knowledge seeker, they would surely not bother her.
Orrrrr not.
A hand pulls at her book, and Nephele nearly cuts it off until her sister's soft voice penetrates her haze. Only then do her hands go limp, allowing the book to be taken from her without a fight. She sags to the side, resting her head on Eriadne's shoulder as her twin settles beside her. They've had this conversation in brief spats since the discovery of the Blight, but she can't avoid such a direct question this time. Even if their kind was able to lie, she'd never do so successfully in the face of her elder sister.
"I can't sit here and do nothing, Eri." Her voice is strained with rare emotion, something only Eriadne is privy to. Nephele turns and buries her face against the soft skin of her sister's neck, smelling the forest on her. Must have come back from patrol, she thinks idly. She rests there a moment, soaking in the comfort Eriadne's presence alone gives her. Her pillar of strength when it mattered, the embodiment of the line in the sand that kept Nephele sane.
"You protect our home in the way you have always known how. This is all I have, the only weapon I can wield. How can I rest when the answer might be in here?" It is tinged with desperation, and the fae withdraws enough to gaze desperately upon her sister, needing comfort. Validation. Guidance. She feels useless, her whimsical curiosities about the world suddenly childish in the face of this looming threat. Why had she not studied harder in her early years? Perhaps then she would be of use in the present.
The fungus grows as a parasite mostly on living deciduous trees...it has been extensively studied for effects on digestive system cancers...
The time slips from her once more as she fixates on a new form of fungus and its medicinal properties. It's difficult to research this particular problem, the Blight. It infects flora and fauna alike, and threatened the human population next. Nephele feared it advancing, mutating even more. How could she rest until it was defeated? This was more than her home at risk, it was her people. Her sister.
Speak of the devil...
Nephele winces as she lifts her head, curls cascading across her cheek as she looks up briefly at the sound of footsteps. Gods, but her neck was aching. She'd never managed to learn no matter how many years went by - her posture would simply always be horrendous when she was deep in a book. She only distracts herself with the entrance for a moment, handwaving it away mentally. If it was another knowledge seeker, they would surely not bother her.
Orrrrr not.
A hand pulls at her book, and Nephele nearly cuts it off until her sister's soft voice penetrates her haze. Only then do her hands go limp, allowing the book to be taken from her without a fight. She sags to the side, resting her head on Eriadne's shoulder as her twin settles beside her. They've had this conversation in brief spats since the discovery of the Blight, but she can't avoid such a direct question this time. Even if their kind was able to lie, she'd never do so successfully in the face of her elder sister.
"I can't sit here and do nothing, Eri." Her voice is strained with rare emotion, something only Eriadne is privy to. Nephele turns and buries her face against the soft skin of her sister's neck, smelling the forest on her. Must have come back from patrol, she thinks idly. She rests there a moment, soaking in the comfort Eriadne's presence alone gives her. Her pillar of strength when it mattered, the embodiment of the line in the sand that kept Nephele sane.
"You protect our home in the way you have always known how. This is all I have, the only weapon I can wield. How can I rest when the answer might be in here?" It is tinged with desperation, and the fae withdraws enough to gaze desperately upon her sister, needing comfort. Validation. Guidance. She feels useless, her whimsical curiosities about the world suddenly childish in the face of this looming threat. Why had she not studied harder in her early years? Perhaps then she would be of use in the present.
Your goodness must have some edge to it -- else it is none
