You Know the Truest Me
Evie Ignatius
the Evergreen
Warden of Halo / Apothecarist

Age: 34 | Height: 5'5 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 8 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 30 - Int:
MICAH - Regular - Tide Jaguar
Played by: Brit Offline
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Posts: 1,182 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#1

There are few who know of Evie's particular...talents. Curse. Whatever you want to call it. It was not a secret she divulged to just anyone, and it never stopped making her heart feel as if it would fall right out of her chest when she did. But she had found, in the few people she had told, that there was a lightening of the burden she carried every waking hour when others knew. When she could speak to them, cry to them, ask for their advice freely without questioning her own words.

The world is certainly off its axis for Evie right now. And there is only one person she trusts to right it.

She starts out early when the dawn is scarcely bloodying the horizon. Evie knows that the woman she seeks will be up, preparing the dough and beginning the task of fresh baking. Tucking her wool-covered feet into her travel boots and swinging a cloak around herself to stop the chill, the maiden sets out into the snow. Her cheeks immediately flush against the cold, until they nearly match her hair, and her breath mists out in little clouds from her lips. It's not a very far walk from her apothecary at least. Considering she'd been sleeping there instead of the Wordsworth manor...it's more telling than she's willing to admit.

Evie can't help but reflect upon the turmoils in her mind as she walks down the well-tread path. Remembering her conversation with Sam in the Temple, the Blight in general and how she had failed to help Abasi against it, the fear of being recognized as another Abandoned by Loren. The falling of the barrier, when she had disappeared to deal with her own anxieties like a coward. There was so much that Evie couldn't understand anymore, and she needed guidance. Friendship. Love.

The redhead doesn't bother knocking, stamping her feet out and entering the bakery, the familiar scent of yeast and baking bread washing over her alongside the warmth of the building. "Amalia?" she calls tentatively, suddenly unsure of her welcome.

evie
Please don't ever become a stranger
whose laugh I could recognize anywhere
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#2
Amalia
Evie is right: Amalia is awake and already at work by the time a late sun rises, illuminating the sparkling snow, a strange winter wonderland in the face of such tragedy. Her commute has gotten longer, the morning trek from the domiciles taking a significant time more than simply hopping down the stairs, but the extra walk is more than worth it for the pleasure of waking at Deimos' side, wrapped in the warmth of her lover's arms, a sword against the dark. A quiet breakfast, a pot of tea, an exchange of kisses and the girl sets off, bare feet leaving paw prints behind her, a familiar, well-worn trail.

Then it is into the bakery kitchen, where she sets the morning bake to rise, taking out the loaves left overnight and punching them down into malleable shapes. It is an easy routine, a bastion of security in an insecure time, reliability in work as the world shifts and changes. Everything she knows may be different, but this thing is the same: flour and water, salt and sugar, heat and yeast coming together to make something edible, something that can unite the world. Alone each ingredient has little value, but together, well...

It is not unlike friendship, in a way.

For most of her life, Amalia did not have many friends, but one figure has filled the pages of the Shield's lonely years. Over the past seasons she has often thought about Evie, the older sister she never had, her confidant when she felt most alone. Where has she been, the red-headed apothecary, while the world has crumbled around their ears? Has she been well, has she been happy, has she been living a full life? It is a long time since Amalia saw the girl, and many things have changed, too many to recount in a single sitting, a constant deluge of shifting tides.

Many things have changed, but some things are constant - like the smile that lights up Amalia's face when the older girl walks into the shop, like the way she practically flies over the counter, wrapping her arms around Evie's neck, childish and playful and utterly overjoyed to see her best friend here and well. "Evie!" she cries, her voice tight with relief, not knowing how much she missed the other until this very moment. "You're here!"
reach for the stars: but child, first recognize
the constellations of light you already carry
inside you
Evie Ignatius
the Evergreen
Warden of Halo / Apothecarist

Age: 34 | Height: 5'5 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 8 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 30 - Int:
MICAH - Regular - Tide Jaguar
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#3

Amalia is precisely where Evie expects her, eyes drawn to the same place as they have been for years. The motion is as familiar as the face she gazes upon. There isn't a world Evie can imagine living in where Amalia isn't standing there, smile radiant and glowing through her entire beautiful face. If there exists a parallel universe where Evie would have to bear walking through this door only to find the shop barren, she is sure that version of herself would not survive long past losing Amalia. But that is not this world, and Evie's own smile breaks through the clouds converging upon her soul, reaching for Amalia's joy like a physical entity that drinks it down like liquid sunshine and glows all the brighter for it.

Amalia flies around the counter, and Evie is waiting for her long before her pounding feet cross the floor, arms flung out in preparation. They clasp firmly around Amalia's waist, laughing into the whirlwind of hair that flies against her face, bringing with it the smell of young dough. "Amalia," she breathes in ecstatic cry, nearly lifting the younger woman off the ground with how she draws her impossibly closer to her breast. As if she can make a home there for the only little sister the world had deigned to give her. Protected, carried forever close, so they may never be parted like this again. Even when Evie hides away, when she exiles herself, she will never be without Amalia again.

Refusing to part just yet, she presses their temples together as she lets one hand drift higher to rub idle circles between Amalia's shoulders. Rocks them to and fro gently, unable to help the almost manic grin on her face. Everything is finally right. "I've missed you so much 'Lia," trembles from her lips, but there is a strength in Evie now that she has Amalia in her grasp. A dynamic that had never died out between them, not since they were young and side-by-side with Amalia's mother, learning their basic herbs. Evie had always been the big sister. The guiding hand. To have Amalia still love her, still trust in her...it takes the weight of inadequacy from her shoulders for a moment, reminds her that people count on her.

It's enough. It will always be enough.

evie
Please don't ever become a stranger
whose laugh I could recognize anywhere
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#4
Amalia
There is a level of familiarity between the girls that is nearly foreign to Amalia in these darker days, strains of family played between their spirits that she did not realize she missed as much as she did. Oh, she has a found family now, more wonderful and unexpected than she ever could have hoped, but the loneliness she feels when Deimos and Kiada discuss the past is an insidious and pervasive thing. Or else there is Wessex, their relationship tenuous and insecure, both of them playing roles for gods who will never reconcile. Of late Amalia has begun to flounder, a tree unable to find her roots, unsteady on the crumbling earth and steadily losing her balance.

But here, today, in Evie's embrace, the girl at last feels something close to steady. It feels like being home.

Their faces pressed in familiarity, Amalia inhales Evie's scent, smiling at the aroma that always seems to follow her friend: clean and sharp, herbs and citrus, an apiothecarist's mild and crisp aroma, the perfume of medicine and half held secrets. She could stay like this forever, safe within these memories of the past, held by her sister and cradled from the world. I've missed you, 'Lia- the only one who still uses that nickname, and Amalia chokes a shuddering laugh. "I've missed you, too," she whispers fiercely, swallowing down a rising sob.

Amalia has been holding herself together with questionable success for the past few seasons, but here at last in Evie's arms the girl feels herself giving way. There are tears in her eyes as she tries to pull away, dropping her face to hide the expression, searching for composure in a child's heart. She wants to burst apart at the seams, to let loose the deluge of stressors and fears and triumphs and changes, but anxiety and insecurity hold her back, inky hands upon her lips. Evie isn't here to learn the baker's troubles, to bear the Shield's weight.

Schooling her voice into something almost composed (her face another story- she has never had a talent for hiding her feelings) Amalia takes a step back from Evie, her tired eyes still a little downcast. "How have you been? I can make tea- did, did you bring some, or should I pick from my supply?"
reach for the stars: but child, first recognize
the constellations of light you already carry
inside you
Evie Ignatius
the Evergreen
Warden of Halo / Apothecarist

Age: 34 | Height: 5'5 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 8 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 30 - Int:
MICAH - Regular - Tide Jaguar
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#5

Neither can seem to bear to part from the other's embrace, chasing away the absent months between the insistent press of their bodies. There is so much to say, words bubbling up in her throat and choking her. Explanations, perhaps. Begging for forgiveness. But there is time now that she has made it this far. Conquered her cowardly fears and returned to the safety of her sister's clasping arms. The words subside into her breast where they form a lump of regret, but at least she can breathe. Evie turns her head into the cloud of golden hair, letting it conceal her from her fears and remind her of the good that still stubbornly clung in the veins of the tainted world at large. All held in Amalia's heart, iridescent and pure.

It makes the diamond-glint of her tears so much more painful as they pull away, and Evie's heart aches as her hands instinctively reach forward to soothe. The way she tries to compose herself, the words she uses as a shield, Evie blusters past them in her usual way. Lifts her palms to cradle her little sister's face and gently wipe away the lingering trail of wetness with her work-calloused thumbs. She doesn't press. Not yet. Time. There is time.

But still she seeks to tilt Amalia's face closer, to press a kiss upon her brow, hoping to provide enough strength to the baker to make it through until those words come to pass. Then the magic user withdraws, grinning weakly as she digs into her bag for a little drawstring pouch of herbs. "Who do you think I am? Of course I brought some!" Mischievous blues dart around the bakery, smile turning downright mischievous. "Any treats you have stashed away that I can convince you to relinquish?" It's a start, a step towards normalcy, and it's the first step that's the hardest. They can discuss how they are when they're seated and sipping on their tea. Her response is sure to be as lengthy as Amalia's and not so simply worded as to respond immediately in a way that isn't wholly false.

evie
Please don't ever become a stranger
whose laugh I could recognize anywhere
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#6
Amalia
There is something incredible in being seen, and as Evie fixes her with a soft blue stare Amalia truly feels that the older girl sees her. Sees and has seen, through the course of years: as she's risen and stumbled and fallen and stood back up. For Evie the baker does not need to be the Shield of Safrin; she does not need to be a protector of the Hollowed Grounds, one who prays and aches and tries. In the eyes of her sister she can simply be a girl, fragile and striving with tears on her cheeks.

Obediently she drops her face, smiling shyly as the redhead's lips press gently to her forehead. Looking up as the healer withdraws, Amalia's head tilts to the side, her expression soft and bright and for a moment unguarded. Taking the pouch of herbs into slender hands, she steps back around the counter, laughing a little and shaking her head with playful mischief in her voice. "One or two, perhaps." For Evie? Always.

Humming, Amalia picks up the kettle and sets it into the already warming oven, waiting for the water to warm for tea. Turning back to the counter, she reaches below, pulling out a plate of yesterday's scones and putting them into the space between them. "But if you want something fresh you'll have to wait- or you can help me bake." Like old times- a continued respite from the things they haven't said, a foray back into comfortable memory, a break from the dangers and dramas of the world.
reach for the stars: but child, first recognize
the constellations of light you already carry
inside you
Evie Ignatius
the Evergreen
Warden of Halo / Apothecarist

Age: 34 | Height: 5'5 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 8 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 30 - Int:
MICAH - Regular - Tide Jaguar
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#7

Amalia is not the only one who feels seen. Evie lives her life in a web of constricting, gossamer, beautiful lies. They strangle and hang her from their unbroken threads, pulling on her limbs like a puppeteer, her parents at the helm of a ship destined for an icy fate. It is a burden that she can't set down with anyone else. A veil that shrouds her true self from everyone else, and one that feels eternally different to breathe through. But here she is just...Evie. Witty, playful, loving, Abandoned. They both have so many things to posture for, to appear strong for, but here there is no reason. Here, she can kiss her sister's brow and see her gleaming smile without her hands hesitating, as if feeling the stain of magic there in her skin.

Amalia dances out of her reach, and Evie grins, bright and unburdened as she follows her to the opposite side of the counter. Leans her elbows down on its surface and pops her hip to the side, chin cradled in one hand, making herself home in the space that had raised her as surely as it had the Shield. "One or two? You're gonna starve me!" she wines dramatically, her sweet tooth demanding much more by way of donation. But like a pleased, mischievous cat her blue eyes shine as she watches Amalia move about her space. Sure enough, a plate of scones are placed on the surface between them, and Evie immediately snatches one with the precision of years spent sneaking goodies off the counter as children.

It's already in her mouth by the time Amalia speaks, and she hastens to swallow down her gratuitous mouthful in order to speak. "My hands are at your command," she assures, bright and bushy-tailed, ready to dive into the nostalgic task of baking. The familiar motions would be the perfect time to talk, to expel their fears and worries as they worked dough or mixed ingredients. It had always been easier to do so. To look at the food coming to life in their hands instead of having to face each other or the world.

evie
Please don't ever become a stranger
whose laugh I could recognize anywhere
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#8
Amalia
She laughs good-humoredly as Evie scarfs down the scone, raising an eyebrow, her tone light and teasing. "Wordworths might have big heads and big houses, but nothing can beat a Chandrakant's baking." It's an old line, thrown between grandmothers at Fiat Lux, well intentioned and speaking less to pride than the camradarie that came with years of isolation and survival. For 300 years their families had persisted, survived and thrived within the barrier-

Except that now Amalia is the only Chandrakant left, and her smile falters a little at the memory of this fact.

Clearing her throat the baker turns around, hoping to hide her momentary weakness, to keep from clouding this lovely morning. Hands wrapped carefully she extracts the kettle, pouring boiling water into a pot and bringing it back for Evie to add in whatever tea she's brought. While the apothecarist works on tea Amalia sets about gathering more ingredients, everything they will need for cinnamon rolls, a childhood favorite of the pair.

"I have a boyfriend!" she announces suddenly, her cheeks turning a shade of red to match her friend's hair. This is a spot of good news among so many recent disasters, and suddenly the girl is painfully aware that more than anyone Amalia wants Evie to know, and to approve. "Deimos. The... the general. Since Fiat Lux." The older girl is the only one who knows about Amalia's disasterous first attempt at dating, that she had been abandoned after sleeping with the boy, that she had been at a loss for what had gone wrong.

Shyly, nervously, she looks up at Evie's bright blue eyes, searching for reassurance and approval within. Does he know him? Does she like him? She wants so desperately to speak to her sister, to tell her about her romance, her life, but the baker is, as ever, afraid.
reach for the stars: but child, first recognize
the constellations of light you already carry
inside you
Evie Ignatius
the Evergreen
Warden of Halo / Apothecarist

Age: 34 | Height: 5'5 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 8 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 30 - Int:
MICAH - Regular - Tide Jaguar
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#9

As soon as Evie has swallowed down the lump of delicious scone in her mouth, she aims a smirk at Amalia. "Don't forget big mouths," she reminds, laughing before smothering the noise with another bite. Wordsworths definitely had large mouths, capable of consuming such delicious treats, but their gossip and pretentiousness was more subtle and insidious. Not that it made their cruel mouths any smaller, but Evie didn't want to remember such dark thoughts in that moment. It seemed Amalia didn't either, with the way her expression twitches and is immediately concealed. Evie doesn't point it out, not now. They can comfort each other through their individual sorrows later, but now is a time for reunion and celebration.

The apothecarist distracts herself with the pot that Amalia brings, setting the herbs in to steep before returning her attention to the younger woman. She moves through the area in such a practiced way, and Evie is sure they could both traverse this bakery blindfolded. No matter how old or tall they grow, this will always be home. To both of them.

Amalia's sudden blurt of words makes Evie jump, temporarily disoriented before they sink in. Then her entire face transforms into an ecstatic, glowing visage of joy. A squeal of girlish delight escapes her, and she hops in place against the counter, reaching across to grab at Amalia's hands. "Oh, Lia! That's amazing, I'm so happy for you!" There is no jealousy or bitterness here, only a deep and pervasive joy on her sister's behalf. Though her sly smile and crinkled eyes are swift to follow at the name and title she gives. "You certainly aim for the biggest and best, you little minx," Evie purrs, giving a saucy wink. She knows Amalia doesn't have the heart to be so manipulative, but it's fun to tease her as if she'd orchestrated the affair.

Thumbs rub soothingly over Amalia's floured skin, reluctant to part their grip. She wants to know...everything. She has missed so much. Evie should have been there when it happened, should have been the first person to hear about the change in their relationship. And she hadn't. But she's here now. "I've met him, he's a great man. Does he treat you well?" She assumes so, with what she knows of Deimos. But Evie is a protective older sister, and though she'd certainly be no competition physically against the general, she'd always go to bat for Amalia if she was in danger. No matter the consequences.

evie
Please don't ever become a stranger
whose laugh I could recognize anywhere
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
Played by: shark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
MP: 2580
#10
Amalia
If the blush at her confession is pink then the one that blooms under Evie's teasing is positively rosy. "I do not!" she declares indignantly, shaking her head at the playful accusation and flicking a fistful of flour at the older girl, another remnant of younger days. "If I was going to manipulate my way to the top I would have tried to make him King, not General." Though a swift shudder shows just how seriously she takes that idea, her face bunching up in clear distaste.

It softens again as Evie mentions knowing Deimos already, and Amalia brightens with the soft glow of the young and in love. "He does," she admits, biting her lip and mixing the dough with careful, practiced fingers as she considers what else to say, her cheeks once more adopting a rosy sheen. "In, ah... In lots of ways." A quick glance up at Evie, then back to her work, the implications of what she doesn't say hanging there between them.

Amalia turns the bowl of dough out onto the counter, kneading now in earnest. "What about you, though? Anyone new in your life?" And then less brightly, almost hesitant: "How's Sam?"
reach for the stars: but child, first recognize
the constellations of light you already carry
inside you
Evie Ignatius
the Evergreen
Warden of Halo / Apothecarist

Age: 34 | Height: 5'5 | Race: Abandoned | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Halo
Level: 8 - Strg: 18 - Dext: 20 - Endr: 30 - Luck: 30 - Int:
MICAH - Regular - Tide Jaguar
Played by: Brit Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,182 | Total: 6,169
MP: 9427
#11

Evie grins like a shark scenting blood as a flush blooms prettily on Amalia's cheeks. Her embarrassment only fuels her, eyes bright with amusement but gentle with genuine happiness for the woman before her. The flour makes her flinch back, laughing, her nimble fingers tearing a small piece of her scone - reluctant to waste such a delicious treat - and tossing it right back at Amalia. "Never say never, darling. There's always room for promotion," she teases. It's lighthearted at best, knowing Amalia's pure heart would never fall for anyone if there was not sincerity and required emotion to be found. She was simply not the type to weasel her way up in the world, but Evie is envious of her romantic luck nonetheless. No amount of joy on her sister's behalf can drown that particularly stubborn seed of loneliness.

It's easier to lean her elbows eagerly on the table, practically crawling her way across at the demure confession Amalia gives. "Oh you tease! You know I'm going to want more details than that!" Not that she'd press if the Shield found herself too flustered, but she desperately wants to know exactly what kind of beast Deimos was in bed to have Amalia saying such things.

Evie retreats when the tables are turned, picking at her scone and nibbling the little morsels to distract herself. "No...nobody new. Not for a long time now." It's hard to keep the ache of solitude from her tone, but she tries her best. One failed summer romance is all she has to speak for in nearly thirty years, and it's a fact that haunts her, reminds her of her inadequacy that she tries so hard to bluster past. But Sam is a topic she can actually latch onto, even as she lays her hands flat on the table to stop their twitching. "He's good actually. We spoke in the Temple, and it was...nice, Lia. He's doing well, and I think we're finally getting somewhere. Maybe we can actually be something like siblings." Slowly she turns her hands over, stares at her palms like they hold the secrets of her cursed magic in their flesh. "I've realized I can't run from this." It's the hardest thing she's ever had to say, something only Amalia would ever hear.

"I've moved into the apothecary for now, just a little cot but...I don't think I can go back home. I can't keep pretending. I've been...thinking of telling him. Sam. About me." She doesn't know if it's the right thing to do, but after their last meeting she just can't stop thinking about it. And as much as she loathes bringing down the atmosphere of the morning, she can't pretend any longer. Not to the young woman who means so much to her. Perhaps the last person Evie feels she can really trust.

evie
Please don't ever become a stranger
whose laugh I could recognize anywhere


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