[SE] i might need myself a savior (open)
open candle lighting <3
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
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#1
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
She didn’t know what the wheel of fire was. But she drew nearer to the makeshift sun, made out of a wheel and noticed the candles around it. She was anxious to try it, to do something wrong with it, and so she made no attempt to draw closer, to forge her way through and figure it out. Instead, she’d lie in wait and observe anyone that made an effort to go forth and light a candle. The first few that approached, shifted with their backs to her and she couldn’t see exactly what they were doing, and of course Rexanna – now finding some anxiety with the idea of asking them what they were doing, simply averted her gaze and waited for the next person.

But none had shown up yet, and her gaze shifted toward the dancers and the food stalls, breaking her watch to go and peruse the small shops that had been set up – a more intimate version of what she noticed in the Settlement. There was Amalia’s bakery, with the beautiful breads Deimos and Jigano and that one girl made, and the banners that her and Lily and Phoebe had made. But she didn’t venture there quite yet. Instead, she let her eyes dance around and absorb everything that was going on, trying to make a makeshift gameplan in her mind where she could find out inconspicuously what to do for the Wheel of Fire while not seeming like a dumb Outlander.

And so Rexanna remained in a bit of a halfway point, uncertain where to go from here.
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
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#2
 
M E L I T A


Melita, despite being a blazing, defiant imp throughout a majority of the festival, rarely pausing to take more than a few breaths (a kid at some amusement park, ready and eager to embody everything the world had to offer), had finally allowed curiosity to simmer and sink into her frame, grab hold, and take flight. The subject matter had been the Wheel, with its blazing flames, its intricate designs, its unassuming presence, a vision there for all to see and participate in, but with no explanations for it.

It must’ve been something the Naturals always committed to, like the Spark Bird, and the ignorance of the Outlanders showed as they muddled and tiptoed up to it, eager for a chance to understand, to comprehend, the reasons behind the candles, the lights, the sounds, the nuances. She watched, diligent as ever on the sidelines, Fangorn in her arms as they struggled to perceive the circumstances surrounding it: perhaps it was for those they cherished, gone in the strangling paradigms and enigmas of Longnight. Maybe it was for good will, an opportunity to pray for deliverance and liberation in the oncoming seasons. She tilted her head, examined everyone passing by, but they didn’t say a thing, committing to their actions with nary a sound other than inaudible breaths, and then they were gone.

She furrowed her brow, looked around again, and caught sight of Rexanna. The youth slid closer to the beatific woman, offering a dip of her head, the entangled bombardments of her devilish grin. “What do you think it’s for?” She whispered, cranium nodding towards the sphere and its enigmatic flames, twitching and bobbing in the warm air. The girl intended to obtain a better look, sliding one more foot out and swerving around the nearest occupant of the device, before glancing back at Rexanna, only shrugging her shoulders with the latest bout of ignorance and ineptitude.





Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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#3
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
Suddenly, there was a spark of a fiery haired girl in a similar state that she was, and Rexanna’s sapphire gaze slipped to the girl momentarily before she caught eyes with Melita and a small wolfish grin crossed her face at the approach and dip of her head, followed by the girl’s own grin. She moved closer to Melita, leaning a bit in toward the girl as she eyed the wheel like she was spying on some crazy event happening (purely for entertainment). “I’m not sure, actually. Some kind of ritual.” She hummed thoughtfully, stating the obvious before a quiet laugh slipped her lips.

Then, Melita began to move, shifting a foot toward the wheel and then another, and of course Rexanna didn’t want to be left alone staring at the wheel in her uncertainties, and she hurried after the girl who had shared a roasted pumpkin with her once upon a time. “Do you think we just… light a candle and put it on it? What happens when they’re all full?” She pondered thoughtfully, though quietly as she glanced to Melita to see what she thought. Her face resulting in a small entertained smile as she gestured toward the wheel with her head.

If we took one already lit off I think it’d start a riot.” She whispered to the girl in a calculating move but resulted in a chimed laugh at the idea. But there – off on the edge as it whirled toward them, one was beginning to fade its flame. It swirled and increased in the dullness compared to every other one until there wasn’t a flame anymore, and Rexanna quietly glanced around them to see if anyone was coming up to replace it or not – and if they didn’t, well, did that mean it was their turn to try it and not destroy it?
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
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#4
 
M E L I T A


Thank the gods for Rexanna, who’d never seemed to judge her, who never tried to rein her in, who always seemed wiser, worldly, experienced in the layers Melita had never ventured between. They were comrades in ignorance, but so willing to try and understand; the girl suddenly wished she’d gone to her side when the roars and bellowing had begun at the height of the Spire’s brawling, but she’d been too miserable, too burdened, too misshapen by the words and vitriol flowing past martyrs, saviors, and mutineers.

But she could be the bold one again, here and now.

“I don’t know.” She couldn’t answer any question, wrinkling her nose in thought as she concentrated, as she observed, as she watched individual after individual, stranger after stranger, waltz up to the burning wheel and ignite their candle. There were no words exchanged. There were no prayers or pleas uttered. It was a silent dedication, and she was frustrated that they’d simply continue to wallow in their state of ineptitude. What if all of them filled up – what were they supposed to do then? Stop and stare?

The devilish calls residing in the back of her mind coiled and smirked, thinking they could remove one and hardly anyone would be the wiser – but Rexanna’s next assertions cut out the segment, but not the Cheshire grin enveloping over Melita’s lips. “I suppose not. They do love their riots here.” It was tongue-in-cheek, a little ribbing of defiance shifting along her Outlander lacquer, but they truly were the outsiders looking in, not yearning to cause more damage. Enough had been committed already.

Her eyes caught the same candle eventually extinguished, its tiny flame fading, fading, and fading, until it was only remnants of fire and smoke. The youth moved a tiny bit closer, until they seemed to inch their way towards the table, and the wheel and its emblazoned spokes were the only things before them. “Let’s try it.” It was audacious again, likely foolish and absurd, but with no directions and no one around to question, they could certainly attempt what others had done. She followed the movements as best she could, glancing here and there to see if some wandering soul was coming to chastise them, before grabbing hold of another ignited candle and leaning its vivid, bright flame close to the one that had perished. Another seemed to follow suit nearby, its embers drained and tired, listless and languid, granting Rexanna an opportunity too.




Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#5
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
She had always appreciated the youthful girl – from that day where they had helped set up Phoebe’s clinic (how the girl had followed her most of the day unbeknownst to Rexanna for the majority of it) and the quiet conversation they held over the fire they had roasted those vampiric pumpkins along. Melita was a good friend to have, a kind girl, and Rexanna smiled to her when she began to speak and wrinkle her nose. At least, doing it together, they wouldn’t be alone if they knew not what they were doing. And Rexanna was keen to take the opportunity.

But yet they remained, almost hidden in a way to observe those that approached and lit candles and set them on top of it before disappearing. And as Rexanna poised the suggestion to Melita over them rioting (likely something about Outlanders ruining everything the Naturals had come to love and adore and putting them all in danger or something like that) she spotted the Cheshire grin that formed over the fiery girl’s face and a small laugh escaped Rexanna’s own lips. “They certainly do.” She replied with a small dip of her head and a huff of laughter.

Their eyes spot the same candle that begins to die, and in her peripheral vision she saw Melita begin to inch closer – and well, Rexanna refused to be alone in this endeavor. She moved just as quickly, on the heels of the youth as they approached the wheel and Melita lit a candle and set it in its place. She watched, calculating, to see if anyone would tell them they’d done it wrong or if anyone would notice – and when nobody said anything, she looked back to the wheel to see another candle shifting and draining its flame.

Taking her own candle, she lit it easily and removed the dead candle, setting her own in it and watching as it circled around and around before looking back to Melita with a small grin. “Well, that wasn’t so bad after all.” She laughed, realizing nobody was there to yell at them for doing it wrong and instead were beginning to line up and make their way for the other candles that were beginning to die too. Glancing back toward the red head, she offered a wide cheerful grin. “What next?” She asked the girl, content to follow and scheme with Melita the rest of the festival.
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
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#6
 
M E L I T A


The honeybee girl waited for the inevitable: the rolling, brash words of a Natural, the foaming at the mouth at their ludicrous endeavors, the thunderous outcry of ruining every sacred offering and ministration. But as Rexanna stepped forth and followed the same patterns and pathways, the lithe, little candles lit and growing strong in their fiery crescendos…nothing happened. No one stepped forward to bark madly at them. No one struck or slapped against their sanctions. No one even said anything. “Huh.” It was a puff of breath and the minimal, nonexistent reactions, her eyes darting left and right, watching others start to queue behind them. She shrugged her shoulders towards Rexanna, hands open in a gesture of confusion and indifference. Perhaps they’d done something correctly for a change.

“I guess not,” she laughed, skipping away from the wheel, allowing those after them to commit to their own candle ignition. There was some relief mingled into the seditious spread of her fingers, simply because they wouldn’t have to wage some other torrential, tempestuous battle with the Naturals, wouldn’t have to curl or coil away, hide who she was or hang her head with unease and reflection. Instead, they were left to their own devices, permitted to journey along through the festival and its activities without issue. Had she been ready for another right, another quarrel, another mercurial explosion? The youth couldn’t be certain – but she knew her impulses and impetuous nature well; she might’ve drifted one way or another, occupied by either apprehension or wrath.

Fangorn bounded back to her side, and she bent down to scoop him back up in her arms, allow the gourd to see from a higher vantage point, while her gaze flickered back and forth to. What next indeed; so many options for them to explore and wander through. The grumble of her stomach, however, indicated a more pressing cause. “Maybe some food stalls?” She tipped her nose a bit more into the sky, inhaling the vibrant scents and smells of fresh food in the distance.





Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#7
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
They both waited with baited breath, to be told they were wrong and shouldn’t have been there, that they hadn’t done it right at all. And yet, when nothing happened and Melita breathed her own air of relief, Rexanna smiled with a hint of a smirk at the end. Either nobody had noticed, or nobody had cared? Either way, she believed they were in the clear and it made things far easier for the woman and girl – to now be able to go and enjoy whatever else the festival had to offer.

Moving after the fiery haired girl, Rexanna chimed a laugh in response. “Thank the gods.” She breathed, as if in response to not having been picked up on, before the two of them tried to decide what to do next. There were plenty of options, but which one appealed the most was hard to figure out. They could eat, but would they end up eating too much that they didn’t want to do anything else the rest of the time? Or do something else beforehand and leave the food for later?

As if in answer, Melita questioned the food stalls, and Rexanna’s own stomach began to grumble in response. “Yes, food.” She decided with a bell of laughter at the loudness of her own stomach and not quite realizing she was as hungry as she was. Slinking away with Melita toward the smells of spices and breads and meats, she immediately went toward Amalia’s stall only to find the woman missing. “A few friends of mine made bread for the festival! I hope there’s some left, I’d like to see how they turned out.” She gave the girl a small roguish grin, eyeing the bread to see which was which.
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#8
 
M E L I T A


Their getaway was swift and encouraging, and she allowed her mind to pay homage to needs rather than plentiful curiosities. Less predator, more ruffian girl, the youth lifted her head to inhale the fresh, beatific aromas curling and shifting from the food stalls. Per Rexanna’s advice, she dipped her head and swayed in their directions, stepping forward with light, ethereal motions, Fangorn still tucked in her arms, coming towards the Devas Bakery stall. She was instantly charmed by the décor, the flowers, the arrangements, smiling at the workers huddled nearby, awaiting more and more travelers and festive-goers, likely starving from their dances and further amusements. “Which ones did they make?” She swiveled her head back to her friend, but then her eyes were instantly entranced by everything else before her: the pastries looked divine, the rest of the concoctions and dough delicious. Her stomach rumbled again, a great, big gnawing thing, and she didn’t bother trying to hide it – Fangorn growled in reply.

Her gaze lilted towards the women at the stand and counter, then her stare traveled back and forth between Rexanna and those proffering their wares. “What do you recommend?” The inquiry was made to no one and everyone all at once – extending her question to those willing to answer. Her hunger was suddenly a yawning, incredulous thing, borne from greedy, avaricious claws, a bright, winsome smile tucked along her lips, small coins waiting in her pocket.




Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#9
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
Melita was happy to join her toward Amalia’s bakery stall, and Rexanna was infinitely pleased by that. Her own stomach rumbled in response as Melita questioned who made who, and she looked toward the loaves to determine who made what. “The snowflake, the bird, and the moons I think!” She pondered, having not actually seen the loaves after their production, but she did find the snowflake one quite charming — knowing Deimos had to have been the one to make that.He was after all, the prime broody king of the north! With a slender pale finger she pointed to each one before she caught a worker’s attention, asking for a slice of the snowflake loaf.

Her gaze turned back toward the fiery girl beside her with a quiet grin. “Im sure they’re all delicious, just whichever one strikes your fancy you should go for!” She encouraged, turning back to the worker and taking the bread and leaving a small bit of coin behind to cover the cost of both her and Melita’s choices, regardless if the girl had coins too. This was a festival to be celebrated with friends, and so far she had indeed had one of the best times she’d ever had. She could share that feeling with Melita too, even in as little a gesture as paying for a pastry!
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#10
 
M E L I T A


There were a few moments where Melita wished she’d learn to do things like baking as she eyed the little intricate designs, the pieces of snowflake, the feathers of the bird, the lonesome moon. Her heart and mind had been occupied by the great, gaping unknown, flourishing and flocking to those angles and parallels of peril and strife, waving her sword, brandishing her bow, sinking her teeth into another’s flesh. Her mother had been a wonderful, guiding star, but Melita had been too busy, too impulsive, too impetuous to follow the beautiful lines and sketches, and they were faded now, gone from sight – she breathed in the wondrous smells again and it almost felt like home. Her chest, her heart, lurched, but she said nothing about it; the pangs were constant, were frequent, and there was naught to be done. “These are lovely,” she proclaimed instead, the depths of her smile revealing her veracity on the subject, eyes scanning, finding great difficulty in choosing just one.

“May I please have a piece of the bird?” She finally opted for, fingers going for the coins in her pocket, but Rexanna had already taken care of it – and the girl bowed her head, eternally grateful for the touches of friendship and kindred spirits. “Thank you,” the youth inclined to both worker and Rexanna, grabbing hold of the pastry with a sort of divine reverence. After she’d stared it down, cupped it in her hands for a while, she broke off a piece, sticking it in her mouth, instantly gratified and satisfied by the taste. “It’s delicious!”





Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#11
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
Much like Melita, Rexanna was geared more toward scheming and plotting – of looking pretty and providing flame and fury where cold and darkness sat, she had little time for smaller things like baking, but due to her upbringing she at least knew how to sew. That was before she had been turned into the weapon she had become – a simpler life, a better time, years without daggers pointed at you for one miniscule wrong move. She no longer lived that way, but she had grown used to being the source of contempt, and hadn’t quite slipped back into the entirety of carefreeness that Caido offered her.

But as Melita made a choice, Rexanna’s snowflake choice was also handed to her and she offered the worker a wide grin before paying and taking it. After a few moments, she waited to see what Melita’s reaction was – she didn’t know whether Jigano created the moon or the bird, but she was happy that Melita was enjoying it regardless. She then took a bite of the northern snowflake one, letting the tastes meld on her tongue and sighing contently within it as she tried to not devour it whole.

It tastes like home.” She said quietly, eyes shutting slightly as she sighed once again content, eyes slipping open to look back toward the fiery haired girl beside her. “Somewhere north and cold, with brooding kings and wonderful hot springs.” She elaborated with a small grin.
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
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#12
 
M E L I T A


Melita nodded and listened, tongue savoring the sweet taste of her chosen bread, inclining over the flavors, trying to decipher what she tasted. It wasn’t quite like home, as Rexanna had described – but much like a soft, vivid day, collected and bundled on summer air and sun-kissed earth. It made her remember diving headlong into trials and tribulations, into ocean water and oasis ponds, into glass walls and submerging herself into a long list of temptations, never ceasing, never stopping, never pausing. That world had let her, permitted her, allowed her to roam so diligently and ridiculously, with the boldness, the audacity, of youth. But her fervor and inquiry gathered her too, between narrowed eyes and specious glances, gazing back and forth from food stall to Rexanna, before her voice finally gave in with the constant inquisition billowing behind her eyes. “Where was home?” Somewhere north and cold, and she knew of those places, where the mountains rose to meet the sky, but she’d never been able to journey there. They’d been calculated rumors and legends, the Aurora Basin, dipped in heavenly, celestial hues and the dangerous, treacherous fables. Then, because Rexanna had shared, Melita did the same. “I was born in a place called The Dragon’s Throat. It was wonderful and hot, molten and vibrant, full of desert sands and warm oasises. It was paradise.” Her grin emboldened, enlightened, as if she was back on the plains, basking in the sanctions of the Sun God.




Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#13
REXANNA
we were fire and water.
love laced with sin
She half didn’t expect Melita to hear her when she mentioned home, but when she spoke up, Rexanna had to think about it a bit. She’d had many homes, but only one that ever truly felt like home. So she turned to the girl with a brilliant smile as she held her bread in her hand and leaned against a piece of wood. But before she had a chance to say anything, lips parted just briefly, Melita spoke of Dragon’s Throat and her brows furrowed, and her breath caught in her chest for a brief moment. “I know of a Dragon’s Throat…” She paused, examining Melita a bit further before sighing quietly.

I came from a place called Halyven before I fell into Helovia and found a home in the Aurora Basin.” She paused briefly. “But it feels like another life, a different path that I have memories from but haven’t actually lived.” The last part was added a bit quieter as she regarded the girl and the memories floating around her mind. “Because when I was in Helovia, I married and had many children… Here, I’m childless, and in much of the same situation as when I left Halyven.” She murmured, taking another bite of her bread before shrugging her shoulders.

It’s strange, but the Basin still feels like home. Deimos was my King, do you know him?” She questioned with a tilt of her head.
and whenever we happened to touch,
smoke rose from our skin.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
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#14
 
M E L I T A


The youth munched on her bread, content to spread the word, faith, and creed of the Dragon’s Throat, savoring the sweetened depths of the pastry on her tongue, and then choking, sputtering, coughing when Rexanna admitted knowing of the land. Her head swung back immediately, and once her eyes had stopped watering, she blinked and studied Rexanna a little more, listening intently. “Oh!” She exclaimed: Helovia, Helovia, Helovia, a saccharine bell in her eyes before disaster struck and butchered them all. The honeybee child had never made it to the Aurora Basin; but it had slipped along her mother’s tongue in stories and fables, myths of lands at constant siege and war (a favorite, like an old book with crumpled, warped, yellowed pages, dabs of tears and favored sonnets underlined). So it was with a grand reverence that the girl stared, imagining Rexanna belonging to that time and fold, ears sharp and eyes wide. Were there alternate timelines…portals shifting and reshaping? Explanations were murky and unclear at best, nothing quite distinct, how they’d all traversed and gathered here from so many separate lands, but then, not at all. “Portals skew a lot of things,” she wrinkled her nose, as if that conveyed a theory, a fact. “My mother told us stories about the Basin – mostly just hearsay though. I think she missed out on the wars.” Here she grinned, a little malicious, as if she’d love nothing better than to embark straight into the acrimony, wickedness, outcries, and crusades. But her gentle, loving, soothing, assuaging parent would have never. “Deimos…,” the name reverberated on her tongue, a dubbing, a title, of one of its Kings, she nodded, but couldn’t put a face to the name. “Maybe. I’d have to see him. But he was in the tales. So was Mauja, D’art, Ophelia…” the legends came like rain, like fire, sizzling on her tongue, on her skin. “I’ll always consider Helovia my home. Even if it’s gone. It’s where I was born and raised and blessed.” Her eyes lifted to the sky, then drifted back to Rexanna, bolder and bolder still, glad to have found another one to unite with.

It was where her sister had drifted on flowers and petals. It was where Sila had cawed and been born within a storm. It had been peace and curiosity and a thousand other beneficent things she wanted to have all over again. The gilded set of her gaze glided downward then, recalling Kiada, another of Helovia’s residents, and how deeply she’d tarnished and burned against the girl, because of mistakes, because of lives lost. “Kiada is from Helovia too. You’ve probably seen her around.”







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