I’m stronger than I ever knew
I’m strong because of you
I’m strong because of you
Nothing really felt right anymore. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t feel right. There was an emptiness in her breast that had previously been filled, a vast chasm where once there had been a grand lake. Ever since Ulric disappeared, Israfel struggled to find normality in the world, and oftentimes she wondered if she could ever return to that place where she had stood before meeting the roan.
Lingering among the friends she had made in Terrastella did wonders, but during the quiet of the night, locked away in her chambers covered in flaming silks, she couldn’t help but wonder. Where had he gone? Was he alright? Would Charlie ever get to know her father? The last thought cast a bitterness across her tongue and she scoffed. Charlie was fine. Their relationship was loose at best and while she had wanted to be a good mother, clearly she hadn’t been the best. Yet her daughter was growing every single day into a strong, capable individual who proved that she didn’t need to be coddled or held close to her mother’s breast for protection.
Good.
The world was a terrible, cruel place, and Israfel had no intentions on shielding her daughter from that truth. Better Charlie learn to handle herself now before it was too late, a lesson that the Sun Daughter herself had learned the hard way.
As dawn crested the horizon and sent the world in a blazing tapestry of colors, Israfel found herself out and patrolling. Occasionally she would pass one of the guards or a member of the Halcyon that was rushing to training and the Regent would nod in acknowledgement, but mostly she remained quiet, burning vermilion eyes scanning the horizon. The city-scape of Terrastella seemed as usual; the early risers were out and about, tending to their morning business before the streets grew too bustling and busy, but there was a peaceful calm to the air that helped soothe the Sun Daughter’s worries.
Things were calm. Things were peaceful. She wondered how long it would take for someone to come and fuck it all up.
The thought caused ire to burn in her bloody as she traipsed through the streets, her steps confident, a sashay of assurance and attitude. Gilded wings were folded back against her sides as she perused, ducking in and out of alleyways like an experienced street rat, searching for anything out of the norm. It was only when she crested around a wide corner of a homestead that she saw something amiss. Not wrong, of course, just different.
Standing across the way and watching the churning waves of the cliff beyond the walls of the city was an individual that Israfel had never seen before. The Regent cocked a brow and lifted her jaw, lips pursing as she tried to place just who the citizen was. Their scent carried away and so she couldn’t place them by that, and so heaving a sigh and trying to force up some semblance of a cheery facade, the shield-maiden stepped forward and cleared her throat.
“You don’t have to watch from way over here, you know.” The greeting wasn’t really what she wanted to say, but Israfel knew she was a complete shit at conversing normally with people. Ulric had understood that. Immediately she cast the thought of the blue roan from her mind and tossed it into a dark abyss, that same dark, dangerous pit where she locked most of her troubled emotions.
Growing closer to the stranger with a casual sashay, Israfel looked her over, the burning depths of her eyes roaming the gaunt looking creature in her company. Thin. Too thin. The Sun Daughter clucked her tongue. Whoever this creature was, she needed to eat more.
“I just mean that you could go there. And watch the water. Or… Whatever.” Brows furrowing, Israfel heaved a breath and tried again. Fuck, that wasn’t what she wanted to say. “... Sorry. Um, let’s start over. I haven’t seen you before and all that normal jazz. I’m Israfel.”
Somewhere in the back of her mind and surely miles away, Solaris laughed at her struggle. Israfel rolled her eyes.
Bitch.
