B e l o w Z e r o
the cold never bothered me anyway
Bel felt a faint smile touch her muzzle at Polar's actions, her gaze softening as she looked at her sister, a gentleness reserved for the long last family she had only just began to rebond with. The only member of the pod she had around - not that she could even call this a pod. Two siblings, and one afraid of the ocean. Was this what banishment was supposed to feel like, even a self-imposed exile? A walk away from the cruelty of a world, a people she could no longer support any longer. A way of life she couldn't help but feel hatred for being set in their ways . . No, hatred was too sharp. Hatred was too intense. Pity perhaps. She pitied them, for not seeing there was a better way. She was bitter over how her sister was so casually tossed away. And she was hurting, still, over Shard's treatment towards her family, the immense amount of pain he'd casually tossed her way with out a second thought . . . Sure, he'd tried to offer comfort, tried to explain, rationalize with her. But . . . in the end, he'd done as she'd expected he would - as she knew he always would. The pod came first, his duties came first . . . even before her . . .
Why did it still hurt?
She turned her attention back to her sister as she spoke, smiling softly in agreement of the words leaving her sister's muzzle. "It's easy to think back on what ifs in these situations, to bitterly wonder how things might have gone different, especially when the view of the future can be so scary . . ." Her gaze moved up to the sky ahead, soft and delicate, "We worry about how things might turn out, will it become easier, will things smooth out, and the so many uncertainties make us wish they didn't have to be this - drawing minds back to the what ifs, imagining scenarios where things might be easier now. Our imaginations trying to imagine a more peaceful existence . . . But even that isn't so easy." She turned her gaze back to her sister, "I'm glad we had it rough, glad we had these chances to grow and grow further still. We might have had to say good bye early in life, but it allowed us to see the wrongs of the pod, to see what we needed to change, both in our lives, and our surroundings to be a happier place.
It was easier to smile now.
"We'll get there, finding a place to belong in one another's lives, and things will smooth out eventually. You're my little sister, and while I will forever wonder if things couldn't have been handled differently, it will never change the fact that now that I have you back in my life. I refuse to leave you alone again. You're the only family I have left, the closest thing to having a pod again. And of course, I love you too, little sister. Even if you've somehow managed to outgrow me, little pup." Bel teased.
The air was easier to breath too.
A laugh left Bel, remembering the time with the candles, seeing her sister again, "I honestly thought you were a ghost! I thought I was about to get the verbal bollock of a life time and I couldn't understand why you were doing it and not momma. But you are right. The pod, the Council of the elders are set in ways that are no good, but we'll just have to make our own way, and one day perhaps the pod will learn from their own mistakes, so families won't have to be split in the future like ours."
The topic of Sol was a touchy one.
It was to be expected when dealing with potential romance. She loved Sol, yes, but as a brother she had never had. He was a stable source of comfort to lean on, who knew her story as she knew his. There was no judgement, just pure honesty, and for that, she was grateful for his company, she just hoped they could truly grow still - that their familial relationship could retain it's innocence. She wanted love for Sol, she just knew she couldn't be the one to make his heart soar in the clouds like he deserved. He needed a fierce, fiery love who can compete with his own flames. She needed someone cool, who can brave the currents with her, steady as the waves, strong as the current, and being as intune to the water as she was. She was ice and snow and oceans, Sol was fiery, air and sunlight. They were incompatible in romance, even if they were perfectly suited as psuedo-siblings.
And her heart longer for something else.
Bel blinked as this Trey individual was brought up again, before her eyes blinked wide, "Wait? Trey. Blue and yellow? Shark fins? I met him once upon a time!" Bel nearly squeaked, "You were friends with HIM?! He's literally a shark horse! I'm so proud of you for being able to be friends with him! It couldn't have been easy, especially with your fears." Thhe love was an odd topic for them to fall into though, "I imagine that no one ever expects love until it slaps them across the face like a wet fin. One moment you're minding your own business, the next you're trying to figure out how to get closer to another. It can be terrifying and exciting all at once, but it's never expected. And it always sneaks up when you least expect it."
And losing it would hurt.
She could still remember his laughter, the crooked aspect of his smile when his grin was sheepish. The way his eyes lit with a fire when he saw a need to protect her. The slight growl to his voice when he was yelling at her to be more careful. The gentleness of his touch, his voice, his eyes. His every movement, his every expression - seared painfully in her mind. She shook her head at her sister's words, her expression carefully shuttered, the pain buried, "Shard is led by the muzzle - obeying the council's words with out thought. He wouldn't have learned from this . . . I am . . . I was second to the pod, the Pod always came first. He was the perfect Triton like that. Set in the old ways as his father had been before him. It's best I forget about him." Even as she said the words, her heart constricted at the thought.
She couldn't forget just yet.
She smiled slightly, letting herself tell stories to distract herself, smiling softly when her sister spoke, and Bel had to gently smile, Yukime was a blessing to have, "Yukime brings new life to stories. She has personal experiences to mirror the things I thought to be legends. She's seen that world with her own eyes. She's seen the horrors of the virus as well. I'm grateful we don't have to worry about that dangers of it here." Bel giggled at her sister's response, though frowned at the thought of hiding the glow, "Don't be ashamed of the glow . . . It might make others uneasy but it's how our people find each other. We follow the glows to one another. No two treaders ever had the same, we could tell each other apart by the hues. Momma was purple, yes, but hers was deeper, darker, yours was always lighter, a playful hue. Father's cyan hue was so pale it appeared white at times, a glowing promise. And no matter where any of us where, we could find our ways back together by that glow. Be proud of it, it has a special purpose all of its own."
"Bel"
Yukime
@Polar North
Notes::
Why did it still hurt?
She turned her attention back to her sister as she spoke, smiling softly in agreement of the words leaving her sister's muzzle. "It's easy to think back on what ifs in these situations, to bitterly wonder how things might have gone different, especially when the view of the future can be so scary . . ." Her gaze moved up to the sky ahead, soft and delicate, "We worry about how things might turn out, will it become easier, will things smooth out, and the so many uncertainties make us wish they didn't have to be this - drawing minds back to the what ifs, imagining scenarios where things might be easier now. Our imaginations trying to imagine a more peaceful existence . . . But even that isn't so easy." She turned her gaze back to her sister, "I'm glad we had it rough, glad we had these chances to grow and grow further still. We might have had to say good bye early in life, but it allowed us to see the wrongs of the pod, to see what we needed to change, both in our lives, and our surroundings to be a happier place.
It was easier to smile now.
"We'll get there, finding a place to belong in one another's lives, and things will smooth out eventually. You're my little sister, and while I will forever wonder if things couldn't have been handled differently, it will never change the fact that now that I have you back in my life. I refuse to leave you alone again. You're the only family I have left, the closest thing to having a pod again. And of course, I love you too, little sister. Even if you've somehow managed to outgrow me, little pup." Bel teased.
The air was easier to breath too.
A laugh left Bel, remembering the time with the candles, seeing her sister again, "I honestly thought you were a ghost! I thought I was about to get the verbal bollock of a life time and I couldn't understand why you were doing it and not momma. But you are right. The pod, the Council of the elders are set in ways that are no good, but we'll just have to make our own way, and one day perhaps the pod will learn from their own mistakes, so families won't have to be split in the future like ours."
The topic of Sol was a touchy one.
It was to be expected when dealing with potential romance. She loved Sol, yes, but as a brother she had never had. He was a stable source of comfort to lean on, who knew her story as she knew his. There was no judgement, just pure honesty, and for that, she was grateful for his company, she just hoped they could truly grow still - that their familial relationship could retain it's innocence. She wanted love for Sol, she just knew she couldn't be the one to make his heart soar in the clouds like he deserved. He needed a fierce, fiery love who can compete with his own flames. She needed someone cool, who can brave the currents with her, steady as the waves, strong as the current, and being as intune to the water as she was. She was ice and snow and oceans, Sol was fiery, air and sunlight. They were incompatible in romance, even if they were perfectly suited as psuedo-siblings.
And her heart longer for something else.
Bel blinked as this Trey individual was brought up again, before her eyes blinked wide, "Wait? Trey. Blue and yellow? Shark fins? I met him once upon a time!" Bel nearly squeaked, "You were friends with HIM?! He's literally a shark horse! I'm so proud of you for being able to be friends with him! It couldn't have been easy, especially with your fears." Thhe love was an odd topic for them to fall into though, "I imagine that no one ever expects love until it slaps them across the face like a wet fin. One moment you're minding your own business, the next you're trying to figure out how to get closer to another. It can be terrifying and exciting all at once, but it's never expected. And it always sneaks up when you least expect it."
And losing it would hurt.
She could still remember his laughter, the crooked aspect of his smile when his grin was sheepish. The way his eyes lit with a fire when he saw a need to protect her. The slight growl to his voice when he was yelling at her to be more careful. The gentleness of his touch, his voice, his eyes. His every movement, his every expression - seared painfully in her mind. She shook her head at her sister's words, her expression carefully shuttered, the pain buried, "Shard is led by the muzzle - obeying the council's words with out thought. He wouldn't have learned from this . . . I am . . . I was second to the pod, the Pod always came first. He was the perfect Triton like that. Set in the old ways as his father had been before him. It's best I forget about him." Even as she said the words, her heart constricted at the thought.
She couldn't forget just yet.
She smiled slightly, letting herself tell stories to distract herself, smiling softly when her sister spoke, and Bel had to gently smile, Yukime was a blessing to have, "Yukime brings new life to stories. She has personal experiences to mirror the things I thought to be legends. She's seen that world with her own eyes. She's seen the horrors of the virus as well. I'm grateful we don't have to worry about that dangers of it here." Bel giggled at her sister's response, though frowned at the thought of hiding the glow, "Don't be ashamed of the glow . . . It might make others uneasy but it's how our people find each other. We follow the glows to one another. No two treaders ever had the same, we could tell each other apart by the hues. Momma was purple, yes, but hers was deeper, darker, yours was always lighter, a playful hue. Father's cyan hue was so pale it appeared white at times, a glowing promise. And no matter where any of us where, we could find our ways back together by that glow. Be proud of it, it has a special purpose all of its own."
"Bel"
Yukime
@Polar North
Notes::
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
