B e l o w Z e r o
keep me please, sister, when you cry
i feel your tears, running down my face
It was in these rare moments that Bel was lost.
She tried the best she could, to be a sister, but down in the core, it was unfamiliar. She had a handful of months, less than three; with her sister before they parted ways until just recently. And while her heart warmed that her sister would want to search her out when she was uncertain, or confused, there was very little that Bel had experience with, when it came to handling these issues. Especially since their mother had passed before Bel was really old enough to start asking some of these questions. And growing up in the pod, Bel already had an idea of what was expected and what was not.
She wouldn't tell Pol the pod would have shunned her interest in medicine.
That their mother would have been supportive, but wouldn't have understood, had likely thought it a phase Pol would humor herself with. That the magic that sung to the sisters in every part of Novus was a foreign, and fantastical idea to the pod that had no room to be part of their cut throat lifestyle. Bel would have been embraced for the warrior's avenue. Pol would have been ostracized for wanting to dabble in something the pod 'didn't have time for.'
Bel wouldn't tell Pol this. She couldn't.
So instead she hid these thoughts away, content to not worsen Pol's opinion on a Pod that had strayed from their focus, "I am lucky to have Yuki. She's a blessing, if troublesome." The flip of a fin had water spraying Bel in retaliation, causing the older Treader to laugh in amusement, "See, troublesome." But then her sister started to tear up, and again, Bel felt like she was being pulled out of her element.
If it was Jiri, she'd have shushed the tears away.
But Pol wasn't a foal who needed soothed. She was a mare who had real issues . . . real upsets, and Bel didn't know what to say or how to handle them. How to reassure, how to do any of this. "Pol, hush, stop. There was NOTHING you could have done. You were just a pup! And momma knew the risks. I know you don't remember much, but mama didn't die because of you. She died for you! It was never your fault, it was her choice to make, as a mother. The same one I'd make in a heartbeat for Jiri. You were just a little pup, stayed close to mama's side like you were supposed to. You did nothing wrong. That's just the way of the world some times."
Nature had a balance, and in the artic . . it was eat or be eaten.
Then the younger Treader repeated the name of the giver of everything Bel had been learning, and earning. A slow smile stretched upon her muzzle, "The Sea Empress . . . is from the world were our species came from. We were her chosen guardians. I wouldn't really call her a 'deity' but she is close to that. A powerful giver of the life of the planet . . . She's gifted me with my magic." And so, so much more. "Yes, the pod has lost it's ways . . . it is unfortunate . . . but it is their own disaster to weild." And Bel would let them reap the mess they had sowed.
As far as she was concerned, she owed the pod nothing.
Bel sighed at her sister's repeated question, "That's the thing about mothers. No matter what, they're always proud of us. It's . . . engrained."" She murmured, before knocking her shoulder against her sisters, "So stop worrying. And just be proud of what you're accomplishing already." She choose not to address the fact Pol missed their mother . . . because Bel understood, and knew that Pol knew she would understand. Bel missed her too.
Of course at the mention of a different distraction, Bel snorted.
"Well, not all of us can just know what another is feeling! I'd only experienced love once before, and it certainly wasn't like that." She muttered shyly before shrugging, and smiling warmly at the thought of the stallion, "But we were both foolish for not thinking to just discuss what we were feeling instead of burying it. If you ever start to feel like that with another. Don't hesitate. Talk to them. Or you may end up like me and waste two years of your life skirting around your own feelings."
"Bel"
Yukime
@Polar North
Notes:: Thinking this one might be coming to an end, it is starting to feel like it's wrapping up, and poor Bel is struggling to figure out how to help her sister haha.
She tried the best she could, to be a sister, but down in the core, it was unfamiliar. She had a handful of months, less than three; with her sister before they parted ways until just recently. And while her heart warmed that her sister would want to search her out when she was uncertain, or confused, there was very little that Bel had experience with, when it came to handling these issues. Especially since their mother had passed before Bel was really old enough to start asking some of these questions. And growing up in the pod, Bel already had an idea of what was expected and what was not.
She wouldn't tell Pol the pod would have shunned her interest in medicine.
That their mother would have been supportive, but wouldn't have understood, had likely thought it a phase Pol would humor herself with. That the magic that sung to the sisters in every part of Novus was a foreign, and fantastical idea to the pod that had no room to be part of their cut throat lifestyle. Bel would have been embraced for the warrior's avenue. Pol would have been ostracized for wanting to dabble in something the pod 'didn't have time for.'
Bel wouldn't tell Pol this. She couldn't.
So instead she hid these thoughts away, content to not worsen Pol's opinion on a Pod that had strayed from their focus, "I am lucky to have Yuki. She's a blessing, if troublesome." The flip of a fin had water spraying Bel in retaliation, causing the older Treader to laugh in amusement, "See, troublesome." But then her sister started to tear up, and again, Bel felt like she was being pulled out of her element.
If it was Jiri, she'd have shushed the tears away.
But Pol wasn't a foal who needed soothed. She was a mare who had real issues . . . real upsets, and Bel didn't know what to say or how to handle them. How to reassure, how to do any of this. "Pol, hush, stop. There was NOTHING you could have done. You were just a pup! And momma knew the risks. I know you don't remember much, but mama didn't die because of you. She died for you! It was never your fault, it was her choice to make, as a mother. The same one I'd make in a heartbeat for Jiri. You were just a little pup, stayed close to mama's side like you were supposed to. You did nothing wrong. That's just the way of the world some times."
Nature had a balance, and in the artic . . it was eat or be eaten.
Then the younger Treader repeated the name of the giver of everything Bel had been learning, and earning. A slow smile stretched upon her muzzle, "The Sea Empress . . . is from the world were our species came from. We were her chosen guardians. I wouldn't really call her a 'deity' but she is close to that. A powerful giver of the life of the planet . . . She's gifted me with my magic." And so, so much more. "Yes, the pod has lost it's ways . . . it is unfortunate . . . but it is their own disaster to weild." And Bel would let them reap the mess they had sowed.
As far as she was concerned, she owed the pod nothing.
Bel sighed at her sister's repeated question, "That's the thing about mothers. No matter what, they're always proud of us. It's . . . engrained."" She murmured, before knocking her shoulder against her sisters, "So stop worrying. And just be proud of what you're accomplishing already." She choose not to address the fact Pol missed their mother . . . because Bel understood, and knew that Pol knew she would understand. Bel missed her too.
Of course at the mention of a different distraction, Bel snorted.
"Well, not all of us can just know what another is feeling! I'd only experienced love once before, and it certainly wasn't like that." She muttered shyly before shrugging, and smiling warmly at the thought of the stallion, "But we were both foolish for not thinking to just discuss what we were feeling instead of burying it. If you ever start to feel like that with another. Don't hesitate. Talk to them. Or you may end up like me and waste two years of your life skirting around your own feelings."
"Bel"
Yukime
@Polar North
Notes:: Thinking this one might be coming to an end, it is starting to feel like it's wrapping up, and poor Bel is struggling to figure out how to help her sister haha.
![[Image: i-jTNwWx8.png]](https://photos.smugmug.com/BelowZeroNovus/n-X9d9fZ/i-jTNwWx8/1/e09fb6c3/O/i-jTNwWx8.png)
