by SunnyJustice » Tue Mar 14, 2017 7:07 pm
[i attached ipad keyboard to my coputer but it will not be as functional, posts will be with more mistakes,]
Sanctuary Path
Gavotte nodded to Silas, who was obviously struggling. Even though Gavotte was smaller than his neighbor, he was the son of Cadence Tenuto. Naturally he could not be as weak as he looked. Xia seemed to be recovering slightly. Gavotte moved forward slowly but steadily, making sure he was supporting as much of Xia's weight as he could. He didn't need to carry her completely. Just as long as she didn't fall.
He could hear the voices at the Sanctuary, and Jen's stood out to him most. She was talking with Anna and Regina. Through the trees, Gavotte could even see them as clear as day, despite the ridiculously dark sky. "We're almost there," He said.
Before he knew it, he emerged into the clearing with Xia in tow. It was a lot bigger than he expected, pretty much a meadow instead of a clearing.
Exhausted, he lowered Xia to the ground. Gavotte did not have super-strength or anything. It tired him out very quickly to do these things. He wanted to go check on Jen, but he was too tired to move. He just slumped down in the soft grass beside Xia. Hopefully Silas didn't get too worried about them.
---
The Underworld
"ON YOUR FEET!"
This voice was familiar to Cadence, but it wasn't her own voice speaking. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a fiery landscape. She was underground, so deep that the cave floor underneath her glowed with heat. Most people would really hate this, but Cadence had been created inside a volcano. She was used to much more extreme temperatures than the Underworld.
"What do you want, mother?" Cadence snarled. For years, she had regretted not apologizing to Vulcana. But every time she heard her mother's voice, she got angry. She could not stand being around her.
"I WANT TO APOLOGIZE."
What the disgrace?
Slowly, the giant of a blacksmith emerged from one of the cave tunnels. The firelight reflected off her, making her glow a lot brighter than Cadence remembered. The former Windwoods mayor stood before her mother, who towered over her by almost a foot. Cadence was the average woman's height in Windwoods. She was 5'9", but her mother was 6'8". It enraged her greatly. If only Cadence had that extra height too.
"I HAVE NOT BEEN A GOOD MOTHER. I WAS WRONG TO DISOWN YOU. I ACTED FOOLISHLY OUT OF RAGE." Vulcana's expression was completely unreadable. There were so many conflicting, intense emotions on her stern face, it all blended together into her usual anger. Cadence was used to that anger. She saw it all the time. She saw it on the night Vulcana threw her out of the erupting volcano, ordering her to never return. It had been after Cadence tried to fight her yet again.
That anger. Cadence saw it reflected in herself, every day. Whenever she screamed at an unruly teenager to respect their elders, it was because when Cadence herself was a teenager, her own mother would roar at her to respect her elders. Cadence had not been respectful, and she did deeply regret it. She was just too prideful to admit anything like that.
She was very similar to her mother, and even her mother had admitted her mistakes. Cadence decided it was now or never. Nobody was around. Just her and Vulcana.
"I was wrong too. I..." Cadence scowled, staring at the ground. Since when did she ever apologize? How was she even supposed to apologize?
Vulcana looked at her silently for a long moment. Cadence was expecting more disapproval or rage. Instead, she was literally swept off her feet as the great blacksmith took her into her arms. Vulcana was very warm, warmer even than Solara. Cadence could withstand her embraces only because she was immune to fire, as Vulcana's own daughter. Any normal person would not want to touch her.
"Why am I here?" Cadence asked. "Am I dead? Because I have teenagers to discipline, and my unruly daughter Casedy is nowhere to be seen..."
Vulcana's laugh made the entire room shake. Cadence would have fallen if it wasn't for her mother's strong arms, cradling her like a child. It was clear Vulcana did not know how to be gentle. She was pretty much smothering Cadence, who really couldn't breathe. Fortunately she did not need to breathe here.
"NOT YET. YOUR WORK IS NOT YET DONE. NOW GET BACK TO WORK AND BE A GOOD DAUGHTER." Vulcana pulled Cadence even closer. The mayor could swear her bones were breaking from her mother's embrace, and this wasn't even the tip of the candle of Vulcana's ridiculous strength.
"Don't tell me what to do," Cadence retorted. This was how she normally began arguments when she was a teenager, fighting with her mother. But this time she wore a smile.
"RESPECT YOUR ELDERS, CADENCE." Vulcana did not loosen her grip. It seemed like she intended to kill Cadence, yet her words spoke quite the opposite. Just before the fiery underground landscape faded, the last thing Cadence heard was something she never heard before: "I LOVE YOU."
---
The Sanctuary
Timpani wasn't sure how to react. Mayne had such a pleasant personality, yet he was also different from the other Windwoods boys. They were also kind, but Mayne stood out from them with his warmth. Timpani herself was all fire; despite her important powers being completely irrelevant to the element, she would always be Vulcana's daughter. Forged in the depths of the hottest volcano. Immune to fire.
Mayne was warm-hearted, but also calm like water. Timpani would have the same temper as Cadence, if not for water. She would be even worse than she was now. She would have done more things she regretted.
She knew where her memories were going. Those were stories for another day. She decided comparing Mayne to her favorite things was both sweet and bitter. Timpani was sure there was a bigger word for that, but she had never graduated anyway. She kept on getting held back because of suspensions, and now she wouldn't get to finish school in Windwoods. Her childhood home was nothing but ruins. Just like her mother's forge.
"Good," Timpani finally responded to Mayne, snapping herself out of her thoughts. His gestures were really rather charming. Timpani never got tired, and as a result had not slept for all of her life. Sometimes she wondered what sleep was like. She kind of wanted to hold Mayne like a teddy bear and sleep. He did not tick her off like other people. His presence was genuinely calming.
As soon as Cadence woke up, she was extremely angry. She always looked furious when she woke up. This time, though, she realized she actually wasn't mad. Her daughter was nearby, so Cadence just reached out and hugged her.
It was something she never actually considered. That her mother Vulcana actually loved her. Cadence used to view Vulcana, similarly to how Solara would view Agatha. Actually, no... Solara was weird. Fine. Cadence use to view Vulcana, similarly to how Solara should have viewed Agatha, if Solara was even close to being a normal person.
There.
"Are you better now?" Cadence growled at Gwen. "I'm going to fight Solara if you're not. And trust me, I would win."
Sibling rivalry! Giggled Luno's voice in her head.
Get out of my head! Cadence roared at him. What was that idiot even talking about?
---
Parliament Building
Cyprian really hated it here. He never got along well with his father, and he couldn't stand even being in his mother's presence. Everything about them- their relationship, their intentions, their upbringing- everything about them was fake and complex. Cyprian just wanted simple parents who he could understand.
"What should we do?" He asked, wanting to see what Jaai wanted. He would rather not do something she hated. Unlike Alastair, he didn't just do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
Alastair was thoroughly finished with these teenagers showing him disrespect, and not getting the disgrace out of his throne room. He would have stabbed the two little maggots in the throat if it was anyone else. The only reason dawn and Ashton were still alive, was because he favored them. But he was still ticked off. The King's fingers reached for his sword as a murderous gleam shone in his eyes. These kids better take a hint and leave.
---
Clock Tower
Ivana waited patiently, reluctant to actually make physical contact with the sun herself. Audrey stepped forward to take her turn, wrapping her arms around the Queen. Of course, her arms didn't go all the way across.
"You've lost some weight since I last saw you!" Audrey scolded her. "Lay off on the abs workouts, and work on your horrible sprint."
Solara didn't even say anything as she cradled Ivana's mother like a tiny child. Ivana remembered it fondly. Five years ago, Clair had easily beat Solara in a sprinting race. Solara hadn't even gone easy on her. She actually could not sprint.
"I think it's the biceps workouts she's been overdoing," Adam chuckled. Ivana could tell her parents knew Solara well.
"You're absolutely right," Audrey said crossly, although she wasn't bothering to hide her smile. "She can only borrow shirts from Alastair!"
Adam shook his head. "Not even Alastair's shirt would fit her arms."
Ivana grabbed Amber's arm and moved it at a ninety-degree angle, the position for flexing her muscles. "I'm sure Amber's shirts would fit you. Look at these muscles. Rrrr."
Solara stood there with no expression. It was actually really amusing to Ivana that Solara was probably taking this literally, and becoming extremely confused.
"You two are being silly," Audrey nagged, then turned to Solara. Ivana could tell it was difficult to turn in any direction, with how firm the Queen's grip was. "Don't worry, Solara. They are just joking about the shirts. You look fine."
Solara made a sound that was probably supposed to be approval. Ivana found Solara's unchanging expression to be funny, too. It was just so weird.
Now Amber was asking more questions (which was normal, since the little ball of energy just loved to know everything)! The Timekeeper's daughter could easily tell Amber was getting agitated. It just surprised her that it was... excitement? Now this was peculiar. Ivana herself hated fighting. She would rather not get dirty. She would definitely zap someone to a crisp if she needed to, but she preferred not ruining her white clothes.
She laughed slightly when Amber grabbed her hand. Ivana was a perfect combination of both her parents; electric Adam and grounded Audrey. She and Amber made a great team. Amber was more powerful, but Ivana could control electricity to make it perfectly safe. Of course, this means sometimes Clair would insult her, calling her an insulator. Now Clair had fallen asleep clinging to Solara's leg, and was still somehow still clinging.
"... Agatha," was the only thing Solara said.
Now that really took the humor out of the situation.
"What?" Adam snapped. The glow of electricity lit up the entire room uncomfortably. Reacting fast, Audrey tapped three times on Solara's arm. The Queen released her grip, and Audrey immediately tackled Adam. The flickering stopped before he short-circuited everything and made the place explode.
"Calm down," Audrey scolded him sharply, pulling him to his feet. "Or you will be grounded."
Adam didn't say anything. He looked like he was about to start either destroying everything in sight, or crying.
Honestly, Ivana kind of wanted to see her dad get grounded, just like one of the girls. But of course, she didn't say that out loud. She looked to Amber. They were a Timekeeper's family. And Amber was a Soare. They were definitely knowledgeable about their history.
But instead, Amber was inquiring about Solara's son. Why? Ivana couldn't fathom why Amber cared so deeply about Cilan, since she had never asked. But the topic seemed to calm Adam down a little. Maybe now was not the time to ask.
"... He is safe at the Sanctuary with Luno," Solara explained. Her voice clearly did not belong, but it was a welcome relief to Ivana's ears. She wouldn't shout like Adam or nag like Audrey.
To Ivana's surprise, Adam turned towards them. He took a long, shaky breath before speaking. His voice was surprisingly firm and unwavering, considering his outburst. "Amber... if you want to leave, you have my full support."
"Agreed. That is, if you behave yourself and treat old Sunshine here with respect!" Audrey lectured, slapping Solara on the arm as she spoke. As usual, the Queen didn't seem to notice.
"I can go with you," Ivana offered. It was hard to imagine living without Amber, after living with her for so long. She secretly knew her parents would want her to stay, but she herself wanted to go. It would be her final act of rebellion as a teenager. After this, she had decided, she would step into her proper role as heiress and take it respectfully.
She wasn't looking directly at her parents, but she could feel Audrey's encouragement and Adam's worry. She knew it wouldn't be written on his face. It just radiated from him like electricity, and Ivana was very familiar with that. She knew her parents well, too well. That was why she wanted to get away and meet new people. She was certain the circuit wouldn't be broken while she was gone.
Sure of it.
---
The Cabin
"... Always," Was Cilan's first word as he opened his eyes. He was in some unfamiliar place. Upon looking out the window, he realized it was just the Sanctuary. Nothing crazy or creepy, thank Aeliana.
He must have dozed off while watching his memories with Clotilda. He hoped Clove got caught by Juniper, and punished for embarrassing him!
