Nova Readopt Tryout

[Yuroshi]

Andromeda Gaunt | Gift of the Infinite | Alias: Nova

For reference, the AU this takes place in is a medieval monarchy with a largely magicless population. Those born with magic are very rare. Society-wise, there are lords and ladies of certain "higher class" lands, which the king which reins supreme over, and he and his royal army have declared magic illegal. Those born with magic have one of three choices- join the kings army to find and destroy other magicals, hide your powers from those around you, or rebel. Should a magical choose either of the last two, their life cannot be guaranteed- their own existence is dangerous. The Gaunt family is a noble family whose patriarch was slain due to his magic and refusal to submit to the king, but the line was not cast out due to the fact that the Gaunt Matriarch was the one with Gaunt blood, and she immediately cast out her husband upon learning of his magic and refusal to submit. In fact, this made the family gain more favor with the King. Unfortunately, Andromeda's father wasn't the only one to have magic.... and as always, magic comes with a price.

[Yuroshi]

A little girl sat alone on a hillside, drawing figures in the grass beside her. If anyone would’ve been close enough, they would hear some quiet humming, a song- obviously foreign, that few others new. But no one was there to hear it- only the creatures of the wild hidden in the forests and fields around her.
It can be nice to be alone sometimes, the little girl thought optimistically, enjoying the peace around her... until it was shattered by a loud voice.
”ANDROMEDA!” called a loud, forceful voice- the voice of her not so sane mother. It easily broke the peace and the silence, and the little girl- Andromeda- quickly got up and began to head back toward the dark mansion behind her. It was obvious she’d been through this before. ”Young lady, get inside and washed up! We must practice your etiquette, so that you may find a husband later! But, we must also practice your fitness and ability for combat. The Gaunt women shall never be caught unprepared!” After this forceful statement, Andromeda simply replied “Yes, mother,” before heading up to follow the orders. She knew, after all, it would do no good to ignore them- she’d only be punished if she did, regardless of the fact that they did this every day.

It took only a few minutes for Andromeda to clean up before she swiftly traveled down the stairs, greeted by the sight of her mother sitting and already lecturing another young lady about the "proper way to get a husband, and torture any who dares reject you." Andromeda's eyes lit up as she saw that the other girl sitting there was none other than her older sister Narcissa. Although she didn't dare run to hug her with her mother in lecture, she couldn't resist taking Narcissa's hand under the table as the two pretended to listen attentively to their mother. For a while, the two could only pretend to listen, but it wasn't long until Ms. Gaunt abruptly cut off her speech, rising and wandering off to do something the girls didn't bother trying to figure out. The moment she was out of sight, Andromeda launched herself at her sibling, giving her a tight hug before grabbing her hand once more and bringing her up the stairs, into her room.

"Calm down little one," Narcissa said with a fond gleam in her eyes. "I know I have been away for a while, but you know how she is about the suitors... it's either accept one of the noble's invitations, or join the king's army."
"Don't call me little!" Andromeda snapped out with no real venom in her voice. "I'm seventeen, Cissy, only two years younger than you, and my birthday is hardly a month away! I'm just excited to see you... you know mother has been doing the same for me now. I'm 'prime marriage age,' she says. I can't believe her sometimes, but I know that losing father made her different... still, she can be a nightmare! Just the other day, she almost let out the truth about... you know what. It has always just been you and me against the world, and now that you're gone, I just... I- oh, drown it all!" Andromeda finished in a huff.
Cissy simply smiled slightly, drawing her little sister into a comforting hug.
"I know, Meda. You were always my best friend, and you still are. We have always been here for each other, and I promise I will always do my best for you. When you're scared, I will help you face your fears. When you're sad, I will help remind you of things to be happy about. But you know you aren't defenseless anymore... you have been working on your gift, haven't you dear?

Meda simply rolled her eyes before focusing strongly and reaching out and drawing a small chocolate seemingly out of nowhere, offering it to her sister. Of course, the chocolate didn't come out of nowhere, and Cissy could see that as well- her eyes had begun to glow as her little sister focused, and she saw with a strange view of all things unnatural a small pocket dimension open at her sister's will. Even without the sight though, she would've known about the "unnatural" aspect- after all, her sister's hand began to look as though it was part of space as she called forth her dimension.
"Nova, that was absolutely brilliant! You've gotten better, now only small pieces of you change to mimic the stars when you use your gift... I am so proud of you! Now, how about I tell you about my latest journey? It started with..."

Andromeda couldn't help the proud blush that overtook her at her sister's praise, and her use of the code name they had come up for her power. As she listened to Cissy talk about all that had occurred on her month long journey, Meda couldn't help but think back on all the times her sister had encouraged her, helped her, been there for her. Saved her. She reached in for another hug as she thought of how lucky she was to have such a wonderful sister as her very best friend.

[Yuroshi]

The next month passed in a blur for the sisters- one 17, one 20, both knowing far more than one so young should know, and both carrying the secrets of the other. When they weren't hiding from their mother, caught in one of her lessons, or practicing their forbidden magic, they did anything two best friends with access to noble households would do- they explored, they talked, and they caused mischief. All too soon, the month was up, and Andromeda was finally an adult- well, as much as an 18 year old can be considered an adult, anyway.
Andromeda woke up on her birthday positively glowing- she was a full adult now! And her sister was there to celebrate with her, so besides the mounds of possible betrothal she knew she would receive from her mother... this time, she’d actually get real presents! Meda couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she bounced to her feet, quickly throwing on her favorite outfit with her magenta bow, a gift from her sister when she was 10, her black headband, a gift from her 14th birthday, and her golden earring from her 16th. Then, she bounced out of her room and barged into Narcissa’s.

“CISSY!! WAKE UP! GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!!”
Meda’s sister jolted awake, rolling to her feet with eyes glowing as, on instinct, she activated her powers. Upon seeing it was only her overexcited sister, she slumped back down onto the bed, the glow receding as she giggle slightly.
Happy birthday, Meda!”
The girls took a moment to talk about what they might want to do for the day, both deciding heading out and exploring seemed like the best plan.

Neither noticed that their mother had seen Narcissa’s eyes glow.
Nor did they realize as they slipped out of the building that their mother wasn’t in the house anymore.

The day passed in a blur for Meda and Cissy. Throwing on battered cloaks to hide their appearance, the travelled through the village, happily traveling from one place to the next, getting to know the townspeople without predjudice. As the sun started to go down, the girls finally began to return home, tired but happy with their day. They stopped to sit atop Meda’s favorite hill, and watch the sunsets reflection on the lake behind their manor. Leaning sleepily against each other, the two sisters were more grateful than ever to have each other. Even though they’d fight sometimes, they were the best of friends to each other. With only small warning, Narcissa shifted to face her sister, reaching to grab I small pouch from her belt.

”Happy Birthday,” Cissy said once more to her little sister, ”to the best friend I have ever had, and the best sister I could ever ask for.” With that, Narcissa opened the bag, pulling out two bracelets- one a beautiful moonsilver with a narcissus flower, and the other a gentle silver with a swirling andromeda galaxy pendent. Andromeda was shocked speechless as her sister reached forward and clasped the narcissus flower around her wrist, putting the andromeda one around her own.
”They’re enchanted, see? To others, they will always look tarnished unless we deem them trustworthy, and... and they’ll connect us. You know I can see the magic in non-living things, right? Well, these have a line connecting them. With these, I will always, always make my way back to you. I- ”
Whatever Narcissa planned to say was cut off as Andromeda cut her off with a heartfelt thank you and a hug so tight she could hardly breathe. The two girls stayed there until the stars began to appear in the sky once more, talking about nothing and everything at the same time. But finally, it was time for them to head inside, so the girls did.

[Yuroshi]

As they stepped inside, they immediately wished they hadn’t.

”Halt!” called a forceful voice. ”You, the eldest! We have heard that you have magic. By law of our Gracious Majesty, you must either hand yourself over, or face immediate consequences!”
The two girls could only stand shocked, before glancing at their mother pacing behind the man that spoke. It came to them quickly- this was the Magicals Suppresion Guard. Their own mother had somehow seen them, and turned them in. Andromeda spun to look at her sister, drawing her hand away in the process, pure shock still written on her face from this sudden change of events. Before she could speak, her sister cut her off.
”So you’ve finally realized, have you? It’s foolish that it took you this long!” she cackled menacingly. ”I will never submit to you, mongrel, nor your scum you call king!” Narcissa turned to Andromeda here, and her menacing grin was taken over by a sad, broken smile as she looked at her little sister. And suddenly, Andromeda understood. Cissy was doing this to protect her. Because if she fought back, and pretended that Meda didn’t know... no one would bother checking to see if Meda was magic as well.
”You are the only one, little sister, that I will regret deceiving. So much potential, if only you had magic... Mongrels! You’ll never be able to take me!”
And with one last look at her little sister, she mouthed “always,” tapped her bracelet, and took off, leaving a shell-shocked family and Royal Guard behind. As Andromeda’s mind finally caught up to what happened, it took everything she had to not break down sobbing. As it was, a small cry made it’s way from her as she watched her sister disappear into the tree line.

”I am sorry for the ways the Magical made you suffer. You will be rewarded for your loyalty to His Gracious Majesty,” the monster who caused her sister to leave said, attempting to comfort the broken girl and her broken mother. ”Men, move out!”
As Meda watched the men flow out and into the forest to chase after her sister, she found herself going numb. Her mother, in a show of kindness completely unlike her, patted her gently on the shoulder. Mindlessly, Meda walked up, passing her own room to sit in her sister’s bed.

Hours passed as she sat numbly, before finally looking down at her wrist, and the bracelet on it. Her sister’s words echoed in her head. ’I will always, always make my way back to you...’
The girl felt nothing like the adult she was said to be in that moment, and pulled her sister’s blanket over her. Screwing her eyes tightly closed, she began to sing in a quiet voice, broken only by the sobs that wracked her body.
“Happy Birthday to me....”
And with that, she sunk into the oblivion of a dreamless sleep, and began to wait for the day her sister would return.

[Yuroshi]

I have been waiting ever since... it’s been 3 long years. But I haven’t been doing nothing. I’ve been using my gift to help others... I go to the orphanage every day, and bring food with me, to give to the little ones. To be for them what my sister was to me...

She pulls an apple out of nowhere to prove her point of bringing food to others, before vanishing it back to wherever it was- after her story, this time you notice the fact that the back of her hand glows like a galaxy. You have heard her story, and now judge her worth... you can’t help but wonder if her sister will ever be able to return. If she hasn’t been caught already.

She’ll come back!

She interrupts your thoughts as though she can read your mind..

And if she doesn’t come back soon... I’ll have to go and find her. We Magicals do not deserve the treatment we get... I will find her, and save her. I’ll never give up on her. I know she’d never give up on me.

She looks into your eyes once more, as though dating you to challenge her on this... but you know that she’ll never change her mind. With one more respectful nod, and a smile in your direction, she leaves the tavern you’d been talking in, disappearing into the crowd under a non-descript cloak, off to help another poor soul.