"It can't be possible that rain could fall only when it's over our heads."
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Ryka gripped the paintbrush in her mouth as she used a charcoal pencil to line a splatter of neon on an already brightly colored canvas. Her purple hair was slumped lamely over her forehead in a lame bedhead hairdo. Long ago the sun had risen over her mess of a studio apartment, strewn with pencils, paintbrushes, loose paper, packets of scales, acrylic paint, and wrappers from various foods, signs of her chaotic but artistic life. Staring intensely at her work, as if maybe if she stared hard enough, she could will if to make itself into a masterpiece, she lined another splatter and etched in a faint shape. A knock sounded at her apartment door.
"Sup, Ry?" The slightly, only slightly annoyed kiamara chucked a paintbrush at her smirking blue brother.
"GO AWAY." The persistent kia ignored her.
"Whatcha working on?"
"Your face."
"Well then my face is very nice."
"I don't know if that was a compliment or not."
Her brother laughed and went to open the door. He called out over his shoulder,
"Sis, you're going places. Not college or an office job, but places."
"Just you wait," She yelled back. It was only then Ryka realized with a start
"Wait, how did you get in my-"
The city was humming. Overflowed with traditional and modern cultures both, it was always busy and new. That's what Ryka loved about it. Its daily hustle, the untold stories and unexpressed emotions in the hurried walks of pedestrians and impatient honks on the street, inspired her to work, to dash color onto dull sheets of paper. The rent was pricey, sure, but it was worth it.
Beeps of traffic trailed Ryka as she walked slowly to her favorite frozen yogurt place, taking in the colors of her beloved city. It had been a slightly successful day of music and paint splatters; her throat was burning and her hands dirty, and so she decided to treat herself to a cup of froyo. Through the difficulties of it all, unlike some could say, she persisted through, and at the end of the day, sometimes she was content, other times not. The bell jingled.
"Hi Ryka! What's up!" The shop where her sister worked was currently manned by a perky girl who smiled and waved as Ryka walked in.
"Hi Emmy." She said nothing more until she went to the register to pay.
"Guess who just walked in a few minutes ago? Your jerk ex Clark. I swear-"
"It's alright, Emmy." Her friend glanced up and went quiet. Ryka silently handed her a few bills and walked out.
On the streets, Ryka thought about Clark. Why should she care? He hurt her. She should forget her. But still, a part of her nagged and imagined those cozy nights by the fire, and her heart hurt. Still... the less she thought about him, the better. A sharp shoulder bumped into her.
"Watch it," A familiar voice growled. Ryka looked up with a start and stared into those eyes, the color of unlit coals.
What are the chances? She thought as she stalked away. What are the chances?
On the odd could winter nights, those eyes made of coal were lit and bright with laughter. Their separation was hard for Ryka. But he had moved on. He had found someone else while they were still together, not knowing or caring how it broke her. She had some thoughts she didn't want to admit, but they had passed as well. Like bits of smoke replaced by a summer breeze. So why did she still care so much? She tried to get over it, and she did. Try...
Trying...
She tried, and made it through. The storm is over. She is new. She is her city.
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Who is she anyways?
Think of the sunrise. The beginning of a new day, a new start and a new challenge. Now add a gunshot. Add a splash of color in the awakening dawn. Finish the scene with a dash of laughter and a faint rock song whispering through a speaker. That's Ryka, music extraordinaire, artist of the litter, right there. You need advice, she's your girl. Need a shoulder to cry on, she's there. Want a sprinkle of song? Or maybe a bit of paint? She's your girl. She hates being used for her talent and brains. She hates arrogance. She absolutely hates people who say "I'm bad at art." Give her food and she'll give you a squeal and weird looks as she runs away screaming and hugging whatever you just gave her.
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I'm trying out for Kia 2!
User - KittyKat454
Name - Ryka
Gender - Female
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Ryka Loves her Crazy Family
Ryka is the youngest out of all of her siblings. Technically they're all the same age, but she acts like the younger sister... if that makes any sense. She loves all of them, really, but in different ways.
"RYKA!!!!! WHERE! IS! MY! HOODIE?" The small purple kia giggled and dashed past her sister's room clutching a burgundy sweatshirt, which, needless to say, her outraged sister was looking for.
"Okay, okay, sis, here! Geez, you're so dramatic." Her tousled pink-haired sister stuck her head out of the doorway and grabbed the jacket. "By the way..." Ryka flashed a chain bracelet and giggled again. " Love you!" she called out to a furious older sister as she dashed through the house and out the door.
"Wait!" her other sister yelled before she left the house. "You forgot your homework folder. And your lunch bag. And your donations. And your backpack. So, really you forgot everything except ----'s bracelet." She smirked. "By the way, nice job on that." They slapped paws and heard a groan from down the hall.
"HOW DO YOU PUT UP WITH HER???"
"It's not my fault she likes tormenting you." Ryka's orange-furred and fringe-haired sister grinned and kissed her on the forehead.
"Bye sis love you!" Ryka waved as she tore through the door.
At the bus stop,
"Sis, what did you do now?"
Ryka's sea-colored brother shook his head.
"Hey, it's not her fault -----'s always so ... STUCK UP about her looks." Her orange-haired brother combed his fingers through his ruffled mane. Brother 1 rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Sis, did you remember your money?" Ryka nodded.
"Thanks to big sis I did."
"Hand it over."
Ryka glared at her older brother. "No." He laughed and she punched him lightly on the arm. Just then, the bus pulled up. They rode there separately, but they walked there together. Right before they parted, Ryka hesitated, then hugged her two brothers.
"Love you guys."
"We love you too, you little twerp." Ryka let out a laugh and waved as her two siblings went their ways to class. She sighed and headed to her own room. She couldn't wait for school to be over so she could go back home with her crazy family.
1- Sister number one. Out-spoken, rocking, drama loving sister. She's always been there for all of Ryka's important events, been there through trauma and typical girl problems. A model older sister. Sure, they have fights sometimes, but what's a sibling relation ship without some healthy arguments?
3- There's always that one kid in the family who's concerned about their looks. Sis #2 is that kid. Ryka likes to take her stuff sometimes, but it's all fun and games. Until sis decides to take out her tweezers. Those things can hurt.
4- Brothers are always the troublemakers in the family, right? Nope. Not this guy. Ryka's older brother is the peacemaker, sort of the glue of the family in the midst of the chaos. He prefers not to take sides, but hates it when his family starts to argue. Ryka decides not to use this to her advantage, because, you know, she loves her older brother.
5- Ryka's other brother is the exact opposite of his little brother. He likes to talk, and he and Ryka have had some crazy conversations in which their brother shook his head and walked away. Ryka has arguments with him, but they're either about something stupid or jokingly.
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Who We Were Last Winter (Extra) Clark draped a blanket over his sleeping girlfriend and just took a moment to just stare at her muted calm. When she was awake, she was a firecracker chattering about who knows what. Suddenly, his phone rang.
"Hello there flaming," Clark heard a light female voice through his phone on speaker.
"Oh shoot-" He scrambled to take it off speaker and glanced nervously at Ryka. Still asleep. Phew. "Be quieter, Addy. Ryka's on the couch." He could almost see his other girl's face darken.
"Oh,
her. I thought you said you'd leave her." Clark looked back again at the purple Sleeping Beauty and replied to Addy,
"I know. I'll get to it one of these days." A sigh crackled through.
"Whatever. I called to let you know I'm looking forward to your arrival on Tuesday. Bye, love you." The cell phone clicked and Clark looked at the bringer of the sadness he knew was sure to come to Ryka soon. He didn't want to hurt her. But he felt like he had to.
Clark walked over to Ryka and hugged her. She woke up and smiled.
"What's that for?"
"Nothing. You wanna watch a movie?"
Snuggled up on a pull-out couch, watching an old re-run of and old television show, drinking hot chocolate and occasionally spilling it, that's how they spent their evening. As they fell asleep to the sound of a cheesy sitcom, Clark couldn't help but feel guilty about what he was going to do to her.
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS? WHY?"
Ryka exploded immediately on impact.
Jeez, what a crazy woman, Clark thought. Sobbing, Ryka ran upstairs to her room and slammed the door. A moment later a piece of paper wafted down the stairs.
Who were we last week? Who were we last month? Who were we yesterday?He still didn't know. The day after he dumped Ryka, Addy left him too. A year later, he still hurt. The flames in his eyes had died along with his relationships. As snowflakes floated down, just like they did when the fire flickered bright, his phone mocked him with a
Ding! It was a message from Ryka.
Who were we last Winter?