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Ayrialenne dreamed she was flying over a large body of water, it might be a lake or an ocean, she wasn't sure and it didn't matter much; all she knew is that she had to reach land soon, for she was tired and knew her wings would not carry her much farther. She felt herself dropping altitude and tried to fly higher, her arms clutching a bundle of cloth tighter to her chest. She could not fall. She could not allow herself to fall. Where was the shore? How much farther must she go on? She prayed it wouldn't be long, she was so tired. She felt herself dropping altitude again and cried out in anguished pain as she forced her already far strained muscles to take her higher. Where was it? Where? Her vision blurred as tears of despair flowed down her face; she knew she wouldn't make it much farther. She hugged the bundle tight to her chest again, reminding herself what was at stake, why she had to go on. Why she couldn't give up despite that her aching body was begging her to just let herself fall into the water below. Just for a little while. Just a minute of rest... She shook the thought away angrily; she couldn't stop, not now. She'd come too far. Just when she was losing hope again; she saw a shadow on the horizon. It was far, very far still; but it was there. That was all she needed to know, all she cared to let herself think of as a burst of adrenaline coursed through her blood, giving her energy to keep going. She had to make it. She had to...
"D! Wake up, D! We're going to the zoo today, D!"-Annaisel yelled practically in Ayrialenne's ear, shaking her briskly and startling her awake from her dream with a jolt that caused her to slip from her bed and crash unceremoniously onto the floor. "Ow! Mother-- ugh!"-Ayria groaned, plopping her head onto her arms. Annie ran over to her and knelt beside her head. "Come on, D; get up! We're going to the zoo! We're going to the zoo!"-she yelled enthusiastically, poking Ayria's head excitedly. Ayria groaned and brushed Annie's hand away. "Yeah; I heard you the first time, Annie."-she replied groggily, more than a little annoyed at being woken up in such a manner. "Then get up! Come on!"-Annie cried insistently, rocking back and forth on her heels and grinning widely, her excitement barely contained. Ayria lifted her head from her arm and brushed her dark-brown, tangled mess of hair off her face in order to look at the practically euphoric little girl. "Goddess; one would think you'd never been to a zoo before!"-she remarked, shaking her head. "Come on!"-Annie insisted again as she stood up straight, grabbed hold of Ayria's arm and started to pull, clearly having every intention of pulling Ayria to her feet. Ayria raised her eyebrows in amused curiousity, rolled her eyes and instead pulled Annie down to the floor with her and hugging her tight, apparently to the girl's delight. "How 'bout this, instead; you stay here with me, we'll sleep all day and go to the zoo tomorrow?"-she asked, her voice still sounding quite drowsy. Annie laughed and tried to squirm free of Ayria's grasp. "No way, lazy! I wanna go to the zoo today!"-the girl pipped, pushing away from Ayria as much as possible, which, admittedly, wasn't much. Ayria laughed and let the girl go. "Ah, well; it was worth a try."-she said, sat up and ran her hands through her hair, brushing it back. She got her first full look at the little girl hopping slightly in joy in front of her, and noticed that her hair was still tousled with sleep and she was still in her nightdress; she sighed and chuckled, shaking her head. "Okay, kitten; let's get washed up and changed."-Ayria said, getting up and disentangling her legs from the bedsheets. "YAY!!"-Annie cheered loudly, far too loudly for Ayria's still drowsy head, making her wince and rub her temple with her fingertips. Annie stopped hopping and covered her mouth. "Sorry."-she whispered. Ayria managed a half-smile and said,"S'okay, baby." She patted Annie's head then nudged her over in the direction of the bathroom. Annie ran into the bathroom giggling and Ayria heard the sound of a faucet turning and water running as Annie started drawing a bath. Ayria smiled to herself as she bent over to pick up her bedsheets and tossed them on the bed, she heard the girl humming and her smile grew wider as she recognized the tune as one of the songs she often heard Annie's mother singing.
Ayrialenne was orphaned at the age of eight, the same age Annaisel was now, Ayria mused. Annie's parents had adopted Ayria at the age of thirteen, having been unsuccessful in having children of their own; it hadn't been their plan, they had in mind to adopt a younger child, but Noelath Dragunova, Annie's father, met Ayria when she accidentally bumped into him and both him and Mariellen, Annie's mother, fell in love immediately. In the end, they decided to take Ayria home with them. Then, some two weeks after Ayria turned fifteen, Mariellen gave birth to Annie; at first, they'd been worried that Ayria would think they wouldn't love her anymore and that she wouldn't accept her sibling, but they soon realized that she not only loved Annie, she was strongly protective of her and often volunteered to take care of her so her parents could have some time to themselves.
Ayria snapped out of her thoughts as Annie called out from the bathroom to tell her to hurry up. She walked into the bathroom and saw Annie was already in the tub; she also saw that Annie had filled the tub too much and had splashed a lot of water on the floor when she got into the tub. Again. Ayria sighed and shook her head in resignation. She rubbed her eyes,trying to rub the sleep off them and glanced over at her reflection in the bathroom mirror; she looked a mess, her long, wavy hair was in disarray, her green eyes were still a bit puffy from sleep and her nightdress was crumpled from tossing in her sleep. She sighed again and proceeded to undress, tossing the nightdress aside and missing the laundry basket by a few inches. "Eh, whatever."-she mumbled and got into the bathtub, splashing more water onto the floor. Annie giggled. "D, you made a mess."-she said. "Look who's talking!"-Ayria replied, splashing water in Annie's face with a laugh. Annie started laughing and splashed water at Ayria. Pretty soon they were both laughing loudly and splashing water at each other, occasionally hitting their target, but mostly just making a mess all over the bathroom floor.
Some fifteen minutes later; the girls stood wrapped in bath towels in front of the bathroom sink, Annie on a little stool so as to reach comfortably, brushing their teeth. Ayria finished first and stood looking at her now lively looking, freckled face. She tilted her head to one side, then looked over to Annie, who was spitting out her toothpaste. "Hey, Annie; is it just me, or have I sprouted a couple dozen freckles overnight?"-she asked, brushing her hair back off her face. Annie looked her over a minute, then shrugged. "You've always been spotty long as I remember."-she said, then turned back to the sink and rinsed her mouth. Ayria looked back at her reflection, shrugged, then picked up her comb and proceeded to brush her hair.
"Annie! Slow down!"-Ayria cried after her sister; she'd lost count how many times she'd said that already since they left the house. The entire visit to the zoo, Annie was constantly running off ahead of Ayria; and when they'd left the zoo for the park, or the trip to the city central to get some lunch, it was no different. Annie laughed and called back,"You're too slow, D! Hurry or you'll lose!" "This is not a competi--!"-Ayria started to say, but was interrupted as a man in a hooded cloak bumped into her, nearly knocking her off her feet. "Watch it!"-he yelled. Ayria scoffed. "You watch it, jerk!"-she yelled back. The cowl of his cloak had slipped back slightly, revealing black eyes -and a momentary red glare as the surrounding light reflected off them- and locks of blueish-silver hair; his pale features seemed not much older than Ayria. Ayria's eyebrow raised slightly as she noticed the glare and the young man quickly pulled his cowl back over his face. "Who're you calling a jerk, you lunatic? Running around the street like that. What's wrong with you?"-he yelled at her, spreading his arms out in a gesture of irritation; he then ran past her. Ayria shook her head slightly, annoyed, then thought back to the red glare she'd seen in the young man's eyes in confusion. 'Must've imagined it.'-she reasoned at length. She looked over in the direction the young man had ran, doubt crossing her face despite her reasoning. But her thoughts were interrupted quite suddenly by Annie in the form of a tackling hug from behind her. "D! Come on; I'm starving!"-Annie's muffled voice cried out. Ayria chuckled, took the girl's hands in her own and untangled herself from the hug, turning around to face Annie. "Well, kitten, if you keep making me chase you all over the city, how am I supposed to get us fed?"-she asked in a tone of mock accusation. Annie grinned up at her and shrugged, pulling the doll Ayria had given her for her fourth birthday, which she never left her room without, into a tight hug. Ayria laughed and patted the girl on the head, ruffling her hair a bit. "Come on, let's get some food. I'm running on empty right now, and we wouldn't want to go back to Momma and Da with empty tummys, would we?"-Ayria said, grinning back at Annie. The girl shook her head vigorously. "Nu-uh! I know how cranky you get when you're hungry!"-she said with all the seriousness a hyper-active eight-year-old can muster. Ayria blinked and raised her eyebrows, then she scoffed in indignation, a smile forming on her lips all the same. "Cranky? You ain't seen nothing yet, kid. Now let's go before the cranky lady decides to eat you!"-she said, poking Annie's stomach playfully. "No!"-Annie squealed and ran off again, laughing; Ayria shook her head slightly and ran after the girl. "Annie, I was kidding! Come back!"-she called after her, laughing all the way.
Ayria looked at the menu up on the wall behind the counter of a little diner thoughtfully, wondering what she was in the mood for while she waited in line, Annie clutching a handful of her skirts and impatiently shifting her weight from foot to foot. "You thought about what you want yet?"-Ayria asked her sister when it was their turn to order. "Candied fruit!"-she was quick to reply. Ayria laughed and looked down at Annie. "Nu-uh! You're hyper enough as it is; I'm not feeding any sugar."-she said, to which Annie pouted. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"-the girl begged with pleading eyes. Ayria laughed again and replied,"You know that only works on Da. Beggin'll get you nowhere with me." Annie let go of Ayria's skirt and folded her arms across her chest, her expression one of accepted defeat. "Fine. I'll have melon soup, then."-she said momentarily. Ayria rolled her eyes at the waiter and they chuckled. "Two melon soups, then."-she said.
After they had eaten, Annie had asked to go to the playground in the south-east quadrant of the city. Ayria sat on a swing set, swinging slowly and chatting with a few parents and nannies, watching Annie play tag with a group of children.
......
Ayrialenne dreamed she was flying over a large body of water, it might be a lake or an ocean, she wasn't sure and it didn't matter much; all she knew is that she had to reach land soon, for she was tired and knew her wings would not carry her much farther. She felt herself dropping altitude and tried to fly higher, her arms clutching a bundle of cloth tighter to her chest. She could not fall. She could not allow herself to fall. Where was the shore? How much farther must she go on? She prayed it wouldn't be long, she was so tired. She felt herself dropping altitude again and cried out in anguished pain as she forced her already far strained muscles to take her higher. Where was it? Where? Her vision blurred as tears of despair flowed down her face; she knew she wouldn't make it much farther. She hugged the bundle tight to her chest again, reminding herself what was at stake, why she had to go on. Why she couldn't give up despite that her aching body was begging her to just let herself fall into the water below. Just for a little while. Just a minute of rest... She shook the thought away angrily; she couldn't stop, not now. She'd come too far. Just when she was losing hope again; she saw a shadow on the horizon. It was far, very far still; but it was there. That was all she needed to know, all she cared to let herself think of as a burst of adrenaline coursed through her blood, giving her energy to keep going. She had to make it. She had to...
"D! Wake up, D! We're going to the zoo today, D!"-Annaisel yelled practically in Ayrialenne's ear, shaking her briskly and startling her awake from her dream with a jolt that caused her to slip from her bed and crash unceremoniously onto the floor. "Ow! Mother-- ugh!"-Ayria groaned, plopping her head onto her arms. Annie ran over to her and knelt beside her head. "Come on, D; get up! We're going to the zoo! We're going to the zoo!"-she yelled enthusiastically, poking Ayria's head excitedly. Ayria groaned and brushed Annie's hand away. "Yeah; I heard you the first time, Annie."-she replied groggily, more than a little annoyed at being woken up in such a manner. "Then get up! Come on!"-Annie cried insistently, rocking back and forth on her heels and grinning widely, her excitement barely contained. Ayria lifted her head from her arm and brushed her dark-brown, tangled mess of hair off her face in order to look at the practically euphoric little girl. "Goddess; one would think you'd never been to a zoo before!"-she remarked, shaking her head. "Come on!"-Annie insisted again as she stood up straight, grabbed hold of Ayria's arm and started to pull, clearly having every intention of pulling Ayria to her feet. Ayria raised her eyebrows in amused curiousity, rolled her eyes and instead pulled Annie down to the floor with her and hugging her tight, apparently to the girl's delight. "How 'bout this, instead; you stay here with me, we'll sleep all day and go to the zoo tomorrow?"-she asked, her voice still sounding quite drowsy. Annie laughed and tried to squirm free of Ayria's grasp. "No way, lazy! I wanna go to the zoo today!"-the girl pipped, pushing away from Ayria as much as possible, which, admittedly, wasn't much. Ayria laughed and let the girl go. "Ah, well; it was worth a try."-she said, sat up and ran her hands through her hair, brushing it back. She got her first full look at the little girl hopping slightly in joy in front of her, and noticed that her hair was still tousled with sleep and she was still in her nightdress; she sighed and chuckled, shaking her head. "Okay, kitten; let's get washed up and changed."-Ayria said, getting up and disentangling her legs from the bedsheets. "YAY!!"-Annie cheered loudly, far too loudly for Ayria's still drowsy head, making her wince and rub her temple with her fingertips. Annie stopped hopping and covered her mouth. "Sorry."-she whispered. Ayria managed a half-smile and said,"S'okay, baby." She patted Annie's head then nudged her over in the direction of the bathroom. Annie ran into the bathroom giggling and Ayria heard the sound of a faucet turning and water running as Annie started drawing a bath. Ayria smiled to herself as she bent over to pick up her bedsheets and tossed them on the bed, she heard the girl humming and her smile grew wider as she recognized the tune as one of the songs she often heard Annie's mother singing.
Ayrialenne was orphaned at the age of eight, the same age Annaisel was now, Ayria mused. Annie's parents had adopted Ayria at the age of thirteen, having been unsuccessful in having children of their own; it hadn't been their plan, they had in mind to adopt a younger child, but Noelath Dragunova, Annie's father, met Ayria when she accidentally bumped into him and both him and Mariellen, Annie's mother, fell in love immediately. In the end, they decided to take Ayria home with them. Then, some two weeks after Ayria turned fifteen, Mariellen gave birth to Annie; at first, they'd been worried that Ayria would think they wouldn't love her anymore and that she wouldn't accept her sibling, but they soon realized that she not only loved Annie, she was strongly protective of her and often volunteered to take care of her so her parents could have some time to themselves.
Ayria snapped out of her thoughts as Annie called out from the bathroom to tell her to hurry up. She walked into the bathroom and saw Annie was already in the tub; she also saw that Annie had filled the tub too much and had splashed a lot of water on the floor when she got into the tub. Again. Ayria sighed and shook her head in resignation. She rubbed her eyes,trying to rub the sleep off them and glanced over at her reflection in the bathroom mirror; she looked a mess, her long, wavy hair was in disarray, her green eyes were still a bit puffy from sleep and her nightdress was crumpled from tossing in her sleep. She sighed again and proceeded to undress, tossing the nightdress aside and missing the laundry basket by a few inches. "Eh, whatever."-she mumbled and got into the bathtub, splashing more water onto the floor. Annie giggled. "D, you made a mess."-she said. "Look who's talking!"-Ayria replied, splashing water in Annie's face with a laugh. Annie started laughing and splashed water at Ayria. Pretty soon they were both laughing loudly and splashing water at each other, occasionally hitting their target, but mostly just making a mess all over the bathroom floor.
Some fifteen minutes later; the girls stood wrapped in bath towels in front of the bathroom sink, Annie on a little stool so as to reach comfortably, brushing their teeth. Ayria finished first and stood looking at her now lively looking, freckled face. She tilted her head to one side, then looked over to Annie, who was spitting out her toothpaste. "Hey, Annie; is it just me, or have I sprouted a couple dozen freckles overnight?"-she asked, brushing her hair back off her face. Annie looked her over a minute, then shrugged. "You've always been spotty long as I remember."-she said, then turned back to the sink and rinsed her mouth. Ayria looked back at her reflection, shrugged, then picked up her comb and proceeded to brush her hair.
"Annie! Slow down!"-Ayria cried after her sister; she'd lost count how many times she'd said that already since they left the house. The entire visit to the zoo, Annie was constantly running off ahead of Ayria; and when they'd left the zoo for the park, or the trip to the city central to get some lunch, it was no different. Annie laughed and called back,"You're too slow, D! Hurry or you'll lose!" "This is not a competi--!"-Ayria started to say, but was interrupted as a man in a hooded cloak bumped into her, nearly knocking her off her feet. "Watch it!"-he yelled. Ayria scoffed. "You watch it, jerk!"-she yelled back. The cowl of his cloak had slipped back slightly, revealing black eyes -and a momentary red glare as the surrounding light reflected off them- and locks of blueish-silver hair; his pale features seemed not much older than Ayria. Ayria's eyebrow raised slightly as she noticed the glare and the young man quickly pulled his cowl back over his face. "Who're you calling a jerk, you lunatic? Running around the street like that. What's wrong with you?"-he yelled at her, spreading his arms out in a gesture of irritation; he then ran past her. Ayria shook her head slightly, annoyed, then thought back to the red glare she'd seen in the young man's eyes in confusion. 'Must've imagined it.'-she reasoned at length. She looked over in the direction the young man had ran, doubt crossing her face despite her reasoning. But her thoughts were interrupted quite suddenly by Annie in the form of a tackling hug from behind her. "D! Come on; I'm starving!"-Annie's muffled voice cried out. Ayria chuckled, took the girl's hands in her own and untangled herself from the hug, turning around to face Annie. "Well, kitten, if you keep making me chase you all over the city, how am I supposed to get us fed?"-she asked in a tone of mock accusation. Annie grinned up at her and shrugged, pulling the doll Ayria had given her for her fourth birthday, which she never left her room without, into a tight hug. Ayria laughed and patted the girl on the head, ruffling her hair a bit. "Come on, let's get some food. I'm running on empty right now, and we wouldn't want to go back to Momma and Da with empty tummys, would we?"-Ayria said, grinning back at Annie. The girl shook her head vigorously. "Nu-uh! I know how cranky you get when you're hungry!"-she said with all the seriousness a hyper-active eight-year-old can muster. Ayria blinked and raised her eyebrows, then she scoffed in indignation, a smile forming on her lips all the same. "Cranky? You ain't seen nothing yet, kid. Now let's go before the cranky lady decides to eat you!"-she said, poking Annie's stomach playfully. "No!"-Annie squealed and ran off again, laughing; Ayria shook her head slightly and ran after the girl. "Annie, I was kidding! Come back!"-she called after her, laughing all the way.
Ayria looked at the menu up on the wall behind the counter of a little diner thoughtfully, wondering what she was in the mood for while she waited in line, Annie clutching a handful of her skirts and impatiently shifting her weight from foot to foot. "You thought about what you want yet?"-Ayria asked her sister when it was their turn to order. "Candied fruit!"-she was quick to reply. Ayria laughed and looked down at Annie. "Nu-uh! You're hyper enough as it is; I'm not feeding any sugar."-she said, to which Annie pouted. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?"-the girl begged with pleading eyes. Ayria laughed again and replied,"You know that only works on Da. Beggin'll get you nowhere with me." Annie let go of Ayria's skirt and folded her arms across her chest, her expression one of accepted defeat. "Fine. I'll have melon soup, then."-she said momentarily. Ayria rolled her eyes at the waiter and they chuckled. "Two melon soups, then."-she said.
After they had eaten, Annie had asked to go to the playground in the south-east quadrant of the city. Ayria sat on a swing set, swinging slowly and chatting with a few parents and nannies, watching Annie play tag with a group of children.
......
And that's where I'm stuck. Probably has a lot to do with the fact that I wrote this as soon as I woke up, at like three in the morning. I have the basic plot drafted out in a note; but I'm still working on getting there. Still; feel free to give opinions and stuff.
Random related note: Ayrialenne is pronounced with the force of pronunciation on the second 'a'. Dunno why I feel that's important, but I do.
