Eira Zanna Rainswallow // District 8

Eira Zanna Rainswallow // District 8 Feb 22, 2013 22:51:50 GMT -5

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Post by Kire on Feb 22, 2013 22:51:50 GMT -5

Eira Zanna Rainswallow

I had a way then losing it all on my own
I had a heart then but the queen has been overthrown

District Eight|Fifteen|Mapmaker's Daughter|East

And I'm not sleeping now, the dark is too hard to beat
And I'm not keeping now the strength I need to push me

Father
I named my daughter after the wind rose on maps. It was my favorite part to draw, as a mapmaker, for it allowed some ounce of creativity I never allowed myself with the landscape. I drew a wind rose for her too, on the date of her birth, just as I had done for all three of her brothers. Her mother insisted on a name suiting her birth-direction, which had been East, but I gave her the middle name that I felt better suited her. Eira Zanna Rainswallow is my one and only daughter, and I would do everything in my power to protect her against the world. For though she acts the fighter, she is truly gentle inside, much like the rose I named her for. My three sons are also named after their birth direction; Noland, the oldest, was born facing north. My two other sons are twins, and it was only through careful timing that their birth directions were what my wife had wished. She had faced herself west while having the older twin, Wesly and, with my help, turned to face south before the birth of the second, Slayde. Zanna is my only daughter, and my treasure. She defies the typical personality of an East-born child, but it’s what sets her apart from the others, and I think it is the thing that makes more people adore her. I know Noland is always itching to take her along, for all he wants to protect her. They’re so much alike.

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

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Noland

My baby sister is supposed to be an East-born baby. It really doesn't seem like it though, if anything she's more like me a North-born. It's one of the reasons why I always spend time with her, well I try to anyway. I never take her on my little trips, but she's got the spark in her, I can see it. I only need to bring it to a flame and then she and I can go exploring together. Still, I can't let her come with me until she's older, at least. I don't want her getting hurt, she's my favorite. Still there are some qualities in her that show she's not exactly a North-born, something I knew even if I hoped they had made a mistake. She's way too good at sewing, and knitting and embroidery. Namely sewing though, even if I have seen her spinning wool and spending hours on the loom. There's definitely some East-born in her. Besides me, she's the most rambunctious, but I don't think the others mind. For the most part it just seems like Slayde and Wesly do their best to ignore her more random outbursts, so I'm left to deal with that. Oh well, it's all part of being an explorer.

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

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Mother

I have never met an East-born quite like my Eira. She seems at times like anything, everything, besides East-born, though I can't imagine why. She's quite sweet, for all she can be stubborn and troublesome. She lights up all of our lives, and even Slayde will come out of his shell a bit when she bothers him enough. My only daughter is also my youngest child, born two years after I had the twins. I know my husband fell hard for her, and I have to watch he doesn't promise her anything that we can't manage. Selling maps doesn't make enough money that we can afford anything overly pricey. She had always been as rambunctious as this when she was really young, worse even. It didn't help that Noland would always tell her big stories about how he had climbed over our fence or how he had managed to pet the most ferocious cat. It was more of a game back then, but he's gotten somewhat out of hand. You would think that after turning eighteen he would have settled a bit, but no that fire never died. If anything it got stronger. Thankfully, Eira never caught more than a spark. I am sure she is an East-born, even if there is little in her that proves it. I checked the compass three times at least before birthing her, and now I wonder whether the thing was working. Still, I would never wish to have a daughter other than Zanna, she brightens up all of our lives. I was glad when she learned how to sew, and when she found she loved it. That was the East-born in her, and I thought it might have begun to expose itself. No such luck, it seems, for she hasn't settled a bit. Oh my silly Zanna.

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home

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Zanna

I don't know if anyone's told you what I look like yet, so I may as well. I have brown hair, like the rest of my family, that has every shade of brown in it, from near-black to blonde. In the winter it darkens, and in the summer it lightens. It's straight and I don't mind it, I keep it just about shoulder length and don't bother putting it up unless I'm around Father when he's drawing up a new map. Can't get hair in the ink, or ink in my hair, either way it's not very good. My eyes are gray, like a misty day. They have just a touch of blue, and it makes them just that much different than my family's. My father's are green, my mother's are green-gray. The twins both have straight gray eyes and, surprisingly, Noland's are brown. I'm also pretty tall, for a girl anyway. I reach 5'8", even though I'm only fifteen. Did no one mention my age yet either? Well, There are gaps in your knowledge everywhere. Don't worry, I'll fill you in. Along with being tall, I'm also somewhat thin, though it's not like I'm a stick or anything. I don't care about my looks much, I just got lucky in being naturally tall and naturally on the thinner side. I mean, it's not as though I have a large amount of either fat or muscle, but I've got some substance to me. Enough for my purposes, and any more wouldn't fit me right.

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

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Wesly

Perhaps Slayde could provide more detail on appearance, but as per-usual my twin brother would rather clam up than talk to someone he doesn't know. He does this around anyone outside the family, and as far as I can tell, I'm the only one he really opens up to. Though, he does seem pretty fond of Zanna, who is the only person other than myself that can get him to say more than just a couple words at a time, even if it's only to tell her to leave him alone. Enough about Slayde, though, I'm supposed to be discussing Zanna. Anyway, I've seen the one drawing Slayde had done of Zanna, which was odd for him because he usually doesn't draw people. He's always so perfect with every line, and this was no different. The shape of her face was delicately sketched, then adorned with her gray eyes, thin eyebrows and nose that was just a bit big for her face. There was special attention paid to her lips, something that he probably struggled with. Like I said, he doesn't draw people much. They were the same just-a-tad-long size, and the same shade of pale pink as they actually are. He captured the shape of her shoulders, the line of her figure, and the slim length of her legs. I was amazed at his accuracy. It seemed both he and I would rather have not thought too hard about her bust, but it was quite accurate as always, just not so detailed. He had drawn her wearing her short-shorts, hair down like always. She sat on the fence at the edge of our property, her lead turned back to the sun. Her light sweater wasn't buttoned up, and her usual t-shirt showed underneath. It was Zanna in the summer, taking a moment to enjoy the beauty. My brother had managed to capture it perfectly.

Noises, I play within my head
Touch my own skin and hope that I'm still breathing

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Slayde

I drew my sister once. It was something I felt I had to do, but I'm not going to say why. It's not me. Feel lucky that I'm even talking. What do I think about Zanna? Well, I like how she's so outgoing. She's always raring to go on an adventure, even if it's not the same as Noland. And she's not afraid to show it, either. She's brave in the face of my family, and I only wish I could be the same. Because, in truth, I would like to explore too. Except that Wes never would and I couldn't leave him. He's my other half, and there's no way I could ever go out and meet new people and see new places without him. But Zanna, she's different from me, brave and ready to face whatever comes next. Even if she can be a bit of a pest and constantly bug everyone, well maybe not constantly, but she's so stubborn that when she wants something she'll badger you until you give in. Still, I like that about her, it makes me smile.

And I think back to when my brother of my sister slept
In an unknown place the only time I feel safe

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Zanna

I'm different from my family. Well, I was always meant to be, and yet I mean in a different way. I am an East-born, just as my father is a West-born, and my mother a South-born. And yet, I don't act like an East-born. I'm too adventurous, too eager to obtain information and too stubborn for it to be true. East-born kids are supposed to be something like the maid of the family, I am anything but. Except for my sewing. It's the one thing I actually do that is normal for an East-born. My mother always tries to convince me I was born an East-born, saying my gray eyes are calm and soft, not the hard-edged gaze of an explorer. My hands are nimble, good for sewing but not for putting up a fight. I believe her some, but I think I am more a bit of every direction, not just East.

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

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Noland

There was the one time she came along with me when I went on a simple exploration. I was merely going to take a look around the tanner's work area, maybe feel some of the leather and see if there were any little bits I could find uses for that wouldn't be missed by the tanner. Zanna had insisted to come along, and I knew that she wouldn't let up unless I gave in. She was only seven then, three years younger than me, but she was much more bull-headed. It wasn't as though I was doing anything dangerous, so I let her come along. We crept around the back of the tanner's place, the smell of the tanning vats so overpowering that I nearly faltered, except that Zanna wouldn't have stopped even if I did. I couldn't let her go alone, even if the only threat was the tanner coming back and chasing us off. I would take the blame for it, it was my idea anyway. So we kept going, and searched everywhere for things that could be fun or useful, all stuff that could be fit into our pockets and most of it off of the ground, lost and unused. Zanna even managed to get some of the leather thread that the tanner used to stich hides together, something she used to make a bracelet for herself, like a leather copy of the one Slayde had. She braided it, and it looks pretty cool. There were also bits of leather that she gathered to try and make something of later. She's very creative, something that she has in common with Slayde, but she also loves information, much like Wes. It makes me wonder if she even has a birth-direction.

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

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Other

Member of the Rainswallow family.
Part of the Library plot.

FC: Kari Riley

Lyrics: Lights by Ellie Goulding

Based off of East by Edith Pattou

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home

odair

Home, home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights

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