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Running in the Shadows // [Navya+Kirito]
Sept 2, 2015 23:45:47 GMT -5
Post by Baby Wessex d9 [earthling] on Sept 2, 2015 23:45:47 GMT -5
NAVYA SACHDEVA
The moon had turned from new to old and back since Kirito had left. She had marked its passing as she spent long nights in the warehouse, plucking ripe apricots from moldy ones. The work was too familiar to be distracting. She felt every hour that passed without him, from training, through the arena, to his victory tour. At first, the hours twisted up inside of her, coiling around her spine like a snake. Over the weeks, the threat of venom faded, but still she carried with weight of those weeks. The time apart had aged her more thoroughly than any other experience in her short life.
Every morning, she woke just a few minutes early, to track his progress through his victory tour. Every day brought him a little closer to home, a little closer to her. Strangely time seemed to slow to a crawl, forcing her to acknowledge every tiny detail of the space they had not shared. From District One through Ten, she studied him. His new ears, his glassy eyes, the strange way he smiled at strangers. She told herself she was ready to confront the changes.
But when the tour officially ended and he found his way to the Sachdeva orchard, Navya didn't recognize him.
She was perched in one of the trees, tearing fruit from branches and dropping it into a net. "He's back," her sister said as she shoved the trunk. Navya furrowed her brow, looking down the apricot strewn lane. She spotted many familiar faces, and a boy who could not possibly be her best friend.
Her sisters reached him first, ruffling his hair, slapping him on the back, treating him like one of the farm boys who had found a little bit of gold in the dirt. Navya climbed down slowly, hugging her skirts against her long legs. She dusted herself off, kept her gaze glued to the littered apricots. Only when she found his polished shoes did she stop, and then slowly lift her chin.
Navya's gaze connected with his. She didn't see the new ears, or the still pink scars, or even the ghosts behind his eyes. She forced herself to see Kirito Miristioma, her best friend in the entire world. For him, tears dotted her lower lashes, even as she dug something out of her skirt.
In a dramatic flourish, she dropped into an elegant bow. "For the Victor," she said as she presented him with a perfect apricot. Only the quirk of her lips in a smirk belied the charade. She'd always teased him mercilessly, but this was the first time she offered him a piece of fruit fit to sell. Once it left her fingertips, she swallowed a chuckle and linked her arm through his, leading him away from the prying eyes of her siblings.
When they'd walked sufficiently towards the sunset, Navya brushed her finger over the fuzzy fruit in his hand. "Is your stomach no longer your stomach? Did the Capitol give you a new stomach? Eat!" She admonished him, sounding far too much like her own mother. She wrinkled her nose. A few more steps and they came to the edge of a well. Navya dropped her hold on him, settling herself on the edge of the stones.
She stared off into the sunset, even as she spoke to him. "Once, when we were very small, I asked you to marry me here. Do you remember what you said? You said your heart already belonged to your brother." She paused, the dots of tears turning into sliding drops that tracked through the dust on her cheeks. "Is everything changed? Did they give you a new heart, too?"
Every morning, she woke just a few minutes early, to track his progress through his victory tour. Every day brought him a little closer to home, a little closer to her. Strangely time seemed to slow to a crawl, forcing her to acknowledge every tiny detail of the space they had not shared. From District One through Ten, she studied him. His new ears, his glassy eyes, the strange way he smiled at strangers. She told herself she was ready to confront the changes.
But when the tour officially ended and he found his way to the Sachdeva orchard, Navya didn't recognize him.
She was perched in one of the trees, tearing fruit from branches and dropping it into a net. "He's back," her sister said as she shoved the trunk. Navya furrowed her brow, looking down the apricot strewn lane. She spotted many familiar faces, and a boy who could not possibly be her best friend.
Her sisters reached him first, ruffling his hair, slapping him on the back, treating him like one of the farm boys who had found a little bit of gold in the dirt. Navya climbed down slowly, hugging her skirts against her long legs. She dusted herself off, kept her gaze glued to the littered apricots. Only when she found his polished shoes did she stop, and then slowly lift her chin.
Navya's gaze connected with his. She didn't see the new ears, or the still pink scars, or even the ghosts behind his eyes. She forced herself to see Kirito Miristioma, her best friend in the entire world. For him, tears dotted her lower lashes, even as she dug something out of her skirt.
In a dramatic flourish, she dropped into an elegant bow. "For the Victor," she said as she presented him with a perfect apricot. Only the quirk of her lips in a smirk belied the charade. She'd always teased him mercilessly, but this was the first time she offered him a piece of fruit fit to sell. Once it left her fingertips, she swallowed a chuckle and linked her arm through his, leading him away from the prying eyes of her siblings.
When they'd walked sufficiently towards the sunset, Navya brushed her finger over the fuzzy fruit in his hand. "Is your stomach no longer your stomach? Did the Capitol give you a new stomach? Eat!" She admonished him, sounding far too much like her own mother. She wrinkled her nose. A few more steps and they came to the edge of a well. Navya dropped her hold on him, settling herself on the edge of the stones.
She stared off into the sunset, even as she spoke to him. "Once, when we were very small, I asked you to marry me here. Do you remember what you said? You said your heart already belonged to your brother." She paused, the dots of tears turning into sliding drops that tracked through the dust on her cheeks. "Is everything changed? Did they give you a new heart, too?"
table coding (c) ghosty
