[Closed] A Dream Lies Dead [Xenon]

[Dark]

(Dorothy Parker title for teh win; woot.)



Raniya was sitting at the fountain again, just like she had done every other day this summer. (Summer was such an abstract concept; the weather was almost the same year-round in Torquehelm, and Raniya couldn’t detect any major difference. Did summer not exist in Torquehelm? Did it exist anywhere? Summer was just a word, after all.)

The fountain was on the far end of town in a sleepy, half-forgotten courtyard that Raniya had a passerby describe to her once—not that the words meant much of anything, but it was nice to know, even in an abstract sense. Mostly, it was quiet, and it was for that reason Raniya returned day after day.

It would be nice to have someone to talk to--she had a habit of getting too wrapped up in her own thoughts—but it was better to be alone, away from her well-meaning family. They made her feel—smothered.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Since she couldn't fly, would never fly, the fawn had to find pleasure in other things to keep her depression at bay.

She'd become fond, in the last several weeks, of walking around her hometown. She looked at the world with a different sort of view when she did, trying to bring herself to notice every little detail - the chipped cobblestone in the middle of the road, for example, or the patch of small violets that grew in the shadow of a crumbling old wall. In essence, it's exploring a place she's lived every day of her life. It's not exactly exciting or, she admitted to herself on days that the depression was bad, even particularly interesting, but it does provide her with something to do. Today, she'd decided that she would visit the fountain again. The last time she'd been there, she'd seen a delicate fiddlehead uncurling from a crack between the street and she wanted to see if it had continue to grow and break free of its own bindings.

When she saw that someone else was sitting at the fountain, however, she hesitated. They looked rather thoughtful, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to interrupt... but it'd been quite some time since she last met someone new, and so she slowly made her way to both fountain and mouse.

"Hello," Was her soft greeting when she felt she was in earshot. Her fluffs twitched as she looked the mouse over, and then her delicate brow furrowed slightly. "I.. I think your parents have a terrible sense of humor."

((Apologies if there are tense-errors in this My brain is wanting to write in present-tense, but I think I managed to smooth it out.))

[Dark]

Raniya twitched, not having heard the intruder approach--hoof on cobblestone was a rather distinctive sound, and she should have noticed sooner--and forced down the reflexive swell of irritation at being bothered. It took her a moment to focus on what exactly the intruder had said, and when it had finally processed she wasn’t surprised to find herself frowning.

There was quite a bit Raniya could determine from a person’s voice--word choice and nuance played a greater roll than she suspected anyone realized, so used to communicating with both words and body language, and not relying solely on either--but it usually took some time to get a real feel for a person. This one was young, female, and probably from Torque helm (because why else would she be here unless she was as stuck as the rest of them in this godforsaken place,) but that was all Raniya could know for sure. Who, precisely, the girl was and what connection she had to Raniya’s parents was beyond her scope. It was frustrating, to say the least. And why was she discussing their sense of humor, anyway? Raniya had always found her parents rather droll, for all their faults.

“My parents have a terrible sense of something, but what makes you say that? And who are you, besides?“ She tried for polite; she wasn't entirely sure of her success.

[carcinoGeneticist]

There was the snap, and that was expected. Sia was fairly sure that she would be irritable and grumpy with that binding. Even if her own was fairly horrible, she could still see, and was feeling very suddenly glad of that fact. Even if she was the only one of her siblings who was bound... and the only one that would never fly. Even if her brother, Dyspar, was born without wings, he was a Diamond, and that meant that he would one day fly.

Carefully, the young doe leapt up onto the fountain, little hooves clip-clopping as she walked a little bit closer to the woman, large purple eyes turned towards the mouse as she sat. "Your binding," she said softly, ears twitching and faerie fluffs waving. "It's... it's not very funny, binding you in the color of freedom. It seems like a very poorly thought-out joke."

There was her explanation. The doe tilted her head to the side, blinking. "My name? It's.. Dysethesia. I'm named after a disease.. so, uh, please just call me Sia. It sounds like much more of a proper name, doesn't it?" there was a hint of pleading in the young girl's tone, and she shifted a little. "What about you? What's your name? I bet it's a lot nicer than mine."

[Dark]

Raniya took a brief moment to ponder over the type of people who would name their spawn after unpleasant neurological disorders before deciding that it wasn't worth the effort afforded to deep concentration; this was Torquehelm, after all--why wouldn't they?

“Raniya.” It was a much better name than Dysethesia--she supposed she would have to give her parents credit for possessing some small measure of good taste--and Raniya thought it was probably for the best that the girl wanted to go by Sia, instead.

As far as her binding was concerned, color had nothing to do with the resentment Raniya felt; color was something abstract like the sky or a reflection--people could talk about them, try to describe them, but she had no point of reference--and it played absolutely no kind of roll in her life, except occasionally being the source of mild irritation. Kind of like the girl’s babbling at the moment.

“What brings you to my fountain?”

[carcinoGeneticist]

This person, this Raniya, didn't seem to be in the best of moods, didn't she? Sia supposed that she could understand, with the embarassment of being blinded in gold by her parents. She would probably be in a bad mood too. So thinking, she decided she would try not to let the woman's slightly snappish way of speaking affect her. Daintily, she folded her long legs beneath her to sit, head inclined slightly to the side.

"That is a nice name," she admitted, a softness in her voice. She loved the sound of names, especially the ones that weren't diseases. Those ones had a lovely sound to them but were often difficult to work one's mouth around, and they lost a certain amount of charm when one found out what they referred to. Her own name referred to the tingling or burning in a limb that was losing feeling - a feeling that, for the first part of her life, she'd felt every day in her atrophying wings. When she learned the meaning, she'd decided to go by Sia instead.

The next question took her off guard. "Oh, I didn't know it was your property," the doe answered with sincerity, looking a little sad. "If you don't want me to come here, I won't. I was just stopping by to - to watch the ferns grow."

It sounded odd to say it, especially to someone who had clearly never seen such a thing in her life. Should she have lied? A quick change in the subject seemed appropriate. "But then I saw you and, well, I've never seen someone with horns like yours so I thought I'd say hello."

[Dark]

To watch the fern grows…? How--odd. Granted, Raniya’s knowledge of ferns was limited--vague notion of plant, felt kind of weird when stepped on, mother kept a potted one in the kitchen--but somehow Raniya didn’t think that watching ferns grow was something that people normally did. It didn’t sound like something people would do, anyway, and it certainly didn’t sound like a very interesting subject of study, besides.

Raniya was really starting to wonder about her impromptu guest--the kid was named after a disease, apparently enjoyed watching weird plants grow, and had a rather vexing compulsion to state the obvious--kind of weird. The misconception about the fountain’s ownership was rather entertaining, though--let the girl think what she will.

And--her horns? She didn’t care to ask how they were so different, especially after their earlier discussion about her binding, but a malicious little part of her wished the girl would reach up to touch and prick herself, just like her brother had done once. It was a pleasing thought, at least.

Having nothing particular to say on the subject, Raniya decided to follow the girl‘s example and state the obvious: “Well, you have said hello.”

[carcinoGeneticist]

It was hard to miss the hostility radiated by the mouse, but somehow, the young Doe managed to completely tip-toe around it. She could tell the woman was displeased by something, but it never occured to Sia that she might be the cause. In fact, she chose to stand again and clip-clop a little closer, admiring the way the glass sparkled and shone in even the dim light of their home region. Beautiful. Maybe she should try to describe them so that the mouse could understand? She opened her mouth as if to try, then closed it again. No. No, she was no wordsmith, she'd never do them justice. "The ferns really are quite nice," she said earnestly, bobbing her head. "If no one pulls them out, like they did last time, they'll unfold fully in a few days and then they'll really be grand."

Then the girl went quiet, considering Raniya's words like a delicious treat. She had said hello, yes. It did seem polite. However... "I said quite a lot else, too," she felt compelled to point out, a small smile on her mouth. Really, she was an odd child, but she did like meeting new people.

But then she forgot about that. There was something much more important on her mind and she flicked her ears back. "Why did you come to the fountain?" she asked rather suddenly. "Even if it is your fountain... Do you just come here to sit?" Or was there something else? Curiosity grabbed the Doe tight and refused to let go until she had her answers.

[Dark]

((Waaah. Dark is fail. Have a post. Don't hurt me. D8))

Raniya twitched in frustration. Was this child dense? Most people would have taken a hint by now and left her alone. She liked to be left alone, and she certainly didn't enjoy being peppered with inane questions, but the damn kid could not, or would not, take the hint. It was beyond frustrating.

She refused to acknowledge that just a little while ago she'd been wishing for company--this was certainly not the kind of company she had been imagining, and even if it was, well, she most definitely didn't want it now, did she?

Still. Maybe if she answered the kid's questions, she'd leave. It was worth trying, at least.

"I come to the fountain because I like to be left alone, and most people avoid it. It's--peaceful." The sound of the water was soothing, and she could actually hear herself think. It wasn't something that happened often at home.