so when your hope's on fire; thana

[isra]

But hold me fast, 'cause I'm a hopeless wanderer

The shadow girl sets a hurried pace through the shady trails deep in the heart of the forest. She’s on a mission to find her other half – the matching yet more shadowy part of herself that runs independently outside her physical body. Thana was not just her twin, but the only family she’s had available for some time. The fresh scent of her father had begun this agitated search for her wayward sister in the first place. Michaelis has finally come home and she hoped for them to reunite sooner than later. 

But she also carried other news. She had recently felt a change come about. Isra found that could pick up items in the same way that her father had spoken of – the things he could do before the Reckoning had come. Beqanna suddenly felt lighter, like the spark that had once been dampened has ignited into a steadily burning fire. The air was easier to breathe; the wrath of the land has subsided. 

It was late afternoon, but the sun’s rays were weakly shining through the thick overhanging branches of the forest’s canopy. Isra was much like her father, preferring the night over day. Although she did not share his debilitating dayblindness, perhaps her preference for the cover of night was a lingering quirk from her time spent as a shadow tendril wrapped around her father’s torso and intertwined with her sister. She could hear the rustlings of small mammals rushing along the branches above her and the sweet bird songs that rang throughout. 

She added her own voice to the forest’s symphony.

“Thana!”

[Thana]

THANA.

(as black as your soul)

  The atmosphere is electrified – the air is thick, rife with the heaviness of magic, rendering her breathless with an excitement that has all but consumed her. She could feel the density of her power in the very marrow of her bones, in the thick sediment of her blood – it made her feel lightheaded one moment, and in the next, uncontrollably powerful. It had not returned to her minimally, but all at once, flooding her with an invigorating surge of potential and capability. She had wasted no time in hurling boulders, tearing apart the soft, supple ground, uprooting ancient, but brittle foliage – cackling all the while; her shrill and guttural scream heard in a widespread echo throughout the thicket.

  And then, a voice - Thana! - it cries, stirring a swell of emotion inside of her chest;  rousing her heartbeat to pound vigorously against her rib cage. The slender curve of her neck is turned, and without even a moment of hesitation, she is barreling through the thin, constricted forest, her agile but muscled legs carrying her over sparse shrubbery and small woodland animals, scrambling to escape.

  It does not take her long to find her, and when she does, there is a faint sheen of sweat over the darkness of her slate tinted skin, while a single lock of vivid ivory lay plastered across her forehead. She does not shy away from her; instead, in two long, breathless strides, she is embracing her, her mouth eagerly touching the curve of her sister’s cheek (her lungs heavy and her head heavy with her scent – it was her, sister) as her neck drapes over her own, drawing her near to her heaving chest – her rhythmic heartbeat pumping against hers in time.

  ”Oh, Isra, sister, I have missed you – can you feel it?” she inquires suddenly, drawing back to take in the supple curve of her sister’s cheek, the hollow of her eyes – mismatched like her own, but with one vividly yellow, whereas hers is nothing more than a dull and dreary gray. Slowly, her teeth are bared with a truly vivacious grin, eyes alight with a fire like never before. ”Sister, can you feel it? It’s so delicious, the sheer power – I’ve never felt more alive.”