We'll be raising our hands, shining up to the sky

[Romilly and Guthrie]

they gonna see us from outer space

There is nothing more perilous than mortality. To have such a thing thrust upon you against your will was maddening and yet, they had not succumbed to the insanity of it. Whether this was the result of sheer luck or something else he could not be sure, perhaps they had more choices to the outcome of their lives than which he would have originally thought. Regardless they were still here, they remained, even against odds of war and destruction.

Are they truly doomed then?

He had requested acceptance from her, that which was his own, the life of his life, ever and after. The twins had been ever inseparable and even now she stared back at him in silence, their crystalline, star-colored eyes matching in an empty and unspeaking gaze. They did not part with anything easily and while Romilly voiced and displayed her unease with life in Down, Guthrie tucked his away. Quiet and strong, someone had to be. As children Romilly had proved her gift of being particularly loquacious but as the years went on she herself had grown quiet.

It was almost frightening to watch the world pass and change and be part of that change as well. Aging, growing fine lines along one’s face and at the creases of the eyes. They were slight now, hardly noticeable to any if at all but they could tell, could trace the signs of age and feel the weight of what that meant like a heavy brick on their chest.

An end would come and they had no way of knowing when. Besides frightening and unnerving it was also tedious, as though they existed to wait for death itself.

However, while Down was terribly dreary and dull, a bland existence to that which he so recalled with immense detail, it was not without its wonders. Romilly, in an attempt to acclimate to life here, had procreated with a flashy male and the result of such trysts rested with them, her dark head resting on her mother’s bedazzled flank.

“Lidell what are you thinking of?” he asked, easing the silence and hoping to entertain the young girl whom looked on the verge of death by sheer boredom.

Guthrie

star fallen twin of carnage x wichita

[Lidell]

Lidell

light it up, like we're the stars of the human race

It was a mild night in Down, a soft breeze teasing them, blowing for moments before fading away again. Lidell lolled in the grass, blowing puffs of air at the rigid green stalks. These little streams caught her forelock, sending the gold and silver hairs fluttering over her eyes. She was bored and restless, pressed into the earth and wishing she could melt into it. Something should happen, anything, they sat so still all the time. Mother was the worst, solemn in her ways now and it was slightly concerning to the young girl. Instinctively she lifted her head, watching Up as she had done so many times before.

The stars twinkled over head, playing tricks on the moon as they winked. A midnight sky was only enhanced by their efforts, they brought a white light that swallowed the darkness where they sat. They made the sky playful and enchanting. Lidell liked to watch them, the stars, perhaps she had learned that from her Mother and Uncle. They always seemed to be entranced when the sun went down and the moon flew up. Their gold gilded heads rising to stare with eyes that mimicked that which they seemed to love so much.

Sometimes Mother and Uncle seemed sad, tiny tears glittering in the corners of their bewitching eyes.

She knew the stories, had begged them to be told again and again. Often they found her whispering the tale beneath her breath, knowing each word by heart. That didn’t make her love them less, in fact she adored each retelling, amused and excited for that which she had listened to a thousand times.

What are you thinking? her black face turned to her Uncle Guthrie, a grin spreading on her charcoal lips.

“Who makes the stars?” she asked, ears easing forward with eagerness.

HTML by Call

[Romilly and Guthrie]

Romilly

raising our hands, shining up to the sky

She can still see them, each constellation kissing the midnight expanses. They burned bright in her memory, even if all she had left of them otherwise, were their faint whispers against the black backdrop overhead. It didn't stop her from looking, from being mesmerized by their classic splendor. Oh but she wished she could touch them again, dance like a heartbeat with the galaxies strumming their own rhythm by which they swayed. Their gay laughter echoed in her eardrums and she often found herself smiling at the thought of it.

But the world was cruel, Down was hard and she had finally come to grips with the fact that they were not built to last anymore. It had quieted her gentle voice, the otherworldly vocals that reminisced of Up, that had sang with meteors and joked with drifts of white dwarfs. Once she had watched the moon as it was hung, blasting their little piece of forever with its silver iridescence. It was merely one of many in an infinite infrastructure made up of the cosmos. It was perfect.

One other perfect thing was at her side, a yearling filly, black as night with shining strands of hair. Romilly had awed at this body then, the way it managed to grow and give life. It’s something she would never have accomplished in the heavens and she was truly grateful that for all the hardship of Down, it had allowed her this one wondrous gift. The filly seemed to be an unintended anchor for them both. When the question pressed the silence, her twin looked up at her, a quiet request.

“The Gods,” she said out loud and Lidell jumped, just an inch, in surprise. “But this is just one Up in a sea of many.” Often she seemed to speak in riddles, or her daughter would attest to such things. “Like Andromeda you might wonder?” Her blackened nose tilted, gesturing the picture of stars above. “She was the daughter of a King. Her mother, the Queen, boasted so much of her beauty to the Nereids, Poseidon sent a great sea monster to destroy their coastal kingdom. Andromeda was chained to a rock, left for dead, but Perseus saved her. They fell in love of course.” The way she told it was as though she had been there and felt the spray of sea salt kiss her face.

star fallen twin of Carnage and Wichita