01-24-2021, 06:46 PM
give my all to watch you fall
At first, she is sprawled out on the banks of their little inland pool with only the soft susurrus of water and her thoughts to keep her company. Her long tail flicks the ground in off-beat percussive accompaniment. It would be peaceful, she thinks, if her thoughts weren’t loudly demonstrating against the calm.
It is why she wears her stripes today. Putting on the tiger is like becoming the most accurate version of herself, the most form-fitting and flattering skin she can wear. She’s never more at home than when she has her claws to dig furrows into the earth and sharp teeth to tear into the flesh of her prey. Several fish skeletons lie beside her in testament. She’s worried, and when she’s worried she’s voracious and insatiable; even now, she considers diving back into the pond and making its population of fish go extinct. But she’s heavily pregnant, too. The swell of her belly is unmistakable now for what secret it contains. She’s tired and frustrated and cannot believe what she has gotten herself into again. Nothing has gone to plan these last few years and it is all because she tried to be somebody she wasn’t, tried to play a role she is vastly unsuited to play.
And then there is the matter of the darkness which feels fitting, in a way.
He comes out of it, the darkness, like a specter from the shadows. It is only Hal, not a monster, but this fact does not make her worry less. The tiger curls next to her and she closes her eyes tightly once he’s settled. She pictures that first day they came here, him younger and she new to this island. The sun had been radiantly streaming down despite the thick canopy above, gilding the surface of the water and brightening their own smiling faces, warming them to each other.
When Titanya opens her eyes again, Halcyon is still there but so is the dark.
She lets his first question hang in the gloom between them until she can muster the strength for it. It’s easier to talk about their children, easier to worry for them than herself. “Asena seems like a bright and confident girl. They could do far worse for role-models, at least.” Like their own mother, she thinks, but bites her tongue. “They have each other, too. I can’t imagine anything coming between those two, thick as thieves as they are.”
Pleasant thoughts of the twins blot out her urgency to address what is next. But when the silence stretches for an uncomfortable amount of time, Titanya looks at the man beside her. “I know what I’ve done doesn’t make sense to you, maybe.” She thinks about explaining further, but it is obvious what she is referring to. “It doesn’t make sense to me either. We were hunting together - it was just supposed to be one night, no repercussions, never see each other again. I never wanted this.” She never wanted any kids, even, but she doesn’t elaborate that far. The tigress looks to where the water should be bubbling up from the ground, now it is only another spot of darkness.
“I do not belong to you anymore than you belong to me, but I can see where this would still be unbearable.” A low growl starts in her throat when she looks back to Hal. There is something almost unrecognizable in her gaze. “Tell me what to do next. If you want, I will deliver it away from Ischia and come home alone.”
It is why she wears her stripes today. Putting on the tiger is like becoming the most accurate version of herself, the most form-fitting and flattering skin she can wear. She’s never more at home than when she has her claws to dig furrows into the earth and sharp teeth to tear into the flesh of her prey. Several fish skeletons lie beside her in testament. She’s worried, and when she’s worried she’s voracious and insatiable; even now, she considers diving back into the pond and making its population of fish go extinct. But she’s heavily pregnant, too. The swell of her belly is unmistakable now for what secret it contains. She’s tired and frustrated and cannot believe what she has gotten herself into again. Nothing has gone to plan these last few years and it is all because she tried to be somebody she wasn’t, tried to play a role she is vastly unsuited to play.
And then there is the matter of the darkness which feels fitting, in a way.
He comes out of it, the darkness, like a specter from the shadows. It is only Hal, not a monster, but this fact does not make her worry less. The tiger curls next to her and she closes her eyes tightly once he’s settled. She pictures that first day they came here, him younger and she new to this island. The sun had been radiantly streaming down despite the thick canopy above, gilding the surface of the water and brightening their own smiling faces, warming them to each other.
When Titanya opens her eyes again, Halcyon is still there but so is the dark.
She lets his first question hang in the gloom between them until she can muster the strength for it. It’s easier to talk about their children, easier to worry for them than herself. “Asena seems like a bright and confident girl. They could do far worse for role-models, at least.” Like their own mother, she thinks, but bites her tongue. “They have each other, too. I can’t imagine anything coming between those two, thick as thieves as they are.”
Pleasant thoughts of the twins blot out her urgency to address what is next. But when the silence stretches for an uncomfortable amount of time, Titanya looks at the man beside her. “I know what I’ve done doesn’t make sense to you, maybe.” She thinks about explaining further, but it is obvious what she is referring to. “It doesn’t make sense to me either. We were hunting together - it was just supposed to be one night, no repercussions, never see each other again. I never wanted this.” She never wanted any kids, even, but she doesn’t elaborate that far. The tigress looks to where the water should be bubbling up from the ground, now it is only another spot of darkness.
“I do not belong to you anymore than you belong to me, but I can see where this would still be unbearable.” A low growl starts in her throat when she looks back to Hal. There is something almost unrecognizable in her gaze. “Tell me what to do next. If you want, I will deliver it away from Ischia and come home alone.”
@[Halcyon]