("But then... why is..")
K'nahli's eyes skimmed over K'rahto unconsciously as she searched her thoughts for another explanation, though even had she managed to find one she truly doubted that it would have allowed her heart to rest even slightly until she confirmed it for herself.
Blinking, she looked directly at him once again.
"...excuse me a moment.." the girl spoke with an apprehensive belligerence as she moved toward K'rahto to peer through the entrance of which he so obediently guarded. Her maroon eyes flicked to briefly meet with his amber glare, seeking to anticipate any opposition that the tia was often so eager to deliver, before they were quickly withdrawn again and focused toward the tent's entrance.
Her hand gingerly reached forward to lightly grip around the opening in the flaps. Though her appearance and determination outwardly appeared to be no different from moments before, there was a subtle hesitation evident through the pace and tenderness of her actions as her heart began to thump even harder against the inside of her weakening chest.
As she finally found the strength to lightly cast the fabric aside and reveal the tent's interior to herself, a faint but distinct voice immediately caught the girl's attention.
"K'mih..."
(".....?")
This strange, intensifying feeling that was causing her heart to both ache and race so uncomfortably...
"....Thank you. You've done well."
K'nahli's presence had never seemed weaker as it stalked quietly from the tent's entrance, a dark and featureless shadow, hidden against the tangerine light that gleamed in around and past her to dimly illuminate the tent's interior. An unusual darkness seemed to be cast over her deceptively neutral expression as the girl watched her father offer her younger sister a tenderness and sense of gratitude that she, herself, had gone so long since she had last seen offered to her. The vibrance in her eyes seemed to fade to nothing, drowned out by the saturated light that outshone them and a somber expression that had been so quickly dampened into neutrality. Her gaze seemed to lose focus and yet, all that she could see was that perfect image of a once familiar father and a more-lovable daughter.
A sharp pain sliced through K'nahli's heart as, for the first time in her entire life, she felt a passionate, choking venom for her younger sister. A burning rush of envy surged through the girl with a remarkable discretion that took all of the girl's strength and will to simply resist from showing any sign of weakness and discomfort in response to such a cruel and mocking scene. Her eyes strained torturously as the girl so considerately resolved not to scowl. Her fingers itched furiously as she so kindly fought to deny their pleas to dig and inflict a vengeful pain into her sweaty palms. And her throat, her throat had closed itself off so defiantly as it instinctively guarded against the near-uncontainable animosity that screamed to be released from the unexplored depths of the young girl's heart.
("This isn't K'mih's fault...") she tried to tell herself.
("K'mih... she did nothing wrong, she didn't...")
...but no matter how hard the girl tried to bat away her own guilty thoughts in that moment, it only proved to be a futile attempt.
Her heart knew not of rationality. Everything else had been swiftly drowned out.
Almost as quickly as she had appeared, the ghostly presence of a blue-haired girl had suddenly vanished outside once again without so much as a sound to formerly announce that her presence there had even existed. If anyone had even noticed her there, she didn't know... it didn't matter, it really didn't. There was nothing that made sense back there, nothing.
Nothing.
K'nahli simply resumed walking, her expression a forced facade of non-affliction but her aura anything but undisturbed. She faced herself forward, toward the dune she had initially sought out, though everything seemed to have fallen out of focus as the girl silently battled against acknowledging her own emotions.
She wasn't bothered. Why would she be? Nothing unusual had been seen in there, nothing.
After all, what did it matter if he preferred K'mih? That's very normal. Everyone likes K'mih, especially more than K'nahli. So too did it apply to her father it seemed. That's still normal, it's okay. Why wouldn't it be okay?
It's normal for her to try for her father while K'mih... precious.. little.. K'mih doesn't need to, right?
Yes... It is normal.... Everything she saw was just so normal... and so completely fair...
K'nahli stopped in her tracks as, miraculously, a non-self absorbed thought managed to creep it's way into the storm that was brewing within her mind. She hesitated a moment as she prepared her words with her back remaining turned on the target of her direction, though whether it was to hide the strange feeling that tickled against the surfaces of her eyes or not was unclear. She lifted her chin slightly and spoke with a voice that had been raised just enough so that it was made clear and to be heard for the first and only time she would say it.
"The injured must be moved now, K'rahto. We must be ready to leave before nightfa-ll."
Was that a stutter? No. After all, nothing was wrong. You don't stutter in your speech when nothing is wrong.
The girl took a single, long and hard blink as she cleared the built up moisture that the cooling weather had so oddly coated - thinly - over her eyes before resuming her pace forward.
K'nahli's eyes skimmed over K'rahto unconsciously as she searched her thoughts for another explanation, though even had she managed to find one she truly doubted that it would have allowed her heart to rest even slightly until she confirmed it for herself.
Blinking, she looked directly at him once again.
"...excuse me a moment.." the girl spoke with an apprehensive belligerence as she moved toward K'rahto to peer through the entrance of which he so obediently guarded. Her maroon eyes flicked to briefly meet with his amber glare, seeking to anticipate any opposition that the tia was often so eager to deliver, before they were quickly withdrawn again and focused toward the tent's entrance.
Her hand gingerly reached forward to lightly grip around the opening in the flaps. Though her appearance and determination outwardly appeared to be no different from moments before, there was a subtle hesitation evident through the pace and tenderness of her actions as her heart began to thump even harder against the inside of her weakening chest.
As she finally found the strength to lightly cast the fabric aside and reveal the tent's interior to herself, a faint but distinct voice immediately caught the girl's attention.
"K'mih..."
(".....?")
This strange, intensifying feeling that was causing her heart to both ache and race so uncomfortably...
"....Thank you. You've done well."
K'nahli's presence had never seemed weaker as it stalked quietly from the tent's entrance, a dark and featureless shadow, hidden against the tangerine light that gleamed in around and past her to dimly illuminate the tent's interior. An unusual darkness seemed to be cast over her deceptively neutral expression as the girl watched her father offer her younger sister a tenderness and sense of gratitude that she, herself, had gone so long since she had last seen offered to her. The vibrance in her eyes seemed to fade to nothing, drowned out by the saturated light that outshone them and a somber expression that had been so quickly dampened into neutrality. Her gaze seemed to lose focus and yet, all that she could see was that perfect image of a once familiar father and a more-lovable daughter.
A sharp pain sliced through K'nahli's heart as, for the first time in her entire life, she felt a passionate, choking venom for her younger sister. A burning rush of envy surged through the girl with a remarkable discretion that took all of the girl's strength and will to simply resist from showing any sign of weakness and discomfort in response to such a cruel and mocking scene. Her eyes strained torturously as the girl so considerately resolved not to scowl. Her fingers itched furiously as she so kindly fought to deny their pleas to dig and inflict a vengeful pain into her sweaty palms. And her throat, her throat had closed itself off so defiantly as it instinctively guarded against the near-uncontainable animosity that screamed to be released from the unexplored depths of the young girl's heart.
("This isn't K'mih's fault...") she tried to tell herself.
("K'mih... she did nothing wrong, she didn't...")
...but no matter how hard the girl tried to bat away her own guilty thoughts in that moment, it only proved to be a futile attempt.
Her heart knew not of rationality. Everything else had been swiftly drowned out.
Almost as quickly as she had appeared, the ghostly presence of a blue-haired girl had suddenly vanished outside once again without so much as a sound to formerly announce that her presence there had even existed. If anyone had even noticed her there, she didn't know... it didn't matter, it really didn't. There was nothing that made sense back there, nothing.
Nothing.
K'nahli simply resumed walking, her expression a forced facade of non-affliction but her aura anything but undisturbed. She faced herself forward, toward the dune she had initially sought out, though everything seemed to have fallen out of focus as the girl silently battled against acknowledging her own emotions.
She wasn't bothered. Why would she be? Nothing unusual had been seen in there, nothing.
After all, what did it matter if he preferred K'mih? That's very normal. Everyone likes K'mih, especially more than K'nahli. So too did it apply to her father it seemed. That's still normal, it's okay. Why wouldn't it be okay?
It's normal for her to try for her father while K'mih... precious.. little.. K'mih doesn't need to, right?
Yes... It is normal.... Everything she saw was just so normal... and so completely fair...
K'nahli stopped in her tracks as, miraculously, a non-self absorbed thought managed to creep it's way into the storm that was brewing within her mind. She hesitated a moment as she prepared her words with her back remaining turned on the target of her direction, though whether it was to hide the strange feeling that tickled against the surfaces of her eyes or not was unclear. She lifted her chin slightly and spoke with a voice that had been raised just enough so that it was made clear and to be heard for the first and only time she would say it.
"The injured must be moved now, K'rahto. We must be ready to leave before nightfa-ll."
Was that a stutter? No. After all, nothing was wrong. You don't stutter in your speech when nothing is wrong.
The girl took a single, long and hard blink as she cleared the built up moisture that the cooling weather had so oddly coated - thinly - over her eyes before resuming her pace forward.
![[Image: ecec20e41f.png]](https://puu.sh/xvMxb/ecec20e41f.png)
Characters: Andre Winter (Hy'ur) / K'nahli Yohko (Miqo'te)
