6/1/2025, 3:14 AM
aw
She was one of the forgotten. A sielka'rin, nothing more, nothing less.
The name played in her head like a hymn, repeated again and again, and it was difficult to stay focused. How had Aska always kept it together? She wished for his strength now, for his will to feel nothing like unwashed stone. Cold, and immovable, she envied him now.
Holding back a broken sob, she focused on the items before her. A few stray feathers, some bones—splintered and stained—and freshly plucked petals, lain out in a small circle, with one of Talta’s feathers tucked gently in the center. She had nothing else to offer, no food of real substance, no proper gifts, just her words now.
Head dipping low, Teyani moved a step closer, just above her makeshift altar. A beat of silence passed, one that felt loud and angry in its stillness, before words slipped freely. She whispered a prayer, eyes filled with tears, grief settling into her bones like waterlogged roots, clinging and cold.
This was no life she wanted. Where were the sounds of life? The sound of crackling coals, and wood splintering? The constant squeals and peals of children, the warm chatter of kin?
Oh, how she missed them, even if they had made her who she was now. Sielka'rin, just a girl with no home left to call her back.
She was one of the forgotten. A sielka'rin, nothing more, nothing less.
The name played in her head like a hymn, repeated again and again, and it was difficult to stay focused. How had Aska always kept it together? She wished for his strength now, for his will to feel nothing like unwashed stone. Cold, and immovable, she envied him now.
Holding back a broken sob, she focused on the items before her. A few stray feathers, some bones—splintered and stained—and freshly plucked petals, lain out in a small circle, with one of Talta’s feathers tucked gently in the center. She had nothing else to offer, no food of real substance, no proper gifts, just her words now.
Head dipping low, Teyani moved a step closer, just above her makeshift altar. A beat of silence passed, one that felt loud and angry in its stillness, before words slipped freely. She whispered a prayer, eyes filled with tears, grief settling into her bones like waterlogged roots, clinging and cold.
This was no life she wanted. Where were the sounds of life? The sound of crackling coals, and wood splintering? The constant squeals and peals of children, the warm chatter of kin?
Oh, how she missed them, even if they had made her who she was now. Sielka'rin, just a girl with no home left to call her back.