They had always been
close. It was only natural after all, sharing a womb and then sharing
the first years of their lives would naturally make two sisters grow
closer together. Although they didn't look alike, the twins often shared
the same mind, the same interests, and they liked the same things. It
was a bond that had always been there, as natural as breathing, and one
that had seen them through adversity large and small.
Biara often recalled one of the earliest examples of the bond between herself and Kyliska. It was a memory that stayed with her through the years, and in this moment it came to mind most clearly.
They had been little children at the time, often working or playing beside the building where their father kept his forge. All Castanics were good at crafting things, and their father had been no exception; his weapons had been known far and wide for their quality and beauty. Even as children he had encouraged both of his daughters to take up their own crafts, and Kyliska especially had seemed well suited for weaponsmithing with her attention to detail and innate strength. Biara had been smaller of course, more agile but less strong and it was clear her path would be different; perhaps crafting beautiful jewelry or other items which required less strength and more delicate handling.
Regardless, it had been on one of those occasions where Kyliska was working the forge and Biara was sent to fetch water for the cooling troughs within the building when the first example of their sisterly bond had played out. While on her way to the well, Biara had been intercepted by several of the other children who had taken it upon themselves to first trip the running Castanic child and then steal her water bucket. The teary-eyed Biara had returned to the forge building where Kyliska had stood with her fists on her hips as her weeping sibling explained what had occurred.
Biara remembered clearly the look on her sister's face, even after so many years had passed. The child-Kyliska had marched from the forge to find the children clustered in a group, one of them using the stolen bucket as a seat. The indignant Castanic child had kicked the other off the bucket and snatched it up. As the group of children surrounded her in anger, she had used it to systematically bludgeon the other children until they became a pile of crying, bruised and runny-nosed miscreants lying on the ground.
Biara would never forget the look on Kyliska's face as she slammed the bucket down on one of the ringleader's heads, shattering it. Her sister had risen up and looked at Biara sternly before stating, "Never let others take what is yours Biara. When they strike at you in order to steal from you, you strike harder."
******************************
The words echoed strangely in Biara's mind as her sister's voice whispered in her ear, "Never EVER try to take something of mine Biara."
Kyliska's hands firmly gripped Biara's horns as she violently guided her sister's head against a cupboard in the kitchen of their guild hall in Velika. Biara saw stars for a moment as her head collided with the wood, bouncing off of it with a dull thud. Her red hair fell in her eyes as she tried to blink back the tears that formed naturally. Kyliska was not quite done though, using her grip on her smaller sister's horns to pull and then shove her towards the dining room table.
Biara staggered into the furniture, using her hands to balance herself and quickly flipping over the wooden surface, putting it in between herself and Kyliska. She grinned across the table at her fuming sister.
"A person is not a thing Kyli," Biara responded coyly, "And besides, it's not like I MADE Andissiel go on a trip with me. He REQUESTED to come along into the Cathedral."
It was, of course, precisely the wrong thing to say to Kyliska. Biara knew it. She had said it on purpose. She didn't expected her sister to lunge across the table quite so quickly however. Kyliska's plate armor covered very little of her flesh, giving her far more mobility than the other races. She quickly reached the edge of the table and then was flying over it; Biara's look of surprise comical to the blonde-haired Castanic.
The collision of their bodies made little noise as nearly naked flesh hit soft leather. Biara winced as she felt the few pieces of Kyliska's armor that covered her bust dig painfully into her side as her sister's weight brought them both down to the ground. Slammed beneath her larger sister, Biara's breath whooshed out and Kyliska took the opportunity to grab a fistful of red hair, using it to hold Biara's head in place, her other hand pressing her face against the floor.
"I've had enough excuses from you!" She snarled. "You had better not TOUCH him. He's mine! I expect that next time you decide to take a trip with him, you damn well better take me along. Got it?"
When Biara didn't respond, Kyliska leaned forward, snarling into her ear while pulling her hair, "GOT IT?"
Biara rolled her eyes, her lips parting to say something sarcastic to the other Castanic when her eyes widened and she gasped, her gaze fixated on the doorway. Kyliska's head whirled, blonde hair whipping around her as her gaze came to rest on the Castanic man leaning against the kitchen's doorframe.
Andissiel smirked as he watched the sisters, his hand bringing a juicy red apple to his lips. He took a bite, chewing slowly, the sound of the apple crunching the only noise in the suddenly quiet kitchen. His eyes conveyed hint that he'd been listening to the entire conversation with wry amusement.
"Biara," he said innocently, "I've filed those reports you asked for. They're on your desk. Should be more than enough information for you to report our findings to the Federation."
Kyliska's hands, still intertwined in her sister's hair, quickly released her sibling as she lurched to her feet, "Andissiel! We were...er...we were just having some combat training! Come, let's go for a walk! I've missed you so much and we have so much to talk about now that you're back in the city!"
Andissiel smiled as Kyliska practically bounced over to him, his eyes roaming over her tanned skin. Behind her, Biara slowly got to her feet, watching the two and biting her lip. For the briefest moment Andissiel's gaze met hers and an electrified look passed between them before he wrapped his arms around Kyliska.
"Yes, let's do that Kyli! I'm sure Biara won't mind cleaning up in here. Besides, she's got so much paperwork to complete now that she's the Captain," Andissiel said, amusement tinging his voice.
Kyliska's gaze whipped back around to her sister, speaking volumes about future conversations the two would have. "Yes. Yes she does. She should probably stay here ALL DAY completing that work. It would be a shame if she were penalized by the Federation for not properly filing her reports."
Biara rolled her eyes, dusting her clothes off, "Yes of course. Why don't you two go and have fun. I'll take care of things here. I'll talk to you later about your reports Andissiel."
Now it was Kyliska's turn to bite her lip and frown at her sister. There was little more to be said though as Andissiel chuckled and nodded, "Very well Captain. We'll return later!" With that, he casually guided Kyliska from the room, the Castanic woman all too eager to spend some quality time with her lover.
Biara smiled to herself after the two had left, her hands coming up to straighten her hair out. "You'll need to strike much harder than that sister. Besides, not everything is yours. Sometimes you have to share."
With that she shrugged, beginning the process of straightening up the kitchen. She had much paperwork to do, paperwork that her sister and Andissiel didn't want to be bothered with. It didn't bother Biara though; it would lead her to more power, and perhaps prestige in the eyes of some. Maybe enough to impress them and win them over.
The smile stayed with the Castanic woman for the rest of the day as she filed her reports.
Biara often recalled one of the earliest examples of the bond between herself and Kyliska. It was a memory that stayed with her through the years, and in this moment it came to mind most clearly.
They had been little children at the time, often working or playing beside the building where their father kept his forge. All Castanics were good at crafting things, and their father had been no exception; his weapons had been known far and wide for their quality and beauty. Even as children he had encouraged both of his daughters to take up their own crafts, and Kyliska especially had seemed well suited for weaponsmithing with her attention to detail and innate strength. Biara had been smaller of course, more agile but less strong and it was clear her path would be different; perhaps crafting beautiful jewelry or other items which required less strength and more delicate handling.
Regardless, it had been on one of those occasions where Kyliska was working the forge and Biara was sent to fetch water for the cooling troughs within the building when the first example of their sisterly bond had played out. While on her way to the well, Biara had been intercepted by several of the other children who had taken it upon themselves to first trip the running Castanic child and then steal her water bucket. The teary-eyed Biara had returned to the forge building where Kyliska had stood with her fists on her hips as her weeping sibling explained what had occurred.
Biara remembered clearly the look on her sister's face, even after so many years had passed. The child-Kyliska had marched from the forge to find the children clustered in a group, one of them using the stolen bucket as a seat. The indignant Castanic child had kicked the other off the bucket and snatched it up. As the group of children surrounded her in anger, she had used it to systematically bludgeon the other children until they became a pile of crying, bruised and runny-nosed miscreants lying on the ground.
Biara would never forget the look on Kyliska's face as she slammed the bucket down on one of the ringleader's heads, shattering it. Her sister had risen up and looked at Biara sternly before stating, "Never let others take what is yours Biara. When they strike at you in order to steal from you, you strike harder."
******************************
The words echoed strangely in Biara's mind as her sister's voice whispered in her ear, "Never EVER try to take something of mine Biara."
Kyliska's hands firmly gripped Biara's horns as she violently guided her sister's head against a cupboard in the kitchen of their guild hall in Velika. Biara saw stars for a moment as her head collided with the wood, bouncing off of it with a dull thud. Her red hair fell in her eyes as she tried to blink back the tears that formed naturally. Kyliska was not quite done though, using her grip on her smaller sister's horns to pull and then shove her towards the dining room table.
Biara staggered into the furniture, using her hands to balance herself and quickly flipping over the wooden surface, putting it in between herself and Kyliska. She grinned across the table at her fuming sister.
"A person is not a thing Kyli," Biara responded coyly, "And besides, it's not like I MADE Andissiel go on a trip with me. He REQUESTED to come along into the Cathedral."
It was, of course, precisely the wrong thing to say to Kyliska. Biara knew it. She had said it on purpose. She didn't expected her sister to lunge across the table quite so quickly however. Kyliska's plate armor covered very little of her flesh, giving her far more mobility than the other races. She quickly reached the edge of the table and then was flying over it; Biara's look of surprise comical to the blonde-haired Castanic.
The collision of their bodies made little noise as nearly naked flesh hit soft leather. Biara winced as she felt the few pieces of Kyliska's armor that covered her bust dig painfully into her side as her sister's weight brought them both down to the ground. Slammed beneath her larger sister, Biara's breath whooshed out and Kyliska took the opportunity to grab a fistful of red hair, using it to hold Biara's head in place, her other hand pressing her face against the floor.
"I've had enough excuses from you!" She snarled. "You had better not TOUCH him. He's mine! I expect that next time you decide to take a trip with him, you damn well better take me along. Got it?"
When Biara didn't respond, Kyliska leaned forward, snarling into her ear while pulling her hair, "GOT IT?"
Biara rolled her eyes, her lips parting to say something sarcastic to the other Castanic when her eyes widened and she gasped, her gaze fixated on the doorway. Kyliska's head whirled, blonde hair whipping around her as her gaze came to rest on the Castanic man leaning against the kitchen's doorframe.
Andissiel smirked as he watched the sisters, his hand bringing a juicy red apple to his lips. He took a bite, chewing slowly, the sound of the apple crunching the only noise in the suddenly quiet kitchen. His eyes conveyed hint that he'd been listening to the entire conversation with wry amusement.
"Biara," he said innocently, "I've filed those reports you asked for. They're on your desk. Should be more than enough information for you to report our findings to the Federation."
Kyliska's hands, still intertwined in her sister's hair, quickly released her sibling as she lurched to her feet, "Andissiel! We were...er...we were just having some combat training! Come, let's go for a walk! I've missed you so much and we have so much to talk about now that you're back in the city!"
Andissiel smiled as Kyliska practically bounced over to him, his eyes roaming over her tanned skin. Behind her, Biara slowly got to her feet, watching the two and biting her lip. For the briefest moment Andissiel's gaze met hers and an electrified look passed between them before he wrapped his arms around Kyliska.
"Yes, let's do that Kyli! I'm sure Biara won't mind cleaning up in here. Besides, she's got so much paperwork to complete now that she's the Captain," Andissiel said, amusement tinging his voice.
Kyliska's gaze whipped back around to her sister, speaking volumes about future conversations the two would have. "Yes. Yes she does. She should probably stay here ALL DAY completing that work. It would be a shame if she were penalized by the Federation for not properly filing her reports."
Biara rolled her eyes, dusting her clothes off, "Yes of course. Why don't you two go and have fun. I'll take care of things here. I'll talk to you later about your reports Andissiel."
Now it was Kyliska's turn to bite her lip and frown at her sister. There was little more to be said though as Andissiel chuckled and nodded, "Very well Captain. We'll return later!" With that, he casually guided Kyliska from the room, the Castanic woman all too eager to spend some quality time with her lover.
Biara smiled to herself after the two had left, her hands coming up to straighten her hair out. "You'll need to strike much harder than that sister. Besides, not everything is yours. Sometimes you have to share."
With that she shrugged, beginning the process of straightening up the kitchen. She had much paperwork to do, paperwork that her sister and Andissiel didn't want to be bothered with. It didn't bother Biara though; it would lead her to more power, and perhaps prestige in the eyes of some. Maybe enough to impress them and win them over.
The smile stayed with the Castanic woman for the rest of the day as she filed her reports.
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