"Haha! Merithyil, you have got to stop splashing hunidew drops on me!" Novarah said, giggling soon after as the dew's effect took into place. Merithyil cackled in the least menacing way possible as she continued to run away from Novarah chasing her, wanting to enact her tickling revenge. It was worth noting that running in a field of flowers would slow Novarah's movements down, as she did not want to risk harming the beautiful beings of nature.
"Woah-" Merithyil yelped as she tripped over what seemed to be the plant's roots and landed flat faced on the ground. As such, it seems that Novarah will be able to take her revenge sooner than she had anticipated. "Gotchu now!" she declared with her arms stretched, ready to tackle the heck out of her younger sister.
Merithyil laughed uncontrollably as Novarah "attacked" her sides with all her might. "Alright, alright! I give up! Stop, stop!" she begged for mercy, and Novarah simply chuckled as she eased down on the ticklefest. "Haha! Now that's fair play considering how I can't stop myself-haha-from laughing for a while cause of you-haha-" she laughed, frowning ever so slightly, but yet wearing a thankful smile on her face.
"I'm glad-haha-I have a little sister like you, Merithyil" Novarah grinned, a few unavoidable chortles escaping her lips as she ruffled her sister's hair. "Me too! Me too!" Merithyil chirped as she swayed her head side to side, with a huge grin on her face as well.
Just then, the first sol had begun to set, the second slowly morphing into the luna that would grace the night, with the shape of its crescent look. "Gosh darn, it's already this late? They are going to get mad!" Novarah thought to herself, worried about what they may do to her this time if she entered their doorsteps after seven o'clock. "Merithyil, we should go-" but she was cut off by the flowers in the field shedding their petals and blooming once more.
She was baffled and couldn't believe that the season had come for the eternal, golden flowers to bloom. "Novarah, look! They are really blooming! It's my first time seeing them bloom! Merithyil squealed in excitement as she leaned in close to observe how they grew into their ethereal shape. "Can we stay a while more! Pretty, pretty please!" she begged, with pouting lips and her hands clasped together as she gave her ultimate, hard-to-say-no puppy face.
Novarah sighed and pursed her lips, closing her eyes in frustration as she looked away from Merithyil. It was impossible to say no when it was her adorable, little sister. "Ok ok, fine.." Novarah muttered as she shook her head, disappointed at her poor resolve.
With that said and done, the sol had finally gone, and in came the brilliant luna to shine amongst the starry night sky. It seemed that the luna was not the only one to shine as each and every one of the eternal golden flowers glowed in their beautiful amber-crimson shade.
"They are so.. Breathtaking" Novarah mumbled to herself as she kneeled down to touch its petals. As though it was alive, the flower seemed to lean into her touch. Though it may have been the trick of the wind that made it that way, but Novarah wouldn't really know.
Regardless, the two basked in awe at the enchanting sight of it all. As though a light bulb had just 'dinged!' in her head, Merithyil plucked an eternal golden flower and shoved it close to Novarah's face. To which Novarah, of course, flinched back in response. Just before Novarah could ask her why she did that, Merithyil spoke about her grand genius of an idea.
"We should definitely…", she paused to create an air of suspense, "make bracelets for one another!" Novarah's eyes widened in surprise at the idea. "You would want to… make one with me…?" she asked, taken aback from the suggestion. 'I mean, you know what these flowers mean and I'm not even your real-" but Novarah was abruptly cut off with a flower being shoved against her mouth. "Uh-uh. I do not care what anyone says. You are my sister in this life and we will still be sisters in the next one too!" she remarked without a care in the world, with her head held high and her hands on her hips.
"And no one, I mean, NO ONE is ever coming between us!" she added as she hugged Novarah tightly. Novarah could not believe how strongly Merithyil cared for her, despite them not being of the same blood. She wasted no time in returning that hug back just as tightly as she ever could. "Sister forever!!" Merithyil shouted, saying it out loud with pride. To which, Novarah had to stifle her tears of joy and also exclaim, "Yeah! Sisters forever!"
After their little exclamation to the world that they would always be bonded as sisters no matter the timeline, they both sat down and began to entwine the stems of the flowers to make into the shape of a bracelet. They hummed their favourite tune as they carefully made their bracelets, the gentle wind to carry their hums across the field.
When they were both done, they exchanged their bracelets and wore it on their left hand. Novarah bumped her left hand with Merithyil's, claiming "Now we're bonded as siblings even after we die". "And I would not have it any other way" Merithyil huffed with determination in her tone, as Novarah nodded her head in agreement. The two got up and started making their way back to their humble shack.
"OUT!!!"
The two figures emerging from behind the cabin door yelled, as one pulled Merithyil in and the other shoved Novarah to the harsh ground. The force had sent her crashing into the many small stones that scraped against her skin. The woven flower bracelet that Merithyil had given her snapped off and was now lying on the ground in front of her, its amber glow now faded. Novarah reached out her hand to retrieve the precious bracelet, wincing in pain as the impact had hurt her body, a few parts of skin bleeding.
"Aunty Gwannah, Uncle Theowin, why-" but before she could continue, she felt immense pain on her hand and was yelling in pain. "How dare you bring our dear Merithyil home late!" Gwannah shouted at the top of her lungs, pressing her foot down harder on Novarah's hand and flattening the flower bracelet in the process. She lifted her foot and spat on the ground, seemingly stating that Novarah deserved much more worse of a thrashing for potentially endangering Merithyil. Despite her hand being in pain, Novarah immediately recovered the flower and placed it in her pocket, seething in anger as she did so. She was angered at how her Aunt Gwannah had dared to trample on an item so precious and valuable to her.
Merithyil tried to push her dad aside to bring Novarah back inside but Theowin had other plans. He looked away from the horrific scene and firmly grabbed Merithyil's hand. "Not now, Merithyil" he warned as he began to drag her to the living room. "Dad, please! Stop! Ask mum to stop! It was my idea to stay out" Merithyil pleaded in desperation, trying her best to wiggle herself out of her father's grasp.
Theowin stopped in his tracks, perhaps maybe wanting to stop this needless argument. Gwannah simply glanced back at him, eerily silent as she watched his back. "Dad, please. Novarah knew better than to stay out late. I really thought there would be no harm in staying a few minutes longer and before we both knew it, it was already really dark!" Merithyil frantically explained in a rush, stumbling over a few words in the process as she wanted Novarah to be in trouble no longer.
Before Merithyil could say another word, Theowin dragged her into Novarah's room and locked the door behind him. "Dad! PLEASE! Talk to mum! Don't let her do this to Novarah! Tonight's the start of The Silver Cascade season! You know it's going to be dangerous outside for her tonight!" Merithyil pressed him, hoping he would reconsider letting her mother leave Novarah outside again for the night. Theowin simply shook his head as he sighed, heading to the kitchen to grab a drink for himself.
"You heard that, you ungrateful piece of crap?" Gwannah spat, looking down at Novarah with her eyes narrowed, seething with disdain. That snapped Novarah from watching the horrible scene between Theowin and Merithyil, to looking back at Gwannah in the eye, her own face scowling with anger. She couldn't believe how roughly Merithyil had been handled and how even though she was trying to explain the situation, Gwannah and Theowin had dismissed it all. She was incredibly frustrated at how her Aunt Gwannah had to also have the last word in everything as though she was some queen, yet rather than being a queen of good virtue, she was most definitely the queen of heart's twin sister instead.
Normally, Novarah would not mind and stick it out as it was not her first rodeo but it was far too dangerous for her to be locked out this time, and yet she was still being sent out. "Heck, even the almost broken down shed would be better than the forests on this night" she thought to herself. And she knew that her Aunt Gwannah knew it, too. "She is most definitely trying to kill me, probably the reason why she keeps sending me out rather than beating me. Doesn't want to get her fat hands dirty" she mumbled, her fingers clawing into the rough dirt as she bit her lip, doing her best to control her rage. Novarah felt that this whole punishment was unjustified as she may practically well die tonight.
Gwannah folded her arms as she held her head ever so high, saying "You knew it was the most dangerous season yet your pea-sized brain could not fathom how dangerous it would be for Merithyil and decided it would be a great idea to return home late instead." She grinded her teeth in anger, as she continued "It was my fault for allowing you to even get close to my child. Just because we put a roof over your head when someone left you at our doorstep did not mean we had to take care of you this well".
Novarah's eyes widened at this absurd lie, knowing the clothes she wore were no different from a beggar. While she never blamed nor hated Merithyil for having comfortable clothes on her, she had always been thankful to them for still taking care of her and always did her best to not burden them anymore than she already had. Her bedroom would be no different from a storeroom with how cramped it was with all their various items, yet she was always grateful to them and had done her best to abide by their rules to the best of her abilities. To hear her Aunt Gwannah spouting such nonsense, made her heart sink.
"Since you decided it was such a marvelous idea to stay out this late, I will grant you your precious wish" Gwannah snapped with a sinister smile, shutting the door behind her. A loud bang echoed throughout the area before it was finally blissfully silent, except now Novarah had to wait till morning to be let back in, if she even survived that forest again. The last time she had decided to stay near the house, hoping they'd change their mind, Gwannah had beat her mercilessly with her stone magic till she was black and blue till she was not able to move for a good week.
"She would probably burn my arms and legs with that Uncle Theowin's firesphere magic if I stayed near this house" Novarah muttered with a deep sigh as she picked herself up, and started to make her way into the forest. After all, she was well-aware that her Aunt Gwannah was constantly looking for an excuse to hurt her even more and since she saw her Uncle Theowin making his way to the kitchen, she knew he'd be blackout drunk and unable to think clearly at all. So him casting that firesphere spell would be a piece of cake.
"What shitty luck I have" she murmured as she rubbed the aching hand and kicked the dirt, hoping that dawn would come soon as she headed deeper into the woods. All that was left to any wandering eyes, was nothing more than a silhouette of a young adult teen that was determined to survive till the sol rises again.
[ Explanation on Certain Words ]
Hunidew - A type of dew flower
Sol - Sun
Luna - Moon
Firesphere - Fireball