~ Romeo and Juliet ~
"Your grandmother was the previous Master Cyclonis, but was it your mom or you dad that was her kid?"
"Why the curiosity, Sky Knight?"
"It's always something that I've wondered about."
"It was my mother. My father was just a talented military officer."
"Really?"
"Why the surprise, Aerrow?"
"I just get the impression that most Masters disliked anyone outside of their blue-blood little circle."
"They do. My father was the youngest son of one of the lesser Houses. He was trained to use crystals but he didn't have the talent. The military was the only place to go."
"Oh. Match made in heaven, then?"
"Maybe, I don't know. I just know my grandmother didn't approve of my father, exactly."
"And why was that?"
"She had hoped my mother would marry better; a prestigious Master or a first son of one of the older houses."
"That had to suck for your dad."
"No, not really. My grandmother understood the practicality of having someone trained in the military around. My grandmother may not have liked my father, but she gave him some respect."
"Practicality?"
"My grandmother was, if anything, practical. If it didn't have any benefits, then it was not worth doing or keeping."
"I'm kind of glad I've never had to meet your grandmother, she sounds awfully scary."
"An accurate description, albeit dazingly simple."
"You think she would have approved of this?"
"What do you mean?"
"This. You know the whole taking care of me thing?"
"She would've listened to the Council, but she probably would have tossed you as soon as you were conscious."
"And your dad?"
"He would have thought it a mercy to kill you."
"Woah, and what about your mom?"
"I wouldn't know. She died when I was young."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. What's done is done."
~ Seeds ~
"Marvellous work," Furor commented as his long fingers examined the dark crystal. Weak, pale pulsations of light cast shadows on the older man's face.
Cyclonis tried to keep the corners of her mouth from quirking into anything more than a smirk. "Thank you."
It was hard to not be pleased with herself! She had finally made some progress on that property transfer experiment. It was a precious balance of the crystal being between the stasis of instable and stable. She had successfully had a leecher crystal take on the abilities of an ice crystal, finally.
The crystal in Furor's hand suddenly flared before going black, dull like carbon. She knew if it was dropped it would shatter.
"Hm... the effects only last for a minute?" Furor asked.
Cyclonsis conceded, "Yes, but I'm working on lengthening the time before it degrades."
Furor nodded, looking like he was contemplating a difficult equation. "Yes, I would like to see how far you could push the limitations."
Cyclonis nodded her head; of course she was going to push it, as much as she could.
"I'm curious, why a leecher?"
"Because there's a certain level of instability already in leechers because they absorb energy."
Furor made an ah noise as he settled the crystal onto the table.
"You are honestly your grandmother's child. You have her intelligence and talent. It's dazing how the prowess in crystal magery seemed to skip generations."
"Skipped?" Cyclonsis questioned.
"Yes, it came naturally to your grandmother, as it does for you, but your mother struggled with it. I think it was because she was so sickly, she probably didn't have the health for something as vigorous as this."
"You knew my mother?"
"Of course, like I've said before, I knew your grandmother quite well; you're whole family, actually."
~ Past Tense ~
"I think you owe me." Cyclonis announced.
Aerrow wore a dazed expression. "I do?"
"Yes, so... what was your mother like?" She asked, trying not to let her interest show. Mothers were an unknown thing to her; something that had been unspeakable in her childhood under the heel of her father and grandmother.
Aerrow's expression grew thoughtful. "She died when I was still young, but I remember some things about her. Like how she smelled like home. She was pretty, I guess. She had really long hair, and when I was really little I used to play with it. I was fascinated by it as a kid."
Aerrow was a tactile person, so his memories were scattered. He could remember how he fit onto his mother's hip, with her warm arm encircled around him. Or how safe he felt when she crushed him into a hug. He remembered feeling the calluses on her hands when her fingers brushed his hair out of his eyes or wiped his tears. It was a series of impressions and he wasn't sure if he was doing his mom justice describing from those sorts of memories.
It seemed to be enough, though.
"She seemed like a really nice person," Cyclonis admitted, feeling the pang of longing. "What happened to her?"
"She was never right after my dad died. She smiled less, and she was always so sad. One night she went to bed, and she didn't wake up. They said it was an aneurism, but... I dunno. I think she just gave up."
Unwanted and unwarranted guilt grew in Cyclonis's chest like an infection. It's not my fault.
Unbidden and heavy on her tongue, the words escaped.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, what's done is done, right?"
And that fact made Cyclonis feel even worse somehow.
A/N: Hello my dears. I'm just here to give you all a head's up; I have to deal with some RealLife issues and I'll likely be without a computer for two weeks. So I won't likely be able to make an update until early September. Thought I'd let you guys know, so you don't think I've abandoned you when there's no updates for a while. Just be glad I'm not leaving you with a cliffhanger I suppose, hahaha.