build me up from bones, wrap me up in skin
hold me close enough to breathe me in
She’s certainly not shy, that much is true.
It would be an impossible outcome, with her father being the man he is. Like a popped cork, stories and names and details poured out of him ceaselessly once his lips loosened. She never minded it, of course. None of the kids did. At night, he could fill their ears and minds with his particular prose until they were fattened and sleepy with their take. Mother never minded it, either. He’d send them off to bed and she’d be there first thing the next morning, their silent pillar of strength and love.
Radiant had sprouted under their care and guidance into a smart, confident young woman. Only recently – with their joint disappearance – had she begun to wilt. Father had been the heart of their family and mother had been their legs. With both gone, the red girl felt lost and utterly abandoned. But Fox pulled her back from the brink. Her brother reminded her of better times, reminded her that she was not alone in life or her grief. She stays in Tephra now, for him (for herself, too), but isn’t sure she will stay forever.
There is a big world out there waiting for her to map out.
Ivar reminds her of this exciting fact. He seems worldly in a way that she is not, despite all of Weir’s knowledge knocking around inside her head that she had drawn in like a magnet. It intrigues her more than anything else about the painted boy before her. “Perhaps I should have taken a soak or two in the river before scouting for company I intended to keep?” She laughs at the continued joke at her expense, though a part of her truly wonders if she stinks and he is being polite. She hopes not, for his sake.
When Radiant withdraws her muzzle from his sleek side, she meets the brown of his eyes again. There is a spark of delight in her own. A mixture of nervous energy, discovery, freedom, and youthful joy brightens her gaze. He lists kingdoms like common words, and she wants to have that familiarity with their world herself. There is so much more in store for her then languishing on the sulfurous shores of Tephra until her parents return. “I haven’t.” She hesitates for a moment more before deciding. “But I am going to now. Tephra isn’t my forever, I don’t think. I want to see everything I can.” The red-haired girl takes a step to the side, not knowing if it is the right direction or not. She smiles quickly back at Ivar, because she realizes it is probably not. “Will you show me Sylva? You don’t have to stay or anything, I just want to learn how to travel without getting lost.”
I am sorry this is so late, I am the worst!