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[color=transparent]claire loves u!
[align=center][size=9pt]SHAKTI DESAI
THE FIRE BURNS, THE GRAY SMOKE SCREAMS ･✧ |
"Ram, do you need help?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Are you really sure?"
"Yeah."
"Are you-"
"SHAKTI!" Ram whipped around to face her shit-eating grin. "For once.." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nostrils. "can you please leave me the fuck alone?"
That wasn't the response Shakti wanted, nor the one she expected. Her brother would usually try to throw a rock at her or chase her around the block, but it looked like the meditation he was making a point of practicing every morning was paying off.
Shakti was bored out of her mind, though. She wasn't totally keen on spending time with her brother Ram (or his twin, Shyam), so she wouldn't be resorting to bothering him every few minutes if she wasn't desperate. They had recently started to work for a mining company, and seemed to be a lot more into their duties than she realized. The three of them used to make ends meet by participating in wrestling tournaments, but made a decision that they wanted to pursue something more "stable".
The agreement wasn't mutual.
"Hey, why don't you look into that blacksmithing apprenticeship? You've definitely got some of dad's skills."
'Not interested."
"What? Why?"
Shakti rolled her eyes. "I'm just not."
"What's wrong with you? You clearly need something to do, but you won't work with us, you won't try something else, and you won't stop pestering me!"
Shakti dropped her jaw, dumbfounded. "Pestering you?!"
"What else have you been doing?"
"UGHHHHH.." She threw her hands into the air exasperatedly and walked away. Shakti wasn't in the mood for another one of his lectures. Ever since her brothers started getting a few more coins than usual, they felt they had the authority to boss her around. They were passionate, driven, and so engrossed in their work that they couldn't bother to cook, clean, or take care of their sickly mother at home.
"So fucking irritatingggggggggg!" Shakti groaned, kicking a rock in her path. "Idiot." Kick. "Idiot." Kick. "Idiot." Kick - what?
There was a girl passed out in the middle of the clearing. For a while, Shakti just stood there in shock. It wasn't the first time she had seen someone lying around unconscious, but it was definitely the first time she had seen them in deep red robes.
Before she knew what she was doing, she was approaching the girl and shaking her shoulder.
"Hey. Hey!" |
