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something goes here... [any]
IP: 66.208.250.154
Posted on June 21, 2014 at 00:47:18 AM by BIRCH

She was becoming a glutton for punishment, and she knew it. Two major events in her life had occurred in this solemn place: the Omniety, in which she had lived a life not her own, and the more recent tangle with the devilishly clever Ammit. Both had left their scars, some mental, some physical. Ammit had been a worthy foe and, though Birch would never admit it - she was far too battle-hardened and strong to say such things aloud - the memory of their battle, and specifically the chilling moments when Ammit had weighed her heart, woke her up at night in a cold sweat. But more often than not recently, when at last she put her head to the pillow and let her weary body relax, it was thoughts of the Other Life that kept her awake. Though she knew none of it was real, hadn't been real except during those fragile moments in the garden, there was a part of her that grieved. For the family she'd made, for the love she'd shared. Her father's steady eyes, her mother's bawdy laugh. The pitter-patter of little feet on well-worn wood as Roo and Ahi, and eventually little Cri, dashed down the hall to bounce into bed with her and Ahl on sunny weekend mornings for snuggles and stories. The Omniety had intended these moments to be a gift, something to carry with her to make up for the loss and pain that had been her early years, but it had left Birch was heart-sick. She loved Torram, loved Rochambeau and Min and the life she'd built here in Shaman. She felt, truly, that she belonged. But in those dark and quiet hours between dusk and dawn, there was a part of her that mourned, deeply and truly, for those faces and voices that had become so familiar to her in so little actual time. She had felt her body swell with child, had seen love and laughter in the eyes of a man who had loved her with everything he was, and missing Ahl was like missing a limb, some vital and irreplaceable portion of her own being that was simply gone without warning. She had done so much, had seen and heard and felt so much, and yet none of it had been real.

Birch's stomach clenched as she neared the tree that had held the portal to her Secret Garden. Alone, with not even Ro to gently chide her for it, she pressed a hand to it as if hoping to sink right through. Her eyes, pale green and full of sadness, drifted shut.

"Mama!"

Birch whirled around, her heart thudding in her chest at that familiar voice. Her daughter, garbed in a vibrant crimson and cream dress with their akkide's crest above her heart, beamed at her. A fresh-faced sixteen year old, just a hair younger than Torram was, the girl giggled and her eyes, so like Birch's own, sparkled with innocent mischief.

"Roo?" Birch croaked, disbelief and hope waging a mighty war. Her heart screamed yes, throbbed it, but her mind... Her mind ripped apart this fantasy with callous disregard. "What are you doing here?"

It came out a reverent whisper Birch couldn't stop from sounding hopeful. She was so starved for even a fragment of that time that she just stared, taking in every tidbit of Ruxianna's appearance. And then, with a sinking feeling that started somewhere at her center, Birch's mind found the fragment of wrong mixed so aptly in with all the right. Roo's dress was the exact same as it had been the day she and her True Mate, Fa'all, had completed their Bond. The exact same... except for the akkide's symbol, which was upside down. Birch's heart broke as she realized what it was that stood before her, not her precious daughter but the Ancient Creature. Birch let out an animalistic growl, her fists clenching at her side.

"What's wrong, Mama, don't you like my dress?"

"You're not my daughter!" Birch howled, her voice raw with emotion. Though it tore her asunder to do it, she lifted her dagger and threw it in one fluid motion, right for the beast's heart. It deflected the blade with a mere twitch of an eyelid, and threw its head back with a laugh that was achingly like Roo's.

"Tsk, tsk, such temper, mother!" the not-Roo said. Shaking with mirth, it turned and faded away. It had come to taunt, to hurt, and it had done just that. Birch stumbled to a nearby log, falling to a seated position as if her legs couldn't hold her up for even a second longer. She buried her scarred face in her hands, her proud shoulders shaking as she fought tears.


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