| of the heart | |
| It is as she suspected— Zevu and his twin hadn’t had enough time together for their bond to become conscious. Kikka wonders, sadly, if his twin will ever return and what their relationship will look like. It makes her take a mental step back and reflect on her own circumstances: are she and Trell truly as bonded as her brother has insisted from the beginning, or is it the fact that they grew up together and believed in one another so much that forged that connection? It pains her to even consider Trell might be wrong, but she can’t deny the existence of other twins in the world or the logical conclusion that all twins share a special bond. But here walks beside her one part of a whole who seems not to have experienced the intense connection she shares with her brother, a connection Trell claims is innate to all twins and unbreakable. Kikka pins that thought to the back of her mind for later consideration; it’s too big to think of, right now, and she’d much rather pay attention to her newfound friend and guide.
"I like that," she says as Zevu describes the two territories. "The Bay, I mean, being sheltered. It sounds so cozy." She thinks about all the places she’s liked the most in her travels and grins. "Trell tends to prefer big, sprawling fields so he can see everything. I’ve always liked the places with lots to explore, little nooks hidden away on a mountain or a small grove in the middle of a forest. It’s all been beautiful, of course. I just think it’d be nice to settle somewhere that gives us both what we want." It’s entirely possible these islands will be just one more stopping point on Trell’s map, and in a few months or even a year he may decide it’s time for them to go. Kikka’s smile widens to match Zevu’s own as he answers her question, and her heart warms to be trusted with such information. "It sounds so lovely," she breathes after he’s described it. A herd, a cave to shelter them from the wind, warmth and love in a little secret place... Her eyes are wistful. The more she sees of the Bay and the more Zevu tells her about it, the more she wants to anchor her heart here and call it home. Everything depends on Trell, however. If he says no, that’s that. They stop on top of a steep switchback leading down to a flat, empty beach and a bay of foaming water. Kikka draws in an impressed breath and glances over at Zevu. "I can’t even imagine what a seal is," she says with a little self-conscious laugh. For all that she’s traveled with Trell, there’s so much still that she doesn’t know and hasn’t seen. The hot springs he spoke of, for instance, ignite her curiosity every time they come up. She scans the moving water and sees what he’s speaking of: from this vantage point, it doesn’t look terribly hazardous, as the rocks sticking up out of the water aren’t clustered but rather spread out among the waves. But she nods her head to Zevu’s warning. "This is incredible," she says, turning to face him fully. "I wish I could stay and see it all." The wind carried up from the ocean plays with their hair, and she laughs a she shakes her head to get her dark forelock out of her eyes. The height feels good, as does the sea air and her present company. She realizes with a guilty start that she hasn’t felt bad about being parted from Trell for the last leg of their trek to this beach together— and an odd wave of guilt and shame washes over her for her disloyalty. Her eyes drop back to the ocean, then she turns and looks back the way they came, to the trees that wave beckoningly in the breeze and the shadowed underbrush that looks not threatening despite the darkness, but inviting. "Well," she says, with some reluctance. "I suppose the rest will have to wait." She takes it all in with one more slow sweep of her eyes. "Shall we head for the Inlet?" Kikka asks, her desires shelved and her mind once more focused on her task. | |
kikka | |