04-16-2020, 12:06 AM
A very strange, unusual, and downright concerning behavior animated Valeriya these past few days. She found herself laughing, smiling, and leaping from moment to moment. With her great love, the seed of Rasputin, and her sisterly companion, they embarked upon a journey that astonished and bewildered her. Finally, one day, clairvoyance identified this bizarre affliction: she was happy.
She was happy darting in and out of little dwellings. The greenery of the Above infused cloth and trinkets with which Valeriya happily decorated her body. Armande approved, but it was the glee in Rowan’s enthusiasm that spurred the virgin shopper to claim any and every beautiful thing she desired. Like the flowers of the soil, she plucked jewelry and dresses and hair ornaments from shelf, rod, hook and display. Some lady with a strange accent just fawned over Vale’s beauty, which apparently was valued quite a lot in the Above. It was a stupid idea. Beauty did not feed hungry bellies or stop a gushing wound. Either way, she fawned and Vale from then on found herself rather fond of greens and blues, the foremost brilliant colors of the Above world. And like Rowan, she was drawn to feminine styles. The gowns of the former Tsarina were ragged and torn by the time the Eye of the Khylsty inherited them, but she wore them as proudly as if they were hand-spun.
After they smoothed her hair into a black fur softer than an Oni’s downy belly, Vale really was striking a queenly pose these days. On the day they were going to visit a lake (which is a like a really big puddle), she wore a long dress of blue silk. The sleeves were a sheer overlay that dangled far from her wrists into a point. The material crossed beneath her breasts, which were pushed plump and nearly spilling out the scooped neckline. Gold armbands were snug around her upper arms and a similar jeweled belt wrapped about her hips. Sparkling earrings dangled from her earlobes and another gold chain was woven through her hair.
Finally, on the banks of the lake, she stood still as a statue. Water dazzled as far as she could see. So far she couldn’t see land on the other side although Armande assured her it was there. The sun sparkled like diamonds on the surface. “I didn’t know there was all this water in the whole Above. The whole of everything. Let alone in one spot.” Tears streamed down her face. Tears of joy and wonderment.
Rowan beckoned her to come, and Valeriya could wait not a moment longer. She waited her entire life! She stripped of her pretty gown down to her skin, excluding the aforementioned jewelry. Naked and skin gleaming in the warm sun, she cautiously dipped a toe into the water. It felt like licking scuttle-bugs. She giggled despite herself and plunged into the water. The bottom was slippery beneath her feet, but her toes clung to the crags and stones without problem. Her skin was thick as Oni hide on the bottom of her feet. The only reason she wore shoes were because they were pretty.
The water was cool. It tickled her thighs and prickled her nipples to sharp points. She giggled and scooped the water to her palms. Gleaming jewels trickled between her fingers. Emotion welled up within her again. There was a time when she cried for water, yearned for a lick of it, but the smallest taste was denied when the shortages came. Just for good measure, she drank freely of the lake water until her throat cooled with satisfaction. She smiled then suddenly the blue water, Rowan, and her beloved disappeared, and the Eye opened.
Rowan was beautiful. A gold tower of stone glowed beautifully. The Eye saw the writings as it had seen others, and she knew their words. The Eye moved closer. Rowan was entranced by it. Armande was a statue. Valeriya gasped and her arms moved without control. She grasped something in each hand. Rowan screamed and the Eye roamed. She fixated upon someone else. He glowed like the sun, and a pain wracked her body unlike anything she knew in the awakening. She bared her teeth, pointed to shards, and raised fingers that curled into hideous claws. A lion if ever one existed, Valeriya was a lion. Before she could jump, the Eye closed and everyone was gone.
Valeriya gasped for air only to swallow a mouthful of water. Choking and sputtering, she pushed through the surface and found familiar arms pulling her upward. “The Eye saw,” she said to whoever listened. “A weapon waits for us. Armande, Rowan, me and him. He had to be there. All in white with the glow of angels above his head. If he’s not there, the weapon won’t show itself. Four weapons, four people. Who is he? I hate him. I hate him.”
She was happy darting in and out of little dwellings. The greenery of the Above infused cloth and trinkets with which Valeriya happily decorated her body. Armande approved, but it was the glee in Rowan’s enthusiasm that spurred the virgin shopper to claim any and every beautiful thing she desired. Like the flowers of the soil, she plucked jewelry and dresses and hair ornaments from shelf, rod, hook and display. Some lady with a strange accent just fawned over Vale’s beauty, which apparently was valued quite a lot in the Above. It was a stupid idea. Beauty did not feed hungry bellies or stop a gushing wound. Either way, she fawned and Vale from then on found herself rather fond of greens and blues, the foremost brilliant colors of the Above world. And like Rowan, she was drawn to feminine styles. The gowns of the former Tsarina were ragged and torn by the time the Eye of the Khylsty inherited them, but she wore them as proudly as if they were hand-spun.
After they smoothed her hair into a black fur softer than an Oni’s downy belly, Vale really was striking a queenly pose these days. On the day they were going to visit a lake (which is a like a really big puddle), she wore a long dress of blue silk. The sleeves were a sheer overlay that dangled far from her wrists into a point. The material crossed beneath her breasts, which were pushed plump and nearly spilling out the scooped neckline. Gold armbands were snug around her upper arms and a similar jeweled belt wrapped about her hips. Sparkling earrings dangled from her earlobes and another gold chain was woven through her hair.
Finally, on the banks of the lake, she stood still as a statue. Water dazzled as far as she could see. So far she couldn’t see land on the other side although Armande assured her it was there. The sun sparkled like diamonds on the surface. “I didn’t know there was all this water in the whole Above. The whole of everything. Let alone in one spot.” Tears streamed down her face. Tears of joy and wonderment.
Rowan beckoned her to come, and Valeriya could wait not a moment longer. She waited her entire life! She stripped of her pretty gown down to her skin, excluding the aforementioned jewelry. Naked and skin gleaming in the warm sun, she cautiously dipped a toe into the water. It felt like licking scuttle-bugs. She giggled despite herself and plunged into the water. The bottom was slippery beneath her feet, but her toes clung to the crags and stones without problem. Her skin was thick as Oni hide on the bottom of her feet. The only reason she wore shoes were because they were pretty.
The water was cool. It tickled her thighs and prickled her nipples to sharp points. She giggled and scooped the water to her palms. Gleaming jewels trickled between her fingers. Emotion welled up within her again. There was a time when she cried for water, yearned for a lick of it, but the smallest taste was denied when the shortages came. Just for good measure, she drank freely of the lake water until her throat cooled with satisfaction. She smiled then suddenly the blue water, Rowan, and her beloved disappeared, and the Eye opened.
Rowan was beautiful. A gold tower of stone glowed beautifully. The Eye saw the writings as it had seen others, and she knew their words. The Eye moved closer. Rowan was entranced by it. Armande was a statue. Valeriya gasped and her arms moved without control. She grasped something in each hand. Rowan screamed and the Eye roamed. She fixated upon someone else. He glowed like the sun, and a pain wracked her body unlike anything she knew in the awakening. She bared her teeth, pointed to shards, and raised fingers that curled into hideous claws. A lion if ever one existed, Valeriya was a lion. Before she could jump, the Eye closed and everyone was gone.
Valeriya gasped for air only to swallow a mouthful of water. Choking and sputtering, she pushed through the surface and found familiar arms pulling her upward. “The Eye saw,” she said to whoever listened. “A weapon waits for us. Armande, Rowan, me and him. He had to be there. All in white with the glow of angels above his head. If he’s not there, the weapon won’t show itself. Four weapons, four people. Who is he? I hate him. I hate him.”
The Eye of the Khylsty