Post by Jasmin Forte on Mar 16, 2015 4:23:25 GMT
Today was the day. Ordinarily, you'd use that term for something you were excited about - but there was nothing ordinary about their little house. It was a house full of outcasts and homesick warriors (and a few friends they'd made along the way). Everyone had their place, and if someone was missing, the whole house was missing a piece in their complicated puzzle.
And today was the day everybody'd been dreading. Over the past few days, their dear fisherman and designated icebreaker. He couldn't even pull himself out of bed, his face unnaturally angular and taut with grief. He wasn't quite ready to let go, and everybody knew it. He wanted to hold on as long as he could for his unborn child - at least to feel them kick against his trembling hand.
With Pike immobile and weakening by the hour, Jasmin wasn't around all that often. She gave orders at the designated times, and then skulked back into her room, where she sat, perched in her window sill with the television glowing dully several feet away, muted but kept alight to make her appear to be doing something lively. Instead, she just sat, no matter the temperature, and looked through old photographs she'd rescued from her house, some earlier, depicting her, Jewel, and Pike, arm-in-arm, all looking bright-eyed and smudgy - the younger, rougher, and more rebellious sides of themselves.
The later were the clearest, like they were meant to be taken in a way that'd make them easier to cherish years later. Jasmin perched on Kray's back, hair bundled up and tucked back with bridal-esque pins, her wedding dress just long enough to keep the photo from being indecent. Her face was burrowed into his shoulder, so only her bright, tear-filled eyes were visible, equal parts cheeky and content.
One of Kray with Mystery perched on his lap, the nervously grinning boy poised for any sudden attack from the rowdy feline.
And then later - Felix and his family. Jasmin with Hal wrapped in her arms, and Felix kneeling, his body swiveled toward Jasmin as if he were leaning in to brush a kiss across her temple. And of course, the eldest, stand-offish Jensen who'd never buck up for pictures, standing with a thin smile, eyes downward toward his family. It was more heartfelt for her to rake her eyes over them, considering that Pike had been the photographer of the majority of her photos.
It'd been two days since she'd been outside, other then to peer out her door and shout orders, or slither into the bathroom. Pike had been joking both of those days that it'd take a hatchet to her door to get her out. He'd repeated the joke in verbatim several times without meaning; he couldn't retain memories anymore. He spent too much brain power on using his heavy tongue to speak.
Pike roused from a light nap, his forehead burning. The icy cloth on his head was only lukewarm now. He lifted his veiny hand to feel for the rag. "Kes?" He groaned in a desperate attempt at his normal, strong voice. "My face feels like it's on fire." He blinked his hooded eyes, searching his central vision for Kestrel. He didn't feel like turning his head, just to hear the creak of his useless bones.
He attempted to sit up and stretch his leaden bones, but he couldn't manage on his own. And he hated it. He hated being cared for, especially when he'd grown up a caretaker. "Kes?" He repeated, this time with gusto, "find my parents in District 13 and tell them who you are. Tell them that I loved you, and will always love you - but tell them this: that I'm sorry for leaving...and that..." he managed to sit himself upright, and his icicle colored eyes glowed with contempt. "That you're my girl. My dad always wanted me to find someone special. They'll love you." He exhaled sharply. His long string of words took the breath out of him. He couldn't help but ramble, tossing sentences together, for he didn't know how much longer he had to speak.
Meanwhile, Jasmin had set her creased, peeling photos aside, and stuck a hand deep in her pocket. She pulled out a lighter and flipped it around her hand, deep in thought...and then bounced out the window, out in unsafe territory. She high-tailed it down the sandy, winding pathway toward the place she'd once lived with Felix and Hal; the home she hadn't visited since they'd been taken from her.
She needed to burn some bridges and make it easier to cope with so many losses. She needed to move on from her past, and focus on Pike.
And she would.
She would.
And today was the day everybody'd been dreading. Over the past few days, their dear fisherman and designated icebreaker. He couldn't even pull himself out of bed, his face unnaturally angular and taut with grief. He wasn't quite ready to let go, and everybody knew it. He wanted to hold on as long as he could for his unborn child - at least to feel them kick against his trembling hand.
With Pike immobile and weakening by the hour, Jasmin wasn't around all that often. She gave orders at the designated times, and then skulked back into her room, where she sat, perched in her window sill with the television glowing dully several feet away, muted but kept alight to make her appear to be doing something lively. Instead, she just sat, no matter the temperature, and looked through old photographs she'd rescued from her house, some earlier, depicting her, Jewel, and Pike, arm-in-arm, all looking bright-eyed and smudgy - the younger, rougher, and more rebellious sides of themselves.
The later were the clearest, like they were meant to be taken in a way that'd make them easier to cherish years later. Jasmin perched on Kray's back, hair bundled up and tucked back with bridal-esque pins, her wedding dress just long enough to keep the photo from being indecent. Her face was burrowed into his shoulder, so only her bright, tear-filled eyes were visible, equal parts cheeky and content.
One of Kray with Mystery perched on his lap, the nervously grinning boy poised for any sudden attack from the rowdy feline.
And then later - Felix and his family. Jasmin with Hal wrapped in her arms, and Felix kneeling, his body swiveled toward Jasmin as if he were leaning in to brush a kiss across her temple. And of course, the eldest, stand-offish Jensen who'd never buck up for pictures, standing with a thin smile, eyes downward toward his family. It was more heartfelt for her to rake her eyes over them, considering that Pike had been the photographer of the majority of her photos.
It'd been two days since she'd been outside, other then to peer out her door and shout orders, or slither into the bathroom. Pike had been joking both of those days that it'd take a hatchet to her door to get her out. He'd repeated the joke in verbatim several times without meaning; he couldn't retain memories anymore. He spent too much brain power on using his heavy tongue to speak.
Pike roused from a light nap, his forehead burning. The icy cloth on his head was only lukewarm now. He lifted his veiny hand to feel for the rag. "Kes?" He groaned in a desperate attempt at his normal, strong voice. "My face feels like it's on fire." He blinked his hooded eyes, searching his central vision for Kestrel. He didn't feel like turning his head, just to hear the creak of his useless bones.
He attempted to sit up and stretch his leaden bones, but he couldn't manage on his own. And he hated it. He hated being cared for, especially when he'd grown up a caretaker. "Kes?" He repeated, this time with gusto, "find my parents in District 13 and tell them who you are. Tell them that I loved you, and will always love you - but tell them this: that I'm sorry for leaving...and that..." he managed to sit himself upright, and his icicle colored eyes glowed with contempt. "That you're my girl. My dad always wanted me to find someone special. They'll love you." He exhaled sharply. His long string of words took the breath out of him. He couldn't help but ramble, tossing sentences together, for he didn't know how much longer he had to speak.
Meanwhile, Jasmin had set her creased, peeling photos aside, and stuck a hand deep in her pocket. She pulled out a lighter and flipped it around her hand, deep in thought...and then bounced out the window, out in unsafe territory. She high-tailed it down the sandy, winding pathway toward the place she'd once lived with Felix and Hal; the home she hadn't visited since they'd been taken from her.
She needed to burn some bridges and make it easier to cope with so many losses. She needed to move on from her past, and focus on Pike.
And she would.
She would.