back to the ocean

where: Sioux Area Metro

Miru wanted to leave. Needed to go somewhere–anywhere. Her lonely loft was beginning to lose it’s hold on her. The reserve to stay inside where it was nice and safe was loosening. She stared out the window as she realized that she didn’t really have a destination in mind. Needing to get out and meet people was beginning to gnaw at her. Making her feel raw and exposed. It made her skin crawl and her spine shiver. Tears welled in the pools of her periwinkle blue eyes. Tears that she furiously blinked away. Miru did not need to remember the times that she had been brought so close to death she could taste it. She would feel it’s cold embrace wrap around her and suffocate her in its hold. But she had escaped. Had made a life for herself outside of what she knew. What she so desperately wanted to return to. Not without Krasa, however.

Krasa.

His name was embedded into her soul. Her skin. It was sewn into the very fabric of her existence. There was no her without him. Miru knew that she needed to find her brother. Her twin. Her soul. Her heart broke every second that she was away from him. Without much thought, she grabbed her paints and her brushes. Throwing on a brown jacket, she slipped on a pair of sandals and slid out her front door. Not bothering to lock the door. There wasn’t much of anything that anyone could steal. Her old, unfinished works or works that she hadn’t deemed worthy of selling laying haplessly around her loft. Whoever decided steal from her could have them. Miru surely didn’t want them.

astarte had been like miru after she awoke to the world for a second time. never leaving THE EMPEROR’s side for more than two meters or during large periods of time. looking back she understands that her dependency was her biggest weakness. loving someone so much clouded her better judgment that she never saw past his lies. never believed him capable of leaving her and tearing her apart as he did. to make her and THE DESTROYER think him dead. make them exist drowning in guilt for trying to continue after his fake assassination. “ he will recognize you, people don’t change that much.” for better or worse one never changes its real nature. appearances can change but the inside never does. deeply hidden in the shadows of the soul, some traits and demons just take longer to surface.

“ but not so fast!” she laughed looking around when people stared at them. not caring in the slightest astarte paid them no more attention. “ first you need to look for a well… rather hot lover, we deserve the best and should never be satisfied with second best. ” hell and heaven knows astarte never did. pretty things always called to her. like a raven known to steal and cache shiny objects, astarte liked to bring interesting beings to her coven. “ normal is boring and dull.”  her first reaction when miru reached out was to catch her hand before it made contact, but the vampyr quickly masked her impulse. miru wasn’t a threat or was trying to kill her. many had tried before, so her need to be alert. “ then it’s okay. we both overshared.”

“You think so?” her question was filled with a hope she had known was there from the moment she broke free. Years of being away from him meant that she had changed in many ways. She was no longer the young and curious thing she had been when they had parted. Would he shy from her new ways. Would he try to bring her back to the way she once was? Miru was so full of uncertainty and so full of precautions that tears nearly welled in her eyes at Astarte’s words. Brought her back to being full of hope and wonder. There was part of her that trusted this new found friend. That was to say...if she was allowed to call her that. After all she had told her about Krasa and about how they were taken from each other. What more could hurt if she told the truth. The truth about not being human. “There’s one more thing you should know,” she said, her breath hitching in her throat and her eyes immediately finding her hands as she recoiled back into herself, “I’m not a people. Well, I’m not--I’m not exactly human.”

“it’s not crazy, far from it actually.“ astarte says gently. while calming her hunger for blood, she keeps a smile and her face doesn’t show the struggle going inside. perhaps she needs to feed more regularly, but all carried the taste of ashes once it touches her lips. the subject brought memories to the front of her mind that she would rather forget. soulmates. she knows what it feels like to lose a part of her soul and still be forced to survive carrying the guilt and sorrow. there is no way to live without a soul, only to exist. and vampyrs know that all too well. a prisoner of the past. always struggling to stay in the present while her heart needs to be reminded that happiness was once real. a fragile thread that connects what´s gone and what returns. astarte was a storm of emotions trying to break the walls of a very ancient temple. someday she fears her psyche will break and return to old habits. the blood queen of the east is only asleep. ” loss is not a foreign concept for me. and losing someone you love or being separated from him is a fate worse than death.“

miru. she knew that name. taking a deeper breath and using her vampyr senses astarte confirms that the woman is a meyr. at first her scent was too contaminated by the humans around them and it was so faint. miru could probably pass as a human.astarte smiled to herself remembering the last reports about blair krasimir´s missing sister. before warning him, she needed to be certain. ” as much as I respect that it’s your choice and I have nothing to do with it…having a lover is a good thing. and you don´t have to necessarily love that person. I mean sex is an amazing stress reliever.“  she stopped and then considered her words. ”  I should probably stop oversharing. no, no. don´t apologize. the pleasure is all mine, miru.“

For the better part of the last six months, Miru had tried her hardest to just blend in. It had been one hundred and twenty-six years since she had gotten free. Since she had her freedom returned to her. But she was still so anxious and still trying to redeem her sense of self. It felt nice to know that she didn’t sound foreign or strange in comparison to others. Though she knew that should she tell anyone else that Krasa was half of her soul that she would be looked at as though she had in fact lost her mind. Miru made a mental note to keep things like this a little more private. “I never spent my life more than a mere two meters away from him,” she said, folding her arms over her chest, “It’s been so long I’m afraid he might not recognize me if we ever meet again.” There was a sadness in her voice that was mirrored in her eyes. One hundred and thirty-six years had passed and ten of those were spent in a cage where she was tortured. Much had changed and she was no longer the meyr she had once been.

It was like waking up after his eyes had been sewed up and she forced them open. Krasa. Like his lungs were set on fire and her voice was the only thing able to kill the flames. Krasa. Like he was absence until she recognized him, saw him, welcomed him back into this world. Krasa. And all he could see, all he could breath, was her: his world, his reason, his love, his soul, his everything. I’ve finally found you. Because she had been looking. It wasn’t just him. He hadn’t been alone in this. And goddesses, how it hurt. To imagine her alone in this world, leaving clues behind so he could find her. Waiting for him, longing for what he too longed for. Krasa couldn’t stand it. The fact that it took one hundred and thirty six years to be here, with her. “Miru”, he said again, all the steps needed to be right in front of her taken, fingers raised to touch her cheekbones with their icy tips.

He could feel her warmth. The shape of her very much real as he countered her nose, her chin, her jawline. She was really there. “Miru,” he said at last for her to hear. The one word that owned him, the one person. It had been her name the very first thing to come out of his mouth when they swam ashore, and it was her name the first word he learned when they were but babies. It was her when he finally breathed again. “I’m sorry I didn’t find you sooner,” Krasa whispered, eyes filled with the tears he didn’t cry in all those years. He had screamed until his voice was lost and gone silent for months without end, but he had never cried. Not even once. Now, as he allowed his arms to bring her close, embracing her as strongly as he could without hurting his twin, Krasa finally cried. In silence. For her, for him, for time, for absence, for reunion, for home. For all the things he once was and all the things he could’ve been. 

Unaware of the attention it might bring to them. Krasa cried. As his legs started to fail and he used Miru’s presence to steady himself. As he breathed her in and tried to memorize her new scent, afraid of all those things he didn’t recognize in her. As he felt ashamed and weak and thrilled and scared and complete. “I–” he began, voice broken in so many ways, Blair had to stop. Take a deep breath. Compose himself. He would not lose control. Enough. “I looked for you… all these years, I looked. But I couldn’t find you, Mi. I bought every painting, bribed every eye in the underworld. I even went as south as the Mediterranean Sea looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. I’m sorry you had to wait. I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough. I’m so sorry I lost you,” I am. Out of breath. Unable to let you go, to look in your eyes. Afraid that you’ll leave. Terrified you won’t like who I’ve become. I am not your Krasa anymore. All the things he should’ve said, but couldn’t. All the thoughts he hoped she would read, uncertain if she could.

He had been searching for her. Just as Astarte had said he was. There was so much she wanted to say. So much that could be said to him. But where did she start? Where did they go from there? Miru was at a loss as he touched her face. A laugh bubbled up from her as she closed her eyes. Bringing up her face to the ceiling as she did. He was there in front of her. He was there. It was Krasa. He who completed her and made her whole. Her heart felt as thought it might burst from her chest with joy. Her soul twirled and danced and rejoiced with the rest of her as he clung to her. His words echoed in her mind and she squeezed him to her. Her arms wrapping around his midsection as she felt his weight shift. “Krasa, you have nothing to apologize for,” she said into the open. There were eyes on them now. Though she didn’t care. She had found him. She had found her Krasa once again and nothing could spoil this moment for her. For them.

“Listen to me,” she cooed softly, “None of what happened was your fault. I should have never wandered away from you.” It was her fault they were parted. It was her fault that she was captured. It was her fault. All of it and she was so angry with herself now that she had him back in her arms. Icy tears fell from her periwinkle eyes and her fingers began to trace letters on his shoulder blades to keep herself remotely calm. Or at the very least away from the seething anger that formed at herself for all this time apart that she had caused. “It was my fault for not following you. It was my fault for following that damned voice,” openly, she began to sob, “It was all my fault, Krasa and I’m so so sorry that I did this to us. I promise I will never leave your sight again. I will always be right here.”

“ I don’t think I know anyone by that name.” there was a fragility in the woman, that astarte knew all too well. her eyes seemed to carry an extreme sadness and her movements showed fear. almost as if she was hiding from either her memories or someone. the reluctance to speak, measuring her words. astarte was a being thirsty and stained by blood, but she was so much more than just a monster. there was a time, in another life when she was a kind woman later  marred by tragedy. pieces of her human side seem to remain, often buried out of necessity or long forgotten. her human years make for a mere decades in her existence, while the time as a vampyr seems to be endless.“maybe your brother uses another name like you said. sooner or later you will find each other .” she knew better than to ask the reasons behind their separation, it wasn´t in her nature to hurt others without a reason. not anymore.  “ they say that twins have a special connection, maybe he is also trying to find you.”

thinking about both of them always brings a smile to her face. a smile that reaches her eyes. the image of the little girl her daughter used to be and the woman she is now. an extremely stubborn and headstrong woman. who can blame her? the wytch takes after her parents.“ thank you. oh no need to look for him, I know where he is. training his men until exhaustion probably…I always liked men in the military.”  she winked and laughed, trying to make the woman feel more confortable. her mate was a military but in the vampyr army. “ we have been together for centuries, or what feels like it. almost ten years now.” almost ten centuries, more like it. “ you should get out more, breath some fresh air. and I don´t even know your name!  mine is astarte.”

Miru nodded at the statement. Of course she didn’t. That name was meant for the sea. For the water where they both belonged. But it was the only name that she knew and it was the only name that she would ever call him. Even if he did change his name being on the surface. Her eyes lit up at the mention that he may also be looking for her. For a moment, there was a hop in her that had since been broken down and stripped from her. Miru had lost all her hope when she was held captive for the first two years. There was no way that he had kept looking for her since then. It had been one hundred and thirty-six years since they had been one. “Our souls would call for one another,” she began, her voice growing soft, almost as delicate as she was in nature, “when we were apart. That must sound crazy, I know. But it’s the truth. He and I are the same soul. Two halves of the same person and we’ve never been so far from each other.” Her heart throbbed as she remembered the last time she had seen Krasa. How she was so lost in the snow and ice covered earth that she hadn’t known how to return to him...and then...she didn’t have the chance to run back anymore.

where: Sioux Area Metro

Miru wanted to leave. Needed to go somewhere--anywhere. Her lonely loft was beginning to lose it’s hold on her. The reserve to stay inside where it was nice and safe was loosening. She stared out the window as she realized that she didn’t really have a destination in mind. Needing to get out and meet people was beginning to gnaw at her. Making her feel raw and exposed. It made her skin crawl and her spine shiver. Tears welled in the pools of her periwinkle blue eyes. Tears that she furiously blinked away. Miru did not need to remember the times that she had been brought so close to death she could taste it. She would feel it’s cold embrace wrap around her and suffocate her in its hold. But she had escaped. Had made a life for herself outside of what she knew. What she so desperately wanted to return to. Not without Krasa, however.

Krasa.

His name was embedded into her soul. Her skin. It was sewn into the very fabric of her existence. There was no her without him. Miru knew that she needed to find her brother. Her twin. Her soul. Her heart broke every second that she was away from him. Without much thought, she grabbed her paints and her brushes. Throwing on a brown jacket, she slipped on a pair of sandals and slid out her front door. Not bothering to lock the door. There wasn’t much of anything that anyone could steal. Her old, unfinished works or works that she hadn’t deemed worthy of selling laying haplessly around her loft. Whoever decided steal from her could have them. Miru surely didn’t want them.

“ so it seems.” the vampyr agreed, taking a sip from the cup of coffee and studying the woman in front of her. a strange scent was coming from the other woman. a faint smell that made her think about the sea.  given the amount of people in such a small place like the cafe, astarte couldn´t be sure about her suspicious. and the scent was so faint that she could pass as a human.almost.“ I wonder if your brother is a caffeine addict like my friend. there are other cafes in the area but this seems to be the one that attracts more people.” out of curiosity she asked the next question. “ who´s your brother? I might know him and we can help each other.” she smiled and pulled out her cellphone searching for a picture of her daughter. no matter the species all parents seem to have photos of their children. sometimes. just sometimes astarte likes to pretend she is normal. finally she stopped in a photo showing her, THE DESTROYER and THE BELIEVER. they were smiling, happy and carefree. “ this is my friend and the one trying not to laugh my husband. ” it today´s world the word husband sounded better than mate. " that’s impressive, the most I can paint is something similar to kandinsky without his finesse. I´m actually a club owner. amarna. have you heard of it?“

Miru thought for a moment on whether or not she should tell the other woman about her brother. She knew that he may not go by his real name. She also knew that he may not even be on land anymore. Yet there she was--still a sitting duck in South Dakota all but waiting to be captured again. She was taking a large risk even venturing out from her loft. Miru looked away from the other woman. Not knowing what to do other than have a mental crisis right there where they sat. “Krasa,” she said softly, after a while, “At least that was his name when we were together. It’s been several years since we’ve so much as seen one another and he might not go by his given name anymore.” There was a pregnant pause before she would begin to speak again. “We’re twins,” she added.

two missed calls and her daughter THE BELIEVER doesn’t return the calls. astarte mentions for one of her very discreet guards to come closer. they are always lurking near the chairwoman. like shadows. the vampyrs move without being seen and in absolute silence. some would say that they could rival ghosts if they had no scent. but a wytch’s spell could remedy that.after discovering her daughter’s location astarte placed dark sunglasses to cover her eyes. sunlight doesn’t burn her skin since she possess an enchanted ring to protect her against the rays of the sun. the same could be said about all vampyrs in the dominion.

she passes near the training area of the mansion and sees her mate, THE DESTROYER torturing the new guards. it´s impossible to deny that he gets a sick pleasure in polishing the weapons of tomorrow. some are brave enough to sneak a glance at her and then at their Commandant. if they are caught off guard the consequences tend to be dire given that they train with real weapons and he moves with a deadly precision.they sigh inwards after astarte leaves giving a kiss to their commander. without his mate around he will be in a worse mood during training. 

the trip between maitland and rapid city wasn’t long. the cars are left in AMARNA’s undergroud parking lot and she is informed that her daughter is now near the universities campus.  it’s her prerogative as a mother to always worry for the safety of her child. the cafe was bubbling with customers and the temptation was hard to resist to some of her guards. there was no need to bring them inside so the chairwoman gave them the rest of the afternoon free but warned them not to go hunt near the campus.

“ thank you.” she replied pulling the seat and smiling. “ I´m waiting for a friend but she doesn´t seem to be here. ” it was strange to admit that the vampyr was following her daughter. a daughter that looks around her mother´s age. “ she tends to forget to charge her phone quite often but she will appear sooner or later.” a waiter brought a triple shot of espresso for astarte. like that she could get the taste of the coffe, never the effects. “ are you a student at Astoria?”

This woman had an eerie beauty about her. Though she was sure that back before she was held captive that the same could be said about Miru. Now she was sure that she had a sunken look about her. Her eyes no longer holding the glamour that they once had. Blonde curls tucked to one said, she gave the other woman a soft smile. Miru was sure that she was not of human descent. But she wasn’t about to pose questions that surely couldn’t be answered out in the public. Miru looked over the other woman as the bell above the door to the cafe sounded. Hoping, briefly, that it was Krasa. That maybe she wouldn’t have to search so extensively anymore. A sigh pushed through her lips as she saw that it was not him. Her search continued. Her clues continued.

where: So Cafe-->Rapid City

Paranoid was an understatement for her. Living life like there was a threatening shadow looming over her was beginning to take its toll on her. Paint brush in one hand, Miru looked at the semi blank canvas in front of her as if it was the only thing keeping her sane. Which arguably it was. She hadn’t told her actual name to anyone in hopes that that alone would be enough to deter anyone looking for her. Her guard in particular for making him look a fool. But six months had passed of her being free and so far no one had asked her or come looking. No one had recognized her so far. She counted her small win but still found herself constantly looking over her shoulder.

Six months had passed since she had been malnourished and close to death. Dragged to the brink of death many times. Miru had been in South Dakota for six months with no sign of her brother. She was beginning to think she had come here for naught. Yet there she stayed in hopes that she was wrong. Leaving little clues here and there for him to hopefully find and follow to find her. Years had passed since she had seen the one being who was one half of her entire soul. Her heart ached at the thought. At the very memory of how she had screamed and howled for him for all these years. A single tear dropped down and splashed onto her jeans. The light wash now darkening from the salty droplet.

She wiped at her eyes furiously. Refocusing her attention on the swirls of deep blues and black on the canvas. Wringing her fingers through her blonde curls, Miru set the  paint brush down. Claiming to come back to her latest piece of work later as she slid her dainty feet into flats the same shade of deep blue that matched her swirls on the canvas. She was always cold now. Pulling on an equally deep blue jacket to that of her shoes. Being from the Arkic, she should be used to the cold and slight, bitter chill that nipped at her pale cheeks. But years of being malnourished left her always feeling a chill in her bones.