' & fall ( apart )

                                                 AKE’A KEMNI

                                                 written by amy

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        ❝  I trust you will forgive me if I do not take your word for it.  ❞

        𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐔𝐏𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐎𝐈𝐑𝐄, but she does not make a move to attack. She’d rather not resort to violence if she could help it; particularly in this part of the Twelveswood where the Elementals must be watching, listening, feeling. Iphenne is ever cautious, though, and observes the other intensely. She has had far too many brushes with death to believe in word only that he means no harm. He’ll have to do much more than that to earn her trust. Iphenne tactfully ignores his question, instead posing one of her own.  ❝ Why do you follow me?  ❞ Though phrased as a question, her tone rather makes it sound more like a demand.

THE WORLD STILLS for a moment & he takes it to search for an answer to her question . he contemplates whether he would answer in earnest : he’s lonely & she’s the first one he’d spotted .  .  .  or whether he should maintain his façade of a silly sort of apathy & toy with her , perhaps ending in violence . nay , he’s not in the mood to deal with wounds nor scars ‘pon his flesh . no more , he thinks . no more .

                        ❛   aye . i don’t blame you for your cautiousness , truly .   ❜    

he sighs & shifts slightly , hands folding against one another as he tries to form some sort of lie betwixt truth & fiction .

Quiet is the breath that spills in a vapor trail – swiping the pointed tip of his lance above the snow to let blood trickle in muted stains. The action is quick, and the flick of his gaze is quicker – colder frost swelling in his iris as he regards the other with brief silence. 

     “ …It won’t be long until the heresy finds you too. “ He could hear it now – the once-beloved hero luring those under his murderous wing – guiding them under his thrall; how soon they would dismiss his deeds, but Jahliqai’s heart already beat just as hollow for them as it did for himself.

BREATH EXITS visibly past his lips , a cold chill dancing violently down his spine . it’s cold here  --  he hates it . he bites on his inner cheek ‘fore speaking something moody , something obstinate , something stubborn .

                                      ❛   who is to say they might ?   ❜  

“ ?! “

an irksome flick of his tail,   the hairs along his back standing up in indignation.    what a pest.    still,   it’s unnerving how easily the stranger seems to have read through him,  and as he uneasily shifts his weight he bears his fangs ever so slightly.    

the other doubles back for a moment,  and in the blink of an eye his bow is at the ready,   albeit angled towards the ground.   he won’t attack    …    yet.    something about the way he’s talking to him presses an  absurd  number of buttons,   and,  frankly,   he’s not in the mood.

“ che.    so i’ve a stalker,   then?    ake’a   …   you must be a keeper of the moon.    tell me :    why waste your time with such an interest in me,   where is your tribe?   surely you have better things to do. “    he dances his way around the jibe at his personality,    insistent on  ignoring  it.    he’d simply re - direct.    “ you’re a long way away from home,   too.  it was my understanding that you keepers resided within  the black shroud,    not ul’ dah. “ 

‘ WHERE IS YOUR TRIBE ? ’ what a privy thing to ask . ake’a scoffs for a moment before his eyes blur & his expression dulls . the apathy lasts only some time until z’mahti's voice breaks the barriers betwixt past & present . a stalker , he says . well , he supposes he pose an argument , necessarily . 

                                 ❛   you wound me , z’mahti .   ❜     & he says his name as if they’re already on friendly terms . the man proceeds to speak in circles with ake’a , dodging his questions & lightly tapping his feet around every curiosity that forms behind his brow .

❛   ▌┊𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 :  ake’a kemni  ( @disrecover​​ ) .  

        𝐒𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐖. Iphenne has spent far too many years on the frontlines, never mind her duties as the Warrior of Light, not to notice when she is being followed; but it isn’t until much of Gridania disappears behind the verdant greenery of the Twelveswood that she stops. Her gaze remains forward, steadfast, while a gloved hand reaches to rest at the grimoire strapped to her hip. ❝  Do you intend to creep about the shadows forever, or shall I do something drastic to draw you out?  ❞

                                  ❛   my , my . you’re keener than you look .   ❜

❝     you   should   have   better   prepared   for   the   cold.   it   will   be   your   own   fault   if   you   freeze   to   death.     ❞     hypocrisy   thy   name   is   harmonia.   he’s   just   this   side   of   succumbing   to   the   cold   himself;   the   coat   he   wears   is  ill  -  equipped   for   such   weather,   but   at   least   it,   in   his   mind,   gives   him   a   sort   of   high   ground   over   ake’a.   with   all   the   subtleness   of   a   train,   harmonia   scoots   in   close   to   him;   minimal   shared   body   heat   is   better   than   none   at   all.   he   pointedly   keeps   his   gaze   forward.     ❝     however,   i   don’t   want   your   death   on   my   mind.   you   can   stay   close   to   me   for   now.     ❞

                                                   ❛   right then .   ❜      

                                               ❛   tsk .   ❜      

WORDS SING something stinging , like a stab wound to the gut . he carries his hand to massage his temple , a sign of an obvious stress that presses ‘gainst his scalp , his chest , his rolling stomach . anger manifests in him , & he wants to suppress it , he does . however , he’s failed , as usual . he’s made oh , so many mistakes .

                                              ❛   why do you --   ❜      

he stops himself . this gut wrenching feeling would only get worse with the more words that utter from his lips . this person he follows around like a lost animal , burdened by the plague of loneliness . he has no right to argue when he knows his words are futile . it hurts his heart , the way z’mahti lashes back at him . he should come to expect it , the way he treats him so poorly . 

                                                                 ❛    gah !   ❜      

he throws his hands down to his sides , releasing any hope of a conversation however civil . his lip quivers for a moment , as he cannot bear the all - too - familiar emotions that race through his mind & heart . he carries expectation for those that he loves & they proceed to let him down again & again . it reminds him of his past for a brief moment . when the people who he yearns to simply cherish his presence would lash out at him , berate him , accuse him of atrocities ( some performed , others , he simply shouldered the blame ) .

he crosses his arms & closes his eyes . he cannot bear to see the real world when he cannot even control the one inside of his head .

            ❛   i’m sorry , right ? c’mon then . enough of this  .  .  .  this riffraff .  ❜    

                                     ❛   i’ve no reason to lie .   ❜      

& he holds up quite an  .  .  .  interesting drawing , to be perceived by the other .

                                ❛   these damnable temperatures  .  .  .   ❜    

                        ❛  i’m a keep to myself kinda guy , myself .  ❜  

A SOLEMN NOD is offered in correspondence with the other’s poor attitude . he tries something , anything , to ease the tension of the situation they find themselves in , even going as far as to  .  .  .  introduce himself . as awkwardly as possible .

    ❛  the uh  .  .  .  name’s ake’a . looks like we’re stuck here together for awhile .  ❜