Giida Liu - The Golden Sparrow

Day 2: Placate

The nightmares had come back full force. Giida had been so little, barely six and had already experienced more trauma than Lukel could have ever grasped. He had not been made to be a father - to sire a child, certainly, to pass along the Mantle most definitely. But it would have been a transaction, not a family, not love. He would have made his own protege, trained them and then cursed them. 

It was something he never could have done and ensured he never did. But Giida was his, most assuredly. He'd found her in Shattrath and somehow the Matron had convinced him to take her out to see the sights. She'd been an insistent woman who, despite Lukel's hesitation with children, didn't let him leave without her. She had taken Lukel's wrist, led him over to the child, and placed Giida's small hand in his own. The outrage of her brazen touch had not shocked him as much as the truth he felt when the little girl took his hesitant hand. She was his.

And here she was, sobbing into her pillow, angry tears soaking the silken pink pillowcase. It was always anger she felt when these dreams assaulted her. Not fear. Not sadness - but rage. A sense of hopeless injustice at her inability to make it right, to fight back at the things that frightened her. 

This was certainly something she had gotten from him. If her blood hadn't told him that somehow, some way, she was his child, this reaction to her nightmares alone would have solidified his suspicions. Never fear, only the need - and current inability - to deliver retribution.

It had taken him months to learn how to soothe the child, how to placate these irrational (but understandable) fits of anger. It was never him she was mad at, but she hadn't known where to put the anger, how to let it out. And he knew that anger could poison someone if they held onto it long enough.

So he'd begun to teach her how to defend herself in the waking world. How to assess a target and attack. The target dummy was a few pillows strung together around the handles of brooms and her sword was whittled from wood, but already she struck with confidence. Over and over she assaulted the pillow, ducking in low before lunging her wooden blade into its plushy heart. Whacking the sides of it, imaginary gouges taken out of a very lack luster opponent.

But it helped. It gave her a place to put the anger, it gave her an outlet and it gave her training that she would need in this world. 

When she was done and spent, when the vengeful light had left her blue eyes, she would curl up in Lukel's lap, wrap his long strands of sanguine and snow colored hair around her little fists, and fall back asleep. He'd hold her there all night, ensuring no further nightmares found her. He wove them all away, staying up until morning, running long fingers gently through her fair curls. 

He would make certain that peace was all she would ever know when she was in her father's arms.

Lukel Sunshadow - @lukel-sunshadow

Giida Liu Sha'auvrea - @the-golden-sparrow

Keltariel Fossoyeur - @the-grave-keeper

Nedria Norinai Naila (Yeven) - @walker-of-the-middle

Illyrias Silversun - @illyrias-silversun

Giida hummed a little song to herself as she painted another of the raven's talons, Huginn accepting this with the patience and grace of an animal who had been letting the girl child do this for years. He would occasionally caw-caw at her, which was either ‘You missed a spot’, or ‘Pretty color’. He didn't truly care for his talons being colored, but when the girl child asked, the bird never said no.

Virelith lay by the fire in the large bed her father had made for her, lounging and watching with those amber eyes as Giida doted on the bird. They'd had a conversation long ago that the birds were not for eating or chasing, much like the sheep, and the small warg puppy asleep on the couch next to Giida, and the pantheress had accepted this with a large feline sigh. There were so many things she was not allowed to eat here.

Giida, for her part, simply felt blessed to have so many friends to keep her company while her father's were on their honeymoon. Which was gross and not something she really wanted to think about, but…she was glad they were happy together. It had taken her years to recognize…her father was lonely. In a deeper way than even her presence could touch. He had been alone a long time and she thought that maybe he had simply resigned himself to always being alone. And it had broken her little heart.

But then Vael had come into his life and the way her father smiled at him and teased him - it was a delight to behold, really. It felt like Vael had been there her whole life, like he had simply always belonged with them. And she loved him. Very much.

Her mother, even, had recognized her. For the first time in this life, Naralinthe had looked at her and known, like Giida had known the moment she saw her; I'm yours. I'm yours and I missed you.

Being able to have her mother and her father's and her animal siblings was a joy unlike any Giida had experienced. And while she didn't know the names of the gods to thank - and doubted very highly the Light had any say in this fate - she sent out her thanks to the universe. For a family. For her life, surrounded by love and happiness. For the animals that spoke to her. For all of it.

She was lucky, and she would always be thankful that this was her life.

@daily-writing-challenge

Giida had brought her kind-of-uncle to her newest most favorite coffee shop in the Dragon Isles. The same place Marik had brought her all those weeks ago - and still, it made her grin excitedly every time she saw the coffee mages at work. She had briefly considered changing her trajectory in life entirely and becoming a coffee mage. They made coffee! With MAGIC! How cool was that?!

But she quickly righted herself, dragging her thoughts away from becoming the most powerful coffee barista in history, and looked across the table at Illyrias. He had more scars on his face than she remembered, and she wasn't used to seeing the tightness around his eyes. That hadn't been there years ago. He'd been more carefree and open - he'd laughed and joked more. When he did now, well…she tasted the lie. 

“Uncle, are you going to drink your coffee?" She asked, nodding to the cold brew she'd recommended. Illyrias glanced up at her, as if lost in his own thoughts, and quickly took a sip. Luckily, it was cold, so the rushed sip didn't scald his throat. “Uhm…you okay? You kind of look like hell. Lovingly! You…lovingly look like hell.”

Illyrias brushed his blonde hair back with a hand, chuckling at her sweet bluntness. He knew she didn't mean it in any ill way - but she was right. He probably did look like hell. “Yeh, I'm aight. Jus’ been tryin’ to uh…get settled back in th’city an’ ain't been easy. Told you ‘bout th’friend who's lettin’ me sleep in th’old clinic tho? So, tha’s been nicer’n the alleys in th’Row.” Much less stabbing occurred. “Still jus’ uh…not used t’being around so many people.”

This she understood on a deep level. It had been overwhelming to come back to a place so teeming with life and people and voices after having been mostly removed from the world for years and years. “So, you're totally going to let me help decorate, right? We can make it so cute! And you don't really get to tell me ‘no’, cause I'm going to help anyways.” She would. She knew her uncle hadn't touched the family vaults - but she had no such qualms using the gold there. Especially when it helped someone she loved.

He let out a little sigh, taking another sip of the - admittedly - very good cold brew. “Yeh, figured I wasn't really gunna get a say in tha’,” he muttered with a little grin, affixing gold and silver eyes on the young lady. “You ain't gunna tell your dad, right’?” 

She knew the tensions between them had only gotten more strained with time and grief, and that their history was one she couldn't untangle alone. She knew it was serious. But she was nothing if not her father's daughter - stubborn to a fault. “I'm not going to tell him yet. I'll give it time before I start talking to him about it, but Uncle…” her voice was gentle and warm, concerned and colored with love. “I don't want it to be like this forever. You didn't used to be…I mean… it wasn't always like this. I remember you two used to talk? And even if it was…a little strained, it wasn't like this. And I don't want it to be like this. You're my uncle and I love you. I don't want you to feel like you can't be my family.”

He didn't know if this had been a move orchestrated by Lukel, or if it was simply fate that had gotten Giida across the table from him. But he couldn't just ignore her plea. Her honesty. And gods, but did she look so much like her aunt Elenria when she spoke with such undiluted compassion.

“Yeh, aight kid. I'mma work on it.” He didn't know how to do that, really. He didn't know how to move past the anger and the grief and the debilitating loneliness that had made its home deep in the marrow of his bones - but he'd try. For her. For the Aunt she'd never known that Illyrias had loved fiercely. 

“Good! Then I'm gunna get some things for your cute new…uhm…apartment? And we're gunna make it feel like home!”

He could only sigh and smile at her softly, shaking his head. “Aight. Jus’ remember - I like pink.” 

@daily-writing-challenge

|- Basics -|

Name: Giida Liu Sha’auvrea

Age: 23

Birthdate: She doesn't actually know her birthdate, but she celebrates it on the Summer Solstice (June 20th).

Race: Quel’dorei

Gender: Female

Sexuality: She literally has no idea.

Relationship Status: *Blank stare*

|- Physical Appearance -|

Hair: Pale golden, wavy, falls to her hips if left unbound.

Eyes: Starburst (ocean blue with a band of bright gold around her irises)

Height: 5’10”

Build: Tall and willowy

Distinguishing Marks: None at present!

|- Personal -|

Profession: She doesn't necessarily have a chosen professional path as of yet. She's still trying to determine what, if anything, she'd want to do as a career. 

Hobbies: She loves music and dancing and has recently found out what ‘raves’ are, so if there is an opportunity for her to go to one - she can be found there! She's also fond of making glass trinkets or beads, and will decorate animal bones as a way to honor their lives (she collects the bones, she never makes them). She also enjoys sketching and can often be found with a little sketchbook in hand wherever she decides to settle for an afternoon. 

Fears: Being lost and unable to find her way back home.

Residence: A small cabin in Gilneas, down the hill from her father(s).

Birthplace: Eversong Woods

|- Relationships -|

Spouse: Nope

Children: Absolutely not

Family: (Some Universe's) Naralinthe Emberdawn - Mother @themadamelioness

Lukel Sunshadow - Father @lukel-sunshadow

Vaelsnipe Dawnwhisper - Not Father But Still Father (step-father) @vaelsnipe

Elenria Liu Sha'Auvrea - Aunt (deceased)

Siblings: Absolutely not.

Pets: One of her father's ravens is generally seen hanging out with her, but she'd never consider Hugin to be a ‘pet’. 

|- RP Hooks -|

Animal Magnetism: Giida has the unique ability to communicate with animals. A great deal of her childhood friends were animals and while she never thought it to be strange, as she steps back out into society, she realizes that not everyone can just… inherently communicate with the animals around them. Weird! But she is more than happy to talk to them, listen to them, or help them if they are in pain or discomfort. 

Mageling: Giida is a skilled little mage-let, and has been working on her craft since she was small. She enjoys learning new techniques and tricks and would happily listen to someone talk about magic and its different applications for hours. 

What is this?: Giida hasn't been around people for a long time, and quite literally lived in a cave for the majority of her life, so she is new to cities and society and people in general! She has missed most world events and is still trying to catch up to the present. She loves hearing stories about people's lives or things that occurred that she has missed or just how the world has moved on from how she left it when she was a child. Pretty much everything she learns excites her and she is an avid listener.