#splintcredspirits

it had been a hard training session, longer than most and it was clear that their father was looking for perfection. aliyah was about a minute away from being able to master the lesson of knife throwing when she looked over to see that asher was falling a little behind. she knew it wasn't her responsibility to protect him, to take the attention away from him but she could tell their father was about to zero in on him, so in a split second she moved forward, stumbling as she threw the knife, cringing as she watched it miss the target completely. "daddy i'm sorry i'll do better." she spluttered and rushed to collect the knife, her eyes darting from her father to her brother and then back. this did exactly what she knew it would do, their father dismissed asher and extended her training time by nearly two more hours. switching between sparring and knives until he was satisfied. ----- she hadn't even noticed the cuts on her knuckles until she had checked on her brother and he had pointed them out. "you know you don't have to do this, right?" she assured him as she watched him move to clean and dress them. "ash, i'm fine-- really." she was ready to be stubborn on this but after the look he gave her, she pressed her lips together and sat down. "ok fine. but i'm going to give you advice while you do it." she sighed, her features softening. "you really need to stop letting him get to you while training... it's like he can smell it on you."

"did i miss your text?" aliyah verbally wondered out loud after walking into her living room only to unexpectedly find her twin brother sitting on her couch. she'd given him a key in case of emergencies to quell his nerves but there didn't appear to be any kind of emergency going on.

"yo!" the shout came before the door was even fully open, but he was sure the intended could hear it. his eyes darted around in search for his uncle as he dropped the duffle bag, that had been hanging off his shoulder, down by the front door. "dónde está mi maldita y cálida bienvenida, tío?" the dragon implored, a cocky grin playing on his features as he did.

"i'm just saying, it took you long enough." aliyah teased him once he had closed their distance, running her index finger down jaw, her gaze that had been following it traveled to meet his dark hues. the trail that her finger was on ended under his chin, lifting it slightly so he was looking up at her, the huntress was at a slightly height advantage as she sat on top of the counter. "so long actually that i think i change my mind. new plans, we're going out." aliyah smirked, the finger that had been on his chin was now on his chest, pushing him away so she could hop off the countertop.

the moment his arms wrapped around her, her body went stiff and her eyes widened. she didn't know if it was her aversion to affection or memories from the death grip hugs her family gave her after the gala but her automatic response was internal screaming. "oliver, what the fuck. seriously you've got to stop doing that."

"any movie besides frozen 2, seriously it's a great movie but charlee has it playing on a loop and i might go crazy if i hear 'lost in the woods' one more time." she chuckled while tossing the remote to him. she was usually picking up open shifts at viper but tonight she decided to take the night off when cody invited her over for a movie night. she was taking a sip of her beer when the microwave started to go off. "yes, the popcorn is ready!" she then moved to push herself off the sofa and was already taking a few steps towards the kitchen when she noticed him move as well. "oh no-- you keep on looking, i'll go get it. i promise not to throw everything around in the kitchen in search for a bowl." she quipped, a smirk accompanying it, though when she turned, she revealed her crossed fingers behind her back.

after leaving ryker, she didn't know where to go. her best friend was busy being happy and in love, her sisters would have her talking about it, and she couldn't go home... not to the scene where it all went down. she had stayed up and just walked. from bayou to french quarter, from outskirts to corner and she eventually after watching herself sunset she found herself standing in front of a house she used to avoid.

"how long has it been since you've slept?"

after letting the question settle into the air, she finally looked at her brother. "i don't... i don't know. could i crash on your couch? just for tonight?"

since their lunch the other day, oliver might have gotten into her head over her bike. so she might have just happened to ride by the shop. and she might have somehow ended up working on her with him. all of this was going so smoothly with no strangeness until he had to go and make a reminiscent comment. "no. no. no. and no. don't go getting all mushy on me." she groaned as she rolled her eyes at her brother. "i'll finish this myself. i'm warning you."