now comes the tide;

safiri She feels momentarily helpless, she feels as though she cannot do anything to better the condition of her sister as she hovers over her, shoulder burning against the touch because despite having no hand in the oozing teal of her wounds, Safiri feels overwhelmed with guilt. She wishes there were more she could do than offer temporary reassurance, than false promises of safety and solace. She doesn't know if she's apologizing for the curse marring her shoulder, or the lies she tells in hopes they'll make her sister feel better - she keeps still through the contact before Kiada moves on, golden shoulders hunching over from the stiffness and strain. The ivory princess tilts her ears back, biting at her lip as she listens to her brothers bicker, increasingly worsening as the argument prolonged - she didn't want to see her family fight this way, not when they were all they had, because there was no more Edge, no more doting mother, and as far as Safiri knew, their father could have been left behind. The difficulty of the situation has her shaking, she can feel the reality settling in as her sister crumbles, as Haki whimpers into her withers and the tension between brothers rises. She does not know what comes over her, but she is tired, she is at her breaking point and cannot stand for it any longer. Upon Mbwana's words, Safiri is frowning, biting her tongue only momentarily because she does not want the divide between her family to split any deeper - "that's enough, Mbwana," and this is not the princess, but something higher, something better. She speaks firmly, she speaks with purpose and although her feelings towards them may be biased seeing as how Zubari has done more for her, she tries to place herself into the depths of neutrality. She becomes a beacon of stability without intention, becomes the bridge between the divided children, she bears her weight and the trials of blood as she cuts through their petty insults, Auni stamping a foot against the dirt because Safiri cannot, and Haki lets out a low growl to finalize their feelings. But by taking the torch she is not ready to handle, too small, too weak, she is left with embers eating away at the frayed edges of a charred stick, she's met with deeper conflict, with irritation and hatred. "Please, stop!" It's unsteady, it's less authoritative than her past words, it's desperate fingers holding onto the pieces that are left, trying to keep it together because she is afraid of what will happen if it all falls apart. Watching them peel away, slipping off into the dark of the unknown, the lamb feels crushed, she feels confined, constricted as she curls in on herself momentarily, letting them all go their own separate ways. Who does she follow? Where does she go from here? She chooses to drift on her own, knowing she will regret it, that it will eat her up, but she maneuvers her way beyond the Portal despite the refusal from her own body. a wind in the shadow, a whale song in the deep

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