Sequoia put a hand over her mouth to hide her ever-growing smile. Aniña was the best. Ever. How had they ever disliked one another? "Thanks. You're really pretty too." She placed a soft kiss atop her wife's head so she wouldn't mess up the poultice. Speaking of the poultice, she checked the clock and realized there were only 43 minutes left. "Only 43 minutes Habibi! We're 1/3 of the way there!"
Aniña groaned a little and put her arm over her face to hide her own blush and to be dramatic, “That’s to looooong…” She whined.
Sequoia giggled. "You're just being dramatic, Habibi. It doesn't sting once it's dry." She patted the crust over Aniña's shoulder with a grin, wincing when she realized that patting someone's giant bite wound probably wasn't a great idea. "Want to move to the living room? There are books in there."
Aniña slowly removed her arm with a small smile, “Books? I think I left my book in the library. Let’s go!” She sat up with a grin and then stood from the bed.
Sequoia stood with her, brushing off her skirt with a grin. "There's a library here?" She had an extensive book collection at home but had only been able to bring her most precious books here. Maybe the library would have some of the things she hadn't been able to bring.
Aniña nodded and took Sequoia’s hand in hers before letting go, not knowing if Sequoia wanted her to touch it, “Um… yeah.”
Sequoia squeezed Aniña's hand with a smile. "Lead the way, Habibi. What kind of books do you like? I prefer stuff like philosophy and moral decision making and stuff." She thought back to her book of philosophy, still sitting on the chair beside a huge stack of encyclopedias. Oh yeah, her other big obsession. Rare collections of obscure knowledge. "I also like encyclopedias."
Aniña shrugged a shoulder as they walked out of the room, “Um… anything really. Adventure is always good and um…” She said a little more quietly, “Romance..” She swallowed and kept her gaze on the ground, she knew her cheeks were red.
(I'm heading to bed. Night :)
Sequoia bumped her hip with a smile. It was cute that someone so tough likes romance novels of all things. "Aww, you big softie. That's adorable." She stood on her tiptoes to ruffle Aniña's hair and then packed her on the cheek when she was done.
(Night)
Aniña rolled her eyes but smiled a little, “Yeah yeah. And I’m not soft I’m tough and strong just… maybe with a… weak spot for romance novels.” She rubbed at her neck with her free hand before leaning down to return the kiss on Sequoia’s cheek.
Sequoia smiled. Who said tough and soft couldn't go hand in hand? Her grandfather was the greatest military leader she ever knew and he was never anything but gentle. He reminded her of Aniña, actually. "What kind of romance, Habibi? I bet you love the gooiest, smooshiest, grossest stuff you can get your hands on!"
"I will push you down the stairs if you keep this up," Aniña teased, rolling her eyes once again, "Can you just drop it with the romance thing? It's just… low-key romance, it's mainly action adventure… or folklore but that's not the point." She turned redder by the second and hurriedly opened the doors of the library and rushed to pick up her book which was sitting on the couch by the fire.
Sequoia put a hand over her chest in dramatic fashion, gasping loudly. All those theater lessons had been worth something after all. "How dare! I have never been so offended in all my life!" The words were said in the fanciest tone she could manage without laughing.
“I’m so sorry my dear, that was not my intention to offended you.” Aniña snorted and flopped down on the couch with a hiss when she remembered her arm but smiled anyway. She sighed and relaxed, hugging her book.
(gtg, dinner)
(Back!)
Sequoia laughed, walking over to the nearest shelves. She made sure to keep Aniña within eyeshot as she traced her fingers over the spines of books, pulling out the occasional tome that caught her eye. She pulled a few books she thought Aniña may like as well, carrying her bounty over to the couch with a grin. "I picked these out for you," She said, pushing a small stack of books over to her wife.
(Sorry, was with my psychologist)
Aniña, who was flipping idly through the pages of her fairytale book- writen in her native tongue- looked up a little and smiled at the books Sequoia had brought, “Thank-you, Liran.” She said before flipping another page.
(No problem. Do what you gotta.)
Sequoia blushed happily. She'd liked the pet name when she's first gotten it, but now it just felt even more special. She was a goddess. Aniña thought she was on par with a goddess. She squirmed a little just thinking about it. "Whatcha reading? Sequoia asked, sorting even further through her books, tossing aside any that she either knew too much about, seemed boring, or didn't pull her in. She was left with 7.
Aniña shrugged and blushed, shrinking down further on the couch even though she knew Sequoia couldn’t read her book, “N-Nothing…” She muttered.
"Aww, c'mon Habibi," Sequoia whined, looking up from her books with genuine interest in her eyes. "Tell me! I won't make fun of you, I promise." She scooted over to where Aniña was sitting, putting on her best puppy dog eyes. She stuck out her lower lip in a dramatic pout, building up the begging as much as possible.
Aniña groaned and showed her the book, “It’s just… fairytales.” She muttered. Her cheeks felt all to red and hot from embarrassment. Out of all the books she had to be reading at the time, it was this one, of course it was.
Sequoia looked over the book, taking it in with a curious look. Once she realized she couldn't read it, she pulled her head back. Had Aniña always been blushing so hard? "It looks cool. Can you read one to me?" She hopped up onto the sofa, leaving her books scattered on the floor.
“Well, I-I can try and translate one for you.” Aniña said, pushing herself up onto the couch again. She flicked through the pages of the book to find a good fairytale. She bit her lip in concentration.
Sequoia cuddled into Aniña's side with a happy look on her face. "Thanks so much. You're really good at telling stories, so this is going to be great." Her tone was casual and her eyes were warm with contentment. This domestic lifestyle was everything she'd ever thought love was like.
“Okay, here’s one,” Aniña held the book low so she could see the picture. A woman sitting by a lake reaching out to a what looked to be a mermaid.
“Once, there was this girl who lived in the depths of the forests by herself. Her name was, Irria. Irria, frequently traveled to this lake where a breed of merfolk lived. They were called Jar Halei. Irria eventually fell in love with one of the Jar Halei, but every time Irria asked for this woman’s name, she was refused. Every time the two met, *Irria would ask for her name and each time she was refused. After months, the Jar Halei asked Irria to become part of her culture. When Irria refused unless a name was given, the Jar Halei swam away.
Days past and still there was no sign of this woman and Irria wondered if she would ever see her again. One day, when she was sitting by the lake, she heard a rustle in the trees behind her. When the young girl turned around, she saw what should have been the woman form the Jar Halei but she looked different. Human. The woman then explained that she could not give her name to her, in fear of the Faryo coming to find her and takes her back to their home. If her name was uttered then they would arrive and take her away. The woman did not want to leave Irria and the young females understood the situation,” She sighed, “They both lived together until they passed to Herria, Irria still did not her wife’s name even in passing.”
Sequoia frowned, tracing a finger over the beautiful picture of the woman and her mermaid. "That's so sad Habibi. She never learned her wife's name?" Sequoia could never deal with that. She'd have driven her wife crazy learning the woman's name, no matter the consequences. Good thing she knew Aniña was named Aniña.
“Never. Otherwise the Faryo would have taken her away. It’s hard to understand, I know but once you’re a target for the Faryo you always in danger. Irria knew that and accepted it.” Aniña replied, shrugging her shoulders. One of the sadder stories but with a deep meaning for people from her home. If you wanted to be safe once the group had you in their sights, don’t say a word about who you are.
"What are the Faryo?" She asked, mispronouncing the word terribly. She tried again. "The Faryo." Not the best rendition, but it would do. This reminded her of a tale from her culture. It was much more… punishing, but that was the way her folklore was. You either followed the saints or got decimated by the forces of godly retribution.
Aniña swallowed, “A group of demons that do Othylia’s dirty work. If you’ve committed sin, they find you somehow. The only way you know if they’re after you, is a black colouring of the fingers that will grow and grow until death.” She shivered a little at the thought and checked her own fingers for the marks out of instinct.
Sequoia checked her own fingers. As a follower of the saints, she wasn't sure Aniña's gods could harm her, but you could never be too sure. She nuzzled a little closer to her wife, fending off the shiver of cold she randomly felt. She was locking the door tonight. This was pretty fun though, like telling freaky stories around a campfire. "I can tell you a story from my culture if you'd like to hear."