"Great. Eat up." Sequoia pressed the painkillers into her hand with a significant look. I know you're lying, it seemed to say, words expressed only through the sloping line of her eyebrows and the darkness pooling behind her eyes, But it's okay. She began unspooling the bandages.
Aniña stayed quiet after she ate the painkillers and kept her gaze down onto her lap, fidgeting with her fingers. She knew she should apologise but couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Sequoia pulled off the shoulder of Aniña's dress and unwrapping the bandages. Then she ripped it off with a wince. It made a sickly shlucking sound, but already Aniña's shoulder looked better. Soft scabs were forming and it was less pus-filled than before. "Sorry." She began rewrapping Aniña's arm with clean bandages.
Aniña shook her head a little, “You don’t have to be…” She said quietly, keeping her gaze downcast although she didn’t bother to hide her wince Sequoia ripped off the bandages. She sighed a little and wrapped an arm around her middle.
"Well, I want to be." Sequoia tied off the bandage and asked like she always did if Aniña could roll her shoulder. She wondered if she could whip up a poultice that would cause the wound to heal faster. It wouldn't be hard, not with all these books at her disposal. But she was going to explore with Aniña, who obviously wasn't going to take the poultice unless it was forcefully slathered onto her am.
Aniña rolled her shoulder once before letting out a sigh, “I’m sorry… I-I should have told you I was in pain. I just… I’m not used to having someone care for me…” She said, lifting her head to look at Sequoia, “Sorry…”
"No, I get it. Learning to make yourself vulnerable can be hard. As long as you try to be honest, that's what matters." Sequoia pressed a kiss to Aniña's temple with a soft smile. It was nice that Aniña had told her and it was a good sign that she could say these things. Sometimes admitting stuff like this could be really hard. "You're all good, Habibi"
“Thanks, Liran.. Have I called you that before?” Aniña asked before shaking her head a little, “Doesn’t matter… come cuddle with me for a little longer.” She leaned back in the bed and reached out for Sequoia’s hand.
Sequoia scooted back under the covers, letting the warmth soak into her. Everything was so toasty and nice down here. She wrapped her arms Around Aniña, pulling her into bed with a soft smile and a kiss on the nose. "You have called me Liran before. Did I say that right?"
Aniña giggled a little, “Almost. The second syllable was slightly off. It’s Lir-An.” She sounded the word out slower for Sequoia. Maybe she should teach her a few more words in her native tongue, that could be a fun pass time and her wife did love learning.
"Liran? Liran! Is that it? Did I do it?" Sequoia liked this- learning sweet words in her wife's language. Liked it even more than she would like other kinds of language because she was learning things that meant something to someone. While learning was fun, the facts were always a little empty without someone to share them with. Aniña was someone she could share this with.
Aniña giggled again and nodded, “Yes, you said it perfectly.” She said, pressing a kiss to Sequoia’s lips for a few moments. She liked this. A lot. It felt nice and right and prefect and new all at once.
Sequoia looked at Aniña like she'd hung the moon in the sky. She got it! Look out folks, Sequoia Khatri, master of language, was on her way. "Can you say my favorite pet name for you, Habibi?"
Aniña frowned slightly but nodded and took a moment before saying, "Ha.. Habibi? No, that's not right at all… Habibi?"
"Almost. You have the middle right. Ha-bi-bi. You need to try and soften the beginning. Your language is very harsh but mine has more softness." Sequoia wondered if she would ever be able to fully speak Aniña's language. The words sounded like they would hurt her throat after speaking it for a while.
Aniña nodded slowly and took a minute to process what Sequoia had said before tying again, “Habibi? Habibi? That was it right? Habibi!” A triumphant grin formed on her face. She actually managed to do it.
"Yes! Perfect!" Sequoia grinned. Aniña was so happy that she'd done it and Sequoia was in awe about how goddamn cute she was when she was happy. It made her so much softer. Like the rigidness seeped out of her bones for a few seconds and let light nest there instead.
Aniña laughed a little and relaxed back in the bed, “I actually did it! Your language is so weird, but in a good way. It’s just so different to mine.” She said, letting out a content sigh and smiling at Sequoia.
"Yeah. No offense, but yours sounds like bricks to me. Very strong and heavy. Mine is more like… a feather on the wind, I think." Languages had always given her very specific imagery. The old tongue sounded like a flowing stream, while the diplomat's tongue was more like a well-traveled road.
Aniña chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. It’s a harsh language compared to yours and the others.” She said, waving a hand idly. Sequoia wasn’t wrong, her language was very sharp compared to her wife’s.
"Yes. It can still be very pretty though. Especially when you're the person saying them." Aniña softened her language the way joy softened her. She made it sound appealing in a way that dusty old men just didn't.
Aniña blushed a little and smiled up at Sequoia, “Why thank-you. Your language is far better though.” She said, rolling onto her side and propped her head up in her hand.
"Aww, thanks. I prefer one of the ancient languages myself." Sequoia preferred gentler, more rhythmic languages, and you almost had to sing the ancient tongue to get it right. To her, it sounded like magic.
“I never had time for stuff like that… or I just couldn’t be bothered picking up an encyclopaedia.” Aniña said, shrugging a shoulder. Even though she kind of enjoyed learning she never put her time into it. Fighting was more her style.
"My parents forced me to learn a language, so I picked a dead one to spite them. I ended up finding something I really liked." That could be the story of Sequoia's life, if she were being honest. She did something in spite of her parents and ended up loving it.
(Sorry, had to go to a psychology appointment)
Aniña nodded, “Yeah… my time was more focused on training or fighting of some form…” She sighed and rubbed at her face. Her time was spent only on training in all honesty. The spare moments she had was spent of sleeping, eating and reading occasionally.
(All good. I'm not going to get mad at you for doing what you gotta do)
Sequoia hummed in acknowledgment. A life spent fighting sounded miserable. Who wanted to beat people up and get beat up all the time forever? "I wasn't allowed to fight. I was supposed to be sold off so any kind of muscle or excessive scarring was a liability."
“Well, you’re married to me now and I don’t care if you have muscle or hundreds of scars. I don’t care in the slightest. You’re beautiful…” Aniña’s voice became quieter as she spoke but she smiled softly up at Sequoia.
How could Aniña just say stuff like that? It made the butterflies in Sequoia's stomach start fluttering excitedly in a very embarrassing way. Every time Aniña called her beautiful she reflected on how lucky she was to get the wife she had. "I… Can you stop being so wonderful? I'm having a hard time processing all the compliments."
Aniña chuckled and sat up on the bed, pressing a kiss to Sequoia’s lips for a moment, “Nope. And I’m not wonderful but I won’t stop the compliments.