Iceberg #6, Silver #8

[dray]

Name: dray
Story: Edilion
Colors: Iceberg #6 (The Longest Night), Silver #8 (Filling)
Supplies and Styles: Canvas
Word Count: 1092
Rating: PG
Warnings: Some strict-mother fear-mongering
Summary: Fara keeps a vigil on Jael and gets a visitor.
Notes: Comments and critique are always welcome! I'm actively looking for suggestions on interim pieces to write: between other scenes, of certain characters not focused on here, anything that catches your attention that you'd like elaborated on. Any interest in collaboration for AU stuff is so totally welcome; toss me a PM if interested!



Fara had no idea what time it was, now that the sun had set. Her eyes were droopy, and it was so dark outside that nothing slipped in under the heavy drapes that kept their room from the seeping cold... but she couldn't sleep. Jael lay in her huge fluffy bed and Fara was nestled in beside her -- on the young girl's good side, of course, now that Jael had hurt her arm so badly. The eight year-old Edilion felt truly awful. If she'd figured out some way to impress the stupid Cuper children she could have avoided her younger cousin getting hurt in the first place.

To have Jael defend Fara's honour after she'd gone and dislocated her shoulder, too... Fara didn't know how to repay that. She didn't understand that kind of loyalty. Her other cousins never treated her that way. The best that Fara had to compare this feat of good will were her two cousins, Sesona and Cariadne, putting her in their favourite old dresses and cooing over how marvellous she looked... and while that was nice, Fara knew they wouldn't break an arm over her. She felt too anxious about what was going to happen to Jael to feel honoured, though something beneath all of Fara's worries spoke truthfully: "I owe you one, maybe forever."

The younger girl was drifting in and out of sleep. Occasionally Fara's father would check in on the two, but Fara was under a grounding so strict that she had to ask permission of the servant outside to use the rest-chamber. It was only when Fara felt herself nodding off that her mother passed through the door, quiet as the night. "Fara," she alerted her daughter.

The girl straightened up immediately, running her hands through her bedraggled black hair to tidy it by instinct. "Yes mother?"

Colette fa Edilion straightened the second bed that was her daughter's, then seated herself near the head of it so that she could better look at her girl. "Is she sleeping yet?"

Fara checked on her cousin. Jael was dozing, certainly, though with the way that her arm was pitched, every time she moved even a little bit, wrinkles of pain creased her wide, freckled forehead. The elder Edilion girl placed her hand upon her friend's forehead, smoothing the six-year-old's warm black hair back. "I think she is," Fara decided. For now, anyways.

"Well, that's a small miracle." Colette crossed her hands over her knee, looking down her nose at her daughter. "What did you learn today?"

The room went very still for Fara. The prospect of a midnight quiz was a new and unwelcome one, worse than any kind of spanking; Fara had spent the entire evening fretting over Jael already, and to be shamed on top of all of that left her mind in a panic. "Um," she began.

"Don't stutter," Colette frowned, though what could have been a harsh tone seemed softened by some intention that Fara couldn't fathom. "This isn't a lesson, Fara. What did you learn about Maura's children?"

"Oh." Fara bit her lip. The tone of the quiz shifted pure anxiety to something less dire which, though welcome, was unexpected! "They're mean," she finally found it in her to say. Fara wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say, but she felt it with all of her heart. "They're tough, and they argue everything."

To her surprise, Colette laughed. "I always thought you were an apt little girl." She smiled ruefully across the way. "Tell me what happened today."

Fara, shocked by her mother's interest, folded her hands in her lap and looked at her from under dark, tousled bangs. "Really?"

"Yes, really." When her mother brought up a hand to stave off a sudden yawn, Fara knew for certain that she wasn't playing some kind of game. Colette looked tired, as tired as Fara felt.

Still, she had it in her to go over the events of the previous day. Fara spared no expense. She even, blushing, hushed-quiet, repeated the horrific curses that some of the children had tossed at one another. She expected a sharp warning... but Colette barked a laugh instead. Covering her mouth when Jael turned in her sleep and woke herself with sudden pain, Colette rose from Fara's bed. "Fara, don't ever say those phrases in polite company." She cast her daughter a stern stare that was obviously feigned. It was the first that Fara ever recognized, and for that, she felt truly... something. Flattered and confused, all at once. Unsure of how to reply, she nodded instead and blushed profusely.

Colette leaned over the bed, placing her own palm over Jael's forehead. "Darling," she spoke, her voice softer than Fara ever remembered hearing before, "you're as tough as a Mouser Daemon and infinitely more intelligent to boot. Heal up."

"Yes ma'am," Jael groggily murmured. The young Edilion girl sank back into her bed as though she wished to escape Colette's direct gaze, feeling a haze of embarrassment and flattery all sinking in at once.

Colette slipped one lithe arm around her daughter and scooped her out of Jael's bed. "Tomorrow morning your father will be coming in to speak with you. The meetings I've been in have been for your benefit, Fara." When the girl was placed on her own bed, Colette helped to work off little slippers. Fara wondered if she was dreaming already, somehow having slipped into sleep while she was guarding her cousin... but Colette continued, "we've nearly commenced the finalizations, but Maurrer wants to speak with you first. You're to stay in your room and keep an eye on your cousin in the mean time -- don't get yourself into further trouble or I will come after you, do you hear me?"

Fara had been about to yawn, but Colette's words stopped her cold. "Yes, mother," she replied, anxious. It was only when her mother pulled the furs up over the blanket and kissed her daughter's forehead that Fara realized that she may have been joking.

"Sleep well."

"I will."

"Don't let the Caetrans bite."

"I won't."

"Especially not Zenite. You don't want to gargle like your cousin Eean."

Fara stayed awake for a long time after her mother had taken the light out of its orb and left the room, thinking about those last words.

Had her mother just let her in on a grown-up joke?

She never did that.

Maybe, for all that today had been the worst of the worst, Navale wasn't entirely bad.

Comments

[kay_brooke]

Yes, those are some grown-up concepts Fara is wrestling with. I really like this alternate look at her mother. Colette never struck me as a terrible mother, just a distant one with high expectations for her daughter. It's lovely to see a softer side, and I like Fara dealing with his nuance in her mother's character. I truly believe Colette cares very much about Fara's well-being, even if she comes across abrupt at times.

[isana]

All right, so maybe Colette isn't so horrible--I suppose in this case she really does see Fara as a small adult and expects her to behave accordingly. I like this piece in that it really does show that she's not malicious and that her strictness comes from a well-meaning place. I'd love to see more of it, if possible.

[dray]

Oh good, good! That's exactly what I'm going for! Thank you!

[dray]

I'll make a note to expound upon it. (I wouldn't use that word, save that Colette is definitely the expounding type!)

[finch]

I love the way you show Fara wrestling with what she's being told - it's hard to write children properly! Well done.

[dray]

I don't know if I'm writing her quite properly or not. Trying to pander to what adults think children act like seems condescending somehow, or at least I remember the occasional times when people would humour me -- and I noticed it -- that it was pretty insulting! It's hard to strike a balance between what I think the character should know and what I remember childhood being like at any one particular age. XD Thanks, though! Glad that it's working alright!

[whitemage]

I agree with Jack. I like the way you wrote Fara here. Honestly, from what I've seen, children run into and attempt to process a lot more than we give them credit for. The product just doesn't always match our perspective. :)

Writing children is hard, but it's nice to see them represented.

[dray]

It's kind of terrifying sometimes: at that age you're running up against new concepts constantly and have no context for how serious they might be. No wonder kids melt down on a semi-regular basis. They just... can't? But on the other hand, it's easier to normalize things when you have so little context to stand behind, and those two extremes meet and blend in really weird ways sometimes when either you're an outsider listening to children speak, or you're grown up and thinking back on what you grew up with, and how it differs from what you discover other people grew up with.

My tendency to write for kids is to do so when I want to write fluff of the family variety, but I think that tackling a few of the character-issues and world-culture ideas that Fara's from is also a really fun way to work on world-building! It's outside of the context of the story I want to write and so it becomes this opportunity to examine those meeting points of 'this is normal, right?' and 'holy moly, this is the worst thing ever to happen and what is happening!?' in a whole different culture and age-point!

[whitemage]

It is terrifying. Especially when you take into account you're genuinely not capable of taking care of yourself, but you're experiencing urgent needs and a drive to establish yourself as an autonomous person, while relying on grown-ups you just have to take on faith will fulfill those needs and be able to understand your voice and mind and not dismiss them. But you're right, that not having that context allows children to normalize situations we couldn't, and gives them an odd kind of resilience that can help them survive, even if it means they'll be paying the price in adulthood later on when they realize the gravity of what they went through.

Fluff is easier with kids, but you're right, that it's a good way to highlight issues, and definitely a way to work on world-building. Children notice every little thing around them, and spend time taking it in where an adult would file it away and move on. :)

Trying to understand a child's pov has been one of the most fascinating parts of being a mom for me. Sorry if I take these conversations way too far. XD

[dray]

No way, this is great! I think that having a venue to write a story-blurb and then spinning off into some conversation or another has been a really valuable part of joining this community. When one writes within the bubble of one's own head-space, it's hard to really go further than whatever is up in that sort of space.

I don't have the benefit of also being a mom, so my experiences are all either still from my own totally-distant memories, or observations of friends and family as they embark on parenthood... which is a bummer in some ways, definitely. It's cool that you get to be able to both be experiencing raising a child and have that creative side that still picks up on things that non-creative adults might file away. There's usually some connection there with actually paying attention to things when a person is also drawing, or writing, or otherwise creating stuff. As a kid who had artistic parents, I can vouch that it's pretty awesome on the child end of things to be able to pick up on that creativity whenever it shows up in a parent, too!

[bookblather]

Oh, Fara. I think she's growing up too fast and I think Colette may be forcing that, but for all that, it's good she has her mother's support. I hope she'll be fine. I hope these meetings have a good outcome.

[dray]

Going to reserve judgment on the growing up too fast as I haven't really fleshed out anything between here and the original story-idea... but I will keep it in mind!

Glad to stoke some concern for the ending! This pleases me. Mua ha ha haaa.

[shipwreck_light]

I am so enjoying watching Jael and Fara's relationship develop. It's nuanced and complex and REALLY CUTE.

OMG. Colette. Did you just... make a valid point of being a character who doesn't always try to eat her young?

I think this is why I read you here.

*NOMS ON STORY*

[dray]

Awww shucks, thanks!

Colette would chastise a person for the thought of eating their young (and she does; there are creatures in this world that do that. :I It's a topical topic!) but she'd do so in a way that defends the logical points of child rearing rather than be outraged at the very thought!

[whitemage]

I can see that, what you're saying about the value of the community itself. Being friends with writers encouraged me to actually write pieces to share, and I see especially for someone trying to develop a project fully and completely, having so many other perspectives to reference can really get some critical thinking done.

Well thank you. <3 It sounds like you gained some definite benefits from your childhood. :) Wes's dad plays music outside of preaching, and so while he sees more of our careers than our hobbies (not that those aren't creative!), I'm hoping he's aware of enough of what we do to be interested in the arts as well as the sciences. We end up with a lot of kids from church and from friends, too, all the way from toddlers to teens. They're all very interesting little people. I'm glad it sounds like you're getting your share of anecdotes--that's really just as good as having your own for the purpose of writing, because you get to indulge in the fun and entertainment without dealing with the mundane aggravation and frustrations. I always have the best intentions to listen and explain patiently, but it doesn't always work out.

I do agree, though, kids pay attention to so much that others do, and any of us can be a profound influence with even the smallest of gestures. You bring out that sense in your writing, too, the way you portray how each individual adult reacts and interacts with the kids.