Solana
★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★
Oh my gosh, I’m an awful member and leader, and I sincerely apologize. I’m going to try to do a decent post, but honestly, I doubt it’ll be up to par with... whatever standards you have. Gah. Sorry.
Also the title is stupid. Seriously. Like. I quit. I think titles should cease to exist. Forever. They should have never been created. UGH. I'm just going to say that it relates to her bro, Adrian, because he died on a ship since he was dumb and woo the end yeah. oh screw it. gaghgh4ugth sigh enjoy ish <3
★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★
Spring would come early that year. I could feel it in the wind carried from the sea, the subtle warmth that promised an quick, merciful end to the aching winter that’d passed.
Christmas was ruined. That intruder and Akira’s abrupt announcement completely wrecked the mood, but I didn’t complain. A change in scenery would do me some good, I supposed. I’d never left the country, and I knew Germany would prove to be an alien but exciting experience.
But the circumstances weren’t pleasant. We were apparently in danger.
Ever since joining this club, our lives had constantly been in jeopardy. I was seriously reconsidering my decision. There were pros and cons, of course, but it was hard to determine which outweighed the other.
Maybe it was luck that I couldn’t focus on it too much. I had other things to worry about.
Immersed in the forests with a few of my critter friends—a raccoon named Charlotte, a bluebird named Montgomery, and a salamander whom I began to refer to as “Cheese” for his love of the stuff—I filled my lungs with the intoxicating breeze, the one that brought scarce traces of pollen with it.
As I handed a smidgen of sunflower seeds to Montgomery, I stretched my wings, shivering a bit as the air caressed them with tender fingers. “Here you go, Monty. I got you the unsalted ones like you prefer.” He pecked at them, timidly at first, before finishing off the pile with a ravishing appetite. I giggled. “Silly boy.”
Charlotte wound herself around my shoulders, tail swaying across my chest as she nuzzled her nose into my neck. Cheese settled for staring at me from a rock jutting from the frostbitten earth.
Looking toward the sky, littered with ashy clouds, I sighed and said, “I can’t wait until it’s summer. Then I can fly without freezing and be warm all the time.”
A branch snapped behind me.
Tail puffed up, Charlotte made a mad dash for the nearest tree. Montgomery was gone in a spasmodic flurry of navy.
After cocking his head, Cheese sprinted from his perch and climbed to the top of my head, his tail resting against my forehead.
“Sorry, love. Didn’t mean to frighten your animals. I’m not as adapted to the forest as you are.” His voice, charming and casual, brought a smile to my face.
I rose, turning around in the process. “It’s fine, Ace. They’ll forgive you.”
He feigned a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank heavens. I honestly thought I’d be mauled by your friends, and quite frankly, that would have been rather... embarrassing.”
Giggling, I removed Cheese from atop my head, cupping him in my hands. “Don’t worry. I’d have protected you.”
“Not really helping my case, Solana.”
The breeze picked up, seeming to drop the temperature. My wings flittered, growing numb from the sudden chill and trying to remain thawed.
“We should head back to the mansion, huh?” I suggested, wrapping my arms around myself. “I still have to pack.”
His face darkened the slightest degree. “Yeah. Impromptu trips are the best kind.” There was a cold, sharp tone to his voice, so alien that I wasn’t sure if he’d tried or even noticed it.
“Well, that’s how I got here,” I prompted.
A fresh smile appeared to cover his frown. “I, as well. And I met you because of that trip.” His voice dropped half an octave, sounding in a hushed tone. “I would never give that back.”
Flushed, I reached for his hand, now realizing how long it’d been since we’d last touched. But he flinched away, wincing and letting out a muffled whimper.
I paused, heart skipping a beat. “Ace?”
Breathing through clenched teeth, he averted his eyes. “I...”
“What... Did I do something wrong?”
A pained expression etched itself into his features. “No, Solana. Nothing. I just... I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “No, I understand. You don’t want me to touch you.” Just to the left of the center of my chest, there was a sudden hollowness. “It’s fine. I’ll just... I need to get back to the mansion. My wings will freeze if I’m out here any longer.”
Though I hadn’t meant to inflict it, guilt seemed to wash over him. “Wait. Solana, please. Hear me out.” I held a finger near his lips. Still he shut his eyes tightly, lips pressed into a thin line.
I withdrew my hand.
“I... I’ll see you around.”
Biting my tongue so I didn’t spout off any self-pitying complaints, I forced my wings, which were glittering at the ends with hints of frost, to beat the air and lift me from the ground. I looked back once only to meet the wide, almost mournful eyes of Ace.
I didn’t look back again.
★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★
That evening
All my belongings fit inside a single beige suitcase, and I barely had to struggle with the zipper. I had had next to nothing to begin with, and the few things Akira had insisted on paying for weren’t enough to make a full week of clean outfits.
But I wasn’t one to complain, and I didn’t feel the need to. I had what was necessary, even more than that, and that was enough. Luxury wasn’t important.
Still, I couldn’t ignore the slight ache in my chest. After so many years of living off of next to nothing, my lifestyle hadn’t improved much. Sure, I had friends and whatever Ace was, but... my brother was still dead, and I still had nothing to my name. Nothing in my suitcase truly belonged to me. If I were to do anything to displease Akira and she threw me out...
I’d be dead on the street with nothing on my back.
But I shoved those thoughts from my mind. That wouldn’t happen, so long as I kept my head low, and I had no reason to worry. Not really.
Except for Ace.
Ever since early December, he’d been acting so strangely, almost fearful. I didn’t do anything. At least, I didn’t think I did. And every time I asked, he brushed off the question.
It was petty and selfish, but it truly hurt.
There was a knock at the door, and forcing back the emotions festering within me, I turned the knob and tugged it open.
In peeped Karin, a sympathetic smile dressing her lips. “Hiya, Solana. How’s packing?”
I shrugged. “I don’t have much. I’m pretty much done.”
She grinned. “Good, good. Well, we’ll be leaving in a few hours, so you may want to take a short nap. It’ll be a long flight.”
“Thanks for the information,” I said, smiling. “I appreciate it.”
A frown tugged at her lips. “I guess I’ll be off then.”
“Is something wrong?” I asked, too quickly for my mind to filter the words.
She paused, ears twitching. “Not... Not really. Long trips haven’t been my thing for a while. I guess I’m nervous.” With a forced giggle, she dismissed my concern. “It’s no big deal. I’ll see you around, Solana.”
I nodded. “Yeah... See you...”
Lying made me so frustrated. Everyone I’d ever known had lied to me. Adrian had lied to me. Those men in New Jersey had lied to me. I’d lied to myself.
Ace had lied to me.
I could trust no one. And Karin was sweet, too, but lying wasn’t acceptable, not anymore.
With a forlorn, deflated sigh, I started for the door, drawing a gray cardigan from my suitcase and buttoning it before leaving. Though it should’ve be progressively getting warmer, the weather seemed to be heading in the opposite direction.
Along one of the walls stood a very tall woman with various animal appendages where human ones should have been. Puzzled, I inadvertently paused, not bothering to be inconspicuous.
Her eyes, one with a slitted pupil and the other with a bright orange iris, slid to me, but she remained still otherwise.
Frozen under her fiery stare, I could only meet it with a timid one of my own.
“Can I help you?” She wasn’t snappy or rude, per se, but she definitely wasn’t happy.
I swallowed. “Oh, um, no. Sorry. I just... I’ve never...”
After pursing her lips and replacing the pout with a more comforting, though forced, smile, she extended a clawed hand. “Larua. I’m a chimera. At least, that’s what the werewolf told me.” Her grip was strong, and she didn’t blink.
Not even once.
“Solana. The cloud nymph.”
She was displeased. I could see it in her face, the way her smile melted immediately into a sullen frown fueled by disappointment. “Oh.”
“It’s not much, I know...”
Shrugging, she released my hand, stuffing her own deep into the pockets of her long, striped pants. “No matter.” She tossed a slanted look over her shoulder. “Guess I’ll see you around. Maybe.”
“Maybe...”
Why must people be so intimidating and... mysterious? I asked myself once she disappeared into what I presumed was her room. Moreover, why can’t I be mysterious?
I wandered aimlessly for a few minutes, eventually finding myself downstairs where a few of the club members were milling about and partaking in idle chit chat.
None of it seemed purposeful.
None of it was.
A very bouncy, very excited form landed before me, and I barely managed to hold in a squeal.
“SOLANA, BABY!” cried Riley as she threw her arms around my neck. “Where hath thou been?”
“P-packing,” I stuttered, clutching my throat. Note to self: pay attention.
She cocked her head before breathing, “Ohhh. I love field trips; don’t you? I’ve never been to Germany. Ich bin eine wunderschöne Frau, nicht wahr?”
“Uh... ja...?” I offered. If I’ve insulted her...
She laughed, resting a hand on her stomach as she doubled over. Within a second, she’d straightened. “This is fun and all, but we’ve some more importance business at hand.”
My brows furrowed. “Like what?”
Leaning close, she cupped her hands around my ear. “Two words: Fan. Fiction.”
“What?”
She grabbed my hand and towed me through the few people who stood in the hallway. “Follow me, m’lady! Adventure awaits!”
“Watch it!” growled Ela, holding her red cup high above her head as I nearly plowed into her.
Violett attempted to latch onto my free arm. “Wait for me! I want to go on this adventure! Take us to Mordor!”
“Wrong fandom!” came Riley’s prompt response, and frowning, Violett hastily let go.
Rano’s stiff arm, thrown out as she explained... something, landed a blow on my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs. “Sorry!”
At last, Riley threw me into the media room, pushed me into a rolling chair, and ignoring the other people in the room, shoved the back of the seat and sent me across the room.
I stopped myself from crashing into the desk with a hasty, reflexive thrust of my hands, but the idea of having such a ridiculous accident so possible was alarming.
“Riley,” I hissed, locking my hands around one of hers as she bounded next to me. “What. Is. Your. Problem?”
“I have to show you something.” She reached over me, escaping my hold, to shake the mouse. “Also, your hands are cold. You should invest in gloves.”
I shrugged, not about to get into this argument yet again.
Once she rapid-fire clicked away, opening at least a dozen windows on Google Chrome, she finally rested and pressed my face closer to the screen.
“Read it, woman. Read for your life.”
Realizing that I wasn’t going to get out of the situation alive if I didn’t, I obliged.
Dave Strider removed his hat, which was made of the most luxurious red silk and embellished with daisies, and in the gentle caress of the dusk breeze, his hair, a gorgeous honey yellow, fluttered.
“Today,” he mused, casually placing his index finger betwixt his lips and giving it a lick, “today is the day I muster the strength, the courage, to realize the truth. Today—oh yes, today!—is the day I finally confess to Karkat that I, Dave Strider, the coolest being to stride across the Earth, am—”
“What the f*cking h*ll are you f*cking going on about, Strider?”
Dave turned, his skin paling. “KK... what are you doing here?”
For a few moments, the troll stared. “It’s my f*cking hive.” He paused. “What the f*ck are you looking at?”
“There is pastel pink equine behind you,” came Dave’s strained reply.
Karkat’s hand connected swiftly and surely against the soft flesh of Dave’s cheek. “Look, Strider, I don’t really give a f*ck what you do, but this is ridicul—”
“Hi, everypony; I’m Pinkie Pie!”
That was all that was on the page.
I met Riley’s eyes, which were sparkling with anticipation. “So... what did you think?”
“Um...”
“I had to censor the”—her voice hushed—“bad words.”
“So I saw.”
“Was it good?”
Licking my lips, I nodded. “Well, it was interesting—”
“YIPPEE!”
“—but shouldn’t you be focused on preparing for the trip now instead of... this?”
She opened her mouth, but no sounds came out.
Suddenly, an unfamiliar face popped between us, and what I assumed was an unattractive squeak erupted from my lips.
“If that a Davekat fic?” she breathed, her petite, fluffy white wings beating the air behind her. Her eyes quickly skimmed the text. “Oh my Arceus, that’s amazing.”
Riley lit up. “You know about Homestuck?”
The new girl scoffed. “Who doesn’t?” I raised my hand. “Well that is so sad.”
“You really think my fanfic is good?”
Laughing, the stranger bobbed her head up and down. “Heck yes! Anyone who doesn’t agree is a peasant. You even included a pony!” She gasped. “Are you... a brony?”
“BROHOOF!” Their fists connected.
“I am confused,” I whispered, wide-eyed. Neither paid me any mind.
Deciding Riley would have to forgive me, I crawled off the chair and out of the room before either could notice. Not that they would have, but it was better safe than sorry.
They kept shouting things like, “The shipping wall, oh my grubs!” and “What if Terezi wasn’t blind and was actually matesprits with Roxy? Plot twist!” and even “Pinkie Pie is best troll!”; things that, quite frankly, made no sense.
I shut the door quickly behind me. They were crazy, and I wasn’t up for dealing with insanity.
From the living room came a large uproar of intermingling voices. Everyone seemed to be so excited for the trip. Why couldn’t I be excited, too?
You’re afraid, the voice inside my mind whispered languidly. You’re afraid of everything, of traveling, of death, of trusting, of love.
Stop. Please.
It did. But it wasn’t soon enough.
It was true.
“Hey, Solana!” Kateri chirped. Startled, I leapt backward into the nearest wall and let out a high-pitched squeal in the process. Laughing, she said, “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
I shrugged, releasing a sigh.
“Are you alright?”
Again I shrugged. “I could be worse.”
She moved closer, tilting her head. “Worried about the trip?”
“What made you guess?” My words were dry and not in the tone of a question, but I forced a smile on my face.
“Yeah, no one really gets why we’re running away so soon. But then again, no one’s really questioned it.”
That was as much as I’d figured. Though we’d been in danger many times before, Akira always managed to lead us out of it. We had no reason to distrust her.
Running a hand through my hair, I said, “I hope it’s worth the risk. I can’t remember like Akira can. I don’t—”
“Solana?”
I turned toward the hallway. “Ace...”
“I guess that’s my cue to leave,” Kateri announced as she backed away.
I threw out an arm to stop her, but the expression on Ace’s face, guilt-stricken and pained, made me stop. “Yes, I’ll... talk to you later.”
She left swiftly, fleeing the potentially-awkward situation that was about to ensue.
He cleared his throat. “How are you?”
“Fine. You?”
Biting his lip, he offered a half-hearted shrug. “Not terrible.”
I kept my mouth shut. What could I say to him? I didn’t want to make him hate me more. “Look, Ace, I should probably get back to packing.”
“No, wait,” he begged, reaching for me. He stopped within inches of my arm, as if there were an invisible barrier that separated us.
Biting back the tears, I shook my head. “You don’t want me. I don’t know why it’s so sudden, but maybe it isn’t, not really. Either way, I’m not going to have you act like there’s something when you don’t feel it. I’m sorry.” My fingers brushed my cheek. You are awful about not crying.
“Solana, please don’t cry,” he said softly, fingers trembling. “Please. I’m sorry. What you’re saying is wrong. I don’t know where you got the idea that I don’t want you. It’s insane.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I...” Swallowing hard, Adam’s apple bobbing, he furrowed his brows. “I’m not sure. I just... I’m sorry, Solana.”
I closed my eyes. “No, you’re not.”
“What?”
“If you were sorry, you wouldn’t be acting like I had the plague,” I snapped.
“Solana.”
I took a step toward him, and he automatically took a step back. Feeling a new sense of power, I advanced until his back was pressed firmly against the wall of a corner. “Don’t ‘Solana’ me. You know it’s true. And I won’t have you lying to me anymore. I’ve been lied to enough already, alright?”
“I’m not—”
“You are, Ace! You’ve always lied. I guess I’m just too... too blind to have realized it sooner.”
His eyes were wide and shaky. “Please, stop. Solana, you’re being irrational. If you just—”
“Stop treating me like a child!” I shrieked, laying my hands on either side of his shoulders. Black spots danced before my eyes, and I closed them as I tried to calm myself, taking deep, steady breaths. “Stop—acting like I don’t understand anything.”
Though I couldn’t see him, I felt the air stir as his hands moved closer. I held my breath.
Still trembling, his fingers touched my cheeks, the movement jerky at first and accompanied by panicked gasps. Then he stilled, his breath catching, and one of his hands cupped my cheek.
As I opened my eyes, his other hand encircled my waist and brought us closer, and soon enough, his lips were on mine, crushing and seeming somewhat desperate.
While I did lose myself in the much-missed action for a short while, I soon regained my senses. “Mmnnfrrrgfmff.”
He pulled back, a new light present in his eyes and a smile, somewhat sad, on his lips. “Sorry, angel. So sorry. Forgive me. I... You helped me remember.”
“And you’re happy about that?”
He nodded, breathless. “Yes. Because I remembered. And now I’m not afraid.”
“You were... afraid of me?”
Pressing his lips to my forehead and keeping them there, he shook his head gently. “No, not exactly. I wish you could remember, angel.” He paused to scratch at something beneath his long sleeve—which was an oddity in itself—and I saw a strange web of red lines criss-crossing his skin. “What they did was... inhumane. Unethical. They made me fear your wings of all things”
A dawn of realization broke over me, and though they weren’t clear, I saw the memories from the laboratories. “With electricity. They tortured you.”
“They starved you. And they almost broke your beautiful wings off.”
I buried my face in chest. “I don’t care. I’d rather be the victim than you.”
He chuckled. “Now that doesn’t leave much heroism for me, does it?”
After a brief hiccup, I mirrored his laugh.
For a few moments we stood there. All was well.
“Excuse me,” a calm voice intoned, “but Akira wishes to have everyone present in the living room. We are packing our things into the vehicles and departing in thirty minutes.”
I disentangled myself from Ace’s arms and bowed. “Thank you, Kuroshiro.” Puzzled he nodded. In a hushed tone, I added, “You were right, y’know, about Ace. He did come back. I’m sorry for doubting you.”
Smiling kindly, he nodded again. “It isn’t a problem. I knew you’d see the truth.” Clearing his throat, he gestured to Ace with a wave. “Come then. We must be on our way. Germany awaits.” He turned promptly on his heels and turned around a corner.
Ace placed his arm around my shoulders. “And with it lies yet another mystery.”
“Guess that’s more for us to uncover.”
Sighing, he nodded. “Joy.”
★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★☽★☾★
ADVENTURE TIME WOO.
Lol wat am I even doing anymore. I am so sorry guys.
At least this is over with. I’m sorry it was so painful. I haven’t written for Solana for like six fricking months. That’s awful. I’m awful.
Gah.
Anywho, this here post marks the end of posting. (If you are finishing something for today, please post by midnight your time. It's fine if your post comes after this. Just don't... try to write something new tomorrow or anything heh) Us leaders shall begin the plot soon-ish then allow some more time for posting.
Only after that time will the big twist be introduced. I hope you all like it heh.
SO, Anime will post soonish to lead us to Germany. It’ll be fun and cold because hey it’s Germany and they have like beer and stuff.
I know nothing about Germany.
Other than that they speak German.
But honestly that could be wrong. People lie.
ERRYBODY LIES.
Golly I need help.
<3 Love you all. :D Comments and whatnot are appreciated.
