Moonspear different place, different time, all the stars are in their prime

Post Saghag thread!

 

Two days had passed since The Incident. Hydra, @Alya, and @Lyra were closer than ever—none let the other out of their sight since the fatal hour of Saghani's passing. Hydra observed the notch in Alya's lobe and felt ill when it did not close. The mark made her sister different, and Hydra disliked this as much as she knew Alya did. Lyra, too. Lyra had deemed it would not close, that there would always be that gap within the right ear. And so on the second night after all this had transpired, Hydra called to order A Meeting. 

She settled within the center, head held high and eyes cool. Behind her came her sisters, and Hydra looked to Alya. At once her eyes softened, warmed; she could not help but feel at fault for this. And so, wasting no more breath or time, Hydra simply said, None of us will hurt alone. Her head swung toward Lyra. Do to my ear what has been done to Alya's, she demanded, And I will do the same for you. We will always be of one body, it had its uses, though they knew in their own ways they were not the same. They had newfound interests that sometimes aligned and sometimes did not, but they would always be together and have one another. Her ears flicked. Though her word was as good as command, in this instance she wanted to know they were of one mind. Agreed?

Alya had follow her sisters like a woman marching to her own death. How was it that now, just as they were coming into their own, excelling at every turn, becoming something more than simple triplets - how was it that this happened now?

She'd had so many hopes, so many dreams and plans. Now, she was nothing and no one. Alya was a girl that looked the same as her sister, was a persona that belonged jointly to the three of them - but now only to two. She was sure that, at this meeting, Hydra would bring them into the harsh reality of the situation: Alya was dead.

But Hydra looked on her with love and mercy, and said that they, too, would notch their ears. And all at once, Alya understood that it would always be this way. Just as they'd bloomed together into their adult bodies, they would bloom into Alya the Marked. Hydra the battled-hardened. Lyra the one-eyed. Every injury to one was an injury to all. It was why they fought so hard for each other - one of the reasons, at least.

"Thank you," Alya sobbed, overcome by relief and gratitude and love. She would never tell them how afraid she had been, how much she had doubted them. "Thank you so much, Hydra, Ly-ly..." She gazed at Lyra, with her tender, unmarked flesh. It would hurt her to see Lyra hurt, but it would hurt her all the more to be eternally wrong. They were all at once Hydra, Lyra, and Alya, and though their hearts might be different, only the three of them would ever truly know.

The Cerberus must live on.

FRICK. Sorry for the wait!

They were silent in their march to the Meeting. Lyra couldn't help but let her eyes flick to Alya's notched ear that now hung ever so slightly more limp. Her limited knowledge of injuries and medicine were basic, at best, but she knew this was not a wound that would close. It would heal, but it would forever mark her as different from she and Hydra. That feeling radiated off Alya and Lyra tried to offer some sort of compassion, gingerly bumping her nose against her shoulder as they took their places before the head of the Cerberus.

Lyra listened to Hydra intently, her usual warm gaze hardened and serious. Though at her sister's command, she faltered, sucking in an uncertain breath as fear rose in her chest. Surely there was another way? Maybe a plant that could be used as glue? They could seek out a more experienced healer? Wait a while longer? They could...

Alya's sudden sobs and cries of gratefulness caused Lyra to turn to her sister and her thoughts stopped at once, replaced with a certain definiteness. No, this had to be done. "Alya..." she murmured softly with the smallest of smiles, amused by the outpouring of emotion from her usually guarded sister.

With that, she then looked back to Hydra and nodded with steely determination in her blue eyes. "Agreed."

So immersed was she in Alya and what she went through that she did not note the pause Lyra, the sweetest of them, had been given by what she proposed. The only thing of note to Hydra was Alya's appreciation—which strengthened her resolve that this must be done—and Lyra's audible agreeance. And so, not wanting to waste any time (she could never second guess this desire), Hydra moved toward the healer of the bunch and presented the proper ear. I'm ready, the already wounded Ostrega hummed. She knew Lyra would hit her mark perfectly, notching it just as Alya's had been done, as doing things wrong was not within their genetic code.

Alya had to sit down, her legs made numb by her relief. She watched as if through a pool of rippling water as Hydra offered her ear to Lyra. Her heart thurum-thrumm'd in her throat, as though she was anxious or excited about this exchange - but truthfully, she felt very detatched from it. Later on, she would marvel and be grateful. Later on, she would be overcome once again by the love of her sisters.

For now, though, all she could do was try to focus on her breathing, and keep reminding herself that it was okay, she was still Alya, this wasn't the end.

The girls rn

I'm ready. Lyra stared as Hydra moved forward and presented her ear, eyeing it with trepidation as her breathing quickened. The thought of injuring her sister, even with her consent, was enough to cause panic to rise within her. Hydra was tough, she could handle it. But what if she couldn't? She was training to be a warrior, she had to steel herself to these sorts of things. But what if she hit something that wasn't meant to be pierced? It's only an ear. Maybe she should go get some herbs that numbed skin. It'll only take a second. What if...

Silencing her thoughts, Lyra whispered a quick, "I'm sorry" before leaning forward and puncturing Hydra's ear with a single tooth, squeezing her eyes shut as she tugged. There was a terrible tearing sound as her sister's ear ripped, leaving a fresh notch that mirrored Alya's own. Lyra let go quickly with a whine, refusing to open her eyes as she spluttered apologies to her sister between developing sobs. "Hydra, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I can't believe I did that, I'm sorry, I didn't hurt you, right? I'm sorry, I—"

Hydra steeled herself. The words were all the warning she needed, though she wished they hadn't been said—she saw her sister looming toward her ear, and then there was fresh pain. She swallowed a yelp, knowing that the sound would beckon to their parents who were in overdrive given the recent event but also for Lyra. The thing bled freely, and it truly did mirror Alya's wound to a T. As Lyra offered her apologies, Hydra looked toward her and shook her head. Lyra, Hydra hummed, looking toward her soft sister, I'm alright. It's your turn, Hydra looked to Alya, and tilted her head. More likely than not her own ears bleeding might throw off the precise point at which to grab Lyra's ear. Moving toward her right side, Hydra did not think to warn her sister of the pain. It simply was not in her mind. Are you ready? She asked, flicking the newly notched ear. It, strangely, did not feel like anything abnormal—it felt whole and right, to be as her sisters were.

Alya's heart leapt into her throat as sweet Lyra struck true. A weight in her chest futher lessened at the sight of Hydra's blood-stained ear, though the fist around her lungs only squeezed tighter. Ignoring this, the girl padded forward and crouched before Lyra, turning her head so that the thick fur and loose skin of the back of her neck was exposed to Lyra.

"You can hold my scruff, if you want," she offered, knowing that, even if Lyra's teeth did leave a mark, it would not be seen through her fur.

Her sobs softened as Hydra gently spoke her name, reassuring her that she was fine. Lyra peeked open one eye, staring in horror at her sister's disfigured ear. No, not disfigured. Corrected. She quickly gave a glance to Alya's own notched ear to compare her work. It seemed to be accurate enough. She had gotten the ear right, at least. Blood dripped from Hydra's ear however and Lyra couldn't help her stomach from doing flips at the sight.

When asked if she was ready, she gave a stern nod, squeezing her eyes shut once again. She heard Alya offer her scruff and felt her crouch before her, though the girl shook her head gently. She had already hurt one of her sisters today; she didn't want to cause anymore pain. Instead, the girl rested her head upon Alya's shoulder to steady herself, leaving her ear free for Hydra. "Go."

When given the go ahead, Hydra measured the marks upon Alya's ear and then pressed her fangs against Lyra's. It was quick, easy, and as perfect as it could be—and even the expert eye would have difficulty discerning the amateur work of two girls devoted to their similarity. Hydra did not move to lick at the bloodied wound, not wanting to increase the tear any more. She looked to Lyra and asked, is there a quick way to stop the bleeding? That wouldn't effect the mark they had.

Alya gave a soft huff, feeling somewhat indignant than there was nothing for her to do, here, even though she'd been the one to cause them all this trouble. If she'd only been faster, smarter, stronger...

But there was nothing she could do about it, and soon enough, the whole event was over. Lyra and Hydra now sported matching, Alya-esque ears, and their sisterhood was whole once more. Unable to do anything else, Alya just grinned weakly at her two mirror-images, revelling in their continued samenes and continuing to be on-hand for anything they might need.

The pain was quick and, really, the anticipation of it all made it seem worse than it really was. Lyra sucked in a breath and stifled a whine as Hydra's teeth pierced through the skin but then suddenly she pulled away and it was done. Her brows furrowed lightly, wondering if she had bit down enough. However, looking up again at her sisters and their now matching ears, Lyra knew she had mirrored them exactly once again. She trusted Hydra and Alya even more than she trusted herself sometimes.

She flicked the wounded ear once, wincing at the pain, before looking to Hydra. She frowned, thinking for a moment. "I think so..." she murmured unsurely. The blood trickled down the side of her head and she shivered at the sensation. "We should go wash the blood off, at least." Bleeding was easy to treat but an infection? Not so much.

Okay, she agreed easily, before nipping either sister and turning on her heel. Let's go. There was a small freshwater lake within Moonspear she would lead them to so they could dip their ears and clean it however Lyra said they ought to—she was the smartest by way of healing, and Hydra would heed her. Side by side the trio began to move, and she found she felt whole again.

Alya tip-toed beside Hydra, unable to help the silly little dance-walk she was doing. "We're the same again, we're the saaaaame," she sang aloud - thankfully, her singing voice had grown to be almost palletable, by this time. At least, it was no longer the same restless screeching she'd practiced as a pup. Her mother's genes kept her from truly excelling at it, but Alya did it more for joy than for sport.