new as the rising sun

Tryphon and her brother were much the same, though neither would admit it to the other: constantly in battle with themselves, fighting over what words to whisper and when, and highly insecure in their ability to live up to others' expectations. Kaskara had some of those issues, as well, but she was slowly learning to let go of the expectations placed on her by others; they were usually unattainable and therefore unworthy of her time. She loved her family and was loyal unto death. That was all that mattered to her.

The boy in front of her was scared, she realized before he said as much. Kaskara studied him for a moment longer and then shrugged one shoulder. "If you fail, then you fail. But if you don't even try, isn't that a bigger failure? To say 'no' before you even had a chance to try?" Her orange and teal eyes watched him, wondering what he was truly afraid of. Scimitar? Surely that was not the only thing keeping him within his own limits. "You cannot live your life on 'what if,' Tryphon. Living like that only keeps you captive."