Ouroboros Spine b-b-blue sky

@Ruo, dating this for 2/7.

Did the sisters know?
Did they know had badly they'd hurt her?
Did they even care?

The lake had been her resting for only one night. Ying rose the following morning and continued to move toward the coast, figuring that she would eventually have to reunite with the others. Her shoulder stung with each movement; the wound had scabbed over, but each flex of her shoulder pulled the edges apart. She'd been bleeding intermittently since the fight, staining the white of her coat with brown and red.

There was a large incline that stood on her path. Ying stopped and rested at its base, figuring that she could use the rest. She hadn't been able to hunt as well with her injury, so conserving her energy was of utmost importance. After settling into a comfortable position, she allowed her eyes to drift closed and a nap to commence.

surprisingly, ruo turned away from the waters, and traveled inland. why? she saw a shooting star. the sea and the stars, were all what made her eyes glitter in interest, as the rest of the world seemed of gray. even her own colorful family, of the water-blue and the sands of the beaches seemed just but gray, in the eyes of a siren. she always wondered, what the stars are. were they the gods? the ancestors? more lands like these? just bright lights in the sky? she always waited, for a star to be brought down, and to see what it could be.

and she saw one, immedietly heading for it. however perhaps the gods the unknowingly, mei started to follow for, perhaps gave a signal of where to go. but not for what she wanted, but for what others longed for. ruo was unaware about a lot of things, she only knew the grasping, but absolutely nothing of this land, nor's it people. not even her own cousins- it felt unnerving to be more out of the loop then normal.

she travelled, eyes sparkling brightly to find that fallen star. however, it was not the star that she yearned, as a white figure stood beyond resting peacefully. "ying?"

why the hell is she all the way over here.

The familiar voice of a cousin drew Ying from her momentary rest. She looked around with puzzled gaze, until finally settling on Ruo's approaching frame. Ruo? she called back, standing and shaking the fur from her pelt. It was less strange to see a Jiang this far inland, but a Wang? Why did you leave the island? she asked. Was something wrong?

"堕落的星星." however there was none to be seen yet travelling oh-so far away. she didn't enjoy being so far out of water, even if the water here, she noticed, was dirty. her pale blue eyes glanced over at the mud-bowl that some may call a lake, before looking back at ying. like a star in the sky, she was bright, so bright, that everything was noticed. she too had been dirtied.

"你离你很远." eyes wandered downward to the shoulder, "你离你很远."

The huntress turned upward toward the sky but frowned at the mundanity. Ruo often spoke in cryptic sub-sentences, so Ying didn't think much of it. Can you help? she asked. The family was full of healers, both spiritual and physical. She figured that Ru might know something, if only how to get the blood off. It's...really sore.

well.. tough shit, "不." for she didn't know anything about herbs. ruo didn't have a special talent that was hidden away, she had a keen interest in stars and the water, but besides that there was no secret within her silence. at least she could hunt decently enough, so the siren wasn't entirely a useless entity.

"表兄弟知道更多." she would think out of all the family, ying's sister had more talent then her own family combined. they should know herbs, or even her sister. speaking of, she doesn't know what her siblings are good at, it's an enigma right now.

Worth a shot. Ying knelt into a deep stretch, pulling blood from the split once more. She winced as she stood and licked away the loose scabs. I'm not dealing with them right now. Had Hua and Mei returned to the island yet? If so, she wondered why they hadn't said anything. Had anyone asked about her absence? The sudden onslaught of questions left her feeling overwhelmed and frustrated once more. She huffed and began to walk, assuming Ruo would follow.

"为什么?" she had not been at the island for some time, as far as ruo had been aware. the musk of the isle had worn thin on ying when the siren sniffed, she smelled more of the foreign lands of the forests, but the salt would never leave those who spent their life so long at the sea.

"战斗?" she had a brief thought to the white bear when ruo snuck into the inlands and saw him with the sisters.

A moment's hesitation. I just need time away from them. It was easier than going in-depth about what had transpired. Hydra's advice about hardening one's heart drifted back into her mind, reminding her to keep her guard up. Ruo was her cousin, but they weren't close; there wasn't enough trust between them. 

Yeah, a fight. Ying looked away from Ru and turned toward the mountains. I'm okay, though. Just sore.

She didn't know if there would be answer to her next question but thought that there was no harm in asking. Do you think I'm too soft? she questioned, then turning her attention back to her companion.

"不." ruo stopped her, "战斗的姐妹."her gaze wandered from the wound and up to where ying was looking. the three were rarely apart, and with one being so far into the inland, a discourse between the siblings perhaps had happened. related to the bear..? she was fortunate to not have problems with her own, as being quiet and seperated from them; the siren was an outsider.

"不. she repeated, a gaze lingering back toward her cousin. why does she think that? perhaps her head had been wounded too.

Ru's assumption wasn't far from the truth, but, This wasn't them. Verbal disagreements were frequent had between the trio, but things seldom became physical. Ying didn't know if Hua and Mei were capable of such a thing, much less against their own sister.

Do you think I'm too...hard? This couldn't be the case. She was the brute of the family, as was often demonstrated, but Ying was far from callous. It doesn't matter anyway, she sighed, I've just got to figure out for myself. I just don't know how yet.

"是的," her cousin was harder, more bolder compared to the rest, "但好." just like lei, "精神." the two had charisma she did not have, and the sociability. it was a good thing for the family who preferred their own then to foreigners, even she knew that, despite being the same.

"和他们谈谈?"

She didn't know that being too hard could be a good thing. The realization was comforting; Ying bumped Ruo's shoulder as a silent Thank you. She still had some qualms to work through, but imagining that this was how everyone saw her made the weight a bit lighter.

Should I? she asked, voice both skeptical and sincere, I don't know if it will help. Ying knew that it wouldn't help, because the real issue did not lie in what her sisters had said or done. She was the source of her own suffering, and until she could come to terms with that, nothing would change.

ruò shrugged while her cousin bumped shoulders in affection. how could she know what happened, so how could she give a judgement? however at this point the siren assumed it was some small reason the three would be fighting, only for ying to run away, perhaps to think. they were always together after all, needed some space. she always had space, a proud gloat moment within her thoughts despite a stoney-face for the sea-wolf.

man, she did miss the sea right now. it doesn't have fights, physically or mentally like ying is having right now. ruò is quite quant to being a loner amongst their family, don't have to deal with this absolute bull of emotions. what a pain it must be.

The sound of distant winds blowing through barren branches; snowfall slow to start. The pair walked in stagnant silence. She wondered how long it might take to reach the island and laughed, asking herself if it was worth it. What awaited her there? The goal had been to present it as a gift, but she was sure that it had been found. Was she still needed?

A thoughtful gaze was turned upon Ruo as the pair continued along their path. Ying sucked in a sharp breath, grimacing as the winter air brushed over the tips of her teeth. 

Who's there? she asked. Had the rest of the family arrived yet? A part of her hoped that they hadn't, though she was quick to quiet these thoughts.

pale blue's swayed over to ying, and almost a scowl appeared upon her face on the question, but she remained stoic, "雷." ruo was not aware if her other sibling had arrived, or much less her younger one.. She only knew of the sisters with kun, and then she realized she almost forgot about others. her eyes widened with an 'oh' kind of look before continuing. "发现夏和春涛." the siren's memories fail her if the two cousins joined the isle or not.

they'll find out if they'll ever go back. which is her dear wish to return to the waters. ying please. ruo was almost tempted to abandon the lost cousin and simply return herself.

Xia and Chun had also returned. The present lineup seemed underwhelming, but the promise of Kun and Lei's presence gave reassurance. She nodded and turned to Ru, asking, Do you want to walk in silence or are you okay with me talking your ear off? Regardless of the answer, Ying knew that their trip would be filled with meaningless conversation, if only from her mouth. It won't take long to get there, I don't think.

the two would continue walking, to what ruo hoped was the waters. she couldn't lie that a large reason she didn't get up to go back was, she didn't know the way back. when it came to the lands where no stream, no creek, no body of water was around, she grew fustrated over being loss at the navigation. she would simply follow the rows of ripples, and none was around! so she nodded absentmindedly to ying while eyes glancing back and forth, wondering where the fuck they are. she can talk all she desires as long as she knows where they going.

ruo was pretty cold wasn't she. especially finding out all of this woe as it was just sisters fighting- now she's over worrying about ying.