Oc-tober18 - Tumblr Posts

Eldest

They were still so young. But Milli remembered how young she had been when her mother left and how she had had to survive. She swore she would never put her children through that, but even she couldn’t control death. None of them could.  So she pulled Zahra aside while the other two were having their bath. The girl was still wet from her own tub time and Milli was happy to gather her up in a blanket and pull her into her bedroom and lay them both down in bed. She pulled covers over them and snuggled against the little girl who was her blood but not her daughter.  “You know that Mama Tia and I love you, right?” Zahra looked at Milli like she was crazy and giggled, “Yes. I love you, too, Mama!”

“Good. And we will never, ever leave you if we can help it. But sometimes we might not be there. And you’ll have to be in charge. You’ll have to make sure Taliyah and Naeem are safe.” She spoke softly, but with a seriousness even Zahra understood. 

“But what if something bad happens?” Zahra asked, eyes wide, voice barely a whisper.

“Then you try to find us. Or find Syrean. An adult you know and trust. Not just anyone on the street. Okay? Because you’re the oldest. So you have to be brave and hold onto them, okay?”

“Like hold their hands and stuff?” Zahra was still trying to grasp the situation. 

But Milli just nodded. This was going to be the first conversation of many, she knew. Because being the eldest meant taking care of the littler ones. And that would mean different things as they got older. “Yes, hold their hands, find a safe place. Stay there until we come get you.”

Tears were forming in her eyes and Milli regretted this conversation, for all that it was necessary. “Okay, Mama. But you’re not going to leave us?”

Milli shook her head and pulled her close, kissing the soft blonde strands. “No, baby. Of course we’re not. We’re never going to leave you.”

It was a good lie. Convenient to help calm the girl and make sure this conversation didn’t turn into a future nightmare. But she knew Zahra would need to be ready. Because Milli knew all too well that the world was not kind to children.

(( Prompt List ))

Couple

Milli walked slowly, keeping up with Amber’s steps, rather than her own pace. The old lady had a cane, but she still enjoyed walking to the green grocer of a morning. Her wife, Rose, was watching the children.

“So I hear there’s cause for celebration,” Amber smiled knowingly at Milli, who blushed. 

“Yeah, we’re...we’re going to a priest soon. Maybe Melandru. Or Dwayna. Neither of us are really religious.”

Amber chuckled and nodded. “Very good, very good. Rose and I have been looking forward to this for a long time.”

“Not that long. We haven’t been--” Milli stopped, turning them into an alley. Amber moved along willingly, trusting her neighbor.

After the two men walked past, they returned to the street.

Amber raised a brow. “You seem a bit skittish around Lion Guard. Have you run into trouble in your life, lovey?” She smiled warmly at Milli. “You can tell me. Rose was a pirate, after all.”

Milli shrugged, embarrassed at her gut reaction, “Yeah, I’ve been in trouble.” She remembered the gang fight, her broken leg, killing a man. “A couple times.”

(( Prompt List ))

Nature

The sun was going down but the three children playing in the waves seemed completely uninterested in slowing down. They squealed and splashed, all in bathing suits. A full day of playing at the beach of Lion’s Arch had only increased their pleasure, along with a quick picnic in the late afternoon beneath the umbrella Milli had set up near the cliff.

She and Tia were up by the cliff, watching. Tia leaned against the warm rocks and Milli...leaned against her. The engineer had actually worn a swim suit and played with the kids earlier, but now she had covered her legs with a large towel. Her scars weren’t something to be ashamed of anymore, but it wasn’t in her nature to show them off. 

Milli was happy, content. Her kids were having fun and when she glanced up at Tia, the woman gave her a smile from behind her smoked glasses. “What?”

Milli just shook her head, leaning up to kiss her. “Nothing. Just living in the moment.”

(( Prompt List ))

(( I forgot that 12-hour days kick my ass. Lesson learned. I’ll catch up over the weekend. Next week will be better! ))

Drive

Hard work had always been a part of her. From the moment her mother disappeared, Milli had to keep going or face pain. And she knew pain was close friends with death, from whom no one escaped. 

But now she was a merchant, had a pair of daughters and a son, had a wife, working constantly wasn’t necessary. She could take days off and take fewer commissions. She could work on what she wanted to. 

There were still days she woke up before dawn with the need to do something with her hands, and that’s when she went into the workshop and closed the doors, head bent over a work of small parts, asuran tech, and put herself to work learning how to make their tiny circuits work, why certain crystals worked in certain ways, and generally increased her knowledge in her craft.

Milli would probably never be able to stop learning, stop pushing herself. But at least now she could put her work down when Tia came in and took her hand or the kids knocked on the door to their room looking for breakfast. It was a good life.

(( Prompt List ))

(( I’m gonna catch up some day, I swear... ))

Handy

She kept a few things around for emergencies. A stiff wire, a bit of string, a needle and thread, a magnet. You never knew what was coming next and plans…plans had a way of falling apart, in Key’s experience.

The house had certainly looked abandoned. And when she’d pulled Ryan inside out of the rain, he wasn’t protesting too much. Well, he was speaking a lot of protests, but Key had learned to read them. He didn’t mean them most of the time.

It was cold, still, but at least it was dry. “Oh good, it’s the kitchen,” she said brightly.

Key moved about the room and pulled out a tea kettle. “I’ll get us hot water. Go look fer the blankets?”

He left the room and Key went to the stove. She lit the wood inside it with her magic, a flash of fire that she had to quickly wrap her hand around before it got out of control. Then she pumped water into the kettle and set it on the burner.

Then she went to the liquor cabinet, a grin on her face. Carefully, she pulled a piece of wire out of one pocket, a needle out of the other, and went about picking the lock.

It didn’t take more than a few minutes, but that was enough. Too much, really.

“Hey! What are ya doin’ in the master’s house!” came the bellowed voice from the stairs.

Key cursed, grabbing a bottle of something amber and dashing toward the living room. Ryan was coming out of another bedroom, arms full of blankets. He looked distinctly confused.

“It ain’t empty!” she cried, grabbing his arm. “Run!”

He managed to keep a pair of the blankets and that was enough to keep them both warm in the hollow of a tree overnight.

Key took a swig of what turned out to be very fine whiskey and passed it to him. “At least this has come in handy, eh?” she chuckled.

(( Prompt List ))