Age: Same as her brother.
Gender: Female.
Appearance:
Ave is petite and slender, and even next to her twin brother she is easily the more fragile and delicate seeming one. Her skin is fair and tans lightly in the summer; sharing similar coloring as her brother, Ave's hair is a shade lighter, sometimes sporting light blonde strands, particularly after a few months of daily sunshine. The tresses, a spun silk nostalgic of warmed sunsets, fall down to mid-waist, a riot of loose, warm chocolaty brown curls that occasionally display a bit of ruddy red or gold. Like her brother, Ave's eyes are of an indiscernible dark shade.

Personality:
Ave is still much like a child and depends heavily upon her twin. She likes to crawl onto his lap at inopportune moments and nap; she feels worried when she's separated from him for more than a week; she frets over him when he is sick. Though shy around strangers, Ave is very sweet and charming when she feels comfortable, opening up like a flower to the world. She appears to have mastered the ultimate 'vulnerable kitten look' and uses it to get out of certain ... situations her naïve and playful attitude can get her into.

Pending...

She is late.

He taps a finger lightly against the wall, the soft, paced sound deceitful and traitorous to the irritation brewing inside him. He hates that she is late, hates that he has to wait even a moment more than absolutely necessary to see her smiling face.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

And then, her bouncing riot of curls are suddenly shining mutely in the light, and her eyes are sparkling with cheer. Her sweet mouth is curved in a welcoming, innocent smile. Her cheeks are rosy as she dashes toward him, slim legs flying to keep from tumbling down to the ground. Her classmates shake their heads and watch as she bursts through the school gates. The sun on his clouded horizon is a brilliant thing, piercing through the gloomy air.

He pushes himself from the wall as she smiles at him and slips her smaller hand into his, skin smooth and cool. He grasps it tightly, aching to pull her into his protective arms and to never let the world harm her. Instead, he grins and ruffles her hair. He asks her how her day was and why she was late.

He hates when she is late, but somethings are just worth waiting for.

• Well, I love your writing 'Nilla.
  
  Love it, love it, love it. <333
  I'll keep an eye out for your drabbles.

The curtains rustle, and beyond the sounds of oaks shedding their crinkled leaves in an endless flow of burnished amber rain, there is no other sound. Inside her head is a bottomless sea, swimming with colors and sounds that melt into another and yet stand out sharply.

Sunlight breaks through the crystal panes and flows in from the half opened window. Shafts of glowing gold trace the edges of her eyelashes and fall into the contours of her cherubic face. His head is a heavy weight, just shy of her body. Consciousness comes slowly to him and he wakes with a start, as if he did not know that he was waking.

Ave looks peaceful and content, a low fever flushing her cheeks and warming her skin. Worried, he brushes a knuckle against her forehead and pushes away from the bed, ready to stand guard as the congee boils. He does not see her eyelashes flutter.

He stops because something is rooting him to the spot.

Her small, frail hand can barely manage a weak hold and yet this fragile gesture has more staying power than chains and locks and cages and all the horribly natural things in the world. How can he leave her side when her brittle fingers are curling around his? How can he walk away from her when she is sick? How can he bare to be apart from her for a moment?

"...did you stay up all night?"

He nods. She laughs, quietly, as if any louder would hurt.

"Ave will take care of you when you get sick next, okay?"

They smile together. Laugh together. Hold each others hands. They get hurt together. And together, they heal.




<<destiny comes in pairs>>

Vega is angry.

He feels the wrath boil in his blood, burning like a hateful poison, an unquenchable fire that licked at his frozen heart. His father stands tall before him, but suddenly, all those days spent intimidated and obediently obeying the man flies from his mind. The words stick to the top of his mouth, suddenly dry and useless.

"Wha - why - what is going on!"

For the first time, his father looks utterly speechless, surprised and pathetic. Vega's uncontrollable rage emboldens him, lends him strength that he has never known of till that moment. For the first time, his father looks small and weak and he knows that this despicable creature should have never been trusted with his greatest treasure.

It is as if a new him is born, a him that is not so gentle, not so warm. A him that is harsh and angry and all the things he has tried so hard not to be. His hands are firm and violent as he grasps frail arms, jerking the boy's frame into the safer circle of his own arms. There were no words for his hatred.

There were no words that could describe the endless spiral of sorrow his heart had dropped into.




<<sometimes fairytales aren't real>>

"Awww, my little Adam and Ave," the man cooed, scooping the delicate girl into his lanky arms and cradling her tiny body against his chest. Adam glowered at the intrusion; Ave gurgled happily, smiling up at their adoptive father. Adam glared.

"Daddy loves his Princess." He nuzzled the burnished gold locks and grinned. Adam's eyes narrowed sharply, clearly upset.

"Ave loves Daddy too!" The agreeing chortle lit up his face brilliantly, as if Christmas had come early. He played with her hair and tickled her tummy and at the end, set her down to the bed and tucked the two siblings in, and shut off the lights with a quiet whisper.

Adam was pointedly sulking on the far side of the bed, back turned to her. For a few moments, the air was heavy and silent, and the young boy assumed she had fallen asleep. The poignant shattering of the awkwardness left him breathless as her small form pressed against his spine, warm and soft.

"Ave loves Adam most," she murmured, the words muffled by his back. "Forever and ever."

He smiled for the first time that day.





<< forever & ever >>