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HER BACK FELL against the wall, searing in pain. She cried, hands clawing at her cheeks as the spectators watched on. She kicked at the ground. She screamed into the air. Her voice split, sending shards stabbing at the onlookers' hearts. Her own plummeted inside her body, entirely dead and tattered at the edges. Wilted. Her heart was empty.
"Get down from there," Honora-Rue's father called from behind her.
The girl sighed with a roll of her eyes. She closed her book, making an effort to slam it shut, before looking up at the leaves above her and gently kicking her feet. Birds chattered around her. Tree branches knocked against each other. Softly, the woman smiled.
"I'm serious, Honora! You'll fall down."
The man walked beneath her, moving to stare up at her face. With a huff, Honora let her face fall to meet his sight in a deadpan.
"When have I ever fallen, father? I have quite a strong sense of balance, thank you very much."
He raised a brow at her and crossed his arms. She blinked, letting the book rest comfortably in her lap as her hands moved to hold onto the branch she was sitting on tightly. She exaggerated her movements.
"Is that better?" She asked. "Or should I lean forward more?" She slowly shuffled towards the end of the branch.
"Hey, no! You stop it!" The man cried, arms reaching up as if he could grab her. There was at least the height of another man between his desperate hands and her dangling feet.
"Nora, you're going to give him a heart attack," Aster laughed as he rounded the trunk of the tree. Honora looked at him, her curly hair falling in front of her face as she sported a mischievous grin.
Her brother leant against the rough bark of the tree, his white undershirt scratching against the peeling wood. His arm rested comfortably against his hip, holding the gleaming sword that was tucked away neatly in its holster. His eyes constantly darted between his younger sister and their father, whom every member of the family seemed to argue with at least twice per day. Aster only enjoyed it when he wasn't involved.
