A Sublime Echo

Chapter 3-Night Owls and Sunshine

Avia rolls her eyes. "Just because your dream family has never tried to kill either of us, doesn't mean our current life is anything to scoff at."

"Honestly, I'd be happier not having those dreams," I look outside as I talk, "Ignorance is bliss. I wake up knowing my brain is doing some stupid compensation and making up for the things my life lacks."

She sighs, "Switching gears, Debbie Downer; I'm gonna be watching Erica and Tyler most of the day today," Avia beams at me. We both love children, however, her love of children is really more of an obsession with children. If she didn't have a such a good head on her shoulders, I would worry about her.  Many times I do worry about finding kids she baby sits on a milk carton while on her watch... but she means well, and she would never hurt them, just keep them locked up, petting their heads calling them 'her precious'. I mean that in the most loving way of course.

         "That should be fun, need to borrow some duct tape?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind," I say with a smile and a wave, "I think I'm going to pack some supplies, and throwing knives and go out hiking."

         Avia looks at me worriedly, "you don't need to keep up on the skills they taught us, ya know," she says gently. "They only found us once, and all the preparation in the world couldn't have stopped what happened."

         This is one area that her and I completely disagree on. "Avia, I don't care that I was taught these things to use for malice. I will not be a victim, and I will not let you be one either." I smile gently at her, "I love that you feel safe, and that you want to be a different person. I don't, to either of those two things. I hate how I became the person I am today, but I will use it to my advantage, and I know I am a stronger person. You know I have this drive, I can't even control it. I need to keep up with my fighting, I'm good with weapons, and I need to know that we are safe. It feels like a part of me, one of the pieces that I lost along the way."

         "But if anything happened, they would probably just use a gun anyway," Avia roles her eyes. "Your throwing knife addiction, and yes, it is an addiction, is not natural. Plus, I don't even understand how you are so good with a short sword, unless it is your attempt to live a piece of your dream world."

         "I can't explain the throwing knife thing," I shrug. "I just have this overwhelming need to do it, like if I don't, I will die." I look over at the fireplace, blazing in this chilly spring morning, with the crazy flat screen that Avia just had to have hanging over it. "Enough bashing on Ezry." I stand up, bringing our plates to the sink and washing them.

         I look over at Avia, and get ready to leave. We are both tall for women, though I'm not sure where I get mine from; I'm 5'8".  Quill is only an inch taller than me, and while her mother was short like my mother, her father, whom no one really knows who he was, must have been one tall guy to override her mom's short genes. I know both of my parents, and have no clue about my height. I'm even taller than my brother by 2 inches, though that was a few years ago now. I shiver at his memory.

         Avia has pretty soft golden brown skin, awesome crazy brown curls with just a hint of blond at the tip, and chocolate brown eyes. Apparently the combination you get when one super pale red head who was going to be forced to marry another super pale red head, runs off with a man that needless to say, Avia's racist grandfather might, eligibly had had a heart attack over. Too bad he survived, and those are sweet Avia's words, mine have many more expletives when discussing our fucked up situation and family. Our mothers were cousins, and left with us, having to split up. Avia had been taken back after only 3 years. I was lucky and had 5 years of normal, until nothing was ever going to be normal ever again.