Great, just wonderful

“Mother i’m twenty six.. I can tie my own—hmf” and now she was stuck holding up her own hair. Not even a single word in response. Just a quiet and fast motion for her to take over holding up the mass of curls.

Great, just wonderful. 

Sighing her head turned towards the mirror next to them. It was floor length and ornate, which for some reason sent thoughts of dread throughout her entire body. Her eyes slowly crept over towards the reflection of her mother. Fuck- she noticed.

Great, absolutely great.

“How does one forget how to tie a bow.” It wasn’t a question. She was being very firm. Not even expecting an answer. Kore noticed how her crows feet grew deeper ever so slightly. Glaring? What was she glaring at? Her head turning back as her mother’s eyes did not shift from her.. neck? 

What could she possibly be- fuck.

Tugging up the collar of her hanbok she tried to smush it against the slight hickey she hadn’t gone away with the passage of time. Not allowed to wear her neck scarf, it suddenly looked rather obvious. She had hoped it would remain hidden amongst the bruises a certain brute had given her.

“F-from fighting” damn, she was a shitty liar. Trying to mask it with the truth. That she looked messed up because she absolutely had been. But neither answer would have appeased the politician she had for a mother.

“Hmm..” she let out. Finishing the bow before reaching up for her hair again “I really wish that when you fought it wasn’t such an afterthought. Combat is an art. War is a story. You can’t just pick up a quill haphazardly.” Turning Kore to face the mirror as she spoke. Starting to attempt to tame her curls, a daunting task.

“I’ll keep that in mind…” came a smartass response. Rolling her eyes as a comb tugged a curl, tears jumping into her eyes. “Ouch- fuck- mom!” To which she was promptly shushed. “Don’t use that tone… the Moon clan was gracious enough to let us borrow this room and you will not sully it.” 

There it was. That feeling of dread again. It starts in your stomach, always does. And the only thing that stops it is denying its existence. Her eyes traveled away from her reflection and out the window. “How long was this meant to last again?” She asked as innocently as possible. “Two weeks” came a cold response. “Right… just.. two weeks.. and i’ll have to wear-“ interrupted once again “yes.” 

Great, absolutely phenomenal…  

eivor:

A gasp of air broke the silence. Coming up for air just above the surface tension as curly strands covered her face like a wet dog. She could hear giggling, childish giggling. Instantly moving to cover up some more despite the fact that she was wearing bathing clothes.

They weren’t laughing at her, just at how stupid she looked. They rarely had any outsiders staying with them so Kore’s stupidly curly hair was just new to them. That was all. Not everything was about her, she really had to stop acting like a victim so much. Afterall, this place was beautiful and sunny and last she heard.. it was storming in the Spire.

“Need a towel?”

Okay- that did sound a little catty. But as she used her forearm to lift up a curtain of hair the sweet looking brunette she was looking at didn’t look like she actually had meant any disdain with it. Her friends behind her might have, instantly whispering as the girl stepped away from them.

“Yes please, sorry..”

Just to toss that out there. An apology for invading their space. For looking a mess and.. as of right now for getting water everywhere as she reached to take the cloth from her.

“It’s alright, sorry for staring…” the young woman trailed off. At the very end of her teenage years if Kore had to wager a guess. “Uhm.. you stayed under for a while.. are you alright? Also..” her voice trailed off. A lull in it that showed this was her regular speech pattern. Her hand motioned to the water as Kore finally looked down-

Shoot.

“I’m- fuck- i’m so sorry. I’ll clean it up myself I promise” pressing her palm against her eye to rub awkwardly. Her hair dye was seeping into the water… great. Another alchemical she hadn’t brought extra’s off. “I’ll clean it.” She repeated as she slid her hands back into the bath water.

At least she could take solace in the fact that the young shrine keepers hadn’t been worried she was going to drown. No they thought like a piece of metal she was shedding off her rust in the bath water.

She chuckled at herself. Alright, that actually was something to laugh about.

“Kore! Look at you- my… you look so different. Did you do something with your hair?” The robust older man let out a soft chuckle as his fingers slipped through her neatly pulled back hair. It had taken three women a lot of time to get it this neat so of course her father had to go and ruin it the moment he saw her.

But- she wasn’t going to complain, not today. “It’s the lack of hair dye actually. Makes me look more like mom” clutching the bouquet of blue flowers a little tighter, it wasn’t smart to fidget with the delicate wrappings but she needed something.

“Your mother, your beautiful gorgeous mother” both his palms drawn back to cover his heart as if cupid just shot him again. “Blessed be the days the Siren lets her grace us mortals with her presence.” You’d think words like that be said sarcastically. But the extravagant overselling was just the way the man spoke about his late wife. The wit and sarcasm Kore often wielded a weird response to this. “Yes. She sure is great” smiling and looking over her shoulder towards the woman of the hour. Golden hair pulled back and away from her face. Not a grey hair in sight, unlike her father. The price of marrying someone who looked young forever.

“I’m ready” her steele voice broke through their conversation like a knife. It wasn’t cold, just.. focused. “Targon” holding her arm out. The curly haired man ducking past his daughter and moving to take her hand, briefly leaning in to give the back of it a kiss. “Anything you wish my darling” the two soon make their way towards the door. A silent expectation for Kore to follow.

The wind swept through her hair, gently playing with her pulled back curls. For once they didn’t hit her face, something she desperately wanted at this moment. Any reason to not have her face show as she turned around.

The weather has been lovely for weeks now. The entity of Mori had been suffering from something close to a heatwave. While back at the Spire letters revealed the turmoil the weather was causing.

Yet, this morning It had rained. 

Such heavy rain the ground was still damp as they made their way down the hill. Coming to a stop in front of a small statue, a small iron bust. A puddle of water had formed around the base.

She could hear her parents whispering nearby, her father was crying. She let out a shuddering sigh.

Placing the forget-me-nots down in the grass she crouched down with little to no care that her pristine white dress was getting dirty. Reaching out with the wide sleeve to dry off its face. A motion not unlike she was wiping away his tears.

“He would have been twenty.”

Her mother’s voice cut through her tender moment. Freezing up before slowly coming to a stand. She wanted to be a smart ass so bad. It was all she knew. Just chuckle and roll her head over and respond ‘that’s how time works’ but she didn’t have it in her.

Instead she kept her head lowered. “Yeah..” taking a slow step back and away.

She caught a brief glimpse of her mother’s lip quivering as she joined their side again. Not that strong after all. 

“Happy birthday..”