Down to the bottom of the world. The earth in view.

Mir stares out at the swirling ocean, the final foothold. She's found a rune and an artifact. She will save this world.

"Fiora."

She glances over her shoulder.

"Doesn't this feel freeing?"

This, Fiora decided, was the best adventure she'd ever been on. She had a lot of room to range, to be herself, and Mir never seemed hard to find. It was a quiet companionship, though the snowy sister tended to chatter a bit whether she thought Mir was listening or not. Hell, sometimes she was just talking to the birds.

Sometimes, she darted off with guttural snarls and snapping fangs for an errant squirrel.

Fi had never seen the ocean up close, despite being able to catch glimpses of it in the distance if she was high enough on Elysiums peaks. It was sprawling and beautiful, and the smell of the salt tickled her senses in the most gleeful way. She hadn't found much in the way of their mission, but it hadn't dampened her spirits any. She was out here doing Valeskas bidding, and having fun despite the plague, the nagging thought that she should be home to heal instead of on a search she wasn't any good at.

Mir stopped and commented exactly how Fiora felt.

This is the most fun I've ever had, she admitted, throwing herself into the water and sending a cascade of froth up around her. She bounded a few paces before looking to her little sister with a sudden frown.

Is that bad?

She was supposed to take their mother's place, she should have been home.... right?

Ambition. That's what curls at the center of Mir's mind, dancing, tempting. A world out here, so wide and beautiful, and she has it all at her paws.

Every time Fiora talks, Mir listens. She may not remember all of it, but she's never heard Fiora say so much. There's a part of Fiora's spirit that's blossoming out here, and Mir knows this is just as good for Fiora as it is for her. The golden child and the black sheep-- two ends of the same shitty situation.

Perhaps Mir can pluck those feathers from Fiora's glimmering wings. She doesn't need them to fly.

"That's good to hear," Mir says, smiling. "I don't think it's bad, no. There's so much out here, Fiora. We deserve to see it."

She raises her head and sways in the ocean breeze. "Could you imagine living like this every day-- completely free?"

Once, there was a time Fiora didn't like leaving home, where she didn't like others leaving home, but time had taught her absence wasn't always a bad thing; Houtu give and She taketh away. Even in dark times like these ones, the little Bacchus had to keep faith that everything would be okay in the end, and if it wasn't okay, it wasn't the end. Sure, bad things happened all the time.... but they happened right in the Respite. Fi could not keep her loved ones safe by smothering.

Unfortunately, it was this resolution that lead her to be separated from Harper for so long, and Fiora didn't know what else to do but keep trucking along in her Mothers absence.
Why, then, was she out here, galivanting, searching for runes like that wasn't a warriors job, a scouts, anyone but the doctor?

Mir didn't think it was a bad thing though. She said they deserved to see the world, and Fi nodded almost absentmindedly. That was true, she thought, but what they deserved and what they got were not always one in the same. Still, there is little time to mull over her patchy doppelgangers words before Mir mentions living like this every day.

Oh Houtu, no, she rumbles happily, plunging her forelegs deeper in a play-bow and sending droplets scattering ahead of her; flinging like rain further into the ocean with a satisfying spray and sound. Then she straightened, smiling in a sad sort of way.

I have far too many responsibilities back home. The garden is already likely fighting a war with weeds as we speak!

It was about more than the job itself, she thought idly, but banished the thought. It was about the expectation, pressure, inheritance.

But she just smiled a little wider again though it didn't quite reach her eyes, and turned to bounce once more into the warm ocean water, this time slumping down to lay; the water stopping just below her chin as she giggled away. Yes, this was fun, she thought, being swayed by the gentle waves breaking against her torso.

Mir watches her sister play, simply enjoying the spray of water against her paws.

"I feel you could start a garden anywhere," she says after a moment. "I know I'm going to grow one wherever I settle down. But I don't think Elysium is home to me."

She has to say this carefully. Guard her words. Because as much as she wants to break free, she knows there are people she doesn't want to leave behind.

"I think you and Sreda are the only people that even care if I'm alive. If you go back, you'll tell her that I'll still come visit, right?"

Fiora didn't really expect Mir to fall into her line of thinking when the free young spirit was just as stubborn as the rest of her family, but she also didn't fully grasp where her little sister was going with the topic, either. She could feel the discontent, a heavier topic she thought Mir must not have been ready to talk about; she did not expect full on detachment.

'But I dont think Elysium is home to me.'

The words echoed in Fiora's ears, and she stopped playing in the surf; standing there, back to Mir, ears flat as the words sink in and settle. Home... is not Mir's home. Elysium, Auntie Valeska, their siblings, Mom....

She'd always been distant. But this?

Fiora's breath fluttered in her chest, and she turned to fix a sad gaze on Mir, owlish gaze blinking slowly. A small part of her already began to mourn.

'I think you and Sreda are the only people that even care if I'm alive. If you go back, you'll tell her that I'll still come visit, right?'

Fiora's breath choked in her throat, and she took a single step foward to close the distance around them. Where she stood, her toes tippy-tapped nervously.

Have we all failed you so terribly, Mir, she asked softly, thinking of all the times she'd realized Mir wasn't around, Mir had gone home early, Mir had removed herself or otherwise didn't seem to be present in whatever might've been happening. How long had she felt so alone, so unseen, that she felt leaving her birthplace, her family was the only way forward?
How long had they all been failing her?

"I don't think it's ever been your fault, Fiora."

Mir leans over to nudge Fiora's shoulder. Sure, there might have been one time Mir would have blamed Fiora, but Mir's seen the truth over these past few weeks. Fiora's been caged, and while Mir's not welcome at Harper's feet, there's been no joy for those that are kept on a shorter leash. And Fiora could have sold Mir out at any time. That hasn't happened.

Even if Fiora doesn't know it, she's been on Mir's side this entire time.

"I think it's been since our mother left us at Northfall to fend for ourselves," Mir starts. "My littermates are all gone now, one by one. We never went looking for any of them. Missing children, just ignored. But you could see everyone all upset about the disappearance of the King of Northfall, a grown man who could have fended for himself."

Mir doesn't even really know what happened to him. She never paid attention. She doesn't fucking care. No one cared about Nadya, so what's the point?

"Harper hasn't spoken to me in months. Not once." She shrugs. "I'm dead to her, so I might as well make it official."

When had Fiora ever bothered to look past her own nose, see what was in front of her? The truth of it, not the image that had been projected or what she'd been told; to get her head out of the clouds and pay attention what was really happening around her? But Mir had a right to her feelings, and Fiora remembered feeling, looking back, as though her family had scattered upon the trip to Northfall. They'd left Persephone there so soon after adopting her, and despite thinking she was doing her best lost so many younger siblings -- teenagers they kept assuming just went home with their impatience, but nothing had been the same since.

Harper had always been the perfect Mother, a loving figure active in her life. Fiora had gone missing, yes, but her Mama had been there to save her from the coyote when she needed her and there had been a lesson learned that day.

Surely, her Mother had looked for her. That made her feel worse. But Harper had looked for them, too, right? She'd gone home during the fires -- surely, she'd checked for everyone?

Fiora hadn't. Guilt pulsed in her chest. Mir said she didn't blame her, but being ignorant didn't absolve Fi of her terribly aching heart or the way she felt responsible.

Mir said Harper hadn't talked to her in months. Was that including or before the Northfall celebration she'd gone to and never returned from? Gods, maybe something had happened -- maybe she should be out there looking for her little siblings, for her mother. But... that had always been the way of it, right?
Where was Mordecai? Where was Rigby? Crux? Had there ever been a search?

Fiora felt stupid, thinking about it all together. There was a tremble to her entire being she hadn't noticed.

Her little sister felt dead to the family, was leaving Elysium, because they had failed her.

Fiora failed her.

I was so excited to be a big sister, she murmured, stepping forward again to head-butt Mir's shoulder and keep her forehead pressed there, I'm sorry, Mir. I'm sorry I haven't payed attention. We've... we've never looked for anyone, you're right, not even my littermates. Not even our Fathers.

I'm sorry I can't even feel the same way.

I should've looked, myself. I should've done something.

It wasn't just Mir she'd failed, but her whole family. What if they'd all needed her help? Echoes of that cave darkened the edges of Fiora's mind, and she wondered how many were real -- how many she hadn't even heard. Were they all dead? The snowy woman teared up, shaking her head and raising it to look at her sister again.

I love you, Mir, and I'll do whatever I can to support you now. To be better.

Finishing the thread on this account for the post count, still counts as the old mir for the purpose of the thread

Mir turns her head, pressing her nose to Fiora's skull. Assurance, and a welcome.

"I want to support you, too." Mir smiles morosely. "All it takes is one fuck-up, it seems. We're allowed one mistake, and then never again. You've always been perfect, Fiora, but what has it gotten you?"

Her tone seeps with bitterness, a threat of tears. She tells herself it's stupid to be emotional about this; Harper doesn't love her. Why should Mir be sad about it? She shouldn't even mourn what could have been. She should look to what's possible.

And what's possible is right in front of her.

"The best you can do for me is fight for what makes you happy." Mir's voice drops to a whisper, strained. "Fiora, you have so much to say, so much to give. Has anyone ever listened to you? Has anyone ever looked at you?" Mir's voice shakes. "I'm going to find what makes me happy. I want you to promise me, even if doesn't involve following me, you'll do the same."

Perfect? Mir thought she was... perfect? A tiny ember of pride sizzled within her breast. Fiora had always strived to be a good big sister, to be the companion she'd always wanted growing up, to make Harper proud in showing she could care for more than plantlife. She'd been so excited to do silly things like paint making with them, simple walks once they'd grown old enough, fun excursions just like the one she and Mir were on now.

'But where has it gotten you?'

The words were an icy splash of water to the face. Tears welled in her eyes, her heart aching for Mir, for their siblings, for their parents; how many had been lost, alone, afraid, just wishing for a familiar face? Fi knew well the feeling, the smothering silence of loneliness, the hope of turning a corner and finally finding a familiar path home.
How long had many of them searched for that feeling of comradery before they vanished? How many of them weren't gone on accident, not lost?

'Has anyone ever looked at you?'

Mir sounded so desperate, but also so sure.

'fight for what makes you happy.'

I don't know what that is, she blurted back in a whisper, heart hammering. She had always done what was expected of her, had always been a very good 'seen and not heard' kind of child; knowledgeable, easy to teach, happy to learn, eager to earn her keep. Harper had always been her teacher, her Mother, her sole companion over the years. She'd never given Fiora a reason to doubt her, but Mir seemed to have enough in her own mind to make her leave.

Not think about it, not complaining like teenagers did, but with certainty -- left. Renounced home.

It tore up Fiora inside, because how could either of them be wrong?

How was she supposed to choose between them? If Harper never came back, how was Fiora supposed to choose between the looming job that awaited her and her sister, out here running alone?