Mystic Syn

Ah yes, welcome to Mystic's random status update, but this one has to deal with what day it is today. No, it's not my birthday or anything like that, but it happens to be Q's birthday. And I figured why not do a little something to celebrate it. So have something that I drew earlier today, not that anyone will see this, lol. I also wrote something that some of y'all might enjoy, others might brush this off. I dunno why, but I just wanted to do this, lol.

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  Q tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, feeling grateful that she wasn’t sharing a tent with anyone.
  They would’ve questioned her and why she couldn’t sleep or why she was tossing and turning like crazy, and she didn’t want to talk about that if they were to ask. They didn’t need to know why she hurt or why she couldn’t sleep for long anymore. She could always pretend that she got some sleep and just lie awake in her tent with her chaotic thoughts, but she always found that those times were often the times where she couldn’t make out what in the name of the forgiving Ko’ad was going on the next day.
  Turning on her back, she stared at the ceiling of the dark tent. She tried to remember the last time she slept like this, but no recent memories came to light. The only memories that did come were those of her past and she didn’t want to think of that right now. Those memories only brought pain and of times that she could never have again. Those memories will only keep her awake, wishing for the sweet release of sleep to overcome her when it wouldn’t. They would only make her––
  Think of your walk in the rain, Krow suggested, the thought coming out of nowhere. You like the rain, remember?
  As much as she wanted to protest against Krow’s words, she knew that the others would hear her talking to herself and start to question her sanity. She was pretty sure that they were already questioning it, but she didn’t want to confirm their suspicions about nothing. She only had a Fragment in her head, nothing that she couldn’t handle. 
  Then again, Krow had a point. She did love watching and listening to the rain, even if it reminded her of her namesake. She always hated it when he had a point, but she knew that he had been with her since the beginning, so he would know almost everything about her and what she liked or didn’t like.
  Q glared at the tent’s roof, saying nothing as she hoped that it would get the message across to Krow. Yet, she sighed and closed her eyes, starting to focus on the rain pattering on the tent’s roof as well as from her memories. 
  It was worth a shot, after all.
  The walk in the rain. That had been… relaxing. But had it been relaxing?
  Ellis had been there with her, so that really didn’t help her relax as much as she had wanted it to. It seemed like she had been revealing too much about herself to him… well, she didn’t know. It had been nice to watch the rain fall, pattering softly against the umbrella’s surface as it was to hear it against the tent’s roof. Now that sound had been relaxing to hear and it was calming her down slightly, even if it was bringing up old memories that she would rather forget.
  Instead she focused on the sound of rain; she listened to the pattering against her tent matching the one that she was thinking of from earlier. It was relaxing and it reminded her of calmer times and of when she had been home with her family, watching the storms with awe. Those memories were the ones she would rather think of than the ones that had been surfacing earlier. She remembered when she would fall asleep next to the window, listening to the rain now that her mother had made the rain and storm comforting rather than frightening.
  As she started to fall asleep, the rain started to grow softer, a calming white noise with all the chaos in her head and memories. 
  Rain wasn’t the loudest of noises all the time, but it struck through her chaos and often told her to calm down a little bit, even if it brought up painful memories. It kept her in check, especially when she was having the roughest of days. It reminded her of times when her mother would calm her down from the thunderstorms and tell her about how they were there to calm people down, no matter how loud they could get.
  The sound of the rain slowly came to a stop, and was instead filled with the sound of chattering birds. The wind flowed through the trees around her, and even breezed through her short hair. The sun bathed her with warmth like she had never felt before, like a hug from a loved one long dead. If she could strain her ears, she could hear people laughing and perhaps walking around in the soft grass.
  Q opened her eyes and didn’t see the darkness of the tent, but a sight that she thought she would never see again for a long time.
  The rolling green hills of her home seemed to be full of life when the sunlight touched the tips of grass. The sleeping volcano, Huo, loomed in the background, but gave her a homey feeling after all she’s been through. The grass felt so soft underneath her fingertips, making her feel at peace. The air smelled of nature; the trees seemed to be more vibrant than usual. The scene looked to be out of her memories, and perhaps it was, but it made her feel like she was actually home and not caught up in the mess that her life gave her on a daily basis.
  If she were to squint, she could see the city of Tiankong at the foot of the sleeping volcano. She had often questioned why the people of Meide had built their capital city in the volcano’s lava path so long ago, but she also knew that the city’s resident Foreseer Mystic would let the people know when or if Huo was going to let it’s rage on them so they could evacuate if needed.
  Sounds of laughter came from the bottom of the hill and Q tensed, waiting for the blood from her nightmares to start. She knew that when she thought she was at peace, the blood would always find her, no matter where she was or who she was with.
  It never came.
  She looked around, seeing no one, but didn’t relax. Could this just be a normal dream? Is this just how normal people sleep, without nightmares about what they have done in the past? It seemed so… strange. Almost alien with how it could be this way.
  “Mama didn’t expect you to be awake for a while.”
  Q whipped around, seeing someone that she thought she would never see again for the rest of her mortal life.
  It was Ishido, her brother. He looked like he grew, at least when she had last seen him. When she’d seen him, he had been a broken corpse. His raven black hair had grown to be a mess, like his uncle’s. He must’ve been taking after him. He held two plates of something that she couldn’t make out, holding them out of sight when he came closer. His sapphire eyes were full of light when he walked up to her, sitting beside her in the grass while placing the plates in the grass on the other side where she couldn’t see them, his bare feet facing upwards in the grass.
  She sat in awe, seeing her brother sitting next to her at their home, as if nothing’s ever happened. But at the same time, she was concerned. How could he have grown from the last time she saw him? Either her subconscious was really good or someone spiked that crumb cake.
  “You’re dead,” she whispered, wanting to look away at him but couldn’t. “I watched your body burn. I saw you dead.”
  Ishido looked hurt for a bit, then understanding slowly came into his eyes. “Nothing gets past you,” he said, smiling. “Mors thought that you would appreciate seeing me today, or tonight. Whatever. He gave me the chance to see you for one dream. Good thing that you’re not having a bad one today.”
  Q’s eyes widened with surprise. He would… do that for me?
  “Wait,” she interjected her own thoughts, “what’s so special about today?”
  “Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten.” He laughed, causing Q to smile. It was good to see him again. “Have you been fighting too much to forget what day it is?”
  “Ishi, you know that I’m not the best with remembering dates.”
  “Oh, so we’re going back to those names, huh?” Ishido’s eyes twinkled with playfulness. “If I remember correctly, you were the one that constantly reminded me when we had to go to school and all of those activities that Mama had us signed up for.”
  “School and their activities were different. You know that.” She gave him a playful glare. “I was the one that actually enjoyed learning things there and the activities they hosted.”
  “Yeah, and I was the one that enjoyed the people there instead being a reclusive shut in.”
  Q glared at him again, then saw his playful expression, then she started to laugh for the first time in what seemed like forever. 
  It wasn’t in real life, but she still counted it. It was with someone she cared about, even if they have passed on. But Ko’ad’s Light, it felt good to laugh like that. It had been too long since she had done so and actually enjoyed it. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been around people she really cared about, but she will enjoy it. It may not be exactly real, but she will accept it.
  Ishido seemed to be happy with her laughter that he joined in for a second, before he looked back at her. “You really don’t remember what day it is today?” he asked.
  Q shook her head, a smile still on her face. “I can barely remember to eat nowadays, Ishi,” she said. “I can’t remember what day it is most of the time, unless someone reminds me.”
  Ishido gave her a smile, something reminiscent of her own, then pulled something up from behind him and placed it on her lap. A plate holding a slice of a beautiful cake now sat on her lap, decorated with blue icing and with the occasional golden sprinkles. It was something that she hadn’t seen in a really long time. She hadn’t seen this kind of cake since… well, since…
  He leaned in, giving her a brotherly peck on her cheek. “Happy birthday, Yulong,” he whispered in her ear. “To the both of us. Take some time for yourself, for your family.”
  And with that, her vision faded to black as she woke up in her tent. The rain still pattered against the tent’s roof, and it was still calming. She couldn’t exactly see the roof of the tent, but she knew that the rain was drizzling softly.
  A smile was plastered on her face. That smile was genuine, and it felt like forever since she smiled like that. It had been the first time in a long time since she had heard her real name, at least from her brother of all people.
  It was still dark out, but at least she now knew what day it was.