SUNLIGHT. *

ᵉᵃᶜʰ ᵈᵃʸ˒ ʸᵒᵘ ʳᶤˢᵉ ʷᶤᵗʰ ᵐᵉ ᵏᶰᵒʷ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶤ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵍˡᵃᵈˡʸ ᵇᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᶤᶜᵃʳᵘˢ ᵗᵒ ʸᵒᵘʳ ᶜᵉʳᵗᵃᶤᶰᵗʸ ᵒʰ˒ ᵐʸ ˢᵘᶰˡᶤᵍʰᵗ˒ ˢᵘᶰˡᶤᵍʰᵗ˒ ˢᵘᶰˡᶤᵍʰᵗ 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐎 𝐃𝐈 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐀 ; 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑦

[alessandrxs-a]

ilija.  *

     - THERE WAS a lot of ilija wanted to do since getting out of the hospital and arriving in tokyo, most of them had to do with figuring out what had happened during the time he couldn’t remember. it was one of the reasons he asked around for alessandro’s apartment number after being told by mimi that they were together that night and actually went there. ‘ hey, can we talk ? ’·

        of  all  the  people  ale  expected  to  see  knocking  on  his  apartment  door,  ilija  was  definitely  not  one  of  them.    from  what  he’s  heard,  the  croatian  can’t  remember  a  single  thing  from  that  night  so  ale  doubted  it  would  even  be  mentioned.    “    sure,  come  on  in,    ”    he  invites  instead  of  questioning,  stepping  aside  to  let  ilija  in.    he  motions  towards  the  living  room  for  him  to  sit.    “    how  are  you  doing  ?    i  heard  about  what  happened.    ”

[alessandrxs-a]

        “    milena  let  me  in  before  she  left,    ”    ale  explains  when  he  enters  the  room,  trying  to  keep  the  concern  out  of  his  voice.    “    do  you  need  anything  ?    some  ice  ?    a  drink  ?    a  trip  to  the  bahamas  ?    i  think  your  sister  might  need  convincing  the  last  one  will  be  a  good  idea,  but  i  think  i  can  worm  some  charm  in  there.    ”    @kscniya

[alessandrxs-a]

        “    have  you  been  to  the  arcades  yet  ?    ”    he  needs  a  little  fun.    ale  can’t  remember  the  last  time  he  actually  had  some  fun  that  wasn’t  ruined  by  one  disaster  or  another.    “    they’re  really  good,  i  promise.    definitely  worth  wasting  a  few  hours  in.    ”        @princexgabriel

[alessandrxs-a]

        “    have  you  heard  anything  from  sav  since  he  got  back  ?    ”    needless  to  say  he  misses  his  brother.    after  spending  so  long  with  all  of  them  in  one  place,  having  one  of  them  go  back  home  makes  the  void  feel  emptier.    it  makes  it  even  worse  that  they’re  no  longer  living  together,  but  ale  will  never  voice  those  words.    “    saying  that,  i  haven’t  heard  much  from  any  of  you  since  we  came  here.    are  you  doing  good  ?    ”        @lucianabxlla

[alessandrxs-a]

ilija,  kseniya  &  mimi.  *

“I’m fine,” but she doesn’t sound it, voice frantic and breathless from amongst thick brush. Physically she’s mostly fine. She’d twisted her wrist when she’d fallen over, hands out to protect her face. –The rest of her is covered in shallow scratches not from the quake but from fighting through the undergrowth afterwards. “I can’t find Barker, he got spooked and ran off…” She had only brought three of her dogs. Barker, who’d boundless puppy energy to burn; a poodle named Duchess who’s the only other one of Mimi’s dog’s athletic enough to keep up; and Chinchy, who rode along in her backpack. When the quake hit Chinchy had barely seemed to notice - he was constantly trembling, anyway - and Duchess had run back to her mistress, but Barker had gone full pelt in the opposite direction. “He doesn’t even know his name yet,” she frets, but yells for him again anyway….Nothing. “Have either of you seen Barker?” She calls to Ilija and Kseniya as they approach. “A lab puppy,” she explains, for Ilija’s benefit. “–Have you seen anyone?…God, did the guide set a meeting point, or something?” She looks around, but isnt sure what she’s expecting to see. “I wasn’t paying attention to the tour I was listening to Britney Spears.” ·

“ you were with ale ? ” any relief shrivels with the uncertainties that cling to her cousins and mimi. ” wait— wait, please, slow down, ”  breaths are shallow from the exertion as she finds a staggered rhythm, arm still burdening his neck. how many people are out there ? far too many for ilija to be bearing deadweight. balance shifts slightly, attempting to alleviate some pressure off his shoulders. the strain causes a sharp inhale through teeth, that are a hair’s breadth from drawing blood from her lower lip. eyes begin to prickle but not a sound dares to escape her. “ thank god she’s okay, ” she exhales, this time indulging herself in a moment of reprieve, despite having only the strength to carry her words into ilija’s earshot.··

     - ‘ STOP TRYING to put pressure on it, you’ll hurt yourself even more. ’ and god knew how long it would take for them to actually get any medical assistance or help from anyone really. he slowed down his pace of walking though, still keeping an eye out for the italian slightly scared they parted ways for good. the call out for him wiped away that thought and soon enough he saw both alessandro and dominique. ‘ we’re here ! ’ a few more steps and they were all close enough. ‘ didn’t see your pup, i’m sorry. all the people i saw were in my camping group, group one. we were all safe up there. i came down on my own and then we ran into each other. who have you guys seen before this ? ’·

        “    kseniya  ?    what  happened  ?    are  you  okay  ?    ”    everything  is  happening  so  fast  at  the  moment  that  it’s  difficult  for  him  to  process  what’s  going  on  around  them.    did  he  see  any  dogs  on  his  travels  ?    did  he  see  anyone  else  ?    his  head  starts  to  pound  and  he  looks  around  frantically,  a  hand  pulling  through  his  hair.    “    stop,  stop,  we  all  need  to  take  a  moment.    we  need  to  formulate  a  plan  to  get  back.    does  anybody  know  which  direction  the  resort  is  in  ?    ”        @mimivon  +  @kscniya  +  @ilijaf

[alessandrxs-a]

ilija,  mimi  &  kseniya.  *

her head still spins from the tempest of events. the adrenalin numbs her until she dares to stand and her ankle gives in under the weight, a sharp pain jolting up her calf. teeth clench into her bottom lip, caging in the whimper, as eyes strain for any hint of blonde that might be mimi. she staggers, instead, towards a voice and a figure that she’s too disjointed to shy from, an arm instantly anchoring upon his shoulder, lifting the burden off her ankle. “ ilija— my ankle but— mimi, i was with her just before — have you seen her ? ” words are frantically pouring from her lips. “ are you okay ? ”     * / @ilijafilipovic· + @alessandrxs·

     - AT THE mention of her ankle, his eyes travelled down to find it swollen. ‘ wait, don’t move, don’t move. ’ he basically pleads while all but lifting her, arm around her waist and making sure hers is around his neck for support. he could carry her bridal style but the land under their feet was not reliable enough for him to do so. ‘ i got you, just put all your weight on me and try not to let your foot touch the ground. ’ because it could make her ankle worse. ‘ i’m alright, the part i was in didn’t get hit. i didn’t see mimi, no, but alessandro just saw someone to the east. ’ and, with that, he started walking and bringing her with him in said direction in hopes to find the guy that was with him just seconds ago. / @alessandrxs·

        he  approaches  the  person  he’s  spotted  with  lithe  footsteps,  before  realising  that  he  knows  who  the  those  blonde  locks  belong  to.    “    mimi  ?    ”    he  examines  her  with  furrowed  eyebrows,  not  entirely  sure  where  ilija  went  but  his  adrenaline  is  running  at  an  all  time  high  and  seeing  someone  in  need  makes  it  ten  times  higher.    “    are  you  hurt  ?    can  you  walk  ?    come  on,  ilija  is  closeby,  come  on,    ”    in  the  same  breath,  he  yells,    “    ilija  !    i  found  mimi,  where  are  you  ?!    ”    he  looks  around,  spotting  two  figures  coming  towards  him.        @mimivon  +  @kscniya  +  @ilijaf

[alessandrxs-a]

        “    wait,  i  think  i  just  saw  someone...    ”    he’d  run  into  ilija  about  halfway  through  losing  everybody  else,  and  it  was  almost  an  unspoken  agreement  that  they  should  team  up  and  start  looking  for  people.    his  hands  are  scuffed  and  he  can  feel  bruises  forming  on  his  knees  from  falling,  but  apart  from  that  he  got  lucky.    he  doesn’t  think  some  people  got  the  same  luck.    “    come  on,  let’s  go,  it  looks  like  they’re  limping.    ”        @ilijaf

[alessandrxs-a]

xiuying.  *

“ well, we’ve made it SO FAR that my phone doesn’t work anymore. “ after another few fruitless attempts at loading up a page, she grumbled. “ how far are we going ? “

        “    are  you  that  bored  ?    ”    ale  laughs.    there  really  is  two  types  of  people  on  this  trip,  isn’t  there  ?    “    about  a  mile,  maybe  more.    apparently  the  view  is  worth  it.    ”

[alessandrxs-a]

nikolina.  *

theoretically, the exercise was something she welcomed — but in practice, hiking in nature and away from air conditioning was a whole different beast. the peak was in sight, according to the guide, and nika took that as a sign to stow her water bottle and break out her flask. it was after she took a small gulp of the whiskey did she notice a pair of eyes on her. “oh shit- uh… do you want some?”

          he  started  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  hike  around  an  hour  or  so  after  they’d  set  off,  but  ale  trudged  along  regardless,  never  being  one  to  let  hardships  pull  him  down.    in  comparison  to  his  work  out  routines,  this  is  nothing.    “    no,  thank  you,  that’s  one  way  to  dehydrate  quicker.    ”    the  hike  wasn’t  over  yet,  after  all.    “     besides,  there’ll  be  plenty  of  that  back  at  the  resort.    ”

[callanthas]

Xavier Serrano

[alessandrxs-a]

        “    we’re  good  for  like,  a  few  hours.    luce  just  took  noe  out  and  i  think  my  brothers  are  busy  doing  something,  so  we’ve  got  the  entire  suite  to  ourselves.    ”    what  a  disaster,  he  wants  to  say,  but  instead  he  grins  and  lounges  across  the  sofa  in  the  sitting  room,  tossing  a  pillow  in  parker’s  direction.    “    so,  what  do  you  wanna  do  ?    ”        @parkerwhitmores

[alessandrxs-a]

giovanni.  *

                                                                                           ROME,  14TH  SEPTEMBER  2016.

“ This explains why nonna convinced me to stop in Rome.” He closes his laptop, as if on cue, exactly when a call from their father came through. It was easier to say his flight plan didn’t include a night’s stay in Torino. “Papa isn’t pleased I’m not going home but whatever.” Oxford would have to miss him for a day too. Perhaps longer depending on Alessandro’s schedule. “I’ve been well. –And you?  How is it out there as an officer?” 

        “    s’my  fault,  sorry.    i  told  her  to  keep  you  here  by  whatever  means  necessary  so  i  could  see  you.    ”    they  don’t  see  each  other  by  far  as  often  enough  as  they  used  to.    with  ale  being  pulled  away  for  service  and  gio  in  university,  they  spend  more  time  together  than  they  do  apart  these  day.    “    he’ll  get  over  it.    ”    he  doesn’t  have  much  of  a  choice.    “    good,  much  the  same.    not  easy  but  i  knew  what  i  was  signing  up  for  the  day  i  began  my  training.    i  miss  everyone,  though.    ”

[alessandrxs-a]

teodore.  *

“Neat spots are always good. Though, you’re actually offering to let me near one of your precious planes?”  Teo reaches into a pocket and pulls out his phone.  “Mind repeating that so that I’ll have proof for when you change your mind?”  Never mind that they are actually in one of said planes now. All teasing aside, spending time with his brother is something to look forward to, their interactions as adults far less frequent than he might choose. A slightly blank look crosses his face at Ale’s statement about  ‘too much’  and it takes him a moment before realization dawns. “Oh  —  because of all that stuff with Austria, you mean.”

        he  reaches  a  hand  and  pushes  the  phone  down,  shaking  his  head.    “    not  one  of  my  planes.    a  rented  plane  that  can  be  returned  otherwise  i’ll  kick  your  ass.    ”    did  teo  really  expect  ale  to  let  him  dip  into  his  plane  collection  ?    the  thought  is  almost  so  impossible  to  think  about  that  he  ends  up  laughing.    besides,  there  are  planes  practically  equipped  for  beginners.    ale  doesn’t  think  teo  would  last  a  day  in  one  of  his.    “    yeah,  and  other  things.    keeping  a  low  profile  seems  like  the  best  option.    ”

[alessandrxs-a]

kseniya.  *

the jarring buzz of phone against sandalwood jolts her out of the realm of maria wyeth and back to mar del plata, where the pages fold over her thumb, freeing a hand to view the message. a moment of contemplation has her formulating an excuse to exempt her from a trip to the beach. a blistering sunburn ? errands to run ? babysitting ? her thumb and four letters betray her —

okay. 

within fifteen minutes, his frame comes into view, cautious steps bringing her into his peripherals. “ do make sure you put on a shirt before your dinner with lenya tonight. borrow one from giovanni, if you must, ” it’s all in jest, but there’s no denying the hesitance in her timbre.

        her  joking  tone  relaxes  his  nerves,  just  a  little,  but  there’s  still  something  settling  in  his  stomach  as  she  approaches.    “    don’t  worry,  i  already  have  a  shirt  ironed  and  pressed  ready.    i  doubt  showing  up  in  anything  less  than  proper  dinner  attire  will  impress  your  sister.    ”    he  still  doesn’t  know  what  the  expect.    ale  truly  is  a  jumble  of  nerves  today.    his  gaze  moves  to  the  ocean  again.    “    i  wanted  to  talk  to  you  before  then,  actually,    ”    his  voice  is  slightly  muted,  faltering  at  the  end.

[alessandrxs-a]

luciana.  *

“And I love you, Ale.” Those were words that she often did not say but with the fear of losing him still looming over her, she realized that she should. Their hug marked the start of her commitment to saying it more. “Is it just me or are we being too emotional today?”, she joked before finally pulling away from the comfort that he wrapped her in. She smiled upon looking at him again. “If you have something purple to wear, you can definitely join me. I’m going to make us sandwiches to eat after. Do you have any requests?”

        ale  smiles  when  the  words  are  repeated  and  pulls  out  of  the  embrace,  feeling  more  at  ease  than  he  had  a  couple  of  minutes  ago.    isn’t  it  strange  that  hearing  affirmation  from  the  ones  you  love  can  make  you  feel  better  ?    “    far  too  emotional,  but  it’s  okay.    we  needed  it.    ”    and  they  did.    sometimes  it’s  nice  to  hear  words  of  comfort.    “    i  can  probably  dig  something  out.    do  we  have  any  porchetta  di  ariccia  ?    i  haven’t  had  any  in  far  too  long.    ”

[alessandrxs-a]

arabella.  *

“Actually, people can fault for me that. Some even already did. There will come a day when you’ll realize why they had a right to.” While Arabella was aware that some situations required her to not think of anyone else but herself when making decisions, she wished that she didn’t have to do that. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find a way out this time around. Hopefully, it’ll really be worth it once this is all over. “There isn’t much else that’s good so I don’t know how we’re still managing.” But they were. She was grateful for that. “I’ll drink to that.”

        “    when  it’s  all  over,  they’ll  understand  why  you  did  it.    people  get  angry  quickly  but  they  also  forget,  too.    ”    wars  happen  all  the  time;    eventually,  somebody  waves  the  white  flag  and  they  forget  about  what  happens.    a  non-agression  pact,  a  betrothal,  a  trade  deal.    there’s  always  solutions  and  then  along  comes  the  next  conflict.    “    optimism.    that’s  the  easiest  way  around  this.    ”    although  it’s  hard  to  be  optimistic  when  you’re  running  out  of  reasons  to  be.

[alessandrxs-a]

luciana.  *

Instead of responding, Luciana moved away from the pot and towards him to give him a hug. She stayed in that position for a while and only pulled away to say “You’re alive and here with me, that is more than enough to make me happy.” She smiled back at him, hoping it and her words will get rid of or at least lighten the concern he felt for her. “With the month that I’m having, I agree and thanks to you, it’s already off to a good start.” Here’s to hoping that was a sign of what’s to come. “There’s a small town around 35 minutes from here called Sierra De Los Padres. I plan on going on a hike in the forest and hopefully, I’ll make it to the lake while the sun is still shining. Then I’m going to spend the afternoon with Nat. After that, I’m free.”

        the  hug  is  unexpected,  so  it  takes  him  a  second  to  recover  from  being  caught  off  guard  before  he  returns  the  embrace,  smiling.    “    i  love  you,  loop.    happy  birthday.    ”    the  anxiousness  he  felt  before  disappears  and  he  feels  more  comforted,  lighter  than  he  did  a  few  seconds  ago.    “    let’s  hope  it  continues,    ”    because  that’s  what  she  needs.    it’s  what  they  all  need.    the  mention  of  a  hike  makes  his  ears  prickle.    “    mind  if  i  join  you  on  that  ?    i  could  do  with  some  time  away  from  the  hotel.    ”