#carminaxrye

[sirenaceae]

@carminaxrye​ | X​

“Hi there. I don’t often bump into too many people out here.” The greeting was rather innocent. Faith looked like a middle-aged woman without any frills, her face had fine wrinkles and her features looked softer from natural skin laxity. The clothes she wore were practical, layers that protected from the bone-deep chill of the dawn. She was covered from her neck to her toes in fabrics and she carried a basket of foraged wild berries, chamomile and mushrooms over one arm.

A shotgun hung from her other. “I didn’t catch your name?”

[only-we]

@carminaxrye​ | X

She wasn’t weak. No.

Worse.

She was stupid.

Naive. Brash. Overconfident. Needed to be involved in everything. Needed to play the hero at every chance.

How Jacob hated this attitude. Despised it as much as he despised her entire being.  

But this time she had saved four little children of Eden with that attitude. They had wandered off too far. Stupid, too. And weak at that. They were only children yet. And she had risked her life to save them. Even though she had no real reason to. She didn’t know them. And Eden hadn’t been kind to her. Well… most of it. If they ignored one certain young man…

Jacob’s eye bored down onto her. And for a moment it looked as if the old Herald would leave her be there. Let her die in the foggy forests north of the old ruins.

But Jacob knew who would end up finding her here, so close to this hut that wasn’t really a secret. And he didn’t want for his son what he had lived through himself.

So within another moment there was no trace of the girl anymore. Except for the felled bear and the splatters of blood.

She would awaken again, but not in Prosperity and not even in New Eden. She would wake up and lie on her stomach, bedded on old and dusty but still soft furs and woven cloth. The hut was dark, dimly lit by torches and part of the ceiling that was simply missing and allowing the sun to peek through. Drawing bright silhouettes onto the wooden floor.

“Don’t move.”, would be the only grim order she would hear coming from Jacob. He was still busy tending to her back. It was clean. The gashes and claw marks were sewed shut. And he was applying a numbing paste to her skin.

Something that seemed so eerily out of character for him to do. But they were alone here.

No one had dared coming back to the North after Joseph and his son had died here.

[in-rush-we-trust]

@carminaxrye​ | Starter Call

So, this Isaac had not been really appreciative of Rush's invite to join on an exploration. But Thomas had seen that this guy was a convoluted mess of expectations and pressure from his overly religious family. He could've left that alone... but he knew Carmina was still sneaking away.

And she suffered from that separation, too.

So Thomas would get over his own doubts in this - and leave it up to her. Approaching Carmina, he had nodded for them to find a quiet spot at the top of Prosperity's roofs.

Sitting down, he had to take a moment to gather the right words. But there was no way around this, really.

"Carmina, I have met your friend from Eden. Isaac. He... has grown quite a bit, and he has copied way more of his family than I'd have expected.", he begun, raising a hand a bit to keep Carmina quiet for another moment, "I think he is... confused. Or misled. Eden is a very isolated community, and he seems to... dislike me for the explorations I offer to you. I wondered whether he could be part of those... so I need your honest opinion on him. Who is he really - and what is he like."

[sonofedensgate]

@carminaxrye​ | X

He was so tired of this. Once he had loved every story she had told him. Once he had begged her for more and more. Even when she had started her first missions, he had been curious. But after she had set out for months... well. Now he hated this.

Why did she have to find this as her new livelihood?

Even after all these years... it only got worse.

And her promise sounded empty to him. Sighing and running a hand over his face, Isaac turned around halfway to the door.

"... and what if one day you don't? You don’t need to go on those missions... why take the risk? What if one day something goes wrong out there?"

[takenbythebliss]

@carminaxrye​

was angry the right word to put on the emotion that had held linny tight in its grip since carmina had uttered that name? 

raking a hand through her hair linny shook her head, forcing a small smile when she noticed just how nervous the youngster was  - this wasn’t carmina’s fault. no one could fault the teenager for being curious. she had only been a little sprite when jacob had brought her to eden - it made sense that she still had lingering memories of before then and wouldn’t any child go chase those white rabbits down the hole?

‘ i’m not angry with you - i’m just, i’m scared for you. ’

blowing out a weary breath at the teenager’s question, linny sat down on the other side of the small wooden table, no bowl of stew for herself - she had no head for an appetite right now. not after the day she’d put down. 

resting her arms on the rough grain of the table, the woman reached over to edge the spoon closer to carmina’s hand ... just because she wasn’t eating didn’t mean the teenager couldn’t.

‘ i understand that you’re curious about things from before you came here, but those folks don’t understand us. they don’t approve of our choices and how we choose to live ... the man you spoke to, he will take you away from us if he gets the chance. ’

[whitetail-wheaty]

@carminaxrye​ | X

Fuckin’ hell. It hurt to be looked at like that. As if she didn’t recognize him at all. How could that be? How could she have forgotten? She had been a little kid… and they had only known each other for a few months then, but Wheaty had loved her like a little sister. Until the Highwaymen had destroyed everything… and Eden had stolen away Carmina.

And now she was a young teenager. And she didn’t recognize him?

He almost wanted to be angry. Not at her, though.

Shaking his head, Wheaty briefly glared over to where the Eden hunters must be. Checking that they still were far.

“Sinner? Fuck that. Mina, it’s me – Wheaty! I came to your parents’ house when we all came back to the surface! We played together, sang songs, you can’t have forgotten that! What the hell did they do to you?”

[loqis]

@carminaxrye​ | X 

So, that little ruse hadn’t exactly worked out. But it had at least been a gentle attempt to get that annoying teenager off of Reno’s back. With no such luck.

Instead she came back with some wild accusations – and it immediately sparked Loqi’s anger. He had brought it up to Reno. And his brother had fucking dismissed it. Sounded almost amused asking whether this ‘was about Carmina being mean’. Fucking asshole.

Just another happening that made Loqi more aggressive – and now stomp forwards and grab Carmina by the front of her vest to press her against the wooden wall of the main building.

“What do you know about my brother and I? Nothing. You are a spoiled little brat. Nothing ever hurt your little world and so you trample through it with your head up in the clouds arrogantly and aren’t able to sense what others see and how they feel about you and your actions. Even when you hurt others, you don’t see it. You don’t care. You are selfish. And you don’t even realize it. The worst kind of human to deal with. Passive aggressive and ignorant. You don’t make this world any darker, but you sure as hell don’t make it any brighter either.”

[proxnotxaxfool]

continued from (x)

someone was down in the dumps alright - could hardly blame the kid. things had gone south in a way he hadn’t seen coming and they’d all hit the ground hard with that curve-ball.

pressing the make-do ice-pack kim had handed him to a rather tender spot along the top of his shoulder, reno sat down next to carmina with a huff. 

okay.

‘ listen up - wasn’t your judgement that had that fucking prick showing up at your home. wasn’t your judgement that had me and him playing rollie-pollie down to the river neither ... that one’s on me. i’ve always had a habit of picking fights with bigger bastards than me, ask rush. ’

and only for loqi and his magnificent timing, reno knew the fight with aaron would have been his last. shifting the ice-pack higher, the cap lay back on the roof of the building, staring up at the aurora over head as he kicked his boot against carmina’s leg.

‘ shit’s fucked up. there’s some variables up in the air that we’re not sure about just yet ... take five, lick your wounds and we’ll reassess when you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, alright? not gonna speak for your boyfriend, but i’m fairly sure it was his family that exiled him - not you. sounds like his uncle’s taken a dive off the deep end and that ain’t your fault. ’