Kyiv’s ummsbiaus is simultaneously developing two complementary musical careers. The first is the path of FAVNA and FLORA, vocal releases that honor and celebrate feminine power through nature and myth. The second is a slate of suites: Enerhomor Suite, Metro Suite, Hydroelectric Suite and Intervals Suite, mostly instrumental works that incorporate field recordings and reflect on the current…
Whumptober 03: STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT…
taunting | insults | “Who did this to you?”
Warnings: none
Word count: c. 500
—
“What the fuck happened? Who did this to you?”
El was a frightening mess of bruises, scrapes and blood spatters. Minah knelt next to where she was seated on the floor, leaning back against the wall right next to the door to their apartment. She had nearly tripped over her when she’d arrived home.
Now her groceries lay forgotten on the floor, apples rolling out of the paper bag from the farmer’s market, raspberries oozing juice that almost matched the blood smeared on El’s face and arms. She knew El was involved in some “shady shit” (El’s words, not Minah’s), but this was… unexpected, unpleasant, and, if she was being honest with herself, more than a little terrifying.
El turned her head to the side and spat another mouthful of blood onto the off-white linoleum floor. “Like you don’t already know.”
“I don’t know, so tell me!”
“Take a wild fucking guess.”
Minah rocked back onto her heels and groaned. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t have any guesses. I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“I want you to use your brain for more than two seconds. Come on, I know you can do it. Or I thought you could, anyway. But maybe I don’t know you at all.”
What does that mean? El was glaring, the anger in her face the type she usually reserved for military police and government broadcasts.
Minah grabbed her knees to stop herself from covering her face with her hands in—something. Exasperation, maybe, or embarrassment, because she had no idea what she’d done to incur El’s fury and she couldn’t help but feel that she should.
“What’s this all about? I just want to help. I’m not the one who hurt you, you know, and I don’t know why you’re acting like I am. Why all the—“ anger, derision, contempt, “—hostility?”
“Because there’s only one reason I can think of for why my drop point would be compromised, and that was if the person I’d told about it told someone else!” El jabbed a finger at Minah, then flinched. “Fuck!”
Minah wanted to defend herself, to say that she had no clue what El was talking about, but… El would argue. And then getting her any first aid would become a pipe dream, not just an uphill battle.
“El… Please, let’s come back to this. You need help. I can help you. I don’t… I know you probably don’t want to hear what I have to say, but please, please, let me help. You can yell at me later. You need to wash out your wounds or you’ll get infected. Please.”
El’s eyes narrowed further, but eventually she nodded. It was a small, skeptical thing, but it was there. Minah closed her eyes and sent a brief prayer of thanks to God.
“All right,” she said, careful not to show her relief on her face. Strong expressions of feeling tended to spook El. “Let’s get you up.”
El nodded again, and let Minah support her as they stood together and headed over to the bathroom.
#nowplaying Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13, "Pathétique": II. Adagio cantabile by Mayfair Philharmonic Orchestra on the album 30 Classical Playlist for Babies
Ludwig van Beethoven‘s Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13, commonly known as Sonata Pathétique, was written in 1798 when the composer was 27 years old, and was published in 1799.…
but what am I going to do with my saturdays now?! I feel like there should be a second season because they showed the senpais..... I MEAN REALLY WHO DOES THAT SJFKSHFJKHSKFJHKG