Bloom
Violet had expected finding her mother to be difficult, and perhaps some part of her had expected not to find her at all. That expectation did little to soften the irritation when her attempt to reach Jairdain went unanswered. For once, Violet had reached across the distance between them, even if the decision had begun with the practical desire to learn more about healing, and she had been met with another absence. She didn't know why. There could be perfectly reasonable explanations, and Violet knew better than to invent answers simply because old resentment made the least charitable ones easier to believe. Whatever the reason, Jairdain remained beyond her reach.
Jayna did not.
That had been the unexpected part. Somewhere in the process of trying to contact a woman Violet had never known, she had discovered a fifteen-year-old sister she had never met. Their first conversation had been strange enough that agreeing to meet in person almost seemed easier than continuing through messages, and Naboo offered convenient neutral ground. Now Violet sat beneath the shade of one of the planet's flowering trees, waiting for the girl to arrive and discovering that the approaching meeting affected her considerably more than she'd anticipated.
Her sister. Violet kept returning to those two words. Half-sister was technically correct, but the qualification seemed increasingly unimportant. Jayna was fifteen years old, which meant an entire childhood had happened without Violet knowing she existed. There were birthdays she hadn't known to remember, interests she'd never heard about, scraped knees, favorite foods, friends, fears, and thousands of ordinary moments that made someone into who they were. None of that was Violet's fault, and certainly none of it was Jayna's, yet an unexpected ache rose at realizing how much of the girl's life had already passed before either of them had the chance to know the other.
Whatever resentment Violet carried toward Jairdain stopped firmly at that boundary. Jayna had no responsibility for choices made before she was born, and Violet would not make the girl answer for her mother's absence. If anything, the opposite feeling had begun to take shape during the wait. Violet found herself wondering whether Jayna was nervous, whether she had been told much about Violet, and what exactly one was supposed to say when meeting a younger sister for the first time. She wanted the girl to feel comfortable with her, and realizing she cared whether Jayna liked her left Violet feeling far more vulnerable than wandering alone through unfamiliar worlds ever had.
Her fingers found the familiar outline of Solan's crystal beneath her shirt, resting there for a moment before Violet caught herself and lowered her hand. Her father had always been the certainty in her life. This was something else entirely, a connection to a part of herself that had always existed at a distance and had suddenly become a real person who had agreed to meet her. Violet glanced toward the path again, anticipation tightening pleasantly and uncomfortably together in her chest.
"This was supposed to be about finding a healer." The quiet observation brought a small, nervous smile to her lips. Somehow, finding a sister seemed considerably more important.
Jayna Ismet-Thio
Jayna did not.
That had been the unexpected part. Somewhere in the process of trying to contact a woman Violet had never known, she had discovered a fifteen-year-old sister she had never met. Their first conversation had been strange enough that agreeing to meet in person almost seemed easier than continuing through messages, and Naboo offered convenient neutral ground. Now Violet sat beneath the shade of one of the planet's flowering trees, waiting for the girl to arrive and discovering that the approaching meeting affected her considerably more than she'd anticipated.
Her sister. Violet kept returning to those two words. Half-sister was technically correct, but the qualification seemed increasingly unimportant. Jayna was fifteen years old, which meant an entire childhood had happened without Violet knowing she existed. There were birthdays she hadn't known to remember, interests she'd never heard about, scraped knees, favorite foods, friends, fears, and thousands of ordinary moments that made someone into who they were. None of that was Violet's fault, and certainly none of it was Jayna's, yet an unexpected ache rose at realizing how much of the girl's life had already passed before either of them had the chance to know the other.
Whatever resentment Violet carried toward Jairdain stopped firmly at that boundary. Jayna had no responsibility for choices made before she was born, and Violet would not make the girl answer for her mother's absence. If anything, the opposite feeling had begun to take shape during the wait. Violet found herself wondering whether Jayna was nervous, whether she had been told much about Violet, and what exactly one was supposed to say when meeting a younger sister for the first time. She wanted the girl to feel comfortable with her, and realizing she cared whether Jayna liked her left Violet feeling far more vulnerable than wandering alone through unfamiliar worlds ever had.
Her fingers found the familiar outline of Solan's crystal beneath her shirt, resting there for a moment before Violet caught herself and lowered her hand. Her father had always been the certainty in her life. This was something else entirely, a connection to a part of herself that had always existed at a distance and had suddenly become a real person who had agreed to meet her. Violet glanced toward the path again, anticipation tightening pleasantly and uncomfortably together in her chest.
"This was supposed to be about finding a healer." The quiet observation brought a small, nervous smile to her lips. Somehow, finding a sister seemed considerably more important.
Jayna Ismet-Thio