Going ‘round in circles was ever so much fun! She didn’t understand just why no one else seemed to agree with her, but then again the others always looked so pinched whenever she saw them.
Especially the one with blonde hair, her skin was naturally rather tanned but each time that the blonde came for a visit she looked progressively paler than the time before.
“I do hope that she hasn’t been ill.” She murmured to herself absently as she mixed another couple of finger paints.
Neal grinned and laughed out loud when his charge swung at him. He ducked, well away from the violent attack that the teen had let loose.
“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to get me!” he called as he charged an attack of his own and sent it at her legs. She jumped out of the way just in time, though the hems of her pants were smoking slightly from where the cold fire had caught the edges.
He doesn’t even blink when she retaliates, but is surprised when another attack manages to knock into him after he’s just dodged the arrow from the now grinning teenager.
“You should expect others to back me up when I’m fighting, Neal!” she crows as one of her friends, who he hadn’t even noticed sneak up behind him, takes him out.
“This was supposed to be a one-on-one spar to improve your skills!” he complains.
“Aren’t you always telling me I need to use whatever or whoever is available in a fight?”
“This wasn’t one of our skirmishes!”
“You didn’t say I couldn’t have help, you just told your sisters not to help me out. Justine isn’t one of your sisters.”
Neal huffs in mock irritation.
This is just a little snippet from waaaay long ago for the Former Guardian ‘verse, back before Neal went off the deep end or Solaris was even out of her teens.
They say that home is where the heart is.
As far as she’s concerned that sounds like a complete load of-
Truth.
It’s the truth.
Even when they wandered underneath the cold and impersonal light of day on a planet so far from their place of creation they had been home because they had been together and had an actual purpose. Not that they had both been together and away from their solar system at the same time often. Not once the Royal Children had been born, at least.
Comet had always been really good with the smallest of children while she, Star, had been a lot better with children that were five and older. Comet liked to tease that it was because Star was young at heart (and in her mind) but not quite at the completely-needing-someone-to-take-care-of-every-little-thing stage like most toddlers and under were. Star didn’t bother retaliating that Comet was better with the smaller children because both sisters knew that it had been Comet’s desire to have children of her own for well over a millennia.
So now that her sister is gone.
Not dead, because there was this really annoying (wonderfulpainfulnecessary) thing where those in their ‘line of work’ were able to come back (somehow) from death.
No she was just gone.
And never coming back.
So Star would never be home again no matter how hard she worked, how long she lived or what her purpose was.
Star was homeless.
Even the wicked have souls. -Lightning, FFXIII-3: Lightning’s Returns
Alex was not a nice man.
He was ruthless and merciless in his business dealings, had no friends (only frantically loyal bodyguards that, really, were mostly furniture to him), no family (left…) and no one who would care if he died.
That last part wasn’t quite true.
There were well over half a million people (at least) who would care one way or another if he suddenly expired. His very many employees across the continent (and soon the globe if his recent business dealings were fruitful enough) as well as his (also very many, sadly) personal and business enemies. People who he’d stepped on moving his way up the company ladder before he was able to secure control of the corporation for himself as well as those who had decided that they just didn’t like him, for one reason or another. (i.e. environmentalists, conservationists, political activists, disgruntled former employees, journalists, ex-girlfriends, one or two ex-fiances, etc.) Supposedly his death would also not be greeted by the local law enforcement. Alex was in relatively good health and any death would be suspect and need to be investigated. The local cops didn’t exactly like Alex (no one really liked big businesses that might possibly have shady dealings going on, but how else would you get certain things done?), but they hated having to deal with his corporation even more. No one really liked dealing with all the inevitable paperwork that someone of Alex’s social standing dying would generate.
He’d given up on making friends and creating a family for himself. What good were friends and family when all they did was betray you? No, he was fine with his ambitions and bodyguards and multi-billion dollar company.
In the beginning there was darkness.
And then there was light.
Slowly, but surely there was order ascribed to the chaos that had existed before.
Because nothing can be made from nothing. Everything had to come from something even if that something was not understandable in a way that those that would come after could comprehend.
“Is this going anywhere?”
“Hush, I’m trying to teach something to our charges.”
“This sounds like it’s going over the head of a bunch of two-year-olds and a five month baby.”
“Comet, you are ruining the mood! I was going for seriousness here!”
“Sister, they fell asleep before you started…”
“That is hardly the most important point!”
The two, eons old though they may be, continued their argument as quietly as possible lest they wake the children they were watching.
This little bit was inspired by this weekend’s Stream of Consciousness prompt and a little bit about what life was like before the Galactic War.
Breathing In 