 | I CREATED THE SOUND OF MADNESS WROTE THE BOOK ON PAIN SOMEHOW I'M STILL HERE TO EXPLAIN --- THAT THE DARKEST HOUR NEVER COMES IN THE NIGHT --- |
Halloween had come around once again, and Calliope was as excited as ever to celebrate her favorite holiday. It was her first time celebrating it now that she had been cured of her black outs, which had incidentally been caused by the fact that she’d been suffering from dissociation episodes. It had been nearly a year since the Rune Knight director, Mythal Ragnos, had used his mysterious powers to splinter her soul into three pieces, releasing Aeron and Thana into their own bodies and restoring Calliope to having full control of her own body and mind. A number of things had changed since then, including that she could now speak like a normal person without having to resort to sign language. She’d also lost nearly all of her magic, maintaining only the ability to change the appearance of her body at will.
She’d also given birth to her and Nathaniel’s daughter only a month or so afterward. Meika was an absolutely adorable child, full of life and laughter. Considering her lack of exposure to any sort of motherly figure in her life, Calliope had melded almost seamlessly into the role herself. Mythal and his fiance, Field Marshal Serilda Sinclair, had taken her and Aeron in for a time after Thana was executed, knowing that neither women had any other support systems to rely on, and Calliope had lived with the Rune Knight leaders for a couple of months after having Meika. But Calliope had been determined to only rely on their generosity until she could find a way to stand on her own two feet, and so, with a suggestion from Serilda, she had sought out the guild Luminous Rose and joined their ranks, moving into the guild housing and even managing to raise enough money to start her own business running a coffee shop and sweets bakery.
She had yet to regain the use of any real magic, but she was happy with her small, simple life. Calliope made every effort to visit Nathaniel where he was still imprisoned in Era as well, taking time to see him at least once a week not just so she could spend time with him, but also so that he could be a part of Meika’s life as well. Today was no exception. The Rune Knights had kindly offered to host an in-house Halloween celebration within the jail grounds that all prisoners who had been on good behavior were allowed to attend and spend time with their loved ones. It was extremely high security, of course, as they would not allow any attempts at escape or sabotage, but it was still more than what most other incarcerated individuals could expect.
In the spirit of the holiday, she had elected to dress up, donning a costume that was fashioned like traditional Midian garb. She wore a black and white striped kimono that was covered in pink flower embroidery. Her hair was altered from its normal pink and brown combination to being primarily pink with green tips, the long locks pulled up in a bun behind her head with decorative pins in the form of red, white, and pink flowers. Meika was also dressed up for what would be the girl’s very first Halloween in a black witch gown that had white pleats and ruffles, white stockings, and black shoes. A headband with black cat ears and white fur trim sat on top of her blonde hair, and she carried a pumpkin shaped bucket for collecting candy.
It took them a few minutes to go through security, the Rune Knights dutifully checking all of their personal belongings to make sure there were no weapons, enchanted items, or anything else that could compromise the safety or security of the prison. Once they were cleared, she thanked them and allowed herself to be escorted past a number of locked and guarded doors until she was brought to the large visitation area that had been done up for the event. It was rather small – only a few dozen prisoners and their visitors, as opposed to the hundreds of people that one might see in the more public events taking place outside in the city squares. But it still had more than enough stations with some games and small prizes, even a ride or two.
Calliope wandered through until she spotted Nathaniel. As always, the sight of him brought a bright smile to her face. She pointed toward him. “Look! Who’s that?”
Meika’s vivid pink eyes followed the direction her mother was pointing until she saw him as well. “Dada..!” Roughly eleven months of age or so, Meika was still incapable of anything except the most basic sounds, knowing only a couple of words outside of ‘dada’ and ‘mama’. She was already leaning forward out of Calliope’s arms to try and get to him, her hands stretched out eagerly toward the man.
Calliope stopped and carefully set the girl down on her feet, holding her upright for a brief moment. “Go on! Show him what you can do..!” Slowly but steadily, Meika stepped out of Calliope’s supportive hands and started walking toward Nathaniel.
She’d also given birth to her and Nathaniel’s daughter only a month or so afterward. Meika was an absolutely adorable child, full of life and laughter. Considering her lack of exposure to any sort of motherly figure in her life, Calliope had melded almost seamlessly into the role herself. Mythal and his fiance, Field Marshal Serilda Sinclair, had taken her and Aeron in for a time after Thana was executed, knowing that neither women had any other support systems to rely on, and Calliope had lived with the Rune Knight leaders for a couple of months after having Meika. But Calliope had been determined to only rely on their generosity until she could find a way to stand on her own two feet, and so, with a suggestion from Serilda, she had sought out the guild Luminous Rose and joined their ranks, moving into the guild housing and even managing to raise enough money to start her own business running a coffee shop and sweets bakery.
She had yet to regain the use of any real magic, but she was happy with her small, simple life. Calliope made every effort to visit Nathaniel where he was still imprisoned in Era as well, taking time to see him at least once a week not just so she could spend time with him, but also so that he could be a part of Meika’s life as well. Today was no exception. The Rune Knights had kindly offered to host an in-house Halloween celebration within the jail grounds that all prisoners who had been on good behavior were allowed to attend and spend time with their loved ones. It was extremely high security, of course, as they would not allow any attempts at escape or sabotage, but it was still more than what most other incarcerated individuals could expect.
In the spirit of the holiday, she had elected to dress up, donning a costume that was fashioned like traditional Midian garb. She wore a black and white striped kimono that was covered in pink flower embroidery. Her hair was altered from its normal pink and brown combination to being primarily pink with green tips, the long locks pulled up in a bun behind her head with decorative pins in the form of red, white, and pink flowers. Meika was also dressed up for what would be the girl’s very first Halloween in a black witch gown that had white pleats and ruffles, white stockings, and black shoes. A headband with black cat ears and white fur trim sat on top of her blonde hair, and she carried a pumpkin shaped bucket for collecting candy.
It took them a few minutes to go through security, the Rune Knights dutifully checking all of their personal belongings to make sure there were no weapons, enchanted items, or anything else that could compromise the safety or security of the prison. Once they were cleared, she thanked them and allowed herself to be escorted past a number of locked and guarded doors until she was brought to the large visitation area that had been done up for the event. It was rather small – only a few dozen prisoners and their visitors, as opposed to the hundreds of people that one might see in the more public events taking place outside in the city squares. But it still had more than enough stations with some games and small prizes, even a ride or two.
Calliope wandered through until she spotted Nathaniel. As always, the sight of him brought a bright smile to her face. She pointed toward him. “Look! Who’s that?”
Meika’s vivid pink eyes followed the direction her mother was pointing until she saw him as well. “Dada..!” Roughly eleven months of age or so, Meika was still incapable of anything except the most basic sounds, knowing only a couple of words outside of ‘dada’ and ‘mama’. She was already leaning forward out of Calliope’s arms to try and get to him, her hands stretched out eagerly toward the man.
Calliope stopped and carefully set the girl down on her feet, holding her upright for a brief moment. “Go on! Show him what you can do..!” Slowly but steadily, Meika stepped out of Calliope’s supportive hands and started walking toward Nathaniel.
deltra of gangnam style
WORDS: 856 | TAGS: @Nathaniel Stratford 
