Brigits Flame Entry - September Week 1 - We're the Lunatics - to the victor go the spoils
brigits_flame September week 1 Entry - We're the Lunatics! - to the victor go the spoils
Word count: 781 words
Warnings: off-screen character death, implied insanity, discussion of premeditated murder attempts.
Notes: prequel to June week 3 entry. should stand on its own. Also, apologies for naming convention in this 'verse, one day I will go back and conlang everybody's name again so the names are less similar.
to the victor go the spoils
After Yelin dies, Sheren goes home. He hasn’t stayed in the family compound for years-he’s been with Tasui, rewrote his life so it revolves around Tasui Kirihari instead of his father, his mother, his sister. He is duty-bound to protect Tasui now, but he leaves that dawn, taking the main streets, and opens the door to Yelin’s freshly dead body.
There are rites for the dead. Sheren Entihari knows all of them; he is head of the family now, and he’s supposed perform them when one of the family dies. He should be fetching cloths and water and bathing the body and wrapping his sister in white linen-white for mourning, white for purity. He should perform the chants to ease the path her soul will take, to give her peace in death.
He stands at the doorway and looks at his sister’s body. Her limbs are sprawled out around her, a puppet with its strings cut. Her hair fans around her face-she always loved her hair. When they were younger, she would sit and brush it, one-hundred strokes a morning, one-hundred strokes a night.
“Yelin,” he begins. Something stops him. He opens his mouth, chokes, and whispers, “Yelin.”
“Sheren,” she whispers in his ear, “Why did you let Tasui kill me?”
*
Yelin talks to him as he performs the rites for traitor to the country. There is no white for his sister-there is nobody who would mourn her. When he takes out scarlet-for blood, for justice-Yelin hisses and says, “Is this how you treat your sister?”
Sheren’s hands shake, but he folds Yelin’s arms across her chest. “You tried to kill Tasui,” he says.
“You let him kill me,” Yelin snaps. “Let him kill me, and now you’ll disown your sister, just for him.”
“He didn’t kill you!” Sheren shouts. He yanks, and the cloth rips in his hands, ragged. “He wouldn’t have if you didn’t spend six years plotting his death!”
Her voice is as vicious as it was when she was alive. “He killed our brother, he killed our cousins, and you let him kill me.”
His hands are shaking. He clenches the cloth and whispers, “Tasui never hurt anybody, Yelin. You’ve always blamed him for Tauren’s death-”
“You’ve never blamed him.”
“Tauren died because he failed the rite of ascendance.” Sheren doesn’t remember his eldest brother, not like Yelin does. He knows from talk that Tauren entered the rite and did not leave it. He knows from Yelin that Tauren should have passed, should have ascended from vassal family into the Kirihari line, should have, should have, should have.
Yelin whispers, “Tauren died because Tasui lived. The rites…”
Sheren says, “Tauren died because he wasn’t worthy.”
“You didn’t know him!” Yelin screeches. “You never knew him, only knew Tasui. And you never cared to.” She laughs. “You can’t bear to face him, so you run away from him.”
Sheren takes up a fresh bolt of scarlet. He lifts up Yelin’s head and begins the process of wrapping her in scarlet. “No,” he says. “I didn’t know him. He died before I was old enough to understand.”
She hisses in triumph.
“But I knew you.” He takes a deep breath. “I knew that you hated Tasui, and so you hated me for not hating him. I knew that you loved Tauren, and you loved me until I left home. I knew that you would forsake your duty and try to kill Tasui because you were angry and scared and I knew that I would try to help-”
“You don’t know anything!” Yelin snaps. “You didn’t know anything, and you will never know anything! He killed Tauren and he’ll kill you, when the time comes. You don’t know anything, Sheren.”
Sheren bows his head. “No,” he agrees. Yelin lies wrapped in scarlet, the only traitor of the family. “I don’t know anything.”
*
Sheren burns Yelin’s body the next day. He doesn’t perform to rites to ease Yelin’s spirit, and he thinks he can hear her whispering, directly behind him. He closes his eyes tightly and tries not to listen.
Tasui touches him on the arm, and for one second he thinks it’s Yelin’s hand on his arm. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he says, and it’s Tasui’s voice, not his sister’s.
Sheren bows his head and doesn’t think of Yelin, covered in red for betraying her country. “She was a traitor,” he says, and his voice sounds dull.
His sister wraps her hands around his, leans in, and whispers, “Why did you let Tasui kill me?”
Sheren says. “She lost.”
end
Word count: 781 words
Warnings: off-screen character death, implied insanity, discussion of premeditated murder attempts.
Notes: prequel to June week 3 entry. should stand on its own. Also, apologies for naming convention in this 'verse, one day I will go back and conlang everybody's name again so the names are less similar.
to the victor go the spoils
After Yelin dies, Sheren goes home. He hasn’t stayed in the family compound for years-he’s been with Tasui, rewrote his life so it revolves around Tasui Kirihari instead of his father, his mother, his sister. He is duty-bound to protect Tasui now, but he leaves that dawn, taking the main streets, and opens the door to Yelin’s freshly dead body.
There are rites for the dead. Sheren Entihari knows all of them; he is head of the family now, and he’s supposed perform them when one of the family dies. He should be fetching cloths and water and bathing the body and wrapping his sister in white linen-white for mourning, white for purity. He should perform the chants to ease the path her soul will take, to give her peace in death.
He stands at the doorway and looks at his sister’s body. Her limbs are sprawled out around her, a puppet with its strings cut. Her hair fans around her face-she always loved her hair. When they were younger, she would sit and brush it, one-hundred strokes a morning, one-hundred strokes a night.
“Yelin,” he begins. Something stops him. He opens his mouth, chokes, and whispers, “Yelin.”
“Sheren,” she whispers in his ear, “Why did you let Tasui kill me?”
*
Yelin talks to him as he performs the rites for traitor to the country. There is no white for his sister-there is nobody who would mourn her. When he takes out scarlet-for blood, for justice-Yelin hisses and says, “Is this how you treat your sister?”
Sheren’s hands shake, but he folds Yelin’s arms across her chest. “You tried to kill Tasui,” he says.
“You let him kill me,” Yelin snaps. “Let him kill me, and now you’ll disown your sister, just for him.”
“He didn’t kill you!” Sheren shouts. He yanks, and the cloth rips in his hands, ragged. “He wouldn’t have if you didn’t spend six years plotting his death!”
Her voice is as vicious as it was when she was alive. “He killed our brother, he killed our cousins, and you let him kill me.”
His hands are shaking. He clenches the cloth and whispers, “Tasui never hurt anybody, Yelin. You’ve always blamed him for Tauren’s death-”
“You’ve never blamed him.”
“Tauren died because he failed the rite of ascendance.” Sheren doesn’t remember his eldest brother, not like Yelin does. He knows from talk that Tauren entered the rite and did not leave it. He knows from Yelin that Tauren should have passed, should have ascended from vassal family into the Kirihari line, should have, should have, should have.
Yelin whispers, “Tauren died because Tasui lived. The rites…”
Sheren says, “Tauren died because he wasn’t worthy.”
“You didn’t know him!” Yelin screeches. “You never knew him, only knew Tasui. And you never cared to.” She laughs. “You can’t bear to face him, so you run away from him.”
Sheren takes up a fresh bolt of scarlet. He lifts up Yelin’s head and begins the process of wrapping her in scarlet. “No,” he says. “I didn’t know him. He died before I was old enough to understand.”
She hisses in triumph.
“But I knew you.” He takes a deep breath. “I knew that you hated Tasui, and so you hated me for not hating him. I knew that you loved Tauren, and you loved me until I left home. I knew that you would forsake your duty and try to kill Tasui because you were angry and scared and I knew that I would try to help-”
“You don’t know anything!” Yelin snaps. “You didn’t know anything, and you will never know anything! He killed Tauren and he’ll kill you, when the time comes. You don’t know anything, Sheren.”
Sheren bows his head. “No,” he agrees. Yelin lies wrapped in scarlet, the only traitor of the family. “I don’t know anything.”
*
Sheren burns Yelin’s body the next day. He doesn’t perform to rites to ease Yelin’s spirit, and he thinks he can hear her whispering, directly behind him. He closes his eyes tightly and tries not to listen.
Tasui touches him on the arm, and for one second he thinks it’s Yelin’s hand on his arm. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he says, and it’s Tasui’s voice, not his sister’s.
Sheren bows his head and doesn’t think of Yelin, covered in red for betraying her country. “She was a traitor,” he says, and his voice sounds dull.
His sister wraps her hands around his, leans in, and whispers, “Why did you let Tasui kill me?”
Sheren says. “She lost.”
end