royal blood // chrys, di, & minnie

[[:ripples:]]

we're on each other's team

THE STOCKY SPOTTED SHE-CAT WATCHED as their mother’s orange tail disappeared through the entrance to Haven. It was rare that Sassafras left her children alone, though Minerva knew that outside waited a BloodClan warrior to guard them from any dangers (and, consequently, to guard from their escape). Their father was busy being the leader, though he made sure to see them as often as possible. He was strong and powerful, the leader of the entire clan- Minerva wanted to have that same strength one day. She looked like him, mostly, especially her eyes. Her pelt, which had faded to gray while Diana’s still matched her father’s, was a mystery, but the way genetics graced them seemed to be a funny thing. Chrysanthemum was a little copy of mom, and Diana looked just like dad except she was much prettier. Minerva wondered if she looked a little more like one of the grandparents she would never meet, but she put it out of her mind. She had come to terms with the fact that her brother and sister were more handsome than she was. It was a fact of life.

SHE WAITED A FEW MOMENTS after the voice of her mother and the guard outside faded before she began to play, self-conscious now that she was a little older. When they had been tiny, she hadn’t been so conscious of it, but now, she wanted to show her mother that she was mature and grown-up enough to handle going out into the warehouse and seeing things. She was tired of being cooped up in the safety of haven, tired of only meeting those who made the journey in. She wanted to start training, start fighting off the rogues that their father told them about. She wanted to experience the world more than just through the fantastic stories that Axel told them. She wanted to discover the stories for herself, and make her own. Their parents were protective, though, and it was rare that they left the den. Tinsel came to check on them what seemed like every other day, sharing glances with their mother and scooting them about gently. She got to see the warriors that would bring food for their mom when their father couldn’t. They were in their own little bubble. A bubble that Minerva had grown to despise.

MINERVA DROPPED TO THE GROUND in a hunter’s crouch and crawled forward, sneaking through the pillows that littered the floor around them, pretending that ahead of her was prey that would feed her clan. One day, she would help to feed them, she would hunt with her mother and fight alongside her father and patrol with her brother and sister. One day, she would have the freedom to be a part of things. For now, though, she practiced, waiting for the day that their parents finally had to let the three of them out into the world. They wouldn’t be stuck here forever, she knew. It was only a matter of time.

words 502
muse good!
other DELAWARE + JAMIE, sorry to start this without warning, but I figured we should have at least one thread with the three of them that takes place before the dog attack. Timeline-wise, this is between birth and the attack, I'm imagining they are older kits, maybe 4 or 5 moons. I also imagine that their parents are pretty protective (I mean definitely Axel) and they don't get to go out much, but LMK if I am way off base.

we've not yet lost all our graces

[+ JAMIE]

CHRYSANTHEMUM

"Byeeee mom." The whine followed Sassafras out. Followed Minerva out too: his sister slipped out of the nest, prowled across the floor. Chrys sighed. Wiggled deeper into his nest. Minnie's restlessness was annoying. Difficult to ignore. Worsening with every day that passed. Being in Haven frustrated her. Chrys didn't understand it. They were brought food. Pillows. Blankets. Cats came to visit, never overstayed their welcome. The three siblings got everything they wanted. Dad made sure of it. Why would Minnie want to leave? The worst moments of Chrys' life were when Sassafras left. Didn't cry and whine like he used to: not out loud. But when mom was gone Chrys... hibernated. Squirmed deep into the blankets and barely moved. Only food could get him out, and not for long. Chrys inhaled his meals.

He squirmed down now. Sandwiched himself between two pillows. Wiggled under a blanket. Air was still cold enough to be uncomfortable. Under the blankets, he was toasty warm. Only his ears and tail stuck out. Two huge reddish triangles. One long brush. Already the Chrys of the future was taking over the fuzzy kitten of yesterday: almost overnight he had gotten bigger than his sisters. Longer-limbed. A giant in the making. Even his fur seemed sleeker than before. Where Minnie's pelt was graying Chrys' was growing glossy. A good-looking kid, the warriors who visited would say. Chrys preened. He liked his red fur. Liked the way it made him stand out between his sisters. Made him stand out to dad.

Dad... Chrys hoped dad would visit soon. He'd told them a story about a beanstalk yesterday. A cat who climbed it. Right now Jack was escaping with the terrible singing harp. It had woken the giant. Huge, angry, evil. Bellowing. I'll grind his bones -- Terrifying. Anxiety over Jack's fate had made it tough to get to sleep. Resolving the story was Chrys' priority. Unfortunately: it couldn't be done without dad. And dad usually visited in the evening. The giant-induced suffering would have to continue for a few hours more.

No Sassafras meant dozing time. Closed eyes, steady breathing. Some snuffling as the blankets tickled his nose. Only his ears gave him away: they twitched, swiveled. Followed the sounds of Minnie's crawl across the floor.

He wasn't as apathetic as he appeared.


--

[:ripples:] DELAWARE LMK if anything sounds power-played: took some liberties with Axel + stories

[DELAWARE]

"Bombs away!" The bright, high-pitched words were the only warning before a black and white shape leapt off a narrow outcrop formed by the boxes. Tail billowing like a great flag behind her, Diana plummeted the few fox-lengths to the ground and her sister. Landing more or less right on top of Minerva, Diana slid off just enough to brace her back legs against the ground and launch herself back towards her sister, sending them both tumbling head over paws. Already larger than Minnie, and well on her way to matching up with Chrys, Diana more or less swamped her sister, her long black-and-white fur flying everywhere as she disturbed dust motes and who knows what else in their tumble. After a fierce (but claws sheathed, of course) barrage of paws against Minerva's head, Diana sprang free, shaking herself all over as she pointed a determined paw at Minnie. "On guard, ye villain!" she shouted, red-gold eyes sparkling with mischief. "What have you to say in defense towards the vile accusations that have been hurled against you? Accusations that implicate you in the would-be assassination of-" And here she flung her paw out dramatically, pointing now at Chrysanthemum: "-our emperor, our holy king of all he surveys, he of noble grace and perfect majesty?"

Diana looked for the first time at Chrys, or rather, what was visible of him, and let out a great sigh. Her leg dropped down, front paws beginning to fidget with annoyance. "Come on, Chrys," she said loudly and exasperatedly. "Can't you at least try?" Her gaze switched back to Minerva, and she visibly brightened, a new idea popping into her head. "Or we could play something else instead. If Chrys doesn't want to move, he can be the princess, and Minnie, you can be the big bad dragon, and I'm the knight of course-" For the first time, the atmosphere of the situation seemed to strike her. Diana froze, the gears very clearly turning in her mind, and then, with a certain obvious effort to be tactful, she said, "Are you guys really gonna do this every time mom leaves?" The effort was destroyed by the exasperation in her voice. She sat down, using her back leg to scratch distractedly at an itch. Dirt and dust had smudged brown and gray across her pelt, and her fur was sticking up every which way, the earlier wash that Sassafras had done already thoroughly destroyed. Were it not for her obviously full belly and rather arrogant bearing, both of which spoke of a she-cat who had never experienced anything troubling or demanding in her life, ever, Diana would have looked like a little scruffy ruffian.

It was not that Diana couldn't understand her siblings' respective feelings of apathy and restlessness. I mean, empathetically speaking, it was spot on - Diana had inherited her sense of empathy from Axel, and couldn't truly empathize to save her life - but that was beside the point. She knew enough to get a general idea of their emotions, and she could certainly extrapolate from there. And, yes, she wanted to get out of the den, too. And she also didn't like it much when mom left, though Sassafras' absence meant she could roughhouse as much as she wanted. But the strong feelings it inspired in Chrys and Minerva were absolutely foreign to Diana. She was much more content to wait. They would leave the den eventually, mom would come back eventually. Both things that caused her siblings' to be put out were only transient states, not permanent ones. Diana couldn't understand why they didn't seem to grasp that. Surely being patient was much more effective than moping around? It left open a lot of time for playing, for instance, which (as far as Diana was concerned) they did not do enough of.


[ ooc aw. their personalities are so strong already. bloodclan babies c': [:ripples:] + JAMIE sry for some power-playing re: the fake fight! couldn't figure out how to do it without moving minerva around a little ;__; ]

[[:ripples:]]

we're on each other's team

THE BALL OF BLACK AND WHITE FUR called out and hurled itself at her without much warning, and Minerva found herself trapped under Diana’s larger form, the bigger she-cat’s legs forming a little prison around her for a moment before her sister began to bat at her furiously with her paws. Minerva held up a paw to defend herself from the barrage, but Diana was so much larger than her now that she was really not fairly matched in their play-fights anymore. All she could do was wait until Di finished this part of her game and then sprang back. Finally free, Minerva caught her breath after the surprise attack.

“UGH, DI! What the hell!”

MINNIE ROLLED HER EYES as her sister started onto her rhetorical questions, playing as though she were one of the protagonists in dad’s stories. The drama with which she acted out the scene in her mind was second to none, and Minerva let out a sigh at the over-the-top nature of her play. She shook herself, giving Diana a bit of a glare. Her sister had much more of a flair for fantasy than she did. Dad told them fascinating stories, sure, but she knew that the clan wasn’t really like that in real life. There wasn’t all the drama and intrigue that was infused into the stories that captivated the kits each night. Sure, they had trouble with rogues, but the kind of stuff like princesses and kings and betrayal were just things that existed in that fantastic little world that Axel created for them. (ooc: LMFAO)

“DI, I’M PRACTICING. I want to be ready when we are finally made apprentices. Anyway, you always make me the bad guy. I know that you get to be the hero, but can’t I be like, the princess or the sidekick for once? I’m always the dragon or the assassin or the band of rogues.” It was true that, in their games, Minerva had generally played the least desirable party. It just seemed to make sense to all of them. Diana was naturally suited to be the hero, and Chrys was so royal and lazy that he always had the role of whatever moved the least. Minerva was just… the best fit for the opposing force. It wasn’t something that had been acknowledged verbally. It wasn’t even that Minerva minded- she had just enjoyed playing with her siblings, back when they were young. Now, she said it to get Diana to let her practice in peace. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her sister. No- she loved her siblings with all of her heart, and would only grow to love them more as they had to face the world together. It was just that she wanted to turn to more serious matters than their mother and make-believe. She felt something stirring within her, an eagerness to be of use, to serve her clan, to play a part in the great scheme of things. She didn’t want to sit here, tucked away. She wanted to be a part of the action, the real action, out there in the city. She wanted it now.

words 525
muse good!
other DELAWARE + JAMIE OMG I love them all so much already these three are gonna be great.

we've not yet lost all our graces

[+ JAMIE]

The blankets stirred. Moved. Chrysanthemum pushed his head out. "Not a princess." A whining protest: hardly flattering. "King only! I've said that." The only suitable role. Granted he was mostly passive in their play-acting. The drive came from Diana. The reluctant accompaniment from Minerva. (They both got into it.) Chrysanthemum preferred to sit back. To have things happen to him. Indolent lazy emperors: the perfect fit. Delightful to sit back and watch his sisters duke it out. Feelings of importance, already addicted. And truthfully? Chrys was more invested than either of them in this story. It made him feel safe. Important. Comfortable. The big bad world outside? No match for his sisters.

Eyes back and forth between his sisters. Diana's impatience. Minnie's frustration. "It's true." He piped up. "Di looks more like a villain." Looked between them again. Added thoughtfully, "But Minnie's personality is worse. Fits better." The arrogant immunity of one who would never be chosen to play the dragon, only the king. Oh well: not his fault he got the red-fur genes. Couldn't help he just looked the part. Though he ruined it when he pouted. Like now. Being called out was not something Chrys accepted gracefully. Not something he accepted at all, unless it was his sisters. "Am trying. You're the ones who are too loud," he complained. "Why are you worrying about this stuff? Keep going with the story."

The future: Terrifying to Chrys. Why did Minnie want to leave? Why did Di seem so apathetic? To Chrys the looming future was formidable. Frightening. The antithesis of the safety he felt right now. Moving out of Haven? Away from mom? To the apprentice's den? Being trained? Scary concepts. Chrys liked where he was. Why did that have to change? And the way it was coming between them. He hated that. In the past playing would have been enough. Now: restlessness in his sisters. Infecting him. Disturbing their peace. Their safety. An oppressive unknown future hanging over them. About the only thing Chrys would have moved his lazy ass to fight. Too bad it was intangible. No tantrums would work here. No yelling or whining. Not that he wouldn't try. If the future was deadset on coming: fine. But Chrys was resolute: if he was forced to be a part of it, he was going to be dragged.

He sat there pouting at them.


[:ripples:] DELAWARE

[DELAWARE]

Diana rolled her eyes right back at Minnie, entirely unperturbed and unimpressed by her sister's protests. "You can practice while we play," she pointed out, gesturing expansively with her paw around Haven. "Dad's always encouraging us to do that anyways! I mean, I just jumped on you," she said, with the kind of unflappable confidence that accompanied a child's logic. "That's gotta count for something, right?" She waved her tail in the air for emphasis, shedding dust motes around the den, as Chrys began to speak. Entirely unoffended by her comparison to a villain, Diana smirked at Minnie as their brother talked, her earlier exasperation filtering away into a more mischievous playfulness. It was hard for Diana to stay upset, if you could call it that, for long; her temper was flighty, mercurial, unwilling to stay grounded or anything less than transient. Her confidence in the security of their future, and of herself, was obvious in every gesture she made, every word she spoke. There was nothing to be worried about, because nothing would be worrisome, so in the meantime, why not just embrace it and keep living life to the fullest? It was a philosophy that was bound to get her in hot water at some point, at least if it were retained, but here in the Haven it was manageable enough; the den confined it somewhat, and Chrys's sluggishness and Minnie's sensibility took the edge off even more. Unfortunately, that also meant they bore the full brunt of Di's personality in all its glory.

Rising to her paws, Diana reached out and poked Minnie, then poked her again, half-aiming to be as annoying as possible, half to get her sister's attention. When Minnie looked over, Di tried her best to look solemn, the effect entirely ruined by her obvious fight to keep a growing smile off her face. "How's this. I'll let you be the hero once you can defeat me in battle," she said, and paused, both her tail and paws twitching in anticipation, giggles already beginning to bubble up through her words. "-whichwillbeneverbecauseyou'retooSHORT! HA!" Unable to restrain herself any longer, Diana gave a great snorting hoot of laughter, bopped Minnie on her nose before she could react, and then dashed away, still laughing. Leaping over the scattered pillows and miscellaneous paraphernalia that littered the floor, she bounded up to Chrys and darted behind him, pausing only to turn around once she had put him between her and Minnie. From behind Chry's big red fluffiness, Diana peered out at her sister, alert for any signs of retribution. "Begone, ye dragon!" she shouted, getting back into it; "For tis I, Diana the Dragon-killer, greatest knight in all the land! And I will defend my royal princess - sorry Chrys, king! - my royal king! - from your fearsome fire and-" she began to snicker, "-horrible breath! HA!" And she slashed the air in front of her with her paw for good measure, hitting Chrys a few times in her enthusiasm.


[ ooc omfg i LOVE THEM [:ripples:] + JAMIE ]

[[:ripples:]]

♥ Minerva of bloodclan

HER FUR PRICKLED WITH HER BROTHER’S WORDS. Minerva did not think herself overly sensitive, but she had become more so in her last moon. She looked different, felt different, than she had before. As she and her siblings developed their personalities and their play, it became more and more obvious that the roles that they played as were the roles they would take on. Diana was the hero, always, even though dad always referred to them all as heroes. She was the active one, the imaginative one, the funny one, the leader. She always got to be first greeting dad even though they were all excited to see him, and she got to pick the game. She was the protagonist, and it seemed against nature to suggest anything else. Likewise, Chrys was the king. He lazily watched as they fought, only bothering to contribute his high and mighty opinion, never coming down to wrestle with them. Might as well be a princess, but he would not stand to be called such. He was royalty. But where did this leave Minnie?

IN ALL OF THE STORIES DAD TOLD, there was the hero, the one the hero protected, and the bad guy. If her sister was the hero and her brother was the king, this made her the bad guy. At first, it hadn’t worried her. But now, it made her wonder why their designations were so natural. Was she the bad guy? Perhaps this was why Chrys’ words bothered her now. She didn’t want to be bad. She didn’t have to be the hero or the king. She just didn’t want to be bad, that was all.

SHE KNEW HER SISTER WAS NOT BEING SERIOUS when she said she would let Minnie be the hero if she could beat her in battle, because there was no way that Di would ever stand to be anything but the main character of the story. Her temper burned within her as she struggled to block her sister’s prods so much so that she was unable to intercept her sister’s paw as she got her on the nose. It was true. Minerva was much shorter than her siblings, something that had only become obvious in the last moon or so. She let out a growl of anger, flicking her tail back and forth as her sister teased her by getting behind their brother, who would surely cry out if touched at all. She didn’t care. Right now, she wanted to prove to Diana that she was just as talented and able to be the hero as her sister was.

SHE BUNCHED HER HIND LEGS like the guard she had pestered a few weeks ago had showed her when she had bothered him and told him that she would tell her dad if he did not obey her. She had been practicing the crouch every day since she had learned it, and she could feel the spring that wound up in her legs as she prepared to jump. Diana was distracted with her play-acting and insults and Chrys was stationary as always. Without warning, she leaped forward, careening into her brother and sister and batting Diana’s head and ears furiously, as quickly as she could, getting the upper hand while her sister was distracted. “Yeah! Try to protect your princess now!” Her words were full of irritation and anger and her wish to prove herself. She could be the hero too! Her usual patience with her siblings had worn thin, and for once she wanted to show them that she was not just the villain in their stories.

words ♥ 602
muse ♥ good!
other ♥ DELAWARE + JAMIE

you know we're on each other's team

[+ JAMIE]

“Ow! Ouch! Ow! Di! Stop! Ow!” Diana’s enthusiasm, Chrys collateral: the combined noise of both, raucous. A flinch for every accidental whack. A couple other flinches for good measure. Chrys was a fan of overreacting. Yowling like he was dying every time Diana’s puny paws made contact with his hind legs? Part of the fun. In truth Chrys was probably toughest of the three. Oh: not emotionally. Or psychologically. Ha. But physically? Definitely. Even at this young age he was built sinewy and solid. Diana and Minnie couldn’t hurt him unless they bit him. (Which they did. Sometimes.) But just getting hit? Maybe a little discomfort. Some annoyance. Lasting damage? No way.

But. Like. If he couldn’t make a fuss about it what was the point of living? At this point it was almost psychosomatic.

But also. He knew where this was going. It had played out before. One disadvantage to his physical size: inevitably he became the middle-man. Literally. Diana hiding behind him? A growly Minnie on the other side?

Sandwich time.

If the bread had teeth and claws.

“Don’t hide behind me!” Protests ineffectual as Diana hooted. Unlike his sister Chrys could see Minnie’s face in all its unamused glory. Sixth sense for trouble: Chrys struck by sudden panic. Minnie wasn’t just unamused. She was actually mad. Di had pushed too far. Was pushing too far. Pint-sized trouble: on its way. Di always did this! Chrys began to push out of the blankets. Self-preservation at its finest. He didn't want to be part of this sandwich.

“Yeah! Try to protect your princess now!”

“KING!” wailed Chrys, but his protest went unheard. Minnie jumped. Diana went down. Chrys, in the cross-fire. Unlike his siblings Chrys’s apathy in all things extended to fighting too. His sisters might have eagerly listened to Axel talking about defense and offense and practiced their moves, but not Chrys. Chrys had learned one move and given up.

Pouncing on tails was not exactly useful in this no-holds-barred every-cat-for-themselves all-out brawl.

“STOP!” Chrys wailed as he was buffeted around. “MY FACE!” Teeth sunk into his paw: Chrys shrieked. Bumbled around. Lashed out clumsily with his paws. Made contact with someone a few times. Long red tail a hindrance: the price of vanity? Weakness in fights. Mouths full of fur. Eyes obscured by red brush. At one point Chrys was pretty sure he bit his own tail. But this was anarchy! How could he be sure of anything?

Anarchy!


[:ripples:] DELAWARE

[DELAWARE]

Diana played rough. She always had. Axel encouraged it, within reason, and Sassafras put a stop to it when it got too far, but the fact of the matter remained that out of all three of their siblings, Diana was the one most likely to push things a little too far, to add a little more fight to their usual play, to not always hold back as much as she should. Actual, physical harm was never her intention (not against her siblings, anyways), and she would have been horrified at the implication, but she had a very poor idea of her developing strength. Chrys could take all her hits and more, though he complained to high heaven, and Minnie... well, Minnie never really complained, per se, which meant that it was okay, right? Besides, unlike Chrys, she gave as good as she got. The sudden pounce knocked Di breathless, and the black-and-white she-cat went down under the furious paws of her sister, laughing aloud as she continued to send jokes Minnie's way, Chrys's wailing protests white noise to their scuffle. "Dragon-breath!" she yelled, blocking one of Minnie's strikes and following up with a light bite. "Greedy, treasure-hoarding villain! Where's your fire now?"

Much to Diana's regret, the play-fight did not last long. Di had just clamped down on Minnie's leg when Chrys's paw smacked her in the cheek, followed by his bushy red tail against her face. Sputtering, Di released her hold and jumped back, the playing momentarily paused in favor of glaring at her brother. "What the heck, Chrys!" she snapped, though it was more light-hearted irritation than actual annoyance. "Why do you always have to get in the way?" She brandished a dramatic paw at Minnie, dropping back into her role with ease. "A king shouldn't get in the way of his protector! I'm trying to save you from Pure Evil, here!" And she looked Pure Evil in the face, properly, for the first time since Minnie had jumped on her. It was meant to be just a glance, a sharing of a joke and exasperation at their bumbling brother, but something in Minnie's face made Diana's gaze lock and freeze. Her next words, a series of well-constructed needles about Minnie's size, died in her throat. She stared at her sister, perplexed, trying to identify the emotion behind the expression on Minnie's face. It took her several long moments, her paw flexing uncertainly towards Minnie in mid-air before she let it drop, curling it into herself. "You're... upset?" she finally said, as if it were a guess.

Lack of empathy or no, Diana had lived, breathed and existed with her siblings for her entire life. She knew their tics and their body language and their expressions better than anyone else in the entire world, the same way that they knew hers, even if she didn't always understand the why behind the what. Though she had phrased it as a question, Di knew what the look on Minnie's face was, could suddenly feel the playfulness she'd thought they were all engaging in melting away to reveal the tension in the air. A brief look, cut towards Chrys, confirmed that it had been there all along; Diana had just missed it. Her paws curled in on themselves even more. "Why," she said, feeling herself starting to get upset in turn. "Minnie, we're just playing! We're all just joking! Why are you mad? Don't take it seriously, it's not real! You're not a dragon! Or evil, obviously! Okay, you are short, but who cares about that!" It hadn't yet occurred to Diana that, maybe, Minnie did. "Was it the bad breath thing?" she hazarded, taking a wild shot in the dark. "I didn't mean that either!" Her ears flattening, true upset beginning to creep into her voice - she felt dumb and embarrassed and confused and hurt, all things that Diana hated - she said, her distress manifesting as condescension, "Minnie, it's just a game, come on!"


[ ooc [:ripples:] + JAMIE minnie about to be singlehandedly responsible for dragging di kicking and screaming into some character growth ]

[[:ripples:]]

♥ Minerva of bloodclan

SHE DOUBTED HERSELF in the moments following her leap, but then she was too busy crashing into her siblings and attacking Diana with a flutter of her paws to stop now. Diana joined the fray instantly, naturally inclined to battle off any attack. Just like a hero… Minerva thought to herself bitterly. She was not distracted by Chrys’s pathetic protests and cries. Truly, if anyone ever actually did hurt Chrys, they probably wouldn’t know, since he made such a big deal out of anything. He was like the boy in that story that their father had told them about the village and the wolf. Minnie remembered worrying about her brother when the boy got eaten in the end, since the village didn’t believe him when he called out about the wolf. It was good for Chrys that there weren’t any wolves around, anyway.

SHE DID NOT CRY OUT as Diana bit her, and she even found herself biting back; uncharacteristic for her. She felt a bit of regret, but not enough to stop and apologize, when she bit her brother instead of Diana, but it didn’t take long for that to give way to a sense of justice- he had said that her personality was worse, so he deserved what he was getting even if he wasn’t going to bite back. She continued her attack as Diana laughed, ugh. She just didn’t understand at all! Did she even care? No, of course she cared. She was just Diana… right? The anger welled within her again as her sister bit her leg and started going on about their stupid game again. Pure Evil? Yeah, well Pure Evil is about to come and make you a new face, you spoiled, attention-hogging, self-centered jerk!

AND THEN DIANA’S EYES MET HERS, and her face changed. Minerva held her sister’s gaze, her own expression hard, angry. It was almost painful to watch her sister go from jubilance to utter confusion at the look- the sample size Minnie had to compare her sister to was small, but she was starting to think that, as smart as she was, Diana was a little stupid when it came to how others were feeling. When she went to Tinsel, it was like the medicine cat could read her mind by taking one look at her face. Diana didn’t seem to understand what was going on in someone else’s head even when it was right in front of her nose, even if they were shouting it in her face. Or maybe it was just because it was Minnie. Maybe she just didn’t care. Maybe she was just too wrapped up in her own thing to think about what her little sister might be thinking or feeling even when she was practically screaming it at her.

SHE WAS READY TO SPEAK when her sister asked if she was upset, but Diana, true to form, followed it up not with the understanding silence of someone who wanted to listen, but by mirroring the emotion she had just painstakingly identified and trying to logic it away. Minerva could feel the anger in her burning as her sister made it all about her, again. But of course it was all about Di. Nothing would ever be all about Minnie. And she might have dropped it, right there. She could have just said to herself that she would ignore it, just told Diana that everything was fine, watched as Chrys saw her lie. But her fury was like a volcano, begging for a release.

“NO, DIANA! It’s not just a game! It’s every game! It’s every day! You always get everything that you want! You get to be the hero! You get to be the one that dad greets first! You get to do anything you ever wanted! Do you ever think about what anybody else might want? NO! You don’t! You just make the world up like you want it and assume that we can all be happy like that! And you know what, sometimes, Di, I’m NOT happy! And sometimes, I just want you to LISTEN to me!”

words ♥ 685
muse ♥ good!
other ♥ DELAWARE + JAMIE, mad minnie is mad

you know we're on each other's team