kid

Mother was powerful, a woman to look up to. She was confident, she was headstrong and despite only being in this world for a short period, I already I knew she was vigorous and unforgiving. From the way she stood to the way she spoke, mother was relentless and that excited me. I wanted to be intimidating just like her, I wanted to know how she carried herself with such a confident manner, I wanted to be like that, an imposing force against even the biggest foes. Because even though I'm destined to be smaller than most, I'm still the one with the most importance and power, the one who was a god sent gift to teach the world what true beauty is. Sister will be beside me too, because she too will be strong, and together we will conquer. 

Mother gets a gift, something pretty, something I want. But what I want more, is what delivers the prize, a scaled beast that looks powerful and I want it, I need it like I need air, my natural pull towards the species specific companion is immediate, wonder in my eyes. I open my lips, letting them close and open over and over because I cannot produce any words, I can think of what I want to say, but the act of actually making noises from my mouth other than frustrated grunts and whimpers is still a difficult concept for me to grasp. I push closer to Sabre's side, looking at her in hopes that she too is enticed by the dragon. The way it fluently shifts through the air, grace and elegance hidden behind a deadly facade, it was what I needed, because I too would become that one day. "WwAAnt." I look taken aback by my own speech, shocked by my first word, but frustrated because my tongue did not work how I wanted, and my voice was squeaky and less threatening than I would like it to. Having a high, childish voice was not on my agenda, I couldn't sound like a kitten while threatening the public. 

I turn to mother, I look at her like she'll know what to do to stop me from sounding like air escaping a balloon, like she has the knowledge to stop this sick sound that leaves my mouth in the form of shrill words. I may be a child, but I certainly do not want to sound like one, it makes me sound like a soft babe that wants to enjoy rainbows and puppies, when I want to rule with a crown on my head and an army at my feet, with prowess and brutality by my side, and a loyal sister whose power will be parallel to mine. But what I cannot achieve, is just that, not when I sound so icky.

The stranger talks, she keeps saying Volterra, Volterra. It's like she wants mother to remember something, or to know something, perhaps this name is important to mother? I look up at her curiously, wondering who this Volterra is and why they're so important, which doesn't seem possible because I'm the one who's supposed to be important here, the one who matters in this situation. Shouldn't mother be looking at me? Appreciating me? Sabre and I are the important ones in this situation, we were just born! Shouldn't we be marveled at with our monotone forms and accented crimson, matching in skeletal shapes and splattered fluids. I look at Sabre, trying to express my frustration through distorted facial expressions that make me look ridiculous rather than show how I feel. 

I shuffle closer to Sabre, feeling my new found energy bubbling. Standing so still when there were things to be done was a waste, I wanted to find out what these tall shadows were, why they loomed so far above me. They were overpowering, and as I crane my neck they seemed to all meld into one mass of colour and blurry shapes far above my reach, a place I could not go. How annoying, that there were places I could not reach, things I could not touch or take. My small huff is the only sign of my frustrations, ivory brows knit and a subtle frown lingering on my dual-tone lips. 

"Talk."