Mina Rose Brewer
Fortuna Survivor
(First few posts are for @Ronan Eirlys; will open up later as they go out in public)
Mina Rose lay with her face down in her pillow, another pillow atop her head. It was the beginning of another week of shifts at the Bilge, and she really should be getting herself ready, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She told herself that it was just the cold outside her covers that made her want to stay in the warmth, but she knew it was more than that. She'd been fighting off the gloom for a while now, trying to keep herself moving and distracted, but eventually it had caught up to her.
Her parents were dead. She thought she'd come to terms with it, but any time she stopped moving it would hit her again. She'd hear her mother's gentle chiding or her father's warm exasperation in her mind, and she'd break down into tears. Sure, they hadn't been her birth parents, but they'd loved her and she loved them. She missed her father tucking her in at night and kissing her forehead before leaving the room; her mother sitting down with Mina Rose in front of her vanity, teaching her how to do her make-up; the family in the kitchen, Mina Rose bustling about to get her family whatever ingredients they needed as they chatted about anything and everything. The lack of their presence in her life felt like a gaping wound in her chest, sucking the air and life out of her.
The absence might not have stung so much if her birth family hadn't been so distant. Aunt Tanya was nice, but she was busy with her own life; apparently she and her husband, Uncle Jeshal, were active in the navy again. She still hadn't met her cousins on that side; apparently they were busy in the navy too. Her other aunt and uncle, Dusk and Talinn, had proved themselves so unpleasant at the Opera House that Mina Rose was actually glad they hadn't reached out to her since. Well, perhaps that was uncharitable; Uncle Talinn hadn't seemed too bad, just a bit aloof. Dusk, however, was a sharp-tongued monster. How they had ever produced the kind-hearted Alwyn was beyond her. Her heart still pattered when she thought of his handsome face, but at least in that regard, Kaii had been taking up the majority of her attention.
Kaii had been a balm on her soul, his gentleness and care for her a soothing antidote to the loneliness poisoning her every day. She loved his inventive mind, listening to him talk about things she didn't understand but didn't need to in order to know how clever they were. And, of course, she loved the moments when he set aside all that brilliance to focus on her, to make her feel like she was important for a little while. Still, he had duties to the navy too, and during the weeks when he was away, the loneliness threatened to crash over her like a wave. This was one of those weeks.
Mina Rose sighed, pulling the blankets up so they covered her pillows and her head both, blocking out the cold, bleak light of a winter morning. Her two days off had been spent in bed, no appetite or energy to motivate her to leave. Now they were over, and she was debating just not showing up for her next shift. What did it matter? She'd been on thin ice with her employer at the Bilge for a while now, and it was just a matter of time before she got fired anyway. It might as well be today. She sank into the darkness, wishing she could just sleep until things somehow got better.
Mina Rose lay with her face down in her pillow, another pillow atop her head. It was the beginning of another week of shifts at the Bilge, and she really should be getting herself ready, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She told herself that it was just the cold outside her covers that made her want to stay in the warmth, but she knew it was more than that. She'd been fighting off the gloom for a while now, trying to keep herself moving and distracted, but eventually it had caught up to her.
Her parents were dead. She thought she'd come to terms with it, but any time she stopped moving it would hit her again. She'd hear her mother's gentle chiding or her father's warm exasperation in her mind, and she'd break down into tears. Sure, they hadn't been her birth parents, but they'd loved her and she loved them. She missed her father tucking her in at night and kissing her forehead before leaving the room; her mother sitting down with Mina Rose in front of her vanity, teaching her how to do her make-up; the family in the kitchen, Mina Rose bustling about to get her family whatever ingredients they needed as they chatted about anything and everything. The lack of their presence in her life felt like a gaping wound in her chest, sucking the air and life out of her.
The absence might not have stung so much if her birth family hadn't been so distant. Aunt Tanya was nice, but she was busy with her own life; apparently she and her husband, Uncle Jeshal, were active in the navy again. She still hadn't met her cousins on that side; apparently they were busy in the navy too. Her other aunt and uncle, Dusk and Talinn, had proved themselves so unpleasant at the Opera House that Mina Rose was actually glad they hadn't reached out to her since. Well, perhaps that was uncharitable; Uncle Talinn hadn't seemed too bad, just a bit aloof. Dusk, however, was a sharp-tongued monster. How they had ever produced the kind-hearted Alwyn was beyond her. Her heart still pattered when she thought of his handsome face, but at least in that regard, Kaii had been taking up the majority of her attention.
Kaii had been a balm on her soul, his gentleness and care for her a soothing antidote to the loneliness poisoning her every day. She loved his inventive mind, listening to him talk about things she didn't understand but didn't need to in order to know how clever they were. And, of course, she loved the moments when he set aside all that brilliance to focus on her, to make her feel like she was important for a little while. Still, he had duties to the navy too, and during the weeks when he was away, the loneliness threatened to crash over her like a wave. This was one of those weeks.
Mina Rose sighed, pulling the blankets up so they covered her pillows and her head both, blocking out the cold, bleak light of a winter morning. Her two days off had been spent in bed, no appetite or energy to motivate her to leave. Now they were over, and she was debating just not showing up for her next shift. What did it matter? She'd been on thin ice with her employer at the Bilge for a while now, and it was just a matter of time before she got fired anyway. It might as well be today. She sank into the darkness, wishing she could just sleep until things somehow got better.
