Andromeda and Cassandra

It's an old story from a long time ago, before the oceans had names, we knew only one. There was only us, four islands connected by sight and water. We did not know there was more, we did not care. That is a lie, we must say no-one cared. To say some cared would not sound so grand. It would not sound like a fairy tale, it would not make a good bonfire story. But this story is no lie. It begins simply, the four islands where once four different people, and the four people held the grudges of their god. The fire people of Pele, the Warriors of Tu, the Wind-riders of Tawhiri, and the forest people of Tane. They danced around each other generation old grudges and alliances keeping the islands going keeping them from looking out to what lay beyond. But not all where so distracted.
Andromeda waited impatiently she was not known for her patience. Her foot tapped, her neck rolled and she huffed her way through every murmured curse. Cassandra glanced at her draconically tempered friend. “This isn’t a good idea.” whispered the nervous girl, eyes skirting their objective falling on anything else. “I can see it now, Father yelling about stupid little girls who think they can sail. Mother’s disappointment. Gosh what will your parents say, what if they never look at me after this or invite me over. What if they never speak to me again. Andy please this is different than just stealing a couple yams from the kitchen.” “Relax Cas.” hissed the fire tempered without so much as a glance. Then she saw it the guards shifted as if preparing for something. “Finally, they're late. If we do get in trouble for this I’m telling the Chief it was because the guards are horrid.” As she strode forward her purply red hair flared out behind her marking her bloodline as descendent from the fire goddess. Cassandra bit her lip nervously but followed her partner in crime. This would not end well but few things did when a temper like Andy’s and a mind like Cas’s got together. The fireworks where explosive and well let's say no one seemed as enamored with that particular invention as the two girls were when they set them off in the middle of the night. Though some of the more adaptive of the islanders did think they where a good idea if someone was in trouble. Got everyone’s attention real well. Andromeda slipped forward as quietly as Tuan right before surprising their prey. Cassandra was not so graceful her limbs seeming to go everywhere but where she wanted as her growth spurts pushed her higher and higher giving her more and more to deal with. By the time she had gathered her wits and her self Andromeda was already pushing and shoving at the canoe trying to move the smallest of them so as to hopefully remain undiscovered when the next shift came in. Cassandra joined her trying to push the small wooden escape into the vast endless water. If only they didn’t need to return it. If only it wasn’t so hard to get one they wouldn’t have to steal it but neither girl would get one until they where much older and supposedly wiser though sometimes Cassandra wondered if the fire that was Andromeda could ever actually grow wise. There just wasn’t a calm bone in the other girls body. The last shove did it and Cassandra plummeted forward at the sudden non resistance. “Chu-“ Andy made a choking sound as she tried not to laugh her ass off. She stepped forward and began helping Cas up and into the boat brushing water from her and once they where both in she directed Cas to lean over the side and began to ring out the other girls mousy hair the best she could. In the moon’s light Andromeda couldn’t see the blush Cassandra must be sporting but she knew it was there. She chuckled softly and gave her an affectionate squeeze before grabbing an oar and pushing them away from the beach even more. It was nearly an hour later that Cassandra spoke up. Andy didn’t turn her head from the stars as they both lay rapped around each other at the bottom of the canoe. “I don’t want to go back” she whispered half afraid, her life wasn’t great and though everyone envied Andromeda she knew her better than that. Andy hated the island rules and politics of power that where her life. But the other girl was silent, the words floated up into the empty space that was the open ocean endlessly further from them, free unlike back home where everything was close together and suffocating. “We should leave then.” Andy’s rough voice never whispered but its low resonance was soft and husky, almost hesitant but her jaw stiffened soon after as if she had made her decision and she wouldn’t take her words back. That just wasn’t who she was. “And we should never come back.” she continued. “There’s no where to go Andy.” Cas hesitated though sometimes she dreamed about this place- “What about your dream” they did always seem to read each others minds, years of being inseparable did that. “They’re probably fantasies.” the girl hedged unwilling to think of leaving all she knew for what could amount to no more then her silly need to escape. “You could have your father’s gift just as early as I have mine. And it sounds wonderful to go to a place where the water is set blaze and where you can still hear the god’s music on the wind.” Andromeda’s eyes are full of star when Cassandra looks and she can’t help herself. This beautiful passionate creature can’t be all hers. She isn’t not in public but here now away from land, it was true intros moment. Cas holds Andromeda’s smaller face in her long fingered hands and molten eyes finally settle on her instead of distant specks of light. But that light is still there, it never leaves Andy like she’s always glowing from the inside out. All Cas wants is just a little of that fire, that warmth for herself. It can’t hurt to be selfish sometimes can it. Andy shakes her head and it feels like they're the same person but just not close enough. Andy comes to her in a single minded surge, “Too slow.” she breaths before claiming the brunettes lips in a frenzy. It may be minutes it may be hours but finally they split apart to breath, neither of them mastered in how to kiss without holding their breathes yet. It’s still knew not the feeling but the acting upon it. Sometimes Cas is amazed Andy waited at all when Cas was still afraid to take it further than holding Andy’s smaller hand. “Tell me something, something that will give me good dreams.” Andromeda insists and as always Cas smiles indulgently at her grumpier then though demands, as if needing help to keep the bad things at bay is a weakness the fire in the girl rebells against. “A long time ago before there was land sea and sky there was only the hot fires of the sun upon the sea. The sun boiled the sea over and over until nothing could live in the mortal realm and the gods had had enough. Pele spewed ash into the sky but it was still to hot, Tawhiri sucked in big mighty breaths and blew storm after storm but even he grew tired and soon the sun burned through the clouds and the wind dispersed the ash. The sea boiled again and life died.” It was from the depths that salvation came, a fish who had been alive longer then the sea boiled took pity on the gods. And showed them the bottom of the sea where true darkness lies. The Gods where amazed and quickly gathered the shadows but the fish warned the gods all darkness must have light but he was a fish and they where gods so they did not listen they took the darkness with them and painted it onto the sky.” But alas the sea grew cold and began to freeze and all that lived died once again and Pele erupted in anger trying furiously to heat the sea and Tane tried to grow life back where it had died but both failed and finally the fish came again. He said you are foolish, even gods can’t deny balance. To have darkness you must have light. Angrily Pele screamed i am dark and i am light yet nothing i do fixes this what are you fish to be more wise than me. I am balance.” “I am Lono” the fish finally declared “you have failed in your duties to create.” And Pele grew even more angry “You lied.” she screamed and volcanos erupted spewing embers forth that flew higher then they ever had before. Ripping tears into the darkness painted over the sky. “I lied as much as you failed it would seem.” the fish nodded and Pele looked on in wonder as the light crept in. It was still cold though and finally Pele looked at the fish. “Lono I declare you god of the heavens, he who knows balance when all are blind and she kissed the fish on his head where all deep sea fish carry a red mark from Pele.” “Why that one?” Andy murmured as they slowly moved back to the islands neither very eager for their escapes to end. “I don’t know. I guess because even if even the goddess can’t admit their wrong, then what home do we have of being better. My dad will never admit he might not have the sight and yours won’t-“ “Yeah.” Andy interrupted “I don’t want to talk about my dad right now.” Cassandra smiled but it dimmed as she saw the sand of the beach looming nearer. “We’ll do this again.” Andromeda promised. “You won’t have much time for me soon. Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Cas sounded defeated and Andromeda didn’t contradict her. She began to shake though like the sea was boiling and as soon as the where close enough she hopped out. Cassandra knew she wasn’t mad at her but still she tried not to draw attention to herself while her partner fumed. It seemed to be in that small discord that neither of them looked to check the guard and if they had maybe they wouldn’t hear the tell tale. “Hey, what are you doing?” not a female voice both gaze at each other in panic. Cassandra jumps from the canoe and grabs Andromeda’s hand bolting as fast as they can through the sandy wash. The man gains on them enough to distinguish features. So not a man, a boy like them. Probably a trainee not a guard in full. “Please stop.” he hisses and Cas slows though Andy tries to pull her forward. “Come on.” but Cas outlays the much shorter girl and the boy soon catches up to the delayed pair. “I just need you not to tell.” the boy whisper shouts. “What.” Andromeda pulls to her full height, finally the boy sees who he has been chasing. The chief’s daughter well Tu’s be damned. “Sorry miss. I- I just started training and if they find out my first nigh was already blown I’d get put on net cleaning duty. Please lets just never talk about this again.” the boy whispers desperately. “Who are you.” Andromeda demands as if they hadn’t been the ones scared shitless a moment ago about him finding them out. “Laniakea son of Manu and tribe Tu.” Common among the common, the boy didn’t stand out. “Intresting name.” Cas seems to vibrate with some unseen excitement. Andromeda knows that look, even if the boy is common something in Cas that part that sees oceans in her dreams sees into the boy where something very uncommon lies. Maybe its that meeting that turns their worlds to dust, or maybe its that meeting that gets them as far as they do. For there are three names children of the four island grow up knowing better then perhaps even the names of the gods themselves.
To be Continued...