lan/quang shit i hate myself for this

-- A bird sings not because it has an answer, but because it has a song. --

"Lanying, you don't have to go."
"Yes I do. Father 'ordered' it."
"I know that you know what I meant."

The weight of silence only grew heavier, her expression morphing into a heavier grimace as her very few permitted belongings were gathered and bound. At everything else, she could only look sadly, angrily. This included Quang.

"I know this life isn't what you want."
"So you know why I have to go. It's almost dawn."
"You don't."

He reached out, clutching her shoulders firmly, as if he wanted to shake sense into his sister's brain, so shrouded by visions of grandeur. Yet, he only stood there, thumbs gently rubbing at the tops of her arms. She didn't shrug him away.

"I'm going to miss you."
"You don't have to miss me if you stay."
"I refuse."

Lanying forced her body language to become cold, breaking easily from Quang's grip and pressing thumb and finger to the burning incense in the corner of her bedroom. The sickeningly sweet aroma of jasmine lingered throughout before fading into invisible plumes.

"Please, keep yourself safe. Stay out of the public eye."
"I will act in my best interests."
"I suppose that's enough."

She exited her childhood home alongside him, necessities in place. The scent of the wood of the porch outside mixed with the morning dew, condensating over everything. Violet eyes spanned the great forest in the distance -- the forest, and her future beyond it, with all too many possibilities, far too many freedoms to appreciate.

Those eyes, so filled with fire, were glassy. Quang was the only family she had ever believed in. He was the only person she had ever trusted.

He deserved more, too.

"Quang."
"Yes?"
"Come with me."

Her request is met with silence. She goes on, awaiting a response, despite having long given up on receiving one. Finally, he smiled.

In his moments of greatest sadness, he would always smile at her. She hated that.

She would miss it.

Warmth wrapped around her. She forgot the early breeze. She forgot the smell of dew, the endless forest, her future, her childhood ... she forgets it all.

"Good luck, Lanying. Live a life you're proud of."

Violet eyes began pooling, but she fought past the pain and nodded into his neck. She can't say anything else. What was left to?

The world beyond their porch invited her. She couldn't bring herself to turn around and look back again. The earth beneath her feet was new.

It was time to grow up; there was no more time to cry.