Simoun : Both Sides of the Sky

After watching the end of Simoun I knew I would have to write something about it. With so many outstanding characters and so many pieces of the story waiting to be filled, it's a little sad that there aren't more stories out there already.

This is a story about Aaeru and Neviril. I hope that I'll be able to write others... and I really hope they won't take anything like as long.

Simoun : Both Sides of the Sky

"Amuria was really strong, wasn't she?"

"Yes. Yes, she was."

Slim fingers tightened their grip on the window sill. "Did you...
Did you feel like this when you flew with her?"

Neviril reached out a hand uncertainly, drawn by the play of
sunlight across soft, golden hair. "What do you mean, Aaeru?"

The smaller girl whirled to face her, green eyes flashing. "How can
you stand it?" She stepped forward, forcing Neviril back towards the
bed. "I can't even do my maaju properly! Every time I try to
concentrate I keep thinking about you! My hands won't stop shaking!
I--" She thrust them forwards, accusingly.

Neviril sat carefully down on the edge of the mattress, favouring her
with a quiet, sad smile. At this, Aaeru's small form seemed almost
to deflate. She stared wordlessly at her feet, her arms dropping
limply to her sides. Neviril turned away, her eyes tracing the
featureless expanse of the bedsheets, cold and undisturbed. For a
long moment she lost herself in the piercing memory of her own
fears, and of breathless nights spent learning to escape them.

"Aaeru," she began, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Do you
remember that night aboard the Messis when you--?"

"I'm sorry," the younger girl interrupted her sullenly.

"What?" Neviril looked up at her suddenly, startled.

"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just..." She stumbled to a halt
before trying again. "I was just--"

"Aaeru." Neviril's voice was firm, willing the girl to meet her gaze.
She smiled. "I know that, now. Paraietta even tried to tell me so
after you had left."

"Paraietta? But I thought she... She was so angry at me."

Neviril's smile faltered. "She had her reasons."

Aaeru looked up, a little of her strength returning to her voice.
"Yeah, I guess she did."

The words hung for a moment in the air as Neviril gathered her thoughts.
"That was not what I wanted to tell you, though." Green eyes widened
in surprise. "That night... I kept seeing her face. I couldn't
sleep--"

"I'm sorry--" Aaeru tried to interrupt, but the older girl continued.

"I couldn't sleep, because every time I saw her face, I saw yours as
well." She tried to ignore the sharpness of the other girl's gasp.
"I was so terribly ashamed. It felt as though I was betraying her.
I truly wanted to hate you. And it felt like I was hating her."
She shuddered, wrapping her arms tightly about her chest.

"And then you found me. You... You weren't her. You kissed me,
and I didn't want you to stop. I wasn't supposed to feel like that
again. Not without her."

"Neviril, I..."

Looking up, she saw tears beginning to form in those beautiful eyes,
a reflection of those in her own. She drew a deep, calming breath and
willed herself to be stronger. "Please, don't ever be sorry. Not for
me."

The younger girl's expression brightened a little, the beginnings of
a smile returning to her lips. Neviril patted the sheets next to where
she was sitting, motioning Aaeru to join her. They faced one another,
uncertainly.

"Amuria was... She was unlike anyone I had ever known. So wild and
sure of herself. She loved to fly, loved the beauty of the sky and the
feeling of the wind.

"When we first flew together I was so nervous that I could barely even
hold our Simoun in a straight line. Next to her I felt like I was a
helpless novice. But when she looked into my eyes... I knew I could
fly. And we did, higher than anyone had ever been before.

"She was never afraid. Not even once. As long as we were together, we
were invincible."

Gathering her courage, Neviril let her words hang, trembling in the air.
She took a long, slow breath, fixing the other girl with her eyes.

"Performing the Emerald Ri Maajon... I know how it feels to be afraid,
Aaeru. But I don't ever want to forget it. Do you?"

Her only answer was the most imperceptible shake of the other girl's
head, blonde hair shimmering minutely in the sunlight. She felt her
fingers tighten nervously, cold pressing through the thin fabric of
her skirt as the moment stretched on.

"We'll find her."

Neviril fell back, shocked by the sudden words and by a brilliant smile
which left her arms shaking and her heart quivering in her chest.
"What?"

"Amuria, I mean. We'll find her, Neviril."

Soft lips formed the syllables of her name, each tiny motion leaving her
mind reeling. "But how? Where--" she tried to ask.

"It doesn't matter. We can do anything if we're together."

In spite of herself, she believed every word. "Aaeru... Why?"

"Because you want to know. Because I've thought of something I want to
ask her. And I think... I think it'd be fun to fly with her. Just
once."

Slowly, unsteadily, Neviril forced herself upright. "Thank you," she
whispered. In return she was rewarded with a familiar, cocky grin that
seemed to warm every part of her being. She leaned in more closely,
drawn helplessly into the warmth of Aaeru's breath against her lips.

The smaller girl stared at her in startled confusion, her cheeks flaming
bright red. She turned away sharply, hands clenching and unclenching
frustratedly in her lap. Trying her utmost not to laugh, Neviril let
herself fall back onto the bed, the tension of the moment receding.

In the long, timid silence that followed, she watched as Aaeru struggled
to find a way to express thoughts it seemed she barely understood. The
incessant toying of her fingers and the half-whispers of her breath were
all that marked the passage of time. Finally, as she stared angrily at
the floor, there was a gentle knock at the door.

Neviril composed herself carefully, sighing in quiet frustration.
"Yes?" she replied. Turning to the other girl, she smiled encouragingly.
"Would you answer that please, Aaeru?"

Startled, she nodded shyly and turned to open the door. She wanted to
fly. Wanted it viscerally, with every muscle in her body. Why, she
wondered angrily, were there no words for such a simple thing?

FIN