#🌱 • threads | rosanna & hel •

[rootsandflcwers]

@helreginn liked this for a randomized starter.

———

The very first thing Rosanna notices when she begins to stir is that she feels much, much better than before. Last she remembers, she could hardly keep her eyes open, struggling to move, struggling to breathe. The second thing was a profound silence, heavy and so foreign to her. If it was not the sounds of livestock, crickets, fire, or the wind, her home was filled with the sounds of her big sister playing, her mother singing as she worked, or her baby brother cooing and crying. The third and last thing until she opens her eyes is the hard ground beneath her instead of a straw mattress or her mother’s arms around her.

Then her eyes flutter open and she sees how terrifyingly unfamiliar this place really is. Gone is the small farmhouse with the scents of fresh bread and drying herbs. Gone is the vast stony fields blanketed in snow, a white winter forest towering in the distance. Gone were all the faces she knew - Mama, Brianna, Jehan. Rosanna was alone for the first time in her life.

Pushing herself to her feet with an ease she had not found in weeks, the child scans her surroundings with wide, brown eyes.

“Mama?” she calls in a voice too timid and quiet to do her much good even under normal circumstances. “Brianna? Papa?”

But no one answers, no one comes, and Rosanna doesn’t even know which direction to travel in to find them.

[rootsandflcwers]

All confusion was quick to fade from Rosanna’s expression the moment Hel seemed to understand and it was just as quick to be replaced by an eager smile. After all, what could be better than a game with a brand new friend? It was enough to even take the worst of her anxiety and thrust it from the forefront of her mind.

“Everyone knows these games,” she comments, before pausing to ponder the most appealing choice. It wasn’t just about what she wanted either, but about predicting what Hel wanted to play. Luckily, she had lots and lots of practice appealing to her older sister.

“How about…hide-and-seek?” It seemed like the best choice, one that skewed in Hel’s favor. She probably knew all the best hiding places while everything here was a complete mystery to Rosanna. The challenge might make it more fun for her too, though, so long as she didn’t lose every time.

“You don’t know any games?”

Confusion reigns as Rosanna’s gaze travels up and down the woman again. She looks like a grown-up, which means she must know a lot of stuff. Could it be possible that some grown-ups didn’t know about games? The question is quickly brushed off, though, in favor of suggestions. She was far more eager to help than she was to understand.

“It’s okay. I can teach you. We can play hide and seek, or tag, or hopscotch.”

[rootsandflcwers]

“You don’t know any games?”

Confusion reigns as Rosanna’s gaze travels up and down the woman again. She looks like a grown-up, which means she must know a lot of stuff. Could it be possible that some grown-ups didn’t know about games? The question is quickly brushed off, though, in favor of suggestions. She was far more eager to help than she was to understand.

“It’s okay. I can teach you. We can play hide and seek, or tag, or hopscotch.”

Another moment of silence passes as Rosanna ponders the stranger’s words. This situation was pretty different than any of the other times her mother had left her with someone, but in the end, she still feels like she has no reason not to trust Hel. If she said she knew her mother, she must or her mother wouldn’t have left her. If her mother had not given a time for her return, there was a reason for that too. Either way, she would be back. She always came back and Rosanna couldn’t fathom anything else.

“Alright,” she nods, a smile spreading across her lips. “We can play until she comes back. I know lots of games. Brianna taught them to me.”

[rootsandflcwers]

Blue eyes fix on the woman, studying her as she speaks but unsurprisingly, no recognition creeps into her gaze. Despite the woman’s claims, she cannot dig up a memory of this woman’s sharp features or the gentle sound of her voice. She does not even seem familiar.

That does not seem to deter Rosanna, however, nor does it affect her ability to trust the woman before her. Roxane has left her children in the care of others before, both familiar to Rosanna and not, when the need arose. Hela’s kindness seems familiar enough.

“Hello,” she says, apprehension melting away. “Did my momma tell you when she was coming back? Did she go to get Brianna and baby Jehan? They stayed with my daddy’s friends while I was sick.”

Rosanna startles at the voice, whipping around to fix wide, frightened eyes on the lurking figure. She takes the woman in in a second, all too quickly realizing how unfamiliar she was, though her red hair and natural beauty does briefly remind her of her older sister and her flaming curls.

Her arms curl in closer to her body, fingers nervous fiddling with the details of her dress. She gives a few nods in response before voicing her own question.

“Do you know my momma?”

[rootsandflcwers]

Rosanna startles at the voice, whipping around to fix wide, frightened eyes on the lurking figure. She takes the woman in in a second, all too quickly realizing how unfamiliar she was, though her red hair and natural beauty does briefly remind her of her older sister and her flaming curls.

Her arms curl in closer to her body, fingers nervous fiddling with the details of her dress. She gives a few nods in response before voicing her own question.

“Do you know my momma?”

@helreginn liked this for a randomized starter.

———

The very first thing Rosanna notices when she begins to stir is that she feels much, much better than before. Last she remembers, she could hardly keep her eyes open, struggling to move, struggling to breathe. The second thing was a profound silence, heavy and so foreign to her. If it was not the sounds of livestock, crickets, fire, or the wind, her home was filled with the sounds of her big sister playing, her mother singing as she worked, or her baby brother cooing and crying. The third and last thing until she opens her eyes is the hard ground beneath her instead of a straw mattress or her mother’s arms around her.

Then her eyes flutter open and she sees how terrifyingly unfamiliar this place really is. Gone is the small farmhouse with the scents of fresh bread and drying herbs. Gone is the vast stony fields blanketed in snow, a white winter forest towering in the distance. Gone were all the faces she knew - Mama, Brianna, Jehan. Rosanna was alone for the first time in her life.

Pushing herself to her feet with an ease she had not found in weeks, the child scans her surroundings with wide, brown eyes.

“Mama?” she calls in a voice too timid and quiet to do her much good even under normal circumstances. “Brianna? Papa?”

But no one answers, no one comes, and Rosanna doesn’t even know which direction to travel in to find them.

[rootsandflcwers]

Another moment of silence passes as Rosanna ponders the stranger’s words. This situation was pretty different than any of the other times her mother had left her with someone, but in the end, she still feels like she has no reason not to trust Hel. If she said she knew her mother, she must or her mother wouldn’t have left her. If her mother had not given a time for her return, there was a reason for that too. Either way, she would be back. She always came back and Rosanna couldn’t fathom anything else.

“Alright,” she nods, a smile spreading across her lips. “We can play until she comes back. I know lots of games. Brianna taught them to me.”

Blue eyes fix on the woman, studying her as she speaks but unsurprisingly, no recognition creeps into her gaze. Despite the woman’s claims, she cannot dig up a memory of this woman’s sharp features or the gentle sound of her voice. She does not even seem familiar.

That does not seem to deter Rosanna, however, nor does it affect her ability to trust the woman before her. Roxane has left her children in the care of others before, both familiar to Rosanna and not, when the need arose. Hela’s kindness seems familiar enough.

“Hello,” she says, apprehension melting away. “Did my momma tell you when she was coming back? Did she go to get Brianna and baby Jehan? They stayed with my daddy’s friends while I was sick.”