#aph comanche

[the-transtalia-blog-inactive]

Gender can be confusing! Heni (Kansas) and Naduah (Comanche) both went through a few changes in how they viewed their genders. Naduah was less concerned with specifics and was satisfied that her gender was simply fluid early on, but Heni took several decades before settling on a label that made them happy

I love them!! I support both of them and I like that they have very different experiences with their genders. Not everyone will go through the same journey to discovering their gender or lack thereof

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Oklahoma?

This took forever, oof.

Oklahoma

Human Name:Emily Huutsuu Garcia

Age: 130~ (looks on the tail end of 16 (I’m fiddling with ages, so this might change))

Gender: Cis girl

Orientation:Asexual Lesbian (sex positive)

Religion:She follows traditional belief systems of the Cherokee and Comanche nations,but idk to what extent yet, and I need to research more before I touch on ittoo much.

(More below the cut bc it got long)

Physical Appearance:Emily is 5’3” and weighs about 150ish pounds, give or take. She has cool, mediumbrown skin that is speckled with freckles across her face and shoulders,mostly. Her hair is black, thick, and hangs past her hips whenever it’s not ina braid or bun. She has almond-shaped eyes that are kind of upturned, and theyare very, very dark brown, almost black. Her face is round and chubby, withfull cheeks. Her nose is largish, and it has a lot of freckles across the bridge.Also, she has several scars from just being a outdoorsy child and growing up inhard times on occasion, but the most notable is on her back, going from herheart to her right shoulder blade.

In regard to her typical clothing, she loves flannels layeredover other things, and she has one specific denim jacket that she got severalyears ago that she loves. She also likes pastels and the colors red and green;most of her wardrobe reflects these color preferences. As for bottoms, she wearsalmost exclusively jeans if she’s going out, but sometimes she’ll pick a skirtif she’s feeling it. Solid color tennis shoes are her go to, and almost all of herpairs are beat up and doodled on. While she usually keeps her hair down or in asimple braid, she does love putting those plastic hair clips for kids in herhair. Things like big, green plastic hearts and colorful flower pieces are herfavorites.

Personality:Emily is pretty energetic. She likes to cause trouble with her friends andbrothers, and she’s not opposed to some good-natured pranks and tomfoolery.However, she’s much more toned down without her friends to back her up. She isfriendly, even with strangers, but if she feels that she is in trouble or thatsomeone is upset with her, she gets very withdrawn. It’s hard to make her mad,unless you’re Texas. She doesn’t always make the smartest choices, but she iswilling to pick up the pieces when things don’t go her way.

All in all, she’s pretty spunky, but it’s not hard tomake her feel small if she doesn’t have her emotional support chaos buddies toback her up.

Likes: Ballet, dancing, good-naturedchaos, music, strawberries, watermelon, flowers, the colors red and green,pastels, animals, learning about cultures, languages, and her family and friends.

Dislikes: Loudnoises, yelling, thunder, feeling like she messed up, fake strawberryflavoring, fake fruit flavoring in general, the cold, tornado season, fatphobiaand racism, bigotry in general, being talked over, and being alone.

Relationships:

@texass-shenanigans’ Texas/Angel: Emily’s older brother,and the person who raised her for a good portion of her childhood. They bickerand pick on each other, but they would also kill someone for each other, so, y’know.Angel gets on Emily’s nerves a lot, but they get along when it counts. As anolder brother, he’s a little more level-headed than she is and he gets worriedwhen she runs off to hunt ghosts or cause chaos, but as Texas… well, he’s onlya little more level-headed, not a lot.

Comanche (Naduah) and Cherokee (Onacona): Emily’smother and father, respectively. Emily loves them both dearly and they areprobably some of the only people who can talk sense into her without making herfeel scolded and withdrawn. Well, Onacona is. Naduah is more where Emily gother wild streak from. Emily was raised by them during her very early childhood,before some issues caused them to let Texas care for her for a while. Still,the family is very close, and Emily wouldn’t trade her parents for the world.

Missouri/Miles: Wild Boi, big brother figure, chaosbuddy, and an overall very good bad example. Miles is actually a pretty sweet person,he just is prone to getting into things he shouldn’t, and this can cause issueswhen one of his pupils is a teenager. Emily looks up to Miles, and Miles isvery protective of Emily. He lets her explore her knack for chaos and she makeshim take a step back every now and again to take a safer route. Also, Miles isa big influence on Emily’s love of sparkly/brightly colored things.

Arkansas/Andrew: Less wild boi, slightly younger bigbrother figure. Andrew is calmer than his older brother and Emily, though stilla bit of a trouble maker, and he and Emily have fun watching the subtlenuisances they can create in the lives of friends and family. Andrew has beenvery helpful for Emily’s habit of curling in on herself when distressed byoffering her a safe and calm space where she can take a breath and reevaluate.These two are protective of each other and each has done wonders for the bodyimage of the other; Emily is chubby and Andrew has vitiligo. They’ve both beenbullied over these facts, but they find confidence in each other and theirfriends.

Kansas/Heni: Emily’s partner. Emily is head over heelsfor this nonbinary darling, and she is all the time coming up with some cutething to call them. Emily will fight anyone who tries to invalidate Heni’sgender or criticizes their fluidity. Heni would kill someone for making Emilyfeel bad about herself or her appearance. They are very supportive of eachother and their relationship is very Softe Teen Romance ™. Heni is always thereto be a firm stance and a rock for Emily when she feels battered or vulnerable.

Arizona/Kat: Kat is like Emily’s cool cousin. Shedoesn’t see her very often, but when she does, they spend a lot of their timechatting or being activists. Kat is a big Queer, Indigenous, and Latino rightsactivist, and Emily goes along to help in any way she’s needed. Kat issurprisingly level-headed and calm, and she’s a calming influence on Emily,helping her focus some of her chaotic energy into productive action.

@texass-shenanigans’ Louisiana/Alex: Alex is Angel’shusband and Miles & Andrew’s older brother. He is by far the calmest one ofthe bunch, and the one with the most braincells, bless his heart. He sometimesteaches Emily to cook, which often ends with the very messy kitchen and a very messyEmily. Alex and Emily get along pretty well, but much like he feels with hisbrothers, he does hope Emily will calm down soon. He’s an excellent confidant, inEmily’s opinion.

Miscellaneous:Emily loves stickers so fucking much. Especially sparkly ones.

Fire is also a thing. She likes to hold stick over acame fire and watch them burn.

Hates June bugs with a passion.

Her favorite treat is a strawberry milkshake. Thisgirl will absolutely do almost anything for a strawberry milkshake with realstrawberries in it.

Ballet is one of the first things that helped her loveher body. She’s been performing for decades now.

Speaks several languages, including several Indigenousones.

Learning ASL to be supportive of one of Miles’partners, Kentucky.

Found out she was ace before finding out she was alesbian, and both times it was because of Heni.

[quinceymorrisstanblog]

You can't see it but Toltec is recording

@sailorgreywolf-legacy

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Transtalia Week 2020 Day 5

Day 5: Fantasy

@the-transtalia-blog This doesn’t actually focus a lot on the transness of any character, but Spain is a dick and does not respect Naduah

Comanche = Naduah/Nadie (genderfluid, she/her (primarily) and he/him) Cherokee = Onacona (cis man, until I change my mind) Oklahoma = Huutsuu (Emily’s given name) (cis girl) (only mentioned) @texass-shenanigans‘s Texas = Colonneh (Angel’s given name) (cis man) (only mentioned) Spain = Antonio (cis man/little bitch)

Akottusha Empire = Comanche and Cherokee’s empire Creboral Empire = Spain’s empire

If you wanna know more about this au, send an ask my way. There’s not a lot of detail here and it kinda jumps a lot.

TW: transphobia, including misgendering, but only described for the most part. Also murder/murder attempt/murder plot and death

Naduah sat straight up, one hand grasping her spear, the other resting on the arm of her throne. The door at the side of the dais opened and Onacona stepped up to his own throne beside her, raising a staff and straightening his robes.

“Cutting it a little close, Love,” Naduah quipped, grinning.

“Ah, well, Huutsuu was trying to negotiate her way out of a nap, I’m afraid.” He smiled over at her. “I think she takes after you, in that regard.”

“Hmph, I’ll have you know, I am an excellent negotiator.”

“Of course, Nadie.” Onacona leaned over to kiss her cheek.

The main doors to the throne hall opened and a page entered and bowed.

“Your majesties, Emperor Antonio of the Creboral Empire seeks an audience.”

Naduah nodded and Onacona spoke, “Bring him in.”

The page bowed again and stepped out. A few moments later, the doors opened wide, and a man and his guard strode in. The guard split off to either side of the aisle up to the throne, taking a stance next to the throne hall guards, while the man continued to march down the walkway to the thrones, head held high. When he reached the end of the carpeted path, feet away from the base of the dais, he looked up at the monarchs and spread his arms and grinned.

“Hola, my friends!” Antonio nodded to each ruler. Onacona nodded back. Naduah quirked a brow when his haze lingered longer than she liked. “I have truly looked forward to standing here today. I have come to discuss a, ah… a potential joint agreement between our nations; one that, hopefully, will be beneficial to both our interests.”

Naduah eyed the emperor as he spoke. His words were flowery and offered a prosperous agreement, but her attention was on his actions. She knew of this man and of the campaigns of his empire, and she did not trust his intentions.

Diplomacy, while important, was not her forte. It was her husband’s, which was why he was the High Diplomat of Akottusha, and not just the Chief Warrior's partner. He was a keen negotiator and had a knack for spotting the tells and nuances of a person’s body language and words, and he had repeatedly made great gains for their country. The realm of negotiation, trade, and diplomacy were absolutely his strong suit.

And the battlefield was Naduah's. She had a mind for strategy, and she had earned her throne through years of not just fighting battles, but through knowing which ones were worth waging. Her job as a leader of Akottusha was to assure the nation’s people were seen as citizens to be protected and not treated as assets to be exploited.

Part of this duty was being informed of the military movements of other nations, and Creboral had been preparing for something. It was not lost on Naduah that Antonio had saw fit to approach other nations before this and to threatened those who were unsatisfied with his words.

Onacona shook Naduah from her thoughts when he responded to Antonio’s offer.

“Well, while this is all very interesting, the Warrior and I should discuss this before further considerations. Thank you for your time, Emperor.”

“Of course. Buenos días, my king-” Antonio nodded to Onacona, “and to you, my queen.” He extended a hand to Naduah.

She looked down at it, before nodding to him and saying, “That is not necessary. And I understand this is your first foray into our politics, but if you wish to negotiate with the High Diplomat and High Warrior, we would ask that you address us properly.” She smiled, trying to look more friendly and less distrusting. “For future encounters.”

Antonio beamed, but it did not put her at ease.

“Of course. My apologies.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naduah watched Onacona and Colonneh ride out of the gates of castle and toward a neighboring kingdom. This would not be the first diplomatic mission that his son had attended, but it would be the first Colonneh helped lead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They couldn’t even bury their bodies.

News of the attack on the envoy reached Naduah as he was getting his daughters ready for lunch. Supposedly, bandits had struck during the night and burned the campsite down in a botched attempt to distract the guards. Neither his husband nor his son were identified, but the bodies that were recovered were beyond recognition.

Antonio had brought him the news. He had claimed to be on a trip through the countryside of the kingdom that neighbored Akottusha to the northeast. His party noticed smoke in the skies and rushed to see what was happening. Unfortunately, the Emperor had said, by the time they had arrived and the blaze had been put out, the High Diplomat and the prince had been lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I assure you, my lady, the Creboral Empire is here to extend any aid you may need. And I am also here to offer comfort, my queen, in the tragic absence of your husband.”

Naduah stiffened.

“I am not a queen, Antonio, and I am not  anyone’s lady. I am the Chief Warrior, and I am Onacona’s partner.” She stood and nodded to the guard, who began taking their usual stations at the entrances after the funerary ceremonies had concluded. “Thank you for your empire’s offer; my people will appreciate it. But I assure you, I am not in need of your comfort. Good evening.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was going to kill the bastard. Even if it took days, weeks, years, he was going to do it.

Not more than two weeks after the disappearance (the murder) of his husband and son, and Antonio had come to restart the failing negotiations, and the bastard had the gall to suggest they unite their empires through marriage. He had asked for Naduah’s hand, and still referred to him as the queen, his lady, etc.

That wasn’t why Naduah was angry.

Well, that didn’t help. No matter how many times Antonio was informed of which robes meant Naduah was masculine or feminine, he still clung to the feminine terms.

What really stirred Naduah’s distrust and dislike into hatred was Antonio’s reaction to Naduah’s refusal.

He’d threatened his daughters. He’d revealed what Naduah already suspected; the attack on Onacona and Colonneh's envoy was ordered by the emperor. And he had threatened war on his people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Onacona had taught Naduah some things about diplomacy. Among them was the understanding that sometimes, in order to protect your people, you must take the bad deal presented, and then fight for changes later.

Naduah accepted Antonio’s hand.

She’d kill him later.

Besides, her informants had returned with good news. No need to make a day of celebration into a day of death.

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Transtalia Week 2020 Day 7

Day 7: Free Day

@the-transtalia-blog Cutting it a little close, but enjoy a short little thing with some casual KS/OK and a little Comanche causing confusion.

Kansas = Heni (Genderqueer, she/her they/them) Oklahoma = Emily (Cis girl) Comanche = Naduah (Genderfluid person, she/her (primarily) and he/him)

“How do you know when you feel like a girl or agender?”

Heni glanced up from the braid she was working on in Emily’s hair. Emily was sitting at the foot of the bed with a puzzle book of some kind that she had set aside when she spoke.

“Well…,” Heni started, then paused to think for a moment. “Y’know, I’m not actually sure. Usually, it’s just a feeling.” She tied off the end of the braid and scooted closer to Emily to start on the next. “But I wouldn’t say I feel like a girl; I just feel… feminine. Sometimes I feel more feminine, and sometimes I don’t.”

“Oh.”

“…Why’d you ask?”

Shrugging, Emily said, “I dunno, I was just curious.” She was quiet for a moment, and then added, “I thought maybe there was like, a system? Or something. I dunno.”

That drew a snort from Heni. “Sweetie, I don’t do anything by a system. But that would be funny. I get like, an email everyday that tells me what the gender of the day is.”

“’On Wednesdays, we are girls.’”

Heni dropped the braid from laughing so hard. Emily giggled in front of her.

“It wasn’t even that funny!”

“I know, it really wasn’t. I just wasn’t ready for it.”

Emily shook her head. “You’re goofy.”

“And you’re shaking your braid out; hold still!”

Doing as told, Emily settled in again and Heni went back to braiding, finishing up the second braid and beginning to wrap them in a style she found on some social media site. Both were quiet again for a few minutes while Heni pinned up the braids around Emily’s head. After a little while, they heard footsteps come down the hall. The two looked up to see Naduah passing through, and both immediately called out as she passed in front of the doorway.

Startled, Naduah flinched back from the door before relaxing and saying, “Jesus B. Christ! What do you need?”

Emily piped up, “Mama, how do you know what your gender is?”

“… What do you mean?”

“Like, how do you figure out what gender you are, or what you feel like every day.”

“Ah; a random number generator.”

Both girls blinked back at Naduah, who stood in the doorway, straight-faced. Emily asked, “Really?”

“… Yep. Got a little note beside the bed with a list of which number means which gender. It’s a part of my morning routine; just ask your papa.” With that, Naduah continued past the door, adding a quick, “Nice job with the hair, Heni,” and leaving Emily and Heni staring after her.

After a second, Heni said, “Y’know, if it was anyone else, I’d call bs, but it really wouldn’t surprise me if that’s how your mom did that.”

“Yeah… I should ask my dad about that. Hey, maybe you can start doing that.”

“Just flip a coin every morning? Maybe,” Heni chuckled. She patted Emily’s back and added, “Alright, I’m done. Go check it out,” with a kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek.

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Made with this Picrew

In order, we have First Row: Emily (OK), Miles (MO), and Andrew (AR) Second Row: Cat (AZ) and Heni (KS) Last Row: Naduah (Comanche) and Onacona (Cherokee)

It’s not perfect depictions of them, but it’s the closest I’ve been able to make thus far so

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Fun Fact #64

Naduah and Onacona just... didn't tell Alfred that Ahyoka existed for several years. They did the same when Emily was born. They had some very good reasons, considering their past experiences with Angel and Antonio, but Alfred also kinda knew that there was somebody that they were hiding from him because he could sense a personification of his territory. But nobody would tell him anything about this kid (he couldn't really blame them) and it was frustrating

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Happy Mother’s Day

Emily brought Naduah a box with pretty rocks and shiny, colorful things to show how much she loves her mama. She does this every year

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Fun Fact #49

Emily's contact names for her friends and family

Angel: Texass🤠

Alex: The Frenchiest Fry

Miles: 🎵I am in Misery🎵

Andrew: Andy

Heni: 💛💚❤💛💚❤

Cat: Ocean Front Property☀️🌊

Naduah: Mama Dear

Onacona: Papa (aka Motherfucker)

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Fun Fact #45

Onacona has really long, soft hair and Naduah and Emily play it all the goddamn time

[aph-oklahoma-46]

//Naduah is buff. Idk if I've mentioned that, but y'all need to know

[aph-oklahoma-46]

//October Writing Challenge, Day 4

So I didn’t get a prompt this week, so I decided that in the spirit of the season, I would post one of the drabbles I did for @horrificmemes October Writing Challenge. Please enjoy the angst (it’s not Emily this time)(sorta)

Category 1: Secret; Category 2: Scream

Emily woke up lying next to her mother in the bed. Her brother was at Alex’s house for the night and her father had gone to visit his siblings, so she and Naduah were home alone, which meant Emily could get away with sharing the bed. She blinked blearily, mind foggy with sleep. She didn’t know what had woken her up. She stared at the ceiling for a bit and, after not hearing or seeing anything that would have disturbed her sleep, she turned over to face her mother and closed her eyes. A moment later she heard Naduah mutter something quietly. Emily opened her eyes again.

“Mama?” she asked. Naduah was facing Emily’s side of the bed, but her eyes were firmly shut. She didn’t respond to Emily, who decided she must just be having a dream. Emily was about to settle down again when Naduah spoke once more. It was really just bits and pieces of words, but Emily gathered from the down that whatever dream this was, it wasn’t pleasant. She sounded upset, Angry, even.

Emily sat up as her mother’s murmuring grew a little louder. The woman clutched the pillow beneath her head and furrowed her brow in distress. There were more whispers, and Emily caught a faint “leave” in her native language before Naduah was silent again. She wondered if her mother talking to someone in her dream. That’s what the pauses made it sound like.

Naduah barked something harsh in Comanche, and Emily jumped at the force with which it was said. Growing more concerned, she thought that she should probably try to wake her mother up. As she thought this, her mother cried out, not in anger this time, but in distress. She sounded almost… scared wasn’t the right word. Distraught? She pulled the pillow she was sleeping on closer to her and squeezed it tighter, threatening whomever was harassing her to stay back.

Emily reached out and placed a hand on Naduah’s shoulder, shaking gently. Naduah’s eyes snapped open and her hand shot up to catch Emily’s arm, snarling at an unseen assailant and still coming out of the dream. She blinked and stared at her daughter, confused and breathing rapidly. Slowly, the image of Emily replaced that of the person from her dream. Letting go of Emily’s wrist, Naduah sat up in bed and pulled her child close to her. Emily could hear Naduah’s heart beating rapidly in her chest and craned her head up to look at her. It was strange. Now that she was awake, Naduah looked as though she were trying to recover from a terrifying event. Emily had never even seen her mother look scared.

“Pia, what’s wrong?” she said as she squirmed into a more comfortable position. This seemed to shock Naduah out of her trance and she looked down at Emily.

“Nothing… Nothing’s wrong, love,” she said, voice still a little shaky. “It was just a dream.” Emily thought it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than anything, but she didn’t say it. She just cuddled closer into her mother’s warmth and squeezed her in a hug.

“It’s ok, Mama,” she muttered. Eventually, the two laid back down and fell asleep.

//So, someone had a nightmare. I’ll do my best to tag this, but please let me know if I miss something

Also, feel free to send me ideas about what Naduah’s nightmare was about

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Bad Weather

//Didn’t get a prompt this week either, so here’s this. Enjoy, my lovelies. This is so late, I apologize.

🌪 - Dangerous weather conditions

 Comanche frowned at the meteorologist on the TV. Maps and charts flashed in the background, showing windspeeds and cloud cover and storm patterns, while a list of counties scrolled across the bottom. The predicted path of the storm was traced across the screen, and towns and cities were marked with tornado warnings and watches. Behind Comanche, on the couch, Emily tried to get up. She was quickly stopped by her mother.

“You need to rest until the storm has passed! You know how this weather affects you.”

Emily groaned. “I’m fine, Mama.” Which wasn’t entirely untrue. She hadn’t passed out yet, which was always good, though that was mostly because the current tornadoes were limited in number and severity. As long as no one was harmed, and property damage was minimal, she would suffer little more than dizziness. But Comanche wasn’t hearing it. She made sure Emily wasn’t going anywhere, then moved to the kitchen. When she returned, she had a glass of water.

“Here, Huutsuu. You need to drink this and rest. You’re not leaving this couch for any reason other than bathroom breaks.” Emily opened her mouth to protest, but her mother cut her off. “No buts. You may not pass out, but you shouldn’t be up and about when you’re not steady on your feet. You’ll fall down the stairs or something!”

Emily groaned again and sank lower into the cushions. She sipped at the water and frowned. As much as she loved rainy days, she hated storms. Especially tornadoes.

Eventually, Comanche went to do something upstairs. Emily remained in place for a few moments and then shivered. The blanket her mother had left wasn’t going to be enough. She tossed it off and rose to her feet. Immediately the world started spinning. She reached out and steadied herself against the arm of the couch. Maybe she shouldn’t be up and about. Once she was certain she wouldn’t fall over, she made her way up the stairs and too her room. After digging in her closet, she found a nice, fuzzy blanket to curl up with.

Now, if Emily had any common sense, she would get in bed and rest instead of making the journey back down the stairs. But Emily did not have any common sense, and instead wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and stepped into the hall. She reached the stairs and took a breath. Gripping the banister, she took the first step downward. Then another, and another. About halfway down a wave of dizziness swept over her and she swayed a bit. When the worst of it had passed, she stuck her foot out to continue down the stairs.

She missed. She felt herself pitch forward and braced as best she could against the impact of the stairs. Instead, she landed in warms arms. Looking up, Emily saw her mother looking very worried, and then very unpleased. Comanche must have gone back downstairs while Emily was searching for another blanket.

“Huutsuu! What did I tell you?” Comanche wrapped her arms around her daughter and lifted her up, cradling her close. Carrying Emily back downstairs, she scolded, “You could have hurt yourself. If you were cold, you could have just asked me for another blanket.” She sat her down on the couch, rearranging the blankets around her.

Emily blushed, mostly from embarrassment. “Sorry,” she muttered, looking away. She didn’t like to make her mother worry, especially since she wasn’t the kind of woman to get concerned easily.

Comanche sighed. She pulled Emily into a tight hug, curling up next to her. “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself, Huutsuu. A fall like that could have been very bad.” Comanche kissed her forehead. “I love you, sweetie.”

Emily snuggled closer to her mother. “I love you, too, Pia.”

The two stayed cuddled together until the weatherperson announced the storms had passed.

//I don’t know if there is anything that should be tagged in here, so please let me know if there is anything that ought to be tagged.

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Write about Comanche and Cherokee for a change lol

//Ask and ye shall receive. Have some domestic fluff.

Cherokee was the first towake that morning. He blinked bleary sleep away and yawned. Once he reached astate resembling consciousness, glanced over at the clock on the nightstand.Bright red numbers reading 8:15 flashed on the clock’s screen. Digital, why is everything going digitalnowadays, he thought to himself. Then he laughed to himself as hepractically heard Colonneh’s response of it’s2018, Papa, everything’s been digital.His son was much more interested in these things than he was.

He rolled to his otherside, now facing his wife, who was still asleep. Normally, both she andCherokee rose at least an hour earlier than this, but Colonneh and Huutsuu hadcome over yesterday and spent the night, and they had all gone to bed ratherlate. He smiled and leaned over to place a kiss on Comanche’s forehead.Centuries later, and she was still the most beautiful person he knew.

Comanche stirred at thecontact and looked up at her husband. She stretched and sat up a little,leaning against the head-board.

“Good morning,” she said,groggily. Rubbing her face, she mused, “where do teenagers get all thatenergy?” She and Huutsuu had been the last to go to bed. Colonneh had been thefirst, which was expected; he had quite a bit on his plate at the moment.Cherokee left not long before Comanche and Huutsuu. Comanche made a commentabout tired old men, which was met with giggles from her daughter and rollingeyes from her husband. Huutsuu kept her mother awake with stories of how theend of summer was going and how excited she was for the coming school year. Finally,just as Comanche was beginning to wonder if Colonneh had intentionally givenhis sister something sugary to keep his parents up, Huutsuu yawned and declaredshe was tired. Comanche walked her to her room and quickly went to bed herself

Cherokee chuckled. Heleaned over and gave Comanche another kiss.

“You know, I seem toremember another young woman who would stay up all night telling stories.” Hewas met with an annoyed look.

“Well, she sounds absolutelywonderful,” Comanche commented, rolling her eyes. Cherokee leaned onto thehead-board as well, placing their faces close together.

“Mhm,” he said, bringingtheir foreheads together. “She was—and is—quite possibly the most wonderfulperson I’ve ever met.”

“Oh, really?” Comanchekissed him this time, leaning over and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yes.” Cherokee placedhis hand on her waist and kissed her jaw, listing traits in between. “She’ssmart, and she’s stubborn, and beautiful, and brave and kind…”

The two closed the gapbetween them, placing hands on waists and hip, kisses on mouths and necks, and-

Knock knock.

“Oh my god, really?”Cherokee groaned and flopped back on the bed, and Comanche glanced at the door.

“Maybe if we’re quiet,they’ll go away.”

Another knock.

“Mama, I’m hungry.”Comanche looked back at her husband.

“Or not.” Louder, shecalled to Huutsuu, “Mama’s not awake yet. Come back at, um…” she glanced at herhusband, who shrugged unhelpfully, “come back at nine.”

Outside the door, Huutsuufrowned.

“You’re awake.” Huutsuuchanged tactics. “Papa, will you come make breakfast? Please, Angel’s stillasleep.” Comanche and Cherokee shared a look.

“I can practically hearthe puppy eyes.” Sighing, both parents got up to get dressed. Cherokee calledthrough the door for Huutsuu to got set the table, and soon he and Comanchewere in the kitchen making breakfast while Huutsuu attempted to wake Colonneh up.Not long after, the family was sitting down to breakfast.

// @texass-shenanigans makes an appearance

[aph-oklahoma-46]

Is there anyone you trust no matter what?

Angel, Mama, Papa, Alex… I want to say Miles, but one time he told me there was pie in the kitchen and when I went down there, he sprayed me with a water gun.

Oh, and of course this little sweetheart! *holds up No-Nose*

[aph-oklahoma-46]

⭐️ or 🌙?

//I’vedecided that I like third-person narration much better and I will switch backto it unless otherwise is necessary.

//Also, I stg I didn’t mean to make it this angsty. Trigger warning for death mention and survivor’s guilt. I will tag it, too

⭐️ - The stars

🌙 - The moon

Emily lay on the bed, curled beneath the sheets andhugging the pillow. She hadn’t moved from this spot for the better part ofthree days, with the only exceptions being bathroom breaks or when her parentsmanaged to sit her up to eat and drink. Other than that, she had refused tomove, just simply laid there and stared out the window.

Sequoyah was gone. She wasn’t coming back.

And it was Emily’s fault.

It had been a few years since the girls’ territorieshad merged to create what was now the state of Oklahoma. Emily had been soexcited. She was going to be a state! Better yet, she and her sister were bothgoing to be a state. She hadn’t known that two separate personifications forone State/Nation/whatever was rare. She hadn’t known what would happen. ThatNovember day, Alfred had congratulated her, as had a few other states, andAngel and her parents (though they were much more subdued in his excitement).Emily had run around the house, waving her copy of the paper that bore hersignature, that made her a state. She hadn’t thought it was strange thatSequoyah hadn’t signed. She charged into her older sister’s room and claspedher little arms around Sequoyah’s hips, chattering about how they would be likeAngel now. And Sequoyah, to her credit, smiled back at Emily and congratulatedher as well. Told Emily how proud she was of her.

And soon after, Sequoyah got sick. Over the next fewyears, she got worse. Eventually, Emily realized that she and Sequoyah were notsharing the position of personification for the new state. And she learned whathappened to personifications who lost their land or people.

Towards the end, Emily had insisted on staying withSequoyah as much as possible, often sharing the bed with her sister. Threenights ago, they went to sleep, and the next morning, only Emily woke up.

Her sister was gone, and Emily was benefitting fromher death.

Of course, a small child can’t quite make sense ofthat, or at least, can’t quite understand how to deal with it. And so, Emilydid the best she could. She stayed huddled in the last place she had seen hersister alive, and she closed off from everything else. Her mother and fatherhad tried to get her to move, had tried to lift her spirits. But what couldthey do when she refused to let them help? How can you comfort someone when youdon’t know what they’re thinking?

As Emily lay curled in her seemingly permanent post,she was vaguely aware of her brother standing in the doorway, watching. Likeher parents, Angel had been worried about Emily as well. Their whole family hadgrieved Sequoyah, and now it was beginning to look like they would lose Emilyas well. Not physically; As long as Oklahoma remained a state and avoided anyextremely hard times, her status as a personification would keep her alive. Butshe was a child, and a child shouldn’t feel like Emily felt. Angel, like Emily,had watched Sequoyah fade away, and he wasn’t sure he could watch Emily do thesame in spirit.

He moved from the doorway to the bed and sat next towhere Emily lay. She didn’t acknowledge his presence. She just curled in onherself a little bit more. The two siblings stayed quiet, Emily lost in her ownmind, and Angel thinking of what he could say. What could he say? He glancedout the window Emily was staring out of. He watched the stars shine in the sky,and briefly wondered if Emily was making wishes. Stars… he had an idea!

Finally, Angel cleared his throat and placed a hand onEmily’s shoulder. “Emily?” She said nothing, just glanced at his hand and thenlooked back to the window. He tried again, this time gently shaking hershoulder. “Huutsuu?… Nami, please answer me. At least look at me.”

Emily could here the sadness in his voice, and whatseemed to be desperation. She didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want tolook at her parents. She didn’t want to look at them because if she did, shewould feel a new rush of guilt sweep over her as her mind forced up memories ofher older siblings together, of her parents with their oldest daughter, andreminded her that because of her, they would never be able see Sequoyah again.But Angel persisted in his quest for her attention, and finally, with afamiliar annoyance, she turned her head just a bit and looked at him.

Angel smiled. He got off the bed and knelt down,lowering his head until he was level with hers. He glanced out the window andthen back at Emily. “Sky sure is pretty at night, ain’t it? The moon and allthe stars and whatnot. Right, Nami?” Emily looked to the sky and then to Angel,nodding.

Angel took this as a good sign and continued. “I gotsomething neat to show you. It’s about the stars and the moon and all that. Doyou wanna go see? Please, Huutsuu. Please”

Emily didn’t really want to go anywhere, but it wasbeginning to sound like Angel was on one of his kicks where he wouldn’t let asubject go, and she really didn’t want him to harass her while she felt likethis. She looked away from him, and thought, not moving. Then, she nodded, andAngel looked like he had just won the lottery.

“Great! But uh… we gotta go outside, sister. I can’tshow you all of it just through the window.” Angel held his breath. Emily hadrarely left the room since Sequoyah passed, let alone the house. But again,after more thinking, Emily nodded, and Angel breathed a sigh of relief. Hestood up, but Emily made no move to get off the bed. She just sat up, lettingthe covers cling to her, and still hugging the pillow. She looked up at himexpectantly.

“Why aren’t y-… of course. What did I expect?”Although he was annoyed, Angel was to happy to have gotten this far to let itfaze him. He scooped Emily up, pillow and all, and made his way out of the house,first grabbing a glass of water and some food.

He found a spot and sat down, laying Emily besidehimself. He leaned back and got comfortable and looked to the sky. After a fewseconds, he pointed up and spoke.

“You see the face on the moon?” Emily shook her head.Angel began gesturing at the moon. “Yeah, see? Those dark spot right there,those are the eyes. And there, there’s the mouth. Hmm… doesn’t look likethere’s a nose. Anyway, see it now?”

Emily watched as he motioned to different spots of theshining circle, and she began to put the features together. She gasped. “H-how’d that person get up there?” Her voice was quiet and scratchy from lack ofuse.

Angel looked over at her and laughed. As he handed theglass, he explained. “No, Nami, there’s not actually anyone up there. It justlooks like the moon has a face.”

Emily took the glass and frowned. “But-” she had pauseto cough, and Angel motioned to the water, which she sipped at. “But why? Whydoes it have a face?”

Angel contemplated this for a moment and said “I’m notsure. Ask Papa or Mama, I’m sure they know. Now do you see that reddish-lookingstar? That’s Mars.” And Angel continued to point out features andconstellations, and Emily watched, almost forgetting her grief. After a while,the two lay in the grass silently. Angel had begun to think Emily had fallen asleep,until she spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

Angel turned to look at her. “What? Why? You didn’t doanything.” He could see tears welling up in her eyes.

Emily buried her face in the pillow she still clungto. “Sequoyah is gone. It’s my fault.” She said something else, but it wasmuffled by the pillow.

Angel blinked, taken aback. That’s what she had beenso upset about for the past three days? Everyone had just assumed she wastaking Sequoyah’s death harder then they were, which apparently was true.

“Nami, it’s not your fault. There was nothing youcould do about it.” He reached out and pulled her closer, and she pressed herface into his shirt, sniffling. “Sometimes that just how it is. They wanted onestate, you couldn’t change that. How could it be your fault?” Angel hugged hertightly. “It’s not your fault.”

Emily stayed silent, having run out of tears days ago.Instead, she curled in closer to her brother and clung to him. Angel held herclose and whispered again that it wasn’t her fault before humming quietly. Soon,both had fallen asleep in the grass, where their parents woke them in themorning.

//Good god this is long. Anyway, @texass-shenanigans, not sure if I wrote Angel correctly but oh well.