#especially when so much of ismene's trust translates to being treated as a pawn

[outeremissary]

Ismene & Jaheira + fortune?

Thank you and sorry it took so long I had to let this one Marinate <3

Jaheira entered Ismene's life at a time when everything seemed to have taken the worst possible turn- she had left her home with no way to return, and Gorion had just died in front of her mere days before, something which affected her far more deeply than she thought was possible after spending so long attempting to internalize the inevitability of his death before it came about. Reaching the Friendly Arm Inn was the only concrete goal she had in the wake of this shock, and there was an expectation that it would be the key to a safe haven for two girls who had just been pushed so rudely from the nest. And then what was actually there was Jaheira and Khalid, and no safety, only the possibility of more unfamiliar, dangerous places and instability, and that with a woman who was overbearing without being protective and quick to judgment in a fragile moment. Jaheira could have been Beshaba herself, a herald of endless ill fortune. She disliked Jaheira immediately, and Jaheira had little more patience for Ismene's aloof, sheltered attitude or the trouble she seemed to trail after her. The antagonism between them was further exacerbated by Jaheira's skepticism about Ismene's input or instructions regarding what the party should do or things that would come to pass- Jaheira had no particular reason to trust that this was more than the girl's typical naive condescension, and Ismene had never been somewhere her reputation for "uncanny intuition" (or the knowledge of her concealed abilities) didn't precede her to give her words weight.

One of the major turning points for Ismene's attitude towards Jaheira was the understanding that she began to develop in disturbed dreams over the course of their travels during the iron crisis that Khalid would soon die. She never told Jaheira this. She certainly never told Khalid. But it took the edge off her vitriol. She could feel a sense of empathy for the impending loss, and could understand in hindsight the security that the two had provided for her and her sister. It gave her a sense of responsibility over Jaheira's inevitable devastation- one that may have been tinged by the guilt of leaving Jaheira in the dark.

[prompt]