Culture & family

If you can't tell already, I like writing sibling relationships. I think it's interesting how family dynamics come into play, the whole nature-versus-nurture thing.

My stories also always explore the idea of trust, which is certainly different between friends, who you can pick/discard and family... who you're pretty much stuck with ;)

I've never written about sisters before, or twins, but I've thought about doing so ever since I read 'Alva & Irva', by Edward Carey when it first came out around 2003.

Issabel is the older twin. I'm slowly figuring out what strengths and weaknesses they have and how they compliment each other, yet I haven't decided what they would compete over. Issabel is better at distance killing, spear & bow, while the main character (still nameless at this point she has a name now!!) is better with a knife. I'm sure that has some relevance in how the events of the plot play out, but I'll just have to wait and see on that.

...and, in typical fashion, I literally typed 2,945 words of the story before my main character had a name. Sikka, to match with Issa. Though that would be the shortened form. Don't know what the full name would be 'cause if I had to truly match it with Issabel, that would make it Sikkabel, which sounds absolutely horrid.

...maybe I'll just leave it as Sikka and never mention/think about it again...

Athough I still am wondering about the sisters, I do know the kind of relationship they have, and I think I'm starting to figure out the inner-workings of their complex relationship with Komil. I hope some of that is already coming out in the last two scenes I've offered up, and in this additional short scene, where the narration-style ends: