From the middle of a work in progress:

Shivani stood at the peak of an abrupt rise, over the edge of a rending of the earth. Her thin body was pillared against the sky, and her long black hair waved behind her like a banner in the wind. Jon’s eyes slid past her the first time he let his gaze sweep the ridge; she was part of the land.

“Shivani!”

Black eyes struck brown as she turned to meet Jon’s gaze. They were big eyes, as dark as the hair that hung loosely about her pale chocolate cheeks. The sun framed her skinny, boyish body from behind as it climbed over the horizon - the sight made Jon suddenly tired.

“There you are.”

Shivani smiled briefly, and raised her arms to either side … she came running, weaving between sparse bushes and sprouts that pushed their way up through the dusty earth, around a tall stand of grass that rose up between her and Jon. Her bare feet slapped down onto a boulder, and she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck; he grunted and stumbled backwards a step.

“Hey, easy … ” He flashed Shivani a smile; it was a smile he knew Carin could not see. “Sleep well?”

Shivani nodded, looking up at him with a blankly innocent expression. He sighed.

“You shouldn’t sleep outside.”

Shivani’s only answer was a soft giggle; she dropped to a crouch, to watch a small lizard trundle through a patch of grass.

“She looks unnatural in clothes.”

Jon blinked, his brow rising. “What?”

Carin shrugged, crouching next to Shivani. “I don’t know. They make her seem less … I don’t know. Maybe it’s that they’re not the right clothes … ” Shivani gave Carin a mute look, plucking worriedly at her shirt.

“Oh.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s Shivani.”

“I know her name. I meant … ” Carin glanced at Shivani, and then towards Jon.

“She’s my sister.”

“Sister? But - “

“But what?”

Carin gave him an odd look. “Nothing, I suppose. Where is she from?”

“India.”

Carin blinked. “How did she get here?”

Jon hesitated. “It’s … a long story.”

Carin wrinkled her nose at the cliché, falling silent. When she reached for the lizard, it scurried away and hid by Shivani’s feet. There was a soft sigh; she looked towards Jon. “Can we eat?”

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