[IC] Journey to the East

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee shrugged at Elann’s compliment, not necessarily feeling the same way. “I suppose,” she replied. “I would like to take down bigger things by myself though, deer and boars. Noah can even take down other birds, I think that’s rather amazing even if I do consider it cannibalism.” She laughed at that softly, remembering how her brother shrugged her off with a smile.

Aimee couldn’t hide the fact she was saddened that her brother and Elann wouldn’t be staying in the family house until they got settled themselves. She nodded nonetheless though, albeit solemnly. “Alright,” she went. “I doubt you’d want to be around for if any disagreements happen anyway. Wherever you guys settle, I just hope it’s a nice place for the both of you, honestly.”

They spoke on the dream and how Elann was unsure if it existed. “I wish it wasn’t so cloudy for you,” Aimee said. “It would be nice if it was there, just to say that you actually saw it in a dream, if for nothing else. I suppose to never really know what’ll happen at all. One moment you’re setting up for camp in the night and in the next bandits are attacking.”

She brought her free hand up and combed through her hair, tossing it to lay over the front of her shoulders to minimize the amount of wild flailing it was doing behind her as they walked. “Why do you think you’ll be a burden to my family?” she asked, curious.

[snelss0]

"Yeah, it is kind of cannibalism. He even talks to birds in their language." She shrugged with a smile as well.

"I am willing to live wherever, Aimee. If Noah wants to stay at your house instead of the Inn, I'm okay with that."

"Yeah," she commented. "I was warned about it, but in my uncertainty, I just couldn't be sure..." It was something she kicked herself about and felt sad, something Noah would feel should he still be awake. She felt partly responsible for not urging the guards to be more alert that night, for not suggesting people stick together, for not having armed herself. It was clear to see on her face that it bothered her. All the people she consoled afterwards, it was as if she was apologizing to them, not just because she was sad, but because she felt responsible.

"I don't feel like we'd be a true burden. I think your family would love to have us there from what I've seen. I just don't want to put you out any food or anything. I especially don't want to kick Ryon out of his home. No...I think it's best we just stay at the inn, but I'll let Noah decide. I'm kind of open whichever way, like I said."

[Illumin0sity]

“He’s terrible,” Aimee joked.

The humor in the joke was short lived on Aimee’s part as Elann expressed what seemed like guilt to the wolf. “You’re too good for your own good,” Aimee said, attempting to keep the humor around. “Even if you had a feeling that something was going to happen, it’s not your fault for not warning anyone. You didn’t know it was bandits or how bad it was going to be. You protecting people in the middle of the fight is more than anyone can ask for. Besides, if the bandits never came, the people would have died sooner or later and those bandits would’ve only attacked the next caravan on the road, and I doubt you’d be on it to forewarn anyone.”

Aimee flexed her grip on Elann’s hand a few times in reassurance. “The bandits will think twice about attacking a caravan. Their numbers are weaker because of you, Noah, me, and anyone else who as much as swung a sword.”

She took a little breath. “I was joking about Ryon anyway. Donavan is gone so his room is free. He’ll be gone for a long time, he went all the was north to Mura after all. Then there’s Noah’s old room too. It’s highly unlikely you’ll eat us out of food. Noah’s appetite has been the same since he was little and you hardly eat anything as it is. My family will adjust and buy extra food if we need it, it’s not like we’re struggling for coin anyway,” she assured. “So, whatever Noah decides, since you’re leaving it in his hands, I’m more than sure we’ll be glad to have you for even a day.”

[snelss0]

Elann let out a short laugh at Aimee's joke. A soft smile spread over Elann's face at Aimee calling her good. Her words were kind and Elann felt slightly relieved. It was nice to have someone close who would console her like Aimee tried to do.

"Yeah, they better think twice!" she said, trying to rummage up some joy from the conversation by acting tough. It was downright cute to see her be forceful or violent because she was so innocent.

"I've been having dreams lately that something is not right. It has that same black taint to it as the bandits did before all that happened, but seems distant. I have the feeling that some evil somewhere has happened and somehow I know about it, but it's being kept from me for some reason. I don't know, it's hard to put my finger on it, but it bothers me to think of. It feels very personal...Sometimes this can be a bit of a curse as well as a blessing, but I see things, things that will happen in the future, in the present, and that have happened in the past. I could tell you things that happened in the past of your life and why they happened."

She knew Aimee had lovers in her past, perhaps lovers that left her asking why. She also had desires to connect to the Gods, and while they were tiny desires, Elann could perhaps pinpoint why that hadn't happened. There were so many things in a persons life she could perceive if she read the tea leaves. In a way, she was putting an offer out to her sister that if she wanted answers on something, she could come to her.

"Oh, so there is room. Well, we'll talk about it some more I'm sure. At the least, I don't mind spending a few days there with you all."

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee was glad her words found some sort of purchase in Elann, she was hesitant to give them, unsure how the sensitive girl would react. She knew she had a jaded view of the world and knew many didn’t share it. People died and the very same people that were killed by the bandits, and the bandits that were killed by the people, would’ve been taken at some point in time. Death wasn’t something to be controlled but prepared for in her mind.

Elann spoke of another tremble in the passage of time, something she said felt eerily personal. It worried Aimee because she was unsure of what it meant, and it didn’t help Elann didn’t seem to know what it was either. Elann called her gift a blessing and curse, Aimee couldn’t help but agree now. The vagueness of the future seemed nigh useless to her; if it couldn’t be definite, what was the point of being filled with worry. The offer came from Elann, to which Aimee shook her head in declination.

“I’d rather leave it where it is,” she admitted, meaning no offense to Elann’s powers. “It happened for a reason, whether I know that reason or not is irrelevant to me. So long as I am alive, I am grateful.”

Aimee nodded along with Elann’s words. There was plenty of room in Aimee’s mind. Noah had very few possessions as it was, and his old room had been reverted to storage since he showed no signs of coming home. His room was small anyway, the smallest room in their with a bed large enough for a single person, though now it was doubtful he could fit on it given his stature.

“A few days is better than none at all,” she said with a smile. “Is all you know about your feeling is that it’s very personal to you?”

[snelss0]

Elann didn't take offense to the rejection and nodded. She felt the same way, glad to be alive. With herself and fate she could not see much, but with someone else as the subject, she had always been able to see more. It was why she offered, partially because she wanted to know more about Aimee, whether it was in the past, present, or future.

"No, that's not all I know," she answered, thinking and looking up slightly to the sky as she searched her feelings. "I feel like it was a darkness, not connected to myself, but somehow connected to me in some other way. It feels old, growing and yet forgotten and I feel it will come to a point where it will no longer be."

She smiled weakly and looked back, shrugging.

"It's a mess. Who knows what to think from that? I also feel I will know in the near future and that it will not be good. It could be something simple and stupid, or it could be something huge. I am not sure."

"I don't always see what I want when I read someone's presence, but sometimes it gives me clarity to the things that I've been thinking or dreaming about. Sometimes it's tied in close to someone I know or have met. I used to just ignore it, to think it strange, but lately in this past year, I've really been seeing things happen that are not coincidental. I've been considering trying to...I don't know, hone the ability, sort of like how you might with your magic?"

She drew silent, just walking with her sister for a little bit; not entirely sure she would even want to discuss her Reinmancy. It probably was a comfort to her to know that Elann had knowledge of the skill and yet was not fearful of it.

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee nodded in understanding. It was interesting Elann brought up her reimancy, but the comparison was valid enough to not evoke anything but understanding from the Kelvic. “I had stopped, actually,” she said, slightly smiling to show there were no hard feelings. “After my teacher died, I stopped practicing, probably against their wishes but the Djed storm was terrible, it killed a lot of mages. I was lucky to survive, my teacher wasn’t. I was terrified of using it for a long time, but not so much anymore.

“I only used it to protect Noah, then you, then the others because you were protecting Noah and he was protecting you. I understand though, wanting to hone the ability.”

Aimee took a breath, continuing on before Elann was able to answer. “Maybe the darkness isn’t you. You said it was connected to you but the only person personally connected to you is Noah, through his bond. I mean, it’s just an inkling of mine, you can nevermind it. I wanted to bring it up though, just to give you something to think about since it’s already so vague.”

[snelss0]

"We too faced that storm, but it was not so bad where we were as many other places we heard of. I'm glad though that you used your magic that night. You saved us...and many others. You were like a...I don't know what, but you were amazing. You should be a fighter or something by profession," she giggled.

On the subject of darkness, Aimee brought up Noah. Elann didn't think it felt like other times when things came about Noah, but she couldn't be sure.

"I cant say, but something makes me think not. Besides, I read his tea leaves and patterns all the time. He doesn't know it," she grinned. "I think if it was to deal with him, perhaps it would have shown itself...but who knows?"

She shrugged and enjoyed the sun as it warmed her between the beatings of the wind. It was probably beckoning her husband to come play. Her eyes went to the mountains in the distance.

"It's strange being so close. I feel like this is actually happening. I felt the same when we finally landed in Syliras. Then I hoped it was all a bad dream and I would wake any moment, but now it doesn't feel like that. It does feel like I am dreaming though. It was a relief to get out of Syliras. I've never been to a place like that. It was toxic."

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee laughed lightly at Elann’s words. “Thank you, but I think I’ll leave the fighting to my brothers. I don’t think I’d be that good of a warrior.” Elann’s words were flattering, that much was seen.

Aimee raised her brows at Elann’s admittance, it was another interesting thing. “Perhaps,” Aimee said with confidence, despite being uncertain.

Her free hand came up and combed through her hair again from root to tip, lingering on the tips as she twirled them between her fingers idly. There was a little pause of silence before Elann interrupted it by speaking of the closeness to Zeltiva and how Syliras was a seemingly toxic place. The Kelvic hummed thoughtfully, nodding some.

“It’s not the best place in the world, that’s for certain. I could be biased, being a Kelvic and only ever living in Zeltiva aside from Syliras, but I hated it too. I can understand why Noah hates it, I even tried to warn him but he didn’t listen to me either. He said he wanted to see it for himself. I thought he liked it, the way he was seemingly growing cheerier whenever he would write us, up until he stopped entirely.”

Aimee shrugged. “I almost thought something happened to him but my mother said if something happened she would know. It was a happy day when his letter came in, telling us about how he met you and how he had been doing over the past year. He told us about Liam and how they had been friends for so long. He told us a lot in the letter, kept saying that he loved us and he missed us too. It was the longest one he had written to us ever, a few pages long.”

She looked over to Elann. “At least you never have to go back if you don’t want to. You can also say you’ve been there, therefore you’ve no reason to go back.”

[snelss0]

While Elann was sure that her brothers were good fighters, it didn't diminish from what she saw that night. Aimee was fast and deadly, graceful and accurate. In Elann's mind, Garland nor any guard she had met could handle her.

Elann's hand slid from her sisters to bend down and pick up a flower from the grass and twirl it in her hands. It was similar in color to the one in her hair, but a different type. Elann smelled it as Aimee spoke about Syliras.

"Yeah, I don't want to go back. I encouraged him to write that letter. I hadn't realized it was that long. I think he told me he was very dissatisfied with the city when I met him. It doesn't surprise me. The more I know about him, the more I see him as a free spirit on the wind, not someone trapped inside a stone city. Tell me, how did you get him to change and fly before? He ignored me when I suggested it."

[Illumin0sity]

Elann pulling her hand away from Aimee’s drew the wolf’s attention to the Benshira. The flower caught Aimee’s sights all the more. She finished what she had to say then listened as Elann spoke as well. There was a nod of thankfulness and understanding from Aimee, grateful that Elann was the one who encouraged him to write the letter.

“Yeah, I didn’t think he would do it on his own. I had an inkling that it was you or Liam that got him to write it after all, since he spoke of you two so much in it,” she said, pausing as she considered Elann’s question.

“He almost didn’t do it,” she revealed. “Said something about not wanting to because he didn’t feel like it, but that was a lie, I knew. I just waited though, I brought it up and told him about how much I knew he missed it: flying, hunting, being with Zulrav or whatever he does when he flies. I think he was scared, honestly. He told me about the falcon, how low he felt, and how afraid he was something was going to happen to him again. He said the lightning struck the falcon out of nowhere, that it was Zulrav protecting him, so I told him Zulrav would protect him again, and I would to.”

Aimee shrugged nonchalantly. “I think he was concerned about you too, if he ignored you when you mentioned it. I mean, it’s always about the bondmate and how they’ll look at us. At least, that’s what I was concerned about when I was bonded, how my bondmate would look at me.

Getting him to change took all night though, he would just watch me or stare off into space, no talking. He was relatively silent all night.”

[snelss0]

It was interesting to think that Liam may have been someone who helped motivate him to send his letter. She hummed to show that she was curious if he did.

She then spoke of his transformation, and while she may not have seen much reaction from Elann as she twirled the flower and looked into it, Noah would feel her annoyance.

"At least he said something to you. Me he just ignored. Which felt great," she flashed with a smile toward her sister to show her sarcasm. "Anyways, I'm glad he was able to fly after all. I think it will bring back a lot of strength in those muscles the more he tries."

Not enjoying the particular topic, she switched to something else.

"So, has it been kind of nice to get out of Zeltiva and come visit us? To be on the road a bit, or do you like staying at home?"

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee smiled politely to Elann in reply, laughing some at the Benshira’s sarcasm. “Maybe he was thinking,” she said quietly, knowing that it wasn’t totally unknown of Noah’s seeming disregard of conversation in order to think on it.

The topic switch to something else, giving Aimee pause as she considered the question posed. “More or less,” she answered. “I wish we weren’t on the road as long, but I know you don’t have the capabilities that we do. It’s been nice having time to know you before everyone else does though. I do like being at home though, with my sister, mother, and father. My brothers sometimes too, when they aren’t being annoyances.”

“What of you? I take you as more the homebody type,” she asked in reply.

Aimee drew the assumption based of what Elann liked to do, and the Benshira revealed she would stay inside and make rugs in her youth. She still liked to do that apparently, so Aimee assumed she also liked to stay inside moreso than she or her family members. Her home was also very comfortable looking, leading Aimee to believe she stayed there whenever she wasn’t working.

[snelss0]

"Maybe," she said with a grin, though inside she was somewhat hurt. Thankfully the conversation switched and her sister showed that they all would have been able to travel far ahead of the caravan. At that point, Elann was close enough to Zeltiva not to worry about things, so she wouldn't mind if they did rush ahead.

"I hear your brothers can be pains."

"Well, I'm not sure," she said curiously, not knowing exactly what a homebody was, but figuring it had to be someone who stayed home by using her common sense. She chewed a lip a moment and then said, "I spent all my life sitting in a tent or watching our goats at night. Always the height of my week was traveling across the dunes to the oasis for water because I felt like I was on an adventure. Ever since being here up north, I've felt like that, and everything is so green here. Water is everywhere, and I feel like I'm more of an outerbody person," she voiced with a scrunched up face as if she wasn't sure if outerbody was a correct word to use.

[Illumin0sity]

Aimee laughed aloud at Elann calling her brothers pains. “They can be,” she agreed. “They pull their weight though and they are lovable up until the point they aren’t. I’ve dealt with them for years, and really Noah can be no different when they have their influences on him. I love them though, love them all.”

“Outerbody,” Aimee repeated, smiling at Elann’s uncertainty. “I guess that makes sense. You didn’t have anywhere to exactly go in the desert but home. I mean, you could die anywhere else but there. Maybe you’ll become an ‘outerbody’ person now that you’re north with all the green and the water. You won’t even have to fetch water in Zeltiva. There’s an aqueduct system that brings water in from the rivers at the top of the mountain range.”

Aimee paused, figuring that Elann may not know what aqueducts were. “The aqueducts are like... tubes of water that flow from the mountains, fresh water from melted snow and rivers. It’s brought directly to the city and fuels the fountains and bathhouses. Most personal homes have water brought to them as well. Like in our home, you go to the room with the bath and just pull a lever to open the duct, water comes out. It’s wonderful.”

[snelss0]

Elann wasn't hardly able to handle her husband, let alone brothers. She wondered exactly what it would be like for her, but held out hope it wouldn't be bad.

"Maybe," she commented as she suggested that she would perhaps be an outerbody person. She then spoke about not having to fetch water in Zeltiva. Even in Syliras she had to fetch water. Her eyebrows were piqued with interest and then were shown as confused as she mention the aqueduct.

The explanation came and she dropped her flower and her lower jaw in surprise. Both of her hands came up to cup her face.

"What?!"

She let out a breath of joy and laughed.

"Are you playing with me? That's surely not possible."

Elann seemed squint-eyed toward her sister as if disbelieving her.

[Illumin0sity]

“It’s totally possible. I know in Syliras you had to get water from the wells and stuff, but you don’t have to in Zeltiva,” Aimee explained again. “Fresh water in your home, it’s amazing and mornings are easier because you don’t have to lug around buckets, unless you’re getting a lot from the markets. Of course you still have to heat it up for cooking and bathing, but getting it is no longer a hassle. It’s much easier to take a bath every day without going to a bathhouse too.”

Aimee met Elann’s piqued interest with somewhat of a prideful smile, glad her hometown had a great deal more than Syliras did. “We have a better sewer system as well. There’re gutters in the road so you can just throw out liquid waste from cooking or whatever down the gutter and it’ll flow on away. I guess that’s another reason why I didn’t stay in Syliras for that long. You’d think they were living years in the past. There’s a reason Zeltiva’s called the City of Knowledge after all, thanks to the University and all the smartminds there.”

“I think you’ll enjoy having to do less, able to do more of what you want to do,” Aimee finished

[snelss0]

Listening to Aimee reveal these things, for her it was unbelievable. She ended up hugging herself in disbelief, unsure how to visualize her life like that.

"In the desert, we would walk countless miles, days on end, and if we turned or miscounted dunes, we all would die. Getting water was a chore for all the women of the tribe except the young and old. We hardly ever had it at home, having to save it for the most vital moments and to keep our animals alive..."

She took in another deep breath.

"I thought living in Syliras was an easy existence...This is a reward for me, surely."

She had wondered if Zeltiva was going to end up being somewhat of a curse for her, having come from the desert and now settling further from her family. Now she was able to see how her path had been blessed in a new way.

[Illumin0sity]

“Surely,” Aimee affirmed. “You take a wrong turn here, or miscount a block, the worst thing you have to look forward to is traffic and being late to dinner or an appointment.” She laughed lightheartedly.

“It’ll be a little overwhelming, I think,” Aimee admitted about Zeltiva. “There’s a lot to learn; where everything is, where you should and shouldn’t go, when you should leave so you arrive somewhere on time, how to operate the water taps. I think you’ll catch on rather quickly though. The city is bigger than Syliras though and sprawls out along the coast with various docks and harbors. There’re also the colonies further down by the mouth of the bay and along the coast by the ocean. I didn’t realize it before, but I guess Zeltiva has a lot of things that the rest of the world doesn’t.”

Aimee bunched up her hair and put it behind her back. She drew quiet, unsure of what else to bring up for the conversation. She was figuring that Elann was the conversing type. Aimee didn’t mind it, able to both talk and not depending on who her company was.

[snelss0]

It felt good to laugh again, and laugh she did. It was strange to think that the cares that dominated her life would be nonexistent anymore.

"I'm sure I'll be overwhelmed at first, just like in Syliras, but I have my family to help me out and I'm sure I'll make friends pretty quickly. It does sound though like it had many things other places don't."

Aimee didn't know what else to say, but Elann did.

"I don't see why the two of you have to stay here being bored when we are this close. Why don't the two of you travel ahead? I'm sure he'd enjoy the flying anyways. I'm okay, I'm just going to be working on your rug the coming days, nothing special."

She wondered what she had to say about that. Elann was protected, and it was doubtful any bandits would attack the caravan this close to the outpost and city.