Those Far From Home (Satevis)

[Yvera]

When Satevis came out with the food, Yvera's eyes shifted to purple brighter and faster than ever before seen. There is was. Food. Actual, whole and good food. She hadn't had much to eat for the past few days and any amount of food was welcome. She soon found herself counting his steps towards where she stood.

Five... Four... Three... Two... Okay, maybe two again... Two... One! My food!!!

And then he led her towards a bench. Her eyes flashed red for a second as she was denied the consumption of her food. She ran ahead to the bench, trying not to jiggle the tray of food in her hands. Not one drop of the precious food could be spilled.

Before Satevis reached the bench, she began eating her soup. She broke the roll in two and put half of in her pack. She might need it later. With the other half of the roll, she began soaking up some of her soup. Yvera was smart enough not to wolf down her food so she began eating by taking small sips of the soup. The soup seemed to fill her body with a warm and pleasant feeling and she had to struggle to avoid eating too quickly. She would be able to get more out of the food if she ate it slowly.

Yvera let out a small sigh of happiness as she fished out a soup-soaked piece of bread with her spoon. She had just put the large piece in her mouth when Satevis asked his question about Djed.

Djed? To be honest, she didn't know much about Djed. She had heard some mages speaking about it in Avanthal but she didn't know the details. Swallowing her food in order to free her mouth, she said, "Djed is... Well, Djed is... Djed is like magic, isn't it? I don't really know too much about it."

[Satevis]

Satevis frowned as the girl broke the roll of bread in two, saving half for later. It was clear that she had had to deal with hunger for a time. Like his own Benshira, the Vantha were a hardy people, but the action served to drive home the point that anything he did for her was temporary. Once she left, she would be in the same situation as she had been when he found her.

You can't save everyone... he told himself. There were so many people in Mizahar in the same condition as this girl. He didn't have the time or the resources to help each of them. Why should she be different because he had met her?

He shook his head. That line of thinking was wrong. He couldn't save everyone, true, but that was no reason for him to not help this one bright-eyed, curious little girl who asked him about magic. He resolved to do what he could to help her, once he found out her circumstances.

"You're...partially right," he said, looking for the words to explain Djed to her. He settled on the words his teacher had taught him, when he studied Reimancy in Lhavit. "Djed means 'backbone' in the Ancient Tongue. It is the term used for the primal energy that inhabits all of Mizahar. It is within everything that exists. It cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. Magic is basically the manipulation of some form of Djed. Personal magic uses the wizard's own Djed, while world magic uses the Djed of the environment. It's for that reason that personal magic is more dangerous than world magic."

He frowned. Compared to the words his own teacher had used, his seemed woefully inadequate. "You should take a class if you wish to learn more," he said. "Unfortunately, it's too late in the term for you to start at the University..." Satevis trailed off, thinking about it. If she didn't have the money to buy food, she didn't have the money to pay tuition either.

"So...Yvera," he said, turning towards her. "I've answered your questions. Now I have a few for you. What are you doing in Zeltiva? Where are your parents? Why haven't you returned to your Hold?"

[Yvera]

The food turned to ash in Yvera's mouth. All the purple in her eyes were chased out by a bright brown. In one single second, she was reminded of the problem she faced and the sadness it brought her.

"My family..." she began softly, not looking at Satevis. "I don't know where they are. I'm not sure they're even alive. In late winter, the four of us, my mother, my father, my brother, and myself, left Avanthal for Zeltiva to perform. It was right after my birthday and it was going to be my first performance. We traveled to closer cities before but never too far away."

Yvera set her food aside, wondering if she should continue. She decided that because she already started, it would only be fair to finish her tale. With a deep breath and shaking hands, she began again.

"We were out at sea when the storm hit. I don't remember much of it. M-my father... he ran into my room and gave me my pack, telling my brother to take care of me. Then... Everything went black. I can't remember much of it. Only a few moments of lucidity where I woke to find the world cold and lonely."

"When I regained consciousness, I was on a beach with piles of driftwood surrounding me. It's a weird thing to notice but the first thing I remember was how bright the sky seemed... I looked for them. I r-really did. There were other people there but... They were gone. All I found was my father's flute."

"After a while of searching, a traveler found me unconscious. At least, that's what I think because the next thing I remember, I was on the road to Syrilas. While I was there, I decided to go to Zeltiva because I thought that if there was anywhere we would meet up, it would be here. I actually only arrived here yesterday..."

By now, Yvera was crying. They were small and silent tears that fell as she gazed dispassionately at what was left of her food. She sighed and tried her best to smile as she looked at Satevis.

"I haven't been looking long, though." she said. "They could still be out there. Somewhere in the city... Right?" She tried to laugh as she wiped away her tears. "Vadyn's probably complaining about the heat and Mom's probably scolding Dad for planning this trip, even though she was the one who decided it." Her voiced softened at the end as she stared into the distance, trying to imagine the hopeful scene.

[Satevis]

Satevis stared at the girl as she told her tale, sympathy in his eyes. Poor thing. She couldn't be any more than thirteen or fourteen--much too young to be dealing with things like this. But the storm had brought destruction to all of Mizahar. Yvera's story only drove home just how damaging the storm truly had been. He had no family on the face of Mizahar, no place to call home. When the storm struck, he worried for his brethren in Lhavit, and he grieved with the people, but all he had to think of was keeping himself alive. He lost nothing, because he had nothing.

Yvera had, from what he could gain from her story, lost everything.

For a child, that was simply tragic.

"Of course, there is always hope," he said, slowly drawing a small handkerchief out of his pocket. He passed it to the crying girl, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Your reasoning is sound. If they were able, they would probably come to Zeltiva." He could not bring himself to tell her that they were definitely here, that she would definitely find them. As much as he wanted to help her, he didn't want to give her false hope. He had no idea whether or not they were still alive.

"If they are here, I'm sure they're looking for you," he said. "Ask around the city. They might know something at the docks, or at the inn. There aren't many places an outsider can go in Zeltiva to find a place to stay."

A place to stay...

Satevis paused, his eyes momentarily drawn to the sky. It was fast approaching sunset now. Did she even have a place to stay? If she couldn't afford food, he doubted that she could afford a room at the inn. His frown deepened, and he turned towards her, a serious look in his crystalline blue eyes. "Yvera," he said. "Do you have a place to stay while looking for them?"

[Yvera]

A place to stay? Yvera wiped of the remaining tears with the handkerchief as she thought about it. She supposed that she would eventually need to find "a place to stay".

"Define "place to stay"." she said. "I guess I don't have anywhere, really. But the night is warm and my cloak makes a very good pillow. Except that last night, a scary old woman chased me away from my spot yelling in what I understood to be Common, but for which I could not find a suitable translation."

Yvera thought about it for a while, her eyes flecked gold with concentration. She supposed that now that she was feeling better, her playing would improve and she might even gain a little more money. Once she had enough or found her family, whichever came first, she could rent a room at the inn. She frowned as she wondered how she was going to continue paying for the room. Surely, she wouldn't be able to make that much money with her flute. Maybe she could find a job. Who would be likely to hire her, though?

[Satevis]

Satevis frowned as he listened to her. So she didn't have a place to stay. If he had to guess, she had spent last night on the streets...and she was probably better off not understanding that old lady's Common anyway.

I could sleep on the floor for a few days... he found himself thinking. It wasn't as if he would mind. He had slept in tents for all of the childhood that he could remember. On blankets on the ground. This would be no different.

No. No, he couldn't possibly do that. He wasn't sure if that was even allowed. His dorm room was for his use only. He couldn't just adopt strays off the street, no matter how young, lost, or pitiful they were.

So then what could he do? Just leave Yvera to her own devices and walk away? He couldn't do that either. It would only be for a few days, he reasoned with himself. She would either find her family and leave with them, or give up and purchase passage back to Avanthal, where her Hold would take care of her. He remembered that much from his anthropology lessons.

He sighed. Why did he even bother thinking about it? He already knew what he was going to do. He could be such a sucker sometimes.

"Well..." he said. "...You're welcome to stay with me while you look for them, if you want. My dorm room isn't big, but it does have a bed and washroom, and it's warm. I'm hardly in there anyway." He wasn't sure how she would take his offer, so he waited for her response. He had put the offer out there. It was her choice what to do with it.

[Yvera]

Yvera thought about it for a while. Staying with Satevis meant that she would have a comfy base of operations while she searched for her parents. It also meant that he could bring her more food, since he didn't like fish anyway. It would certainly make her life a lot easier. But... she had just met him. Was it okay to trust a total stranger?

And for some reason, he didn't feel like a total stranger. He felt like someone she could trust. She already trusted him. He was the first person he told her story too. The first person who would listen. Telling him her story only proved that she trusted him.

He also... reminded her of someone. Of Vadyn, her older brother. They seemed to be around the same age but that wasn't all... She couldn't quite place it, but their personalities seemed similar to her. And she knew that Vadyn wouldn't do anything to harm her or anyone else.

"If it's okay with you... I would like that very much." she said after a long time of thinking.

[Satevis]

Satevis nodded once at her response. That settled that, he supposed. He would just have to be discreet about the whole thing. Although his motives were completely innocent, it probably wouldn't end well if anyone knew that a young girl was staying with the astronomy TA. He rose to his feet.

"Come with me," he said, motioning for her to follow him. Satevis walked across the courtyard towards the small building that marked off the living quarters. He walked normally, not bothering to check if anyone else was watching. If anyone questioned him, he would tell them the truth. He had nothing to hide. He considered sending her to Tock or seeing if one of his female acquaintances would take her in, but decided against it. He had decided to help her, not inflict her on someone else.The Ethaefal led her down the hallway, stopping as they reached his room. He drew a key out of his pocket, sliding it into the doorknob and opening it.

The dormitory was small, really nothing more than a bedroom with a desk and a washroom leading off from it. It was neat, but slightly dusty, and the desk was cluttered with scraps of paper and books that he had checked out of the library. The bed was made, although he supposed that it could have been done neater. An empty mug of tea lay on the desk from earlier that morning, forgotten. He opened the small wardrobe, taking out several blankets and setting them aside.

"You can take the bed," he said. "I'll sleep on the floor. The washroom is through that door. You can bathe and clean up if you like. I'm going out to return the bowl and tray I borrowed." He pointed her in the right direction, then set up to cleaning the desk. He put the papers in order but didn't bother to organize them, deciding that he could do that later. "There's one more thing, though," he said, frowning as he looked up at her. "You should probably know that I am Ethaefal. I will completely change in form and appearance when the sun goes down. My night form has violet eyes and horns that half-encircle my head. Don't be alarmed if I try and enter the room in that form."

He waited until she was in the washroom before leaving. She would be alright for a few minutes, he decided. It wouldn't take him that long to walk to the cafeteria and back. He balanced his old mug on the tray, taking the key with him and leaving the room.

OOCI meant to RP the transformation, but couldn't find a way to fit it in the post. Sorry. >.<

[Yvera]

OOCI have no idea why you even USE an OOC box if you're in the next room! ... Ignore this OOC box.

Yvera followed Satevis as he began walking towards the living quarters, curiously looking around her to try and memorize her surroundings. She wanted to ask more questions, but at that moment, she was too tired. It had been a long and eventful day. Her hunger had overpowered her exhaustion, but now the hunger was gone and she realized how tired she really was.

The dorm room seemed nice enough to Yvera. She dully took note of her surroundings while listening to Satevis. She was too tired to notice too much and decided that she would look around when she woke up the next day. The comment about Satevis being Ethaefal, however, did manage to spike her interest. She didn't know much about the race but was curious to find out how he would look after changing.

Ignoring her curiosity in favor of sleep, Yvera set her pack down by the foot of the bed. She took out the necessary things that she would need to take a bath and then go to sleep. She hadn't had a decent bath in weeks and was rather excited to be clean again.

On her way to the washroom, she stopped in front of Satevis. "Thank you." she said. She realized that she hadn't said thank you for anything and so decided to thank him for everything. For Yvera, the shorter the message, the more weight it had. When she said it, her eyes were flecked green with gratefulness and respect.

After getting herself clean and ready for bed, Yvera stepped out of the washroom and into the main room. Satevis wasn't there and she supposed that he was out returning the tray, seeing as it was no where in sight. She turned down the bed and saw, as she was moving her stuff aside, her flute lying amongst her clothes.

Well... Maybe just one song...

OOCI don't care if "amongst" is not in the dictionary. It sounds weird to me as just "among".

[Satevis]

Mod NoteDescription of Yvera's actions was done with Yvera's permission to make this post flow smoother.

Night had fallen by the time the Ethaefal returned to his dorm room. The walk to the cafeteria hadn't been long, but Satevis had taken some time to pace around the University and clear his head. Yvera, he decided, could use the privacy. He frowned, leaning against the wall of the living quarters building and staring up at the sky. The Ethaefal had his arms folded, his head leaned back against the building as he looked up at the moon slowly rising in the sky.

What am I doing...? he thought to himself. I don't know the first thing about looking after a child...

He had just invited a stranger into his home like it was nothing. True, his people were hospitable to strangers, but he was no longer in Yahebah, and was no longer Benshira. He couldn't take care of every lost soul.

But he could make a difference to Yvera, he decided, and perhaps that was what he was meant to do for her. Certainly, he could tell that taking care of the girl felt right, better than he would have felt if he left her out on her own.

Eventually, he would have to reenter his room.

He sighed, getting up from the wall and heading inside.

Satevis paused outside the door to his room, his hand on the doorknob. There was music coming from inside. The notes were rough and slightly harsh, reminding him that this was the work of novice flutist, but the emotion in the song came through as clear as day. The Ethaefal froze, his hand slowly falling away from the doorknob as he listened. On the other side of the door, the girl continued to play, and he closed his eyes, listening to the sound.

There was pain in the song, and longing...It reminded him of home. Not of the place he had called home so long ago, the deserts of Eyktol, but of the Ukalas. Of the time he spent in the company of his brethren. Satevis exhaled slowly as the wooden flute sang one last mournful note. He rarely wept, but he lowered his head, feeling moisture beginning to gather in his eyes just the same. He understood now, why he had felt such a desire to care for Yvera.

...They were, both of them, so far from home.

Satevis waited for a few moments after the music stilled before he slowly opened the door. The room was dark, the only light in it coming from the moon. Yvera lay in the bed asleep, curled up on one side. Satevis walked up to her, looking down at her. The girl held her flute loosely in one hand, her dark hair spilling out across the pillow behind her. The pillow beneath her face was damp, and the girl's face was stained with tears.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, Satevis pulled the flute out of her hands, setting it on the end table. He picked up the edge of the blanket, pulling it up so that it settled over her shoulders. The corners of his lips turned up in a small smile as he looked down at her.

He grabbed his scimitar from underneath the bed for protection, holding it in one hand as he tucked his key back into his pocket. Satevis turned away, closing the door of the room behind him. He would let Yvera sleep. For now, he would ask his own questions about her family in the city.