1st Spring 516AV
She missed home so much. It was a ridiculous thought to greet the day with but it was a true one.
It struck her as soon as she awoke in her strange room with its peculiar furniture and lighting. It was so different and so wrong. She hadn't been in the city for half a season yet but she didn't think she'd ever get used to it. Not that she was making much of an effort to get to know it any better or to become properly acclimatized. When she wasn't working, Azira preferred to keep to her room and avoided the city outside it as much as possible. What had possessed the Inarta to leave the confines to her beautiful volcanic city and come to this... this dump was still somewhat of a mystery to her. She didn't know what she'd been thinking when she'd bargained with an Endal to fly her out here. It was a decision that she'd regretted after the second or third day when they'd been battered with the harsh winter weather. Morwen's breath had hounded them from Wind Reach as if determined to make sure they couldn't turn back.
Too many stories, that's what did it! she thought grumpily as she dressed herself.
She's listened to too many Endal talk about the Diamond of Kalea and its unusual citizens, how it stretched over mountain peaks rather than under them, open to the weather and its wrath. It was supposed to be ruled by gods or something like that although Azira hadn't seen any proof of the like. They'd told her some things in that Cosmos Center of theirs--imagine having an information center for visitors--but she'd been too uneasy to listen to most of it, besides which it had been in Common rather than Nari. She'd grasped some of it, enough to know where to stay and where to work, but she hadn't listened to much else. Except the laws, she'd been sure to listen to them, even asking questions to make sure that she understood or getting the person at the center to speak more slowly.
Fastening her katinu around her she made a note to buy herself some more native clothing before stepping out of doors. She walked past the Lhavitians with her shoulders hunched and a scowl directed at the ground in front of her. She got some looks but they were quick and furtive, those who walked in pairs or more exchanging whispered words with their companions. It wasn't necessarily about her although she was sure it was. She couldn't be sure what they talked about concerning her, whether it was her unfriendly expression, her short stature (most people were at least a head taller than her or more) or her exotic features, she didn't know. Red hair didn't seem to be that common in the city and it was one of the few things about the city that she'd allowed herself to be interested in. There were a wealth of other hair colours and features and other races too. It was so different from home, which made it both exciting and upsetting at the same time. What fascinated her about Lhavit made her homesick at the same time. At least, some people dressed a bit like her. Some of Wind Reach's style seemed to have caught on here but it was strange to see the Inarta style mixed with other things and different hair colours.
Get over yourself! she shook herself mentally. Lhavit was her home for the moment whether she liked it or not. She'd made a commitment and she was going to stick to it, even if it killed her... well, killing her was probably the point when she should give up, but everything up to that point!
Go exploring properly. Don't just wander around this peak and then go back to hiding in your room. You can't stay in there forever, she scolded herself.
Her gaze snapped up, the young woman surveying her surroundings more closely. She accidentally caught the eye of a few people, a flicker of surprise crossing some of their features as they met piercing golden eyes, but her gaze moved quickly on again. She'd find one of the connections to the other peaks and cross over to another one, drag herself out of the rut that she'd gotten into since she'd arrived here. She knew that she was on a peak called Zintia and it seemed to be the main one but she wasn't sure of the names of the others, or what might be on them. The Inarta had been told that there was a library on one of them though so she might try to find that.
Azira looked for another city peak and sent herself in that direction, assuming that she'd have find the link to it if she kept going in that direction. She walked quickly, weaving between those who crowded the streets, wondering why there seemed to be so many of them about and why they seemed to be in high spirits. She made it on to the next peak, feeling strangely pleased with herself, as if getting to a different peak was any great achievement. Finding the library without asking anyone for directions in a city where Common was everywhere, now that would be an achievement. Of course she was going to end up wandering around aimlessly, looking this way and that and doing her best not to look like a tourist. Azira was pretty sure that she was failing miserably on all counts seeing as she was lost and she stuck out like a sore thumb, and a very bewildered one at that. She was looking everywhere and not seeing anything that looked like-
She stopped suddenly as she remembered the watchtower. Her eyes had skimmed over it a few times but it hadn't registered. Her gaze flashed to it now as she started walking blindly onwards. It was green! How had she forgotten that today was the first day of Spring and the first day of the new year? No wonder everyone was in such high spirits! How stupid was she that she hadn't recalled it? Too caught up in her own misery of late, that's what it was. Shaking her head in a mixture of wonderment and disgust at herself, she collided with someone else's side. Some reflex attempted to save her by making her dodge but it didn't seem to take the situation in to account first so that she was sent sprawling in to arms and over feet and ended up pitching forward on to her hands and knees. The tiny redhead let out a string of curses in her native tongue, probably sounding like a displeased bird with all her twittering. She rose, brushing herself off and still cursing and she prepared to turn a sharp tongue on the person before realising that the collision had been her own fault. Plus causing a fuss wasn't a good choice in this city, where violence wasn't as readily acceptable as it was in Wind Reach. Besides there seemed to be more people above her socially in this city and they weren't as easy to spot as the Endal back home.
"Sorry, wasn't w-" she began before cutting herself off when she realised she was still using Nari. Most people couldn't understand the Inarta language, not here.
"I apologise. I was not... looking... It was an accident, I..." She was already stuttering on the unfamiliar words, almost choking on having to apologise, but she trailed off completely when she saw who she'd bumped into, or rather what.
Oh shyke, oh shyke, oh shyke. Please don't let me have knocked them down. Oh gods.
She missed home so much. It was a ridiculous thought to greet the day with but it was a true one.
It struck her as soon as she awoke in her strange room with its peculiar furniture and lighting. It was so different and so wrong. She hadn't been in the city for half a season yet but she didn't think she'd ever get used to it. Not that she was making much of an effort to get to know it any better or to become properly acclimatized. When she wasn't working, Azira preferred to keep to her room and avoided the city outside it as much as possible. What had possessed the Inarta to leave the confines to her beautiful volcanic city and come to this... this dump was still somewhat of a mystery to her. She didn't know what she'd been thinking when she'd bargained with an Endal to fly her out here. It was a decision that she'd regretted after the second or third day when they'd been battered with the harsh winter weather. Morwen's breath had hounded them from Wind Reach as if determined to make sure they couldn't turn back.
Too many stories, that's what did it! she thought grumpily as she dressed herself.
She's listened to too many Endal talk about the Diamond of Kalea and its unusual citizens, how it stretched over mountain peaks rather than under them, open to the weather and its wrath. It was supposed to be ruled by gods or something like that although Azira hadn't seen any proof of the like. They'd told her some things in that Cosmos Center of theirs--imagine having an information center for visitors--but she'd been too uneasy to listen to most of it, besides which it had been in Common rather than Nari. She'd grasped some of it, enough to know where to stay and where to work, but she hadn't listened to much else. Except the laws, she'd been sure to listen to them, even asking questions to make sure that she understood or getting the person at the center to speak more slowly.
Fastening her katinu around her she made a note to buy herself some more native clothing before stepping out of doors. She walked past the Lhavitians with her shoulders hunched and a scowl directed at the ground in front of her. She got some looks but they were quick and furtive, those who walked in pairs or more exchanging whispered words with their companions. It wasn't necessarily about her although she was sure it was. She couldn't be sure what they talked about concerning her, whether it was her unfriendly expression, her short stature (most people were at least a head taller than her or more) or her exotic features, she didn't know. Red hair didn't seem to be that common in the city and it was one of the few things about the city that she'd allowed herself to be interested in. There were a wealth of other hair colours and features and other races too. It was so different from home, which made it both exciting and upsetting at the same time. What fascinated her about Lhavit made her homesick at the same time. At least, some people dressed a bit like her. Some of Wind Reach's style seemed to have caught on here but it was strange to see the Inarta style mixed with other things and different hair colours.
Get over yourself! she shook herself mentally. Lhavit was her home for the moment whether she liked it or not. She'd made a commitment and she was going to stick to it, even if it killed her... well, killing her was probably the point when she should give up, but everything up to that point!
Go exploring properly. Don't just wander around this peak and then go back to hiding in your room. You can't stay in there forever, she scolded herself.
Her gaze snapped up, the young woman surveying her surroundings more closely. She accidentally caught the eye of a few people, a flicker of surprise crossing some of their features as they met piercing golden eyes, but her gaze moved quickly on again. She'd find one of the connections to the other peaks and cross over to another one, drag herself out of the rut that she'd gotten into since she'd arrived here. She knew that she was on a peak called Zintia and it seemed to be the main one but she wasn't sure of the names of the others, or what might be on them. The Inarta had been told that there was a library on one of them though so she might try to find that.
Azira looked for another city peak and sent herself in that direction, assuming that she'd have find the link to it if she kept going in that direction. She walked quickly, weaving between those who crowded the streets, wondering why there seemed to be so many of them about and why they seemed to be in high spirits. She made it on to the next peak, feeling strangely pleased with herself, as if getting to a different peak was any great achievement. Finding the library without asking anyone for directions in a city where Common was everywhere, now that would be an achievement. Of course she was going to end up wandering around aimlessly, looking this way and that and doing her best not to look like a tourist. Azira was pretty sure that she was failing miserably on all counts seeing as she was lost and she stuck out like a sore thumb, and a very bewildered one at that. She was looking everywhere and not seeing anything that looked like-
She stopped suddenly as she remembered the watchtower. Her eyes had skimmed over it a few times but it hadn't registered. Her gaze flashed to it now as she started walking blindly onwards. It was green! How had she forgotten that today was the first day of Spring and the first day of the new year? No wonder everyone was in such high spirits! How stupid was she that she hadn't recalled it? Too caught up in her own misery of late, that's what it was. Shaking her head in a mixture of wonderment and disgust at herself, she collided with someone else's side. Some reflex attempted to save her by making her dodge but it didn't seem to take the situation in to account first so that she was sent sprawling in to arms and over feet and ended up pitching forward on to her hands and knees. The tiny redhead let out a string of curses in her native tongue, probably sounding like a displeased bird with all her twittering. She rose, brushing herself off and still cursing and she prepared to turn a sharp tongue on the person before realising that the collision had been her own fault. Plus causing a fuss wasn't a good choice in this city, where violence wasn't as readily acceptable as it was in Wind Reach. Besides there seemed to be more people above her socially in this city and they weren't as easy to spot as the Endal back home.
"Sorry, wasn't w-" she began before cutting herself off when she realised she was still using Nari. Most people couldn't understand the Inarta language, not here.
"I apologise. I was not... looking... It was an accident, I..." She was already stuttering on the unfamiliar words, almost choking on having to apologise, but she trailed off completely when she saw who she'd bumped into, or rather what.
Oh shyke, oh shyke, oh shyke. Please don't let me have knocked them down. Oh gods.
Nari | Common
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