Fall 37th
The Dust Bed
6th Bell
Anja awoke the morning after Light's departure with a groggy melancholy that clung deep in his bones. The tragedy of his friend's passing had only been barely mitigated by the rescue of Light's two children, who had slept snuggled close to the Spiritist's chest the entire night without moving. The trauma of events the previous nights had scarred the two pups, but just as they sought security in the closeness that Anja brought them, so too did he gain relief in keeping them close. Anja couldn't save Light, but he could protect her two children. The Drykas couldn't be sure if it was a means of redemption or not, but it was the only thing he knew to do. He was struggling to find that balance between life and death, and uncertain as to where he fell between it. Protecting these two was Anja's first step in searching for it.
Anja roused the two pups as he stood up and opened the tent flap to allow the pair to relieve themselves outside while he dressed and readied himself for the day. Battle's wildfire from the night before had cooled to embers, but she still tentatively poked her head outside the tent and carefully began exploration of the circle of ghostbeads under Maisa's watchful gaze. Her white coat dotted with black spots shone like a beacon in Syna's early light. Sayeth refused to set foot outside the tent until Anja did. His black figure lurked underneath Anja's feet like a second shadow, and he stared at the shadows of the tent as if some danger might be lurking just out of sight. When Anja finally stepped outside, Sayeth kept to Anja's heels, only leaving his shadow for a moment to touch noses with his sister before returning back to his side.
“What am I going to do with the two of you, hmm?” Anja asked the pair of pups. Battle sat in front of the Drykas and cocked her head inquisitively. Sayeth ducked his head and let out a low whine. “Put you to work, I imagine,” Anja told the pair, adding some Pavi sign for Maisa's benefit. The horse snorted and stamped a hoof in agreement. “That's how it is on the Sea of Grass, and how we will do it here. You are small, so the work will be light to begin with. Both of you can sense ghosts. This will be very useful in my work. I hope we can learn to work together. You will have to come with me everywhere.” Anja did not add that this was the smartest choice in Sunberth anyways. He wouldn't be caught dead leaving these two alone. They needed to be protected and this was the best way to see it done. “One needs to have a full stomach to work though, so let's start there,” Anja added with a smile.
The pups, as well as Maisa, were fed quickly. Much like Light the pups all but inhaled their food, but without any of the caution Light had shown. They had known Anja almost their whole lives, and knew him to be a friend. Anja also took the time to rub down the pair and search for parasites before letting them free to do what they wished. The clever pair kept themselves within the safe ring of ghostbeads, but we're soon wrestling together with Battle taking the lead. While they were occupied, Anja set about preparing his usual soulmist for the day. The depths of mindlessness that the man set himself in helped the anxious stirring of his mind. Some distant part of him was aware he wasn't fully confronting Light's death, but it was as if a barrier was blocking him from fully seeing it. The meditation was nice. It helped him forget that he was forgetting.
As Anja spat the last of the soulmist for the day into his bowl and stashed the substance inside of it's bottle, the man was suddenly set upon by a sense of unease. Frowning, Anja ignored the pups wild growls amidst their wrestling and he scanned the horizon with a frown. What was this feeling? It was like the sensation he got when ghosts were near, but more...wrong.
A prickle of coldness set into Anja's blood, and he reached for his bastard sword lying on the ground nearby. With one quick thrust, he set it into his sash, and climbed to his feet. Maisa nickered at Anja, sensing something wrong, but the Eiyon couldn't hear her. He was consumed by dissonance, like the screech of metal against stone. He could not see her as she followed after him, departing the circle of ghostbeads and following the clanging echoing in his head. The cacophony grew louder in time with a shk, shk, of a shovel digging into gritty soil, and scuff of dirt striking the ground. The cacophony reached its apex, and Anja drew his sword from his sash. A figure, standing in the shadow of a freshly dug grave, turned at the sound of boots against dirt. And a beat of silence passed as the two stared at each other, Anja sword in hand and ice in his eyes. The other, a corpse given undeserved life, the death of which Anja sought to all ends. A nuit, holding a shovel, and staring at Anja with wide and uncertain eyes.
(NaNo 897)
The Dust Bed
6th Bell
Anja awoke the morning after Light's departure with a groggy melancholy that clung deep in his bones. The tragedy of his friend's passing had only been barely mitigated by the rescue of Light's two children, who had slept snuggled close to the Spiritist's chest the entire night without moving. The trauma of events the previous nights had scarred the two pups, but just as they sought security in the closeness that Anja brought them, so too did he gain relief in keeping them close. Anja couldn't save Light, but he could protect her two children. The Drykas couldn't be sure if it was a means of redemption or not, but it was the only thing he knew to do. He was struggling to find that balance between life and death, and uncertain as to where he fell between it. Protecting these two was Anja's first step in searching for it.
Anja roused the two pups as he stood up and opened the tent flap to allow the pair to relieve themselves outside while he dressed and readied himself for the day. Battle's wildfire from the night before had cooled to embers, but she still tentatively poked her head outside the tent and carefully began exploration of the circle of ghostbeads under Maisa's watchful gaze. Her white coat dotted with black spots shone like a beacon in Syna's early light. Sayeth refused to set foot outside the tent until Anja did. His black figure lurked underneath Anja's feet like a second shadow, and he stared at the shadows of the tent as if some danger might be lurking just out of sight. When Anja finally stepped outside, Sayeth kept to Anja's heels, only leaving his shadow for a moment to touch noses with his sister before returning back to his side.
“What am I going to do with the two of you, hmm?” Anja asked the pair of pups. Battle sat in front of the Drykas and cocked her head inquisitively. Sayeth ducked his head and let out a low whine. “Put you to work, I imagine,” Anja told the pair, adding some Pavi sign for Maisa's benefit. The horse snorted and stamped a hoof in agreement. “That's how it is on the Sea of Grass, and how we will do it here. You are small, so the work will be light to begin with. Both of you can sense ghosts. This will be very useful in my work. I hope we can learn to work together. You will have to come with me everywhere.” Anja did not add that this was the smartest choice in Sunberth anyways. He wouldn't be caught dead leaving these two alone. They needed to be protected and this was the best way to see it done. “One needs to have a full stomach to work though, so let's start there,” Anja added with a smile.
The pups, as well as Maisa, were fed quickly. Much like Light the pups all but inhaled their food, but without any of the caution Light had shown. They had known Anja almost their whole lives, and knew him to be a friend. Anja also took the time to rub down the pair and search for parasites before letting them free to do what they wished. The clever pair kept themselves within the safe ring of ghostbeads, but we're soon wrestling together with Battle taking the lead. While they were occupied, Anja set about preparing his usual soulmist for the day. The depths of mindlessness that the man set himself in helped the anxious stirring of his mind. Some distant part of him was aware he wasn't fully confronting Light's death, but it was as if a barrier was blocking him from fully seeing it. The meditation was nice. It helped him forget that he was forgetting.
As Anja spat the last of the soulmist for the day into his bowl and stashed the substance inside of it's bottle, the man was suddenly set upon by a sense of unease. Frowning, Anja ignored the pups wild growls amidst their wrestling and he scanned the horizon with a frown. What was this feeling? It was like the sensation he got when ghosts were near, but more...wrong.
A prickle of coldness set into Anja's blood, and he reached for his bastard sword lying on the ground nearby. With one quick thrust, he set it into his sash, and climbed to his feet. Maisa nickered at Anja, sensing something wrong, but the Eiyon couldn't hear her. He was consumed by dissonance, like the screech of metal against stone. He could not see her as she followed after him, departing the circle of ghostbeads and following the clanging echoing in his head. The cacophony grew louder in time with a shk, shk, of a shovel digging into gritty soil, and scuff of dirt striking the ground. The cacophony reached its apex, and Anja drew his sword from his sash. A figure, standing in the shadow of a freshly dug grave, turned at the sound of boots against dirt. And a beat of silence passed as the two stared at each other, Anja sword in hand and ice in his eyes. The other, a corpse given undeserved life, the death of which Anja sought to all ends. A nuit, holding a shovel, and staring at Anja with wide and uncertain eyes.
(NaNo 897)
