15th Winter 519 AV
"speech"
"others"
"speech"
"others"
The baby was at home with Itzi. Ennisa was surprised by how strange it felt walking around without the little boy. It was strange how quickly she had become used to the bundle of squirming warmth strapped to her chest. How easy it was to walk around, free! She kept looking down at her chest, expecting to see the empty wraps dangling, as if he'd fallen or disappeared. Whichever god or goddess had delivered the baby to her could quite easily take him away, if they thought her unworthy. The thought scared her. For several days after he'd come into her life, the thought of losing the child hadn't seemed too bad. She didn't love him; after all, she had only known him for a few days.
Now though, she thought fondly of his little toothless smile and his dark eyes. She worried if he cried, and smiled if he laughed. It was strange to be without him, but Itzi had offered to take care of him for a few bells so that she could get a bit of a breather, and she would have been stupid to ignore her generous offer.
Ennisa walked through the streets of Lhavit, out in the general direction of Madeira's Infinity Manor. Her feet had begun to take her there before she'd really thought about where she was going. Madeira wasn't exactly someone she badly wanted to see in her few bells of peace. However, she hadn't seen the woman in a long while, which was both a relief and an annoyance. Last season, she had somehow convinced the Spiritist to teach her malediction, but not much had come of that yet. Ennisa still couldn't believe what had happened, not really, but she would make use of her tentative apprenticeship as much as she could. Even if she hated the Alvad woman. Even if she barely understood the magic they'd discussed.
Nevertheless, she was now close to the manor house, though not close enough to see it yet. As she didn't want to actually speak to Madeira, she hesitated before the path leading towards the house. She needed to build upon the meeting they'd had in autumn, but she was loathe to do that today. She stopped and looked about idly as she dilly-dallied in thought. The landscape surrounding the Infinity Manor was snow-covered, as was the rest of Lhavit. The sun glare bouncing from the snow was making her squint, but as she peered through slit-eyes, she spotted a neat outcrop of rock that rose to a pinnacle. It certainly wasn't as large a slope as the surrounding mountains, but she realised she would probably be able to get a decent view of the manor from there, if she could clamber up the stony surface...
An idea flickered into her mind, and she smiled to herself. With that, she stepped off the slushy path, out across the relatively unbroken snow. Her leather boots left decent prints in the white snow, so she certainly wasn't being terribly stealthy. She also stood out on the backdrop of the snow, wearing her new fur-trimmed cloak, as well as the burgundy woollen scarf wrapped close around her neck to keep out the chill. Her long, pale hair streamed around her in straggly waves, and her pale skin was flushed pink from the chill.
After a couple of chimes walking, she had neared the rocky outcrop. Now that she was closer, the steepness of the climb was mildly daunting, to say the least. It was not a vertical climb, which she was glad about, but it was taller than anything she'd climbed when she was younger. Nevertheless, she was here now. Besides, the challenge seemed exciting, and it wouldn't hurt to find out a little more about Madeira, hopefully without her knowing.
If she started to climb wearing all the layers she was wearing, she would undoubtedly become tangled and fall, so she slipped out of the cloak and piled it at the bottom of the rock face. She gathered her hair into a loose scrunchy mess and tied it with the woollen scarf to stop it getting in the way, in a style similar to how she'd seen Itzi tie her hair. With only wearing a shirt, she could certainly feel the chill, but she ignored it and began looking for handholds.
Thankfully, the rock was nobbly and pitted with age. Ennisa gripped the rock as tight as she could, and hauled herself off from the ground to begin climbing achingly slowly up the rockface.
Now though, she thought fondly of his little toothless smile and his dark eyes. She worried if he cried, and smiled if he laughed. It was strange to be without him, but Itzi had offered to take care of him for a few bells so that she could get a bit of a breather, and she would have been stupid to ignore her generous offer.
Ennisa walked through the streets of Lhavit, out in the general direction of Madeira's Infinity Manor. Her feet had begun to take her there before she'd really thought about where she was going. Madeira wasn't exactly someone she badly wanted to see in her few bells of peace. However, she hadn't seen the woman in a long while, which was both a relief and an annoyance. Last season, she had somehow convinced the Spiritist to teach her malediction, but not much had come of that yet. Ennisa still couldn't believe what had happened, not really, but she would make use of her tentative apprenticeship as much as she could. Even if she hated the Alvad woman. Even if she barely understood the magic they'd discussed.
Nevertheless, she was now close to the manor house, though not close enough to see it yet. As she didn't want to actually speak to Madeira, she hesitated before the path leading towards the house. She needed to build upon the meeting they'd had in autumn, but she was loathe to do that today. She stopped and looked about idly as she dilly-dallied in thought. The landscape surrounding the Infinity Manor was snow-covered, as was the rest of Lhavit. The sun glare bouncing from the snow was making her squint, but as she peered through slit-eyes, she spotted a neat outcrop of rock that rose to a pinnacle. It certainly wasn't as large a slope as the surrounding mountains, but she realised she would probably be able to get a decent view of the manor from there, if she could clamber up the stony surface...
An idea flickered into her mind, and she smiled to herself. With that, she stepped off the slushy path, out across the relatively unbroken snow. Her leather boots left decent prints in the white snow, so she certainly wasn't being terribly stealthy. She also stood out on the backdrop of the snow, wearing her new fur-trimmed cloak, as well as the burgundy woollen scarf wrapped close around her neck to keep out the chill. Her long, pale hair streamed around her in straggly waves, and her pale skin was flushed pink from the chill.
After a couple of chimes walking, she had neared the rocky outcrop. Now that she was closer, the steepness of the climb was mildly daunting, to say the least. It was not a vertical climb, which she was glad about, but it was taller than anything she'd climbed when she was younger. Nevertheless, she was here now. Besides, the challenge seemed exciting, and it wouldn't hurt to find out a little more about Madeira, hopefully without her knowing.
If she started to climb wearing all the layers she was wearing, she would undoubtedly become tangled and fall, so she slipped out of the cloak and piled it at the bottom of the rock face. She gathered her hair into a loose scrunchy mess and tied it with the woollen scarf to stop it getting in the way, in a style similar to how she'd seen Itzi tie her hair. With only wearing a shirt, she could certainly feel the chill, but she ignored it and began looking for handholds.
Thankfully, the rock was nobbly and pitted with age. Ennisa gripped the rock as tight as she could, and hauled herself off from the ground to begin climbing achingly slowly up the rockface.