88th of Summer, 511 AV
With a gasp Rista woke and sat up in her bed, trembling from the feeling of nakedness that lingered in her mind. Her skin bathed in cold sweat and her blankets were a tangled mess, pushed to the end of the bed from her restless twisting. She ached all over from her fight with the Vantha foreigner the day before, but barely noticed; the dream that had haunted her night still lived fresh and vivid within her mind, from the first step on the meadow to the empty darkness where she couldn't remember her innermost dreams... 'Endal!' she thought desperately to herself. 'I want to be an Endal, and fly freely across the sky, bringing food and security to my people..' Somehow though, the thoughts echoed in her mind, hollow and meaningless. The memory of spoken words was overpowering and filled her with a superstitious fear; it was just a dream, but it had felt way too real. She never dreamed like this.
The young woman curled up on her bunk and wrapped her arms around the legs to keep the limbs from shaking. She slowly began to feel cold as the feverish twisting and turning ceased to keep her warm, and in her nakedness there was nothing to shield her from the chill of the sweat that soaked her body. She tried to gather her thoughts, tried to regain some kind of composure, but it was hard to do. Her room was so dark, so similar to the darkness of the dream, that always seemed to hold something new for her, some new horror. She could remember the part where she had thought herself to be awake too; like then, the yasi felt very alone, more so than she had ever allowed herself to feel in a long time.
One thing was clear though, no matter how confused and scared she was. This wasn't a dream she just could ignore; it was too vivid for that, and the spoken words had sounded too surreal to be made up by her own mind. Most of it were... She had never been in a desert before, for one thing, and... No, this wasn't working.
With a sigh the short girl unfolded her limbs and stood up on the floor, knowing her way perfectly even if the room was dark. It wasn't larger than that she could use a hand against a wall for support as she fumbled around to find her bryda and vinati. Her hands still shook somewhat, but the actions was slowly helping it to get better. The hair, long and dark hung in a tangled mass over her back and tickled her skin as she moved, naturally curly even without constantly being forced into the usual thin braids; impatiently she pushed it out of her face as she dressed, not bothering with it for the moment.
Rista knew what she had to do. It was probably very early in the morning, perhaps a bell or three before dawn, but if she was to be able to go to her classes after breakfast, she would have to go now. Go to the Dreaming Lady and speak to one of the Dreamwalkers. She didn't do it happily; the girl had never been interested in dreams or having others look at hers, but this time it felt important. She had to swallow her reluctance and go, now, prepared to face both irritation over the poorly chosen hour and disbelief over the dream.. Really, Rista wouldn't blame anyone who thought she was just making it all up. She barely believed her own memories, no matter how vivid they were.
Finally getting dressed, the girl moved across the room and out into the dimly lit Common-rooms. The corridors lay deserted; this early there was barely anyone around, even the really late workers usually gave in to night and tiredness at some point. Just before dawn, when the night was at its darkest, it was possible to walk through the warrens without meeting anyone.
The young woman walked quickly with purposeful stride, knowing perfectly well where she was going. She had never payed a visit to the spa before, usually preferring to wash herself in the Baths instead, but there were few people who didn't know about the relaxing place, and of the dreamers that ran the place.
She hadn't come unprepared. In her small hand the black-eyed yasi clutched a few pinions, not sure if they would be required for the service or go to soothe the temper of whoever had to deal with her; in either case, at least her five pinions might give her some credibility, make her look a bit more serious... She was honestly thankful for her own foresight as she finally slowed down to a halt outside the goal of her walk, hesitantly raising a hand to rap at the door of the Dreaming Lady. Please let there be someone around to hear her out...
With a gasp Rista woke and sat up in her bed, trembling from the feeling of nakedness that lingered in her mind. Her skin bathed in cold sweat and her blankets were a tangled mess, pushed to the end of the bed from her restless twisting. She ached all over from her fight with the Vantha foreigner the day before, but barely noticed; the dream that had haunted her night still lived fresh and vivid within her mind, from the first step on the meadow to the empty darkness where she couldn't remember her innermost dreams... 'Endal!' she thought desperately to herself. 'I want to be an Endal, and fly freely across the sky, bringing food and security to my people..' Somehow though, the thoughts echoed in her mind, hollow and meaningless. The memory of spoken words was overpowering and filled her with a superstitious fear; it was just a dream, but it had felt way too real. She never dreamed like this.
The young woman curled up on her bunk and wrapped her arms around the legs to keep the limbs from shaking. She slowly began to feel cold as the feverish twisting and turning ceased to keep her warm, and in her nakedness there was nothing to shield her from the chill of the sweat that soaked her body. She tried to gather her thoughts, tried to regain some kind of composure, but it was hard to do. Her room was so dark, so similar to the darkness of the dream, that always seemed to hold something new for her, some new horror. She could remember the part where she had thought herself to be awake too; like then, the yasi felt very alone, more so than she had ever allowed herself to feel in a long time.
One thing was clear though, no matter how confused and scared she was. This wasn't a dream she just could ignore; it was too vivid for that, and the spoken words had sounded too surreal to be made up by her own mind. Most of it were... She had never been in a desert before, for one thing, and... No, this wasn't working.
With a sigh the short girl unfolded her limbs and stood up on the floor, knowing her way perfectly even if the room was dark. It wasn't larger than that she could use a hand against a wall for support as she fumbled around to find her bryda and vinati. Her hands still shook somewhat, but the actions was slowly helping it to get better. The hair, long and dark hung in a tangled mass over her back and tickled her skin as she moved, naturally curly even without constantly being forced into the usual thin braids; impatiently she pushed it out of her face as she dressed, not bothering with it for the moment.
Rista knew what she had to do. It was probably very early in the morning, perhaps a bell or three before dawn, but if she was to be able to go to her classes after breakfast, she would have to go now. Go to the Dreaming Lady and speak to one of the Dreamwalkers. She didn't do it happily; the girl had never been interested in dreams or having others look at hers, but this time it felt important. She had to swallow her reluctance and go, now, prepared to face both irritation over the poorly chosen hour and disbelief over the dream.. Really, Rista wouldn't blame anyone who thought she was just making it all up. She barely believed her own memories, no matter how vivid they were.
Finally getting dressed, the girl moved across the room and out into the dimly lit Common-rooms. The corridors lay deserted; this early there was barely anyone around, even the really late workers usually gave in to night and tiredness at some point. Just before dawn, when the night was at its darkest, it was possible to walk through the warrens without meeting anyone.
The young woman walked quickly with purposeful stride, knowing perfectly well where she was going. She had never payed a visit to the spa before, usually preferring to wash herself in the Baths instead, but there were few people who didn't know about the relaxing place, and of the dreamers that ran the place.
She hadn't come unprepared. In her small hand the black-eyed yasi clutched a few pinions, not sure if they would be required for the service or go to soothe the temper of whoever had to deal with her; in either case, at least her five pinions might give her some credibility, make her look a bit more serious... She was honestly thankful for her own foresight as she finally slowed down to a halt outside the goal of her walk, hesitantly raising a hand to rap at the door of the Dreaming Lady. Please let there be someone around to hear her out...
