[The Frozen Falls Market] Foreign [Hannelora]

[Nelisella]

The 25th Day of Spring, 512 AV

The earth was so foreign.

Fluffy, white snow that used to cover the ground in thick sheets was gone, melted, and now replaced with green grass that sways in the humid wind. The flooding had gone down, but parts of the city were still deep underwater. The used-to-be frozen ocean was now so warm that young Vantha could swim in it, and did daily. Residents tug at their collars and hike up their dresses in discomfort of the hot air. It was almost excruciating to the Ice Reavers that resided there. The music of the ice could not be heard, and neither could the soft tinkling of the shifting snow.

The familiar frozen wasteland that once was Avanthal is no longer more, and it was the most horrifying thing Nelisella had ever seen.

"Wei, Lei, don't you dare touch that water!"

The sound of Nellie's voice pierced the air of the market like a knife. Farther away, the two girls hovered dangerously close to the edge of the waterfall, cascading down with gallons of water a minute. If they were to fall in, they'd surely drown. No one that has lived in Avanthal their entire life would know how to swim properly. Even the kids that swam in the ocean stayed away from the deep ends.

Wei clicked her tongue, making her way over to Nellie. Lei followed. "How come you don't let us have any fun?" she asked.

"Because were aren't here to mess around, you two. Mother wants us home in an hour." Both girls rolled their eyes at their bigger sister. "Don't even start with me. Now here, take this."

She took out a piece of parchment, her mother's writing scribbled with black ink on it, and handed it to the twins. "Scrounge up what you can find, and don't take forever either." They obeyed, giggling to themselves while they went off to find what their mother wanted. Nelisella sighed.

As she looked around the market which was once the place for all hustle and bustle, it was unnaturally quiet. The people that were there only murmured softly among themselves. The flooding had gone down enough for people to actually recover their shops and stands just a few days before. The color was washed away and the only smells were the salty ocean water and rotten meat that was left in the sun. It looked like a run down slum, homeless Vantha beggars and all. The Holds could only take in so many others.

She sighed once more, taking out another piece of parchment for herself. This time it was her own writing written onto it. With other families more needy than themselves, her mother had made her give away some of her belongings, making her in great need for replacements. She switched between looking at her list and browsing the shops as she wandered around the market.

[Hannelora]

The 25th Day of Spring, 512 AV

“What was becoming of her home?” Hannelora wondered aloud as she walked the now only semi flooded streets of the poor city. Everything was wrong, not just the temperature and the flooding but well everything else. She did not know how to explain it, just that is was all wrong. The noises where all wrong, and every time she heard a crack or a pop, she expected something else to break and fall on her head.

Hannelora rubbed her head, recalling having a small piece of ice fall on it while she was helping to rebuild Coldwater hold. Most of her time had been spent there, not that she had done anything of importance, just helped move things. It was hard work, considering there was a lot of furniture and other stuff to salvage. Her body still ached and hurt from all the heavy moving she had done. There was still much to be done, but what was left of the hold was not going to get worse. With that in mind she decided to go to the market.

It had not registered with her that the rest of the city might have been hit just as hard as the rest of the port. Things were being fixed here too, but she could see where the damage was and that there was going to be a lot of work before everything was back to normal. Part of her worried if things would ever really go back to normal. Hannelora hid these emotions though and put on a confident facade. She remembered the behaviors of Kenabelle Wright during crises, and was emulating them. While she was not nearly as important a person as Kenabelle, Hannelora figured it was best not to add any more doubts into the melting ice. It was still hot after all, the worst may yet come.

The heat had gotten more bearable to Hannelora, she still did not like it much but it was better. She had taken off her cloak and corset and was now walking around wearing nothing but a dull green shirt and leather pants. Her cloths hung stiffly on her, like they were saturated with salt water, which they where. Not only had Hannelora been sloshing around in salt water while working, but she washed them the only way she could think of, by jumping in the ocean and wading about. It got the dirt off, but the shirt had faded greatly.

Hannelora was very conscious of her appearance and smell. She felt nasty all over, having only been washing in ocean water lately. Her cloths clung to her in uncomfortable ways and she wanted nothing more than a hot bath. That was something that would not happen any time soon unfortunately. She smelled heavily of salt water, and while not unpleasant it was unusual. Her skin was dried out and flaking due to all the salt water it had been surrounding her.

Getting to the market, she stood there lost for a second. Compared to what was normally here, the whole place was empty. There was hardly any stalls left and the smell of rotting meat made her stomach turn. Anger and disbelief renewed in her and she found it very hard to contain. There was practically a waterfall running off the street. Growling in anger she punched a near by wall. Her hand hurt now.

The burst of anger might have seemed odd, but having gotten here the last bit of normality in her life had been removed. Hannelora had lied to herself about the market, wanting it to be just the way it had been, but it was not. It had not been her favorite place in the town, but it was somewhere fun she remembered going. She did not want to she it destroyed and gone.

“Great, might as well be another city now.” Hannelora grumbled looking around, not fully able to contain her anger. She stood there for a second longer just looking around the market.

"Wei, Lei, don't you dare touch that water!"

Hannelora looked in the direction of the shrill voice that split the air. She saw two young girls standing almost dangerously close to the waterfall. Her heart leaped in her chest, but the situation was quickly resolved.

“I am becoming my mother.” Hannelora muttered in shock, looking up at the group still. She honestly could not blame the girls, she would have done the same thing. In fact she still might do the same thing. Exploring was something she enjoyed, even if she did not get to do it often. Still there had been to much tragedy as of late. She could see the value of caution.

It took Hannelora a second to remember what she had come to the market for. She wanted a new set of cloths. Nothing fancy, she was going to work in them and get them dirty, but she wanted the ability to actually wash her current set. This might prove to be difficult for her though. Hannelora was very tall and very skinny. She had basically no curves to speak of, so most cloths tall enough for her, where way to big. This was going to be a challenge. Hannelora smiled briefly at this, she liked challenges.