Completed Settling in

[Lenell Belleste]

4th of Spring, 513

It had been a long walk, and she had needed to rest her leg several times as she went, but Lenell finally found her way to the University, with enough daylight left to suit her needs.

The thing she would've loved to see to first was washing herself and her only set of clothes. But since they were her only set, that task would have to wait till she could sequester herself in her room.

She found the cafeteria. She chose a fitting seat, one far away from the few people about, but close to the food. She pulled out the chair and leaned her cane against it, then hobbled carefully over to where a few pitchers surrounded a large and steaming bowl. She was impressed with the smell that came from it. She knew Zeltiva often had food shortages, and the plague could not be helping in matters of supplies, so the fact that the staff had managed to produce something that seemed appetizing impressed her. Unless it was actually giving off a horrible stench, but her empty stomach refused to note it. She decided to believe her nose, since she she knew it simply made financial sense to take as many of her meals here as she could. She wouid not let herself slide into a position of writing home for money.

After a meal of soup that did turn out to be tasty, though heavy in the broth department, she began making her way to the library. She felt simply evil to be thinking of going near books before washing up, but her hands were clean, thank goodness. Dirty hands touching books would be sacrilege. Qalaya was not known for smiting, but perhaps she might make an exception.

When she reached the library, she swallowed deeply and reminded herself that she did have other things to do this evening, and needed to be in bed early to rest her travel-worn body and mind, and up early the next morning to check in with her new employer. That thought did make her grin. She had her first job. Well, the first one outside of working for her family, at least.

She began pawing through the open, public sections first. She wanted to start by reading a few basic books, to judge how far along she was, before accessing the student books. As she looked about for Anthropology and Pottery, as well as a guide to Zeltiva, she noticed the many small statues of the gods and goddesses spread about, and heaved a sigh of relief. So she could skip a trip to the temples tonight. She did not think Eyris would mind receiving worship in a center of learning, and she knew a library could be nothing but a holy place to Qalaya. Though she had not been in the habit of praying to Laviku, she made sure to stop in front of that statue as well, to give thanks for her safe passage. It took her a while to identify Rak'keli, but she stopped there as well, to offer up a plea for the suffering of her beautiful new city.

Her mind at peace after knowing she had done her best to begin her new life with devotion, and with a passel of books shoved into her pack, she made her way to the student quarters. By that time, her left foot was emphatically letting her know it wanted some rest.

"Shut up, you," she said as she glanced down at it. "I'm doing my best here."

She heard voices as she entered the quarters, but ignored them in favor of finding her room. She did remember her grandmother's advice, well, orders actually, that she must speak to new people, must make a new family for herself now that she was away from her own, but she couldn't face the thought of meeting anyone when she felt so unkempt and dirty. And she needed to be alone for a space. And she needed to give her leg some rest!

She opened the door to her quarters. They were small, but clean, and that was good enough for her. She kicked the door closed behind her with her bad foot, wincing at the bang that followed it.