Flashback Celebration Writ Small

[Eleret]

Summer 10, 491 AV late morning Eleret made her way through the city without any particular hurry, enjoying the warmth of the early summer day. Much of Mura had been decorated in gold and green and other deep tones, welcoming the arrival of summer and honoring the gods who brought about that season. Though in many places, ornamentation was as ephemeral and changeable as the flowers used to make it, works of living art adorning buildings and street corners here and there. She stopped to admire one in particular, a trellised arch which artfully shaded from vivid red flowers at the base through gold to sky-blue at the top, in these last chimes before the morning glories closed for the day. She carried flowers in the crook of her arm, not nearly so artistic a combination, intended for the square where the festival dance would be held. Nothing more flashy than marigolds, a bloom Ne'len grew fairly easily, and whose vibrant colors were very appropriate to the Sun Festival. The gardener herself would follow later, having been given care of their youngest sister for the day. Their mother, meanwhile, was busy with the festival -- which left Eleret to her own devices. And so she rambled, taking in the city sights. There was another yard down the street, she knew, which was paved in a ceramic mosaic, tiles changed up at the owner's whim. It would surely have been redecorated for the Sun Festival, Eleret mused. On that thought, she turned her feet away from the trellis and towards the yard in question, quietly eager to see what design the artist had come up with this time.

[Iosha]

Tying the last red ribbon in her hair, the little girl stepped back from the mirror to get a better look of herself. She was disappointed because the other young konti were already starting to blossom into beautiful young women while she still felt like a child. What bothered her the most was her height. She was four inches short than everyone in the class. It was unfair why she was taking longer to grow. The konti stared at herself in the mirror, and she felt a bit a sadness crept up into her heart when she remembered her late mother would always dress her for the festivals. She would remember her mother kneeling besides her tying in the red, orange, and yellow ribbon in her hair, but today, she had to do it herself since her grandmother was to busy to take her to the festival. She frowned to herself when she saw her ribbons were tied in the wrongs spots on her head. Her mother would always tie the orange and red ribbons on the hair on each side of her face, and the large yellow ribbon would hold the rest of her long hair back away from her face. Iosha blushed in embarrassment. It was a disaster, and she would look ridiculous in front of the other children her age. Realizing the sun was almost up, Iosha quickly slipped into a white sundress and put on her mother's pearls. The little konti noticed since her mother died last year. Her grandmothers house was a lot quieter since her mother was a musician. In the morning, her mother would be always singing to herself while she tended her garden. Iosha always wondered if her mother was trying to compete with the birds in the morning, but when Iosha asked, her mother would always respond to her that the birds were her audience. Today, the house was seemed empty with just the two of them living here. On top of it, Iosha was constantly babied by her grandmother. It would be enduring, but Grandmother was a strict and orderly woman, so it seemed like the woman was trying to suck the life out of everything. When her mother was alive, she always had a way to inject fun into any situation.

When Iosha turned the corner, she started to fidget with the back ribbon. She saw her grandmother sitting in her chair and drinking a cup of black tea. Iosha realized she forgot to tell her grandmother about the festival, but she wanted to surprise her, “Grandmother, can you fix my yellow braid? It is loose, and I don't want to lose it at the festival.” The Grandmother sipped her tea and said without looking at her, “Oh, I totally forgot about the Sun Festival. Iosha. However, you are old enough now to fix your own hair, so I want you to think of it as a teaching moment for you.” Iosha just stared at her Grandmother and pleaded softly, “Grandmother please! I look ridiculous, and I don't want the other girls to laugh at me.” The older Konti looked up from her tea , studied her a moment, and said hesitantly, “...I think your over reacting Iosha. These are konti children, and they will not laugh at you. It is not our ways. Why don't you take your medication before you start your exercises.” Iosha stared at her grandmother for a moment, and she could feel the anger growing in her and asked trying to keep calm, “Grandmother are you taking me to the festival?” The older woman shook her head and said softly, “I have to much things to do around the house to take you to the festivals. Besides, isn't their five more festivals coming up in the next year?” Iosha felt her lip start to quiver slightly when she heard her Grandmother wasn't going to the festival this year. Iosha knew her grandmother was busy, but the festivals were a tradition between her and her mother ever since she was born. Iosha wiped a tear from her eyes and snapped loudly at her Grandmother,“Why are you so boring, Nana?”

Iosha didn't wait for her grandmother to respond because she already ran out the door into the front yard. She stopped in the middle of the grass and started to wipe the tears from her eyes. It wasn't normal for a konti to be as emotional, but the magical accident changed her. Iosha knew it was hard for her to control her emotions, and it had been like this since the accident. When she stopped crying, Iosha looked around for a place to collect her thoughts and found a wood bench by the roses. The konti spent a lot of time and effort tending her mother garden since she passed away. She knew she didn't have the green thumb like her mother, but she did her best to keep it weeded, well watered, and pruned. Iosha looked at the garden and started to feel depressed thinking about all the time spent helping her mother. They were peaceful times under the security of her mother's wings. The konti looked up from her bench and saw a short woman stroll into the yard. Iosha knew they would often get visitors to her mothers garden to appreciate the effort put into it by her mother. She watched her for a moment and saw the woman was short woman with blonde hair down to her shoulders. She was definitely like most konti; however, she seemed to have almost the same color scales as herself. Iosha looked at her and said with a forced smile,“ “Happy Sun Festival! Oh, I am being rude my name is Iosha.”

[Eleret]

OOCApologies for the extended delay... Eleret paused as she came into view of a girl seated a little ways from the street, looking introspective and discontent. Between the summer flowers and the distance yet between them, Eleret's gift failed to catch a sense of her mood -- but from the strained smile the girl cast her way, she felt she could reasonably guess what it would detect. And no one should be unhappy on festival day... "Hello, Iosha," the older Konti replied, the smile she cast back sincere in its warmth. "And a happy Festival to you too! I'm Eleret." She glanced down the street for a moment, towards the distant city center. Today was a day for gathering; for family, for friends, for celebration together. Granted, there was still a little while before the main festivities started -- namely, the dance -- but why was the girl sitting here by herself? The obvious question -- obvious, at least, to Eleret's mind -- she thought might not improve the girl's mood any. But an offer made in courtesy should be harmless... "I'm on my way down to the square," she said, though the girl had likely deduced as much. Everyone else was, after all. "Would you like to come? I'd welcome the company -- and the conversation," she added, glancing at the rather deserted street around them. Most of the city was already gone to the celebration, after all...

[Iosha]

When the complete stranger offered to take her to festival, Iosha gave the woman a inquisitive look, but she knew their wasn't anything to worry about since the woman was konti. Iosha bit her lip contemplating if she should run off on her magical exercises and chores without telling her Grandmother, but she knew it would not go well for her when she had to face her Nana again. Eleret seemed eager to change her mood, and the little konti was touched by her gesture especially by a complete stranger. Iosha violet eyes twinkled with curiosity as she watched the woman. In a way, the konti seemed just like her mother kind and generous. Iosha started to play with the curls in her white hair by her cheek and said softly with a fake smile on her face,“Eleret, you have such a pretty name, and I would love to come with you! However, my Grandmother has decided to be boring today, and since she wants to be boring than I have to be boring too.” Iosha angrily blew a piece of white hair from her face and pouted, “And I got all dress up for nothing, and now I have to water the garden and practice my magic.” Iosha stood up, adjusted her dress, and sat back down in huff. The child wasn't pleased with her Grandmother at all, so she sat their sulking in front of a complete stranger.

Suddenly, Iosha heard the door behind her open, and her grandmother stepped outside and said with a smile to Eleret, “I was listening by the door, and I overheard you are willing to take my Granddaughter to the Sun Festival. It is a kind thing of you to offer, Eleret, and I wouldn't mind her going as long as she demonstrates her reimancy for you.” The little konti wasn't surprised her Grandmother wanted her to demonstrate her magic for Eleret because her grandmother was always gloating about her granddaughter's affinity to the personal magic. After Iosha eyes teared up with happiness and the little girl turned around to look at her Grandmother. A part of her wondered if her Grandmother had the whole thing planned to surprise the little girl, or if Eleret coming to her home was just by chance. Anyways, Iosha couldn't contain her excitement, so she jumped to her feet with a wide smile on her face. Feeling her Grandmother's hands on her shoulders, the little konti stood still waiting for Grandma to let her go. Feeling her hair being pulled back, her grandmother starts tying the yellow ribbon in her hair, and she heard her Grandmother say to Eleret, “I trust you with her care, Eleret. She is the only thing left of my Neia, so please keep her safe.”

oocSorry it took so long, Eleret. I kind of got timed up after vacation.

[Eleret]

oocSame here... I think my RL is finally easing off, though, so I shouldn't take so very long going forward! Eleret smiled as the girl decreed her grandmother boring. She'd never been quite that condemning of her elders, but the general sentiment was nonetheless familiar. Perhaps all the more so because her younger sister had recently taken up her own flavor of it. But before the Konti could reply, noise at the house pulled her attention away from Iosha. She tilted her head slightly as the woman spoke, a bit surprised at the elder's insistence, but nodded respectfully. The rest of her message was rather more expected. "Of course, ma'am," Eleret assured her. "I'll watch her as my own sister." Not her own daughter, because children weren't anywhere on the horizon for Eleret herself just yet. Eleret's gaze dropped back to Iosha, and she made a slight gesture towards the street with her free hand, inviting her to lead the way out. Whenever Iosha's grandmother was finished with arranging her hair and whatever else she deemed appropriate, of course. "Maybe you can start by telling me about reimancy as we walk? I must admit, I'm not very familiar with most magic."

[Iosha]

When Grandmother was finished tieing the yellow ribbon, Iosha tried to squirm out of her grasp, but the older woman grip was like a vice. She felt her grandmother kneel down behind her and said quietly in her ear, “Enjoy the festival little one and remember that I love you.” Iosha turned around and embraced her grandmother's neck and kissed her cheek. The little girl pulled away from her, turned to Eleret, and said with a smile, “Sorry for the wait, Eleret. I just needed to say goodbye to Nana!” Iosha playful jumped down each of the three steps, and once she hit the cobble stone, she ran up to Eleret and hugged her hand and said with a wide grin, “We going to fuuunnnn! When we get to the festival grounds, I want to tie ribbons in your hair...hehehe. You will look beautiful, Eleret.” Iosha started to hum a song to herself as she clutched onto the woman's hand as they left her grandmother's house. Iosha started to hear the music of fiddles off in the distance, and she looked up at Eleret when she asked about reimancy and said with a soft smile, “Well, I not as gifted as my Grandmother yet, but a reimancer use our inner djed to control or will the elements into existence.” As she thought about the next though, the little girl put a finger to her lips and said with a giggle, “Do you know the four elements, Eleret? I will tell you them if you forgot. The four is water, fire, air....and earth. I only know how to control water. I like to splash the sand crabs with my magic water when they get to close to cabbage.” Iosha gave her a impish smile and said with a snicker, “They are my enemies, and they need to be stopped!”

Iosha watched the other festival goers walk to the fair, and she noticed a mother and daughter walking hand and hand down the road. The little konti smiled up at Eleret with a mischievous smile on her face and said with excitement in her voice, “Maybe Eleret when I put ribbons in your hair. Maybe there will be a handsome sailor or knight at the Festival for you to dance with! It would be like the stories on the top shelf of my grandmother's bookshelf. You know the novels about the Konti falling in love with dashing male from the mainland.” As Iosha walked down the street, she remembered her mother always reading novels from Syliras. It was past time the little konti didn't understand, but she figured it was something older women did when they got older and wiser. On the other hand, Iosha loved swimming and working on her magic, but lately, Iosha was having trouble with her magic, and it was hard to concentrate on much of anything as of late. Sadness had entered the little girls life since her mother died a year ago, and she didn't quite understand why her mother had to go away and abandon her. As the sound of the music got louder, Iosha gripped Eleret's hand tighter at the thought of her mother being gone.

[Eleret]

Eleret smiled at the young Konti's enthusiasm and energy, and willingly clasped hands with her. "When we get to Unity, the first thing I have to do is give these to my mother," she remarked. "Then you can tie back my hair." It wasn't too dissimilar from some of her youngest sister's amusements... She listened to the girl's explanation of reimancy with interest. "Maybe you should splash the crabs in Ne'len's garden also," she suggested. "That's my sister -- she grew these, Eleret clarified, nodding towards the bundle of marigolds she held. As Iosha went on to talk about love and marriage, Eleret laughed softly. "Maybe," she allowed. "If we meet visitors anywhere, it'd be at Festival, wouldn't it?" It was something she didn't usually give much thought to -- not in more detail than the vague and nebulous 'future'. But Iosha was right -- it could happen. They walked on for a bit, each caught up in their own private reflections. The tightening of Iosha's grip on her hand brought Eleret's attention back to the present; she glanced down at the girl, noticing threads of a tangy, sweet-sour scent that hadn't been there before. It now wove in with the ambiance of sea air and marigolds, strong enough that it couldn't be coming from anyone other than the girl at her side. Something about Iosha's posture suggested sadness, and Eleret searched for any diversion she might offer. "What else can you do with your magic water?" she prompted, gently squeezing the girl's hand in return.

[Iosha]

Iosha looked up at Elerets white hair and asked softly, “What color ribbon do you want in your hair, Eleret? My mother always put the colors of fire in my hair because my Daddy is a Inarta.” When Eleret told her of her sister's plight with crabs in her garden, Iosha turned to her and said flatly, “They are tasty, but they are pests too! They will shred the lettuce and the cabbage, puncture holes in the tomatoes, and claw you if you get to close to green peppers. I know they are creatures of Laviku, but in the garden, they are creatures of chaos and destruction. If she needs help ridding them, I can come over and shot water balls at them. It doesn't hurt them of course, but it sends them running.” Iosha looked up at Eleret when she gave a answer to her meeting a male from the mainland at the festival. It was a slim possibility, but it was enough of a possibility for the young konti to let her imagination run wild. The scenarios made the little girl giggle a few times during their walk. Iosha started to hum to herself as she walked down the road. Her mother used to hum whenever she traveled short or long distances. It was a habit that Iosha picked up when her mother died. When Eleret asked about her magic water, the konti child gave her a big grin, let go of her hand, and looked around for a source of water. When she found a fountain, the little girl took the woman's hand again, “Come on, Eleret! Let me show you.”

When Iosha lead her to the fountain, the little girl turned to her and said with a grin, “My Grandmother has been teaching me control with the elements, so I have to will them into shapes. The easiest shape for me is the sphere, but the hardest shape is the cube. Anyways, I will make a magic sphere for you.” Walking to edge of the fountain, Iosha started to will her djed to create a ball of res three inches thick in her hand. The res looked like a translucent substance that seemed to have milky whiteness to it. When she started making shapes, she used her hand to illustrate the process, but she felt it was time to manipulate with her mind, so she envisioned a perfect sphere of water in her hand and willed her djed to create the sphere of water in her hand. It was a slow process, but eventually after a few chimes, the water was filling the sphere from the water of the fountain. To a untrained mind, the water looked like it was defying gravity as it flowed into the little girls hand. When the translucent sphere was filled completely with water. Iosha turned to Eleret and started to float the ball of water into the air between them. The little konti could feel herself start to sweat as she moved it, but the ball of water was holding it's shape for now.

[Eleret]

Eleret blinked as the girl mentioned her father's race as reason for selecting ribbon color. Not something she would have thought of -- the fathers of Meline's children had had little actual role in their lives. She wasn't even sure that Ne'len's father still lived... or for that matter, her own. "I usually wear sea colors," she replied, nodding towards the aqua shirt she wore this day. It was almost sky-colored, a nod to Syna being one of the deities honored today... but only almost. She smiled as Iosha offered to help with the pests in Ne'len's garden. "She'd like that," Eleret replied. They fell quiet as they walked on, or mostly so; the girl had a tendency to giggle out of the blue, earning her a few querying looks and a soft smile from the older Konti. She didn't know what was entertaining Iosha so, but at least her mood had distinctly improved. Iosha went on to lead them to a fountain, a white basin elegant in its simplicity, decorated with birds and fish which looked real until you took that one step too many -- they were in fact ceramic. Except for one little finch, which fluttered away promptly at their approach. Eleret had little thought for the fountain, however, as Iosha set to wield her magic. She knew of Reimancy, as it was comparatively common among Mura's mages, but few of her own close friends (and none of her family) used any magic. The ball Iosha created at first looked like ice, if a bit less bluish than ice tended to be -- and as Iosha talked about 'willing the elements into shape', Eleret presumed it to be such. But when the girl had formed the ball, water began to slowly stream towards it from the fountain, to Eleret's considerable surprise. She didn't ask any questions yet, recognizing Iosha's concentration and not wanting to break it. But when Iosha turned towards her with the ball floating between them, she presumed it safe to speak. "That's very neat! I thought the ball you made was ice, at first -- but it wasn't, was it?" Thus demonstrating her near-complete ignorance of Reimancy to the younger Konti. As the ball floated up between them, she reached out her free hand towards its surface.

[Iosha]

Listening to her question if the ball of water was ice, Iosha shook her head and said sweetly, “No, it is just a ball of water. It is still liquid, but I just will it into a shape.” The little girl hoped the grown up could understand what she meant. Still concentrating on the shape of the sphere, the little girl wiped the sweat from her forehead and said softly, “If I want to make ice, I will have to use the element of fire. My grandmother told me that fire isn't just lighting something on fire to watch it burn.” Iosha started to will the ball of water to dance in the air between them. It was a difficult thing to do, but she was able to do without splashing Eleret. The little girl continued her talking, “The element of fire is also heat, so if a reimancer can control the temperature of a object or water with fire reimancy, he or she can either make the water into steam or turn it into solid ice.” Iosha willed the ball of water to hover over her hands and said with a smile, “I understand how to make steam, but making ice is much more difficult, but I will try for you, Eleret.” The litle konti was excited to impress her new friend with magic tricks. Eleret seemed generally interested learning about Iosha's family trade. The little girl didn't mind showing her at all since she loved to show off her talents to adults. She would do it for her mother, but she was dead.

Looking at the ball of water, Iosha willed the ball to hover over her outstretched left hand. With her right hand, the little girl lifted her right hand and focused her inner djed and expelled another sphere of res around the ball of water. Iosha could tell that she was having difficultly keeping focus on more than one balls of res, so the ball of water started to waver since her concentration was divided between the two balls. With the use of fire reimancy, the little konti started to will the outer ball to absorb the heat from the inner ball of water. The transition was a slow one, and Iosha could tell the outer ball was getting warmer and the inner ball was starting form ice on the outer edges of it's surface, but the concentration needed to maintain the ball of water and outer ball was becoming taxing on the little girls stamina. Suddenly, the inner ball completely lost shape, the outer ball of res dissipated, and the ball of water dropped to the ground with a splash. Feeling dizzy, the little konti closed her eyes and fell to knees holding her head. For a few chimes, Iosha just waited for dizziness to stop when it did stop. Iosha looked up with bloodshot eyes and said with a dazed smile on her face, “I know I can do it better, Eleret. If you want, I can try again?”