Until the Water Boils (Mahd'vi)

[Sharakai]

3rd day of Fall, 510 A.V.

Sharakai had set up her tent under a tree, hoping that it would provide some shade against the midday sun. Her bedroll and satchel were stored neatly within her tent. Her horse, Hara, was grazing peacefully nearby. Sharakai sat in front of a small pile of firewood, holding a stick and dangling a small pot of water hanging from it over the fire. She was waiting patiently for the water to boil, which was proving much more trying than she had assumed. It was imperative that the water be brought to boiling not too quickly, but not too slowly either – a balance that she had never quite grasped when she was learning the technique from her mother.

Some crushed leaves floated peacefully on the water’s surface, moving in small circles in the center of the pot. Sharakai brushed a strand of black hair out of her face with her fee hand – an action that she had repeated at least five times in the past ten chimes. Patience was not one of Sharakai’s virtues.

Her mind began to wander off on an unwelcome train of thought: What was she doing here? It had been four days since she had entered Endrykas and she had accomplished very little. Where was all the knowledge and experience she had hoped to find here? Where was the adventure? She almost missed home – the hot desert sands and the welcoming tent of her family. She missed her father and her two siblings, but most of all she missed her mother – the one person who she knew with absolute certainty she’d never see again.

Trying to dispel the depressing thoughts clouding her mind, Sharakai looked up from the fire. Hara was chewing on a patch of grass a few feet away from the tent, seeming as content as a horse could be. What Sharakai would give for such a peace of mind right then. The problem, Sharakai decided, was that she was alone.

[Mahd'vi]

3rd Day of Fall, 510 A.V.

Hands folded neatly in her lap and head bowed to a slight degree, Mahd'vi sighed deeply. In. Out. In. Out. Yet no matter how long she held this position, she could not begin her meditation; something in herself was out of balance. Mahd'vi stretched her thin fingers out, slowly opening her eyes as she did so. It seemed her daily noon meditation would not happen that particular day. She slowly stood up, her bones and joints creaking as she sent up an apology to Avalis. 'I am sorry, Goddess, for my mind wanders to and fro today. My worship of you is impossible at the moment. I am sorry.' Mahd'vi halfway opened her eyes again as she wiped dirty sand and grit from her hands onto her thin dress. The bustle of the city of Endrykas was a couple minutes away from her. After she'd entered the city two days ago, she had decided it would be best to simply follow it from a distance, for now at least. Mahd'vi was currently camped out in the open sun, her belongings laying on the dusty ground as Bika napped nearby, her coat shiny with sweat.

Mahd'vi herself was very hot. It had never gotten this heated in Mura. Moreso, it was moist and slightly windy. No matter the fact she'd been travelling in this hot weather for months, it still seemed so foreign to her sometimes, just like the dark skin and odd tongues and languages of the people of Endrykas. Mahd'vi placed a frail hand on her sweaty forehead to dispel the sun from her eyes as she looked around. Not many people trailed Endrykas - most stayed in the city, seeing it more beneficial than camping out, but there were a few people here and there. Most Endrykas, some odd skinned and funny looking to Mahd'vi, but not another Konti within sight.

"Dear Avalis.. " Mahd'vi whispered to herself in her mother tongue, Kontinese, her voice trailing throughout the wind, "help me find what I am looking for." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her words touching her in a meaningful way. Mahd'vi did know what she was looking for in this city. She was looking for friendship, romance, and ultimately family, but she did not know how to go about that. Mahd'vi had never had to make new friends or acquaintances, she'd grown up with everyone in Mura, so no one was new. Now that she was travelling and looking for different people she hadn't the first idea of how to approach them, or what to say. So Mahd'vi probably should've prayed, instead, "Dear Avalis, help me gather the courage I need to find what I'm looking for."

[Sharakai]

Sharakai didn’t enjoy feeling sorry for herself; it was an unproductive pursuit at best. Besides, her mother had always told her that negative energy could transmit into a healer’s project. She had no desire to contaminate the half-brewed salve with negative energy. She arched her back, stretching the sore muscles. It was then that a surprisingly strong gust of wind blew, dislodging a particularly large herbal leaf from the small pile next to her. Startled, she quickly grabbed the ends of the blanket on which the leaves were lying and tied the ends together to prevent any more herbs from escaping. But the one leaf that had been lifted by the wind continued to glide and tumble in a strange dance away from Sharakai.

She almost sprang up to follow it, realizing belatedly that she couldn’t just drop the pot she was holding over the fire. If she were to abandon it now, the salve would be ruined. Then again, without the leaf the salve would be ruined as wall. With a sigh, she watched the leaf float away from her, until it landed on top of someone. Sharkai didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. She only had one sample of this particular herb and did not want to lose it. It all depended on whether the person on whom the leaf was resting would be inclined to bring it to her. Sharakai squinted, trying to make out the person on whose knee the leaf was perching. The woman looked nothing like a Drykas – her pale skin and pale hair hinting at a Konti lineage. Her posture suggested that she had been praying, though Sharakai knew little to nothing about the prayer traditions of the Konti. If they were anything like the ones practiced by her own people, Sharakai could guess that interruption would be frowned upon.

Still, she desperately needed the leaf to complete the healing salve she was brewing. Deciding to risk it and hope that the woman was finished with her prayer, Sharakai pitched her voice to carry the few yard’s distance and said, “Pardon me, miss! Would you terribly mind bringing me the leaf that just landed on you? I can’t get up at the moment and I really need that leaf.”

[Mahd'vi]

Mahd'vi sat down again, her legs crossed. Sand trickled into her sandals and the hem of her skirt. Her thin fingers overlapped each other, laying quite uselessly in her lap. She bowed her head once more, pale blonde curles framing her face. This time, she was not in this position for prayer, but for thinking and observation, two things she desperately needed to take time to do at the moment. Mahd'vi couldn't keep her mind concentrated on one thing, however. It jumped to and fro like the shimmering catfish that lay in the large lakes of Mura did, annoying her a bit. It seemed she was just bound to be restless that particular day, nothing she could do about it. Mahd'vi was mourning that fact when she felt something lightly touch her knee. Curiously, she raised her head and slitted her eyes open. An herb leaf, one for making a particular type of salve, lay there. She was a bit curious as to why, considering it wasn't native to Endrykas, when a voice snapped her out of her ponderings.

In Common language that was spoken throughout Mizahar, a young woman, very young, Mahd'vi thought, called to her, asking for the herb. The dark-skinned girl that looked almost native to Endrykas was attempting to hold down a simmering pot and salve ingredients at the same time. Mahd'vi, sympathetic to the other woman's plight, gently took the leaf in her hand and stood, shaking sand off of her person. Making sure not to crush the herb but still keep it within her grasp in the windy terrain, Mahd'vi took slow steps toward the other girl. It wouldn't do to damage the herb, she didn't have very much money to pay the woman back for it, or worse, lose it.

Mahd'vi was a bit annoyed as she walked, for sand kept flying into her mouth and nostrils. As pretty as Endrykas was, she didn't very much like the weather. It was much too hostile and unpredictable for her tastes, and her light boned body. She held onto the herb with both hands, praying she did not lose it.

"Here," Mahd'vi smiled warmly, reaching the woman. She bent down and lay the herb back, before beginning to smooth out the blanket for the other, although she did take discreet looks at the woman. Dark-skinned, dark eyed and dark haired, she was like nothing Mahd'vi had ever seen before. Mahd'vi felt slightly awed. She wasn't used to dark people - something that would probably soon change, she suddenly thought wryly, leaning back to sit on her knees, considering she was now in the dark-skinned city of Mizahar.

[Sharakai]

Sharakai felt relief wash over her as the other woman complied with her request, bringing the leaf to where Sharakai still sat, trying to wrestle with the now-boiling pot. Throwing the Konti a grateful glance as she smoothed out the blanket, Sharakai picked up the brown leaf and dropped it unceremoniously into the water. After a few seconds of staring intently at the water, a soft, bitter smell reached Sharakai’s nose. That meant the brewing was working. She gingerly moved the boiling pot off the stick and set it on the ground. Only when she was sure that all the steps of the salve’s preparation had been observed did she look up at the woman next to her.

Sharakai offered her a tentative smile before she spoke. “Thank you. It’s been so long since I prepared this balsam. I didn’t want to make a mistake and have to start over. My name is Sharakai. May I know yours?” This was all said in one long breath, Sharakai’s words punctured by a distinctly Eyktol accent. She had grown used to speaking in Common after leaving the Burning Lands. Still, she couldn’t quite shake the Tawna pronunciation that so often snaked its way between her words.