PM to join [The Trail of Waterfalls] Muted Voices (Cyna)

[Ruphy]

70th of Winter, A.V. In the morning The air was crisp, fresh, and silkily frosty around and on the Trail of Waterfalls. Yes, Syna may have been doing her best to thaw the frigid morning air that would inevitably pervade the Star of Kalea with her life-giving warmth, but Morwen was reigning supreme; her dominion of Winter was indisputable among the mountain ranges of Kalea, and there were still 22 more days until she relinquished her hold over Mizahar and returned back to her home in Avanthal. The fact that the recent bouts of rain, and the nature of the mountainous region that which is Kalea, as well as the picturesque water-filled scenery around the Trail, did not help to keep the moisture laden atmosphere any warmer. In fact, it made it easier for the cold to penetrate the layers of defense, anything short of oiled skin and densely furred coats, any unwary traveler happened to be clad in. Even those who were wary had trouble keeping the cold out, and Ruphy, being the unfortunate thing she is, was not expecting such frigid conditions out here. Although she didn't actually mind the refreshing and invigorating cold all that much, she was still shivering underneath her woolen clothing. Of course, her face was exposed to the environments and her trousers weren't enough to shield her legs from the cold, but it was better than wearing the dress, so it was no surprise that her skin was flushed a slight pink wherever the cold trailed its fingers; her cheeks were rosy and her lips were tinged a bruised looking purple, even her nose, being the only other visible piece of skin, was slightly pink. Her golden complexion was rosier than it already was, and it was beginning to appear as if she would develop a cold if she stayed out any longer. Then and again, the cold didn't put her off, nor did it make her flee back to her warm-ish apartment room and retreat to the bed sheets or else she wouldn't be here right now, instead it made her see the scenery around the trail in a crisp clarity that could be compared to that of pure, clear, bubble-deficient ice. Everything seemed pure and untainted by mortal interaction: Syna's rays of light shattered against the surface of rippling pools, scattering the beams and illuminating the rich winter foliage of evergreens, ferns, moss, and an abundance of other flora and fauna, a sense of "Natural" and "Rightness" permeating throughout the scenery. It was all rather breathtaking. And, indeed, Ruphy was rather breathless. No, her breath was not taken by the scenery, although admittedly it was very, very beautiful, but it was more to do with the cold and her lack of stamina and endurance. She was simply not "made" for hiking and long walks, and so she stayed as close to the gate that marked the beginning and ending of the Trail as she could. After a rather lengthy period of time, Ruphy was not quite sure as to how long she had been traversing the path, and Syna was just beginning her decent from the sky, the Ethaefal was lost. Completely, and utterly, lost. She knew not of her current location on the path, whether to keep going forward or to turn heel and go back was the faster way to return to Lhavit, and so she just stood there. Silly as that may seem, Ruphy stood there not out of panic but in thought. She wasn't a mathematical genius, but she was capable of guessing how many chimes or bells have past, and then, through the power of deduction, she could roughly estimate how far she was along the Trail. Sighing when she decided that she was somewhere midway through the Trail, Ruphy decided that there was still time before sunset, and so she parked herself along the edge of the path, the tips of her boots skidding across the surface of the pool spread out beneath the wooden planks of the Trail. Before, Ruphy had been absorbing the scenery as fast as she could while she followed the track, forgetting to stop to admire the land and the forests, creeks, and meadows more closely in her childlike wonder of the world. Of the joint work between Caiyha and Semele. But now, in her moment of indecision, her wonder-fueled traveling had slowed down significantly, enough for her to snap back to reality and think on what to do. And so, she decided to stay and watch the scenery instead of walking. Her legs were beginning to ache, so resting seemed all the more appealing. Green, the all encompassing, life-loving colour of green was everywhere, dripping in the abundance of Kihala's domain. And so, while Ruphy marveled at the beauty of her favourite colour, she inadvertently began to sing. Although everyone assumed that she was mute, since she always communicated non-vocally through a Notebook and charcoal writing, as well as gestures, her vocal cords were in perfect condition, albeit weak from disuse. Wispy, soft, mellow and sweet, the song that ushered from her lips was a homage to Caiyha and Kihala, a song of reverence to the natural world around her. It was a sincere aria, her voice classified as that of a treble's, and it was heartfelt, despite not being able to be heard by it's own producer. Ruphy's song was merely an assembly of musical notes that she did not even know the sound of, but it was pure sound unfettered by the refining of the mortal ear. And so as she sat there, the sole of her boots trailing through the water, the Synafal unknowingly poured her heart out into the soft song as she watched the light splash against the tree canopy, animals and insects fly and flutter, and the wind dance through the trees, grass, and across water. The cold, and the possibility of company, was completely forgotten in the face of the wonder of life.