Completed If One Remembers That They've Forgotten Something

[Cecily]

91st of Summer, 514 AV

It was a warm Summer morning as Cecily began preparing for her day at The Trail of Waterfalls. Cecily felt blessed that she was able to venture there quite easily, since the Amaranthine Gates weren't all that far from where she lived. She went over the list she had made in her head one more time, making sure she had everything she needed.

Cecily spoke aloud to herself, “Backpack… got that… lunch… yeah…” she continued grumbling to herself until she was certain she wasn't forgetting anything. She then let out a heavy sigh. Cecily had meant to stop by ‘The Good Book’ to purchase a notebook for her studies, as well as a quill and ink.

Cecily decided that she’d take a quick detour to purchase what she desired. She went to grab her pouch of Kina, along with her other belongings she'd be taking with her, and proceeded to walk out the door. After she had gotten outside, she paused for a brief moment, pushing her forefinger against her temple, going over once more to check that she had everything. This kind of thing only happened when she needed to remember things for herself, otherwise she had a perfect memory.

[Cecily]

Cecily trotted along, her unbelievably long hair bouncing against her heels as she went, waving at neighbors and strangers alike. Despite her adoration for her thick ebony locks, Cecily was frequently tripping over them, and became notorious for being quite clumsy, which was simply not true. But she took care not to fall flat on her face in front of everyone present in 'The Good Book'.

She stepped into the shop, inhaling the air of the atmosphere, the scent of freshly bound books surrounded her. Cecily loved being outside with its soothing natural beauty, and she could be engulfed in the vibrant colors for hours. But when she entered this small shop, she never wanted to leave. The soft breeze that flows through the wide-open windows gently flips the pages of newly created journals, and Cecily could only just watch the pages dance as if she was a kitten watching a butterfly flutter past.

Cecily browsed the shelves with a keen eye, searching for the perfect notebook to call her own. She spotted a newly bound blue student notebook that she grabbed without even thinking. In addition to that, Cecily quickly snagged a vial of ink as black as her hair and a nice new quill as well. She neatly stacked the vial and the quill on top of the notebook, and headed towards the back of the store where Keper was mending an old book, humming to himself happily.

Cecily approached him, smiling at him endearingly. She really enjoyed the little conversations the two of them would have from time to time. She placed her items onto the counter, and opened her pouch of Kina, retrieving 3 Kina and 5 Jade Kina to pay for her goods. Cecily dropped the colorful stones into Keper's old, slightly wrinkled palms. He smiled at her sweetly like he always did when she came to visit him in his shop.

Keper said not a word to her though, he somehow always knew when Cecily had time for an intriguing conversation about interesting gems and different kinds of glue. Instead, the two exchanged pleasant smiles and Cecily went on her way.

[Cecily]

Cecily stepped outside, standing in front of The Good Book, admiring the shop on the outside as well. She really did love coming to this place, for one reason or another. Every time she did, Cecily's emerald eyes would sparkle with curiosity as she would wander around in the little shop for hours on end, examining the leather on each book, and gently feeling the different textures of the pages.

She then, of course, remembered that she had other plans of action for the day, and chastised herself mentally for getting distracted. Cecily cleared her mind of all things that didn't involve her arriving at the Trail of Waterfalls, and marched straight towards the Amaranthine Gates without any delay. Cecily tried to avoid bumping into anyone, because whenever she encounters someone, she cannot resist the urge to greet them or otherwise she'll feel bad; it was just in her nature.

Cecily let out a heavy sigh of relief as she reached the Amaranthine Gates a good amount of time before the sun reached its highest point in the sky. Once she stood facing the structure, she couldn't help but admire the intricate carvings, running her fingers gently across the smooth curves. She made sure not to get too distracted, as there were things to be done, and Cecily refused to let herself waste any more time than she already had. She politely waved at the Shinya guard that stood watch, and made her way down the trail.

Cecily took a slow, leisurely pace as she strolled down the trail, taking in the surrounding flora and fauna. She smiled as she remembered the days when she would walk down this very same path with her mother and father, constantly asking questions about anything that caught her eye. Despite these being happy memories, the nostalgia of it made her a bit woeful, since those days were long gone, never to return to her. Her father had been gone quite a long time now, but those memories would forever be as clear to her as if they had just happened.

Cecily looked around a bit more as she continued on, and certain areas sparked some more thoughts of the past. She smiled meekly as she saw a most memorable spot. She hopped onto the large rock that lay a little ways off of the trail, and sprawled her tiny body across the cool, flat stone. Every single time she'd walk along this trail as a child, Cecily would always become weary at that exact spot and have her father give her a piggy-back ride to this rock. Cecily had an interest in Geology from a very young age, and when she sat upon that rock, she'd run her tiny, curious fingers along the ridges and layers of the rock.

She rolled onto her belly, pressing her cheek against the glossy surface of the rock. The tears she had been holding in for much too long came raining down from her eyes in a storm, flowing from her eyes down her cheeks, and cascaded down a slanted portion of the stone. Cecily watched the miniature stream with deep despair, a despair in which only this rock had ever seen.

[Cecily]

After wallowing in self-pity for a bit, Cecily sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Cecily loathed when she would enter this state, she had a comfortable life, a bit of extra spending money, and a roof over her head; she had nothing to complain about. She hopped down from the rock and continued along the trail. Cecily couldn't let herself fall into such despair, because then that despair would consume her, and she would never be able to surpass her father. She sighed heavily as she also recalled that she really did not know much of the craft she desired so very much to excel in.

"O, how I would give my soul
To be able to wallow
In my own self-loathing,
And fade to dust
To be carried away by the wind
Somewhere far from here,
No matter what it looks like
On the outside
I'm crumbling and breaking
On the inside
But I hope that I succeed
In obtaining what I need..."

Her song trailed off, as she whipped out her notebook and her quill, quickly jotting down those words so she wouldn't forget them. Cecily scoped the area as to make sure there was no one who might have heard her song. Her cheeks were burning as they turned bright pink; even though there was not a soul within earshot that could have heard her.

[Cecily]

Cecily continued along the trail in silence, no longer paying any attention to the scenery. Instead, she looked down at her feet as she walked, scolding herself quietly for dwelling on what she considered unnecessary things. Of course, since Cecily had been so focused on muttering to her feet instead of actually watching where she was going, she walked right smack into a huge tree trunk.

Cecily stumbled backwards slightly to regain her footing. She rubbed her reddened forehead and decided to make this a positive encounter. Cecily clenched her teeth, forming a huge mischievous grin as she made sure all of her belongings where securely in her pack; she then proceeded to find a grip on the rough bark of the tree and lifted her body off of the ground.

Cecily was actually very impressed with herself, seeing as she'd never even attempted to climb a tree before in her entire existence, and she had gotten a good few feet from the dirt ground. She looked upwards towards a large branch that looked stable enough to hold her weight. She reached for the branch, painfully stretching her muscles more than she should have, and grabbed on to the branch and with all of her strength, she threw herself up on to the branch, making herself comfortable, sitting so she wouldn't lose her balance and come crashing down from the branch. Cecily knew that if she fell from this high up, she would most definitely seriously injure herself.

She slapped her hands together, brushing off the dirt and small pieces of bark she had accumulated during her climb. Cecily took a deep breath, admiring the scenery she had been neglecting earlier. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and leaned up against the trunk of the tree, her legs hugging the branch tightly so she wouldn't come tumbling down.

Suddenly, Cecily heard the rustling sounds of leaves from higher up in the tree. She was overwhelmed by her childish curiosity, and climbed a few branches further. The sound became louder, but as she reached for another branch, the rustling stopped, and a large creature flew past her face with such speed that its image was blurred in Cecily's eyes.

She blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes as the creature whizzed past her for a second time. As Cecily wondered if she was just seeing things, the creature finally perched itself next to her on the branch she sat upon. Her eyes widened as she identified the creature to be a large Golden Eagle, and began mentally preparing herself for the very worst. Cecily had never expected one to show up, and if she had, she would've chosen a branch that had the strength to support both the weight of a human and an obnoxiously large bird. After all, she had climbed the tree on a whim, so this venture wasn't exactly what one would call planned out.

There was a large cracking sound as the branch gave in to the weight. It had snapped like a twig, and began its decent to the ground, along with Cecily, as the Golden Eagle flew away, probably very pleased with himself. As she fell, she pushed her knees up against her chest, keeping them close by wrapping her arms around her legs to form some kind of weird ball shape. Cecily's long hair flapped violently in the wind created by the fall, and she braced herself for impact. She slammed her eyes shut and hoped she'd at least survive the treacherous drop.

Cecily let out a piercing scream as her body made contact with the cold hard ground, tears gushing from her eyes to the point where her vision was completely blurred. More than anything, she was shocked to still be breathing. Her adrenaline enabled her to lift her broken body up from the ground, dragging herself back from the way she came, along with her pack. Cecily wiped the blood that had been dripping from her forehead out of her eyes, although she was stumbling around with or without the ability to see.

Cecily had finally reached the gates once again, trying to balance herself with all of the strength she had left in her, which wasn't much at this point. She trudged forward as best she could, but her body feel heavier and heavier with each step she took, and she had come to the point that she could no longer stand. Cecily felt her consciousness fading as the horizon began to shift into a vertical position, and everything turned to darkness.

[Sal Mander]

Cecily

XP

• Climbing +1
• Composition +1
• Observation +1
• Organization +1
• Writing +1

Lores

• Lore - Nature: The Hospitality of Eagles
• Lore - Personal: Choosing The Right Notebook
• Lore - Personal: Confiding In A Rock

Penalties

• Notebook - 3 kina
• Ink vial - 1 kina
• Quill - 5 jade kina
• Varied cuts and bruises from the fall.
• A nasty cut to the head from trying to headbutt a tree

Comments
A nicely written piece that brings out Cecily's friendly personality and inquisitive nature. It seemed such a shame that it ended so cruelly on her part. Needless to say, she'll want to get those cuts looked at, once she comes around. Good job.

Please remove your request from the grading thread and, as always, PM me if you have any questions or comments.

.