A Call to those who hesitate [Blythe, Nari]

[Blythe]

Blythe turned her head so that she was face to face with Nari. Her eyes hinted at a slight level of uneasiness, and Blythe couldn't help but wonder if Nari was feeling the same way. Innocently enough, she stuck her right hand out towards Nari, as if offering it up as some sort of support for the two of them. Perhaps if they held onto each other tightly enough, their entire world wouldn't come crashing down around them. The Call? Now? Blythe's mind seemed to scream. At the ripe old age of forty-two? Of course, she never mouthed anything that was swimming around in her mind. Her confusion, her fear, the thought that it may be a very long time before she saw her family again, and that she'd miss them dearly. She held all of that deep inside of herself.

Blythe's eyes seemed both sad and confused now. Lost as they looked over at her acquaintance. "Can you feel it too?" Blythe asked, referring to the sudden pull she was feeling towards the docks. A strange urge to finally leave her homeland once more; despite the reservations she still possessed, the fears that seemed to be swirling about her mind, and multiplying by the minute. "Or is it just me Nari? That sudden urge, to simply sail away, or perhaps to swim, to walk," Blythe added, as she took a step back, a step closer to the docks, and then another, wondering if Nualla or Nari would follow; or if they would both believe that she was out of her mind, or perhaps, rather flighty.

As Blythe continued to step closer and closer to the docks, she realized that she couldn't hear much of anything. Confused, she looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was coming, or if she was utterly alone. Yet, as she looked, she found that everything blurred, and became nothing more than a sea of blonde hair. Shaking her head, trying to clear her vision; Blythe looked out in front of her again; in the direction in which she was headed. The only thing she seemed able to see clearly was the docks, but even they seemed to be wavering; just like her mind. The only thing that was driving her to act.

The dock appeared to be swaying slightly in the wind, the water that surrounded it, keeping it afloat was a blueish-green, and the movement coupled with the sheer nature of water itself was sending countless ripples and waves onto the shore. Blythe stood, motionless for a moment, staring at it. Trying to enjoy the scene, drowning out the world around her, while allowing her feelings to flood her. The promise of adventure; the call, that was something she didn't want to wait for any longer, and now that it was here, she felt as though it had come too soon. Blythe breathed deeply, in through the nose, out through the mouth, trying to calm herself. Trying to bring the world back. She stuck her hand out one last time, wishing that someone would grab onto it, and bring her back. Wishing that someone would guide her. Because if Nari had held her hand before; then her fingers had surely slipped through Blythe's own, because they weren't there right now.

OCCSorry this post is very awkward. Erm... this is me trying not to god-mod, taken to the extreme. Slash my generally, highly awkward pc at work.

[Nari]

Nari’s stomach churned in nervous turmoil as she watched Nualla gather the cards. She pressed her lips together in horror as she listened to the announcement from the fortune teller who had just moments ago been so kind. With widened eyes, Nari shook her head slowly at the woman’s words- even though she felt the truth of them stirring within her body. “I feel it too,” she whispered in response to Blythe’s question, clearly contradicting her body’s gestures. Leaving? The Call? This fortune was more ominous than she could have even imagined! Success, no matter what the cost- what did that even mean? Beyond that, why would the gods watch anything she did? What part could a perfumer play in history? She had just started her own shop- what would happen to it while she was away? Questions without answers washed through Nari’s mind in waves, crashing loudly against thought fragments and blocking out conscious action. She was peripherally aware of thanking Nualla with a weak voice, her fingers somehow ending up gripping Blythe’s like a life support. Blythe: Nari’s newest friend and now companion on some sort of venture that neither of them yet understood. The unease that had clouded her mind diminished as she was tugged along toward the docks, vanishing like a fog in the sun’s rays. “Wait,” she protested, releasing her companion’s hand and reluctantly halting. “Clothes, food, my herbs- I need to pack.” She had thought she felt the Call before, but it was nothing like this. It was distracting in a way that she couldn’t describe- or fight. When she wasn’t moving forward, she felt lost. But a stubborn part of her mind held tight to the knowledge that she wouldn’t survive the outside world without grabbing her necessities and telling her mother what had happened. With hesitant steps, she floundered her way to her modest home. Her breath shallow and throat tight with regret, she filled both her backpack and rucksack with helpful White Isle herbs, changes of clothing, her most useful tools, and a good chunk of mizas from her savings. Who knew what she would be faced with once she left the only place she’d ever called home? It was better to be overly prepared now than struggle later. As a final task, she took a blank piece of paper and scribbled a quick note to her mother- a couple lines of gratitude and love and a request to take care of her garden in case she didn’t come back from following her Call. She knew her mother would come looking for her in a few days and this note would be a comfort. With a sigh and knowing that she would most likely cry later, Nari pulled her cloak around her shoulders, grabbed her bags, and closed her door for the last time. She knew she needed to meet Blythe at the docks, if the other Konti was still there, so they could begin their travels and see what destiny had in store for them. As she stood in the harbor, Nari shaded her eyes and searched for her friend, wondering if either of them would know what to do next.

[Dusk]

Nualla watched them both with sympathy and understanding. The Call was something understood in Mura, both dreaded and held in highest regard. As the women turned to go, she was suddenly on her feet and around the table, one hand on Blythe's shoulder. "When it is done," she said, a smile tilting her lips, "give this to my sister," she said, pulling a crumpled envelope from her pocket - and from the looks of it, it had been waiting there for a very long time. "And give her my love." With that, she smiled again and released them to their fate. ((END! We'll get the main adventure going this weekend!))