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wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-01-2024
After reunions and promises, letters and plans, Lena flew her way towards Frey’s Breath yet again, dual purposes layered in her mind. For relaxing and rejuvenation assuredly, as well as spending time with Sohalia, while keeping a lookout for any of Rae’s Lilies. She had some other assortments and necessities brimming in her pack, but kept those notions for thereafter.
Knowing the hot springs well enough by now (and without Mittens; the poor thing would have melted instantly), given all her ventures and time here lately, she chose her favorite spot – waving to the fellow Attuned nearby – content that for the most part, save for some others farther down the reach, they were alone. It might give the younger woman some peace of mind, given everything she’d gone through lately. [say]“How have you been?”[/say] she offered kindly and warmly – pondering over their last meeting – already pinning her hair up and out of the way. Hopefully she’d gotten the opportunities to meet up with chosen companions and friends; portions of lifelines in these amplified times.
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-01-2024
Lena was not the only one to arrive at Frey's Breath on feathered wing; Sohalia flew in as a snowy owl, enjoying the chill of the Leafchange air as it brushed through her feathers. She'd been all over of late, traveling here and there across Caido, all the while seeking to mend any bridges she'd burned with her abrupt disappearance. Fortunately for her, it had gone well, for the most part, with most of her friends readily forgiving her. Most of them had the same things to say: it hadn't been her fault, there was nothing she could have done differently, they were so relieved she was alive. And so it was with a renewed spring in her step that she met Lena in the Climb.
Emotionally, she might have been nearly healed - nearly, but not quite - but physically, the proof of her long illness lingered. There were still bags under her eyes that hadn't been there before, courtesy of the nightmares that plagued her every night. She was still too thin, missing the petite curves that had been there before. It wasn't as stark as it had been the last time she'd seen Lena, but to anyone who had known her before, she would still look a bit ill.
Regardless, she greeted Lena with a hug and a smile. [say]"I've been well, thank you. How are you?"[/say]
RE: wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-02-2024
It was a momentary relief and balm to hear Sohalia felt well; even if embracing the younger woman meant a noting of ribs and sharp angles, making a note in her mind to send her home with a care package of some sorts. She likely had enough laden in her bag – snacks, herbs, and medicines included. She gave her a radiant smile regardless, all incandescence and warmth, preferring to be a rock and an anchor in a world full of wind and rain. [say]“I’m good,”[/say] which wasn’t a lie; despite everything going on.
With the serene grin, she released the Attuned and began to saunter towards the springs themselves, peeling away the outer layers of her clothes, intending to marvel and enjoy the heat in her swimsuit and glance everywhere for flowers in the meantime. [say]“It’ll be nice to relax,”[/say] she added with a light wrinkle to her nose; still striving not to be high-strung and restless when the rest of the kingdoms seemed intent on unfurling.
Recalling something she’d intended for amusement, instead of immediately beelining for the springs, she returned to her satchel, searching through the variety of items within until she settled on portions of hardened paper. [say]“Have you used these before? Some of the kids gave them to me and I thought they were so funny!”[/say] She raised the ivory portions up for Sohalia to inspect; reminiscent of juvenile exploits in school behind teacher’s backs, they’d been known as ‘cootie catchers’ in her youth. The markings and writing upon it weren’t the most fanciful or neat, but certainly did the job.
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-08-2024
Soh was glad to hear that Lena was well; her friend had greeted her with such kindness last time they'd met, and the Luminary would have been quite upset if Lena had had something negative to report. She wondered, sometimes, if anything ever bothered the Caretaker. She was always so peaceful and serene, even when the world had gone mad.
Lena searched in her bag and came up with a small piece of hardened paper, which Soh inspected with interest. Realizing what it was, the young woman laughed. [say]"Oh, it's been ages since I've seen one of these!"[/say] she told Lena. [say]"They always seemed like such fun."[/say] She'd seen children in school play with them, but as someone who didn't have many friends as a child, she'd never had someone to experiment with.
RE: wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-09-2024
Many things bothered the Caretaker; but she’d made it a habit of hiding it. It probably wasn’t the healthiest thing to do, as bottling all the proportions up meant impending release someday, but it also strengthened her soothing parallels. What good would it do if she couldn’t keep calm in an alarming situation? What would her scared, nervous, and apprehensive feelings do for the rest of them? Amplifying a mess wasn’t in her ideal – so she’d inherently swallowed them all down. She’d kept her fear alight, but her bravery brighter. Maybe the last time she’d done so was in front of Zavien, and she’d been embarrassed by all those frustrations too – and in the end, saved them for no one except herself.
Sohalia’s enthusiasm for the silly paper made her ease further into the springs with a bright smile, and before long she’d found a shallow spot, leaning against a pillar of stone with the plumes reaching and pressing, but arms raised so the cootie catchers wouldn’t catch any cascading droplets. Waiting for the younger Attuned to settle, she moved the portions back and forth, revealing hues and numbers, and then lifted it up for the Luminary to make a choice. [say]“Pick a color.”[/say] There were arrays in blue, red, green, and yellow.
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-13-2024
Sohalia was enthusiastic, and perhaps it was a bit silly, but she hadn't taken the time to be just a silly young woman in... gods, she couldn't even remember how long. Even before her disappearance, she'd had the weight of Stormbreak on her shoulders, and she'd had only enough time to thoroughly destroy her love life before being unceremoniously deposed. Now she had no responsibilities, and it was almost a relief to settle into the springs and study the cootie catcher that Lena moved around.
The quadrants moved in and out. Soh leaned back against the stone, relaxing as she watched. When Lena paused, asking her to pick a color, she considered for a moment before selecting her favorite: [say]"Blue."[/say] If she remembered correctly, the next round of selections would have some different choices, but she couldn't quite remember what they were.
RE: wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-14-2024
Moments of silliness, play, and wonder regularly seemed to be amiss in Caido; unless they purposefully snagged and claimed it for themselves. Knowing Sohalia needed it just as much as the rest, and perhaps more so, based on everything she’d gone through, Lena felt no guilt or shame in being able to simply relax and amuse.
Waiting for Sohalia to make her color choice, her brows went upwards at the selection of blue, grin purposefully radiant. Holding the cootie catcher out towards the other Attuned so she could watch the actions, the Caretaker spelled out the hue. [say]“B-L-U-E,”[/say] moving in accord with the portions of paper, until they revealed numbers. [say]“All right, pick again.”[/say] The options were steadfastly normal, in a child’s scrawl of 1, 2, 3, and 4.
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-14-2024
Lena spelled out the color, flipping the little cootie catcher this way and that as she did, revealing a variety of numbers within as she finished. Soh considered her options. She could choose four, but that was the same number that there were letters in 'blue' and something in her rebelled against the idea of duplicating things that way. After a moment's consideration, she said, [say]"Three."[/say]
Then, because she was curious, she added: [say]"Where did you find this, anyway?"[/say] There was only curiosity in the Luminary's voice. Was it something that had been left behind in the Celestine? Or had Lena located the trinket elsewhere? It had been so long since Soh had even considered such an item that she wouldn't have even known where to look to find one.
RE: wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-14-2024
She hummed as she worked, moving the filaments back and forth in the segment of three. [say]“Pick another number and all will be revealed.”[/say] The statement and ridiculousness alone made her laugh, motioning the cootie catcher near Sohalia so she could see the new options: five, six, seven, and eight.
The question caused a grin, and a light shrug to her shoulders. [say]“Some kids visiting the Celestine gave it to me,”[/say] as she wouldn’t have had the time to create such a little marvel. Their reasoning had been beyond the Caretaker; perhaps it had all been in whimsy, sharing out their designs and constructions with the rest of the masses. As such, she still didn’t know what lurked below the numbers; not wanting to spoil herself. They’d both be surprised by any outcomes.
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-15-2024
Soh joined in on Lena's laughter, shaking her head at the mysterious statement. A few strands of hair wriggled free of the knot atop her head, falling to frame her face as she shifted in place, settling more comfortably against the stone of the hot springs. As she considered her options - additional numbers, this time - she laughed again to think of children at the Celestine being compelled to give Lena such a silly trinket. [say]"They must have thought you needed guidance,"[/say] she teased. In truth, she rather thought it seemed that Lena had her life together. It made the entire interactions all the more amusing.
After a moment's consideration, Soh selected seven. Supposedly, seven was a lucky number, after all, so perhaps there would be something worthwhile revealed from such a selection. While she waited for her fortune, she looked around them at the springs, her mind wandering briefly to thoughts of flowers and healing. If only the cootie catcher could bring them closer to their real purpose for visiting the springs.
RE: wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-15-2024
[say]“Maybe,” [/say]she hummed, looking down at the cootie catcher while Sohalia picked and chose. She wasn’t certain which other aspects she needed in order to assemble those pieces – because despite Stormbreak’s reigning arrangements, the Caretaker had everything she could cherish right now. Bones and foundations, supports and eaves; and presently – all they needed were some bombardments to truly unfurl sedition. And probably some flowers.
Peeling away the portion of paper to reveal the other Attuned’s fortune, she first read it to herself, and snorted with laughter. [say]“Not sure what I expected,”[/say] she managed before finally granting the grand revelation, raising the parchment above the water as if it were some royal scroll or announcement. [say]“You will always have fantastic hair.”[/say] Glancing over at the younger woman, she smiled again and shrugged, passing the paper to her.
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-15-2024
Whatever Sohalia had been expecting, the fortune she received was decidedly not it. She laughed, surprised, pleased in spite of herself. Soh had never thought of herself as vain, but the idea that she would never again have a bad hair day was pleasant enough that she secretly hoped her fortune would come true.
Accepting the cootie catcher from Lena, Soh settled back into her spot and wiggled her eyebrows at her friend. [say]"Are you ready?"[/say] she asked, laughter evident in her voice. When Lena gave the word, she began to move the trinket, flashing pieces back and forth until settling once more. [say]"Pick a color."[/say]
RE: wonder and marvel - Lena - 11-16-2024
Pleased to hear Sohalia’s laugh again, despite not being the one to write any of the fortunes, Lena leaned back into the stones and warmth of the water. [say]“Imagine never having to worry about bad hair days,”[/say] and she giggled in turn; shaking her head in the merriment.
But now that it was her turn, she had to plot through the multitudes. Unaware of what the other numbers and colors held, she’d be at the mercy of the children’s hand-written scrawl as well. She presumed they wouldn’t have handed over anything too detrimental – but they wouldn’t know until everything else unfurled. Leaning over to glance at the hues once more, she hummed thoughtfully, before picking. [say]“Let’s go with yellow.” [/say]
RE: wonder and marvel - Sohalia - 11-21-2024
[say]"I would gladly take it,"[/say] Soh said seriously, though her grin gave her away. It was nice to find something so lighthearted after such a time of darkness. A blessing, really, though she wasn't sure how to put her feelings into words. Perhaps it was a sign of sorts that she should embrace the innocence that she'd once had, back when she was still a child herself, back before her life had gotten all grown-up and messy. Perhaps it was a reminder that, beneath everything she'd lost, a child's heart still beat within her, resisting the inescapable passage of time.
But that was a consideration that occurred to the young woman so deeply within her subconscious that she was barely aware of more than a passing flicker of melancholy, and then she was pressing onwards into the continuation of their little game. [say]"Y-E-L-L-O-W,"[/say] she spelled out, flicking the cootie catcher this way and that to reveal numbers: 5, 6, 7, and 8. [say]"Pick a number."[/say]