S E I J I
Seiji would like to think he’s getting better at self-sufficiency. Every day spent in the hollowed grounds has something to teach him, and he is doing his best to learn. Dressing in warm layers, paying careful attention to how quickly the fire burns through logs, training his eye to recognize the differences between edible plants and… plant-plants. Seiji is almost painfully aware of his ignorance, but more than that — the burden he places on anyone who happens to be stuck near him at any time. So he must do his best to learn the important things here. The days grow perilously short.
So short, in fact, that he finds night falling over him before he’s ready. He has been out amongst the trees again, not wandering this time but trying to find the last of the edible food the woods offered before the arrival of Longnight. Each early dusk came like a warning — hurry up — and Seiji had yet to learn anything substantial about the night itself. Only that it was… well, long. And dark. And dangerous. That luxere and their glowing antlers were a boon during such a time. Perilously little to work with. So he busied himself with making preparations, instead. This evening, he carried a small sack slung over his shoulder. He had found a few long, grasslike plants which smelled a little like onions; some small, sour berries; even a cluster of ugly mushrooms he didn’t particularly trust, but wrapped in a scrap of cloth anyway and stuck in the bottom of the bag, to ask someone about later. All this work had run long into dusk, though, and as he made his way back to the settlement, darkness shrouded the outskirts.
Fortunately, an unobscured moon cast some light — just enough to navigate by. Seiji moved carefully forward, his senses attuned to every shift, every noise, in the darkness around him. He checked frequently over his shoulder, half expecting to see some hideous monster stalking after him each time, but spied no such thing. Instead, the sound of footsteps eventually alerted him to a presence in front of him, and Seiji found himself blinking at a pale woman half outlined in moonlight, half obscured by the branches of a nearby tree. His current course would take him right past her. She did not seem to be in distress, but he did wonder why she was out so late gathering nuts, as that seemed to be what she was doing. Deepfrost was even colder at night; Seiji usually tried to be back in the relative safety of the settlement by then.
He lifted a hand in greeting as he drew near, dark eyes curious but expression friendly. “The days are getting short now, aren’t they?” he commented when he was close enough. Perhaps she had merely been caught out late as he was, and would enjoy some company while she finished up what she was doing.
Seiji would like to think he’s getting better at self-sufficiency. Every day spent in the hollowed grounds has something to teach him, and he is doing his best to learn. Dressing in warm layers, paying careful attention to how quickly the fire burns through logs, training his eye to recognize the differences between edible plants and… plant-plants. Seiji is almost painfully aware of his ignorance, but more than that — the burden he places on anyone who happens to be stuck near him at any time. So he must do his best to learn the important things here. The days grow perilously short.
So short, in fact, that he finds night falling over him before he’s ready. He has been out amongst the trees again, not wandering this time but trying to find the last of the edible food the woods offered before the arrival of Longnight. Each early dusk came like a warning — hurry up — and Seiji had yet to learn anything substantial about the night itself. Only that it was… well, long. And dark. And dangerous. That luxere and their glowing antlers were a boon during such a time. Perilously little to work with. So he busied himself with making preparations, instead. This evening, he carried a small sack slung over his shoulder. He had found a few long, grasslike plants which smelled a little like onions; some small, sour berries; even a cluster of ugly mushrooms he didn’t particularly trust, but wrapped in a scrap of cloth anyway and stuck in the bottom of the bag, to ask someone about later. All this work had run long into dusk, though, and as he made his way back to the settlement, darkness shrouded the outskirts.
Fortunately, an unobscured moon cast some light — just enough to navigate by. Seiji moved carefully forward, his senses attuned to every shift, every noise, in the darkness around him. He checked frequently over his shoulder, half expecting to see some hideous monster stalking after him each time, but spied no such thing. Instead, the sound of footsteps eventually alerted him to a presence in front of him, and Seiji found himself blinking at a pale woman half outlined in moonlight, half obscured by the branches of a nearby tree. His current course would take him right past her. She did not seem to be in distress, but he did wonder why she was out so late gathering nuts, as that seemed to be what she was doing. Deepfrost was even colder at night; Seiji usually tried to be back in the relative safety of the settlement by then.
He lifted a hand in greeting as he drew near, dark eyes curious but expression friendly. “The days are getting short now, aren’t they?” he commented when he was close enough. Perhaps she had merely been caught out late as he was, and would enjoy some company while she finished up what she was doing.
The rain is full
of ghosts tonight
of ghosts tonight
