[SWE] The Festival of Lights

Asavvi My mind, my body, my soul Only feels good standing out in the cold Her assumption seemed to be accurate and Desmond welcomed with bright eyes and a warm smile. It dulled the edge of her unease to have found someone with such a calm manner in the face of so many strangers. She had been trying to learn the ins and out of this new land and the man aided with his explanation of the lanterns and by extension the gathering. Asavvi wondered if she should light a lantern for her family. They weren’t dead—she couldn’t believe that they were dead—but they were almost certainly lost to her, and even with that truth trying to work its way into her heart, she wouldn’t let herself grieve. Not yet. She made to send a polite smile of thanks toward Desmond, but he was already turning, moving away to assist a man who seemed to be having trouble breathing. Feeling her muscles tense, Asavvi watched the small flurry of aid that converged on the man as he collapsed; Desmond and a dark-haired woman taking the lead in aiding Remi. She had no medical training, and so backed off, giving them space to tend to man and was happy for the excuse to do so, but in turning to move away from that cluster of festival-goers, Asavvi spotted the familiar form of s dark-skinned teenager. She felt her chest give a shuddering little start of excitement at the sight of Edrei. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling but for a moment Asavvi thought to go to her before noticing that the vivacious spark of a teenager was clearly eyeing up another girl. Even as soon as her foot had moved to take a step toward Edy, Asavvi made herself stop. The spike of jealousy was sudden and completely foreign to her experience that the girl froze where she stood. It had felt so good to be held that she’d almost convinced herself that there was something more, something meant. Obviously, said the vicious little voice in Asavvi’s head, that feeling hadn’t been mutual. That is exactly why it had been a mistake. She didn’t panic, didn’t run, but there was a perceptible change in her manner. Her open curiosity about the event and its attendees had retreated behind a serene mask that wasn’t unpleasant but a great deal less engaging. Asavvi’s arms pulled up from tensing shoulders to cross defensively across her midriff. With her only bit of conversation sidetracked by a timely interruption it was easy to step aside and start moving away only to be brought up short by a body colliding into hers. The man stumbled back, already apologizing as Asavvi steadied herself. With a handful of rough-and-tumble siblings, she was used to them bowling into her unexpectedly and wasn’t easily wrong-footed. “That’s quite alright, I should have been more careful. Her eyes were borderline cold, body righting into a closed off posture—arms crossed—already determined as she was to get as far from this gathering as she could manage. Asavvi didn’t want to be given a reason to linger here.   Loren