Aurelia
For all the beauty and allure of the tropical haven that was Torchline, Aurelia had grown more and more curious to see the rest of Caido. She had no intention of actually leaving. That wasn't even a thought to cross her mind, especially after... well, ahem, after her agreement with Jack, of course. It was just a matter of being good for her word, no other reason!
The Grounds were... eerily like the city she was born in. A bleak, grayness seemed to take the color out of everything and some of the citizens were clearly troubled. A few of them regarded her with guarded suspicion but, others were more welcoming. Lots of Ascendeds there, too, she would take note of. As she gathered materials and met some new people, she kept hearing something about 'storms'. It was often excitedly (or warily) followed by words like 'new' and 'unexplored'. Gaining an interest, she went to go see it for herself; this new, unexplored place that had been unveiled by the passing of the storms.
Everything she'd heard about it appeared true, even from a distance. It was a vast, brand new region, teeming with life and mystery and... probably lurking with danger at each turn. A few people scoured the outer limits of it, peering around and jotting down notes in little journals - researchers, probably, trying to err on the side of caution before diving right into the Wilds.
Even as she passed by them, they gave her words of caution. Who knew what could be out there, watching, waiting? Did it want to help or harm? Aurelia was more than prepared for such a task, though. She knew places like this were not for the faint of heart. Anything could happen. But, in the end, this looked more familiar to her, more like her world, than any other place in all of Caido. She longed for the rush of being in the wilderness again.
Ignoring their calls, she placed her hand on the hilt of her hunting knife and crossed that invisible threshold, took that brave, first step.
She came well-armed; a set of three throwing knives were tucked into a specially made pocket that wrapped around her thigh, her hunter's knife (with its own sheath) was tied securely to her belt, and she wore tooled bracers on each arm. As for her clothes, they did well enough to keep her skin protected from irritating plants or wandering insects. She wore gloves that expanded all the way up to her elbows and banded pants that gave her plenty of mobility - should she have to do a lot of climbing or running. Her shirt was more lackluster, a loose-fitting white garment with not much use other than to keep her torso covered. Tied to her pack was a water pouch of sorts, and within it were a few various materials and tools that might come in handy should she get into some trouble. After the incident in Apopo, she tried to be a little more prepared for the call of adventure that she sometimes heeded. She was not invincible, after all.
Aurelia made it pretty far, considering. She traveled stealthily for the most part, which would prove to be both quicker and safer. She didn't aim to disturb the area around her, only to observe it. Her fingers would not touch anything they didn't need to, not even to trace along large, purple palm leaves or to prod a strange-looking bug. The area all around her was fascinating, even if she didn't indulge in her curiosities. She didn't want to overstep.
Hours passed like that. Finally, she broke through the treeline, coming to a halt and panting like a dog. Still not back to my old self, she thought, a subtle shake of her head in disappointment. She leaned down to rest her hands on her knees, bent over as her hot breath rolled through the air around her cheeks. It would've normally taken her far longer and far more difficulty to get this tired. Gotta muscle through it.
As her eyes traced across the distant landscape, she was suddenly struck. Giant, natural pillars towered across the rolling hills. Even from far away they stood like miniature mountains, provoking both awe and fear. Unease spiked in her heart and it had her pressing back into the shelter of the treeline, which was - truly - where she felt most comfortable anyway. Before she did turn away, she relished the feeling of the wind as it dried her sweat. It brought with it a familiar taste and smell; salt. She turned her path towards that familiar (well, sort of) ocean.
She soon found a waterway leading back towards that endless source, and she followed it further out. Her footsteps tried to be careful but, in the end, she really was fatiguing. Even taking sips of water wasn't enough to combat the tremble starting in her legs. As her fingers, normally steady, fumbled to cap the canteen, she saw something move in her peripheral. Her eyes snapped up and she froze, lowering her posture. What was that? Her gaze raked around, trying to find the movement again.
Distracted, her hold slipped after she secured the cap on the canteen. It went thumping down a small ridge, disappearing into a deep mud puddle with an obnoxious splash.
"Shit!" she hissed under her breath, lowering herself immediately so that she was below the brush around her. Her eyes scrunched close in frustration, flinching at the soft stir of nature around her as little mammals and insects fled from her abruptness.
A voice broke through the silence that grew in that pause, traveling across the water around them and echoing into Aurelia's shocked ears. Her eyes snapped open, drowned in every bit of her bewilderment. Her brows furrowed, pressed forth in a hard line above her gaze, as she registered what they'd said.
Slowly, she stood up straighter, above the multi-colored leaves and flowers all around her. They flourished in the wake of all this water. Even on her patch of dry land, Aurelia was anything but dry.. Her hair fell flatly beside her jawline, weighed down by the water. Her boots were caked with fresh mud and even her pants had started to get splattered with it. Her shirt, given that it was white, was plagued by sweat and twigs and leaves and dirt and - well, it wouldn't be white after this, let's just leave it at that.
But her gaze found the weilder of the voice, standing there proudly. There was no 'as if', this woman belonged to the swamps around them. She looked as though she'd come straight up from the mud, from the leaves and the moss, the bits and pieces of life and death that clung to her. Bones, feathers, flowers...
Aurelia could only stare for a moment, sweat dripping down her own muddied face. It left lighter streaks across her cheekbones, revealing the tanned skin beneath. Swallowing the dryness in her throat away, she finally spoke. But Aurelia felt like her voice was so quiet, it might've been lost in the murmurs of the swamp around them. "Who are you?" It wasn't a demand. No, not at all. She couldn't have stirred a challenge into her tone because she was so damn awestruck by everything that she was seeing. The last thing she expected to stumble upon was a woman dressed by the world and her intrigue gripped her.
The Grounds were... eerily like the city she was born in. A bleak, grayness seemed to take the color out of everything and some of the citizens were clearly troubled. A few of them regarded her with guarded suspicion but, others were more welcoming. Lots of Ascendeds there, too, she would take note of. As she gathered materials and met some new people, she kept hearing something about 'storms'. It was often excitedly (or warily) followed by words like 'new' and 'unexplored'. Gaining an interest, she went to go see it for herself; this new, unexplored place that had been unveiled by the passing of the storms.
Everything she'd heard about it appeared true, even from a distance. It was a vast, brand new region, teeming with life and mystery and... probably lurking with danger at each turn. A few people scoured the outer limits of it, peering around and jotting down notes in little journals - researchers, probably, trying to err on the side of caution before diving right into the Wilds.
Even as she passed by them, they gave her words of caution. Who knew what could be out there, watching, waiting? Did it want to help or harm? Aurelia was more than prepared for such a task, though. She knew places like this were not for the faint of heart. Anything could happen. But, in the end, this looked more familiar to her, more like her world, than any other place in all of Caido. She longed for the rush of being in the wilderness again.
Ignoring their calls, she placed her hand on the hilt of her hunting knife and crossed that invisible threshold, took that brave, first step.
She came well-armed; a set of three throwing knives were tucked into a specially made pocket that wrapped around her thigh, her hunter's knife (with its own sheath) was tied securely to her belt, and she wore tooled bracers on each arm. As for her clothes, they did well enough to keep her skin protected from irritating plants or wandering insects. She wore gloves that expanded all the way up to her elbows and banded pants that gave her plenty of mobility - should she have to do a lot of climbing or running. Her shirt was more lackluster, a loose-fitting white garment with not much use other than to keep her torso covered. Tied to her pack was a water pouch of sorts, and within it were a few various materials and tools that might come in handy should she get into some trouble. After the incident in Apopo, she tried to be a little more prepared for the call of adventure that she sometimes heeded. She was not invincible, after all.
Aurelia made it pretty far, considering. She traveled stealthily for the most part, which would prove to be both quicker and safer. She didn't aim to disturb the area around her, only to observe it. Her fingers would not touch anything they didn't need to, not even to trace along large, purple palm leaves or to prod a strange-looking bug. The area all around her was fascinating, even if she didn't indulge in her curiosities. She didn't want to overstep.
Hours passed like that. Finally, she broke through the treeline, coming to a halt and panting like a dog. Still not back to my old self, she thought, a subtle shake of her head in disappointment. She leaned down to rest her hands on her knees, bent over as her hot breath rolled through the air around her cheeks. It would've normally taken her far longer and far more difficulty to get this tired. Gotta muscle through it.
As her eyes traced across the distant landscape, she was suddenly struck. Giant, natural pillars towered across the rolling hills. Even from far away they stood like miniature mountains, provoking both awe and fear. Unease spiked in her heart and it had her pressing back into the shelter of the treeline, which was - truly - where she felt most comfortable anyway. Before she did turn away, she relished the feeling of the wind as it dried her sweat. It brought with it a familiar taste and smell; salt. She turned her path towards that familiar (well, sort of) ocean.
She soon found a waterway leading back towards that endless source, and she followed it further out. Her footsteps tried to be careful but, in the end, she really was fatiguing. Even taking sips of water wasn't enough to combat the tremble starting in her legs. As her fingers, normally steady, fumbled to cap the canteen, she saw something move in her peripheral. Her eyes snapped up and she froze, lowering her posture. What was that? Her gaze raked around, trying to find the movement again.
Distracted, her hold slipped after she secured the cap on the canteen. It went thumping down a small ridge, disappearing into a deep mud puddle with an obnoxious splash.
"Shit!" she hissed under her breath, lowering herself immediately so that she was below the brush around her. Her eyes scrunched close in frustration, flinching at the soft stir of nature around her as little mammals and insects fled from her abruptness.
A voice broke through the silence that grew in that pause, traveling across the water around them and echoing into Aurelia's shocked ears. Her eyes snapped open, drowned in every bit of her bewilderment. Her brows furrowed, pressed forth in a hard line above her gaze, as she registered what they'd said.
Slowly, she stood up straighter, above the multi-colored leaves and flowers all around her. They flourished in the wake of all this water. Even on her patch of dry land, Aurelia was anything but dry.. Her hair fell flatly beside her jawline, weighed down by the water. Her boots were caked with fresh mud and even her pants had started to get splattered with it. Her shirt, given that it was white, was plagued by sweat and twigs and leaves and dirt and - well, it wouldn't be white after this, let's just leave it at that.
But her gaze found the weilder of the voice, standing there proudly. There was no 'as if', this woman belonged to the swamps around them. She looked as though she'd come straight up from the mud, from the leaves and the moss, the bits and pieces of life and death that clung to her. Bones, feathers, flowers...
Aurelia could only stare for a moment, sweat dripping down her own muddied face. It left lighter streaks across her cheekbones, revealing the tanned skin beneath. Swallowing the dryness in her throat away, she finally spoke. But Aurelia felt like her voice was so quiet, it might've been lost in the murmurs of the swamp around them. "Who are you?" It wasn't a demand. No, not at all. She couldn't have stirred a challenge into her tone because she was so damn awestruck by everything that she was seeing. The last thing she expected to stumble upon was a woman dressed by the world and her intrigue gripped her.
standing in the ashes of who I used to be
