Hello friends and lovers!
HAPPY CHAPPY DAY
CW:
SpoilerAlternative POV (Jevita Chapter)
[collapse]
“Are you sure you’ll be alright, Jevita?” Kque asks me again.
I would smile to assure her, but… the twisting scarf we’ve woven around my head and mouth and face keep all except my eyes covered. Which, last I checked, are still the least Cultivated part of my body.
“Course!” I say with as much confidence as I can muster as I mindlessly scrutch my child’s neck. “Lule will keep me company.”
Biggest scariest turns to glare at another woman as she passes the big Arudian amphitheater we mull outside of. I give him another scrutch, both to calm and let him know that he’s doing a wonderful job of protecting me.
Kque looks back nervously between the little bench I sit on while Lule nestles just beside me and the large merchant venue where Tasii and Yrelia await her.
“I… I could stay out here.” She begins to decide to deviate from our plans. “They can handle–”
I poke her leg with my foot. “Neither know what to ask for, nor the people to avoid. Go!”
She huffs, gives me one last nod and careful pat on the spot on my shoulder where no marks lurk beneath the coat I wear. “Okay, love you Jevita. Be right back!”
Wishful fucking thinking. She’ll probably come check on me between vendors, but this will keep them all busy until late into the night. I could have stayed at the inn… but then I’d be inside and get overheated and have to take these layers off…
Too many women could recognise my marks, and… Well things would get really fucked up if word got back to important women that I was back.
That, and this way if our family had any questions or needed me to double check on a lead, I’d be close at hand. This is such a delicate thing. We have to balance asking for a remedy to something mundane, that being terrible nightmares a friend of ours wants to suppress, but also needing to make sure the cure was as powerful as a highly illegal Dream stone which they could not mention we have.
I’d laid out the measurements, and fractal sympathies, and activation parameters for a few that might work. But…
But I’m not sure such a stone exists.
As I’m chewing on a few working theories that might help Ina, Lule levels glares at basically everyone who passes by. I coo and scrutch him whenever his head perks up and one big eye fixes on someone for too long, but his feathers never even flutter or press in anxiety.
I’m… I’m pretty sure he’s doing this to calm me, and that he isn’t seriously worried about any of them. Last time we were here he barely came up to my shoulders, but he learned quickly to associate women with heavy Cultivation changes or a myriad of crystals upon their person as women who hurt his… his…
The word causes my thoughts to muddle for some reason, and I have to furiously wipe at my eyes through the scarf.
I mean… I know how he sees me. But… Lule pauses his watchfulness to hoot and nuzzle my shoulder, so I pull him into a tight hug.
“Thank you, Big Child.” I whisper to him. “Thank you for protecting your mother.”
He toots back, then resumes his vigil.
I make sure my eyes are clear, and let my mind wander away from Cultivation theories onto more… healthy pathways. Carefully grown scorn.
The ‘Art’ of Cultivation.
How fucking stupid. There's no art to it, no passion!
A very poorly kept secret in Arudia was that even the youngest and most inept child could activate and use any gemstone if they knew the patterns to trace upon the thing. The true power came not from will or esoteric mastery of ancient magics, but sheer fucking ability to read and memorize what your gemstones do, where and how to trace ones fingers across their surface to agitate the energy within, and which end to point the stupid things.
That… or the well-documented properties different gemstones keep when shattered or ground into dust, and where those could be used. Medicine, construction, alchemy (if you could obtain some Lyttoral waters), or even cooking.
Here in Arudia, especially at the Academy, any real excellence came from those who tirelessly studied, recorded, and drew up the brands to etch into the gemstones. Even with near a thousand years of this, we have no fucking clue what gemstones really are, where they originally came from, or why they work!
I shift carefully. Wearing these layers was important, but… fuck me did they rub at my markings. Little shifts sending jolts of… of… Ugh don’t focus on it!
Back to the healthy thoughts Jevy!
Or… I shudder, horrible memories of… of finding Inamatorii standing there in the street.
Of Her… no…
Their glowing violet eyes and unnatural double voice.
Leg still seared with one of the strongest Cultivation reactions I’d ever seen while they seemed only mildly annoyed by the affair. A leg gone in such a way that would have left anyone else a blubbering mess for at least six months only barely seemed to bother them!
Ina was there, but… it was like she was some mounted Quelekita with a dark goddess upon her back.
But… Corpsefucker? That was the word they used for the woman who had done it. At first I thought they’d stumbled onto something very… um… not normal. Even for the twisted unbridled debauchery of the five families, that would be extreme.
But… no. They laid that title on all who practice Cultivation. And then there was that name and warning and the… the…
Zeridii.
That name means nothing to me. Amongst the vast library I had etched into my flesh, nothing. No mention. No scholars even bore that name, despite it being a simple Arudian sounding word.
Which… that’s impossible. Plenty of things in my records had things omitted. Names, places, and dates. Twas the nature of Arudia. Sometimes research is censored. But… to find nothing implies a purpose.
Perhaps even a dedication of multiple centuries to erase that name from history.
Lule perks up, neck stretching up the tallest he’s done so far. Eye locking on a distant sight. I turn, worried maybe he’s recognized someone from our past.
Get a flash of cold fear at seeing her strutting down the street to sweep me away.
But… no. No one I recognize. Just some carriage dropping off some travelers. They look very foreign and overly bundled for the current mild Arudian cold. But I’m certainly not one to judge, so I turn back to my thoughts.
“Zeridii...” I whisper the word, roll its syllables around to get a feel for it.
They said the women of the Academy used to… like… work with this thing? But then they called it and Cultivation a blight. Mentioned that they butcher its body for gemstones. But that would imply that… No.
She couldn’t have been meaning to say this thing was as big as the lake. Right? The gemstones are just otherworldly fauna that crashed down from the sky. Their energy and nature just clash with our world, thus causing extreme reactions. So… was it a passenger? A living thing, not just existing life from this land, but… like from where the gemstones fell from?
Like... like a Carbunkle? But... no those are just current life that's bonded with the gemstones. Nothing like... really alive or animal even is in my records!
Lule begins to shuffle, so I scrutch his neck a bit more. Look back to make sure… No. Still just that same two women unloading their luggage. One of them might have a pretty intense Cultivation stone, but… that shouldn’t upset Lule too much. And not from this far awa–
Then my Big child shoots to his feet, lets out an excited trilling hoot, and nearly bumbles me sprawling from the bench as he launches himself toward the group.
“Lule!” I yelp, grabbing for his straps. I hook a hand through one, dig my feet into the snow and… And get drug across the street by my big silly child.
Shouting in all three languages I know he understands, just different variations of Stop! All while I’m fighting hard to keep myself as stiff as possible to avoid the weird jolts from my markings!
“Oh! Uh…” I hear a woman sputter as Lule and I reach the carriage.
Lule trills and pitter-patters his feet with such excitement as I fight to make him stop and pull back, but nearly nine feet of stubborn Quelekita will not be stopped by barely five feet of me. His mother or no.
“I’m really sorry, just… like… gimme a second to…” I try to pull him back. But my silly child is already shoving his big feathered face into the taller of the two women.
And, Moon and stars are they tall! Like… both her and the woman she’s with tower over me!
The ‘shorter’ woman has pulled back, but the taller one just drags her own scarf and hood down to regard my child with a tired smile. Very much not from Arudia. Sun-kissed skin like the sand, bright dirty blonde hair, and golden amber eyes. A pretty tattoo on her face, like an upside down tree. Not Cultivated.
“It’s alright.” She murmurs, holds out her hand to my child to inspect. Then says to him in rough, but practiced Arudian. “Sorry child, I have no sweet treats for you.”
Lule bumps it and pitter patters closer, head nuzzling the tall woman like she’s… I’m not sure! He’s normally very friendly but I’ve only ever seen him this excited to see me after a separation or one of my family if they bring really really pungent fruits for him to enjoy. But even then he loses interest in them the moment he gets his beak around it! And maybe… Well, Ina before she regained consciousness after her injuries six months back.
“He… I’m sorry but he must smell some fruit on you or something!” I pull at his harness again. “C’mon Big Child! Leave this woman alo–”
Then he’s wrapping his long neck about her’s in one of the most intimate cuddles I’ve ever watched him give anyone but me!
“Lule!” I yelp in horror. “Stop it!”
He ignores me, and the woman can’t help but laugh as she leans into his cuddle.
The shorter of the two, still way bigger than me, rolls her eyes. “I’m going to get something to eat. Come find me after you run your errands and gain us an audience with her.” She doesn’t remove her scarf or hood, but I make out darker naturally tanned skin.
The tall one turns to give her an apologetic smile. “Of course. I’ll be back in the morning at the latest.”
Then she hoists a few rough bags from the carriage and moves off, leaving me with the big woman whom my child is refusing to part from. He coos and hoots happily as she pats his neck.
I pull at Lule’s strap helplessly. “I’m so sorry. He’s… he’s never done this to anyone but me!”
The woman just smiles and leans into his nuzzle. “It’s not his fault, he just… It’s comforting to know that most of the Quelekita still like me. He’s not the first to become temporarily smitten. It’ll pass.”
That makes me pause. “I… What? This is normal for you?”
“Mhm, more often than not. Especially in these cold lands.” She sighs, pats his head. “Okay, big child, release me.”
Lule huffs, sad, but obeys. He still keeps one big eye on the woman as his feet continue to dance in the snow. Really!?! You listen to this big woman but not your own mother!?!
“I’m really sorry.” I stammer, confused and horrified, and probably red as a Gulipia fish in embarrassment beneath my layers.
“It’s really no problem.” She assures me, finally letting eyes look me over. “It’s too rare to receive such a heartfelt welcome. Especially in this city.”
I grumble as I yank at the harness again. “Yeah, I don’t expect anyone here to show much real affection.”
She hums agreement, looks around. And as my child begins to listen to his mother and give the woman some space, I can’t help but notice the… well how this woman seems to be very very tired. Eyes have some nasty bags beneath them, and her eyes seem half-lidded.
“I… Um… could I like… get you a mug of glimmer wine or… or maybe some fudgebrew? Before your errands or whatever?” I offer. “You just got here and… Well a ton of women would not have been as kind to Lule if he came at them like that.”
She looks like she’s going to say no, but… lets out a huff and smiles. “That sounds… actually really nice. The road has been long and I can’t help but feel that this place will offer me little warmth.”
“Heh, smart.” I let out a tired chuckle without any joy in it, “Foreigners to Arudia normally expect this city to be a wonderland.”
The woman grunts, the first real show of annoyance I’ve seen crosses her face. “I’ve done business here before. I know to look past the shimmer and lights.”
She adjusts her bag in the awkward pause that follows the grim honesty of our words.
“Oh, um… well I’m Jevita, by the way!” I hold out my hand, “You already got to meet my big floofball of a child, Lule.”
Her hand nearly engulfs mine, seems to radiate such warmth. “I’m Emarial. And honestly, you’ll probably be the nicest woman I’ll encounter in this city.”
Her words send a ping of resonance through me. Make me consider my own hopes for a quick escape from the mountain. But… Emarial… That’s a pretty name. Seems familiar, but no faces appear in my mind so I brush off the feeling of recognition.
She pays the driver while I get us the promised drinks from a nearby cart, and soon we’re plopped down on my bench blowing the steam from our mugs. Lule has finally calmed down, and while I hate rewarding bad behavior, Emarial insisted she be allowed to purchase him a mug of warm sweet juices for him to slurp at while we sit.
“So how long have you lived at the Academy, Jevita?” Emarial asks after her first sip.
“Oh, I don’t live here. Not anymore, thank the stars.” I reply, “Just visiting.”
“Ah, business or family matters then.” It’s not a question, but I don’t mind being polite.
“Little of both. One of my family is… eh, sick and needs some remedies Cultivation can offer.” I pull down my scarf, just enough to take my first little sip. “The others are inside the venue here asking after it while I keep Lule from tackling anyone else.”
Emarial chuckles, but then sobers. “I hope you find the curatives she needs, I can only imagine the affliction she might suffer from to drive you to seek help so close to the heart of Arudia.”
I wince, “Yeah, I…”
Emarial isn’t part of my family, and… It’ll probably be nice to get this worry off my shoulders. So I divulge my fears to this stranger.
“I’m not sure we’ll find anything that can help her.” I say very quietly.
Emarial doesn’t interrupt, just… waits and drinks in the silence.
“I think she knows that, and… and I’m worried she’s just trying to do a little good for the world before the symptoms stop her from being able to… to…”
“I’m sorry.” Emarial murmurs after the silence signals I don’t want to speak the words. “Watching one you love fade is… not a curse anyone should bear.”
I look at her with sudden surprise and worry that I’ve made her uncomfortable, “You… I’m sorry. I meant to buy this as an apology! Not dump my problems on–”
“No, Jevita, It’s… I’m a kindred spirit in this. I have lost a lot of women I loved that way.” She smiles and just stares ahead, old memories flashing across her tired face. “But… It sounds like you’ve not talked with her about this?”
“I’m scared to bring it up.” I whisper, “Scared to… to see my family lose the little hope this horrible place can give them.” I can’t help but shutter, fight back a few tears.
“Hope is wonderful, but… I let it poison me in the past.” She sighs, “It made me blind, and chase things instead of celebrating those I loved in their final days. Drove me to waste time better spent holding them tight before the cold gathered.”
Her words do bring my tears to bear then, and I hate the ugly snorting way I tend to cry.
“I’m sorry, that was cruel.” She sighs, polite enough to look away as if she doesn’t notice. “I don’t even know what sickness she has, much less what options are available. Your path is probably way more hopeful than mine was.”
I shake my head, furiously wipe at the tears. “No, you’re… I needed to hear that. Needed to… to see past this place. To be ready for when those discussions need to happen. The… the medicine we’re relying on right now. The Cultivation stone is… it’s not meant for this. And the side effects will… well, from what I’ve read they’ll… They’re only just barely better than the condition itself if we use it too much.”
She winces, but it seems to be from a memory of her own as much as my words. I tried to stay vague, but… thinking about it...
Cultivation infections aren’t all that rare. Many women probably face similar terrible options when they occur. The law of stubborn changes making curing such things impossible.
I take a deep breath, then a drink to help me gather myself. “But seriously, I’m sorry. And… you’re words… They aren't nice things to hear, but they are true. I think they’ll help if things don’t work out. Thank you for… for sharing your pain with me.”
Such a sad and tired weight settles upon Emarial’s shoulders. “I… I hope they do help. But, honestly, do what you need to do. To help her and yourselves. Don’t let fear drive you, no means are worth the heartbreak you’ll feel afterwards. Not if you lose her.”
I nod, smiling finally. “Thank the moon and stars my fall back to stress is careful logic. If this falls through… well… it should point me toward what you just said.”
We finish our drinks in relative silence after that.
“I wish the best for you, Jevita.” She nods, stands, then murmurs in her rough Arudian. “I hope your search yields the stardust you and yours crave.”
I reach out, and we grasp hands. “And to you, Emarial. May you find rest and peace at the end of your Path.”
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BUT BE WARNED, it is dark and very much the opposite of Sun Spoken Turn in many ways. BIG sad/trauma!!!
Read the Content Warnings!
Hello friends and lovers!
HAPPY CHAPPY DAY
CW:
SpoilerAlternative POV (Jevita Chapter)
[collapse]
“Are you sure you’ll be alright, Jevita?” Kque asks me again.
I would smile to assure her, but… the twisting scarf we’ve woven around my head and mouth and face keep all except my eyes covered. Which, last I checked, are still the least Cultivated part of my body.
“Course!” I say with as much confidence as I can muster as I mindlessly scrutch my child’s neck. “Lule will keep me company.”
Biggest scariest turns to glare at another woman as she passes the big Arudian amphitheater we mull outside of. I give him another scrutch, both to calm and let him know that he’s doing a wonderful job of protecting me.
Kque looks back nervously between the little bench I sit on while Lule nestles just beside me and the large merchant venue where Tasii and Yrelia await her.
“I… I could stay out here.” She begins to decide to deviate from our plans. “They can handle–”
I poke her leg with my foot. “Neither know what to ask for, nor the people to avoid. Go!”
She huffs, gives me one last nod and careful pat on the spot on my shoulder where no marks lurk beneath the coat I wear. “Okay, love you Jevita. Be right back!”
Wishful fucking thinking. She’ll probably come check on me between vendors, but this will keep them all busy until late into the night. I could have stayed at the inn… but then I’d be inside and get overheated and have to take these layers off…
Too many women could recognise my marks, and… Well things would get really fucked up if word got back to important women that I was back.
That, and this way if our family had any questions or needed me to double check on a lead, I’d be close at hand. This is such a delicate thing. We have to balance asking for a remedy to something mundane, that being terrible nightmares a friend of ours wants to suppress, but also needing to make sure the cure was as powerful as a highly illegal Dream stone which they could not mention we have.
I’d laid out the measurements, and fractal sympathies, and activation parameters for a few that might work. But…
But I’m not sure such a stone exists.
As I’m chewing on a few working theories that might help Ina, Lule levels glares at basically everyone who passes by. I coo and scrutch him whenever his head perks up and one big eye fixes on someone for too long, but his feathers never even flutter or press in anxiety.
I’m… I’m pretty sure he’s doing this to calm me, and that he isn’t seriously worried about any of them. Last time we were here he barely came up to my shoulders, but he learned quickly to associate women with heavy Cultivation changes or a myriad of crystals upon their person as women who hurt his… his…
The word causes my thoughts to muddle for some reason, and I have to furiously wipe at my eyes through the scarf.
I mean… I know how he sees me. But… Lule pauses his watchfulness to hoot and nuzzle my shoulder, so I pull him into a tight hug.
“Thank you, Big Child.” I whisper to him. “Thank you for protecting your mother.”
He toots back, then resumes his vigil.
I make sure my eyes are clear, and let my mind wander away from Cultivation theories onto more… healthy pathways. Carefully grown scorn.
The ‘Art’ of Cultivation.
How fucking stupid. There's no art to it, no passion!
A very poorly kept secret in Arudia was that even the youngest and most inept child could activate and use any gemstone if they knew the patterns to trace upon the thing. The true power came not from will or esoteric mastery of ancient magics, but sheer fucking ability to read and memorize what your gemstones do, where and how to trace ones fingers across their surface to agitate the energy within, and which end to point the stupid things.
That… or the well-documented properties different gemstones keep when shattered or ground into dust, and where those could be used. Medicine, construction, alchemy (if you could obtain some Lyttoral waters), or even cooking.
Here in Arudia, especially at the Academy, any real excellence came from those who tirelessly studied, recorded, and drew up the brands to etch into the gemstones. Even with near a thousand years of this, we have no fucking clue what gemstones really are, where they originally came from, or why they work!
I shift carefully. Wearing these layers was important, but… fuck me did they rub at my markings. Little shifts sending jolts of… of… Ugh don’t focus on it!
Back to the healthy thoughts Jevy!
Or… I shudder, horrible memories of… of finding Inamatorii standing there in the street.
Of Her… no…
Their glowing violet eyes and unnatural double voice.
Leg still seared with one of the strongest Cultivation reactions I’d ever seen while they seemed only mildly annoyed by the affair. A leg gone in such a way that would have left anyone else a blubbering mess for at least six months only barely seemed to bother them!
Ina was there, but… it was like she was some mounted Quelekita with a dark goddess upon her back.
But… Corpsefucker? That was the word they used for the woman who had done it. At first I thought they’d stumbled onto something very… um… not normal. Even for the twisted unbridled debauchery of the five families, that would be extreme.
But… no. They laid that title on all who practice Cultivation. And then there was that name and warning and the… the…
Zeridii.
That name means nothing to me. Amongst the vast library I had etched into my flesh, nothing. No mention. No scholars even bore that name, despite it being a simple Arudian sounding word.
Which… that’s impossible. Plenty of things in my records had things omitted. Names, places, and dates. Twas the nature of Arudia. Sometimes research is censored. But… to find nothing implies a purpose.
Perhaps even a dedication of multiple centuries to erase that name from history.
Lule perks up, neck stretching up the tallest he’s done so far. Eye locking on a distant sight. I turn, worried maybe he’s recognized someone from our past.
Get a flash of cold fear at seeing her strutting down the street to sweep me away.
But… no. No one I recognize. Just some carriage dropping off some travelers. They look very foreign and overly bundled for the current mild Arudian cold. But I’m certainly not one to judge, so I turn back to my thoughts.
“Zeridii...” I whisper the word, roll its syllables around to get a feel for it.
They said the women of the Academy used to… like… work with this thing? But then they called it and Cultivation a blight. Mentioned that they butcher its body for gemstones. But that would imply that… No.
She couldn’t have been meaning to say this thing was as big as the lake. Right? The gemstones are just otherworldly fauna that crashed down from the sky. Their energy and nature just clash with our world, thus causing extreme reactions. So… was it a passenger? A living thing, not just existing life from this land, but… like from where the gemstones fell from?
Like... like a Carbunkle? But... no those are just current life that's bonded with the gemstones. Nothing like... really alive or animal even is in my records!
Lule begins to shuffle, so I scrutch his neck a bit more. Look back to make sure… No. Still just that same two women unloading their luggage. One of them might have a pretty intense Cultivation stone, but… that shouldn’t upset Lule too much. And not from this far awa–
Then my Big child shoots to his feet, lets out an excited trilling hoot, and nearly bumbles me sprawling from the bench as he launches himself toward the group.
“Lule!” I yelp, grabbing for his straps. I hook a hand through one, dig my feet into the snow and… And get drug across the street by my big silly child.
Shouting in all three languages I know he understands, just different variations of Stop! All while I’m fighting hard to keep myself as stiff as possible to avoid the weird jolts from my markings!
“Oh! Uh…” I hear a woman sputter as Lule and I reach the carriage.
Lule trills and pitter-patters his feet with such excitement as I fight to make him stop and pull back, but nearly nine feet of stubborn Quelekita will not be stopped by barely five feet of me. His mother or no.
“I’m really sorry, just… like… gimme a second to…” I try to pull him back. But my silly child is already shoving his big feathered face into the taller of the two women.
And, Moon and stars are they tall! Like… both her and the woman she’s with tower over me!
The ‘shorter’ woman has pulled back, but the taller one just drags her own scarf and hood down to regard my child with a tired smile. Very much not from Arudia. Sun-kissed skin like the sand, bright dirty blonde hair, and golden amber eyes. A pretty tattoo on her face, like an upside down tree. Not Cultivated.
“It’s alright.” She murmurs, holds out her hand to my child to inspect. Then says to him in rough, but practiced Arudian. “Sorry child, I have no sweet treats for you.”
Lule bumps it and pitter patters closer, head nuzzling the tall woman like she’s… I’m not sure! He’s normally very friendly but I’ve only ever seen him this excited to see me after a separation or one of my family if they bring really really pungent fruits for him to enjoy. But even then he loses interest in them the moment he gets his beak around it! And maybe… Well, Ina before she regained consciousness after her injuries six months back.
“He… I’m sorry but he must smell some fruit on you or something!” I pull at his harness again. “C’mon Big Child! Leave this woman alo–”
Then he’s wrapping his long neck about her’s in one of the most intimate cuddles I’ve ever watched him give anyone but me!
“Lule!” I yelp in horror. “Stop it!”
He ignores me, and the woman can’t help but laugh as she leans into his cuddle.
The shorter of the two, still way bigger than me, rolls her eyes. “I’m going to get something to eat. Come find me after you run your errands and gain us an audience with her.” She doesn’t remove her scarf or hood, but I make out darker naturally tanned skin.
The tall one turns to give her an apologetic smile. “Of course. I’ll be back in the morning at the latest.”
Then she hoists a few rough bags from the carriage and moves off, leaving me with the big woman whom my child is refusing to part from. He coos and hoots happily as she pats his neck.
I pull at Lule’s strap helplessly. “I’m so sorry. He’s… he’s never done this to anyone but me!”
The woman just smiles and leans into his nuzzle. “It’s not his fault, he just… It’s comforting to know that most of the Quelekita still like me. He’s not the first to become temporarily smitten. It’ll pass.”
That makes me pause. “I… What? This is normal for you?”
“Mhm, more often than not. Especially in these cold lands.” She sighs, pats his head. “Okay, big child, release me.”
Lule huffs, sad, but obeys. He still keeps one big eye on the woman as his feet continue to dance in the snow. Really!?! You listen to this big woman but not your own mother!?!
“I’m really sorry.” I stammer, confused and horrified, and probably red as a Gulipia fish in embarrassment beneath my layers.
“It’s really no problem.” She assures me, finally letting eyes look me over. “It’s too rare to receive such a heartfelt welcome. Especially in this city.”
I grumble as I yank at the harness again. “Yeah, I don’t expect anyone here to show much real affection.”
She hums agreement, looks around. And as my child begins to listen to his mother and give the woman some space, I can’t help but notice the… well how this woman seems to be very very tired. Eyes have some nasty bags beneath them, and her eyes seem half-lidded.
“I… Um… could I like… get you a mug of glimmer wine or… or maybe some fudgebrew? Before your errands or whatever?” I offer. “You just got here and… Well a ton of women would not have been as kind to Lule if he came at them like that.”
She looks like she’s going to say no, but… lets out a huff and smiles. “That sounds… actually really nice. The road has been long and I can’t help but feel that this place will offer me little warmth.”
“Heh, smart.” I let out a tired chuckle without any joy in it, “Foreigners to Arudia normally expect this city to be a wonderland.”
The woman grunts, the first real show of annoyance I’ve seen crosses her face. “I’ve done business here before. I know to look past the shimmer and lights.”
She adjusts her bag in the awkward pause that follows the grim honesty of our words.
“Oh, um… well I’m Jevita, by the way!” I hold out my hand, “You already got to meet my big floofball of a child, Lule.”
Her hand nearly engulfs mine, seems to radiate such warmth. “I’m Emarial. And honestly, you’ll probably be the nicest woman I’ll encounter in this city.”
Her words send a ping of resonance through me. Make me consider my own hopes for a quick escape from the mountain. But… Emarial… That’s a pretty name. Seems familiar, but no faces appear in my mind so I brush off the feeling of recognition.
She pays the driver while I get us the promised drinks from a nearby cart, and soon we’re plopped down on my bench blowing the steam from our mugs. Lule has finally calmed down, and while I hate rewarding bad behavior, Emarial insisted she be allowed to purchase him a mug of warm sweet juices for him to slurp at while we sit.
“So how long have you lived at the Academy, Jevita?” Emarial asks after her first sip.
“Oh, I don’t live here. Not anymore, thank the stars.” I reply, “Just visiting.”
“Ah, business or family matters then.” It’s not a question, but I don’t mind being polite.
“Little of both. One of my family is… eh, sick and needs some remedies Cultivation can offer.” I pull down my scarf, just enough to take my first little sip. “The others are inside the venue here asking after it while I keep Lule from tackling anyone else.”
Emarial chuckles, but then sobers. “I hope you find the curatives she needs, I can only imagine the affliction she might suffer from to drive you to seek help so close to the heart of Arudia.”
I wince, “Yeah, I…”
Emarial isn’t part of my family, and… It’ll probably be nice to get this worry off my shoulders. So I divulge my fears to this stranger.
“I’m not sure we’ll find anything that can help her.” I say very quietly.
Emarial doesn’t interrupt, just… waits and drinks in the silence.
“I think she knows that, and… and I’m worried she’s just trying to do a little good for the world before the symptoms stop her from being able to… to…”
“I’m sorry.” Emarial murmurs after the silence signals I don’t want to speak the words. “Watching one you love fade is… not a curse anyone should bear.”
I look at her with sudden surprise and worry that I’ve made her uncomfortable, “You… I’m sorry. I meant to buy this as an apology! Not dump my problems on–”
“No, Jevita, It’s… I’m a kindred spirit in this. I have lost a lot of women I loved that way.” She smiles and just stares ahead, old memories flashing across her tired face. “But… It sounds like you’ve not talked with her about this?”
“I’m scared to bring it up.” I whisper, “Scared to… to see my family lose the little hope this horrible place can give them.” I can’t help but shutter, fight back a few tears.
“Hope is wonderful, but… I let it poison me in the past.” She sighs, “It made me blind, and chase things instead of celebrating those I loved in their final days. Drove me to waste time better spent holding them tight before the cold gathered.”
Her words do bring my tears to bear then, and I hate the ugly snorting way I tend to cry.
“I’m sorry, that was cruel.” She sighs, polite enough to look away as if she doesn’t notice. “I don’t even know what sickness she has, much less what options are available. Your path is probably way more hopeful than mine was.”
I shake my head, furiously wipe at the tears. “No, you’re… I needed to hear that. Needed to… to see past this place. To be ready for when those discussions need to happen. The… the medicine we’re relying on right now. The Cultivation stone is… it’s not meant for this. And the side effects will… well, from what I’ve read they’ll… They’re only just barely better than the condition itself if we use it too much.”
She winces, but it seems to be from a memory of her own as much as my words. I tried to stay vague, but… thinking about it...
Cultivation infections aren’t all that rare. Many women probably face similar terrible options when they occur. The law of stubborn changes making curing such things impossible.
I take a deep breath, then a drink to help me gather myself. “But seriously, I’m sorry. And… you’re words… They aren't nice things to hear, but they are true. I think they’ll help if things don’t work out. Thank you for… for sharing your pain with me.”
Such a sad and tired weight settles upon Emarial’s shoulders. “I… I hope they do help. But, honestly, do what you need to do. To help her and yourselves. Don’t let fear drive you, no means are worth the heartbreak you’ll feel afterwards. Not if you lose her.”
I nod, smiling finally. “Thank the moon and stars my fall back to stress is careful logic. If this falls through… well… it should point me toward what you just said.”
We finish our drinks in relative silence after that.
“I wish the best for you, Jevita.” She nods, stands, then murmurs in her rough Arudian. “I hope your search yields the stardust you and yours crave.”
I reach out, and we grasp hands. “And to you, Emarial. May you find rest and peace at the end of your Path.”
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