oocI don't really mind, I've been keeping myself busy.. Btw, would you mind changing the date for this thread? It takes some time to get down to the Pass, and I've got something else just the day before. Anything between 60th and 70th would be awesome, I've got nothing there at all.. 
Sometimes life was good. The sun was warm, the winds mellow and the scent of dry grass around her was intoxicating, as if she was taking in the very essence of summer for every breath. Adding to that the sharp smell of goats and the sound of the bells tied around their necks, their dark bleating and in the distance the sharp cry of a hunting hawk, it didn't get much better.
Surrounded by bushes on three sides, Rista sat on a warm rock and basked like a cat in the sunlight. In this temperature her coloration was perfect; with coppery skin and dark hair that hung in thin braids around her neck and shoulders, she looked like she had emerged from a desert somewhere. Her bare shoulders and slender waistline gleamed under the sun, and with bare feet and the wide bryda hauled up to above her knees she looked more like an earth spirit than a young Inarta girl. Her attention was divided between the grazing goats that moved slowly between patches of meager grass, and the piece of wood she held in one hand. In the other was a knife that she used for carving patterns into the piece; Rista was completely unskilled, it didn't amount to more than splinters and random hacks but it was better than to do nothing. Who knew, she might learn something as she played around. With no one in her immediate proximity, time had to be passed at her own convenience; which in fact suited the young woman just fine.
It had been a strange summer. Seemingly random events had caught her attention, from Endals and new acquaintances to bothersome lessons. Nothing that was too out of the ordinary, but still more than enough to make her suspicious. Her prayers to Syna for insight and enlightenment hadn't helped much so far, but the girl was persistent and kept trying every morning, just in case it would work. In the midst of everything that happened, it was a blessing in disguise to have bendi that was assigned outside the city; herding goats was a dek task really, but she didn't mind it all too much. She got to spend time outside, along with animals, away from people.. It really didn't get much better.
A long silence suddenly made the girl look up from her carving, senses alert as she looked around. The goats had stopped grazing and stood with raised heads and pointed ears, all five of them staring in the same direction, towards a point somewhere behind the copper-skinned girl. Rista frowned and shifted a bit to look behind her, but didn't see anything besides bushes and leaves and the steep rocks behind her.. What was it that had caught their attention?
Then suddenly chaos erupted. Something shook the bushes violently and a large hare came rushing out, bouncing right over Rista as it tried to escape from something. The goats exploded in action and scattered in all directions in horror, and when Rista with a surprised yelp dropped the things in her hands and got up on her feet to go after them, something small and hard shot through the bushes and hit her hard in the back of her head. Small lights exploded in front of her eyes and she stumbled, cursing vividly as she at once tried to shake her head, move after the goats and turn to see who the heck had caused all of this. It didn't go well. Agitated as she was, the girl stumbled over a small rock in front of her feet and stooped to the ground head first. A small grunt escaped her as the air was pressed from her lungs, and to top it all off she bit her tongue. Frigging wonderful.
"Who in Ivaks name threw that rock?" she growled and spat, trying to rid the mouth of the taste of blood.
"Come out here so I can beat you up!" A good day. This was a good day...
