[Flashback] A handful of strawberries (Solo)

[Rista]

43rd of Summer, 506 AV It was the first time she had been outside of Wind Reach for so long. Actually, it was the first time for a lot of things, and Rista had a hard time focusing on the things she should be doing. It was summer and it was warm; a hot sun shone down over her head on its way down the heavenly vault and made the water of the Bay glisten and sparkle until it hurt her eyes. She couldn't stop staring though, she was transfixed by the endless horizon and the faint line where the sky and the ocean seemed to melt together. It felt like if she just reached out far enough, it would be possible to touch the edge, trace it like she would the joint between two rocks. Surely there was a seam, right? It would probably be possible to reach it, to get to the edge of all that blue space. Surely the Endal knew what it looked like up close, they always flew far and high, so much that the girl got dizzy looking at them. Surely they knew how to get to that far off place; Endal knew everything, of that the girl was certain. As her foot was caught in a small rock that jutted precariously out of the road, Rista was snapped out of her daydreams as she fell to the ground, hands and knees scraping over the stony pavement. A few giggles could be heard around her, but she tried her best to ignore it; battling a wish to cry from the pain that seared her palms the dark-haired little girl was quickly up on her feet again and reclaimed her place in the line of yasi. She wouldn't cry. If she cried they would tease her, and then she would end up in a fight again. She wanted to avoid that for as long as she could, even if it meant having to swallow those taunting tongues that poked out at her back whenever she wasn't looking. The sea was too wonderful to sully with arguing the first day... And besides, she hadn't been the only one to stumble and fall along the way. It was a long trip to Thunder Bay and the summer camp, they had been going down the road with several Chiet and some Avora for days now, and reached the settlement just in time for the sun to touch the surface of the water. It had been a beautiful day, unusually calm and mild; the surface of the water lay blank as a mirror, and the sky was painted vividly in hues of orange and red... It was breathtaking, and it was more than enough to keep the young green-horns from fighting. The sight of the bay had drawn gasps of awe from everyone as it came into view; not even the adults had often seen the sea so calm, and with the almost perfect rounded shape of the bay with the island resting in the middle, it looked like a drop seeping into the land from the wide-stretched waters beyond. Seeing the sight slightly from above as they left the road and stepped in through the gates, it wasn't easily forgotten. The children had been given plenty of opportunities to admire the view from there on too, and it was with a mixture of relief and exhaustion they began to settle in for the night. Dividing themselves up into houses assigned to them, they had a quick dinner and was allowed to unpack their bags by their sleeping-places; they would be staying for a while to help out and become accustomed to the area. There was much for the youngsters to learn, about the ocean and the gifts it brought in form of food and raw materials. And also about the dangers... That night, for the first time the young kids got to go to bed in the small houses along the shore. For the first time they fell asleep after darkness had wrapped the bay in shadows, listening to the waves that murmured against the shore and the sighing of the wind. Rista had thought she would have a hard time sleeping with the scent of tar and sea-weed clawing at her nose, but before she knew it her eyes had closed, the breath slow as she slumbered peacefully. She didn't notice the shadow that slipped in through the door to the room she shared with some other girls and came to stand by her side for a long while, just staring down at her. Neither did she wake as that someone reached for the blanket, tucking it closer around her shoulders before brushing a strand of hair from the face; then the person turned around and left, leaving the girl alone with her dreams.

[Rista]

44th of Summer, 506 AV The following morning, Rista woke up early with a feeling of excitement tingling in her stomach. She was one of the first kids to roll out of her blankets and step out into the bright morning, watching the sun as it rose swiftly over the sky. The night had brought about a slight change in weather; from the west came a strong wind and the previously so calm sea was riddled with waves. While not high enough to break against one another, it was still a sight to see; Rista only stared at it for a long while, until a Chiet responsible for preparing breakfast caught sight of her and put her to work. It could have been worse. Standing on a stool next to a huge kettle, it was quite possible to watch the ocean and stir the soup at the same time. The ladle was almost as tall - or rather short, since she wasn't a giant in any way - as herself and it was heavy and hot by the fire, but Rista didn't complain. Rarely taking her eyes away from the things that went on around her, she engulfed everything she saw, taking in sights and scents and listened to all the foreign noises. There were a lot of people moving about even this early. A small group of boats were already returning from the open water, having placed out nets to catch some fish; people came down from all over the shore to help pull them in, talking and laughing as they gestured with their hands, measuring the waves or describing how someone almost fell into the water. Their voices were carried to her with the wind, barely audible over the crackling of the fire and the squishing of the water; the wind was quite strong and wanted to blow her hair in front of the eyes all the time. Rista just pushed it behind her ears and continued stirring, looking up briefly as the Chiet came and added salt into the kettle, after tasting the soup and making a foul grimace. Not ready yet.. From the far off docks came a few shouts as the merchants began to wake up. Apparently they had arrived quite late the previous night, and swarmed around their ships, gesturing towards something the girl couldn't quite see. Might be a damage to the middle-sized ship, from trying to navigate the Bay after nightfall. Rista wasn't very good at things that had to do with water, but she could imagine that it was easy to have accidents when it was dark. She didn't like moving about at night; she liked it best the way it was now, with a clear sky and a strong sun, where she could feel the warmth against her skin. The girl hoped that the traders wouldn't leave too soon; she had managed to get over a few pinions as a tip for good work, and she wanted to spend it on something nice. People moved all around her, more and more red-haired men and women coming out as the sun rose higher. Soon she was joined by her fellow yasi in the preparations for breakfast; cutting vegetables, cleaning fish and stirring the kettle, along with chopping wood and adding fuel to the fire; soon the short little mongrel had too much to do to look around. IT didn't stop her from enjoying it though. The wind rustling in the trees, the waves and the people, the scent of food and kelp and salt water and the voices all around. It was amazing, and she loved every bit of it. After helping to serve the Endal their breakfast and watching them take off on their hunts, and feeding the few Avora and numerous Chiet, Rista was starving. Gulping down the hearty soup, she burned her tongue twice before she managed to slow down enough in her attempts to fill the stomach. A piece of bread passed from hand to mouth, then another; a handful of strawberries gifted from a kind dek became the crown of the meal. "Here. You take, Rista little yasi. Red berries for girl with hidden eyes..." The voice was smooth and low as the person spoke, eager and listless at the same time. Rista smiled widely at the red-haired woman as she munched, too happy to care about the caste of the person. The person smiled back; she was pretty with her dark cherry-red hair glistening in the sun and the green eyes looking deep like jade, but the smile was a bit too wide, and there was something lacking in her gaze as she looked at the copper-skinned girl, as if she never received something that would have made her complete... It was a shame. Some dek just weren't right in the head, and this one seemed to be rather stupid. Rista shrugged it off and soon forgot the woman as the person in charge of the yasi for the day called for their attention. She didn't linger over the slight familiarity of the face, or how the person had been able to know her name...

[Rista]

Running over to where the group of children had gathered, the little dark-haired girl came just in time to hear what the subject of the day was going to be about. It was with a churn of her stomach that she followed the pointing hand of the teaching Chiet; quite a long way away from where they were standing, not quite by the docks but not too far from them either, lay a small group of boats pulled up on the sands. They were going to learn how to row and steer the small vessels, and once they had grasped that decently enough, they would be allowed to follow the fishermen out and collect the nets. A murmur of excitement went through the group, and Rista pushed herself up eagerly on her toes, trying to see the man that spoke to them from her place at the far back. She heard him talk about safety rules, terms for the parts of the boat and how to behave with the rolling dunes, and even though the girl listened she soon grew impatient and started to sift her weight between her feet, wishing they could just get down to business soon. Finally the speech seemed to be over, and the excited yasi tried to head off towards the boats, but were stopped by a held out hand. "Whoa there, stop. How many of you are there that knows how to swim?" There was a long silence among the kids, before finally one hand reached up hesitantly into the air; it was soon followed by a second, then a third, then even more until about half the group were holding their hands into the air. Rista looked around hesitantly without moving, pretty sure of what was to come; it was obvious. Those that couldn't swim would probably be held back, not allowed to get into the boats before... "I figured" the man said, and made a reluctant grimace. "What do they teach the kids these days... Those of you that held up a hand, stay here while I instruct the first group, and while they're out I'll teach you the basics of swimming. The rest of you, off to the boats!" See? As she had suspected. The black-eyed mongrel grinned widely and slipped in among the kids that began to move towards the wooden structures, excitement making her stomach tickle and feel funny. One of the girls threw a glance at her and raised an eyebrow, rather surprised to see the half-breed among them. "But Rista, you don't know how to swim, I saw you at the lakes just before we left.." "Shhee, be quiet!" Rista hissed and quickly slipped up next to the other, pressing a hand over her mouth and stared her down with the black gaze, half threatening and half mischievous. "Don't tell anyone, you hear? As if I'm going to wait around just to learn how to swim. It doesn't look all that hard, I'm sure I can learn it right away. And besides, all I have to do is make sure I don't fall in, right?" The girl hesitated, then nodded reluctantly behind the hand; no one wanted to be left behind after all, she could understand that. Rista smiled and nodded, removing her hand from the others face before she reached the arms up and placed the hands behind her head in a casual way. "Right, just like that. As long as you don't tell anyone this will work out just fine.. because you won't, will you?" The glance at the girl was decidedly darker this time, the threat apparent; the little fawn paled and nodded eagerly, and then hurried her steps on to get ahead. Rista just grinned, for once satisfied with the kind of reputation she had. It was a practical way of making people do as she said; surprisingly many of both the boys and the girls hesitated as soon as there was a threat of violence behind the words. And this way, she wouldn't have to spend tedious bells splashing around in the cold sea just to learn how to move in it. The mongrel hated water, almost as much as she hated being cold.. And those two in combination were to be avoided at all costs. Once the yasi reached the boats, they were divided into groups of four and set to work. First they had to bail the boat from all excess water, then check for leaks, make sure all oars were in place; an assisting Chiet spoke of how to temporary seal off leaks while out on the sea, using clothing to clog the holes. They were taught how to enter and behave in the boats - mostly a repetition of the speech before, but Rista chanted along obediently anyway. "Don't stand up in the boat, no fighting and arguing, place weight evenly in the boat, don't lean over the edge, pray to Zulrav for mild winds..." There was much more, but far from all of it stuck within the mind of the girl. She was nervous and eager to get out on the sea all at once, and as they all helped with pushing the boat out on deeper waters, she was among the first to jump aboard and claim a seat. She had been right, the water was cold where her feet hand plunged in and her bryda were wet up over the knees. Her complaints about it were met with a wry sneer from the adult. "It'll dry, yasi" was the short answer she got. "Now get to work; take up your oar, place it in the oarlock and follow my instructions. Don't dip the oar too deeply, or you'll get swiped overboard in no time. Everyone have the oars in place? Good, then set the pace after my voice. Row, row, row.." It was hard work. Not only was it difficult to dip the oar just enough into the water to propel speed, there was a need to keep up with the rhythm of the others as not to clack the oars together. The yasi were seated two on each side of the boat, each holding the wooden tools that were at least twice as long as them if not more and struggled to keep up with the harsh pace of the man that held the rudder. He didn't go easy on them; as soon as someone dipped to deep and was pushed to their backs by the oar he was on to them, scolding and cursing. Same if someone pulled to hard, or didn't pull enough. Despite the strong breeze that blew the children soon perspired profoundly, their visage glistening and reddened by the strong sun. One bell out, one bell back; it felt like they had been rowing for years by the time they reached the shore again, and after pulling the bow up on the shore and leaving place for the faster of the swimmers, Rista stumbled away from the group for a bit and fell to her back under a tree, positively exhausted. Her back and stomach muscles ached, her hands had blisters and her eyes hurt from the glittering of the sun on the water. She could hear how a few of the others sunk down around her but didn't bother with opening her eyes. They had been allowed some rest, and she would spend it quietly, sleeping, until someone wanted something from her again. So tired that she couldn't think...