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[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

5th Fall 512AV

Morning broke over the horizon slowly. It was peaceful for Serrif to watch; the heralding of a new day in Riverfall. He was ready to greet it, and start his morning as he usually did; his dagger at his left. He didn’t run with much more than that because it would severely weigh him down. And he was planning for a nice long run this morning like every morning. A morning run always helped clear his mind before he started his daily activities in the lab. Every morning was a new beginning with unique challenges to face.

But staring out over the sea as the sun came up behind him…was humbling. No matter what happened every day the sun still came up in the morning, a new stay began. The warm rays of the sun still came down and graced the lands. And every night the moon still came up and spread darkness. Darkness was just as important as light in all of this. Without the deep absent of light one would never know how important light was. The mind needed rest, and it seemed only darkness could provide this. He knew of this well; but darkness and cold still in several instances made him uncomfortable. There was nothing he could do about that. It was still very good to see the sun coming up.

But he had stayed standing here for long enough; it was time to run. He stretched some readying his mind and body for his run. Running on the sand would indeed be a little more difficult than running on solid ground. The sand gave way, when you pushed down to run over top of it the sand gave even more. The longer you ran the more tired your body got at the sand giving way constantly; and wearing boots didn’t help matters at all. No matter how you put your weight on the sand it still gave way, it wasn’t meant for such endeavors. But that wouldn’t stop him from trying…it never did.

A few more stretches and he would be on his way down the beach heading north, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for anything abnormal. You never knew what or who you would run into here. Animals would wander onto the beach sometimes looking for an easy meal. And he wouldn’t put it past raiders to be waiting along the beachhead...although that would be a very misguided decision for them to make. Although he wasn’t sure if Akalak patrols would continue out this far. Nevertheless the dagger at his side would provide adequate protection in most circumstances.

[Elem Bree]

Elem had risen after a full rest. He had finiseh his work up outside quickly, in order to get the rest he needed for the day. He felt good about a day of training, but was unsure of how to proceed. He wanted to return to the Tuvya ready for whatever the trainers threw at him. Choosing his tired Zeltivan rags to wear, since they were loose and not a concern if damaged, Elem walked out into the morning sun.

The ocean surf crashed quietly against the sand, as if it were just waking up itself. Elem closed his eyes and smelled the salt in the air. It did remind him of his home, though this place was slowly taking over that spot. Looking down the long beach, he saw Serrif, the only other man he had run into at the Sanctuary. A healer as well, the older man seemed to grasp physical conditioning much better than Elem. The younger raised his hand at him, but it seemed Serrif was lost in thought. He began walking toward him, noticing his stretching. Warming the muscles, yes. Maybe Serrif was going to run as well? It would be a great boon.

As he approached Serrif, Elem spoke. "Serrif! What a blessing to find you here. Are you going to exercise? I could sorely use any help or tips you might have." Elem was grateful for the presence of Rak'kelians at the Sanctuary. He hoped he might glean new ways of understanding Healing from Serrif and Kavala.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

A voice over the surf? Normally none joined him in the mornings; what struck him as most odd was that it was a man’s voice. Normally he was used to Ishara calling out to him, but no…this was not her. He turned to meet the figure and noted it was indeed Elem; a relative newcomer to the Sanctuary. He greeted the man with a smile and a nod; he remembered when he was a newcomer here as well. Although the circumstances surrounding his arrival and this mans were likely very different. Nevertheless he would be a good addition. And Serrif would need as much help as he could get if all hell broke loose in the clinic.


“I don’t do anything to radical Elem, I just run in the mornings to liven myself up and limber my limbs. Then I dip in the ocean and get to the lab. Nothing really all that secretive.” He was glad to see Elem, the only other man who resided in the Sanctuary.

“So if you are up to it you can join me for the day. You know we men need to stick together around here.” He added jokingly as he stretched out his legs some more and waited for a response of some kind from Elem

He had a good mile and a little extra run planned…or maybe just a jog depending on the fitness level of Elm. He himself wasn’t in the best of shape, but Ildin had tortured him on those long beach runs enough to where he was somewhat indifferent to the pain they caused. So he could and likely would meet a brick wall eventually, however instead of hitting it head on he would see it coming and drop a shoulder. Then with his head ducked push with all his might to see if it would give way. And it almost always did. Nevertheless once past that wall he always felt tired; so he wouldn’t push that hard today, he did have things to tend to.

“It will be a short one, not too far I don’t want to go out as to attract attention and make us targets for roaming animals.”

[Elem Bree]

Elem smiled at the general friendliness of Serrif. He seemed to get along well with others and it was becoming easy to see why. Attempting to mimic the motions of stretching he observed, Elem could feel the pull and warming burn of his underused muscles. He hoped he performed well and wasn't obviously a book worm shortly. He knew that Riverfall was a place of health and discipline, though, so if he was going to fit in, he would have to give it his all.

"I'd be happy to join you, Serrif. I appreciate the invitation. I haven't had much opportunity to get involved with the other members here, much less the other man. " He chuckled, continuing to squat and roll his arms around. He really had no idea what he was doing, but better to appear so. This wasn't like the lab or a patient where lives were at stake. A little flubbing would probably be okay. However, when he heard about a 'dip in the ocean', his smile dropped. No flubbing here.

"Well, I'm ready when you are. One thing thing, though. I may have to watch you take that dip. I know it's crazy, but I can't actually swim. No reason to put Rak'keli to work so early in the morning, right?" he let out a staggered, sad little laugh, continuing to stretch. It wasn't the best joke, but it felt better than being from a port town and not being able to swim.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He was glad that Elem decided to join him. It was always good to have company especially on what was usually a solo run. He smiled at Elem’s remark about not having time to hang around the other men of the Sanctuary. It was hilarious because honestly there were only three men at all here, and between them all he and Elem seemed to have the most in common. Serrif was far from judging Elem, he remembered being in far worse condition than him when he started his training with Ildin. He was far more frail, starved and borderline broken. And it was the morning runs on the beach that helped set his mind straight if nothing else.

“The dip is just to wash the sweat off of the body so I don’t have to possibly interrupt one of the women when they take a morning bath.” He said with a slight smile…as if he had done that once before.

“Just like you I couldn’t swim either. Then I fell into the lake wearing a weighted pack. A Konti rescued me from drowning, and shortly after that I learned to swim. Hopefully the same will not happen to you. Although I won’t be pushing you into any water today…nor any other day.” He stretched a little more then looked down the shoreline.

“You ready to head off?” He asked wanting to know if Elem was ready to go off and start this morning jog.

[Elem Bree]

The dip sounded much better as just a dip, as opposed to the leisurely swim Elem had worried over before being corrected by Serrif. He had never thought about the idea of running into Kaval as she bathed. He had figured that she probably had some luxurious garden to bathe in somewhere. He tried to imagine the intial shock and lovely sight, but the thrashing that would probably occur afterward put that htought right out of his mind. Oh, Konti. Why so lovely?

As it seemed stretching was over, Elem quit with his ridiculous gesturing. He did feel warm and ready, though, so maybe it wasn't so silly. It sure felt that way though. "I'm glad you sruvived. That sounds like a terrible thing. It seems like Konti are always around when you need them. I think it is no coincidence at all that you or I find them in our lives often." Tending to a small sweat garden on his upper lip and brow, he nodded at the final question.

"Ready when you are, Sir."

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

With a nod Serrif began setting off down the beach. At the beginning every one of these runs were easy. The fact was it took some time for the body to notice that it would have to continue on even if it did not want to. That wall would come later when the body thought it could continue on no longer. But it was important to be able to tell the body it could continue on if one wanted it to bad enough. So he started off at a steady pace; he wasn’t sure what Elem’s state was physically. You never could judge just on appearances.

“They all do…” He took a breath between speaking. "seem to be around… another breath was taken so he could continue. “when you need them.” He laughed a little and then took another breath.

He knew it was going to be a long day indeed, but having Elem around would ease the length and duration of it. Maybe the two of them could become a good woven together pair if he played his cards right.

“And sometimes…” another rushed deep breath as he continued down the beach. “when you don’t” He laughed again knowing well that Kavala had a very rough and truthful way of handling her staff.

But it was refreshing and damning at the same time. But he did notice that she didn’t seem to have anyone looking after her. Especially now that Raiha was gone. He still didn’t know why she left; but he knew that someone needed to look after her. Because at times it seemed like she wouldn’t look after herself.

[Elem Bree]

And like that, off they went. Elem was ready to move and felt good about the exercise. It made sense for Rak'kelians in particular to stay in good shape. Having a friend to help him only enhanced the process. The light mist of sweat he had before was rapidly get denser by the step, as well as internal heat. He smiled at Serrif's comment about Konti, but was concerned about his own breathing as he ran.

Konti were a very interesting race, pure daughters of a Goddess. Sometimes it made being a human seem inferior, but then again, getting some strange kind of vision when you touched a person would make for difficult doctoring. There wasn't much he could do about his race anyway, and he would never forsake his parents. He sure did miss them. Maybe he would send them a letter.

"Where are you from, Serrif?", Elem blurted out between choppy breaths. he wasn't alone, after all. he was definitely one to go on and on if allowed, so maybe he should take as much time to listen. Serrif had been gracious enough to invite him along, after all.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

It was all a matter of pushing through and putting one foot in front of the next. It was really about moving just that one step forward. Little things made a difference; watching how you stepped making sure you didn’t flare your feet out too far. If you did that could put you at risk for twisting an ankle especially in soft footing…especially in sand. Something that Serrif was familiar with. On the beach one had to be aware of these things. With every step he felt his bodies weight shift from foot to foot. But he tried his hardest to keep himself equal.

“Mura.” The answer came as he continued running down the beach.

He noted that Elems breathing was coming up, and he was doing that as well. Every breath was measured for now but he was sure as they continued his breathing would only get even more strained. He was used to these runs but Elem was likely not.

“Zeltiva…right?” He believed he had heard someone mention that Elem was from Zeltiva. People around the Sanctuary talked, he wasn’t sure where he had heard that. It was possible that Elem told him that himself. Possible.

“There is a …..university there…right?” He had no idea what kind of university there was there. He didn’t even know what it was for nor what one could study there. But it was evident he had learned medicine or herbalism from the university.

[Elem Bree]

T

he sounds of the surf soothed Elem's mind. Or maybe it was the physical activity. Without plenty of free time to sit and think, his thoughts seemed clearer.

"Mura? I thought you just visited there.Aren't Konti the only people from Mura?"

His body seemed to demand the majority of air for the exertion, not allowing much in the way of conversation. He could feel his heart thudding away in his chest. He could hear his footfalls as well as those of Serrif.

"Zeltiva, yes." Elem started to turn his head toward his friend, but again, the body demanded attention to the path and the feet, insuring they didn't trip over anything. He kept his eyes on the sand just before his feet as sweat continued to pour.

"The University is well known in Sylira. Many people come there to study a variety of subjects."

His breath stopped short any other qualification of the facility. His mind moved to the towers throughout the coastal city. It continuedo n to his parents' house, down the gray streets and alleys,through the West Wingand reaching the Infirmary. He could see Mistress Claira teaching other young medical students in their trade. Then behind the building, a large pile of smashed and drowned bodies, the inky red water at Elem's ankles.

He didn't have the time to stop himself, he was clearly at the mercy of his body today. He simply stopped, Serrif moving forward. The emotional wreckage that was the Spring Storm surged through his mind, the screaming, the crying, the orphaned children. the line of patients turning down the street. Elem simply put his hands on his knees, the contents of his stomach loosing out on the sand, sweat mixed with tears. He thought he had it behind him. Hopefully, one day, it would be.