Completed The Right People

[Kit Rowan]

Season of Winter, Day 42, 502 AV

Kit woke like a blooming flower, curled up into a little ball under the covers of her bed. Light streamed in from her window, curtains half-drawn, shining in motes of dust. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and stared. Kit blinked, tilted her head to the side for a long moment toward an imagined sound. She crept out of her bed, throwing her blankets to the side as she made her way toward the window. She wiped at the inside and peered through into the streets. It was the middle of Winter. The sun was shining bright, and Kit could feel waves of heat through the glass of her window, as hot a day as any summer. There was no one there.

Kit sighed, her eyes turned down, her shoulder slumped. She did her morning stretches in relative silence until her body began to ache, slipped out of her nightdress and into her clothes, something without sleeves, with shorts that barely covered her knees. She tied her hair into a neat little tail in the back. There was no sound except the sound of her feet scraping softly across the floor, of her clothes sliding into place. It felt like there was nothing in the world but Kit and the walls around her.

She meandered slowly down the stairs and into her aunt and uncle's common room.

Kit found her aunt there, sitting in front of her daughter. They were knitting, she thought. Neither spoke, or asked questions or fumbled with their fingers. Kit's cousin's fingers were deft and sure as they worked. Auntie Summer looked up as Kit came down. "Oh! Hello Kit. We're just doing a spot of knitting." Kit caught the moment of hesitation her her aunt's face, some little dread in her eyes as she looked over Kit. "You could join us, if you want."

Licking her lips, Kit shook her head no. "I think I'm going out again," she said, and the relief on her aunt's face was clear. Kit wasn't a child in Summer's eyes; she was an obligation, a mouth to feed and a tie to absent family.

"Oh well," Summer said, looking away from Kit and back at her knitting. "Be safe." She did not ask where Kit was going.

For a moment, Kit just stared at her. Then she turned around and stepped out into Alvadas' curious winter.
x

[Kit Rowan]

Kit kicked at the roads as she walked, arms crossed, her face twisted in irritation. The adults paid no mind as she passed by; just another kid playing in the streets. She sidestepped and wove around them as required and wished they would all just go away and leave her to be miserable in peace.

Her eyes snagged on a bit of overhanging roof on a building whose architecture defied nature. There was a pack of children already taking shelter from the heat in the shade, and when she approached they turned their eyes toward her as one in a glare that smoldered. Kit tucked her hands behind her back and looked up.

She gave her arms and legs another little stretch and took a few steps back from the building. Kit bit down on her lip, banished nervousness to a foreign corner of her mind and took off toward the building at a full run. The kids didn't even have time to complain before she reached the wall; she jumped, her momentum allowing her foot to stick to to the side for one moment, she took another step running, two and Semele began to reassert her pull on Kit.

But it was too late. She grabbed hold of the roof's edge and hauled her little body up onto the roof. She crawled on the tiles on her hands and knees and settled right beneath the outcropping of roof. The cold wrapped around her like a blanket working the other way around. She closed her eyes and savored her moment of peace.

"Hey, HEY!" Was good while it lasted, Kit supposed. She sighed, pushed herself up and looked down to find the source of her irritation. It was an older, dark-haired girl, with high cheekbones and the sort of smiles that always convinced the adults that they were up to no good. "Want some company?" She shouted up.

Kit made a gesture. "Piss off. This is my spot!"

"I'll share my water!" The other girl said, pulled a flask from her belt and waved it at Kit.

Kit wiped sweat from her brow and licked her lips. "I was getting a little lonely," she said, crawling back over to the edge of the roof and holding out her hand. The other girl grabbed ahold of it and smiled up at Kit. She felt herself returning it.

"I'm Nim," she said.

"Kit. Let's get you up here." She heaved, but mostly Kit served as an anchor for Nim to climb up. For a long moment Kit could feel herself shifting and being pulled from the tiles and felt a deep, animal fear of falling. What a stupid idea this was; this girl was older and bigger and heavier and she was going to pull Kit from the roof without trying and break her on the road! Kit braced her feet against the roof and pushed as hard as she could, little bits of tile crumbling and falling under the force until Kit was sure it wouldn't work at all!

Then Nim was over the side and no longer pulling her down, collapsed on the roof and breathing hard. Kit sighed in pure relief and leg her shoulders sag. She snagged the flask from her belt and swallowed a mouthful of water. "You'll feel better in the shade." She said, prodding Nim in the side with a finger and making her way back across the roof to it.
x

[Kit Rowan]

The day's heat quickly developed into the debilitating warmth that could make a street scorch bare feet. The two girls understood without speaking that neither of them were about to leave their little sanctuary any time soon; they lay out next to each other on the roof, closed their eyes, fell into a lethargy and hoped the heat was done when they were.

"This water is delicious," Kit said. "Where'd you get it?"

"Oh, it's not mine." Her expression was wicked. "Borrowed it."

". . . Ha?" Kit looked over sideways at her partner in suffering, her expression fishing for more. "You gonna give it back?"

Nim shrugged. "It's mine now. They didn't hold it close enough."

"Ah . . ." And Kit wasn't worried. Chances were this heat was an illusion, too, but that didn't make it matter less. They still boiled in it.

"Spend a lot of time on the streets?"

Kit nodded. "More every season. I like it here." She squinted in Syna's direction, hidden behind their protective roof. " . . . Mostly."

"Me too, me too . . . Didn't use to. Now I can get all my kicks without ever walking into the Playhouse. Alvadas is my playground. That back there, the way you climbed? Where did you learn that?"

"I've just got a knack a knack." Kit said, kept her eyes closed and prayed that tomorrow would be a more manageable temperature. "And practice. Lotta practice."

When Kit spared a glance for Nim again she saw the older girl looking her over. Carefully. "Can you climb up anywhere?"

"Depends," Kit said, and pride was enough to drive her to sit and smile. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and propped a hand on her waist. "Usually? Yeah."

Nim whistled, long and high. "Oh, the things I could do!" She wrapped her arm around Kit's shoulders and pulled her close. "I like you." For a moment Kit tensed, but Nim didn't rustle Kit's hair like so many older kids sometimes did. "I can think of tons of tricks we could do; wanna do mischief together?"

It was hard to find an older kid who wouldn't treat her like a child. Kit warmed to Nim and returned the gesture, and the pair stared over the city together. "Oh, yes!" And Kit's grip on Nim got tight. She couldn't let on how much that meant to her.

"Great!" She said and slapped Kit on the back. "All goes well, I might have some friends I'd like you to meet, keep you from getting too bored."

It did. It really did. "Sounds keen. I'm in."

"Savvy. I'll tell you what Kit, this works? You're in a for a real treat."
x

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Kit XP Award: Acrobatics 1 Running 1 Lore: Meeting Nim Notes: Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM