78th of Winter, 513 AV
Save for the crackling of a fire outside, a woman with redhead hears nothing but the wind. The cold breezes rustle against the outside of the tent with resilience to give up its battle to get inside.
The woman peers down at the child who so wonderfully is playing with herself. She's drawing pictures and every now and again gets up to dance a jog or two.
The two sit and relax until a sudden scream from outside makes their hearts race with indecipherable speed.
The serene atmosphere has been breached with commotion and worry. A tumult has been created outside and the woman debates on whether or not she should investigate.
Times change in the blink of an eye in the city of Sunberth.
Branches quiver in the distance as Lenz bustled about the inside of the tent, tidying up messy things. Making sure that the beds were made, she leant down to go about the simple chores domestic work so gratefully gave someone.
“Ipisol can you please hand me that blanket?”
The child tossed the blanket over to Lenz.
Letting her shoulders slump slightly, Lenz sighed. “Not like that Ipisol. I want them to be folded up nicely, not thrown ‘willy nilly’ like.”
“What does it matter anyways?” the girl retorted. It wasn’t in a mean way, but Lenz wasn’t in the mood to play twenty questions.
“It makes things look nicer, so that we have more room to do other things,” Lenz responded.
The girl just shrugged, her eyebrows rising.
“I just don’t understand why we have to clean every day. I mean, it’s not like anyone else is going to see, so why bother?”
For once, the woman doubted herself. What really was the point in folding the blankets, organising all their equipment and cleaning messy things? In the end it just became dirtied again, so logically there was no point.
“I don’t know, Ips. I really don’t know,” Lenz countered, ending the conversation in a flash by the use of her unamused tone of voice.
Taking the blanket the child had thrown to her, the woman began to fold it. She took the ends of the fabric and matched them to their opposing sides, lining up the edges so that they were even. She then folded them and folded them again until they were in the perfect shape of a square. She did this again with the other blanket she found on the other side of the tent.
After she had completed one task she had on her mental check-list, she began to start another. She reached over and grabbed a bedroll before taking one end and rolling it up so that it was nice and tight. She did this with her own and set them to the side to join the blankets.
The tent had specific areas for specific things and Lenz had them memorized. To the right of the door was where the shoes went after having been outside and beside the shoes were where the coats and gloves went.
The beds were rolled out next to one another in the centre of the back of the tent so that there was a small walkway from the door to either side of the tent without having to walk on the beds. All of the girls’ equipment and supplies were set beside their beds, usually tucked inside a backpack or two.
Sometimes one of the girls would take out a journal or some other form of entertainment and leave it out as a sort of ‘décor’ to spunk the place up a bit, but Lenz was rather particular about where things were laid out.
“What else do you have to do?” Ipisol asked, genuinely intrigued.
“Why, do you want to help?”
The girl shrugged again, something she had begun to master since she had first started. “I don’t know, I was just wondering.”
Sighing, Lenz replied, “Honestly, I think I can be done for now.”
“Why do you clean so often?” the child asked, a hint of hesitation and timidness hidden within her voice.
It took the woman a few necessary chimes to think this question over. Why did she clean so much and so often? Was it because it was habitual to her time spent in Kenash? Was it built into her by her mother or was it something that gave her the feeling of accomplishment- something she didn’t often get anymore?
“I’m not sure,” she eventually said, her elbow propped up on one of her knees. She leant her head on her hand as she looked her friend in the eyes.
“I think I do it because it makes me feel like I’ve done something, you know?”
The youth shook her head in misunderstanding.
“I need that feeling of accomplishment. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had to fill in for my father, since he was never around to help. I cleaned, I cooked, I sewed and I did so much for my mother that it had now become a habit for me.”
A short time of silence passed between the two before Lenz’s soft voice interrupted it.
“Why, does it bother you?”
Ipisol shook her head again, a small smile lighting up her beautiful face. “No, I was just wondering is all. If it helps you, then go right ahead. I’ll even help sometimes if you want.”
The child’s smile was so contagious that it infected Lenz the moment she noticed it.
“Thank you,” she said, “I needed that.”
After the conversation sort of wavered in the stagnant air, Lenz went to take out her journal in terms to write a poem or two when a shrill scream pierced the air, startling both her and the child who sat beside her.
At first Lenz assumed it was an animal’s cry, but the noise was heard again. The serene atmosphere had been quickly transformed from relaxation and comfort to traumatic commotion and worry. The woman instantly assumed the worst, thinking that a tumult had been created outside. She debated on whether or not she should investigate, and then settled with the idea to wait inside a little longer before she collected all the accurate facts.
“What was that?” Ipisol asked, her scarlet hair hanging down in straight locks, framing her worried face. Lenz hated that expression and wished every time the child got it, that she could slap it away.
“I’m not sure,” Lenz said.
“Was it an animal?”
The woman shook her head. It wasn’t an animal, and she knew that for a fact.
“Whatever it was, it’s in pain,” Lenz said as she shifted positions. She was crouching as she opened the flap that covered the only window in the tent. Peering outside, the woman caught sight of a large and burly man, someone who clearly didn’t look like he belonged.
As soon as she saw him, he disappeared, a cold gust of wind attacking her face before she closed the window and turned her attention to the child.
“What did you see?”
Lenz bit her lip and her eyebrows knitted together as she thought about what she should tell the little girl. But what could she say? What was there to say?
“Nothing,” she ended up telling her.
But there was clearly more than nothing happening outside as more cries sliced through the air and something made impact with a side of the tent.
The two girls shrieked in surprise, Ipisol jumping into Lenz’s lap, her arms wrapping around the woman’s neck. She quietly whimpered, daring to speak as if saying anything was a sin.
“What just happened?”
What just happened was most certainly not nothing.
Save for the crackling of a fire outside, a woman with redhead hears nothing but the wind. The cold breezes rustle against the outside of the tent with resilience to give up its battle to get inside.
The woman peers down at the child who so wonderfully is playing with herself. She's drawing pictures and every now and again gets up to dance a jog or two.
The two sit and relax until a sudden scream from outside makes their hearts race with indecipherable speed.
The serene atmosphere has been breached with commotion and worry. A tumult has been created outside and the woman debates on whether or not she should investigate.
Times change in the blink of an eye in the city of Sunberth.
Branches quiver in the distance as Lenz bustled about the inside of the tent, tidying up messy things. Making sure that the beds were made, she leant down to go about the simple chores domestic work so gratefully gave someone.
“Ipisol can you please hand me that blanket?”
The child tossed the blanket over to Lenz.
Letting her shoulders slump slightly, Lenz sighed. “Not like that Ipisol. I want them to be folded up nicely, not thrown ‘willy nilly’ like.”
“What does it matter anyways?” the girl retorted. It wasn’t in a mean way, but Lenz wasn’t in the mood to play twenty questions.
“It makes things look nicer, so that we have more room to do other things,” Lenz responded.
The girl just shrugged, her eyebrows rising.
“I just don’t understand why we have to clean every day. I mean, it’s not like anyone else is going to see, so why bother?”
For once, the woman doubted herself. What really was the point in folding the blankets, organising all their equipment and cleaning messy things? In the end it just became dirtied again, so logically there was no point.
“I don’t know, Ips. I really don’t know,” Lenz countered, ending the conversation in a flash by the use of her unamused tone of voice.
Taking the blanket the child had thrown to her, the woman began to fold it. She took the ends of the fabric and matched them to their opposing sides, lining up the edges so that they were even. She then folded them and folded them again until they were in the perfect shape of a square. She did this again with the other blanket she found on the other side of the tent.
After she had completed one task she had on her mental check-list, she began to start another. She reached over and grabbed a bedroll before taking one end and rolling it up so that it was nice and tight. She did this with her own and set them to the side to join the blankets.
The tent had specific areas for specific things and Lenz had them memorized. To the right of the door was where the shoes went after having been outside and beside the shoes were where the coats and gloves went.
The beds were rolled out next to one another in the centre of the back of the tent so that there was a small walkway from the door to either side of the tent without having to walk on the beds. All of the girls’ equipment and supplies were set beside their beds, usually tucked inside a backpack or two.
Sometimes one of the girls would take out a journal or some other form of entertainment and leave it out as a sort of ‘décor’ to spunk the place up a bit, but Lenz was rather particular about where things were laid out.
“What else do you have to do?” Ipisol asked, genuinely intrigued.
“Why, do you want to help?”
The girl shrugged again, something she had begun to master since she had first started. “I don’t know, I was just wondering.”
Sighing, Lenz replied, “Honestly, I think I can be done for now.”
“Why do you clean so often?” the child asked, a hint of hesitation and timidness hidden within her voice.
It took the woman a few necessary chimes to think this question over. Why did she clean so much and so often? Was it because it was habitual to her time spent in Kenash? Was it built into her by her mother or was it something that gave her the feeling of accomplishment- something she didn’t often get anymore?
“I’m not sure,” she eventually said, her elbow propped up on one of her knees. She leant her head on her hand as she looked her friend in the eyes.
“I think I do it because it makes me feel like I’ve done something, you know?”
The youth shook her head in misunderstanding.
“I need that feeling of accomplishment. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve had to fill in for my father, since he was never around to help. I cleaned, I cooked, I sewed and I did so much for my mother that it had now become a habit for me.”
A short time of silence passed between the two before Lenz’s soft voice interrupted it.
“Why, does it bother you?”
Ipisol shook her head again, a small smile lighting up her beautiful face. “No, I was just wondering is all. If it helps you, then go right ahead. I’ll even help sometimes if you want.”
The child’s smile was so contagious that it infected Lenz the moment she noticed it.
“Thank you,” she said, “I needed that.”
After the conversation sort of wavered in the stagnant air, Lenz went to take out her journal in terms to write a poem or two when a shrill scream pierced the air, startling both her and the child who sat beside her.
At first Lenz assumed it was an animal’s cry, but the noise was heard again. The serene atmosphere had been quickly transformed from relaxation and comfort to traumatic commotion and worry. The woman instantly assumed the worst, thinking that a tumult had been created outside. She debated on whether or not she should investigate, and then settled with the idea to wait inside a little longer before she collected all the accurate facts.
“What was that?” Ipisol asked, her scarlet hair hanging down in straight locks, framing her worried face. Lenz hated that expression and wished every time the child got it, that she could slap it away.
“I’m not sure,” Lenz said.
“Was it an animal?”
The woman shook her head. It wasn’t an animal, and she knew that for a fact.
“Whatever it was, it’s in pain,” Lenz said as she shifted positions. She was crouching as she opened the flap that covered the only window in the tent. Peering outside, the woman caught sight of a large and burly man, someone who clearly didn’t look like he belonged.
As soon as she saw him, he disappeared, a cold gust of wind attacking her face before she closed the window and turned her attention to the child.
“What did you see?”
Lenz bit her lip and her eyebrows knitted together as she thought about what she should tell the little girl. But what could she say? What was there to say?
“Nothing,” she ended up telling her.
But there was clearly more than nothing happening outside as more cries sliced through the air and something made impact with a side of the tent.
The two girls shrieked in surprise, Ipisol jumping into Lenz’s lap, her arms wrapping around the woman’s neck. She quietly whimpered, daring to speak as if saying anything was a sin.
“What just happened?”
What just happened was most certainly not nothing.
