Day 25, Spring of 514 A.V.
Sal stood hunched in a doorway, rubbing his hands together in an effort to summon some heat. He had no option to do the same with his feet, unless he wanted to draw stares from the handful of passersby who had not let the current storm keep them from their errands. While the roofs and trees wore thick blankets of white, the streets below were now a mess where traffic had trodden the snow into a hard sludge. The snow storm had been unrelenting for four days now, though today had seen fit to let up somewhat. Not that his place of work had shown similar mercy. Instead here he was, freezing cold and miserable, dreaming of being home in front of a fire. Not even his dog Corvo had ventured out with him, and Sal envied the mutt who was probably curled up nice and snug.
Across the street stood the majestic opera house of Lhavit, where on the morrow was to begin a host of auditions for the forthcoming ballet. Sal had little interest in performance art, but his duty here today was to find out for the Cosmos Center if the event was still going ahead, despite the weather. He had arrived earlier only to be met with no answer at the door. A merchant close by had claimed someone had been there and may have left on an errand. Rather than trudging through the streets only to return later, Sal had opted to remain in place in the doorway across the street, hoping the errand did not take whoever it was too long.
With little else to do, Sal did what he did best, watching the citizens of Lhavit going about their day as best they could given the circumstances. Here came an older man who was clearly struggling with the terrain, though his grizzled face showed a determination that he was not going to let mother nature keep him at home. In the other direction Sal heard a curse, turning to see a man with one leg ankle deep in a hidden puddle within the sludge. He chuckled to himself at the man's misfortune and wondered how many victims the puddle had claimed this day.
Now came a pair of Shinya, wearing their colored robes and intent stares. But even they seemed to carry a look that they would rather have been somewhere else today. Behind them a woman was picking her steps through the sludge, armed with a hen under one arm who seemed content to be carried. The woman let out a gob of brown spit that landed with a splat in the snow.
People continued to come and go, carrying wares or setting to tasks. Some were under dressed for the weather, rubbing their crossed arms and hurrying where the ground allowed them. Others were wrapped in thick scarves and wore woolen gloves, drawing envious glances from those without. To be fair to Lhavit, here was a city where life went on, come rain, sun and snow. Sal mused that not even fire and brimstone would keep people at bay. It also caused another chuckle when he heard people cursing, as though the weather had done them some great wrong. Certainly it was an inconvenience to people, but when did they decide that the weather should become an obedient servant?
Turning his gaze back to the opera house, Sal had decided a few more minutes was all he could spare, before he too would set out in the sludge once again, joining the rest of Lhavit in their grumblings of the weather.
Across the street stood the majestic opera house of Lhavit, where on the morrow was to begin a host of auditions for the forthcoming ballet. Sal had little interest in performance art, but his duty here today was to find out for the Cosmos Center if the event was still going ahead, despite the weather. He had arrived earlier only to be met with no answer at the door. A merchant close by had claimed someone had been there and may have left on an errand. Rather than trudging through the streets only to return later, Sal had opted to remain in place in the doorway across the street, hoping the errand did not take whoever it was too long.
With little else to do, Sal did what he did best, watching the citizens of Lhavit going about their day as best they could given the circumstances. Here came an older man who was clearly struggling with the terrain, though his grizzled face showed a determination that he was not going to let mother nature keep him at home. In the other direction Sal heard a curse, turning to see a man with one leg ankle deep in a hidden puddle within the sludge. He chuckled to himself at the man's misfortune and wondered how many victims the puddle had claimed this day.
Now came a pair of Shinya, wearing their colored robes and intent stares. But even they seemed to carry a look that they would rather have been somewhere else today. Behind them a woman was picking her steps through the sludge, armed with a hen under one arm who seemed content to be carried. The woman let out a gob of brown spit that landed with a splat in the snow.
People continued to come and go, carrying wares or setting to tasks. Some were under dressed for the weather, rubbing their crossed arms and hurrying where the ground allowed them. Others were wrapped in thick scarves and wore woolen gloves, drawing envious glances from those without. To be fair to Lhavit, here was a city where life went on, come rain, sun and snow. Sal mused that not even fire and brimstone would keep people at bay. It also caused another chuckle when he heard people cursing, as though the weather had done them some great wrong. Certainly it was an inconvenience to people, but when did they decide that the weather should become an obedient servant?
Turning his gaze back to the opera house, Sal had decided a few more minutes was all he could spare, before he too would set out in the sludge once again, joining the rest of Lhavit in their grumblings of the weather.
