Will You Light My Candle? (Closed)

[Talya]

Timestamp: Summer 1, 515 AV The night was dark, to the point of being a near black. The sky was the color of obsidian, devoid of stars, devoid of the moon, as it had been hidden behind the clouds hours before. It was nearly impossible to see, even after one's pupils had dilated, and done their best to adjust to the darkness. Although, a sense of movement could still be discerned, as could shadows lingering in the distance. It was in this way that Talya moved through the group, dotted with the occasional bonfire, and into the darkness, as she had need to be alone. For, even though this group of travelers within her caravan were far more inviting as a whole than the majority of Ravok, she still found that she felt both uncomfortable amongst them, and out of place, as though all of those years of ridicule had yet to wash off. Or at least, ebb enough where being sociable and proximate to others wouldn't be so difficult for her. As she passed the last in the row of campfires that stretched over several yards of forest floor, a sense of relief flooded the Ethaefal as the darkness came to enshroud her. First, with its impenetrable shadow, and then, its wide girth, as she felt around the forest with her hands, knowing that she would not stray far enough where she couldn't find the fires again and make her way back. Just enough, where she felt as though she could breath again. Tal felt the roughness of bark beneath her fingers. Her pack bumping against her back as she took each of her steps. She hadn't left it behind, although she had traveled with the others for awhile now, she didn't trust them, and carried things far to valuable to her person, to have them be lost. She heard something crunch beneath her boot, and supposed it was a twig, now lying broken on the forest floor. Two pieces, and a multitude of shards. She felt the wind against her face, just a fraction of a second before she heard it rustle the leaves all around her. Felt the cool slip into her bones a moment later; easing the heat off of her skin; glowing now that Leth ruled the sky. Tal tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, and stepped carefully around the base of a tree. Her hands circling its trunk as she crept over and around the roots, before turning to look over her shoulder. Just to see that the fires were still there, of course they were, but she found it reassuring all of the same, to check. So, she continued onward, knowing that there was still some distance she could go before there were to many trees and things between herself and them. To much for them to be seen. So slowly she crept through the forest, like a blind woman, and gradually, the roaring fires began to sink into the distance. Her mind losing itself as she concentrated on finding her way, ensuring that she did not fall. That was until Talya heard a small little voice. One that was high enough in pitch where its gender could not be determined, although the Ethaefal guessed that it belonged to a child. It said, "will you light my candle?" At first, the Ethaefal thought it a figment of her imagination, but when the question repeated itself, she thought it could not be so. And as she squinted her eyes, and studied the darkness, she thought she could see a shallow outline just ahead of her, the wavering lines of two arms outstretched. So she nodded, although she still idly wondered how the child managed to find her. "You are lucky I have brought my things with me," Talya said. "I know," the figure replied. "Or there'd be no way to light your candle," Talya continued, as she pulled her bag off her shoulders, and felt around inside until she determined that she had found her flint and steel. These, she drew from the bag, before slipping it back into place and turning to the child. She slipped the flint then, into her right hand, and let a small smile make its way onto her lips. "Be careful while it is lit," the Ethaefal cautioned, "you wouldn't want to get burnt." The child nodded, although Talya couldn't quite tell. "You won't." Talya said nothing as she stooped a little further over the child, and when she was certain she had found the location of the candle, began to strike the flint against the steel. Drawing it across the little slab's length for several minutes, until sparks began to form. She saw them as little bursts of light; wisps from the fire, which danced in the air before extinguishing. For awhile, they caught on nothing, but after a few more tries, and consecutive bursts of energy, the flame caught to the candle. A little white thing the child held in both of its outstretched hands. With a blackened wick, as it had been burnt before. The child pulled its hands back a little, as Talya put her things back in her pocket. "Thank you," it said, "I was afraid to try finding my way back without it." Tal nodded. "You're welcome," she said, as the wind picked up again, blowing wildly on the candle. Causing its flame to flicker, and sway back and forth. The child, Tal noticed as she looked down upon it, and the being pulled its arms back, a little closer to its body, was rather young. Its skin smooth, and unblemished, the fine hairs that grow later in length to keep one just a tad warmer. It had no freckles, the arms did not tremble, and they were ghastly pale, although a rim of gold played around its hands, from the flame. While Tal's body sparkled faintly in the candle's light. She could see no face; she could see no features, and wondered if it was the same for the child, as it was for her. "I do not blame you," she began, "for the night is dark, and sight impossible." The child nodded, and said nothing. For this was not the reason it wanted the candle to be lit. "Anything could be out there, anything is possible," Tal said when the child didn't move, and offered nothing of its own. "For nothing is impossible," the child whispered.

[Talya]

"I guess," Talya responded, before the pair descended into silence for a few moments. "Are you heading back to the others?" she inquired, when neither bothered to make their next move. The child seemed to shake their head. "I like it out here, in the dark," it said. "There's something calming about it. Something tranquil and relaxing." It paused, "and if only it were not cloudy, you could look up at the sky and see the stars. The candle's flame isn't bright enough to hide them." "That's true," Talya said as she made to turn away and head further out, if not back into the crowd with the caravan. "I guess I will leave you to your peace." "No," the child called, its voice a tad hoarse. Talya turned back to where she knew it to be in surprise, not only at the outburst, but the spoken word. She blinked a few times, as though trying to bring the child's outline further into focus. "I don't want you to go," the child went on, its voice sounding a tad frantic. "I like it sometimes, when people join me in the dark." Well that's a tad... creepy, Talya thought to herself, her body growing rigid as she peered into the darkness. But she said nothing. "It gets lonely out here," the child explained, a child Talya decided at this point was a girl, now that she had decided to call upon her auristics, which merely darkened the child's silhouette, ringing it in a faint pink. "You have your candle," Talya whispered, as the wind carried her words to the child's ears. "Isn't it company enough?" she asked, unsure as to why a stranger would in some ways, want to seek her out. The aura wavered, and Talya could just discern, as her pupils dilated further, that the girl was shaking her head. "A flame isn't company," she replied, "just a bit of warmth. Just enough to stave off the cold- to keep you from freezing." Talya nodded as she turned further. "Yes." She paused. "Just enough to keep out the cold." There was a short silence as the wind blew, causing the flame to waver again. This time, the child cupped her hand, and held it near the candle's side; shielding it from the storm. "So," she asked, "will you stay with me?" Talya nodded as she studied the undulating pink outline, encircling the black. "For a time," was all she said, as she looked into the shadows of the trees, the way they seemed to creep over the forest floor, ever closer. Reaching for her.

[Talya]

Talya forced herself not to shudder, to concentrate on the girl's aura, the faint scent of the flame it seemed to carry. Of smoke, and of something else. Something fainter, something distant. Something like the scent of honeysuckle, but also of jasmine. She watched its dance, the way it wavered with the candle's flame as she struggled to concentrate, as though they were both dancing for her, by the insistence of the wind's hand. She felt the area around her temples begin to ache dully as she clenched her teeth together, lightly. But even this seemed scarcely enough to stave away the coming pain. "That will be enough," the girl said, her voice seemed sad. "And then we can go back together," Talya said, more or less so the child wouldn't have to feel alone, and not as much because she necessarily wanted the company, although the girl's wasn't bad, per se. "I can lead you, if you'd like- the light of your candle may stretch farther in my hands, than yours." The child shook her head. "No, it's ok," she said. "I'll probably want to be out here a little longer than you." Talya nodded. "And I can find my own way back," she added, as she lifted the candle a little higher, before pulling it back down, causing the smoke it spewed to wind more hurriedly in the air directly above the flame, "with the help of the candle." "So you may," Talya replied. There was a brief silence, as each smiled down at the flame, and Talya put her auristics to rest as a sense of exhaustion began to work its way through her system, beginning in her bones, and then working its way into her core; the heaviness of her eyelids. "If you guard its flame," the Ethaefal added, as she fought the urge to rub her eyes in an attempt to ease out some of the soporific effects the use of her magic had had upon her. "Always," the child said, with a faint smile upon her face. A smile the Ethaefal could not make out by the candle's position. The way its orb of light reflected against the girl, illuminating her chest, her arms, her hands. Strips of dark and light fabric; a clock, a dress. "Always," Talya whispered, testing the words on her lips before turning to walk away, as she felt no need to explain that she was tired, and wanted to turn in for the night, sheltering herself within the thin walls of her tent.

[Dravite]

Talya

XP Award:

• Auristics: 2
• Philosophy: 2
• Land Navigation: 1
• Observation: 3
• Wilderness Survival, Forest: 1
• Mathematics: 1
• Socialisation: 3
• Logic: 1
• Deduction: 1
• Reasoning: 1
• Childcare: 1

Lore:

• Land Navigation: Keeping a landmark in sight
• Mathematics: Estimating distances
• Lone Child: A stranger in the darkness
• Auristics: Reading the gender of a person through their aura
• Philosophy: A single flame is company enough in the dark

Notes: I enjoyed this, not too long, but you managed to fit in some really great little bits of information and detail. Sorry it’s taken so long to get a grade to you! I’m encouraging more graders to pass this way so hopefully the backlog will be cleared before too long. Let me know if you think I have missed anything here and be sure to edit your grading request!

.
.
.