A delicate bloom
Timestamp: 19th Day of Winter, 514 AV
Seirei couldn't help but sigh as she looked out of the tent flap at the pale grey sky. The air was crisp and cold, and their was a brisk breeze that made her shiver as it blew through the opening of the tent. She felt...dismal. Just like the sky looked. It wasn't any one thing, really. Lian was out somewhere, hunting most likely. And that was a relief. Seirei never knew when he would start raping her again, so every moment spent in his company was very stressful for her. But she just didn't seem to have any energy today. She wasn't tired, exactly. No more so than was usual these days, anyway. But she still felt...weary. Maybe that was it. And not even the thought of working on one of her many projects seemed to excite her.
That didn't stop her from trying, though. Seirei selected a few branches, and began stripping the bark off of them with her knife. The movements were...familiar. Reassuring. And although the simple task didn't offer any sense of excitement, or challenge, it was peaceful in a way. Seirei allowed her mind to drift as she worked steadily. She quickly lost herself in memories of happier times. Memories of working with wood under her mother's patient guidance.
The tent around her faded away. She could almost hear her mother's soft voice offering advice, and feel the warmth of her mother's hands rubbing her shoulders as she worked. It was a nice daydream, but it faded away as the task at hand was completed. With a quiet sigh, Seirei began the task of cutting the branches into small pieces. Once again, she allowed her thoughts to drift as she worked.
This time, however, her thoughts were of the present, not the past. When Seirei had first been captured, she had immediately started planning her escape. Instead of fleeing blindly, and ending up dead in the Sea of Grass, she wanted to do things properly. So she had come at her goal from two angles. The first had been to try to learn the shills she would need to survive if she picked the wrong caravan to escape with, and she found herself alone in the wilderness.
Seirei had met with a little success in this area. She had learned a few things that would help. But her task was made very difficult by the suspicions of the people around her. She couldn't very well ask someone to teach her how to survive out in the Sea of Grass outright. If she did that, it would be obvious that she was planning to escape. Working with a language that she only knew from sporadic lessons from her father when she was a child didn't make things any easier. So she had made very little progress in this part of her escape plans.
The other angle of attack had been to save up some money. She knew that she could buy her passage to another city with one of the many trade caravans that came to Endrykas. But that would require mizas. She would need supplies for the trip too, and that would cost even more money. And Seirei knew that even after she got to a new city, she would need time to find a job, and a place to live. She would need money to get her by until she got herself back on her feet. For that reason, she needed a nest egg of mizas to tide her over until she could get herself established in her new home.
Seirei had had more success with this part of her escape plan than the first part. Lian allowed her to work with wood whenever she wanted to as long as it didn't inconvenience him. He even allowed her to keep any mizas she earned by selling what she made. But even then, it was hard. The people of Endrykas often refused to buy from her because she was an outsider. That left selling to foreign traders, and to the occasional Drykas who was willing to buy from her. She also had to buy the supplies she needed, such as wood to work with. Sometimes, like last fall, she was able to find a source of wood out in the Sea of Grass. But she still needed to buy a lot of the wood she used, and that ate into the money she was trying to save. As a result, it was harder to save up the mizas she was going to need. She had hoped to have escaped long before now. Instead, she was beginning to fear that it might take years before she was able to escape. How many children would she be forced to bear her captor in that amount of time? Seirei hated to think about it.
When she had finished cutting the branches into pieces she could work with, Seirei got her smallest bow drill, and began drilling out the pulpy centers of each piece. She was distracted with her own thoughts, so she ended up ruining more pieces than she normally would. But she still ended up with a fair amount. After a while, she gave up. She was too distracted to give her work the attention it deserved. Suddenly feeling the need to get out of the tent, Seirei decided that a walk might do her some good. She could use the exercise, and it might help her to clear her head.
Word Count4631 words
Seirei couldn't help but sigh as she looked out of the tent flap at the pale grey sky. The air was crisp and cold, and their was a brisk breeze that made her shiver as it blew through the opening of the tent. She felt...dismal. Just like the sky looked. It wasn't any one thing, really. Lian was out somewhere, hunting most likely. And that was a relief. Seirei never knew when he would start raping her again, so every moment spent in his company was very stressful for her. But she just didn't seem to have any energy today. She wasn't tired, exactly. No more so than was usual these days, anyway. But she still felt...weary. Maybe that was it. And not even the thought of working on one of her many projects seemed to excite her.
That didn't stop her from trying, though. Seirei selected a few branches, and began stripping the bark off of them with her knife. The movements were...familiar. Reassuring. And although the simple task didn't offer any sense of excitement, or challenge, it was peaceful in a way. Seirei allowed her mind to drift as she worked steadily. She quickly lost herself in memories of happier times. Memories of working with wood under her mother's patient guidance.
The tent around her faded away. She could almost hear her mother's soft voice offering advice, and feel the warmth of her mother's hands rubbing her shoulders as she worked. It was a nice daydream, but it faded away as the task at hand was completed. With a quiet sigh, Seirei began the task of cutting the branches into small pieces. Once again, she allowed her thoughts to drift as she worked.
This time, however, her thoughts were of the present, not the past. When Seirei had first been captured, she had immediately started planning her escape. Instead of fleeing blindly, and ending up dead in the Sea of Grass, she wanted to do things properly. So she had come at her goal from two angles. The first had been to try to learn the shills she would need to survive if she picked the wrong caravan to escape with, and she found herself alone in the wilderness.
Seirei had met with a little success in this area. She had learned a few things that would help. But her task was made very difficult by the suspicions of the people around her. She couldn't very well ask someone to teach her how to survive out in the Sea of Grass outright. If she did that, it would be obvious that she was planning to escape. Working with a language that she only knew from sporadic lessons from her father when she was a child didn't make things any easier. So she had made very little progress in this part of her escape plans.
The other angle of attack had been to save up some money. She knew that she could buy her passage to another city with one of the many trade caravans that came to Endrykas. But that would require mizas. She would need supplies for the trip too, and that would cost even more money. And Seirei knew that even after she got to a new city, she would need time to find a job, and a place to live. She would need money to get her by until she got herself back on her feet. For that reason, she needed a nest egg of mizas to tide her over until she could get herself established in her new home.
Seirei had had more success with this part of her escape plan than the first part. Lian allowed her to work with wood whenever she wanted to as long as it didn't inconvenience him. He even allowed her to keep any mizas she earned by selling what she made. But even then, it was hard. The people of Endrykas often refused to buy from her because she was an outsider. That left selling to foreign traders, and to the occasional Drykas who was willing to buy from her. She also had to buy the supplies she needed, such as wood to work with. Sometimes, like last fall, she was able to find a source of wood out in the Sea of Grass. But she still needed to buy a lot of the wood she used, and that ate into the money she was trying to save. As a result, it was harder to save up the mizas she was going to need. She had hoped to have escaped long before now. Instead, she was beginning to fear that it might take years before she was able to escape. How many children would she be forced to bear her captor in that amount of time? Seirei hated to think about it.
When she had finished cutting the branches into pieces she could work with, Seirei got her smallest bow drill, and began drilling out the pulpy centers of each piece. She was distracted with her own thoughts, so she ended up ruining more pieces than she normally would. But she still ended up with a fair amount. After a while, she gave up. She was too distracted to give her work the attention it deserved. Suddenly feeling the need to get out of the tent, Seirei decided that a walk might do her some good. She could use the exercise, and it might help her to clear her head.
Word Count4631 words
