Closed Opportunity Cost [Kavala]

[Liminal]

Late Winter, 515 "I sleep the sleep of the drowned, gasping upward for a light I never reach, a choice I cannot make." Wherever Kavala had been only moments earlier, she now found herself in the middle of a bewildering expanse of grass, which stretched, unbroken and vertiginous, as far as she could see. Slightly to her left, a strange building stood, constructed, it would appear, entirely of shifting, kaleidoscopic light. It was the only visible relief from the endless field of grass. "It's from a Marie Sendlant poem." The voice belonged to a young woman who was standing next to Kavala. Her hair was a wild, metallic pink, and she was idly plucking the strings of an instrument that resembled an alien guitar, a jagged, nine-stringed affair whose body was a rich, deep black. "I don't know if you read Sendlant, but she's my favorite. It's all so very sad, but she finds the beauty in the sadness. It must have been...been so hard to live then, right before the end of everything. I've only seen glimpses, but the only bits I've seen seem...impossible. It's hard enough to live now -- I know that as well as anyone -- but I still don't think I'd make that trade." Trelissa -- it was her, of course it was -- smiled warmly. "It's good to see you again, Kavala. I only wish that every time I saw you wasn't...erm...when I needed you for something. Or when Nysel needed you for something." There was an awkward beat, a too-long pause, before she added: "Which he does. But I'm...I'm guessing you probably already knew that."

[Kavala]

Kavala had been dreaming. It wasn't wholly unexpected. But she was tired and worn from the day before. The fact that the animals all could talk openly to her now left her world not one of quiet silence where the horses she worked panted and snorted and added their comments with a pawing of a hoof or a toss of their manes. Instead, they gave their opinions in words and it made her job in a lot of ways a whole bunch harder. Training warhorses for the Kuvay'Nas was difficult. They had to be crowd savvy and more than willing to wade into the thick bodies of people milling about that would normally send horses at rapid speeds the other way.

She'd introduced the concepts slowly, often making games of it. Shoving people and crowd control, for example, came in the form of a giant ball made from a small whale's stomach that was inflated. The horses would push and shove it around in a game where their riders tried to win control. Those skills would branch out into herding people and eventually she'd take them to town and work them in real crowds.

But now... now it was harder. They asked why questions and wanted to skip ahead which tended to mess with their training. It was causing patches in her usual solid schedule. And if it wasn't bad enough that her children often peppered her with 'why why why why' it was even harder that the horses she trained were doing it as well.

That didn't even begin to cover the clinic issues. Wounded animals coming in screaming that it hurt. Before she'd treat the injury first, take their lives out of jeapardy, and then deal with the pain. Now, it was a lot like treating people. Pain management had to come first or her patients were impossible to work with.

It was an adjustment for all of them... one that was causing her exhaustion to work through.

So when she fell asleep - usually to dream - it was of peaceful quiet and often tranquil sea where she floated in blue green water and recharged. A secondary choice, but equally pleasant, was an endless stretch of grass that rolled in waves across the horizon. So when she found herself in such a place, she simply smiled, rose, and stretched.

Trelissa received a nod in greeting and a smile. "You look well." Kavala said, approaching the woman and offering her a hug.

"The words would be more scary to a human than I. Drowning isn't something us Konti are much afraid of. We love to curl in deep pools with the light streaming down on us. And once there we never want to reach the surface again. The ocean is too much like a lover's embrace, warming our souls and igniting our passions." Kavala answered, tilting her head and then chuckling softly. "She was probably a Konti before her human life if indeed she is human at all." The healer mused, a smile playing across her pale lips.

"I don't have much time to read these days. And I've been going through a stage where I've actively sought out music. There's not enough of it in the world. To me there are too many voices, too many words, and they all converge together to form a discord that's more of a groan than anything. But music... forethought and passion conveying emotion.... I could listen all day long." She said, eyes drifting to Trelissa's guitar.

The woman spoke again and Kavala nodded, another smile flickering across her face. "It's nice to be needed, Trelissa. It really is. And I am ever his servant and if he would let me be, a friend." Kavala said, in lue of dismissing her apologetic awkward tone.

"What can I do?" She added, glancing at her empty hands and frowning in that she wore only her over sized men's nightshirt. "I should have came dressed better. With him, there's usually a fight." The Konti added, her grin turning crooked with amusement.

686/25,382

[Liminal]

Trelissa's fingers touched her instrument, and a sparkling series of arpeggios drifted over the two women. "Music has kept me going when...when it was hard to keep going, you know? So I think I understand what you mean. It used to keep the girls from losing themselves in sadness too." Trelissa had returned Kavala's hug, and now sat on the grass. "As for your clothes, you can more or less change them however you want them. I mean...you passed my test, the Guardian's test. Certainly you ought to be able to do whatever you want in...well, in terms of your wardrobe." The pink-haired woman shrugged her shoulders. "A fight? Well, maybe. I don't really know. Here's what I do know." She rested the instrument in her lap. "There's a man who lives in Riverfall named Eric Whistler. I think he's Zeltivan...it sounds like a Zeltivan name. Anyway, Nysel marked him once, and gave him the same speech you got, about...you know, about how if Nysel needs anything from you, it's your duty to do it. One of the Speakers gave this Eric fellow a task, but...I guess he didn't do it. Didn't even try, I think?" There was uncertainty written on Trelissa's face. It was possible to fail a task that Nysel had given, but to not even attempt it? "At any rate, Nysel wants to know what...what happened, but for reasons that he didn't share with me, he doesn't want to speak to Eric directly. He...well, he wants you to speak with him." Trelissa smiled apologetically. "Usually, you'd get this kind of assignment, if not from Nysel, from one of the Speakers. But...I think sometimes, he wants me to stretch a little bit, and he knows I know you of course, and so this time, it's my job. Not really a Guardian thing, but I'm...I'm happy to serve." "So that's...that's your task. Figure out why Eric didn't complete his task. Nysel didn't tell me exactly what it was Eric was supposed to do, only that it...that it was something about altering the chavi for someone who's a follower of Ssena. But, you need to figure out why Eric didn't do it, and if possible, convince him to do it. If not...well, either way, you should meet me back here when you're finished."

[Kavala]

Kavala found Terlissa’s music soothing and so too the habit she had of caressing her guitar to make it sound out almost as though her thoughts escaped the confines of her brain and became reality in the notes that sprinkled the air. Kavala didn’t speak the language of music though, so she could only stand and study Trelissa curiously.

The Konti chuckled. “I know. I’ve been here a great deal, this place between… Caelum and I come to talk often. I was actually just making a joke about being dressed better. But it is true. With Him there is usually a fight.” The Konti said, settling in and blending the oversized sleeping shirt that covered her form into pale fighting leathers the same color as her skin. She liked the dreaming they were in. Caelum usually picked tall grass and Kavala’s choices lent themselves more to beneath the waves or at the coast if she was not alone.

Trelissa was talkative for certain and before long her mission was laid out. “Eric Whistler.” Kavala repeated, looking thoughtful. She kept listening as Trelissa explained further, laying out how the man had a mission and hadn’t perhaps even tried it? Kavala was dumbfounded. There wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for Nysel if her Lord just asked it of her or even hinted that it needed doing. She nodded as Trelissa explained further, her face growing more and more thoughtful.

“Do you have anything of Erics? A key we can use to his Chavi? I’d just walk it and find out what he was thinking and what exactly happened. I’ve had…. A lot of practice with that lately.” Kavala said, knowing full well that it was a long shot that Trelissa would make it that kind of easy. If she had a chavi key from Eric Whistler, she could just relive his history and see what happened without even involving the man. The fact that Nysel didn’t want to talk to the man directly didn’t bode well either. But he wanted her too? She nodded, not knowing the reasoning, but certain as she got further into the investigation she’d find out.

Trelissa added a bit more to her knowledge pool as well. Guardians? Speakers? Kavala knew Trelissa was a Guardian because she’d mentioned it before, but there’d never been any hint of a sort of Speaker of some sort. “I’m happy to serve as well. And I’m glad to get to see you. So I’m glad you’ve brought this task to me. I’ve wondered, often, over the years how you were doing.” She added, offering Trelissa a smile. Kavala wished she just didn’t see the woman on a work basis, if one could consider their mutual faiths work related. Instead she would have liked to see Trelissa on a social level and perhaps even strike up a friendship. If nothing else, Kavala wouldn’t mind patching her up in exchange for a few tunes here and there.

The background continued to swirl with color as the grass shifted in a breeze that didn’t seemingly need to exist. Kavala smiled and gazed at the building in the distance, thinking it looked familiar. A melancholy settled over her as she studied the other woman.

“Stretching is good for the soul. We get comfortable and forget sometimes. I recently learned that the hard way jumping into a brawl that was none of my business.” Kavala said softly, still watching Trelissa. “Got it… my task that is. Find out why Eric didn’t complete his task and convince him to do it. Meet you back here when I’m finished.” Kavala nodded, looking thoughtful and full of questions.

“You said he sounded Zeltivan. Do you know anything else about him? Like perhaps were I could find him or what his profession here in Riverfall is?” Kavala asked, knowing that Riverfall wasn’t that big but it could still be a challenge finding someone when you didn’t have a clue. Zeltivan.. maybe he was down at the port or the portmaster might know him. They sailed ships right? Kavala wasn’t sure exactly. “Human though right? You don’t know his age or anything? It’s embarrassing to be looking for an older man and find out your seeking a child.” Kavala said with a grin, looking for Trelissa for some of the answers.

If nothing else she could talk to some of the animals in Riverfall. Maybe some of them knew where this Eric Whistler was. It was a long shot, but the crows in the city seemed to make it their business who went where and why. Plus the seagulls down at the dock could be bribed for information just by feeding them tidbits of food. All of that was more than enough to get her started. Now if only Trelissa had a bit more information, maybe even the housing he preferred. Then she’d be in business. Kavala was eager to start. She liked a good mystery as much as the next person and she also enjoyed a good interrogation or even a pep talk to get someone to go through with something. All of those things could potentially come into play with this scenario. The thought made Kavala smile. She always fancied the stories on people trying to get others to talk.

And she indulged a moment wondering why anyone could deny Nysel anything. Her eyes looked up and met Trelissa’s before she shook her head. “I’ll have to ask him. Maybe walk his Chavi. I can’t simply understand why anyone could deny Nysel something, especially someone marked by him. I talk to Him, Trelissa, often. My life wouldn’t be what it is today without him being in my world.” Kavala said softly. “Someone might have have done something to him that prevented him from assisting. I hope that’s what it was.” Kavala said softly, wondering if that would mean that maybe Eric was in trouble.

Then she’d listen to Trelissa’s answers, if any were forthcoming, and finally she’d add…

“I’m sorry we only see each other for… work.” Kavala said, smiling slightly over the word. “I honestly wouldn’t mind spending more time with you and hearing you play in earnest sometimes. I’m also a decent healer, so it’s never a bad thing to keep one as a friend.” The Konti offered, a soft smile on her face

1050/31577

[Liminal]

Trelissa shook her head. "I wish I had something of Eric's, but I don't. I guess if it were that easy, we probably wouldn't have been asked to help." A small chuckle escaped her lips, and she lightly strummed the strings of her instrument again. "I know he's human, and pretty sure he's Zeltivan. I don't know Riverfall as well as you do, of course, but I don't think there are many Zeltivans at all there, and those that there are probably...probably work down at the docks. I didn't get the impression he was a visiting scholar or anything." Another cluster of notes escaped the instrument's strings. "I know he's an adult. I don't think Nysel ever requests a task of a child. Wexline was marked when she was just a little girl, but she's still never gotten a task to do, and I don't expect that she will until she's older." "I wish I could tell you more, but that's all the information I got. Nysel seemed...unconcerned about your ability to find this Eric fellow, if that helps." Trelissa shrugged, her pink hair rising and falling with the motion. Her face grew more serious here. "I don't know why anyone wouldn't try a task that Nysel gave them either. I couldn't say no either, and I'd never want to. He...well, he saved me. You know that. Me and the girls. Why anyone wouldn't keep their promise to him is a mystery." Then she touched the fretboard again, and her mood lifted. "I wish...well, I wish we got to see each other more often too, Kavala. I don't..." She paused, an awkward smile on her face. "Things where I live in the waking world are still hard, and in the dreaming, being the Guardian is a large job. I don't have many opportunities just to socialize. But I'd love to play for you." Quietly, she repeated the last line. "I'd love to play for you."