Lhavit had called for volunteers and Azira had been inclined to say no. She didn't give a rat's ass about the city and its denizens, although she had to reluctantly admit that it was growing on her. She wasn't fond enough of it to come out to help when asked but she did hold enough self-interest to answer the call. They were to look in to that blasted fountain, the one that she was almost certain had been the source of her... fiery curse. The talk was that it had magical effects, bizarre and uncontrollable ones and for once, she was inclined to listen to rumour. Herself and Khara had both drank from its alluring waters and they'd both ended up with magic over which they had no control. Azira was certainly trying to get a grip on it but she had no idea if her efforts were misguided but they weren't always fruitless. If she could get rid of it, or even gain control of it, then she would gladly do so. If the fountain was the source then she wanted to get to the root of the problem, for her own benefit for the most part and possibly for her friends. She had no doubt in her mind as to who had the higher priority.
In her mind, midday was an odd time to meet but everyone in this city had a weird notion of when things should be done. Some were probably later risers and so it would allow them to have a chance to get there on time, or maybe it was to allow some the chance to get work done before they went on this so-called investigation. The huntress had neither risen particularly late--the ninth bell--nor taken the opportunity to go hunting. She would have been too stretched for time she knew, hence why she had allowed herself to wake later than was her habit. A glance at the sky filled her with trepidation and she saw a soaking in the city's future. It wasn't the first storm this season, not by a long shot, but she didn't like the idea of going outside with no real sense of where she'd be when it hit.
The Inarta had chosen to be prepared. She'd settled for her clothes from home, the vinati and bryda sitting familiarly on her small frame, her katinu lying on her bed ready for when she went outside. She'd packed her bag, not wanting to be caught unprepared and knowing that the most innocent of trips could turn disastrous. She had packed her cloak in case she set anything alight and needed to smother it, some rations and some rope. You could never go wrong with a bit of rope and the young woman did have quite a lot of it. Maybe they'd think her a fool but if it turned out to be needed, she'd be the one laughing for having thought of it and been prepared.
She considered bringing her bow, again in the interest of being prepared, but in the city she decided it would be frowned upon, particularly by the Shinya. Besides, she didn't want it getting soaked. It'd ruin the string, the wood of the bow might not take kindly to it--she wasn't sure if it was waterproof--and there was no use in hunting for new strings or a new bow in this city. She trusted Wind Reach's bowyers but she had no idea what sort of rubbish they might make here. She decided to leave it at home but she didn't go unarmed, making sure that she had her hunting knife sheathed at her hip. It was a practical item that did happen to be a weapon but no one could give out to her about it, surely?
When it grew close enough to the rendezvous to set her pacing in her room, she slipped on her katinu, put on her pack and set off for the fountain. She was quite surprised by the crowd that had already gathered there and she was pleased to see faces she knew, one in particular making her uncross her arms and set her face splitting in a grin of delight and relief.
"Khara!" she crowed in her native tongue. She found herself jogging to close the distance, joy surging through her and then she felt a slip. There was no real control over it. She felt the trickle that was becoming all too familiar as something inside her surged to the surface. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself but the res began to ooze out of her fingertips and her body sang with the heady feeling of casting. She was too close to people and panicked at the idea of setting them on fire, especially as there were some she knew--Alses the Eth and the girl from the Scholar's Demise and there was a Symenestra like Drusilla--but she barely had a chance to register their presence properly before she was running for the fountain to submerge her hands before the infernal substance could whoosh in to flame. Her hands touched the cool waters just as something changed and she felt the will of the substance change. She might have imagined the flash that came as the res caught alight but it didn't seem likely in the water. She held her hands there as she waited for her mind and key to calm. She told the res to stop flowing from her tips but the trickling seemed to continue. She imagined it retracting, focusing on her breathing.
As she hoped and waited for the magic to abate, she smiled sheepishly at the woman who had seemingly gone for a dip in the fountain before she arrived. "Sorry, that was near. No excite for me," she told her in Common, the words sounding off somehow to her own ears. She was too excited for talking. "Sorry everybody," she called over her shoulder, looking back and blushing. "Safe now! I think..." she trailed off. This was certainly a memorable introduction.
Nari | Common
Template courtesy of Khara
