33rd Day of Fall 515 AV
Water and fire.
By the next sunset that was all Kaitanu could conjure up in his mind out of the chaos. It was a day that changed so many things, but started out with only the rain and the inconvenience of not sleeping in his own bed. The kelvic was used to giving up his own comfort, but he had to admit that he missed the warmth of the tent and Kyo snoring in the bedroll next to his. Sharing quarters with the other kelvic was different than being crammed into a small, dank space among many slaves. Or, as he was now, half-asleep in horse form and standing up beside Wendigo under a tent roof. Knowing any comfort at all meant he also knew what it was to miss it. That was a new circumstance.
These were small matters to the former slave, even before the sudden attack put everything else from his mind. Kaitanu endured every hardship as he always did, without so much as an internal murmur. The thought of returning to his tent that night was something to look forward to. Even more so gathering with everyone around the campfire, which always seemed to burn no matter what the weather. Had Kaitanu been used to questioning things, he would wonder how that could be. The fire stood under open sky, but there seemed to be an invisible __________something which lessened the effects of the weather within the pavilion. Some distant part of him felt this was odd, but mostly he accepted it as a given and focused on other things, like the singing and stories and the laughter. Even now, in the cold, wet, pre-dawn air, Kaitanu felt a warmth in his chest just thinking of the pavilion and the others there. What a strange protection to have against the elements; inward instead of outside like armor, or a coat. The rain hardly seemed to matter. Kaitanu didn’t really know what this sensation was but he held it close and quiet; the first embers of a new fire.
His long hours of thinking over these things were interrupted by shuffling sounds from one of the nearby tents- Kelna Nightrider’s. It lay near the corral gate and the shelters where the horses slept in bad weather. Apart from the steady rain not much had happened the night before, and as the hidden sun rose for a new day so did she. Kaitanu could hear her huffing as she put on her boots and cloak, and rubbed her hands together against the cold. The other workers would be coming around soon. Time for another day.
Waking fully himself, Kaitanu looked about and took in a deep draught of air, filling his sensitive horsey nose with it. How would the weather be today? The scent was musty, full of dead, wet grass and mud and damp horses. Another deep breath and a flick of his ears told him that the air had shifted a bit. Instead of clinging it began to shift about. A few bells ago the rain had finally started to let up, and though it still fell the curtain was not so thick. Just beyond the edge of the shelter, Kaitanu could see the first silver light of morning. It gleamed in irregular streaks between the black of the clouds, as though some huge creature had rent the night sky with its claws. Perhaps today the sun might break through at last. Everyone would be glad of that.
Water and fire.
By the next sunset that was all Kaitanu could conjure up in his mind out of the chaos. It was a day that changed so many things, but started out with only the rain and the inconvenience of not sleeping in his own bed. The kelvic was used to giving up his own comfort, but he had to admit that he missed the warmth of the tent and Kyo snoring in the bedroll next to his. Sharing quarters with the other kelvic was different than being crammed into a small, dank space among many slaves. Or, as he was now, half-asleep in horse form and standing up beside Wendigo under a tent roof. Knowing any comfort at all meant he also knew what it was to miss it. That was a new circumstance.
These were small matters to the former slave, even before the sudden attack put everything else from his mind. Kaitanu endured every hardship as he always did, without so much as an internal murmur. The thought of returning to his tent that night was something to look forward to. Even more so gathering with everyone around the campfire, which always seemed to burn no matter what the weather. Had Kaitanu been used to questioning things, he would wonder how that could be. The fire stood under open sky, but there seemed to be an invisible __________something which lessened the effects of the weather within the pavilion. Some distant part of him felt this was odd, but mostly he accepted it as a given and focused on other things, like the singing and stories and the laughter. Even now, in the cold, wet, pre-dawn air, Kaitanu felt a warmth in his chest just thinking of the pavilion and the others there. What a strange protection to have against the elements; inward instead of outside like armor, or a coat. The rain hardly seemed to matter. Kaitanu didn’t really know what this sensation was but he held it close and quiet; the first embers of a new fire.
His long hours of thinking over these things were interrupted by shuffling sounds from one of the nearby tents- Kelna Nightrider’s. It lay near the corral gate and the shelters where the horses slept in bad weather. Apart from the steady rain not much had happened the night before, and as the hidden sun rose for a new day so did she. Kaitanu could hear her huffing as she put on her boots and cloak, and rubbed her hands together against the cold. The other workers would be coming around soon. Time for another day.
Waking fully himself, Kaitanu looked about and took in a deep draught of air, filling his sensitive horsey nose with it. How would the weather be today? The scent was musty, full of dead, wet grass and mud and damp horses. Another deep breath and a flick of his ears told him that the air had shifted a bit. Instead of clinging it began to shift about. A few bells ago the rain had finally started to let up, and though it still fell the curtain was not so thick. Just beyond the edge of the shelter, Kaitanu could see the first silver light of morning. It gleamed in irregular streaks between the black of the clouds, as though some huge creature had rent the night sky with its claws. Perhaps today the sun might break through at last. Everyone would be glad of that.
