Solo Threat of the Storm

[Ennisa]

79th Autumn 519 AV
"speech"
"others"

Light from the overcast moon trickled down onto the streets that wound through Lhavit. Spots of warm, honeyed light spilled at intervals, where the homely sounds of laughter, merriment and chatter leaked out through open windows and doors. Away from those islands of comfort darkness pervaded, and through this darkness a short red-head walked. She was furtive. Her red hair peeked out from under the folds of a light headscarf, which hid her features and shadowed her face. She walked delicately but quickly, passing over the dizzying bridge onto Zintia Peak, her home.

Lhavit's atmosphere was one of suspicion, so it was quite lucky that Lacretzia did not get stopped by the Shinya as she trod the familiar route back home to the flat she shared with Ennisa. Her cloaked figure and nervous appearance would certainly have caused a degree of consternation from the city's protectors, what with the mage-murdering killer on the loose. As it was, she was lucky, and she reached home without delay.

Itzi trudged up the stairs, taking one at a time. As she got closer and closer to the flat, she began to slow down until she was almost at a standstill. The look on her face was indescribable. Her thoughts tumbled. She was almost scared to enter the room. Was Ennisa awake? The two women had not spoken much of late. Itzi had been away often, and Ennisa had yet to probe into her absences. The tension had been growing in the air. Itzi was almost certain the cloud would break soon. Then what?

~*~

Ennisa stood by the window letting the night air rustle the loose curtains. The moon, although it kept flitting in and out of the clouds, occasionally illuminated a patch of street down below, and it was this that she was gazing at absently. The worn cobbles glistened in the pale light, and the building facing onto the street looked quite pretty in the late autumn night. She wasn't appreciating the beauty, though. She was thinking, as she often did when alone in the evening, about her absentee friend.

Where are you, Itzi?

That question bothered her more and more often. On the brief occasions she had seen her, the red-head was distant, almost cold, and she had not gathered the courage to confront her. Yet now, with the brewing troubles in the city, the tense mood was rubbing off and she was beginning to feel deeply worried about her friend.

Whilst she was absorbed in her own thoughts, behind her the very woman she was wondering about cracked the door open and slid into the room. Itzi quietly shut the door, and it was the sound of the door clicking to that alerted Ennisa. She spun round instantly, and when she saw Itzi standing there, she began to speak then stopped herself at the look in her friend's eyes.

"Itzi... Please talk to me. What's going on? I haven't seen you in days and days. Where have you been?"

WC : 499

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

The two women stood there in silence. The room was dimly lit; the ghostly shapes of their few pieces of furniture loomed, grey smudges in the gathering gloom. The window clunked softly on the hinge, a soft clack clack that was interrupted by Itzi's light sigh. An answer didn't seem to be forthcoming. Ennisa, worrying, prompted her gently, and said, "Please answer Itzi. I'm worried about you." She took a small step forwards to see her better.

In that vulnerable moment of silence, Itzi teetered. Ennisa studied the face of the woman she'd known for years now, and tried to understand this new version of her. The moonlight illuminated her pale skin, and the dark bags under her eyes stood out like bruises. Her eyes seemed to be pleading, as if she was desperately trying to frame some words that couldn't come out. Then, like a candle blown by the wind, her expression lowered and the agitated liveliness of her expression faded to flatness. Itzi's gaze diverted to the window, she exhaled, and when she spoke it was in a soft, low voice that held no emotion, "There's nothing going on, Ennisa. Stop worrying. Just... go to bed, okay?" The red-head walked over to the window, and shut it.

Disbelieving, Ennisa rounded on her. Fire flared in her gut at this strangeness. It was impossible that Itzi would be dismissing her like that, no explanation, nothing. That was a lie, and they didn't do that to each other, did they? "Hey, no. No. I don't accept that, Itzi. I've known you since we were kids, and I've never seen you like this. There is absolutely something going on with you, I don't know what, but you have to tell me." Itzi stilled with her back to her. When she turned, the look on her face was raw and angry, which frankly shocked Ennisa, who had never seen that particular look on her best friend before. A million thoughts raced through her mind at that expression. Was she ill? In debt? Someone had died? When she spoke, her voice was taut and rough, a yell in a quiet voice, and her words yanked Ennisa away from her spiralling conspiracies.

"No, I don't have to tell you. How dare you poke and prod into my business! We're friends, but you're not obligated to know everything about my life, and besides, you don't care about me. You only care about you. So don't you dare act as if you're concerned for me. I can cope without your help."

When she finished yelling, her face was half-shadowed by the shadow of the curtain. One corner of her mouth was turned down, her eyebrows lowered into a deep frown. Ennisa's heart was racing with apprehension as her eyes scanned over Itzi's features, but before she could evaluate what to say next, she lurched into the argument, angry and hurt at her friend's words. "Of course I petching care about you, you idiot. We've been together all these years, haven't we? We've hatched our plots, shared our deepest secrets, cried and laughed through the night. Now you come back at me and say I don't care? Petch you. I've been worrying about you all this season, and you can't even be honest with me when I'm just trying to help y..-!"

Itzi cut her off with a sharp wave of her hand, dismissing her. "If you've been worrying about me, you've been wasting your time and mine. There's nothing wrong, so leave me alone." She laughed, but the sound had no mirth. "I'm going to spend the rest of the season away from the flat - I'm going tomorrow. I only came back to fetch some of my stuff, and then I'm going. I'll leave you and your fake pity behind, maybe for good. I don't know yet. But I don't want to talk to you any more." She knelt and grabbed the sleeping mat from where it was sprawled on the floor, and dragged it to the corner. "What are you doing?", Ennisa said. Itzi didn't even look up. "I'm going to bed. I'm tired. I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense."

Dumbfounded by the revelations of their short but fiery argument, Ennisa's anger faded. She pleaded, her voice pathetically cracked by tears. "Itzi, c'mon! Don't do this, I... we're friends. I won't bother you if that's what you want even though I can see you're upset. You don't need to leave. What... What will I do without you?" But Itzi was climbing into the bedroll, and even if she heard, she didn't reply.

WC : 771

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

She attempted to engage Itzi for the next few chimes, but no matter how she cajoled, the woman's back remained turned and from her lips there came nothing but silence. Finally, with a deep sigh, Ennisa climbed into bed and tried to sleep. Yet, with the clouds having fled, the moon's light shone deep into the room and no matter how she tossed and turned, she could not get comfortable. The argument kept spinning round and round her head. She found herself facing some uncomfortable truths. Did she only care about herself? She didn't think that was true, but could she have shown she cared in a better way? Probably.

It was also true, she admitted to herself, that she took Itzi for granted. It was difficult, after so many years, to appreciate the bond they shared. In recent times, perhaps they had not spent time together in the ways that they used to. Ennisa couldn't remember the last time they had gone out for a drink together, let alone chatter into the night. To her horror, she was beginning to realise their friendship had been crumbling underneath her all this time.

A few silent tears plopped onto the pillow, but these soon cleared. She rarely cried, and when she did it was not for very long. She lay on her back, staring at the shifting shadows on the ceiling, and wondered what to do. Itzi was now asleep; she could tell by the way her breathing had changed. Yet, in the morning, their bad blood would still remain and she could only presume Itzi had been serious when she'd spoken about her plans to leave.

Ennisa couldn't let their friendship break up so suddenly like that. There was something wrong with Itzi, and she vowed there and then that she would find out what it was. If Itzi wouldn't tell her, well, she would find out some other way.

The night passed slowly. Ennisa forced herself to stay awake. She lay with the sheets wrapped around her ankles, letting the cold early morning air keep her uncomfortable. Tiredness clung to her like tiny grasping hands, trying to drag her to sleep, but she did her best to stay awake. She sat upright, stared at the moon and studied the speckled surface, let the cold light of Leth linger on her retinas. She tried counting in her head, attempted to do tricky addition to keep her mind busy, mumbled the half-forgotten lyrics to a song she'd heard in childhood.

Her plan needed her to be awake before Itzi woke and left. Ennisa quietly laced her boots and tucked herself back under the covers as grey, pre-dawn light began to seep into the room. She needed to be ready, because she was going to follow her friend and see just what was going on. If there truly was nothing out of the ordinary going on, and Itzi just didn't want to be around her any more, then fine. It would sting like a bitch, but fine. If, on the other hand, she discovered what was causing her friend's strange and upsetting behaviour. Well, she could do something with that information. She could help.

WC : 532

[Ennisa]

80th Autumn 519 AV
"speech"
"others"

Ennisa was surprised when Itzi woke. It was barely bright enough to see the room, so it was earlier than usual. She was exhausted at this point, having tossed and turned and stayed awake all night, but she forced herself to peek through half-shut eyes to see what Itzi was up to.

The woman was stooped over her corner of the room pushing some clothes into her backpack. She moved slowly and sluggishly, her red hair all choppy and tousled from sleep. Ennisa squinted and lay as still as she could. Her friend didn't have that many possessions, so it didn't take her long to finish packing her things. Then, though she stopped in the doorway for half a tick, she left and didn't look back. Ennisa was stationary for a tick or two as she listened to the gradually fading footsteps traversing down the stairs. Then, when she thought enough time had elapsed, she stood and briefly stretched, before grabbing her rucksack from where it was dumped on the floor and leaving the flat to follow Itzi.

As she had already put her boots on, she was quick on the heels of the woman. When she reached the stairs, she leaned over the railing and looked down to just catch the sight of Itzi shutting the main doors behind her. Ennisa went downstairs and as there was no-one around to see her acting so strangely, she went to the door and cracked it open a notch, just in case Itzi was loitering.

She couldn't see her, but that wasn't good either, so she opened the door more fully and hurriedly ran her eyes across the street. To her luck, she just managed to see her friend walking around a corner. Ennisa set to following her. It was more difficult than it looked. She was finding it difficult to judge just how far back, or forwards, she should walk. On more than one occasion, she thought she'd lost her, but luck seemed to be on her side. Once, when Itzi stopped dead and looked behind her, Ennisa had only just about enough time to duck behind the corner, her heart in her mouth.

What am I doing?, she wondered, and really, it was a good question to ask. Here she was, traipsing across the city before dawn had even broken, chasing after her best friend. They were supposed to trust one another, weren't they? Wasn't this breaking her trust? She evaluated that thought whilst watching the red-head woman as she sullenly trod across one of Lhavit's glittering bridges. Itzi had given her no choice but to find out what was wrong. When it came down to it, she would rather break her trust through passively following her rather than betray her friend and leave her be, especially if she was in danger.

Ennisa was really starting to think that Itzi was in danger. She couldn't put her finger on it, but a film of unease lay over her, and that feeling was only growing stronger as she followed Itzi across the city. Her route was slow, meandering, and indeed the sluggish pace was not in keeping with Itzi's usually bouncy personality. There were other things too. From time to time, she noticed that the woman would stop and rest one hand on the wall as if to steady herself. Ennisa was tired, but Itzi seemed exhausted.

The broiling worry grew stronger when, finally, Itzi seemed to have reached her destination. She had stopped outside a nondescript house and knocked on the door. Ennisa was glad that the street had got a little busier as the sun had started to rise, because it gave her the cover to scurry from her corner to a corner nearer to Itzi. She walked as steadily as she could, keeping her head down, until she had reached the spot she had her eye on.

Just in time, too, as the black door creaked open and Ennisa watched as Itzi's pale face lit up with a sickeningly sweet smile at the man who greeted her. Realisation dawned upon her. Oh, she thought, Itzi's got herself a man. Why hadn't she told her? Ennisa's frown deepened. There was something else going on here. The man leaned down to hug Itzi, and his arms clenched around her waist in an embrace that seemed to last an age. When they parted, Ennisa was alarmed to see the bleak expression on her friend's face.

WC : 744

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

Her resolve strengthened. Whoever he was, this man seemed to be one of, if not the cause of Itzi's troubles. The fact that the red-head had not mentioned this man for however long she'd known him and the noticeable decline of her normal, cheerful self - all of these things seemed to point at the stranger being the negative factor. Ennisa perched on a low wall and rubbed her eyes of sleep as she thought. Tiredness clouded her mind, but she decided to stay where she was and wait to see what would happen.

The chimes seemed to drag by. Ennisa was already an impatient woman even before the addition of sleep deprivation, so she found herself tapping her feet and fingers in an attempt to focus. Half a bell went by, but she'd spotted not a peep from the house. The front door, painted in a fresh, glossy black, stood resolutely firm. The curtains of the rooms were shut or pulled half-closed, and no light came from within. There was not even any movement, although once when she looked closer the pale shape of something flashed against the tiny window pane of a first floor room before disappearing.

She was tired, so she put the appearance of the strange shape down to exhaustion. Yet, Ennisa was unnerved. The house was dead quiet; that wasn't normal. It was a regular-looking house - not too shabby, not overly fancy, but the black door seemed to gawp, and the draped windows looked like hooded eyes, with squat lintels over tiny, square, squintish windows.

As it appeared nothing was going to happen for a while, she pulled out her notebook and began to write down what had been happening. She turned over a new page and started on the back. The black, inky text quicky dried in the warmth of the new day as she wrote: 80th Autumn 519, I found out Itzi has a boyfriend, but none of it seems right. Why didn't she tell me? Why does she look so unhappy? The house is on a street with, she looked up and glanced about to see what distinguishing features there were about, then back down at the page, another house with a mural of a pink sunrise on the door, and a statue of a man made out of some kind of wood. On Shinyama Peak, close to the bridge to Sharai. The man has curly blonde hair and he's quite tall, but that's all I know so far.

She stopped writing and glanced back at the house, but again there was no movement. The sun was already warming up the day, and it had been much, much warmer than previous seasons recently. Ennisa looked around for somewhere to shade herself from the sun, but couldn't see anywhere. Instead, she began to doodle underneath the text she'd just written. Her faint pen lines began to form into the facade of the house. She inked the door so that the weight of the ink faded through to the other side of the page. Carefully avoiding the small puddle, she drew the several square windows that dotted the house. For reference, she gazed up at the roof, and gave her drawing a basic sloped top.

It was as she was looking upwards that she noticed faint grey smoke drifting from the chimney. Good, she thought. At least that means they're both still in the house, not disappeared somewhere else. Then, as if she'd summoned them with her thoughts alone, there was movement at the window. Ennisa hurriedly packed away her book, imprinting a black rectangle on the page opposite as the drawing had still not dried fully, and shoved the lot into her backpack so as to be prepared for whatever happened. As it was, Ennisa did not have enough time to fully hide herself before Itzi and the stranger stepped out of the house.

WC : 650

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

The curly-haired stranger had his arm looped possessively around Itzi's narrow shoulders. Ennisa scrambled to duck down behind the narrow wall she was sat upon, and managed to scrape her palm on the rough stone surface. "Petch," she muttered to herself, as she peered up from behind the wall. A passer-by gave her a strange look, but she just smiled disarmingly at him as he walked by. Still, she couldn't skulk around. That in itself seemed to draw attention. As Itzi and her lover boy began to walk away, she stood up and dithered, not knowing what to do next.

Should she follow them? Or take the opportunity to investigate the house? Indecision lingered, then finally she decided. Follow. See what they get up to. See what he's like. Maybe she was just over-reacting, after all. Until she knew more about them as a couple, she couldn't in clear conscience go to Itzi and tell her the things she could and couldn't do. So, with that in mind, Ennisa began to walk behind them.

It was easier, now that it was a normal time of day, to blend in. She mingled with the other people walking about on their day to day business. Most people seemed to be keeping their heads down, but some walked arm in arm, fashionable to the max, discussing this and that. It was these bright pops of colour that allowed Ennisa to hide in plain sight, for these people naturally drew the eye. That was, after all, their aim when they dressed themselves in the morning - to get noticed. Ennisa had never really bought into the frequently changing style trends of Lhavit's fashionable, but despite never adopting it herself, she did enjoy looking at the fancy clothes and fabrics.

She walked behind one such couple, whose chiffony fabrics flowed freely around them as they walked, their conversation a balm of frothy nothingness. Their pace was roughly the same as Itzi and the curly-haired stranger, and from around their shoulders Ennisa could see her friend quite clearly. She was too far away to hear their conversation, but she could see them talking. Itzi's expression worried her greatly, because her eyes were downcast and her shoulders slumped, the physical depiction of sadness.

Ennisa couldn't help but wonder why Itzi had ever fallen for a man that made her feel that way, but when she spotted his affectionate kiss to her cheek, and the way Itzi's eyes lit afterwards, she began to see how their romance might have started. Yet, what hold did he have on her? She was angry with the man for making her friend feel so low, but her anger was abstract. When the couple deviated from the main street they were on and headed onto the bridge to Sharai Peak, Ennisa left the company of the fashionable duo and headed out after them.

As they headed out to the Okomo Estates, it became more and more difficult for Ennisa to hide. She fell back further and further so that they wouldn't notice her. She was beginning to wish that she had taken her cloak, not because it was cold (far from it), but because it would have provided some kind of disguise. Instead, she walked near the edge of the path and disguised herself by walking beside trees and shrubs, whose foliage provided enough cover to blend her into the background.

Eventually, after much walking and much rubbing of her tired eyes, the couple stopped outside a small cottage encased in a garden, and stepped through the archway into the house. Ennisa lingered back and waited a little, but curiosity got the better of her, and she crept closer. Again, there was a low wall, this one was seperating the garden from the rest of the Okomo Estates, and was also there presumably to keep Okomo from nibbling the produce growing there.

She trod carefully to the house and ducked down at the sight of the large window on the front, which afforded her good viewing into the room inside, but also meant she was clearly visible if she stood up. She carefully peered over the top of the wall and looked inside, beginning to dread what she might see there.

WC : 707

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

Itzi smiled up at Clement. He had a lovely tradition of cooking for her, every fifth day, and today was a fifth day. She was sad, because she'd fought with Ennisa the night before, but her sadness was tinged with worry too. She hadn't told Clement about it, but she knew he would find out sooner or later. The worred gnawed at her stomach, making her less hungry than she should be. Clement, who had come over from the hearth, laid a heavy hand on her shoulder, and she squealed in surprise.

"What is it, Lacretzia? What are you thinking about, my sweetie?" His hand stayed resolutely on her shoulder. She didn't like it when he did that, but she only shrugged one shoulder and took one of the fried mushrooms he was offering her. "Nothing, Clem. It's nothing." She nibbled the mushroom. It had been pan-fried with some kind of chili oil. "These are good," she smiled weakly, and took another.

He carefully set the plate down and walked back over to the fire. Itzi could sense the mood had changed. Clem didn't like it when she held things back from him, but her reply had been instinctive. She regretted it now. She finished picking at the mushroom, and carefully watched his back. His shoulders were tense, and he stood solidly, one hand stirring the iron pot, and the other clenched at his side. She didn't speak, and nor did he, until he had finished and served the meal onto two wooden plates.

Clement walked over and placed a steaming plate of food in front of her, and then another down at his seat, but he didn't sit down. Itzi could barely bring herself to look up at him. When he spoke, his voice dripped with stinging sarcasm. "Nothing. Really. You expect me to believe that shyke? C'mon, Lacretzia, you should know me better than that now."

In an instant, the man stepped up to the table and brought his fist down on the pitted wooden surface. Itzi cringed and cowered back. "You've been lying to me since this morning at the townhouse, and now you have the gall to pretend and lie to me. Tell me what's going on, dammit!" His face flooded with colour, and his fist stayed curled in position on the table. Itzi felt like crying. There was no escape. She knew she had petched up.

"I... I'm sorry, Clem. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't know how you would react. I had an argument with Enni, the friend I told you about? I promise... I promise I didn't tell her about us, but she was asking me all these questions, and I didn't know what to say, and now I feel bad because we haven't ever fought like that!" She looked up at Clem, with tears in her eyes. They didn't have chance to fall before he reacted in anger, a brief explosion of a roar from between clenched teeth. Abruptly, he swept his hand across the table and sent the plate of freshly cooked food flying. The wooden plate hit the wall and cracked, sending the food splattering onto the floor.

Itzi recoiled and cried out, but Clement was already coming around the table towards her. Then, in a complete about face, he wrapped his arms around the shocked woman and cuddled her close. He murmured into her hair, "I'm sorry. Sorry. Sorry," over and over, whilst Itzi shivered and tried to stop the tears from forming. His explanations fell on numb ears. She soon gave in to his apologetic kisses, like she always did. His warm and sincere expressions went somewhat to soothing her, and she believed him when he said he didn't mean it. Nevertheless, she tried not to think about what had just happened, and Ennisa's words drifted through her mind as she kissed her lover. But, what could she do? She loved Clem, very much, and she couldn't leave him, not after everything they had shared over the season.

WC : 673

[Ennisa]

"speech"
"others"

The brief flurry of violence shocked Ennisa as much as Itzi. She almost jumped up and ran in, there and then, to stop the man and rescue her friend, but when they began hugging and kissing she sat back down and dazedly wondered what to do next. There was no way she would let that man bully and intimidate her Itzi for much longer, but it was obvious that her friend adored him. Loved him, even. She couldn't understand. How could her strong, funny, hilarious friend fall in love with someone like him? Someone so controlling, and angry. She had seen the vile expression on his face during the outburst. She'd seen it all. How dare he.

Ennisa dug her fingernails into her palm, and vowed to rescue Itzi from the bad relationship, one way or another. She didn't want to speak with her - that was fine. Ennisa would speak to the man, instead. She would tell him what she would do if he ever harmed a hair on Itzi's head. She would tell him to back off, to leave her alone, and if he didn't... Ennisa's blood was boiling enough for her hand to stray to the dagger at her waist as she tapped the pommel. In her right mind she would probably tell him she would speak to the Shinya, but her hackles were raised by his appalling behaviour, and if she felt threatened, she would petching well threaten right back at him.

After a couple of times peeking over the wall and seeing nothing but seemingly benign, if one-sided conversation on the blonde man's part, she decided she would leave and plan to come back later, when Itzi's wasn't there. She didn't want her friend to step in and defend the man. Gods knew, Itzi could be just as stubborn as her, and if their argument earlier was anything to go by, she would defend her man even if it meant lying to Ennisa and to herself.

She slunk away and darted to the side as fast and discreetly as she could so as not to avoid detection. When she was a good distance away, she dug the notebook out of her bag and took a good look around. She unscrewed the cap covering the ink bottle and dipped the quill inside. The Okomo Estates was not somewhere she thought was easy to navigate, as much of the landscape looked similar to her eyes. She finally decided on jotting down the position of the man's cottage lying next to a stony outcrop, and the unusual colour, grey-purple, of the flagstones that formed the entrance to the garden. When she'd finished her scribbles, she wiped the pen dry on the grass and tucked the writing equipment back into her backpack, which she then slung onto her shoulder.

By this point, having walking across half the city and also sat still for long periods of time, she was beginning to get rather hot, as well as exhausted. She touched her fingers to her face as she began to walk back, and to her dismay discovered she'd managed to get sunburn from being out in the open for as long as she had. Damn. Perhaps she should buy herself a hat.

She trudged home, and wearily flopped onto bed when she got there. Tomorrow, she would stake out the house with the black door, and the cottage if needs be. When that man rears his head, he'll be hearing from me. Yet, before she could stew any further, she instinctively snuggled down and fell asleep.

WC : 595

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request!

Ennisa

Skills

• Observation: 5xp
• Persuasion: 3xp
• Interrogation: 1xp
• Rhetoric: 1xp
• Endurance: 1xp
• Planning: 3xp
• Stealth: 3xp
• Investigation: 4xp
• Writing: 1xp
• Drawing: 1xp
• Land Navigation: 1xp
  

Lores

• Itzi: concern for a friend
• Persuasion: pleading
• Itzi: hiding something
• Interrogation: demanding answers
• Rhetoric: and impassioned plea
• Itzi: no longer friends
• Ennisa: self-absorbed
• Endurance: fighting sleep
• Planning: plan of action
• Stealth: tailing at a safe distance
• Itzi: acting unusual
• Itzi: has a lover?
• Stealth: stakeout
• Land Navigation: rudimentary map marking
• Clement: Itzi's violent boyfriend

Awards & Retribution
+Sunburn: discomfort and peeling skin, will last for 7 days

Notes
I know I'm doing this grade out of order, I was just super interested in what you had brewing for the Halloween challenge! And oh boy this mysterious, horrifically abusive Clyde tops of the list for the scariest thing to come out of that challenge for me.