Blackout (Open)

[Tsaksha]

Day 4, Spring, Year 510AV

She would have taken everything in if it had been a normal day.

The glass, domed roofs and the sculptures that seemed to crop up everywhere. Even though it was night, Lhavit seemed busy, alive. She thought back to times in Yahebah, and it felt different here. Yahebah was chaotic and vibrant, very harsh looking. Lhavit was beautiful, every turn took your breath away, with people calmly going about their business.

Tsaksha tried to look around but her head was spinning. She had used absolutely everything she had to get here, and it had been too much. She tried to keep up but she couldn’t, and everything began to fade, the brilliant colours and marble and crystal and wood all fuzzing up and melting together to form a blurry colourful mess.

All the tiredness she had pushed away in hope of going forwards with her journey seemed to come out of nowhere. Maybe Yahal had given her everything she needed, now she was here she would be safe?

The horse stopped, he could tell something was wrong. Eykhari paused, he stopped wagging his tail. He gave a warning bark, like he knew something was going to happen. Tsaksha tried to look round and with that last twist of her body she slid from her horse, and landed with a thump on the ground.

She didn’t stir. She tried to open her eyes but keeping them closed felt better. She was so, so tired… She wanted to lie here forever. Finally she could settle down.

[Raiyari]

The young Shinya patrolled down the street, taking in the vibrant night life of Lhavit. It was just another night, another patrol. Raiyari nodded to the citizens that she passed, old and young, hale or ill. The City of the Stars was a bright and diverse place, filled with familiar sights. In Rai's opinion, it was a far more beautiful sight than the wind-filled eyries and cliffs of Wind Reach. This was home. And it was her duty to guard her home from whomever dared encroach upon it. As Rai walked, she noticed a strange sight. A foreigner - the copper skinned child could not be anything else - sat atop a horse. And by sat, Rai meant slumped over. The horse simply stood in the middle of the pathway, blocking the route of many people and travelers. That was when the child fell. Abandoning all sense of stately calm, Rai rushed forwards. She knew from personal experience that the cobblestones were no soft feather bed, and by the look of the tired horse, the foreign child had been traveling for many a moonrise. The young woman knelt beside the copper-skinned child, gently shaking her, and then placing her ear near the stranger's nose, to see if she could hear her breath. If the child did nothing, Rai would pick her up, with the intention of bringing her to the first healer or inn she could find.

[Tsaksha]

It could be explained as a sort of flitting-flitting in and out of consciousness, or maybe just a deep sleep. She seemed to notice someone else there, and she could feel her horse nudge her urgently, his warm breath heating up her back.

Tsaksha was becoming aware of what was going on, gradually. She could see the bright crystalline-esque lights again, and she looked up to see her horse somehow looking a slightly relieved, and her little wolf sitting patiently at the bottom of her feet.

She pressed a hand to her forehead, and with a sharp intake of breath tried to sit up and carry on her way, but she felt dizzy and couldn’t lift herself off the ground. It was them that she became aware of the young woman next to her, looking worried. Almost as if she was trying to seem a little more reserved but had lost it slightly.

Well, what would any normal person be like if a young girl had fallen off of her horse?

Tsaksha clasped her eyes together tightly and murmured something, she couldn’t quite get any words out.

[Raiyari]

A panicked expression briefly crossed Raiyari's face. She'd never trained for this! She was trained wound and kill, not heal. What did one do when confronted with an unconscious girl? No, not unconscious, the child seemed to murmur a few words. Rai couldn't understand the mumblings, perhaps they were in a different tongue? It was probably because the child was near-dead with exhaustion. So she did what any confused teenager would do: she winged it. Though Rai was on duty, she'd be damned before leaving the strange child in the street. Besides, how long could this take? "Izumi, cover for me for a bell, would you?" she called out to a passing Shinya, who grinned mischievously in answer. Carefully, the Shinya picked the child up. Her brow furrowed in surprise as she felt how light the girl was, almost skin and bones! With a steady step, she hastened towards the plaza. Everything faded to a whirl of frenzied activity. Once in the Plaza, Rai bought a vial of smelling salts, tossing the coin one-handed to the shopkeeper with a hasty bow. With the other, she cradled the semi-unconscious girl to her chest, rushing towards the Shinyama Monastery. Rai sincerely hoped there wouldn't be hell to pay for this infraction of the rules, but she'd be willing to forgo her time off-duty if it could help this child. They were taught to defend and protect the city of Lhavit, and since the stranger was inside the city, this included her too. Rai's sense of honor forbid her to do otherwise. Striding purposely through the gardens, Rai would pass by a face she knew so well. Shoji, a Viraya who had never completed his Awakening. She fought down the familiar pang of pity when she saw his face. "Shoji, would you please fetch some soup. I'm afraid I've got an unconscious girl on my hands, and I can't figure out what to do with her." Her voice always softened when she talked to him, leaving the coldly polite facade behind. She could see the regret so clearly in his dark eyes. He simply nodded and sped off, doing as his duty required of him. Rai'd never really gotten to talk with him because both of them were so duty-bound, but now was not the time to think of such things. When she reached her small and sparsely furnished home, Rai carefully placed the child on the bed, taking the smelling salts out of her pocket. Shoji arrived moments later, carrying a covered bowl of soup in his hands. He placed it onto the small table beside the bed, and with a bow to Raiyari, was gone. This time, she spared no thought to him except to politely nod in return. She was waving the smelling salts frantically under the girl's nose, trying to wake her up. It was all a careful balance of ensuring the girl's safety, and getting back to her patrol. Dian Huang would not be happy with this. receipt : Smelling salts - 1 kina. Soup - 2 kina.