[Flashback] Enhance my Nightmare [Akari]

[Syndela]

Timestamp: 73rd of Spring 510 AV.

Illumination of twilight cast the sky into a symphony of red, purples and blues. Contrasting to the end of day to the coming of night. The horizon elongated beyond the mountains, spanning out to present Mizahar in all it's glory. One end of the spectrum presented the sun, it's last dying rays captivating the string of clouds and turning them into hues of makeshift vibrance. On the other held the magnificent moon. Stars sprinkled in the darker and much vaster sky, revealing galaxies and glittering heavenly pastures only the god's could taste.

Hung below the skies were the lands of the world. Though the hill where the view presented itself was not too high, you could still make out the figments of forests, cliff-faces and mountains looming in the distance. Sounds of creatures unseen filled the air, welcoming the change of day and time. Crickets chirped in their burrows, birds sung their last evening song and the faint cries and moans of beasts echoed in the distance.
The wagon had stopped at a scenic location, ironically. Allowing those aboard the caravan a wonderous spectacle to view while repairs were allocated like chores. Unlike the other wagon which was still attached and in good form, the one carrying the travellers had come undone. Creaking had been heard as they travelled up the hill, the horse drawn wagon tiltering and groaning complaintfully just before the wheel on the right side broke, sending the entire caravan to lean and come to a thumping stop.

Fine trees overhung the elevated road, spanning over on both sides to offer some cover from the assaulting winds. Their needle-like leaves bristled gently in the breeze, rustling and turning coal in tone as the darkness descended. On the left side of the dirt road was a small overhang of basalt rock, patched in lichen, fungi and moss of all species. One of the horses had taken a liking to the odd delicacy, it's teeth grazing over one of the stones that were covered in the exotic delight. Disgruntled, the holder of the reins flicked the leather straps, hoping to prevent his prized mount from harvesting any more of the foul material.

A travelling worksman inspected the point of damage to the wagon, fragments of the former wheel having been collected and stacked into a neat pile nearby. His warm ash coloured eyes hardened in the dying light, lips twisting as he struggled to see. " Oi! Can someone ge' me a lantern 'ere!? I can't see a bloody thing! " He shouted over his shoulder at the small clsuter of people huddling around the two caravans. Most of the folk were travellers destined to arrive in the same city; Alvadas. Others were the jack and jills of all trades. Though, only the worksman seemed to be of any use in this situation. The crowd consisted of around eleven people, excluding the drivers. They were all human except for a lonely inarta male who stood off from the group to survey the sunset.

Men stood around in coats sewn from dyed cloth, the women wearing simple leather breeches or the occassional skirt. One of the women had a pet ferret on her shoulder, stroking it with obsessive composure to settle her own disheaved nerves. A few of the males stood closely to one another, young and without facial hair. Teenagers, ill-equiped to deal with the wilds by judging their quirky sense of fashion and lack of weapons or defenses. A bunch of disarranged persons, not having any connection with eachother and all getting confused and aggitated. Daytime in the forests and territories were dangerous but night was a whole new ball game. Predators roamed and scavenged closer, sounds elevating so that even the simple snap of a twig could signal the approach of death incarnate.

" Someone or a few of you need to get firewood or we are not going to be able to see, and who knows what's out there. " Muttered the driver of the second caravan, his tone bored and void of any real fear, as if he had dealt with broken carriages his entire lifetime. At the mention of gathering, the fashionable teenagers slunk back, hiding behind the rest of the rugged figures to avoid being picked for such a menial but crucial task. The worksman grunted in frustration of not having anyone bring him a light source and so hit his hand upon the side of the wagon in a loud bang, causing the jumpy teenagers to become startled and huddle even closer.

Seemed like tonight was going to be a long one.

[Akari]

It was a mixture of excitement and anticipation that thrummed through the girl as the travelling caravan trundled its way along the winding roads. She had been travelling for quite a time now, and she could feel that her destination was drawing near. Her fellow passengers also seemed restless, although she suspected it was for a different reason. They did not seem to like the travel, probably more used to lazing around in whatever home they had come from. More fool them then. Alvadas is not the city to take with ease, she knew that. These people were probably going to end up with quite a shock come their arrival. A sickening crunch coupled with a lurch from their caravan sent most of the passengers flying to the right. They jostled into each other with shocked faces, echoes of surprise sounding from them. Akari was seated to the far right to start with, and she found herself crushed between a disgruntled woman and the wall. An inaudible sigh escaped her as she waited for everyone to untangle themselves and disembark from the caravan. She followed suit, leaping lightly from the back to land in the unfamiliar terrain. Immediately the spectacle of the view overtook her. The sky was awash with colours, like some celestial paintbrush had been allowed to run amok among the stars and clouds. She bathed in the contrast; the stars lighting the inky blue sky, blending to vibrant hues of reds and purples along the other side. She had never quite seen anything like it before, and teamed with the distant mountains, it was not something she was likely to see again – or forget. A shout from one of her fellow passengers – one of the workmen – snapped her sharply from her reverie. She turned to look; the right wheel had been completely shattered, the splintered pieces collected into a haphazard pile. It seemed that the man crouched by the side of the caravan was the only one who knew how to fix it. Akari suspected she looked like the other useless travellers who were now huddled together. Dressed in her usual attire; a long cream dress, leather belt and shoes and a long purple coat, she wouldn’t blame anyone if they suspected so. What they couldn’t see, was the two Tantõ swords she had attached to her belt, hidden beneath her coat. True, she was not too skilled in their use, but she could wield them perfectly fine in defence. As the workman requested firewood, nobody moved. Well, nobody moved forward. The well-dressed youths from the city seemed to shrink back, as if trying to hide in the shadows created by the lopsided caravan. Akari rolled her eyes. She shot a look to the Inarta nearby, who was seemingly caught up in his own world, uncaring that the whole lot of them were stranded. She sharply turned on her heel and headed for the trees. If nobody else was going to do it, she would. She was not going to sit around and let everyone else do the work. No. She intended to make her father proud, and helping out would be the start of that. She paused, turned back, and grabbed the lantern people had failed to give to the workman before turning back toward the wood. There was no way she was going in there blind.

[Syndela]

Seasonal was the change within the crowd. As Akari wllingly placed her life on the line to fetch the wood did others step forward almost immediately to help. From winter to summer in an instant burst of changed behaviour. All they needed was someone to take charge." I will go with you. " Proposed the inarta male who had been standing off in his lonesome a few mere moments before. His clothes consisted of many different patches of leather all sewn together with pink and orange fabric. Against his waist withheld a strange holster, a small tear in the pouch revealing lines of pipe. A travelling musician seemed the most plausible description for the firey haired male.

" I'll come along too, since no one else seems interested in helping. " Hinted a voice from the crowd, a short stocky man pushing past the other hapless figures. He was dressed in chainmail from the waist down, heavy leather boots clad on the end of his legs. Above the waist was a saggy white t-shirt with a few burnt holes torn into the fabric. His muscles were strangely well developed on his right arm. The left still retaining a strained and experienced physique but lacking the quality of bludging power presented on his right, a quality only a blacksmith could withhold.

The two men nudged over toward Akari, each displaying a hint of distaste toward their commrades who stood around the caravan like a herd of misplaced sheep. The inarta squinted as the forest panned open before them, trees opening out alike pages of a book. Rolling boulders of lychen covered rock littered the hillside, pockets of bushes and shrubs planted around the root systems of the pine trees or between the wedges of stone. The elevation of the terrain and uneven balance would make the journey for firewood much more precarious. Springtime had blossomed the flora into life, tiny purple and white flowers dotting in the spaces where the rocks had left enough room for earth to develop. Every nook and cranny of the forest was filled with lush vegetation, dead branches or rock, earning a snort to come from the blacksmiths long nose.

" Great, just great. Keep that lantern up, I don't wanna slip on these damned rocks. " The blacksmith chanted as he assumed to take control of the situation. Ether it be his lack of height that wanted him to claim alpha position or whether his personality was as adamant as any armor he crafted was something only the gods could decide. Stubby fingers gripped the stone just under his feet, the blacksmith sliding himself down the lychen moss rock on his backside. Creaking a brow in protest at his crude methods, the inarta had no choice but to follow suit and slide down after the tradesman. Flicks of moss and lychen broke from the rock as the two landed on the ground at the end of the slippery formation, the crunching of twigs under their boots justing a reward.

" There's some wood right here. " Commented the red head as he plucked up the slightly crushed twigs into an armful. Indeed, he was right. Where they now stood consisted of many branches, thin and frail but enough to act as tinder for a fire. Cawing of crows echoed through the dimming skyline of the treetops, the hints of sky cast between leaves and trunks turning purple. Naturally, the eyes of the humanoids adjusted to the low light, allowing hazey figures of potiential firewood to be spotted without the aid of the lantern.

Little did they know they were being watched by something other than ravens.

[Akari]

Of course people would change their minds after one person had taken the plunge. That seemed to be the usual way of things. Akari was not at all surprised, she had expected at least another to join her. However, she had not been expecting the lone Inarta to volunteer. She had imagined that he had been completely oblivious to what was going on around the broken caravan; he had after all forcibly set himself apart from the others. She quickly took in his clothing, noting the shocking clash of pink and orange with a little curiosity. He appeared to possess no weapons or other method of defence, so she presumed the man was an artist of some description, be it painter, musician or entertainer. A second voice was heard, and a second volunteer stepped up to join the pair. Another man dressed in some form of mail skirt. He was a short man, perhaps not a lot taller than Akari herself, and seemed as though he worked in some for of craft. Not woodworking, but with metals. The woman was satisfied to see that each of her fellow volunteers appeared to hold distaste to the well-dressed city folk still hiding by the caravan. She turned away from them and back to the trees, holding the lantern a little higher. The forest itself seemed fine enough, but the track they were currently standing on was elevated, and the only way down seemed to be over lichen-coated rocks. It was typical; of course something as simple as collecting firewood wasn’t going to be so easy. The smith nudged past her, glancing down before speaking. Akari rolled her eyes at him, she had assumed that one of the two men would try and control the situation, but she said nothing. She moved her arm, holding the lantern in such a way that the entire drop of rocks could be seen. The man and Inarta both slid down the rocks in a rather undignified way. Akari frowned. While she was nowhere near vain, she was wearing a cream dress under her coat. And she was holding a lantern. Naturally she would get the short straw. Lowering the lantern, and ignoring any protests from the men below as they temporarily lost their only light, Akari stepped out onto the topmost rock, balancing with a slight wobble. Her shoes were soft leather, and the soles had little grip thanks to wear which would greatly help her descend in a more dignified manner. She crouched on the rock, looking as though she was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest. After setting the lantern aside in a position where they would still have a bit of light, she then shuffled forward slightly till she began to slide down on her feet. Her left hands trailed next to her, brushing the rock and helping to keep her steady as she went. When she reached the bottom she pushed through her legs, earning a small jump; just enough to ensure she landed on her feet rather than her face. She gave a satisfied nod, and moved over to the two men. The Inarta had found some twigs that looked like useable tinder, which was a good thing; it meant they could avoid the forest. Akari’s eyes quickly adjusted to the low light, and she crouched, examining the ground for more sticks. However, her skin crawled uncomfortably, and she kept glancing over her shoulder at the trees. She felt like there was something there, something not very nice at all and it unnerved her. The others did not seem to notice though, so she attempted to shake it off. It worked for a few chimes, and she had managed to gather a handful of branches before she got the creeping sensation again. She straightened and looked right into the trees, straining at the darkness. She was almost positive something was out there. It could just be the dark and ravens setting her on edge, but all the same, she didn’t like it.