Look before you leap [Akari]

[Elhaym]

13th Day of Summer, 511 AV

The night sky was young, but Elhaym had been up for a while now. Given her injuries, it had taken a while even make the trek from the Monastery down the Pavilion to check in with her Instructors. She would resume her training tomorrow, though it had taken some persuasion. Her stubborn and reckless streak had gotten her injured in the first place, and they sought to quell her inner fire, not allow it to consume her again before she was even able to walk unaided. As it were, she hobbled down the stairs leading to the Pavilion's inner cloister, one arm leaning heavily on a crutch to support her injured leg while the other rested casually in a sling. The actual state of that arm was anything but casual, but at least the pain was a dull hum now.

It was not uncommon to see an injured Acolyte clad in blue robes, so no one paid her anymore heed that giving her a wide enough birth to avoid knocking her over. Long black hair fell loosely over her shoulders; if she was not going to study, she preferred not to tie it back. Working her crutch with a scowl, she limped along with her eyes downcast. It was slightly embarrassing to be so banged up, after all. Perhaps she had presumed too much of the wide step people had taken around her, but as her crutch planted firmly onto the ground for another step Elhaym saw a blur of color at her feet rushing towards her. She jerked backwards, having almost plowed right into a young woman who had been standing in her path. She was staring thoughtfully at the Pavilion in the distance and Elhaym would have had plenty of room to go around her had she been paying attention. Relaxing her clenched jaws and grinding teeth, Elhaym centered herself and forced her face to calm.

She actually could have been Elhaym's sister. They looked a lot alike in a way, except Elhaym would surely have been said behind closed doors not to have inherited the beauty of the family. This woman was a bit shorter, softer of face and more lithe in form, but hers was not the body of a spoiled merchants daughter. Elhaym wasn't as insightful as her Shinya sponsors, but she knew a warrior when she saw one. Or the beginnings of a warrior, anyway.

"Oh, uh... I'm sorry, almost ran you over there." Elhaym sputtered, spilling out the words as she had been taking in the woman's appearance. If she was staring at the Pavilion, and she had that way about her, Elhaym could put two and two together. "Say, are you new to Lhavit?" She asked, and realized that if the answer was yes than the woman likely wouldn't have understood her. She was prepared to repeat the question in common if need be.

She shifted her weight onto the crutched and leaned on it, leaning away from the foot traffic around them. It wasn't that her foot was throbbing something fierce and her shoulder kept getting jerked around and sending sharp pains into her arm. Nope, that definitely wasn't why she really wanted to stop. After all, sparking up conversations with strangers was completely normal.

[Akari]

Akari had been awake for some time. It appeared it was going to take her a little while to adjust to Lhavit’s way of life, especially the nocturnal part of it. She had managed to sleep for most of the day, but had risen a good few bells before sunset. She had arrived the previous day with the intention of heading straight to the Pavilion. She had gotten as far as glimpsing the building from a distance before her resolve had shattered. Now, she was standing outside of it. Her eyes were distant, as if she were looking right through the structure. ”My father lived here. He trained here…” Unusually for her, Akari had let her thoughts wander. She was never one for daydreaming since she preferred to keep her attention on the activity around her. As it happened, she had chosen the wrong time to start. She was bought sharply back to the present as a figure loomed up before her. Her eyes focused to see a woman stepping back, having apparently almost walked into her. Akari was about to say something, when she noticed the uniform. The woman was wearing blue robes, the clothing of an Acolyte. It took another glance to notice that one arm was tied in a sling, while she leant on a crutch with the other. She sincerely hoped that they were not general training injuries and that they had come from some daring act. It took her a moment to realize the woman was speaking to her. It took her another moment still to register that she was speaking in Lhavitian. She was thankful that her mother had insisted on teaching her the language from a young age, despite her many childish protests. “Oh, no no, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been standing here like that.” She felt a rush of guilt, for she had neglected to move out of the way of someone injured. Akari made to nod her head at the question. “Oh, ye-” She cut herself off mid-answer. “Well, in a way.” She then realized how odd that must be. Here she was, an apparent tourist who could speak Lhavitian. From what she gathered, that rarely happened. She shook her head lightly at herself. “Uh, I mean that I am from here, but I didn’t grow up here. So I suppose I am new.” She prayed that made more sense. She desperately wanted to ask how the woman had sustained her injuries, but she felt that it would be impolite.

[Elhaym]

Elhaym raised an eyebrow as the woman went on in her speech. If they could have been sisters in appearance, then the way their accents mimicked each other's would lent to the possibility. It was not totally noticeable, but a minor emphasis here and a strange tick there in the woman's Lhavitian hinted at what she herself affirmed only seconds later. Elhaym was sure the woman must have been raised in Sylira somewhere.

"Well, good thing you came back. It's a beautiful place in truth. Nothing like Syliras; that's where I was born." She said, gesturing and talking with her free hand as much as her voice. It looked a bit odd with her leaning on the crutch so hard. "I'm Elhaym. You'll have to forgive me, I can't really make a proper bow at the moment." The words might have been a joke, but her face actually looked somewhat abashed for it.

"Nice to meet you. I don't know how long you've been in Lhavit, but I am an Acolyte of the Shinya here." She spoke, once again gesturing to the sky blue robes and white sash across her waist. "Not always as glamorous as I thought it would be."

A snort accompanied that last statement, and she bit down on her lip as she smiled at Akari. She had actually never imagined it being glamorous, and had joined the order for all the wrong reasons. She only hoped that these days, she remained among them for the right ones.

"You seemed interested in the Pavilion. I, uh… well, I can tell you have some fight in you, so to speak. Just from looking at you, a little. Don't let this put you off, I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew. To say the least." Obviously, she referenced her injuries. Elhaym shifted her weight and hobbled to the side of the city street, if you could call it that. "I don't know why you would want to join, but if you're a newcomer in Lhavit and you're already staring at the Pavilion then there must be some pretty important reason?"

It hadn't even taken Elhaym a day before she was inside the Pavilion meeting with the elite of the Shinya, and signing her mind, body and soul over to the Shinya to be trained as a guardian of Lhavit. It had been an ends to a mean in that moment, and nothing more. Was this girl the same way?

"Think long and hard on it. I don't know if you're aware, but you will be forced to learn some… irregular things as an Acolyte. It can be difficult. Every Shinya uses projection, every last one of them." Elhaym said, her lips going flat with a mixture of frustration and perhaps a hint of fear. The memory of her own traumatic initiation into the world of magic was never buried far. She had no way to know whether or not the girl was already a wizard, but who would assume that of anyone, really?

Elhaym staggered to the side, frustrated by the aching pain in her leg. Her good leg was starting to throb now, and her knee was sending warning signs. She let out a sigh as she conceded to herself that it wouldn't hurt to use projection to aid her, just one more time. As the woman spoke, Elhaym only offered half an ear while she touched on that underlying sensation that was always there; her astral body. Slowly guiding it free, it began to shift and unfold just beneath her shoulder on her injured left arm. Like a whip coming uncoiled in slow motion, it freed itself and stretched into the air above her while leaving it's abandoned flesh limp inside her sling. Rather than any spectaculer task, she simply planted her astral hand on the ground as support not unlike a gorilla strides on it's knuckles. The usefulness of the astral body being able to stretch and contort itself was growing more obvious to her as the days went on. Perhaps Akari would notice that she suddenly sagged forward a bit as if support by something unseen, but a passerby likely wouldn't notice.

In any case, the pain in her leg relented even if her arm could not support much weight. Her ability still left much to be desired. Now that her full attention was returned to Akari, she realized an awkward silence had descended. Trying to revive the conversation, Elhaym quickly spoke. "If you really would like to join the Shinya, I can give you a few ideas of what to expect. I've been an Acolyte since the winter... It's a hard road, but it's well worth walking on."

Elhaym had been quite blessed with a tight knit circle of support during her trials as a beginning Acolyte. For someone not native to Lhavit, it was without a doubt a challenge to adapt and thrive in this environment. If she could help Akari a little bit, it would be well worth the time. While she wouldn't necessarily offer life advice to a stranger, a prospective Shinya was different. If she joined, in a matter of months the two would likely view each other as family much as she did now with her peers within the Acolytes.

[Akari]

Akari nodded at the woman's words. Lhavit was indeed beautiful. She had seen nothing like it before, not even in the mystical city of Avanthal. "Ah, yes, Syliras doesn't even hold a candle to Lhavit." She had been raised in the bustling city, and while she accepted her mothers choice, she wished that they had stayed here. "Oh, my name is Akari." She smiled hesitantly at Elhaym. She did not bow herself, for she was unused to the way of greeting. She would usually nod or offer a handshake. The woman confirmed what Akari had already guessed. She was an Acolyte. The blue uniform had spoken for her, but the confirmation was welcome. "I uh, I arrived yesterday." She stopped herself from raising an eyebrow at the last comment. Akari knew it was not a glamorous occupation. She had learnt that much from her fathers journal. It was intense and at times grueling. An Acolyte had a duty to learn and glamour was not needed in that. She wondered what Elhaym had meant by her comment. She glanced quickly at the Pavilion and nodded before returning her gaze. The attention the woman had drawn to her injuries came as both a relief and a panic. Though Akari let neither show on her face. It appeared that they weren't every day training injuries, but she also knew that by training harder you were more likely to succeed. "It's...my father." Her eyes took on some sort of prideful shine. "He was a Shinya. I want to make him proud." The hint of a smile tugged hat her mouth. Ah, projection. That she did know. After she had received the journal from her mother she had immediately read it several times. Her father had often mentioned projection, so the girl had naturally researched it. And succeeded. A faint pink crept into her cheeks. "I know. I uh, I've tried it already." Of course, she hadn't done it alone. She had found someone in the city. It had taken her a little while, but with the hep of her mother, and old friend of the family from Lhavit had agreed to show her. Akari was nowhere near competent though. She was still scared to even attempt it on her own. Instinctively she reached her hands out when the woman's leg seemed to buckle. Though the Acolyte seemed to right herself before she fell. She let her hands drop again. Her gaze shifted back to the Pavilion for a moment. Her future dream lay within the walls of that building. She resisted the sudden urge to rush inside and forced her attention back to the woman. She felt guilty for making her stop, her leg was obviously causing discomfort. She noted that she seemed to be leaning forwards, but she couldn't be sure. Perhaps she had shifted the angle of her crutch while Akari wasn't looking. The sudden quiet in the conversation dawned on her and she made to speak, but the other got there first. Akari's eyes lit up. "Oh, yes! I would like that very much! If you don't mind of course. I don't want to interrupt any plans." She glanced around. "In any case, would you like to move our conversation. I um, I couldn't help but notice you seem to be in some discomfort." She looked slightly abashed. "I'm afraid I don't really know my way around the city yet, so..." It was a signal that, if Elhaym was willing to talk to her more, Akari would gladly follow her to a more comfortable place.