Burning Trees and Wishful Thinking [Nira'lia]

[Ruka]

Day 10, Summer of 512 AV

Ruka sighed contently as she finished changing the sheets to all the beds in the room she was currently working in. It had been approximately eleven days since she had been hired to work in Ionu's Mercy as an assistant nurse, and during that time the lazy spring temperatures had gradually changed into the festering heat of summer. The concussion she had sustained the day she discovered the Alvadas hospital had been healing nicely, and she had all but forgotten the embarrassing incident which had led to it. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she took a step back to examine her hard work.

She was in the same spacious room she had been in when she awoke to find Irene caring for her head, its airy ceilings holding in the moist humidity of the summer day and causing the white marbled room to feel hot and stuffy. There were two rows of five beds placed parallel to each other on opposing walls, creating a wide walkway in between them. Tapestries depicting the healing arts were hung up as decorations around the room, bringing some color to the harsh brightness of the marble.

The clean, white sheeted beds, which earlier had been accommodating sickly patients, were flawless and unwrinkled. Ruka felt a swell of pride at her perfect job of making the beds, and happily bent down to pick up the dirty sheets that were piled haphazardly at her feet. The pile was rather big, rising noticeably high over Ruka's head and obscuring her line of sight. She attempted to tilt her head around the sheets, but it was to no avail. She made her way slowly to the door, wobbling the entire way as she tried to balance all the sheets in her hands which had decided to rebel against her. Bits and pieces of the white fabric had found their way out of the confinement of her tiny arms and dangled dangerously close the floor.

“Come on … almost there!” Glistening beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face, and Ruka was starting to feel the effects of the hot summer day. Her throat was parched and she longed for a large glass of water to sooth it, but knew she had to finish her chores or else Irene would scold her for slacking off. Longing for the solace water would bring her, she quickened her pace out the door and down the hall to where Irene instructed her to place the dirty linen. Just as she turned a corner, her foot caught on the edge of a hanging sheet and sent her toppling to the ground. Unable to remove her arms from around the many sheets in time, she found herself cocooned between them and she frantically sought to free herself. In her haste to escape the linen trap, she failed to notice a pair of booted feet stop in front of her.

“And what, may I ask, are ya' doin' ta those linen's, girl?” Ruka stilled, very slowly raising her eyes to meet Irene's stern expression. She gulped, at a total loss of words for being caught in her embarrassing predicament.

“W-well, uhm, I-I-”

“The reason I told ya' ta fold 'em,” Irene began, crouching down to pull Ruka out of her tangled mess, “was for things like this not ta happen.” Ruka looked at the floor, ashamed guilt clearly plastered on her face.

“Yes ma'am … I apologize.” Irene sighed and shook her head, eying the tiny girl before her. She was clumsy and had her head constantly in the clouds, but even Irene could see the big heart she had. She was always eager and willing to volunteer and help out, even with the things most of the employees found mundane and a bore to do. A small, barely noticeable smile crept across Irene's face, and she shook her head, completely giving up on her attempted at chastising the girl.

“Ruka, I've a job for ya.” Ruka blinked up at the older woman curiously, her head still bent in disgrace. “We've run out of a leaf called The Torch Leaf, and I need ya ta go get some fer me.”

“Ma'am?” Irene scooped the linen's into her arms and stood, motioning with her head that Ruka should follow. Obediently, she did.

“The torch leaf grows on a tree called, The Torch tree. It is found near Verlyna's Emerald Pond on the outskirts of the city. It's close ta it, but not in sight of it.” They entered a room with a large wooden tub in the middle, filled to the brim with soapy water. Multiple washboards, small rectangular-like frames with a series of ridges in the middle, were scattered across the room, and multiple piles of sheets and cloth were piled in messy stacks around the edges of the tub. Irene walked over to the nearest one and dumped her load on top of it.

“You can't miss it. It looks like the whole tree is on fire. Go and collect a hundred leaves – we need ‘em ta make the ointment fer burns.” Ruka stared.

“O-one hundred leaves?”

“Did I stutter, girl?”

“No ma'am.”

“Well, don't just stand there gawking. Get goin'!” Ruka hastily bowed out of the room after exclaiming an energetic 'yes ma'am' in Irene's direction. She took all but two steps down the hallway before pausing briefly and then backtracking.

“Excuse me, Miss Irene?” Irene looked up from scrubbing the dirty linens, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She lifted an inquiring eyebrow in Ruka's direction, gesturing for the girl to continue.

Ruka shot her a sheepish smile.

“Where exactly is this pond place?”

[Nira'lia]

After around fifteen days of being in Alvadas, Nira'lia still could not figure out how to get anywhere. According to what she heard, many of those who had lived there for decades still had the same predicament as her. It was frustrating, and she soon felt her patience running thin. She was even scared of leaving the Cubacious Inn for the reason that she was worried she wouldn't find her way back. However, somehow, she always found her way back to the inn. It was a puzzling situation, and she couldn't help but wonder if the city knew where she wanted to go. 'Okay, but I want to go to Ionu's Mercy, will the city help me get there?' With a sigh, she decided to ask a random person about the establishment. The lady seemed to think about it for a minute. She wore extravagant clothes that reminded Nira'lia of the myriad of colors that danced around during the Festival of Illusions. "I think I saw it a couple of streets down," said the woman as she pointed towards the street to their right. "That was this morning, though... could have moved by now." The Konti thanked her and walked away. She needed a job, and that was the reason she was seeking out Ionu's Mercy. As she walked, she was both puzzled and entertained by the fact that it was snowing in Alvadas during summer. As she walked, her mind started to wander, which was probably not a smart move was considering that she didn't know where she was going. Random thoughts fluttered through her mind as she wondered what kind of establishment Ionu's Mercy was. "...Uh." The Konti blinked. Before her was a dead end. Looking around frantically, she saw nothing but houses. With a worried face, she backtracked and rounded the nearest corner that she could find – she didn't know why, but that was what made sense to her at the time. She continued walking. The rows of houses and the streets thinned down the longer that she walked, and she realized that must have somehow found the outskirts of the city. Then... her eyes met an odd sight in the distance. It seemed to be a... patch of greenery? The sound of flowing water could be heard, and she saw that the trees and plants surrounded an emerald pond and a water fall. As she walked closer, she saw that the water that fell from the falls seemed to be produced out of thin air. Fascinating. The Konti stood there, wide-eyed and mouth agape. She simply stared at the water fall and at the pond, and at the strange plants that she had never seen before. Alvadas was indeed a mysterious place!

[Ruka]

Ruka sighed. She was not very happy at that moment. For a little more than two hours, she had been wandering aimlessly though the constantly changing Alvadas streets, looking for the tree that Irene had instructed her to find. It shouldn't have been this difficult to find the outskirts of a city – but Ionu, as Ruka had come to believe due to her untamed imagination, had a personal grudge against the girl. Why? Ruka would never know. But she suspected it was due to her unwavering devotion to Rak'keli, rather than the patron god of Alvadas.

She rolled her eyes to the sky, sending a small prayer to Rak'keli, beseeching her to do something about Ionu's bullying. She took a sharp right around a nearby corner, instantly flinching back when a cold, wet substance splashed down onto her flushed cheek. Blinking, she looked up at where the liquid had dropped from, and was surprised to find an icicle hanging threateningly above her. Wiping the cold water off her face, she slowly backed out from underneath the hanging icicle, flabbergasted as to why there would be a frozen substance in the middle of such a hot summer day.

'This is Alvadas I suppose …' Forcing herself to look away from the mysterious phenomenon, Ruka quickly backtracked onto the previous road she had been traveling down. Shaking her head, she began walking once more in her vain attempt at finding the tree. This was ridiculous. How hard was it to find one tree?

“Wha- it's snowing?” Indeed it was. While Ruka had been caught up in her thoughts about finding the tree, she had not realized that the sky had let go of its cold, icy flakes. Down they fell, swirling and tumbling into each other in their rush to reach the ground below the heavens. She stood mesmerized at the sight, hardly noticing the hot summer day turn into a cold, wintery one.

“This city is going to make me crazy one of these days ...” Cautiously, Ruka continued forward. Walking past an alley close to her right, she almost missed the bright greenery of the forest. Figuring that that would be the best place to look for the tree, Ruka quickly retreated from the snowy street and into the nearby smoldering forest.

“Wow, it's so beautiful here.” As Ruka walked, slowly picking her way over the thick underbrush that separated the forest from the city like a fence, her eyes seemed to shine as the took in everything around her. Different types of plants – flowers, shrubs, trees, vines – were in full bloom all around her, turning the forest into a green wonderland. The sound of running water turned her attention away from the scenery and put her mind back on track.

“I think Ms. Irene said that a waterfall fed into the pond.” She quickened her pace, nearly running to reach her destination. Just as the shimmer of the water came into view before her, her foot caught under the root of a tree and sent her flying forward. She landed on the mossy ground with a hard thud, groaning loudly as her body pulsed with a painful complaint.

“Owwww. I really need to stop tripping over stuff.” She brought her hand to her sore face, massaging her nose and pushing her self into a sitting position. “Oh no, Ms. Irene's going to scold me - I got scrapes on my knees!” She watched dismally as a bright red color coated her pail skin, and she sighed in annoyance.

“I don't care if you fall off leg – we're getting that leaf before we go back!”

[Nira'lia]

Nira'lia had been so mesmerized by the beauty of her surroundings that she had failed to realize that another person was there. She was taken out of reverie when she heard the sound of someone falling with a thud. Surprised, the Konti turned her head to see a young girl speaking to herself. "Ack!" squeaked the Konti, as she rushed over to the girl. "Are you alright!?" Kneeling on the ground, Nira'lia peered at the girl's knees and saw the scrapes. A concerned look swept upon her features, but she was relieved that nothing else had happened. "Y-you... please be more careful..." said the Konti softly, and then she started to chuckle as she stood up. She didn't offer her hand to help Ruka up. She didn't want to touch another person's skin because of her Konti gift, so she lied about it, "I'm sorry, my hands are dirty... can you get up on your own?" Smiling, she waited to see if Ruka would get up. While waiting, she decided to introduce herself. "My name's Nira'lia... I don't know why I'm here, but it's beautiful. Look at all these plants!" Happily, she averted her attention to the wide array of greenery around them. She was reminded of her sister, Cecilia, who was much more inclined to herbalism. Cecilia would love this place! With an absent mind, Nira'lia walked over to a nearby shrub and admired it. The shrub didn't reach up until past her knees, and it had flowers which were almost transparent in color. She had no idea what it was called. Nira'lia would remind herself later on to search for the name of this flower. "Oh!" she exclaimed with realization. Forgetting the other girl completely, she rummaged in her belongings and brought out a book, a quill, and a vial of ink which was corked shut. She kneeled down and placed the book on the ground. Then, she opened the vial and dipped the quill in the ink. Nira'lia placed the open vial on the ground as well, lodging it in the snow to keep it from falling over. Opening the book to an empty page, she then started to sketch the flower. Nira'lia was not yet an adept artist, but she found the task exciting and helpful. She started with the stem of the flower and then the petals. The petals were long and heart-shaped, and were not too difficult to sketch. Her hands moved with grace as she started to shade the inside petals. The inner set of petals were less transparent, which was a curious thing. Her drawing was rough and sketchy, the work of a novice, and one would not find it helpful if they didn't know what they were looking at. For future reference, she wrote down notes on the side of the page to help herself look for its name later on. "Petals are... transparent..." she whispered as she scribbled on the page. Maybe it had some medicinal purposes to it? She plucked a flower and tucked it neatly in the book, just in case. She didn't want to get more than one piece since she didn't know about its effects yet and also since there were so many other flowers that it didn't make sense to focus on that particular one. It just happened to be the first one she found interesting enough to give attention to. Then, she remembered the other girl. Blinking, she glanced to her back, seeing if the girl was still there. "Do you know the name of this flower?"

[Ruka]

Ruka quickly snapped her head up in the direction of the mysterious girl before her, instantly mesmerized by her youthful beauty. Taking note of her blond hair, light blue eyes, webbed fingers and iridescent scales, Ruka quickly determined that she was of the Konti race. A sense of familiarity washed through her as she thought of her home back in Mura on the Konti Isle, and she couldn't stop the thousands of questions that zoomed into her head all at once.

Ruka sent the girl a friendly smile as she inquired about her injuries and then politely introduced herself as Nira'lia.

“Yes, I'm fine! It happens all the time so-” Before Ruka could even finish her sentence, Nira'lia had turned around and scurried over to a nearby flowering shrub, bending down to examine the flowers' translucent white petals. Ruka blinked after her, taken some what off guard by Nira'lia's short attention span.

Pushing herself to her feet, she brushed the dirt off her clothes and walked over to Nira'lia's side. She leaned over the other girls' shoulder as she took a peek at the plant before them, smiling to herself as she recognized it.

“Do you know the name of the flower?” Nira'lia asked, blinking over her shoulder at Ruka. With a smile, Ruka nodded. Taking her bag off her shoulders, she gently set it on the ground and began rummaging through it. Pushing aside random articles of clothing and rations - 'I really need to leave this stuff at home …' - she finally found what she had been looking for. With a triumphed exclamation, she wound her fingers around the spine of a worn, leather bound book and pulled it out. On the cover in bright, golden threaded letters was 'Granny and Rue's Plant Journal'.

“If I remember correctly, there was a similar plant in here.” Humming to herself, she slid down to sit next to Nira'lia, placing the book in front of her so that Nira'lia could see as well. Bending her knees so that her legs rested against either side of her waist, she gingerly began thumbing through the thin pages. Each page held a different picture of a plant, and little notes to go with it. About mid-way through, Ruka's eyes came to rest on a picture that looked similar to the plant before them.

“It's a Hymetis. They're usually found in the summer season, and they're most commonly found on the Konti Isle. Granny had some of these in her garden back in Mura – they're used for soothing chest pains.” Ruka read, quickly become entranced by the words on the page. Suddenly remembering she hadn't had the chance to introduce herself to Nira'lia yet, she turned to face the other girl with an energetic smile.

“My name's Ruka – but my friends call me, Rue. It's nice to meet you Nira'lia.”

[Nira'lia]

With utter amazement, Nira'lia stared as Ruka searched through pages and pages of plants. The book was worn-out and many pages were filled out. That was exactly what Nira'lia wanted to achieve! She glanced back at her own book. It was still crisp new and had barely anything on it. At that moment, Nira'lia was excited about how much more she could add to it, and her dream was to end up with a book of information just like the one this young girl had. "Hymetis..." said Nira'lia in a whisper. She wrote the name of the plant on the top of the page she had scribbled on, along with the information the girl had given her. 'Hymetis. Usually found during the summer season, and commonly found in Mura. Used for soothing chest pains.' Nira'lia looked at the girl and smiled at her as she introduced herself. Ruka was a nice name. She had also heard her say that her grandmother was from Mura – Nira'lia's homeland which, ironically, she had never been to. Nira'lia wondered if this girl was also from Mura, though she chose not to ask. It was of interest to her, but she was also interested in the fact that Ruka was carrying around such an informative Herbalism book! Throughout her short stay in Alvadas, it was the first time she had met someone with the same interests as her. Of course, it was possible that Ruka simply carried the book around—but judging from the way she flipped through it with expertise also implied that she used it a lot. The idea caused Nira'lia much excitement, and it was evident in her bright expression. She rivalled the energetic smile of the younger girl with her own. "That is an amazing book, Rue!" said Nira'lia clapping her hands together enthusiastically. "I'm not too skilled at drawing... or at herbalism for that matter, but that's the kind of book I'm planning to end up with." With a grin, Nira'lia pointed at her own book. It looked pathetic next to Ruka's. Then, Nira'lia looked around their surroundings. Plants and trees everywhere – it was a haven to someone like the two of them. "Were you actually looking for this place? Because... like I mentioned, I just ended up here, but it's great, isn't it?" she stood up and dusted off her skirt, leaving her book and her writing materials on the ground. "It's an amazing place to learn herbalism, don't you think? Perhaps we can learn stuff from each other, though admittedly, I'm not much too knowledgeable yet... but I'll try to help you too with what I can, okay?" Nira'lia could be pushy at times and could get carried away with her excitement. Up until this point, she had assumed that Ruka would simply be interested in exploring the greenery. Unbeknownst to her, Ruka was actually here to search for something particular. If asked, Nira'lia would gladly help her with the task.

[Ruka]

Ruka flushed slightly and looked down at her book bashfully, happy that the young Konti had praised her book. She let her finger stroke the page affectionately, her mind momentarily wandering to the many times her grandmother had taken out this exact book and set about drawing different types of plants. They were fond memories, and Ruka cherished every one of them.

“This book belonged to my Granny,” she explained, turned her gaze so that she could look at Nira'lia eye to eye, “but she passed away not too long ago. This is the only keep sake I have of her.” She flipped the pages until she came about three quarters of the way through, where the blank pages started and her grandmother's knowledge ended.

“Granny left the pages blank back here in the hopes that I'd continue her work. My dream is to travel all around and record as many plants into this book as I can! And when this one fills up, I'll start a new one.” Ruka sighed wishfully, turning her attention back to the small book that sat in front of the duo.

“She was an amazing herbalist doctor. I learned everything I know about helping people from her.” She paused briefly, giggling to herself as she thought back. “She was scary sometimes – especially when she scolded me. I'm a klutz, so I always made a mess of everything. “Ruka, how do you expect to help people when you can't even help yourself, you silly girl.”” She smiled fondly at the memory, her imitation of her Grandmother's voice coming out in a high pitch.

Ruka watched as the other girl stood up, brushing herself off. Flipping her book shut, she returned it to its rightful place in her bag and joined Nira'lia on her feet. She nodded her head once to affirm she had come here for a reason.

“I'm actually here looking for a plant call, uhm … what did Ms. Irene say it was again?” She scrunched her eyebrows together in thought, stroking her chin with her index finger. “Oh! That's right – the Torch Leaf.” She nodded to herself, a pleased smile spreading across her face.

“I just recently got a job at Ionu's Mercy – Alvadas's hospital. I'm running an errand for the head nurse there, Ms. Irene Caene. She's really amazing! I'm so grateful to be working under her.” Ruka tilted her head to the side in a friendly manner, her eyes shinning excitedly as she studied Nira'lia. “You said you just arrived in Alvadas too, right? So have I. I was lucky to find a job so quickly. I traveled from Mura to the mainland after Granny died, and this is where I ended up.”

Ruka frowned and sighed, half in annoyance and half in exasperation.

“But sometimes I wish I went some where else. I feel as if Ionu picks on me on purpose … I bet he's jealous that I like Rak'keli more than him.” She made a face and shook her head, her friendly energy returning to her. “But anyway – it looks as if we're both new here! So lets be good friends, okay?”

“Oh, what about what you said earlier – I'd love to study with you! Learning off someone and learning with someone are the best ways to learn right? And the best part is you're never lonely doing it! I always feel like I learn more with someone helping me.” Turning her head from side to side, she began to mentally debate which way would be the best to go to look for the Torch Tree.

“Would you like to help me look for the Torch Tree? Ms. Irene said that you can't miss it – that it's near this pond place (I keep forgetting the name …) but not in sight of it. So we'll probably have to go exploring.” She grinned at Nira'lia. “It sounds like fun, yeah? All the new plants we could find! This is the first time I've been out of Mura, so I don't know many plants in this area.”

Ruka took a step in the direction she felt strongest about, smiling over her shoulder at the Konti girl.

“Ms. Irene said that it looks as if the Tree itself is on fire – I need to collect one hundred of the leaves. So I best be going – but I'd love it if you were to come and help me. If you're not busy of course.”

[Nira'lia]

"Your granny sounded like a fantastic person..." said Nira'lia softly when the girl spoke about her grandmother. She felt a painful twinge inside her. Loss was not a new concept to Nira'lia, and she knew how difficult it was to overcome. As Ruka spoke, Nira'lia learned more and more of her. She was indeed an interesting person, and the two of them had more in common than she knew. As the girl spoke, the Konti copied the girl's actions and put her belongings aside as well. Nira'lia couldn't contain herself when Ruka spoke about being an employee at Ionu's Mercy. She talked about a person named Irene, whom Nira'lia assumed was her boss at the medical station. The Konti almost jumped forward and grasped the girl's hands in excitement, but she was able to contain herself. She was just the person Nira'lia needed to speak to! "I... I need a job at Ionu's Mercy!" exclaimed the Konti. Then she paused. Blinking, she recomposed herself. Ruka wasn't actually the one who could give her the job. Smiling, she decided to explain herself further. "I mean... perhaps I can walk you back there? I was looking for it but I guess Ionu hasn't seen it fit that I find it just yet..." she said with a slight laugh. "Maybe if I help you gather these leaves, I'll be blessed with its location. Please... allow me to help you!" Ruka had suggested at much, and she was now gladly agreeing to do so. Nira'lia had never heard of the torch tree before. She followed Ruka as she walked, her eyes trailing everywhere. There were a lot of unique looking plants that Nira'lia wasn't familiar with, and she hoped that the torch tree was easy to spot. A tree that was on fire... now, it wouldn't be too difficult to find that, right? She looked beyond high plants, hoping to see if they were blocking her view of the tree. With her hands, she separated the greenery and searched, her eyes trailing everywhere. As she did so, she spoke to Ruka absently. "I'm not too familiar with Ionu, though I do think he picks on everyone..." said the Konti, her voice louder than usual since she didn't know how far Ruka was at this point. "I do hope I get on his good graces soon... though I don't know how to do that. Something makes me think he likes seeing people get dizzy with his riddles." Nira'lia gave a chuckle. She was not used to the trickster god in any way. She turned to the right and swept away a tall leaf that, upon closer look, resembled a very thick and large stem of grass. This was when she realized that she was amidst a sea of tall grass. The grass was a huge contrast to the shrubbery and twisted trees that was located near the pond. Something in her wondered if the grass was an illusion... was it possible to touch illusions? It seemed like the deeper she got into the greenery, the more difficult it was to see anything. However, at that moment, she swept aside a stem of tall grass... her eyes caught a glimpse of a beautiful tree. It was in a location that could not be seen from the Emerald pond, though it was near. The leaves had a color to them that gave the illusion that they were on fire. It made the tree look enchanting. "Rue, I found it!" said Nira'lia quickly. Turning around, she realized that the tall grass was blocking her view of the girl. Blinking, Nira'lia backtracked, calling out the girl's name as she walked through the sea of green. "It's over there!"

[Ruka]

OOCSorry this is so short - I sort of got sick this weekend, so my brain turned all to mush. I thought this was a fun little twist to the whole adventure! You know, don't want to find the tree so soon! There's got to be at least something that goes wrong, yeah? And I didn't intend on this making Nira'lia and Ruka touch hands or anything, if that's not what you want her to do. They'll find some creative way of getting Ruka out!

“You found it? Awesome! You're amazing, Nira'lia!” Ruka called as she paused, turning her head side to side as she tried to locate the other girl. “U-uhm … Nira'lia … where exactly ar- KYA!” Taking a step in the direction the Konti girl's voice had traveled from, the ground under her feet suddenly and unexpectedly gave way. Ruka, having no time to react, watched helplessly as the sky grew higher as she dropped into the earth. Her knees buckled under her when her feet collided with the soft, damp soil at the bottom of the pit, and she was sent tumbling backwards.

“O-ow. That hurt!” Pushing herself up, she rubbed the back of her head and looked up. The pit itself wasn't that deep, but due to Ruka's short height, it was deep enough that she wouldn't be able to get out of it without assistance. She got to her feet and brushed herself off, looking around her to see if she could find something to climb out with. The pit was perfectly circular, as if someone had made it purposely to trap someone (or something). The walls were smooth, with no foot holds or roots for her to grab on to, and if she were just a bit taller she would have been able to jump and grab the edge.

“If this is your idea of a joke, it's not funny.” She murmured to herself, looking pointedly up at the sky. She sighed again, not having the energy to get annoyed with her tormentor.

'Beloved Goddess Rak'keli,' she prayed silently, folding her hands together under her chin, 'please let Nira'lia find me, and not fall into one of Ionu's tricky traps.'

“I should've known it wouldn't be that easy to find the tree … it is Alvadas, city of Illusions – and I'll personally add and trickery to that description.” Clearing her throat, she cupped her hands over her mouth so that it would intensify her voice.

“Nira,lia!” She yelled, hoping that the other girl would hear her. “I fell into a pit! Can you hear me? Hello!?” She tapped her foot impatiently, a slightly panicked feeling spreading through her chest at the thought of Nira'lia being unable to find her – or worse, being unable to hear her.

“She wasn't that far away, was she?” Biting the inside of her cheek, Ruka once again looked around her. “Really, who puts a pit in the middle of a forest? Only the god of Illusions could think up something like that.” She shook her head, squinting up at the sky as she willed Nira'lia to find her.

“Nira'lia! Are you there?”

[Nira'lia]

OOCIt's perfect. My thoughts exactly, there should be trouble along the way! Also, feel free to control Nira if you want her to heave Ruka up. "Rue!" said the Konti loudly as she continued to find her way around the greenery. An evident frown was on her face. She could neither hear nor see the young girl. Nira'lia didn't even know the way out of the tall grass anymore. Then, she heard it. A faint voice that seemed to be echoing, as if it were coming from a place that was semi-enclosed. She could recognize the call of her name from various other jumbled words. She rushed towards the direction of the voice, almost tripping more than once. "Rue! Ruuue!" screamed Nira'lia in worry. For that second, she couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from as she came upon a small clearing. She could have sworn the voice was coming from here. She stepped forward— ...and came crashing down, her bottom hitting the ground painfully. With a shriek, she looked around frantically. She had fallen into the same pit as Ruka. With wide eyes, she stared at the girl, stunned. She could see the sun's light streaming into the pit's opening. An illusion! From their perspective now it was clear what the hole really looked like, but from above ground, it was hidden! "I... I found you," said Nira'lia sheepishly. Now they were both in the pit. The Konti stood up and saw that the pit was wide enough to hold the two of them. She put her hands up and trailed the edges of the opening, happy that she could reach them. However, while she was a tad taller than Ruka, she couldn't jump out with ease as well. "If only I had been more careful, I'm sorry..." muttered the Konti. It probably would have been easier to pull Ruka up from the outside. "Any ideas? What if I heave you up?" The Konti gestured the action with her hands. She could attempt to heave Ruka up with her hands in the most forceful motion that she could muster, but... what about her? Would Ruka have enough strength to pull her up from above?