1st of Fall, 510 A.V.
Strands of grass tickled her toes as she walked, her feet barely making a sound in the soft, moist grass. So different from the white hot sands she was used to, so very different. The sensations in her feet shouldn’t have surprised her any more. After all, Sharakai has been walking through the grass for a while now. A month had barely passed since she entered Cyphrus. And yet, everything still amazed her. The freshness of the air, the rains that seemed to come so much more frequently than they had in the Burning Lands… Everything was new, fresh, and exciting. She was so glad she had never bothered with wearing shoes. They seemed as unnecessary here as they did in the desert. The webbing in her toes always did good job of protecting her from the hot sand. Now, it helped her feel every bit of moisture in the earth. Then again, with some of the rocky hills she’s had to climb, it might be best to invest in a pair of shoes after all.
She laughed quietly at her own foolishness – a rich sound that seemed to be bursting with something left unspoken and unthought-of. She had gotten so good at leading on conversations in her head during the past months. She had been traveling with a caravan for the better part of a year, but the last months it had been just her and her horse. Speaking of which… Sharakai turned her heart to look at the mare who was peacefully grazing a few meters away. It was a relief to finally allow Hara to rest. After the incident with her hoof, she had been limping slightly and Sharakai felt guilty every time she had to make the horse keep going. Only with her luck could someone have bought a horse only to have it injured in a few weeks. Needless to say, she hadn’t ridden on horseback after the incident, opting for walking along the animal and making small talk.
At times, she had to convince herself that she wasn’t insane for speaking to herself or a horse. Surely it was better than having a deafening silence in one’s head. She kicked a small stone with her foot, sanding it skittering a few paces forward. She felt alive. Alive and alone. Granted, she was happy to be here, but she was still a stranger to Endrykas. She knew no one; had only spoken a few words to a few merchants. She had set up her camp on the outskirts of the city like all the other travelers, had walked around the city itself, had taken it all in… Still, she was not part of anything here. Her copper skin stood out strikingly against her surroundings, as did her raven hair and black eyes. She caught up with the stone and kicked it again, halfheartedly this time.