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The 60th Of Winter 513AV
Today it was cold again as well, the air around the people’s heads formed white puffs which disappeared as soon as they had appeared before being replaced for another one. Syna shone bright though, the Winter sun was almost blinding and no warmth was present in her rays. It was as if her golden stare had changed from a warm and gentle, motherly look into a cold and harsh glare, displeased with what the people on the surface had done, though the bat couldn’t think of something the goddess would be upset enough about to stop spreading her warmth.
No, he was sure Syna had the same mental state as ever, it was just the season of cold that ruled and not the displeasure of the goddess. That’s how things were. However, a thick coat of clouds made their way towards the eye of the sun and, albeit slowly, soon they would hide her from sight. Or did they hide the people from Her sight? The bat didn’t have a clue, but he didn’t care about such things. All that mattered was that it happened, not the details. Yet, it would be nice to know what and how….
Fumbling with his fingers -purple and stiff from the cold- at his scarf, he quickened his pace for he didn’t want to dally any longer. The sky looked as if rain was coming, and getting soaked in a season as this meant catching a cold, or worse. Brandon wasn’t really into being ill, nobody probably was, but the whole miserable feeling, the shaking knees and headaches, stomach-aches, fevers, vomiting… No thank you, he’d rather be healthy. Besides, he already suffered from a large amount of headaches since he’d first experienced insomnia and just a simple migraine was enough to make him feel terrible.
With these unpleasant things in mind, Bran decided to take a shortcut home, the shortcut being the rooftops. It had to be said, he had no idea where he actually was, he’d been strolling through the streets of the crystal city absentmindedly like he often did, not remembering which way led towards his house, or even which peak he was on. If he’d stand on a high place, on the rooftops for example, he’d probably find an orientation point fast and he’d know his position instantly. Well, that one option, the other being how he usually got home: just continuing his stroll, mind wandering off and eventually arriving at a familiar place. But right now he didn’t have the time for the latter.
The street he was standing in was a dead end, a wall blocking his path. The bat sighed, ordinary walls were hard to climb since they didn’t sport convenient footholds like windowsills or so. But, it was a challenge and Brandon was a person who liked challenges; they brought quite a bit of thrill with them. A grin formed on his face, his eyes gleaming with the will to complete this challenge, to conquer the wall. And he would! Taking a few steps back, the thief prepared himself, inhaling faster and deeper than usual, forcing more oxygen to his muscles which would –hopefully- slightly enhance them.
His upper body leant backwards briefly before he threw it forward, taking off with his foot propelling him onwards. The distance was short but his legs accelerated faster than he’d thought was possible, the wall closed in quickly. It was now or never, and never being too late, Bran chose now : he jumped. One leg bent deeper than before, the muscles in his thigh expanding due to the tension applied to it. With all his might he pressed his foot harder onto the floor, launching himself skyward. His arms swung themselves up, creating a little extra lift. The wall was closer than ever, his fingers reaching out for the upper edge.
His hands grappled the upside of the wall a moment before his body crashed into the stone hardness. The impact felt like a … well, as if a wall had been thrown into his face. The whole front of Brandon’s body, except his hands and face, crashed into the wall, the only part of his head being hit was his forehead. The collision made his vision go black, red and back to normal, pain screaming to him from everywhere. He felt a little dizzy, painfully dizzy, but he held on to the wall, like a fly smashed by one’s slipper. The thief wanted a few moments to come to, but his fingers were starting to hurt as well, not able to carry his weight for long.
Yet, he couldn’t bring up the spirit to do so, his head felt like it could split open any tick and he felt really nauseous. Part of him wanted to let go, drop down and stay down, but that he couldn’t allow to happen. He’d been trough worse, the beatings his mother had given him to make him more endurable had been far more severe than this, his mauled ribs had been way more painful than this. Strength was not only in the body, but also in the mind; if the mind gave up, all was doomed to fail, yet if not then anything was possible. Brandon believed in this.
So he gritted his teeth, furrowed his brow and tensioned the muscles in his arms. He willed his hands to grab the wall harder, he ordered his triceps and shoulders to haul him up, his feet searched the wall for footholds, but he found none. Then he’d do it without them, only muscle strength and his willpower would bring him up this wall. Flames seemed to feast upon the flesh of his arms and hands, burning and blazing inside. Clipped noises wrestled themselves under his teeth due to the effort, his arms were trembling and his knuckles white. Yet slowly but surely, he managed to shove an upper arm on the small space that made up the top of the wall. Then his other joined, and things went a lot smoother from there. Soon his chest was lying there and he brought his legs up. His arms hung down, feeling deflated, while he took a quick rest to restore his body, to catch his breath. Though he felt like he’d just worn himself out completely, he smiled, content with his victory. He was pleased with himself, proud to have done things the hard way, completing the challenge.
A shadow was cast overhead and the force of habit made the bat look up. Syna was gone, hidden from the glances of the mortals dwelling the land by the clouds. Shyke, if he didn’t want to be outdoors when the first drops fell, he’d have to hurry. With a groan Bran got up, keeping his balance on the wall and strode carefully towards the nearest rooftop. Okay, time to find an orientation point.
Today it was cold again as well, the air around the people’s heads formed white puffs which disappeared as soon as they had appeared before being replaced for another one. Syna shone bright though, the Winter sun was almost blinding and no warmth was present in her rays. It was as if her golden stare had changed from a warm and gentle, motherly look into a cold and harsh glare, displeased with what the people on the surface had done, though the bat couldn’t think of something the goddess would be upset enough about to stop spreading her warmth.
No, he was sure Syna had the same mental state as ever, it was just the season of cold that ruled and not the displeasure of the goddess. That’s how things were. However, a thick coat of clouds made their way towards the eye of the sun and, albeit slowly, soon they would hide her from sight. Or did they hide the people from Her sight? The bat didn’t have a clue, but he didn’t care about such things. All that mattered was that it happened, not the details. Yet, it would be nice to know what and how….
Fumbling with his fingers -purple and stiff from the cold- at his scarf, he quickened his pace for he didn’t want to dally any longer. The sky looked as if rain was coming, and getting soaked in a season as this meant catching a cold, or worse. Brandon wasn’t really into being ill, nobody probably was, but the whole miserable feeling, the shaking knees and headaches, stomach-aches, fevers, vomiting… No thank you, he’d rather be healthy. Besides, he already suffered from a large amount of headaches since he’d first experienced insomnia and just a simple migraine was enough to make him feel terrible.
With these unpleasant things in mind, Bran decided to take a shortcut home, the shortcut being the rooftops. It had to be said, he had no idea where he actually was, he’d been strolling through the streets of the crystal city absentmindedly like he often did, not remembering which way led towards his house, or even which peak he was on. If he’d stand on a high place, on the rooftops for example, he’d probably find an orientation point fast and he’d know his position instantly. Well, that one option, the other being how he usually got home: just continuing his stroll, mind wandering off and eventually arriving at a familiar place. But right now he didn’t have the time for the latter.
The street he was standing in was a dead end, a wall blocking his path. The bat sighed, ordinary walls were hard to climb since they didn’t sport convenient footholds like windowsills or so. But, it was a challenge and Brandon was a person who liked challenges; they brought quite a bit of thrill with them. A grin formed on his face, his eyes gleaming with the will to complete this challenge, to conquer the wall. And he would! Taking a few steps back, the thief prepared himself, inhaling faster and deeper than usual, forcing more oxygen to his muscles which would –hopefully- slightly enhance them.
His upper body leant backwards briefly before he threw it forward, taking off with his foot propelling him onwards. The distance was short but his legs accelerated faster than he’d thought was possible, the wall closed in quickly. It was now or never, and never being too late, Bran chose now : he jumped. One leg bent deeper than before, the muscles in his thigh expanding due to the tension applied to it. With all his might he pressed his foot harder onto the floor, launching himself skyward. His arms swung themselves up, creating a little extra lift. The wall was closer than ever, his fingers reaching out for the upper edge.
His hands grappled the upside of the wall a moment before his body crashed into the stone hardness. The impact felt like a … well, as if a wall had been thrown into his face. The whole front of Brandon’s body, except his hands and face, crashed into the wall, the only part of his head being hit was his forehead. The collision made his vision go black, red and back to normal, pain screaming to him from everywhere. He felt a little dizzy, painfully dizzy, but he held on to the wall, like a fly smashed by one’s slipper. The thief wanted a few moments to come to, but his fingers were starting to hurt as well, not able to carry his weight for long.
Yet, he couldn’t bring up the spirit to do so, his head felt like it could split open any tick and he felt really nauseous. Part of him wanted to let go, drop down and stay down, but that he couldn’t allow to happen. He’d been trough worse, the beatings his mother had given him to make him more endurable had been far more severe than this, his mauled ribs had been way more painful than this. Strength was not only in the body, but also in the mind; if the mind gave up, all was doomed to fail, yet if not then anything was possible. Brandon believed in this.
So he gritted his teeth, furrowed his brow and tensioned the muscles in his arms. He willed his hands to grab the wall harder, he ordered his triceps and shoulders to haul him up, his feet searched the wall for footholds, but he found none. Then he’d do it without them, only muscle strength and his willpower would bring him up this wall. Flames seemed to feast upon the flesh of his arms and hands, burning and blazing inside. Clipped noises wrestled themselves under his teeth due to the effort, his arms were trembling and his knuckles white. Yet slowly but surely, he managed to shove an upper arm on the small space that made up the top of the wall. Then his other joined, and things went a lot smoother from there. Soon his chest was lying there and he brought his legs up. His arms hung down, feeling deflated, while he took a quick rest to restore his body, to catch his breath. Though he felt like he’d just worn himself out completely, he smiled, content with his victory. He was pleased with himself, proud to have done things the hard way, completing the challenge.
A shadow was cast overhead and the force of habit made the bat look up. Syna was gone, hidden from the glances of the mortals dwelling the land by the clouds. Shyke, if he didn’t want to be outdoors when the first drops fell, he’d have to hurry. With a groan Bran got up, keeping his balance on the wall and strode carefully towards the nearest rooftop. Okay, time to find an orientation point.
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credit goes to Euthisa