Open A walk on the beach

[Lora]

Timestamp: Summer 43, 514 AV Lora stood in the doorway of her small cottage looking out at the shore that was lit up with the early morning sunlight. She could hear the splashing of the water against the shore and smell the salty ocean water. This was, at least in Lora’s opinion, the perfect conditions to take a walk in. She glanced at her white sandals sitting just inside the door before concluding to go without shoes. She always liked the feeling of the warm sand on her feet and likely wouldn’t need the shoes anyway. Ready to go, Lora leaped onto the first of the 4 rocks that connected her over-the-water-cottage to the shore. She didn’t stop at the first rock and continued the momentum until she reached the last rock, on which she stopped. Franticly, she pin wheeled her arms to keep from falling off the smooth rock because of the sudden stop. Within a few moments she had gained her balance and could stand still. Recently she had been trying to do a flip off this rock and now she was going to try again. She jumped trying to go as high as possible and get the maximum air time. Once air born, she pulled her body into a flip, trying to spin as fast as possible so maybe she could land on her feet. Suddenly she felt her back hit the ground. The soft sand helped break her fall but she still sat up gasping for breath because the wind was knocked out of her. After what felt like a few minutes, but was probably not that long, of her mind panicking because of lack of oxygen she stood up and brushed as much sand off her as she could. Lora made a mental note not to attempt a flip of that rock if she was in a hurry to get somewhere because of the time it took to pull herself together afterwards. After collecting herself she remembered her original purpose for going out. Seeing the sunlight glittering against the ocean, Lora walked up to the water and put her toe in, testing its temperature. It was warm, just like Lora had expected, seeing as it was summer time. She took a few steps into the water so that the water went up to her just above her ankles. She then started walking through the water going away from her house. As she did she was glad she hadn’t worn her sandals. It was much easier to walk in water barefoot. As she walked along Lora started humming a song her mother used to sing to her when she was little. She wondered if she would meet anyone as she did occasionally in her morning walks.

[Ianthe]

"Okay, darling, now cross your legs... Yes, exactly like that. And straighten your back - very close, just a little more." Ianthe stretched out a palm and held it lightly against the base of her daughter's spine to check for curves. "Perfect!" She smiled widely at the five-year-old girl and tried her best to hold back a giggle. A tiny line had creased Cleodora's forehead as she focused on holding her seated position, and she was chewing on her lower lip with an expression of absolute seriousness that was far beyond her years. "Don't forget to breathe, Ducky." Konti Isle's beauty was rarely more marked than on a clear summer day - and this day did not fail to live up to these expectations. The ocean water sparkled like diamonds under the morning sun and sloshed in and out over the sandy white beach, while hidden island birds chirruped their cheerful greetings. The occasional grumble of Ianthe's belly was the only out of place sound in the peaceful setting, and even that had a musical note to it. At least, that was what Ianthe imagined as she glanced down at her stomach. Earlier that morning, dawn had barely cracked before Ianthe was shaken awake by her daughter's persistent touch. Cleo had gotten the notion into her head that an early morning meditation session would be the perfect way to honour Syna. The young girl had recently taken an interest in the Divine and, while she didn't particularly enjoy (or understand) meditation, she was intent on acting out her role as the island's most devoted priestess. Far be it from Ianthe to discourage this new whim - it was much easier to accept than Cleodora's desire to climb every single Vian tree in Mura. And so, as a result, Ianthe found herself being dragged from the house by her determined daughter, leaving thoughts of long lost sleep behind. Such are the trials of motherhood. Ianthe crossed her own legs to match her daughter's posture. She adjusted the skirt of her sandal-length cotton dress, draping the pink fabric comfortably around her knees. In preparation for their short meditation, she inhaled slowly (breathe in) and filled her lungs with salty ocean air before releasing an equally long exhale (breathe out). "Let's imagine the sun," she instructed, dropping her hands to her sides and turning to her daughter. "I want you to close your eyes and picture the nicest looking sun you can think of. It can be a sunrise or a sunset or even the sun that's above us right now. Do you have a picture in your mind?" "Uh huh," Cleodora mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in the sand. "Wonderful. This is how we'll imagine Syna in our prayers. Now, let's take a sloooow breath in through our nose and let it out through our mouth. This will relax our body and help to focus on Syna." Ianthe closed her eyes and began to breathe alongside her daughter, picturing a brilliant yellow sun that had reached its peak in the sky. "And now, another breath - but this time, in through our nose and out through our nose, okay? And another." Her stomach inflated and deflated with each breath, and Ianthe was soon absorbed by the repetitive motion. Cleodora, on the other hand, quickly tired of having to keep a single-minded focus. It was getting hot, and her back was beginning to grow weary from being held erect. Her thoughts began to drift, and the sun in her mind soon turned into a bird flying across the sunny sky. This made her think of seagulls, which made her wonder if there were any seagulls on the beach, which made her forget all about Syna and open her eyes. No seagulls, but there was an adolescent girl walking through the shallow waters toward the meditating pair. Cleo's violet eyes lit up; being in the water looked like way more fun than just breathing all day. Whose dumb idea was that, anyway? Without any further thought, Cleo scrambled up - the soft sand masking the sound of her movement - and began to run toward the other konti. Her white cotton dress fluttered with the effort, and her sandal-less feet kicked up sand. Upon reaching the girl, who stood 15 feet away from a blissfully unaware Ianthe, Cleodora stopped just beyond the water and clasped her hands tightly behind her back - a telltale sign of sudden shyness. "Whatcha doing?"

[Lora]

As she walked down the coast of Konti Isle Lora stared off across the huge ocean. The water shimmered gorgeously in the early morning sunlight. Occasionally Lora would see dolphins or other aquatic creatures on these walks. That was always the highlight of her day and every time she stepped out the door of her small cottage she hoped to see one of those beautiful creatures splashing gracefully in the water. The whole experience was so tranquil, and peaceful, and . . . “Whatcha doing?” Lora jumped a bit not having noticed the young Konti standing next to her. The girl didn’t look any older than five and had pretty blond hair. Her eyes were the most interesting part of her face. They were a unique shade of violet that went nicely with her childish features. Lora was suddenly filled with the sense this girl was a talented actress. Suddenly Lora realized she’d done it again. She’d made eye contact, activating her konti gift, without the person’s permission. She needed to work on not doing that. What if that person didn’t want her knowing their skills? “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” She gave that girl an apologetic look then suddenly realized that the other konti probably had no idea what she was talking about and had just asked a question. “I mean I’m-" Lora realized that she didn’t know what she was doing and had to retrace her thoughts back a few steps to recall why she was walking down the beach. Oh right, that’s what she was doing: walking down the beach. “I’m walking down the beach. Err, I mean I’m taking a walk on the beach.” Embarrassed by her inability to know what was going on Lora blushed slightly and quickly collected her thoughts.

[Ianthe]

The girl was funny, Cleodora decided. A bit jumpy, but funny. "I'm walking on the beach, too!" Cleo replied, stomping her feet theatrically on the sand. She giggled and swung her arms back down to her sides, swaying gently from side to side. One hand pulled at the bodice of her dress, while the other twirled a strand of long blonde hair. She was back to being her usual ball of bubbling energy; the chime of meditative calm that she'd managed to achieve was completely in the past. She tilted her head up at the older girl, eyes wide. "Where are you walking to? Are you- are you going on an adventure?" Cleodora hesitated and glanced back at her mother before lowering her voice to a feigned stage whisper. "Can I come?" Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully before her entire body lit up like a lantern. "Oh, oh, I know! We can be powerful healers that adventure across the whole wide world and fight evil and save people's lives! Can we? Pleeeeease?" --- Meanwhile, Ianthe remained intent on discerning every detail of the sun she'd created in her mind's eye. She had never looked directly at the sun before - only through shielded eyes - so it felt curious trying to imagine what the sun might look like up close. A small part of Ianthe even rejected the idea as sacrilegious, as if part of Syna's power came from her image being difficult to discern. Breathe in. She pictured the sun as a gemstone with curves etched carefully on its surface. A yellow gemstone, of course, though a firey orange gem might work to mirror the daily rise and set of the sun. She didn't know the name of this gem, or if it even existed at all, but it shimmered and sparkled in her mind. After a time, it began to spin and dance, taking on a spirit of its own. All she could do was breathe and watch. Breathe ou- The gem toppled over and Ianthe's eyes flashed open at the sound of Cleo's plea for adventure. What in Avalis' name- "Cleodora!" she called out, uncrossing her legs to stand and brushing specks of sand off her dress. In several quick strides, she closed the distance between herself and the pair of girls. Her daughter's eyes were the picture of attempted innocence as Ianthe squatted down to the five-year-old's height. "Please don't ever run off without telling me. Okay?" Cleodora nodded and glanced sideways at the other konti girl with a hopeful expression. Ianthe, upon spotting this glance, straightened and offered her daughter's companion a small smile. "And who might your new friend be, darling?"

[Lora]

After indicating she had been doing the same thing as Lora the young Konti rapidly asked two questions. In her head Lora formulated the answers as the girl glanced over a little ways inland. Lora followed her glance to where a woman Lora hadn’t noticed before was sitting crossed legged in the sand. She had her back very strait and her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful Lora was sure she had to either be meditating or sleeping. Is it possible to sleep in that passion? Lora wasn’t sure, so she added it to and ever growing mental list of things she wanted to try. By the time she had considered if the woman was asleep or simply meditating the konti standing in front of her had started her third question. “Can I come?” This question came in a quiet whisper obviously so not to disturb the possibly-sleeping woman. “I don’t know, Yes, it is and of course!” Lora lowered her voice as she listed off the answers to all three of the questions she had been asked. She silently clasped her hands together in front of her, excited to have a companion. The girl lit up with excitement as she said an idea of a make-believe adventure for her and Lora to go on. “Yes, that’s a great idea! Let’s do that!” Lora whispered excitedly. “Let’s go!” She took a step toward forward kicking up some wet sand; having stood still so long in the same place the oncoming waves had buried her feet in sand. She pulled the other foot out of the sand and almost took another step when she heard someone call out: “Cleodora!” Lora looked in the direction of the voice. The woman who had been previously meditating had stood up and was now walking toward Lora and her new friend. Suddenly Lora realized this woman was probably the young girl’s, whose name appeared to be Cleodora, Mother. She knelt down by Cleodora and told her not to wander off. She was defiantly acting like the girl’s mother, Lora thought. Cleodora glanced up at Lora and her mother followed the glance. Standing up she said asked who Lora was. “I’m Lora. At least that’s my name. ” Lora introduced herself, shifting her feet in the sand to keep them from sinking again. “ I was walking down the beach when I met Cleadora. ” She said feeling a need to explain herself. “What’s your name?” Lora asked, careful to keep her eyes focused on the woman’s forehead and not look in her eyes so she didn’t set off her konti gift. “We were going to go on an adventure, if you want to come that’d be great.” Lora smiled, “Well, not really an adventure more of a walk. Actually,” Lora twisted her hair thoughtfully, "We are going on an adventure. Do you want to come?” Lora paused then realized she might have something more important to do and Lora might be stopping her from doing that. “Unless you have something else you wanted to do, then you should do that.”