Solo A Night of Solitude

[Kalla Whitevine]

16th Day of Summer, 515 A.V. 22nd Bell Kalla was splayed out on her bed, looking up to the ceiling of the decently sized room. Her blanket was wrapped around one of her legs, one of her arms, and her torso; she wasn't entirely certain how she had managed to be essentially trapped by her blanket but she assumed it had to do something with being indecisive with how to lay. The window was open, letting the night breeze blow softly over her along with the sounds of the night. The voices that were outside were either soft or loud and filled with the tones of late night tavern visits. She could hear the stories in their voices, the long and short lives of the city's people. They all had lives to live, most had families that loved them, others were lost and alone. She could just imagine some of the children who were sleeping in empty streets, alone. That thought caused a fierce hurt in her heart. She wanted to help all those children, and even the lost and alone adults. But she knew there was a limit to what she could accomplish. But that was partly why she was so sure about her path as a healer, her prayers to Rak'keli. Of course she had heard whispers of a god or goddess of lost causes, but she hardly knew their name and...she didn't want to believe any of those were lost causes. No one was a lost cause if you tried to help them hard enough. Finally after what had to have been a few good hours, the Vantha sits up, twisting and turning to unwrap the blanket from around her. Frowning, she stood up, figuring it would be easier to get off that was as she had only managed to entangle herself more before falling onto the wooden floor with a resounding thump. "Stupid blanket," she murmured to herself, wriggling around for a little bit longer before finally getting free, throwing the blanket back onto the bed nearly immediately. Kalla couldn't sleep, so she had to find something to keep herself entertained. She had already written and sent off the letter to her family, which would hopefully get there sooner or later. Most likely later with how far away Avanthal was... And if she wasn't here when they received it... Well, if she left before she got a letter, she would simply see if anyone still here would be kind enough to mail it to her. Simple. Likely her parents, brother, and Eira would reply but her sister... Hopefully by now her sister was calmer and had forgiven her. Green was quickly finding its way into her eyes. Most often it seemed the Vantha's eyes were green, violet, or both. The colors of fear or anger were rare, at least recently. Only a few times had she been worried about someone enough to allow silver to leak into her eye color. She shook off the thoughts and concerns about her sister and her mood, taking a look around her room again. What could she do? Walk on the communal balcony? Perhaps, but that would mostly just allow her thoughts to continue, her worries to weasle their way into her heart. After all, she was twenty since a quite a few bells now. That was when her gaze stopped on something resting in the window: a small mint plant.

[Kalla Whitevine]

The mint plant. She had bought it when the seller mentioned it was a good starter plant, being young still with just a few sprouting leaves on it. She knew some about plants, so she figured she should make sure she still held that knowledge. Plus, she liked mint. Kalla walked over to the window, kneeling down near it and reaching out to tentatively stroke over the plant's leaves with her gnosis marked hand. "Hello, little friend," she whispered softly in Vani. She had written her letter in Vani, of course, being absolutely horrid at writing common and not much better at reading it for that matter. She was better off just picking out a few letters she knew which could tell her if a sign meant that was where she was looking for or not. But speaking Vani...it...was more like coming home than anything else. Not a single word in her native language had passed her lips since she left the confines of Avanthal. Not a word. So finally speaking it, if only to a plant, was such a wonderful feeling. A wonderful feeling even with all that was going on inside of her. Twenty, unmarried, and not even in Avanthal. That was the sum of her at the moment. Something that would be a disappointment to her family, to...everything she knew and believed in since she was young. Kalla wished that she had wanted to stay home, like the others, but her heart did not want it that way. She wasn't meant to stay in one place her whole life long. She was supposed to go out into the world; see, touch, feel everything there was. Maybe things would have been better suited if she were born about the Drykas. They were nomadic people after all. Sighing, she stood up and walked over to her chest to take out her water skin before coming back to the plant and pouring some of the water on the dirt around it. "I know, I should have watered you earlier, but I didn't think about it until now," she whispered apologetically to the plant, setting the water skin aside. "Now, when you're all grown you can be used for a few things, you know. You can make a nice tea or tincture, help keep a little bit more awake, sooth and heal skin. Oh, people love mint for their lips. And their breath, too." The Vantha smiled, resting her head on her arms after folding them on the windowsill. "Maybe you can help me learn to make more things, too. You think making some salve and putting you on wrinkled skin would help smooth it out? Or cracked skin not on lips? Oh, people's feet often need softening...," she mused, looking out the window and up to the stars and moon. "It has to work better than putting you on open wounds. Apparently that just burns." she grimaced a bit at the memory of having convinced her brother that mint was a great healing plant. It could help with lips, so why not a bleeding wound? Apparently that logic wasn't the best. A mistake, but it helped her learn something. "You'll help people one day, little plant, I promise." She looked back to the mint briefly then back to the sky, closing her eyes in Leth's silver light. She wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, she just liked to feel the night on her without the sight of buildings to ruin it. Though she had to admit that the light reflecting on the lake was a lovely sight. But much could be beautiful with many things hiding beneath the surface. Even if there were sinister things hiding under beauty, there was good hidden even deeper. That's how it worked, or so she hoped. And that's why she bought the plant. To help people, to try and reach the good within them. Kalla opened her eyes, looking back to the stars. Maybe a walk on the balcony wouldn't be too bad. Who would be up and there at this hour anyhow? Probably no one. Or other people who wished for alone time. And people who wished to be alone would not bother anyone else. No, they wouldn't. Even if they did, she could just politely decline a conversation. Yes, she loved speaking to people, but sometimes even someone as social as he wanted to be alone. She had been so happy when she had been old enough to get her own room instead of sharing it with her sister and others. It had been nice to be able to lay down and read book after book on different herbs and medicines. Sometimes fun stories, too, but mostly those that could further her education. So, yes, sometimes she enjoyed being alone. Hopefully a walk wouldn't mess her plan up too bad.

[Kalla Whitevine]

Once she reached the balcony, she walked to the edge, resting her hands on the railing. Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath, only to sigh promptly. The air wasn't too too warm, but it was still much warmer than she was used to. It kept her feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable, like she was just on the edge of full comfort but...unable to get there. No matter where she went, likely she would always be reminded that she belonged in Avanthal. Which reminded her, she still needed to know where she would go after Ravok. She still didn't know when she would leave, but she needed to have a plan. Just in case. While she had planned to skip over Syliras, it was on the way to everywhere else. Not to mention, it could be a hub of culture and so many people and races she had never seen. Maybe Syliras could be added back onto the list of places, but that wasn't helping to narrow anything down. Lhavit. Riverfall. Syliras. Even Zeltiva. She didn't know enough about any of them to really make an informed decision, which didn't help much. She could choose by distance, by the stories she heard, or by what the main focus of the city was rumored to be, but she didn't even know what to sue to pick a city. This was why she wished someone had traveled with her or that she at least knew someone in another city. She didn't even really know anyone in this city. Really, she needed to work on actually getting to know people. As friendly as she may be, getting to know people on a deeper level was...a bit of a challenge for her. Yet she craved social interaction. She wanted to talk to people, know their stories, know them more than just briefly exchanged niceties or surface stories. So much could be learned from listening to people long enough for them to open up, reveal what was written inside of them. Kalla wanted to know people. She also wanted people to want to know her. A frown came to her lips as a thought came to her. Perhaps...perhaps she was more than a little lonely. But who wouldn't be after leaving their home of nearly two decades? Watching the few people she could see from her position, a few questions started forming in her mind: how many of the people in the city were at all connected to each other? Who was related to who? Who owed who a favor or was just a friend? Who were lovers? Those sorts of connections made up the backbone of any good story, or life for that matter. Having a large web of connections, even loose ones, added something to someone's life story. And if someone added to your story, you probably added to their's. The degree to which someone mattered to someone else could differ greatly, but every single interaction held something of value. A single brush on the arm could matter. Of all things the random thought made her think of, she thought of one of her friends back home, Eira. That was actually a bit of how they met, arm brushing. Or, well, actually Eira falling out of a tree and just barely missing her. Kallalyn couldn't help the faint smile finding its way to her lips; Eira was always able to do that. Whereas she was generally well-behaved and only 'misbehaved' with bothering strangers to the point of irritation at times, Eira...she was the exact opposite. She even influenced Kalla to be a bit more playful, if that could be counted as the right word. All of that really just seemed to encourage her point: small things mattered. Small things could lead to big things or simply just lay the base for something grand in the future. Everything and everyone mattered in some way. In some way, everyone was connected and the fun was figuring out how.

[Kalla Whitevine]

Of course, with how things were for her at the moment, she wouldn't be able to figure out those connections just yet. If she ever would was another question entirely. Kalla sighed, the sigh turning quickly into a yawn. While she would have liked to say she wasn't tired, she couldn't help but notice she might just be so after all. The Vantha rubbed at her eyes briefly, casting another look over the balcony before turning to head inside. She should sleep, get ready for another day that could bring answers to her questions. Yes, that would be rather nice. Answers given in Syna's bright light only made sense, really. Trying to figure out anything at night was really a futile thing, at least for her. For others who made their livings off of stealing through the darkened streets it was different, easier for them to find their answers. She needed the sun to show her what she wanted to know, unless some strange occurrence happened and she found answers in the dark. For now the only thing she gained from the dark was a brief talk with a plant. And that, sadly, wasn't exactly informative. It would be rather interesting if the mint plant could speak back, but she knew that was something she would never find. Even if there was a way for plants to talk, they likely wouldn't speak to her. As she reached her room an idea came to her: a story with a speaking plant. Oh, now that would be something. But what would it say? To who and why? She bit her lip, tempted to start brainstorming the story, but after a moment, she sighed, heading to the bed. She needed sleep. As much as she didn't wish for the story to wait another day to come alive, she knew it had to. Just for a single night.

[Dravite]

G R A D E S
Your awards, Dear.

Kalla Whitevine

Experience

• Observation: 3
• Philosophy: 2
• Logic: 2
• Botany: 1
• Planning: 2

Lore

• Philosophy: Everyone deserves a chance
• Botany: Mint plant
• Drykas: A nomadic race
• Botany: caring for plants
• Planning: To see the world
• Kalla Whitevine: Misses talking to people

Notes

Short and sweet. A lot of looking and thinking going on in this thread but not much else. Let me know if there was some sort of lore you feel I missed and I'll be happy to make the edits. Enjoy the rewards.