A delicate bloom
Seirei listened carefully to Naiya's words, considering them closely. It seemed hard to be believed that she would ever be treated like family here after the way she had been treated so far. And yet, the other woman's words stirred something deep within her. It gave her hope, however small, that things could change for the better. Naiya's apology, and obvious remorse made her feel slightly better, too. It helped to remind her that not everyone felt the way the people in this crowd did.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, too." she said softly, with a small smile.
Naiya told her that she had to get her animals home, but that she too intended to visit the strange silver chest. When asked if she would help her, Seirei was quick to say that she would be happy to help. Naiya seemed nice, and if she could make another friend here in the city, Seirei hoped to do so. It would make living here until she could escape more bearable. The other woman's camp was set up not too far from the market. It was at the edge of the city, but still well within the protection the city had to offer. Lian's camp was in a similar location, placed near the edge of the city, but safe within its boundary. In fact, it wasn't all that far from this camp. They weren't neighbors as such, but they weren't that far from it.
Seirei took the offered seat by the embers, and the cup of cool milk with sincere thanks, and a smile. Now that she was nursing the twins, she often had a craving for milk. But it was a craving that was rarely fulfilled. Lian didn't own his own herd, and it was rare that he thought to buy any. And few people were willing to sell any to her because she was a captive. Those that did often wanted to charge her twice as much, or even more than what they would charge a Drykas for the same amount of milk.
The twins settled down quickly now that they were away from the angry crowd. As Seirei waited for Naiya, she thought about her own gift for the chest. When they were children, Jared had braided two bracelets made out of dyed horse hair. Both were black, but one had a dyed strip of blue running through it, and the other had a dyed strip of purple running through it. Jared had given her the purple one, and kept the other for himself. He had promised her that the two bracelets were linked together because they were made from hair from the tail of the same horse, taken on the same day. In fact, he had gathered himself as Seirei had watched, so she knew it to be true. Jared had then told her that as long as she wore her bracelet, he would be able to watch over her even if he wasn't there because he would always wear his bracelet.
It had calmed Seirei to know her older brother was watching her when she was a child, and it had soothed her out of many nightmares if she could just rub the bracelet gently until she fell back to sleep. But when she had woken up in the Sea of Grass, Jared's bracelet had been wrapped around her wrist , and linked to her own. Looking back at it now, Seirei realized that Jared may have given her the bracelet so that if she did manage to survive, she would have a reminder of him. She could even appreciate the thought of that. From that perspective, Jared was doing the best he could for her.
At the time, though...Seirei had seen it as the worst sign of betrayal. Not only had she been abandoned to die, her own brother thought so little of her that he wanted no reminder of her existence. No proof that he had ever had a sister. It had been as though he was telling her that he would no longer look out for her. That he was no longer her older brother. And that had hurt very deeply.
So these bracelets would be her gift to the chest. Her offering to the gods if they were the ones who had sent the chest. If Jared wanted to think of them as strangers now, then Seirei would accept that. She would cast off their past together when she offered the bracelets to the chest. And if Jared had meant the gift to be a kind one, well...Seirei still needed to move on. Dwelling in the past, and focusing on what she had lost would do her no good at all. She needed to face her future, and prepare for it as best she could. That future did not include Jared in any significant way. Offering the bracelets to the chest was as good a way of saying goodbye to both Jared, and her past as any.
Seirei considered offering one of her mother's keepsakes to the chest as well. But her mother was dead. She had already said her goodbyes to her mother. Memories of her were not what was holding her back. But in saying goodbye to Jared, and her past with the trade caravan, she hoped that she would be releasing the pain of their betrayal as well. That could only be a good thing as she moved on with her life, and looked to the future.
Seirei looked up when Naiya asked her if she was ready to go. Then she smiled, and nodded. It would be good to let go of the past.
"I am." she said simply.
