Sacred Eye (Felicity)

[Talya]

Timestamp: Fall 15, 515 AV

The day was warm. It didn't quite feel like fall yet. A breeze swept in from the bay, upon which the port city of Zeltiva rested, and served to cool the air now and again before dying off. It carried the scent of salt, and a touch of moisture, which although it failed to make the air humid, served to make it seem a little less crisp. A little less fresh, and all the more damp in its nature, for a lack of a better word. The sun was rising still, moving toward the zenith it would only achieve at the center of the day. But for now, it lay in the east, not even halfway upon its journey to the noon time. Its golden rays splayed; fraying outward and onto the surface of the earth. Talya could see this as she settled herself into the green grass of the lawns in front of the University of Zeltiva; the long shadow it cast crawling over the expanse, darkening it, as it bathed her in its intense shade of gray. For the most part, Talya ignored this however as she continued to settle in, making herself comfortable upon the grass, as she eased herself into the half lotus position, and began to take deep breaths in through the nose and out through her mouth.

Talya felt her chest rise and fall. Rise swiftly, and then fall much more slowly, before rising again as she drew yet another breath down the length of her throat, and into her lungs. She could feel them expanding, the familiar ache as she forced more in than she normally would, as she took a far deeper breath than she would have if she had done so subconsciously, and left the functioning of her body to whatever internal mechanisms controlled and took care of that sort of thing when she couldn't be bothered to do it herself. She could feel a bug crawling on the edge of her knee, she fought the urge to bat it away, and kept her arms firmly placed along the length of her twisted legs; her hands dangling lightly over the edge, palms facing up toward the clear blue sky. Clear, in that not only was the blue lighter in tone, but there was scarcely any cloud cover. Again, the Ethaefal breathed deep, as she wiggled against the grass, which brushed up lightly against her side and her clothes. Then she closed her eyes, trying to shut out the beautiful fall day as much as the sound of the students and professors that were milling about.

Students discussing classes with their friends. Students laughing and gossiping. Professors teaching them final tidbits of information before going home; their students clinging to their every word, (at least from what she could tell before closing her eyes), just in case something important was spoken, something so important, that they certainly didn't want to miss it. It was good to seek information, to seek betterment of one's self through knowledge, Talya had always felt, although the way they hung to every word like over eager puppies, she found laughable. A curious grin crossed her lips as she straightened out her spine, and did her best to concentrate, ignoring the shuffling of steps against the grass, a few muffled, thudding steps of the far less graceful. (Or perhaps, simply fat). Doing her best to ignore the sound of cawing aquatic birds as they circled overhead. She rolled her shoulders. Talya sighed, and then she returned to her breathing- taking a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth, as she fought to push past the onslaught of various stimuli that surrounded her, and concentrate on regulating her breathing, keeping calm, and emptying the contents of her mind- cutting of any trains of thought she could find.

Talya

[Felicity]

A soft groan escaped Felicity's lips as she sat up, hands coming to her head to rub fingers into her temples, massaging the ache that was growing in her skull. It took a few chimes before the throb subsided enough that she could blearily blink her eyes open, squinting against the bright light of the sun to look around. Before her eyes and mind had fully adjusted it was obvious that she was not where she expected to be. There were no dark and dirty alleyways. No kids running in near tattered clothing. No one shouting and arguing. What there was was green. Grass that was softer than anything near her home on East Street, and people milling about as if they had somewhere they desperately needed to go.

One hand slid from her temple down to her waist where she discovered that, unsurprisingly, there was no money pouch there. Besides her head there was a stiffness in her shoulders and back, and a cramping in her stomach. Pressing her hand now against her abdomen Felicity closed her eyes, pressing the heel of her palm against her forehead as she tried to remember. The previous night she had gone out. She remembered walking into the tavern, drinking far too much, smoking far too much. The stinging acidic taste on the back of her tongue told her that she had most likely gotten sick, a fact made more likely given the sorry state her stomach was in currently. Her clothes were dirty but still in once piece, though oddly enough she was missing her shoes. That last fact she did not even realize until finally noticing her wiggling toes that she had been staring at for several chimes now. Still, nothing was broken, nothing was missing, and she wasn't dead. Felicity wondered if she had had fun.

That could wait. For the moment Felicity had a more pressing concern to face, figuring out where she was. It obviously was not East Street, nor was it any of the places she normally went. A sound of a large group coming closer made Felicity turn and look back over her shoulder, and that was when she got her answer. There, standing tall in the not too far distance, was the University of Zeltiva. Felicity could only stare at it like it was some kind of exotic animal, and to her that was exactly what it was. In all of her years of living in Zeltiva she had only come this far on the other side a handful of times, all of which was at the urging of someone else. Why, then, was she here?

Sighing and putting both hands on her head once more Felicity rocked backwards, rolling onto her knees before slowly standing with a wince as her head protested the sudden movements. Then, after she managed to steady herself, Felicity began to look around, examining where she was and trying to figure out how best to get back to her side of the city. A dark skinned woman doing some odd kind of stretches was not too far, and without hesitation Felicity strolled forward and crouched right in front of her. Tilting her head so that it was angled in the same direction as the woman's.

"Hey, miss." Felicity said, rocking forward slightly on her toes, "Can you point me to East Street? Also, can I have your shoes?"

[Talya]

Talya continued onward with her breathing exercises. She took a deep breath in through her nose and out through her mouth. She continued to steady the pace her heart took in its continual breathing. She continued to steady the rise and fall of her chest, and the depths of her inhalations and her exhalations. She continued to clear her mind, as she counted her breaths, as she tried to extend how long she waited before taking another breath. Training her lungs to withstand being without, and her lips to draw in more, to deepen everything further. She did this for several minutes, before doing her best to paint an image within her mind's eye. One similar to this- the one that surrounded her outside in the world of Zeltiva. But one that only had elements of it, and wasn't entirely the same. One which felt far more familiar to her. More calming- an even safer place. She pictured herself being within a field of grass. Closely cropped to the ground, and a vibrant green, much like the grass that she sat upon now. There were ladybugs resting atop some of the blades, others climbing along their lengths. There bees buzzing around- looking for wildflowers within their expanse, and butterflies, now and again, moving tirelessly around them.

Talya pictured there being a clear blue sky. Not a cloud in sight. The sun high, a bit past its zenith. The world sinking into the afternoon as it bathed the world in its pale light. A few song birds in the sky- singing a soft, melodic tune. Their shadows playing over the grass. She pictured there being no water nearby. Not the sound of the waves crashing into the shore, nor its birds cawing overhead. She pictured- she was cut off. She opened a single eye and looked up to find a shadow crawling over her visage. The shadow of a woman who seemed to be shorter than her. She had lighter hair too, and lighter eyes, and lighter skin, but that wasn't really saying much of anything when Talya embraced her mortal seeming. She smiled simply as she opened her other eye, and then let out the breath she had been holding in with a sigh, her brow furrowing as she considered the woman's question. She didn't look particularly poor to her, but you never really knew. "Hello," she said, as she raised her right hand and pointed off to her left, and a bit ahead of her as well. "That way," she said, before shaking her head and setting her hand back down, as she concentrated on the woman's features, her eyes developing a far off sort of appearance. As though she were beginning to look through Felicity as opposed to directly at her.

"No," she replied to the woman's final question, as her aura came into view, "I'm using them right now," she added, as the wispy entity circled Felicity, the edges forming little sparks, that broke off of the larger picture. It was by far the most colorful aura Talya had ever seen. She couldn't even tell what the prominent or base color was, for it encompassed so much. There was red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and even violet. They were all thrown together- as though an artist had flicked paint onto a canvas with their brush. All of the colors wound together, but never mixed- forming something muddled and black, or even brown. It stayed pure, and seemed to burst and flash and move naturally and beautifully. From this, Talya wasn't quite sure what to glean as she searched for more off which she could draw her conclusions. She found that the aura had no taste. She found also that it sounded faintly- a sort of whirring noise, but not quite. It didn't smell of anything either. She thought it strange, but did nothing about it- didn't so much as shrug as she let it fall, and her pupils dilated, her temples aching dully. When the aura had disappeared, she took a deep breath, and then began to interpret what she had seen.

Talya guessed that the woman was rather multi-faceted, and for whatever reason, feeling calm at the moment. She thought it strange considering the wide range of colors she had picked up on- hues akin to ruby and crimson, then a little something darker and closer to a garnet. Canary yellows, corn yellows, orange the shade of the fruit, as well as a lighter version, as though it had been bleached. There were midnight blues, royal blues, and lighter tones like the sky. There was a deep indigo, a shade like belladonna and blueberries. There were colors akin to the grass, and the leaves on the trees. There was even one close to the color of lime, and also a kiwi. Which could all mean a number of different things, a plethora of emotions, and yet, the Ethaefal was left with a sense of calm, and also, that this woman was many things, and also very few things all at once. Like she was still finding herself- trying to decide on whom to be. For this reason, she guessed that she would be rather impressionable, malleable, in much the way clay was before it was hardened. Before it had the chance to solidify into anything- a distinct shape, or something more obscure. With that in mind she continued, "is that all you needed," she inquired, a part of her a little annoyed that she had been interrupted during her meditation.

Talya