Fall 64th. 516 Av
Wrapping up in a rough spun blanket Hwyn stared unblinkingly at the fire at the center of the camp sight, his body hurt. Not from injury but from the fact that he was unaccustomed to travel, feet hurt, legs hurt, it felt like he'd been walking forever and he didn't like it. and to top it off he was lonely. Clyde was not cruel but as he had once said he did not offer companionship or friendship, and Hwyn decidedly didn't like to talk to strangers, he had found himself becoming more reclusive the more he traveled, when the caravan had first set out her remembered carrying on a polite conversation or two with the others in the caravan, but now the names and faces of those he traveled with for the most part eluded him. He didn't like talking to people, people didn't seem to care for talking to him, he could take orders and reply with a nod, and a murmured yes when needed, nut it felt like his lusts for colors had faded as his gift had given him all the access he could ever desire for colors. and when he used the gift he'd gotten in Alvadas it made his head hurt.
He'd stowed away any colorful clothes he'd had in his travel bags, now he wore a simple black dress that cut off just above his knees and complimentary black undergarments. He'd kept up the feminine facade for the trip, for a couple of reasons, he wasn't really asked to lift too many things and since he'd started the journey in a dress, suddenly telling everyone he was a boy felt foolhardy. So what was he to do? wrapping the blanket tighter around himself Hwyn heard the murmurs of the others around him but they were like distant voices coming through a wall of water, just a gargle of white noise. What he did notice however was the fire in front of him, it was pretty and alive, and to stay alive that fire devoured the wood it was fed. If fire was anything like life was the purpose of life then to destroy so that you yourself are not destroyed?
It seemed an unhappy lonely thought, then again he was unhappy and lonely so maybe their was something to be said for how the world operated. Perhaps happiness was something only those with wealth or those who were content to lie to themselves were able to find. Was happiness simply the act of denying reality? Maybe so, thinking about it kind of made Hwyn confused, he didn't like thinking too terribly much, it felt like the answers to all the questions he asked himself were unpleasant. But was it better to accept unpleasant truths or enjoy happy lies? His life felt like it was built on lies anyways. He lied alot, about a lot of things, but just because he was a liar didn't mean that he had to accept lies? So... well, it was probably better to stop thinking for the moment and find a distraction... he didn't really have a reason to stop staring at the fire, he didn't need to relieve himself or sleep quite yet. But there was simply nothing to do, he didn't feel like picking up his violin, not tonight anyway. maybe he should try and see the colors, he could find ribbons on near anything that moved, the fire didn't really move but he wondered what he could find if he stared long enough.
Opening his eyes, or well further opening them? he didn't really know what to call it, he gaze motionlessly at the fire as he found the ribbons, compared to the luminescence of the fire the ribbons he saw were quite muted. However, they were still there, the ribbons were always there if he could see them or not. Looking for an interesting ribbon to gaze at Hwyn saw the people on the other side of fire moving, but he didn't care much for peoples ribbons, not to say they were boring, they were not, he simply didn't have any interest in people. So he looked for different ribbons, when something finally caught his eye. A log that had just been thrown on the fire, rotten and aged the log sizzled as the water in it's, bark was cooked out, but that was the least interesting part of it. out of the log poured countless tiny ribbons, the tiny paths were fleeing from the fire. like the log had been filled with tiny slow moving things and the fire was scaring them away. Staring at all the fleeing ribbons Hwyn finally saw what the origins were when he followed the tail of the ribbon to it's source. As the source crawled by his foot he realized that the source of the tiny grey ribbon was a small beetle, it's home destroyed by the fire it fled from the consuming blaze.
However looking back to the Fire Hwyn saw that not all the ribbons had fled so successfully, he found a short ribbon, one that led to the fire, and it no longer had an end, just a short tail from the log, to the fire. the creator of the ribbon no longer existed, but the ribbon still persisted. like some grim reminder that something alive had once been here, but had met it's end.
Anyone who observed the boy might observe the intensity with which he observed the fire, the moment he began to use his ability the pink and red corona around his iris's would glow and undulate, though perhaps it was only a trick of the fire reflecting in his eyes.
Credit to Shimoje, the bestest buddy
