Hiatus announcement

So, as much as I want to, I'm not going to give you anything of substance for the next week or so. I"ll be on tour with my church choir, and taking a laptop would just complicate things. Of course, we don't leave until Sunday morning, so I could post some things tonight and tomorrow, but I'm not going to bother. Right now it's past eleven and I need to get up early tomorrow, and tomorrow I'm going to either be in rehearsal, or packing (and repacking) my stuff. So yeah. I'm going to slack off. AND, I'm going to enjoy doing it. Hopefully when I get back I'll have a dozen brilliant ideas, but if that doesn't happen, oh well.

Peaceful Fires

The next day followed in a rather peaceful manner. The Elva Forest was rather quiet, and it was a good thing we didn't have horses. There was no clear path to follow, and the trees were packed close together. To navigate, we relied on Leonard Stone's compass, and Sir Knocks' intuition. It was a formidable pair, and our journey was filled with companionable silence.

It took much longer for it to become too dark, and by the time we stopped, both of the men were exhausted. They didn't bother with a fire, just laid down on a soft bit of earth and fell into a deep slumber. After helping me build a small fire, the Dwarf gave me a look that clearly said that I was taking the first shift, whether I liked it or not.

I sat in the silence, partially enjoying it, but glancing around nervously. I wasn't sure why, but something didn't feel quite right. Things felt eerie, and my companion's slumber was unusually deep. It was almost as if... No, it couldn't be... But it was. They had been enchanted.

Even now, I am uncertain who it was that cast the spell. It could have been Nicre, it could have been the Lady of the Wood (whoever she was at the time. For all I know, it could have been the Lady of Fortune herself. The fact remained however, that they had all been lured into an enchanted sleep, that could possibly prove deadly, and I had neither the skills nor tools to wake them.

I exaggerate slightly, though, I must admit. I panicked at the time, but looking back the answer was obvious. Cold water shocks the system in such a way that it proves quite effective for throwing off curses and enchantments. I didn't think of that at the time though, so I desperately went to each of my companions, shaking each of them in turn, and getting no response. Then I tried making a horrific amount of noise. Within a quarter-hour, I was distraught, sure that none of them would wake ever again. And then, to make matters worse, it began to rain.

That, of course, woke all of them up. They rose with grunts and grumbles, trying futilely to cover themselves from the pelting droplets. When the grogginess of sleep had worn off of them, they all saw me staring at them with a wide mouth and tears on my face. Sir Knocks was quick in an attempt to 'soothe' me, and I managed to get the whole story out through shuddering sobs. The dwarf and Sir Knocks looked worried, but Leonard Stone had a neutral expression on his face.

After I had calmed down we managed to create a shelter of sorts under the bows of a sturdy oak. The others were oddly refreshed after their enchanted slumber, and I was too wound up for sleep, so we sat in a circle, not saying much until the Dwarf asked,

"So who is this Nicre guy anyway? And why can't someone else take care of him?"

"Nicre is the Wizard of the North, and admittedly one of the most insane persons you will ever meet. Three summers ago though, he was as normal as any other Wizard. Not as normal as anyone else, but certainly not crazy like he is now. Well, that summer the order asked him to go into the Mountains to search for a cave that held the scroll of enlightenment. When he came back, there was something not right in him anymore. No one knows if it was the snow, or the searching, or if he was just crazy from the beginning, but about a week after his return, he snapped.

"With one badly placed fire spell, half of the Cathedral went up in flames. It was a mass of terror and chaos, with a good measure of panic thrown in as well. I wasn't there at the time (being on a quest myself), but all of the novice brothers were eager to tell me about it on my return. James refuses to talk about it though. He watched too many of his brothers die."

"Nicre had disappeared at that point, and I helped wherever I could with the reconstruction. It only took a fortnight for Nicre to return though. He literally flew in on a cloud of fire, his eyes lit in unholy rage. He fired at the Order's orchard, causing more damage than one would think imaginable. I was back at the Cathedral, so it took me a vital quarter-hour to get word. I ran with haste to where Nicre was terrorizing the brothers. I distracted him with a shout, and not even thinking about it, cast a spell that would shoot a stream of purified water in any direction I chose. It hit him square in the face, shocking him enough that he lost concentration. The fire-cloud he rode on vanished, and without his fury fanning them, the flames on the orchard died down.

"It wasn't easy to capture him though. It took all of the brothers and I chasing after him, firing spell after spell at him. It didn't help that the only spells the brothers could perform were light spells. After a chase that seemed to last hours, we caught him, and quickly threw him into a damp cell in the dungeon.

"The High Priest sentenced him to exile in the Cursed land, but didn't let him go until his fire emblem was confiscated and destroyed. Since he's back and attacking the Forest of peace, I'm assuming he found a way to create a new one."

"So... what you're saying through that greatly embellished and wandering story is that you defeated this firebug before out of pure luck."

"I prefer to think of it as intuition."

"Think of it however you'd like. I'm going back to sleep."

The dwarf laid down, and Leonard Stone quickly followed her example. Thankfully, they both fell into a nice natural sleep. Sir Knocks insisted that I too should sleep, and that he might as start his shift on watch. I acquiesced, and settled down with my blanket, starring blankly at the fire. I wondered if Nicre knew that I was coming for him. I wondered if he'd gotten any more crazy. These thoughts lulled me into slumber, neither getting a clear answer.

Traveling Music

We continued on in a similar fashion the following day, only coming across a few monsters, all of which Leonard disposed of quite easily. It was almost as if he didn't need any of the rest of us there. Any road, we made it out of the Kogen Forest before nightfall, and found ourselves on the Great Road. We crossed straight over it, into the Elva forest, at Sir Knocks' direction.

"Why not follow the road, like any sane person would?" The dwarf groused.

"Because we need to get to the forest of peace as quickly as possible, and if we followed the road we would not reach it for another fortnight."

"Can we at least find horses?"

"We don't need them. Once we cross through the Elva forest we will be there."

The dwarf sighed, and stared at Sir Knocks with a petulant expression for a long time, but went along with the plan without anymore fuss.

Once again, as soon as it was too dark for the humans, we set up camp. We had a fire this night, and feasted on a rabbit Leonard Stone had caught. He was quite the hunter, one had to admit.

The rabbit eaten, and no one tired enough to sleep yet, we sat around in silence, not quite enjoying each other's presence, but not minding it either. Before long, Sir Knocks requested a song from me. I obliged, singing the Ballad of the Sky with Leonard Stone accompanying me with humming. The men smiled cheerily at me at the conclusion, but the dwarf just huffed and laid down to sleep. The rest of us soon followed suit, Leonard Stone taking the first watch.

I woke, long before the change of shift, with a start. I wasn't sure what had woken me, but stone noticed that I was awake. Through the gloom I could seem him smile at me.

"Sleep, dear one. It is not time for you to wake."

I followed his suggestion, not giving notice to the fact that he had his hunting knife laid across his lap.

Lack of contact

I realize my lack in posting for the past few days is slightly inexcusable, but I hope you will anyway. I have fairly good reasons for it, even though I'm not going to share them with you. You'll just have to be content to know that I am back (if only for this week), and better than ever! ... Or not. Anyhoo, here's some more of Rina and Wylma!

We entered the forest promptly at dawn, glancing around warily at every sound. There weren't too many creatures in the forest, but the ones that were there were vicious. Some said the creatures in the Kogen Forest had enough bite for 10. Others said they were tamable if you knew exactly what to do. Either way, none of us were going to take any chances. Well, apart from the dwarf. She could take all the chances she wanted.

It was midmorning before we came across any of these creatures, and when we did, it was just a little one. You have to understand though, that when I say little, I mean a blood-thirsty monster the size of a grey hound. The adult monsters could get up to the size of horses. Our monster was undoubtedly still in it's youth. Leonard Stone was the first to spot it, and before any of us could even think he had his bow out. With a skill that I'd only ever seen in elves, he shot the monster right in between the eyes (they're most vulnerable spot). The monster went down with a thud, and we kept moving.

We didn't come across another the rest of the day, and when it became too dark for the humans, we stopped. There was a brief argument about who would sleep, but at last the Dwarf and I convinced the humans to sleep, using the logic that we didn't need as much, and more than that the creatures wouldn't go after the dwarf, giving her an advantage. Once they were out cold, I turned to the dwarf and asked without warning, "Who's Cronan?"

"My would-be betrothed. Why?"

"You muttered his name last night. I was just curious."

"Aw damn. I thought I'd gotten over sleep-talking."

"What is he like?"

"Why?"

"Because I'm curious."

"Fine. He's built like a god, has a ridiculously hilarious sense of humor and can make the most beautiful swords you've ever seen."

"And what's your sister like?"

"Petty, selfish, and ugly. And believe it or not, I would have said the same thing about her even before she betrayed me."

"What makes her ugly?"

"She's fat, even for a dwarf, and doesn't take care of herself."

"That's enough to make someone ugly?"

"In dwarfin culture, yes."

"Huh. What are your parents like?"

She said nothing, and through the gloom I could see that her lips were pursed. Finally, she said, "I'm feeling fatigued. Wake me up if you hear ANYTHING."

I wanted to pursue the issue, since she was obviously against talking about it, and people were only like that when there was something juicy going on, but I knew better. I'd seen similar looks from a lot of the Brothers of the Order, and after watching James get yelled at enough times, I finally caught a clue. When people looked like that, the only way you were going to get the information from them was through torture. So I left it, focusing on protecting the camp. Admittedly I wouldn't be able to do much against the monsters, but if I knew they were coming I could wake everyone else up at least.

Blarg.

Daylight savings sucks.

Just sayin'.

At the time

We spent the night at the edge of the forest, keeping a more alert eye than ever. The beasts weren't well known for leaving the forest, but one could never be too wary. I had the third shift, and I watched the dwarf as she slept, the moon offering a clear illumination. She was brash, and loud, and decidedly crass, but the same could be said of any other dwarf. But there was something different about her. I hadn't met many dwarfs in my (admittedly short) life, but those I had met had be far more cheerful. There was a wounded sadness about my companion that was just too hard to ignore.

I didn't know why I was so obsessed with her state of being at that time. To be honest, I didn't consider it odd that I was thinking so deeply about her. It was late, and however vigilant I might have been, I was still half-asleep in my reasoning skills. So I though little of it.

When I woke Leonard Stone for his watch, I walked past the Dwarf on my way to a comfortable-looking bit of grass just beyond her. I thought I heard her mutter something that sounded like, "Cronan", but I couldn't be sure. I wasn't sure why that struck me, but it did, and that one little mutter stayed in my mind for the following months.

Betrayals

I woke up the next morning to the dwarf jabbing me in the side with the hilt of her ax.

“Must you be so violent?” I asked.

“Must you be so lazy?” She replied.

“That wasn’t a very good comeback.”

“Yeah, we’ll, you can stick it up your” She was interrupted by Stone’s call to breakfast. I was almost disappointed. I’m sure that despite her earlier failure to come up with something clever to say would have been deeply overshadowed by whatever insult she could come up with.

We continued on our journey without much fuss, and by mid-afternoon, we were coming up on the Kogen forest. When we reached the border, Sir Knocks called us to a halt.

"It won't take us long to go through it," He said. "But the beasts will be glad of our visit, and we all need to be fully rested to face them. Plus, we'll be letting our horses go here."

"Why?" the dwarf demanded to know.

"They're a liability in the forest. While the beasts enjoy human and elven flesh, there is nothing that gets their mouths watering like horse flesh."

"What about dwarfs? Why didn't you mention dwarfs?"

"For some reason the beasts have an aversion to dwarfs. How do you not know this? It's rather common knowledge."

"I'm of the deep south. Not much of your northern 'common knowledge' reaches to down in the mines."

"Any road, I'm sure we'll be relying on you quite a bit these next couple days."

We set up camp, and soon the men were napping. Neither the dwarf nor I needed as much sleep as them, so we sat together in tense silence. After a while, it seemed like she couldn't take it anymore.

"What's the deal with you and that brother back at the Order?" She asked suddenly.

"You mean James? Oh, well, when my parents were killed in the Cainlin Fires, the Order took me in with the rest of the orphans. James just happened to be one of the novice brothers assigned to caring for us. We took a liking to each other, and while the other orphans found homes for themselves outside of the Order, I stayed, helping with whatever tasks I could."

"How old were you then?"

"Hmm... 24 human years, I think."

"What does that translate to in elven terms?"

"About 10, give or take a cycle."

"I see."

"What's your story then? How did you escape from the mines?"

"It wasn't escaping. I was forced up here by various unpleasant circumstances."

"Like what?"

"My sister stole my betrothed."

"What?"

"My sister, jealous of the fact that I got the most handsome dwarf in the community for my betrothed, seduced him, while looking like me I might add, became with child, and stole him from me."

"That's harsh. Did you get revenge?"

"It's against our nature to get revenge, at least for something like that."

"I see. But that can't be the only thing that drove you up here. What else happened?"

"There is something else. But it is best left alone."

"Are you certain? I'm a great listener, perhaps it might help you to say"

"Leave it, half-breed." With that, she stood up, and walked a ways away. I'd obviously struck a chord. I was curious, but not enough to go after and pester her. If she didn't want to share, then I wouldn't force her. Even if I desperately wanted to know what her secret was.

Love is a battle field

The following day we exited the Bona forest, and found ourselves on the plain land in between the Bona and Kogen forests. The soil there is infertile and rough to plow, so no one, not even dwarfs inhabited the long strip of barren waste. The sky was overcast, so we were free from the sun's blistering rays, but our journey had become even more tedious. I ended up reading five more myths from my scroll that day in an attempt to stave off the boredom. The men seemed to enjoy them, but the dwarf remained apathetic, or even hostile.

I couldn't understand her mood. The old myths were rather hard to believe, but never had I seen one so set against them. When I read the story of creation, she frowned. When I read about the birth of the Sun and Moon, she glowered. When I read about the birth of the races, she glared. The men remained oblivious, but I was well aware of the searing looks she was tossing my way.

Before too long, it got dark, and we set up camp. We didn't have a fire, for there was no wood around to fuel it. The clouds cleared though, providing a full moon to illuminate our little group. We sat in a circle, idly munching on some nuts and berries the dwarf and I had gathered the night before. Just when I was about to fall asleep from boredom, Leonard Stone began to whistle a familiar tune. It was the Ballad of Sir Newt, and once he had gone through the tune once, I began to sing the words.

I am not near as talented as any fully-blooded elf, but I have a better voice than most humans or dwarfs, and none of them complained. The men seemed enchanted, and even the dwarf had a satisfied look on her face. When I was done with the song, they clapped, and I nodded my head.

"A person of many talents." Sir Knocks remarked. The dwarf snorted. "You do not think so?" Sir Knocks asked her, polite as ever.

"Everyone has many talents. Some just aren't as obvious, or well-honed as others. I can sing and read stories too, but if I did you wouldn't call them talents, simply because I don't do them as sweetly as our pretty half-breed here." I could have taken that many ways, but there's only one thing I managed to dwell on.

"You think I'm pretty?" I asked with a teasing smile. The dwarf blushed.

"Merely an observation."

"Ha Ko-ra." I said in a teasing tone.

"What did you just say to me!?" The dwarf demanded.

"You like me." I replied, in the same teasing tone as before. The dwarf turned an even brighter shade of red, but said nothing. The men watched it all with amused glances, obviously enjoying the banter as much as I did. Not long after that, the three of them went to sleep, and I sighed, not looking forward to my two hours of watch duty. It was boring work, but it had to be done.

I stared at the moon, and wondered what the dwarf really thought of me. She was hostile towards me, but she was hostile to the men as well. More than that, she had the tendency to stay close to me. It was possibly because we were both female, and when traveling with a mixed group like us, it was better to stay close to your own kind. The only thing I was certain of, was that she didn't hate me, and as far as I was concerned, that was half the battle.

Fools

We continued our journey just a little after sunup. The dwarf was groggy, but the men were bright eyed and bushy-tailed after chewing on what Sir Knocks described as 'magic beans'. The day was long and boring, spent entirely in the saddle, without any friendly banter. I wasn't completely upset by this, but I was rather discontent at the whole situation. Halfway through the afternoon, I pulled a scroll out of my saddlebag, hopeful that my horse (who I had mentally began to call Algaeca) wouldn't notice that I wasn't holding the reins. The dwarf noticed, however, and called out,

"Oy! What've you there?"

"A scroll of myths" I replied as calmly as I could.

"Why'd you bring that?"

"To entertain myself."

"Why should you be the only one entertained?" I had no response to that. Sir Knocks, ever the diplomat said respectfully, "Perhaps you would be so kind as to read us a tale or two?"

Slightly miffed, I looked to the scroll. I guess it wouldn't be that bad sharing... They were just myths after all. And I did love reading aloud...

"The Story of Fortune's beginning. Long ago, when the world was fresh and new, and only the gods existed, there was a whisper on the wind. That whisper was Prosperity. It was what caused the plants to grow, and the birds to sing. No one, not even the gods know how Prosperity came to be, but it has been with us since before the moon left the sun's womb. As the years went on, the whisper grew in volume. When dwarfs, elves, and men were created, Prosperity was so loud, that it could embrace all of the new-created souls. They all were aware of it's presence, and thanked it with all their hearts when things were good. The creator grew jealous of this however, and banished Prosperity to the center of the world, where it could embrace no one. Soon, everyone forgot about Prosperity, but for one elven maiden, who had fallen in love with the mysterious being that had embraced her as a child. She thought about it constantly, forsaking her duties in order to seek after it. She spent her whole life looking, but never could find it. When she was old, white-haired and withered, she found herself in the Forest of Peace. Her steps were weary, and her mind gone. She collapsed by a stream, where the freshest water flowed. She looked into the water and said to herself, "If only I could find it, I would die happy." The creator had watched her all these years, and hearing her plea, was moved with pity, and allowed Prosperity to rise up through the stream. Prosperity had heard her cries as well, and when it saw her, was overjoyed, but sad, for her life was almost at it's end. Prosperity looked to the creator and said, "Let me have just this one love. I will never embrace another if you let me have but her." The creator was moved, and with his power, renewed her life, and made her into something more. "There is a clause." The creator declared. "She can be yours, but she also must serve the world, bringing what good things I give to those that deserve it. She shall be called fortune, and she shall be your wife." Prosperity and the newly-born Fortune were glad, but were unaware of what was to come. For while Fortune is Prosperity's wife, she must serve elves, dwarfs and men before she can serve her husband."

At the end of the story, the dwarf snorted.

"What a load of feces."

"It matters not what is real and not," Leonard Stone said, "But what you believe."

"Do you believe that some elven broad seduced the creator into making her a goddess?"

"No, but I do believe that Prosperity and Fortune are united."

The Dwarf shook her head.

"You men are all fools."

"Bari ne, cortrul bari ha." Leonard Stone replied. I covered to hide a laugh with a cough, hearing the familiar elven phrase. It was one James had quoted at me several times over the years.

The dwarf glanced at me, then glared at Stone. "I get the feeling I've just been insulted."

"Please don't be." Sir Knocks was quick to interject. "It is merely an old Elven phrase, something along the lines of, He that says fool, is fool." The dwarf darted dark glances at us all, but said nothing more, and there was silence among us until it was time to set camp.

Continuation

I really don't like horses. They're smelly, foul, and no matter how well they're trained, there's always a chance that they could trample you. James often tells me that my father was one of the greatest elven horsemen when was alive. My mother, on the other hand, was a clumsy human that never once in her life rode a horse. I wonder what father saw in mother. It can't have been her charm. She was even foul-mouthed than I was (if the stories I've heard from the villagers are true). Either way, it's quite obvious that I take more after my mother than my father.

I wouldn't make mention of this, but for the fact that we were to carry out our journey on horseback. This, of course, made me absolutely miserable. The horse the Order had provided for me was a temperamental mare that was fond of going into a trot without notice. The humans were ridiculously oblivious of my discontent, and the dwarf smirked at me from her perch on her shaggy war-pony.

My dislike of our mode of transportation aside, we made good time, and were halfway through the Bona forest by nightfall. We halted only when Sir Knocks (our official leader) declared that it was unsafe to continue traveling. I could see fine of course, but the humans eyes weren't used to such an absolute dark. The only light we had was from our lanterns, and even that only illuminated the nearest trees.

We pitched our camp, working together almost seamlessly. The dwarf and I cleared a space for sleeping and gathered firewood while the men unpacked the necessary items and built a fire. Before long, we were all sitting around on logs with rats roasting on sticks in the fire. Occasionally Leonard Stone would shift them for better cooking, but apart from that there was little movement, and even less talking. When the rats were done, we ate, tearing at them with our fingers and spitting out any bones we came across. When we were done with our meal, we threw the sticks back into the fire, but still said nothing to each other.

Soon enough, we got tired of the silence, and one by one, began to crawl into our blankets. Sir Knocks agreed to keep the first watch, promising to wake Leonard Stone up in a couple hours. That night, I dreamed of a vast underwater cavern, covered in blue stones. I woke to the dwarf's unpleasant face as she shook me awake for my watch, the last one before sun-up. I blearily arose, and poked at the fire as I went by it on my way to relieve myself. The other three were sound asleep when I returned, and I shook my head at them as I made myself comfortable by the fire. There was some advantage to having companions, but I still would have preferred to be alone.

Turning Japanese

I'm beginning to think that I should have been born Japanese. Their ritualistic culture and traditional foods appeal to me in a way that my own American roots just can't compare to. I'm all for American freedom and support the troops and all that rot, but I really think that being Japanese would suit me. Of course, any attempt to conform to Japanese culture I do now would be seen as foolish, so I will pine from afar... (Pining happens to be something I'm really good at)

It all started with James calling me into his office. This was not in any way unusual. James typically called me into his office at least once a week 'to talk'. What was unusual, was that when I arrived, there were already several people in the office with him. There were two human males, and a female dwarf, and all of them looked directly at me when I entered with a loud, "Oy! James! You need to get laid so you'll stop bothering me all the time!" That was slightly embarrassing, but nothing compared to some of the things that had occurred in my youth.

"Comments about my sexual relations aside, Rina, allow me to introduce your new traveling companions."

"What in High Heavens? Traveling companions! What are you on James?"

"Nicre's been at it again."

"So? Why does that matter to me? Or even to the Order for that matter?"

"Rina, you're the only one who's been able to defeat him so far, so reasonably, you can do it again." I looked over to where the smaller of the humans and the dwarf were standing.

"Then why do these clowns need to come along? I can do it alone."

"Think of them as... insurance. We don't want you coming back in the same state you did last time."

"Excuse me, but I'm offended by being referred to as 'Insurance'." The dwarf was looking rather grumpy, but not quite as 'offended' as her words lead one to believe. Ever the polite one, James was quick to assure her.

"You're not JUST going as 'insurance', I assure you. Part of your journey will take you through the Kogen Forest, and no matter how skilled Healer Rina is, she's no match for the beasts there."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, James." I quipped.

"Either way," The smaller human said. "I think we'll all benefit from each other's company."

"Well put, Sir Knocks." James smiled at him, and I wondered if my earlier comment wasn't too far from the mark.

"Hey," The larger (and far more muscular) of the two humans spoke up. "Before we get into braiding each other's hair and talking about who we fancy, can we at least know all of our names?"

"Certainly." James said, unusually flustered. "The gifted healer among us is Rina Lostchild. This slim young man to my left is Sir John Knocks, the burly giant to my left is Leonard Stone, and this charming dwarven lady is Wylma Bluestone. Now that you are all met, you can begin your journey tomorrow at sunrise."

There was some hemming and hawing, but slowly the others began filing out. I stayed in James' office, outlasting even Sir Knocks (who obviously wanted to say something to James). When they were all gone, I went over, closed the door, then turned sharply to James.

"What. The. Hell."

"Rina, what ever do you mean by that?"

"You know bloody well what I mean. Why are you doing this to me?"

"I'm not doing anything to you! The High Priest demanded that you be in this party!"

"Is that so? And why is the High Priest of the Order of Illumination so interested in this case?"

James mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"He's burning down the forests of Peace."

"Who is? The high priest?"

"No. Nicre. No other religious sect cares about the forest anymore, so no one else is doing anything about. The High Priest feels the pain of the trees however, so he NEEDS someone to stop Nicre."

"I see." I sighed. "Very well. I'll go on this 'quest'. You had better hope that I make it back in one piece though."

"I always do."

Smiles in Seattle

So... my trip up to Seattle wasn't THAT spectacular (the only time I spent in Seattle proper was spent in a fencing studio), but it was still a lot of fun. I got to spend the night in a really nice Condo in Tacoma, and I slept in a bed with a really cushy comforter that made me feel like I was sleeping on a cloud. We stopped in Portland on our way back, and walked around Pioneer Place a bit. The stores there are kind of pricy, and it's a little claustrophobic, but it's still really nice, and I had a really good time. Obligatory gushing out of the way, here's a short tidbit of writing for you:

He smiled at her, the first time they met. She smiled back, but only because it was polite. "Hi, my names James." He said. She said nothing. It was disconcerting, but nothing he couldn't adapt to. "Have you lived in Salem for a while?" He asked. She nodded, but still said nothing. Now she was just plain getting on his nerves. He tried one more time. "The weather's been awfully warm for this time of year." She raised an eyebrow at him, but still said nothing. He glanced over to where their mothers were standing, chatting away. He looked back at the girl. He squinted. He made some vague gestures that could have been considered Sign Language by a child. She pursed her lips. She started to shake. Before long, she burst out laughing. "You are so weird! You know how badly that could have offended someone?" "No worse than not talking to them at all" "Toche. Anyhoo, the name's Harriet, but don't you dare call me that." "What am I supposed to call you then?" "I don't really care, so long as it's not Harriet." "Hm... Rose it is then." "Why Rose?" "I'll tell you when I feel like it, and not a moment sooner." "Fine. But that makes you more weird, just so you know." "I can accept that."

Seattle, here I come!

Woohoo! Yeah! I get to go up to Seattle today! It's only for tonight and tomorrow, but still! I get to go up to Seattle. My Best Friend (who's a really great fencer by the way) has a tournament up there tonight, and after listening to all the crap I've gotten myself into recently, she invited me to go along so I could get a mini-vacation.

So, now that you know where I'm going to be in about twelve hours, here's a tidbit of literary genius. (Not really)

Johann was not proud of what he was doing. He was stooping down to a level that he never thought he'd reach. He also had never thought that he might feel this much emotion, so he supposed it all balanced out somehow.

Focusing on the task at had, he carefully, slowly untied the rope binding the magnificent horse to the tree. His soon-to-be-ex companion was rather proud of the fact that he had managed to tame the animal, but he'd never gotten the horse's true loyalty. So when Johann gave him the chance, the beast bolted, running off into the night, the only sound he made being the pounding of his hooves on the grass. All through this, Niel remained asleep. Petty act through, Johann took up his pack, and left Niel alone in the woods, without a companion, without a horse, and once he woke, without hope. Johann's only justification for the act was that Niel deserved it. He was the one who was leading them astray. He was the one loyal to the dark queen. Johann's acts were petty, yes, but completely justified. He hoped.

Gina Burbage

Yesterday was fun, so let's try it again! (But with different characters this time)

Gina squirmed in her seat. You would think they'd make office chairs a little more comfortable. People have to sit in them for hours on end after all. But no, the chair they had assigned her was beyond uncomfortable. She subtly glanced at the man at the other desk. Now HE had a comfortable-looking office chair. Rather than the orange monstrosity that Gina was subjected to, his was sleek, black, full of cushioning and support. Gina sighed enviously, and went back to her task.

Despite the lack of decent back support, this really was an ideal job for her right now. It fit around her school schedule well, and it really was quite easy. All she had to do was input the data from the hard copies onto the computer. If there wasn't something recent to input, she worked on the back-files. It was a job that was practically hand-tailored for her.

Wrapped once more into the monotony of data entry, she didn't notice the man glance her way. She was an interesting one, this Gina Burbage. She had a menial task, a horrible chair, and a below-average pay, and yet she didn't complain once. He would have to keep an eye on her. The quiet ones were always the most dangerous.

A tale of Naomi

Hmm... since the whole idea behind this blog is to make it so that I'm a better writer, maybe I should try writing something here...

Naomi had been waiting for over an hour. For the first fifteen minutes, she had stood outside the coffee house, constantly rearranging her coat and scarf to better guard against the harsh winter wind. After that, she went inside, staying by the door, staring out onto the street. When the barista started bugging her to buy a drink, she did, and took it to a table next to a window, hoping that she would see him.

But even after an hour of waiting, an hour of looking at nothing but the road, she didn't see him. She should have known this would happen. Her invitation meant nothing to him. He wasn't one to make commitments, so his muttered "Sure" had obviously been a sign that he wasn't going to come.

Naomi had hoped, though. She had hoped that her earnest words and kind smiles would break through his icy exterior and maybe give him a little warmth, and maybe cause him to give her a little warmth in return. But, obviously it hadn't worked. She got up, threw her cup away, and muttered a polite, "Thank you" to the barista, and walked out the door.

Five minutes later, he rushed in, and sighed heavily when he saw that she wasn't there.

March Mehness

Well, it's the start of a new month, and while my day hasn't been as great as it could possibly be, it hasn't been THAT bad. I found out that I do actually have the job I wanted. It might be quite a bit of stress, but I think it'll be fun. I get to organize people, and unless I do something REALLY bad, I'll have it for as long as I want.

AND! I got paid today! :D I've already bought a pair of sneakers that I don't necessarily need, but my current pair are looking really ragged. I need to be extra frugal with my money this moth though. I have a trip over spring break that I want lots of money for, and if I'm not careful I'll spend it all before next week.

I know I don't have my full 200 today, but I'm tired. So there.