Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dyakida had occupied her troubled mind well with her work, and now she was turning it to more complicated and intriguing projects.

Through her contacts, friends, and sheer marketplace willpower she had come into possession of a broken Earthling crossbow. Dyakida had always been intrigued by them – a mechanism that not only held the power of a bow or greater, but held it indefinitely until needed. It also fired straight and accurately from a significant distance, and could be held comfortably and levelly in the hands. Easier than a longbow, requiring less specialized training, but powerful... so powerful.

Dyakida had been trying to get her hands on it for a long time, and now... she had one. So, she was taking it apart, piece by piece, feeling it's outside and innards to figure out exactly how it worked, and how she could make one herself. It was a welcome reprieve – as all things generally were – from the events of the past month or so.

Rumors about the blind weaponsmith had always been there, simmering under the surface. Dyakida should have been used to them. Perhaps her friends were the reason that Semashi's blatant lies hadn't caught on – after all, they could run interference with others in the community, and they had put those rumors to rest without an issue.

She still didn't understand why Semashi had done what she had. Dyakida had done nothing wrong – careful, agonizing assessment of their whole relationship had told her that, as well as corroboration by her friends. It, therefore, was not her fault. Yet she couldn't shake that it could have been her fault. A tactless word here or there, a gesture, an unseen signal... Had she missed it?

Piece after piece of the crossbow, intimately examined, began to gather around her. She'd taken her life apart and examined it in a similar way. It had hurt. But she was done with that. It had been long enough for self reflection, and now she had to move on, towards the future. Semashi's motives were mysterious and would likely remain mysterious.

The final piece of the crossbow now lay at her knees, her fingertips dancing over it and tingling with new knowledge. There was so much to put back together about her life, and so much to look forward to. She had to leave this problem behind like the weight that it was, and let the future give her what she deserved.

For a brief moment, she wondered what Mnyiri was doing... but was suddenly distracted by the chime of her sprite. Quickly, she gathered the disparate parts of the crossbow, putting them together and covering them so that none of the pieces could become 'lost'.

Right. She'd have to put it back together eventually... but not with her mischevious guide around. “What is it, Peyla?” she asked, swatting playfully at the sound before holding her hand out for the creature to land on. “Do you want to go for a walk?”

Two chimes – that was a yes. Dyakida stood and took up her walking staff.

“All right, then. I think I'm ready for a walk.”

And, for the time being, she set out for a walk, leaving her remaining anxiety behind in her footsteps...