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Odilen: Observations

Fireflies danced around the wagon, blinking defiance against the cold. Summer was slipping away, and the chilly breezes that sliced through the night air spelled the end for their evening reveries. This could be their last dance.

Odilen sighed as she watched them, her nose pressed against the glass of the wagon's front window. Summer was the best time for traveling, full of easy roads, festivals of all types, and kind weather to see the wagon swiftly along its way. She had happily buried herself in summer, and let the long, warm nights lull her away from her worries about her Kin. But the thoughts were still there, hiding behind every poem she spun for endless tavern evenings and bardic festivals, and now that the chill wind of autumn was chasing away the fireflies and bringing down fall leaves to brush along the wagon's roof, she knew she could not ignore them any longer.

The swan Ieldi glanced down to where her companions played. The cooler evenings had driven most of the little ones back into the wagon - Flamme had been the first to come in, setting up cranky residence in the small brazier. Odilen shifted her position and hugged her legs to her chest, watching them.

She'd acquired another Pala since her meeting with Zayn in Sabilasi, a flamboyant little thing named Netsubin, who had been flitting around one of the summer festivals. If he'd had another owner at one point, that person hadn't cared enough to tend to him properly - the Pala had stowed away in her wagon, and she hadn't realized until she found him and Shiratori tumbling about in one of her slippers. A quick return to the town where the festival had been held resulted in no leads at all regarding his caretaker, so Netsubin had moved in permanently.

At one point, the tumbling play between the two Palas had apparently turned romantic. One late summer morning, Odilen had woken up to find Shiratori giggling next to the bed, three small lamps at her side. She had no idea how the little creature had managed to fashion the lamps, but five Palas was far, far too many for one wagon. Odilen had found good owners for two of them and kept the third at Shiratori's wide-eyed insistence, and now she had to be extremely careful when she put her shoes on, lest she find them full of squeaking Pala.

At the moment, Shiratori was dancing about with the as yet unnamed baby Pala - hazardous business, considering how clumsy the swan Pala was. Sure enough, after a few steps Shiratori tripped over her own feet and smacked into the side of the bed. Odilen quickly reached down and scooped her up with a sigh, holding her until her eyes refocused. "Silly thing. You shouldn't dance near walls. Or at all, really..."

"Ene, ene, telnsuu disa," Shiratori squealed, then wriggled to be let down. Odilen obliged, only for the Pala to walk smack into the side of the wagon. Netsubin swooped down to help her up that time, and Odilen sat back with a sigh.

And these... are the souls of my people?

We had cities... great cities in the trees, bridges, nets enough to snare the whole world. The distant memory of the nets reminded her of the reason for the nets; an instinctive worry crept down her spine until she shook it off. A great people, a mighty civilization... and now this...? Below her, Shiratori fell over again, this time taking Netsubin with her.

The Beast has had his victory again, she thought as she watched them, and shivered.