The Trip into Jauhar
[ Solo ]
WC - 2005
Spirit worker Req.
The trip with Ingwe and Talin was a bit tense, at least between the man and the boy she called a friend. It seemed like the man that led them was a bit upset that she had agreed to go along, even if she was still slightly afraid of what might happen. Or worse, of their destination. And he seemed to place the blame on Ingwe. Still, she walked along in silence, taking in the scenery as they passed. The grassy plains of Tale she was used to but that didn't mean they amazed her any less. Syqvara loved her home land. To her it was breath taking even if others found it lacking.
The closer they got to Jauhar the more trees she saw. And soon enough she was within view of a forest. Since conversation had been non-existent for the most part she was left to admire the world in silence. Something she was thankful for since she didn't think her stuttering words would do anything justice. The forest was lovely. It wasn't too thick but the trees were everywhere. Sy took it as a sign that soon she would be leaving Tale altogether. A thought that made her pause mid step to consider.
What would happen on the other side exactly? Would she experience something different? Would she know the instant she stepped into another land? Not just from sight but would she feel it? All of these things she considered before she started to walk again. Of course she had to do a bit of a jog to catch up to the others. Even Elyam, her scorra, had to give a bit of a run so as to not be left behind. When she was back to being just beside Ingwe she slowed so that she could match his pace. Not that he was walking any slower than she had been jogging. It occurred to her that maybe there was some hurry to get to a certain spot.
Thought of Talin mentioning the “others” made her think that perhaps the rest of the group was waiting on them. She, of course, was the cause of the delay. She turned her bright green eyes toward her familiar. Sy figured she was simply thinking over much and needed a distraction, so she busied herself with patting the large bird as they walked. Elyam loved the attention and it seemed to make him happy. At least someone in the group was, she thought.
The moment they crossed the border Sy knew. Not because of some feeling she had, but more because of the sight. The forest was light and airy. It wasn't as hot as Tale either. All at once she was bombarded with the sights that Jauhar had to offer. The beauty of the trees, the way the sunlight dotted the ground as it shone between the leaves, even the crystals that formed along the way. Everywhere she looked there was something to catch her eye.
“Beautiful..” She muttered to herself. Sy was completely distracted by everything and a few times her scorra had to push her to the side to help her avoid a tree. Something that made her blush but she would thank him each time he did it.
Every once in a while she would veer off the track they were taking to go look at a plant or two that she recognized. She even plucked a few of the leaves off some to save for later. Syqvara thought she might have time to properly dry them and put them in a pouch so that she could give them to Chandra as a gift. The idea made her smile. Maybe he would thank her for it. If nothing else she'd love for him to show her how to use them. She knew what each was for, since she had read the book he'd allowed her to borrow several times over, but using thing was something altogether different. As she tucked a few leaves into her bag she looked at Elyam.
“What do you think boy? Will Chandra like them?” She knew her familiar hadn't met the boy she had a crush on yet, but she could still ask.
The bird tilted his head this way and that, almost as if he were thinking it over, and it made Sy chuckle. If only her scorra could speak to her. That would be something. Suddenly noticing she was being left behind she quickly headed back onto the trail and ran after Ingwe. He was the only one she could see after all. Talin hadn't slowed his pace one bit to accommodate her. Not that she would have expected him to. Still, it would have been nice if he had considered it at least once.
Before too long they made it into a large village. By the looks of it Sy thought it might even be bigger than Yera, or close to it. There were lots of shifters around and she found herself semi staring at them. Some were light skinned and others dark. She'd seen Takoda, Chandra's uncle, so it mostly made sense. Plus the gossip that trickled into Tale about the shifters was well known. She, however, could not recall actually seeing on in her village. A pity really. The looked exotic. Something that she figured would make her seem even more plain than she already was.
A frown appeared on her face as she continued to watch. Shifter women were absolutely gorgeous. Why would Chandra even look at her when he had all of these exotic looking shifters. Painful as it was she lowered her eyes to the ground and tried to push the thought away. Sy was determined to not let it matter. She only wanted to be his friend. Surely she could be happy with that, right? The thing that brought her from her thoughts was Ingwe saying was going to look for a place to rest for the night. She wanted to go with him but by the time she'd registered his words and tried to sputter out her own, he was gone. Leaving her with Talin.
If she thought it had been tense before then it was a solid wall now. Talin didn't look at her much. Or if at all. Syqvara knew then that it was definitely because of her that he was acting this way. Not too long after her friend had gone off to find an Inn for them all to stay at Talin decided he would continue on. He left her standing there with only a message for Ingwe. Sy blinked, confused, and then looked around for any sign of her friend. Hoping desperately that he'd not left her there as well. It would hurt her feelings sure, but she was more concerned with the fact that she didn't exactly remember the way back. She'd been too distracted to remember.
As she stood there with Elyam at her side she started to chew on her lip a bit with worry. What would she do if he didn't come back? She didn't have to consider long since the leaf boy she'd made friends with in the marketplace came walking back. Sy passed on the message that Talin had left with her and noticed how Ingwe became annoyed. She apologized to him but he seemed to want to turn in so she did the same. Syqvara left Elyam outside, telling him that it was impolite to bring him into a building without permission. The bird didn't seem to mind once she fed him so that he was occupied.
With her familiar settled in for the night she decided to go to her own room and get some rest. She had noticed that her feet had started to hurt just as she opened the door to the room. Good thing Ingwe had thought to find a place to stay. Syqvara found her bed and half flopped onto it. It was such a comfort and helped to to relax that she hadn't the time to really undress or wash up before she was fast asleep.
Her dreams were of a certain shifter-leaf male. While it was nothing explicit the dreams made Sy smile. That was until the smell of smoke turned the dream into something disturbing. Her sleep became restless and she tossed and turned. It was almost as if she couldn't get comfortable. Then her coughing started, which jerked her awake. Her eyes saw only a thick smoke as it poured in from under her door. Sy lifted her arm to cover her mouth and nose as she coughed and tried to breathe. Her mind was a mess at first. Groggy from sleep and muddled with confusion at what was going on.
For a moment she thought that maybe the cook of the Inn had simply over cooked something but there wouldn't be this much smoke. Then she heard the cries of others. No one would be crying out like that from burn food. No, this was a fire! Syqvara stumbled from her bed, coughing uncontrollably. Then it hit her.
“Ing-!” She coughed again.
“Ingwe!” She called out. Her voice mixed with the calls of others.
Sy needed to get out of her room and find her friend. Sadly when she did open the door more some rolled on in and choked her. She couldn't breathe. Waving a hand in front of her she tried her best to get the smoke away from her. It failed of course and she had to shut her door again to keep from being completely over taken by the thick fog of burning smoke. Syqvara went to her window and pushed it open, instantly leaning over it so that she could gulp in breaths of freshness. Her eyes searched the ground below her for any sign of her friend. Was he already out? Sy hoped so since she wouldn't be able to go into the hallway to look for him.
She started to climb out the window when someone else appeared there. It was a shifter male and he had seen her open her window and decided she needed the help. Syqvara didn't refuse, nor did she really have the time to fret and be embarrassed. The red head looped her arms around the shifter's neck and let him carry her down. She noticed that he was very skilled at doing such even with the added weight.
“Thank you..” She said in a gruff voice, her vocals scratched and raw from the smoke inhalation. When the pair were on the ground she let go but he kept hold of her and moved her away from the building.
“I.. I'm fine.” Sadly she kept coughing.
The more he lead her away the more she realized where he was taking her. A healer had set up shop across the street so that those who made it out could be checked on. Sy was thankful but she turned her head up to look at the man.
“M-my friend.. he's..” Another coughing fit and she had to pause and double over as it became particularly violent. However, the shifter seemed to understand what she meant and left her there so that he could go back to the burning building. Whether or not he would find Ingwe was to be determined. It wasn't long before she was whisked away by the healer and given a tonic to drink to ease the pain of her raw throat. Sy was also given something to inhale so that her lungs could clear and heal.
While the healer worked she stared at the Inn as it was engulfed in fire. Please let Ingwe be alright, she thought. What would she do if she learned he had been trapped in there and she could have helped him? Tears formed in her eyes and soon spilled over, causing streaks to race down her cheeks. The knot in her stomach started to grow as she waited and waited. And waited.
“Ingwe....”
