The Truth Behind It All
Aaricia stood at the entryway of the apartment she had moved into. Closer to the edge of town, Aari had taken up residence in the top apartment of a short stack of them. It was a little edgy, but she felt safer being away from the ground level. Well, safer from the dangers that she knew. Safer from her father and any of his goons accidentally discovering her. There was another danger out there though, rising from the world of the unknown, and Aari was not certain that being on any level would keep anyone safe from those.
“Miss Aari? Would you care for a bite to eat?”
Aari turned back to see her friend Jydora. Jydora and her son, Halim, had followed Aari to the apartment when she moved from the modest camp they had been residing in up until then. The two Matorians had been with her since she had left her father’s home, and she id not know where she would be if they had not been with her… “I do not feel hungry.. but I kow that I should eat something.” She smiled lightly and placed a hand on Jydora’s shoulder. “Besides, I have the feeling that if I turned it down, you would keep asking me until I gave in.”
Jydora blushed bashfully. “Well, I do not mean to be bossy, Miss Aari. You need to keep your health in mind though. You have been working so hard, and-“
Aari shook her head. “My apologies. I was just teasing a little. I know you are looking out for me, and I appreciate it dearly. I fear my stomach has been disrupted by all this talk of the Dretch though.”
Jydora shivered visibly. “Downright terrifying, it is! What do you think of this big meeting the rulers are having?”
Turning back to the doorway, Aari sighed slowly. “I can only hope that the gathering of so many minds will bring about some positive change. We still have a long way to go when it comes to working together as individuals, but the races are growing into a more cohesive unit. I believe they will come to some sort of beneficial conclusion.”
Jydora frowned. “But nobody knowing anything about these.. creatures. What should we do while they’re off meeting and figuring out how to stop them? What do I do with Halim? The scamp is always runnin’ around without a care.”
With another sigh, Aari turned to give Jydora a tight hug. “We can only forge on as we have been. This is not the first threat we have faced. Each new threat seems unbeatable, but there is always a way.” She smiled encouragingly. “Halim knows to stay with others, and knows there is danger. I know he is still a youngling, but he has experienced much in his time. I believe you can trust him to keep on his toes.”
Jydora was silent a moment before nodding. “He is a tough boy. Like his papa was.”
Aari smiled warmly. She barely remembered Jydora’s husband, but he had seemed to be a kindly fellow before his untimely death. “We are all of us strong, Jydora. Both you and Halim will be fine so long as you stick together. Time and time again, earthlings have proven themselves to be most resilient in the face of struggle. The leaders will figure something out. Like I said, there are too many good minds gathering in one place for nothing to be accomplished. The hardest part is that we have to wait for them to figure out what the plan of action is going to be..”
Yes, waiting was the hardest part. For Aari, waiting was especially hard. She was turning into a woman of action. She had been changing so that she could face the danger her life already faced, and the lives of many around her. She wanted to change Oba for the better, and her time under her father’s thumb.. well, it had done nothing to ready her for the task she had set herself to. Now that she was closer to being ready, a new threat had to emerge. She couldn’t help wondering.. there were still atrocities happening in Oba today. All over, really. Wars took care of the big problems, but the individual ones remained. Could the leaders really come up with something that would cover the whole situation? Could they think of something that would not let innocents slip through the cracks?
Maybe not.. but that was what she, and others like her, were there for. Let the leaders focus on the main problem. They could handle it. She had to keep her focus where few others bothered to look.
Word Count: 785 *5points
