Along the River

Laura had been sneaking out of the sight of her keepers. She had managed to quietly walk out of Myth, and with a little effort she had slipped out of the gates of Misty Falls. Everyone had been kind and supportive of Laura upon her return, if not a little clingy. She rarely had time to herself under the watchful eyes of her protectors and some alone time was exactly what she needed. She figured, if she could just be at peace…then maybe all the things she had forgotten would come back to her.

She liked to watch the river. It put a lot of things in perspective for her, and that is what she felt she needed. Yet the river was dangerous. Anyone could be at the river, which is why she secretly liked it. Laura was drawn to people that had no place in town. Though tonight, she just wanted a place to sit and think.

She found a place a little off the road, not entirely too obvious. A place with low traffic and a nice shore to sit. She was prepared. Friends had given her scrolls and potions that would let her disappear at a moment’s notice should she feel threatened. She placed them next to her, and looked down into the River’s edge. Laura then unlaced her boots, stuck her feet in the water, and sighed in the silence.

A fire in the night could be seen shortly down the river. A small figure could be seen moving around the fire, perhaps dancing, but definitely moving around doing... something.

If this happened to be in the vicinity of the Academy, Jerrek would task an apprentice with keeping an eye on Laura. They would not do anything, just cloak them self with invisibility and watch from a distance to make sure she was okay, with orders to inform Jerrek should anything happen.

Laura had no idea she was being watched, to her the night was cool and crisp and the water encapsulating her feet was warm and balmy. Things were going as planned, until she saw the fire and her curiosity peaked. What was dancing around the fire? She peered towards it, unable to see much behind a small body moving about. She pulled her feet out of the water and was going to move closer, but then she saw it by the forest.

She knew that fire, that blazing eye. It had been haunting her dreams. It froze her in place, and she remained absolutely still. She couldn’t see a figure, or any smile, just the blaze. After a moment of stillness between the two of them, she settled back down onto the shore. Her mind had been playing tricks on her not too long ago, and she assumed it may be doing so again. So she sat, and waited for it to fade.

Another elven woman walked by the shore in a blue tunic and blue bandana with long boots announcing her passing, she had a bored faced and her gaze stopped to inspect the woman in front of her. She was almost going to keep walking when the scrolls caught her attention and she raised her voice "Are you a spellcaster of some sort, young one?" she asked raising her voice enough to be heard but trying not to scare her in case she was distracted.

A bristly pair of boar rummage around in the brush and near the roots of trees, foraging for food. The female has dark, rust-colored fur and the male--noticeable larger than the female and possessing an impressive pair of tusks--is a more subdued grey-brown. They slowly make their way along the edge of the road. The male pays Laura no mind, but the female raises her head when they are a mere ten feet or so from the priestess. She sniffs the air, then moves her eerily intelligent gaze to the dark figure across the river. She lingers for few moments, curious perhaps as to why it watched this woman with the pile of scrolls. If their eyes met, she'd offer a porcine grunt, then glancing to Laura and the blue elf before moving along after her companion.

Laura jolted as a voice spoke behind her and she looked over her shoulder. It took her a moment to register what was said, then she shook her head.

"not..really. I'm a priestess."

She was about to ask a question...when along came a pig. Laura was caught off guard. She expected fish, maybe some birds, but having a boar just stroll up the shore. Laura stared as the porcine figures hobbled by.

". . ."

It was becoming a strange night.

After a time the movements at the fire stop, and then shortly after the smell of cooking chicken can be caught in the wind. It also appears that a tent is being set up by the small figure.

"Priestess? What kind? Another Sunite?" the elf asked hoping that she would say no.

Laura glanced back over the river to the blazing eye, it hadn't gone away...she expected it would have left by now.

"No..." She says quietly as she tries not to stare at it too long. "no, I'm a priestess of Ilmater." She looked back up to the elf.

*Zaburra would lurk at a distance, observing. He shows no hostility in the slightest. He would continue to observe well beyond listening distance of whatever conversations are happening. After a while he would leave*

"An elf? Lost?" Laura said confused, if not a bit disappointed. There was never a moment alone, there was someone always wanting something, always needing something. It was a fortunate thing Laura was oblivious to everyone watching her.

"Where?" She looked around the darkness, though not seeing anyone. "What happened?"

"I don't know and I don't know, I just figured it'd be your kind of thing the same way I tell the Sunite to go..." she looked the priestess up and down and reconsidered her choice of words "...love themselves. Anyways, be careful, I've heard that Zhentarim usually patrol this place"

The elf seemed oblivious to the world around her, or perhaps it was that she didn't care by the look on her face, maybe even both.

"Oh." Laura said awkwardly, she wasn't certain how to respond. "Well...thank you. I will be careful."

"In my experience Ilmateri is not a God for careful people, but I know what you meant. The Dancing Moon seems quite good a place if you ignore their lack of morals, check it out" the elf said walking away.

Laura watched the elf walk away and she was back to sitting in silence. She didn't know how she felt about her saying the Dancing Moon had questionable morals. She knew people from there, and they were always nice to her.

Then again, she tended to befriend those kinds of people. Laura found the people she got along with the best were often the very same she was warned not to be around...and she felt the most uncomfortable in the places meant to be the safest. She supposed it was just her lot in life. A candle was much more useful in the dark.

Laura looked around again, and seeing no one she felt comfortable enough to hike up her skirts a bit more and sink her legs further into the water. She kicked her legs back and forth, completely content where she currently was.