OOC: I'm going to do something a little different with this one, I'm going to write this one as a scene of Auriana writing her entry. We'll see how this one works out. Enjoy.
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High on the hillside, between two boulders, her back to the cliff, Auriana pokes the small fire. Her eyes look south, towards Ul'dah. In the distance, the lights of the city mark its place in the landscape. She sighs to herself and pokes the fire one last time, before taking out her book.
Carefully, she undoes the leather cords that tie it shut. By the fires light she can see the words on the pages written in her own hand. Those pale eyes of hers watches the fire dance, casting shadows all around by its light. After a short time, she looks to the pages and begins to write.
Another day spent, another haul taken to market. As mundane as it might seem, and often times is, it would seem I may be missing the beauty of it all. After unloading the few hides, and what was left of the meat that didn't spoil on the journey back, I thought it might be nice to have a meal and drink that I didn't have to stalk.
I don't normally go inside the taverns of the city, or taverns in general. It seems spirits have a tendency to inflict some with stupidity if not drown their morals. So I find it best to avoid, or at the very least not indulge. Afterward, I just thought I would sit and relax for a short while as my meal digested before heading back out.
She paused her writing to listen closely to her surroundings. The fire crackled and poped as small embers floated upward. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the darkness as if attempting to sense something. With a smirk, she gave a puff to blow a lock of hair from her eye. "Right...where was I here..."
It was about that time, as chance would have it, an Elezen woman approached. She was quite beautiful, and well dressed. I don't presume to understand the motivation, but it was not long before that mattered not. As we sat making conversation it began to occur to me, that I was no longer looking around for something to happen.
But that isn't what stands out so much as things spoke. To envy me..and what it is that I do. Had I not heard the sincerity with my own ears, I might have found amusement. But there it was, sincere. For the first time since I can remember, I was flattered.
Her attention turns to the brush not far from the fire. The branches move ever so slightly. As a soft breeze blows across the hillside, she determines it's nothing and returns to her writing.
Even more than that, there was wisdom in her words. Wisdom I had not heard spoken to me before. Not so much I didn't already know, but hearing it is much different. Hearing it spoken to you, gives it weight. And, she was right. Looking back has netted me nothing up to now. And, if I keep my eye fixed there, what is it I may be missing ahead?
The truth is, I know these things to be true. The only thing in question, is am I strong enough to let it go? Or even if I do one day find the answers, will I be strong enough to handle them? And so it goes. For every answer, I find yet another question. But there was something about her, something in the way she carried herself.
Slowly, Auriana lay the book down, and slower still her hand reached for the bow that lay beside her. She listened to the sounds around her very closely. What was there, was no longer. The hillside had become silent. This is what caught her attention, the silence. In a fluid movement she grips the bow, nocks an arrow and draws it back.
With a fierce roar a Coeurl leaps forward and crouches low, looking into her eyes as its huge wide tongue licks its own face and fangs. Auriana holds the bow back and stares right back at the creature before letting the the string down. "Now just where in the hells have you been!? Leaving me out here all this time.. Shame on you!" She scolds the beast.
She plops back down next to the fire and ties the bindings back up on the book before tucking it away. The Coeurl sits in the spot it had been crouching in and gives her a look, still licking its face. She holds back a smile and a chuckle, as she leans forward to grab a strip of smoked meat from a pouch near the fire. She takes a small bite, then tosses the rest to the coeurl. "Come here.." she says.
He snatches it out of the air, nearly swallowing it whole as the large beast strides over and plops down next to her. "You're lucky I didn't replace you..." she says, half joking. Sensing her displeasure at his prolonged absence, he wipes her face with a long, wide tongue. Laughing, yet wiping it off, she lays down next to the fire and stares into it. Auriana watches the fire dance long into the night, thinking, before finally drifting off to sleep.
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High on the hillside, between two boulders, her back to the cliff, Auriana pokes the small fire. Her eyes look south, towards Ul'dah. In the distance, the lights of the city mark its place in the landscape. She sighs to herself and pokes the fire one last time, before taking out her book.
Carefully, she undoes the leather cords that tie it shut. By the fires light she can see the words on the pages written in her own hand. Those pale eyes of hers watches the fire dance, casting shadows all around by its light. After a short time, she looks to the pages and begins to write.
Another day spent, another haul taken to market. As mundane as it might seem, and often times is, it would seem I may be missing the beauty of it all. After unloading the few hides, and what was left of the meat that didn't spoil on the journey back, I thought it might be nice to have a meal and drink that I didn't have to stalk.
I don't normally go inside the taverns of the city, or taverns in general. It seems spirits have a tendency to inflict some with stupidity if not drown their morals. So I find it best to avoid, or at the very least not indulge. Afterward, I just thought I would sit and relax for a short while as my meal digested before heading back out.
She paused her writing to listen closely to her surroundings. The fire crackled and poped as small embers floated upward. Narrowing her eyes, she scanned the darkness as if attempting to sense something. With a smirk, she gave a puff to blow a lock of hair from her eye. "Right...where was I here..."
It was about that time, as chance would have it, an Elezen woman approached. She was quite beautiful, and well dressed. I don't presume to understand the motivation, but it was not long before that mattered not. As we sat making conversation it began to occur to me, that I was no longer looking around for something to happen.
But that isn't what stands out so much as things spoke. To envy me..and what it is that I do. Had I not heard the sincerity with my own ears, I might have found amusement. But there it was, sincere. For the first time since I can remember, I was flattered.
Her attention turns to the brush not far from the fire. The branches move ever so slightly. As a soft breeze blows across the hillside, she determines it's nothing and returns to her writing.
Even more than that, there was wisdom in her words. Wisdom I had not heard spoken to me before. Not so much I didn't already know, but hearing it is much different. Hearing it spoken to you, gives it weight. And, she was right. Looking back has netted me nothing up to now. And, if I keep my eye fixed there, what is it I may be missing ahead?
The truth is, I know these things to be true. The only thing in question, is am I strong enough to let it go? Or even if I do one day find the answers, will I be strong enough to handle them? And so it goes. For every answer, I find yet another question. But there was something about her, something in the way she carried herself.
Slowly, Auriana lay the book down, and slower still her hand reached for the bow that lay beside her. She listened to the sounds around her very closely. What was there, was no longer. The hillside had become silent. This is what caught her attention, the silence. In a fluid movement she grips the bow, nocks an arrow and draws it back.
With a fierce roar a Coeurl leaps forward and crouches low, looking into her eyes as its huge wide tongue licks its own face and fangs. Auriana holds the bow back and stares right back at the creature before letting the the string down. "Now just where in the hells have you been!? Leaving me out here all this time.. Shame on you!" She scolds the beast.
She plops back down next to the fire and ties the bindings back up on the book before tucking it away. The Coeurl sits in the spot it had been crouching in and gives her a look, still licking its face. She holds back a smile and a chuckle, as she leans forward to grab a strip of smoked meat from a pouch near the fire. She takes a small bite, then tosses the rest to the coeurl. "Come here.." she says.
He snatches it out of the air, nearly swallowing it whole as the large beast strides over and plops down next to her. "You're lucky I didn't replace you..." she says, half joking. Sensing her displeasure at his prolonged absence, he wipes her face with a long, wide tongue. Laughing, yet wiping it off, she lays down next to the fire and stares into it. Auriana watches the fire dance long into the night, thinking, before finally drifting off to sleep.
