[ prp ] Miss Information (sindri & ollie)

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From tea to clouds to the last night's dreams, everything seemed to suggest that today would be a day for bringing back more of the oddments, scrolls, and gifts she'd collected over the decade. Most would likely go into the Temple fires, offerings to Death in honor of those dead. There was much in the ritual to soothe those great losses, it held purpose. Recently, certain human customs revolving around death were met with new eyes and thought on Sindri's part. The loss of home and family and friends had sparked many such revelations, collected and picked over much the same as ancient manuscripts and intriguing totems.


This time, instead of getting a fat pony beast from Halloween's stables, Sindri had opted for a very small one. Much closer to the label of minipet than her previous. Weighted down with trunks and bags, the crafter appeared to be walking beside a small, mobile mountain of luggage, which she talked to from time to time. "I don't believe you'll die today, my friend, but without anything blue upon your person, I have my doubts you'll survive the trip back. It is to be hoped," She went on generously, "that the end of your existence is suitably exiting."

The tower loomed in the distance, massive and yet still much smaller than what was to be found within.

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

Shaggy and wrapped in piecemeal bits of this and that, Ollie was older than the last time he'd seen Sindri -- and yet, even older, there was still baby-chub around the edges of his face, his eyes too big, his expression bright and young. These were the things that would probably make it so that the older girl recognized him, even dirty and unkempt as he was.

"Sindri!" And his voice, of course, a healthy dose of optimism and excitement that came with a too-wide flash of a smile as he swiped hair back out of his face. For as long as it had been, her name came to him easily, familiar and comfortable. It could have been a week, instead of the decades it was.

"What are you doing?" Where had he come from? A pile of assorted rubbish on the ground that took on life as she got close enough to greet, dark face in dark clothes, even the white mark down his nose darkened with dirt. He might just start the pony.

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[lizbot]

and be blue

The moving pile of baggage did in fact startle, its slow motion turning into a brisk trot down the road. Sindri watched its attempt to run to the tower impassively then turned that gaze toward the bundle of fur. Reaching out, the crafter pinched one grubby cheek, pulling it to more fully reveal his teeth.

"Are you performing the Earthen Grave ritual to honor your family, Oliatos?" This was her greeting after a decade of wandering and presumed death.  

[and be blue]

"What? Oh." He blinked, rubbing at the spot she'd grabbed in a fuzzy sort of way, and then scraped a hand over his hair, as if just realizing what a mess he was. Perhaps it was the first time Ollie had noticed. He hadn't exactly been looking in mirrors; living rough and wild on his own hadn't left him much time for preening.

He made a quiet sound. "I guess. I don't know. Is everyone here?"

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[lizbot]

"Everyone who is here, is here," Sindri nodded sagely. "Everyone who is not, is elsewhere." She plucked at his hair and turned his face this way and that for inspection, then pulled him close for a sniff test.

No Lala appeared at this man handling, no Una following with gentle mirth in her eyes.

With a sigh, Sindri broke the news, "You'll have to undergo the cleansing rite before entering the Tower."

And be blue

 

[and be blue]

Ollie's mouth fell open into a soft 'o' -- blinding believing her, blinking a bit as he processed the information. A cleansing rite probably just meant that she was going to dunk him in a lake somewhere, but Ollie would accept it as something more: bobbing his head in a sober, understanding nod and rolling his shoulders back straight.

"Where do we do that?"

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[lizbot]

She led him solemnly through a desert landscape, warped and strange compared to that normally found in the human world, but not quite of Halloween either. As they walked, her own luggage long forgotten and probably baying for treats and relief at the tower by now, Sindri explained the importance of removing the dust of the road.

"...the dust of the hearth must now lie closest to your heart. As the compass so shall it point you home from this point on. In better circumstances you would be baptized in the waters of three rivers to honor the..." And on she went.

It should be mentioned that Sindri was now quite lost, but that didn't stop her from nodding in sage satisfaction as they came upon a small oasis, hidden cleverly in the way of Famine. "Ah," she intoned, "just where I left it."

And be blue

 

[and be blue]

At least Sindri wasn't too much taller than him; Ollie didn't have to trot to keep up, for once, and could instead huddle down into his bundles of ratty clothing, head cocked to one side, and just trail along beside her. Head cocked in enrapt curiosity that faded, slowly, to boredom. He was interested, sure. He just lacked the patience.

The oasis was a relief. Brightened his eyes and straightened his spine and he immediately, thoughtlessly, began to strip down layers. "Did you do this?"

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[lizbot]

"Oh, I would never take credit for Death's Will," Sindri answered modestly. It wasn't a no. And then she began stripping down, carefully folding her clothes but leaving her scarf to cover her mouth and any smiles she couldn't quite help. On the trip over she'd managed to thoroughly convince herself of the necessity of such a cleansing rite.

When both here ready, she began to instruct him, going through the motions as well. "First you must bow to the four points of the rose that guides, and then enter the water, clapping once between each step."

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

Butt-naked and still completely filthy, Ollie put his hands on his hips and watched her, first, expression somber despite how ridiculous he looked. His hair was still a matted mess, falling forward into his face as he leaned forward in careful, graceful bows to the four corners.

"Who showed you how to do this?" He asked it between claps, easing into the water slowly and completely without shame.

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[lizbot]

Not to be showed up in the observance of a ritual, Sindri performed it again, this time adding small bows and strange gestures. "On my first great journey, I came home and a sense of ill-fitting dissatisfaction burdened my return. I went to the Black Shores and considered the waves, ushered by winds that had traveled worlds to crash upon out island. Where earth and sea and sky did meet, I asked to be relieved of the ill spirit that denied me a true homecoming."

Her gestures turned grand, pleading eloquently to the elements. She also ended up splashing Ollie quite thoroughly in the process. "I waited three day and three nights, and as my hope faded, a great creature was washed ashore. It was a turtle of the True World, only recently expired. Upon its back was a grand shell, and so I decided to make a beautiful bowl of it, for if answers are not provided, a lovely and well-crafted piece is enough to justify my days. But my question had not, in fact gone unanswered, for the first thing I saw when I filled my new bowl with water...was this very ritual."

and be blue

 

[and be blue]

Ollie's reaction was a mixed one: naive, blindly-trusting wonder mixed with an unfocused, jittery lack of focus. It meant that while he hung on her words and willingly submitted to whatever rituals she had at hand, he also kept dipping his way down into the water and splashing about himself, missing one in ten words perhaps as his attention strayed.

To the trees, around them.

To something he thought he saw under the surface of the water.

A rustling sound as something flew above.

"Wow." He'd got the gist, though, now throughly soaked and at least marginally cleaner, bouncing in the water and absently splashing Sindri back. "I never see things like that."

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