|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 2:05 pm
 There was a strange scent on the wind this morning. The winter chill had settled over the Gloomwood, but it wasn’t the falling snow, nor the bare trees that was sending a chill down Ullita’s spine. It was the scent in the air, tantalizingly—worryingly—familiar. She made her way out to the edges of the forest and looked out over the valley. Apparently the meadows beyond once belonged to Jon’s mother’s herd—the Skysong. They were gone now for years, but there was something haunting about that great expanse of snow. Haunted was…definitely the mood for her today. She was feeling haunted.
She wanted to be alone right now with her thoughts, with her memories, but she knew it was inevitable that Jon would join her. He hadn’t yet—he was off somewhere else in the woods, finding branches for their shelter—but she was sure he would join her. He seemed to know everything that happened in the forest. He’s well-set to be a druid someday, even if he won’t admit it. She shook the thought away with a literal shake of her head. It was something Jon didn’t want to talk about, and honestly she still didn’t know enough about his past and the culture of the Gloomwood’s original inhabitants to press him on the matter, let alone speculate on what it entailed or what it would mean to him.
She had enough trouble in her own past to be shouldering someone else’s burdens. But wasn’t that what you were supposed to do? Take on the burdens of those you…care about? She was so used to running away from her problems that having to confront a loved one feeling haunted by his past…
I’m haunted by my own past, too! But in her heart, Ullita knew that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t her own pain that haunted her, after all.
That damned scent on the wind again. She gazed out over the fields until she could almost imagine that she saw a lone figure trudging across the snow. But that was just her imagination. There was no one out there. The Gloomwood and the Sky Meadows were abandoned places now. There couldn’t be anyone out there, let alone the person she thought—she feared—it might be.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 2:08 pm
There was a strange scent on the wind this morning. It brought back memories of a long time ago, friends Jon had met and made while trying to run away from his past. He’d tried to stay in the Skysong after the death of his father, but in the end, he hadn’t been able to. By the time summer had ended he had left to wander. He’d met people on his journeys—some good, some bad. They were vital memories, and a part of who he was. But in the end, he couldn’t stay away from his home forever. He’d grown up with the trees that held up the sky, with the branches overhead and the old leaves underfoot. He couldn’t stay away from the Gloomwood forever. The rest of the world had been fascinating, but in the end it had not been home.
But at least he’d made friends. At least he’d met people from outside his herds. For that reason alone, it had been worth the homesickness. If he could go back and do it all over again, starting from that day he had looked over the horizon and wondered where the roads led…he would have done it all the same. Smelling that scent on the air reminded him of his adventures and he smiled. He wondered how she was, and if she’d made it rich yet. He wondered if she’d ever found a cause she really believed in.
Ullita had seemed pensive this morning, so Jon had left her alone. She had gone out to the borders to have time to herself, and Jon busied himself working on their winter shelters. Their coats were shaggy and warm, but it was still nice to have somewhere to keep the snow off at night. It didn’t take too long to add branches and lichen to their lean-to, though, and with that task complete, he went to see if Ullita was ready to talk.
The breeze was blowing through from the direction of Sky Meadows when Jon joined her. It had snowed last night, leaving a thick layer of snow everywhere. It would be a chore to break through it all to find grass, but for now he just enjoyed how even and undisturbed it was. Here and there deer had dinted the snow; he saw marks from birds taking off and rabbits hopping, but for the most part the snow was undisturbed. Over the fields, still that old scent coming from who knew where. Ullita was staring off into the distance at something over the fields and Jon followed her gaze.
And started in shock. There was someone out there, a pale spot of tan or beige coming in their direction. He lifted his head and scented the air. Sure enough, that same familiar smell. Paired with the figure’s appearance, even seen from a distance…
Before Jon could say anything, Ullita spoke. “I know her.”
Jon stared at her, eyes wide. “You know Risa?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 2:10 pm
It was Ullita’s turn to be shocked. She turned to look at Jon, her eyes wide. “Risa?! You know Risa?!”
They stared at each other, both too stunned to speak for a few minutes. Shock, anger, and a sensation suspiciously like jealousy warred in Ullita’s heart before she finally broke the silence. “How do you know Risa?”
“She’s a friend. Just a friend!” Jon added. “I met her a while back when I was wandering the world, back before I returned to the Gloomwood. She tried to swindle me, I tried to play a prank on her…in the end, we just became friends. She’s a character. Wait, how do you know Risa?”
Ullita’s mouth was dry. She swallowed, hard. “She’s my sister.”
Jon didn’t reply. He just…stared.
“My older sister,” Ullita added.
“...Oh.”
“Yeah.” Ullita took a deep breath. “We, uh. We don’t get along.”
“I see.” Jon looked back at Risa’s approaching form. “So we shouldn’t let her in?”
Ullita felt a surge of emotion at his words. She didn’t know how to describe it, other than warm and…pleasant? He wants to see her again. But he doesn’t want to let her in if I don’t want her here. That was so very sweet of him she had no words for it. “Let’s see what she has to say first,” Ullita said. “Then we’ll decide if we let her in.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 02, 2025 2:12 pm
“Sounds like a plan.” Jon pressed his body against hers. “We should hide the valuables anyway.”
She snorted. “Probably a good idea. You definitely know my sister.”
“Not as well as I thought.” Jon eyed her. “You not only have a sister, but your sister is Risa?” He didn’t know what to think of that. He knew Risa, and he knew—or thought he knew—Ullita. I don’t know you as well as I thought either. “Why didn’t you—well, okay. Risa.”
“Yeah, Risa.” Ullita sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you she was my sister, Jon, but I didn’t know you knew her, and if you didn’t know her…I don’t know, how do you tell someone that? ‘Oh yeah, I have an older sister, she’s a liar and a thief’? I didn’t want to scare you off.”
Without thinking, Jon said, “I didn’t want to scare you off about the woods.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he winced. “I’m sorry, Ullita. That came out much crueler than I meant it to. I guess what I meant is…I feel like I’ve been open about my past, and…I don’t know, it’s startling to realize I don’t know anything about yours?”
Ullita shifted uncomfortably. “I hadn’t thought of that before,” she said quietly. “I guess I just…didn’t want to scare you off. I didn’t want you to think you were unsafe around me, or that I wasn’t trustworthy.”
“I see.” Jon sighed. “For what it’s worth, Ullita, I trust you. I don’t believe you’re going to try to feed me to a wolf or whatever it is Risa’s been up to lately. Risa’s a friend, but I don’t trust her, not entirely. I trust you, though.” He looked at her. “You are not your sister.”
“I’m more like her than I realized,” Ullita said, still watching the slowly approaching form of her sister. She glanced at Jon. “Let’s go into the woods. I’ll tell you about our past. It’ll make things less…awkward when she arrives.”
Jon nodded. “I’d like that,” he said. “I want to hear your side of the story before I hear hers.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
