My heart is old, it holds my memories...
Mar. 7th, 2009 05:38 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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estdeus_innobis[Valda’s Cottage]
[Saturday Evening]
I know what I have to do. It’s simple, really. Just reach out…only a few inches, even a child could do this. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and slowly release it as I lean forward, arms outstretched…almost..have them…
As my fingers curl around the last of the split wood I spent the better part of the day hauling in from my woodpile outside, the familiar pull beginning again in my back. I grit my teeth, knowing it’s about to become worse. I manage to gently set the final pieces on top and close the woodbox before the searing heat rips through my body, and I collapse to the ground. A pox on this useless human body! A mere day’s labor, and I’ve worked it to the point of exhaustion and excruciating pain. I lay on the floor, soaked in my own freezing sweat, and wait for the pain to subside enough so I can move. I crawl toward the small room that sits to one side of my cabin…just large enough for a potbellied stove and a copper bathtub. Thankfully I had the foresight to fill the tub with hot water before I began hauling in the rest of the wood. I grab the liniment I use on Destrier’s legs after a hard day, and a bottle of whiskey. Half the liniment goes into the hot water and the smell of witch hazel, chamomile, and cayenne pepper wafts up with the steam. Smiling, I pour a healthy glass of whiskey for myself, and before I recork the bottle, I pour some into the bath as well.
For the first time since my breakfast in Excolo, I begin to relax. I think it went well, but everything was just so…strange. While I’m certain no-one uses the formal hand gestures that are second nature to me, Ri and Zann looked surprised when I tried to offer my hands in that wiggling gesture I thought was acceptable as I left. And the expression on Ri’s face when I gave her the initial payment for my tattoo… distrust? Does she think I would cheat her out of her due? Has she been given forged gold before? A strange, aching sensation seems to swallow me from the inside. While Conley seems to be nothing more than a simpering, lascivious boy; Ri and Zann were amiable companions. And when Zann spoke of the Carnival in that melodious and frightening way…
Friends are hard to come by when one spends their life settling debts the cruel have inflicted on those they seek to dominate. But even if we are not meant to be friends, if I am meant to wander this existence alone practicing my art, it would be nice to know that they thought of me as honorable.
Finishing my whiskey, I close my eyes and sink further into the water. I’ll have to tell them how I came by that gold.
[closed]
[Saturday Evening]
I know what I have to do. It’s simple, really. Just reach out…only a few inches, even a child could do this. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and slowly release it as I lean forward, arms outstretched…almost..have them…
As my fingers curl around the last of the split wood I spent the better part of the day hauling in from my woodpile outside, the familiar pull beginning again in my back. I grit my teeth, knowing it’s about to become worse. I manage to gently set the final pieces on top and close the woodbox before the searing heat rips through my body, and I collapse to the ground. A pox on this useless human body! A mere day’s labor, and I’ve worked it to the point of exhaustion and excruciating pain. I lay on the floor, soaked in my own freezing sweat, and wait for the pain to subside enough so I can move. I crawl toward the small room that sits to one side of my cabin…just large enough for a potbellied stove and a copper bathtub. Thankfully I had the foresight to fill the tub with hot water before I began hauling in the rest of the wood. I grab the liniment I use on Destrier’s legs after a hard day, and a bottle of whiskey. Half the liniment goes into the hot water and the smell of witch hazel, chamomile, and cayenne pepper wafts up with the steam. Smiling, I pour a healthy glass of whiskey for myself, and before I recork the bottle, I pour some into the bath as well.
For the first time since my breakfast in Excolo, I begin to relax. I think it went well, but everything was just so…strange. While I’m certain no-one uses the formal hand gestures that are second nature to me, Ri and Zann looked surprised when I tried to offer my hands in that wiggling gesture I thought was acceptable as I left. And the expression on Ri’s face when I gave her the initial payment for my tattoo… distrust? Does she think I would cheat her out of her due? Has she been given forged gold before? A strange, aching sensation seems to swallow me from the inside. While Conley seems to be nothing more than a simpering, lascivious boy; Ri and Zann were amiable companions. And when Zann spoke of the Carnival in that melodious and frightening way…
Friends are hard to come by when one spends their life settling debts the cruel have inflicted on those they seek to dominate. But even if we are not meant to be friends, if I am meant to wander this existence alone practicing my art, it would be nice to know that they thought of me as honorable.
Finishing my whiskey, I close my eyes and sink further into the water. I’ll have to tell them how I came by that gold.
[closed]
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