Strange Land
2 Ymiden 716
After countless days spent aboard a ship, Liarra sighed out loud as she finally stepped on solid ground. If she had spent another day in the middle of the ocean, she swore that she would have gone mad. Every time she looked at the limitless, all she could see was the possibility of her being lost forever in its relentless maw. Kyeran had called her fears ridiculous and simply suggested for her to swim. The mere thought of it made her shiver. She had been nearly been pulled into its depth for eternity once and she was not interested in giving it another chance.
For a moment, the Naer gazed at the horizon. There was no sign of the island that held her home city. A loneliness suddenly tightened her chest, making hard for her to breathe. It had been nearly an arc since she set foot on Augiery. Now, there was an entire ocean separating them, Liarra missed her home, but she could not return – not yet, at least. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she let herself call upon one of the powers Audrev had granted her. There was a rush in her bloodstream and when she opened her eyes, the young woman knew precisely where her home was.
Liarra had been doing this every day since the day she was exiled. Truth be told, it did not offer her comfort. Instead, it simply made her ache even more. Yet, she could not stop reminding herself of what she had lost. And who was responsible for it.
A familiar hand suddenly settled on her shoulder, breaking her out of her misery. Kyeran’s handsome was as stoic as usual, but she could almost see the thin veil of concern in his eyes. He knew precisely what she was doing. “Don’t. Don’t you even start.”
“I know,” she replied with a sad smile and shouldered her bag. “Let’s just go find a place to stay.”
Finally turning her back on the ocean, Liarra was greeted with the sight of white-walled buildings. It was soon clear that the city was mostly made of the same stones. It was quite a beautiful sight, actually.
“What’s this city called again?” the young woman asked as she linked her arm with his, her melancholy drifting away. She knew the answer honestly, but she simply liked to annoy Kyeran. They had barely spent any time in the docks and Liarra could only see that a few people had started to sneak not so discreet glances at them. It was not a surprise, really. Everywhere she went, the sight of the Aukarian by her sight had attracted uncomfortable attention. A Naerrik and an Aukarian… any city would be thrilled to welcome them.
At least, Liarra was a whole lot more difficult to be identified as Naerrik. While her people liked to show off their beauty with various cosmetics, the young woman had found it easier to travel when she was mistaken as a human and kept her face relatively clean.
Kyeran sighed. He had answered her same question a dozen times, at least. “Ne’haer. How can you claim to be a full grown woman if you can’t remember a simple name?” Noticing the attention too, the tall man pulled his hood over his head. Most of the time, people would not bother them – although some drunken fools had tried to attack Kyeran back in Desnind.
“Don’t insult me!” Liarra snapped jokingly.
Kyeran simply shrugged innocently. “You are not my owner, anymore. I can do whatever hell I want.”
“A mistake on my part, clearly.” After a cursory glance around the dock, Liarra decided that no one looked particularly interested with interacting with them. Which was a bad thing considering neither of them was familiar with Ne’haer. “You stay here and don’t kill anyone. I will find someone to who might point us to an inn.”
For a moment, the Naer gazed at the horizon. There was no sign of the island that held her home city. A loneliness suddenly tightened her chest, making hard for her to breathe. It had been nearly an arc since she set foot on Augiery. Now, there was an entire ocean separating them, Liarra missed her home, but she could not return – not yet, at least. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she let herself call upon one of the powers Audrev had granted her. There was a rush in her bloodstream and when she opened her eyes, the young woman knew precisely where her home was.
Liarra had been doing this every day since the day she was exiled. Truth be told, it did not offer her comfort. Instead, it simply made her ache even more. Yet, she could not stop reminding herself of what she had lost. And who was responsible for it.
A familiar hand suddenly settled on her shoulder, breaking her out of her misery. Kyeran’s handsome was as stoic as usual, but she could almost see the thin veil of concern in his eyes. He knew precisely what she was doing. “Don’t. Don’t you even start.”
“I know,” she replied with a sad smile and shouldered her bag. “Let’s just go find a place to stay.”
Finally turning her back on the ocean, Liarra was greeted with the sight of white-walled buildings. It was soon clear that the city was mostly made of the same stones. It was quite a beautiful sight, actually.
“What’s this city called again?” the young woman asked as she linked her arm with his, her melancholy drifting away. She knew the answer honestly, but she simply liked to annoy Kyeran. They had barely spent any time in the docks and Liarra could only see that a few people had started to sneak not so discreet glances at them. It was not a surprise, really. Everywhere she went, the sight of the Aukarian by her sight had attracted uncomfortable attention. A Naerrik and an Aukarian… any city would be thrilled to welcome them.
At least, Liarra was a whole lot more difficult to be identified as Naerrik. While her people liked to show off their beauty with various cosmetics, the young woman had found it easier to travel when she was mistaken as a human and kept her face relatively clean.
Kyeran sighed. He had answered her same question a dozen times, at least. “Ne’haer. How can you claim to be a full grown woman if you can’t remember a simple name?” Noticing the attention too, the tall man pulled his hood over his head. Most of the time, people would not bother them – although some drunken fools had tried to attack Kyeran back in Desnind.
“Don’t insult me!” Liarra snapped jokingly.
Kyeran simply shrugged innocently. “You are not my owner, anymore. I can do whatever hell I want.”
“A mistake on my part, clearly.” After a cursory glance around the dock, Liarra decided that no one looked particularly interested with interacting with them. Which was a bad thing considering neither of them was familiar with Ne’haer. “You stay here and don’t kill anyone. I will find someone to who might point us to an inn.”