[The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

2nd of Vhalar 723

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Vahekoh
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[The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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//2nd Vhalar, 723.// The Dust Quarter.
Vahekoh was slow to wake in the morning, her headache grumbling lowly in the background of her head. She'd slept stiffly, lying against the saddlebags she'd unsaddled from her horse Vahdah late in the night, and with a tiredness born of the long day's ride she'd had. So it was stiffly and sorely -sore from the ride to Rharne, and from
the trouble she'd had in the Stormlands
- that Vahekoh woke.

Her waking was slow, and the first thing that Vahekoh was aware of was her headache -low, but ominous in her head- and the aching of her body and her wrist. "Ugh," she mumbled, still mostly asleep- and for ten bits or so she lay there, on the ground, aware of the aching of her body but not wanting to wake. "Go back to sleep," she mumbled to herself, but by the time she mumbled it she was mostly awake. Vahekoh mumbled to herself some more and, stiffly and sorely, got herself up from the saddlebags.

Sitting on the ground, Vahekoh looked around at her surroundings. "Dust Quarter," she mumbled, aware of where she was, though in her memory she was still out in the Stormlands. Her thoughts were always slow like this in the morning, like little birds not willing to wake.

Looking around, Vahekoh thought sleepily that she must've located a bit of ground on the outskirts of the Dust Quarter to sleep on. In the outskirts of the Dust, Vahekoh saw little groups of tents here and there, like the Dust had stretched its legs some, out into the beginnings of the Stormlands. Out here it smelled like smoke- but also like fires cooking. It smelled like breakfast, but also -Vahekoh breathed in deeply- like long-cooking foods. That's not just breakfast cooking, Vahekoh thought, and realized that while she slept, the tents and the other residents of the Dust must have been awake, cooking long into the morning hours.

"What's going on," Vahekoh mumbled to herself, and -with some discoordination because of her aching wrist- looked through her pockets for something to inform her of the day's goings on.
Locating some written-on papers in her pockets,
Vahekoh read slowly, her thoughts still waking up. "Get a medical kit at market," she read slowly. And, "Was without direction for a bit, but rode all day and got back to Rharne by dark."

"Got back to Rharne by dark," she said, mumbling over the writings that were in her own hand. Holding the papers in her hands, she wondered offhandedly where her journal was.

"Journal," she realized then, looking at the disparate papers she was reading. She went through her pockets, looking for the bound journal that she wrote in daily to organize her otherwise disorganized thoughts, but there was no journal on her person. "Journal, journal," she mumbled, worried now, and she moved stiffly, one of her wrists twinging badly, to go through the horse's saddlebags.

Vahekoh went through the saddlebags one time, then a second time, but there was no journal in the saddlebags. "Did I lose my journal?" she wondered, and just saying that she might have lost her journal brought bright tears to her eyes.

It was bad for her to have lost her journal, and Vahekoh swallowed back the tears, wondering where and when she might have lost it. Her journal was the thing that made sure she -whose memory worked differently than others'- remembered what she was doing in the day to day. It was, in its way, her second source of memory. Brushing a tear from her cheek, Vahekoh looked through the sparse papers she'd discovered in her pockets, reading and rereading her own writings.

"Get a medical kit at market," she read, and then, going back in the writings to what she thought was their beginning, "Going out to the woods."

"Going out to the woods," she whispered to herself. Why? she wondered. Why she had written on this paper and not in her journal? Had she lost her journal in the woods, and that was why she'd been going out? But then, if she had lost her journal and was going to look for it, why would she not have written that that was what she was doing?

The papers, too, were not marked with dates. The writing about the woods might have been from two days ago, four days ago, or a whole season ago- she didn't know because they were not marked.

It didn't make sense, and Vahekoh remained where she was, sitting on her knees on the ground next to her saddlebags, with the papers spread out on her lap.

"I've been bad lately," she realized, her headache still grumbling in the background of her head. She'd gotten out of habit, she realized, with her writings. It was only lately -within the last day or two, she thought- that she'd gotten back into the habit. "Oh, Vahekoh, why," she whispered to herself.

For a couple of bits Vahekoh sat where she was and breathed, breathing slowly and deeply, trying to will the worry away. The realization that she had gotten out of her habits, and that because of that she had lost time, was like the realization of being literally lost- it was like being a child, with no older child or no grown person to inform you where to go. It was like standing in the woods, not knowing where you were going or where you had been. It made her feel little, and lost, and stupid. "Hek, Hek, Hek," she whispered to herself.

She was still on the verge of tears when something bumped her in the back of the head. "Ouch," she said, holding one hand to her hurting head, but she smiled a bit too, because she knew that bump. "Vahdah," she sighed, and the horse bumped her in the head with his nose once more, lipping at her hair.

"I'm not going to cry about this like a child," she told the horse, and got in one last deep breath. The horse continued lipping her hair, and Vahekoh moved his nose from her hair before he started to graze her. "Okay, I'm moving," she said to the horse. She made herself smile. "I'm going to keep moving. I'm going to figure this out." Holding her writings in her hurting hand, not letting go of them for one moment, Vahekoh gathered her things into her saddlebags, and stood sorely to touch her other hand to Vahdah's neck.

"First things first," Vahekoh breathed, looking momentarily at the papers. "I've got a headache, and it's going to get worse if I don't get some herbs." She sighed. "I need to get the herbs, and I need to get a medical kit because I guess I've let my medkit get low, too." She was a mess, it seemed. "But before that I need to get you some breakfast." Vahdah nibbled at her shirt, and Vahekoh sighed. "Before you decide my shirt is your breakfast," she said softly to the horse.

"Okay Vahdah," she said, laboriously saddling the horse. Her hand twinged badly when she lifted the saddle, and the saddlebags, onto the horse's back. She would have to get a better look at her hurt hand, too, she thought. It was going to be one of those days. "Let's get going," she said to herself as much as to Vahdah.
Notes-
2nd Vhalar is the Great Harvest March.
Rharne Calendar, Cold Cycle 723 wrote:2nd of Vhalar The Great Harvest March: The festival kicks off with a lively procession through the forested trails. Locals and visitors alike don traditional attire adorned with vibrant autumn hues and carry baskets overflowing with freshly harvested fruits, vegetables, and most importantly perhaps, grains.

They come from as far as Volta and Caervalle town, marching the Zynyx adjacent roads, or on river boats, toward Rharne where they bring their bounty to the festival that is to be held there.
Because there might be some misunderstanding- I date Vahekoh's threads and writings OOC even if Vahekoh doesn't know the date IC. When Vahekoh says that her writings aren't dated, they're not. The dates you see, marked inside double slashes like //2nd Vhalar, 723.//, are dates for me and for others reading, not for Vahekoh IC.

If you'd like a link to her writings, they're here.

Also, here's a link to the Dust Quarter.
Last edited by Vahekoh on Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:04 am, edited 8 times in total. word count: 1445
Vahekoh's incident.
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Vahekoh
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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2nd Vhalar, 723. The Dust Quarter.
Vahekoh went about the work of tending to Vahdah, watering the horse and -reminded by the writings held in her hurting hand- returning the bucket that she'd borrowed from- someone.

Though, she thought wryly, she'd not written who she'd borrowed the bucket from.

Returning the bucket meant riding Vahdah from tent group to tent group, inquiring whether she'd gotten it from this group -no- or that group- still no. She found the right group on the third try, and the woman she'd borrowed the bucket from gratefully took it back with a smile. "You still look beat," the woman said, and Vahekoh said back, still wry, "Do I?"

"You look tired as a dog," the woman said, a little child clinging to her colorful skirts, and Vahekoh said, "I feel tired as a dog. Oh," Vahekoh said, looking at her writings. "I need some bits and bobs for my medical kit, and some herbs. Would you point me to the market?"

"It's there," the woman said, gesturing, and the little child began literally climbing her skirts, so she scooped him up in her arms. "Will you be getting dressed for the festival, too?" the woman asked her.

"Oh, yes, festival," Vahekoh said distantly. Why did the word festival remind her of something? There had been something, she thought, something she'd thought of before,

the tents and the other residents of the Dust must have been awake, cooking long into the morning hours,

but her lost journal had distracted her. "There's a festival today?" she asked the woman, and the woman smiled.

"You forester types," the woman said, jokingly and scoldingly. "With your heads out of the cities and in the forests. It's the March today."

"Oh, the March," Vahekoh said. She wasn't aware of a March. "What day is it?" Vahekoh asked the woman with a sigh.

"It's the 2nd, deary," the woman said. "It's the March of the harvest today. It's a festival, and there'll be a get-together when the last of the Marchers come in to Rharne."

"The 2nd of- Vhalar?" Vahekoh clarified, and the woman scolded her with a tutting noise.

"The 2nd of Vhalar, deary. No wonder you're tired as a dog, I'd be tired too if I didn't know what season it was," the woman said, and the little boy she was holding laughed at nothing, holding his little fingers outstretched. The woman smiled at him, doting, and Vahekoh said, "I admit I'm not one for get-togethers."

"Oh, but there'll be lots of food at the get-together, though," the woman smiled, and then laughed when Vahekoh's stomach grumbled loudly. "Be sure to grab a bite before going back out to the forests, okay? You're such a little thing."

The woman went on, "If you've got no one to sit with, we'll be about and there's room here, at our table. You'll fit right in, being so little and all." Though the words were joking, the woman's offer was genuine and Vahekoh was about to say how grateful she was when the woman smiled impishly -looking very like the little boy, of a sudden- and said, "I'll be busy, of course, so you could do some looking after the little one for me." The woman hoisted the impish little boy as if to hand him to Vahekoh on her horse.

No no no, Vahekoh thought, and instinctively tightened Vahdah's reins. The horse backed away from the little boy, and Vahekoh realized she'd tightened the reins back a little too strongly. "I uh-" Vahekoh said, still backing Vahdah away. "I'll- I'll be going now!" She tugged Vahdah's reins once more, getting him turned about, and began to ride away.

"It was a joke!" the woman called behind her, hooting with laughter at Vahekoh's reaction, and Vahekoh sighed out a breath of relief.

"Might be I'll see you later!" she called back to the laughing woman, and rode in the direction of the market.
The woman had pointed out the direction of the market to her, and so Vahekoh located it without much difficulty. The market in the Dust Quarter was an outdoor market crammed with stalls both large and little, bustling today because of the March, and Vahekoh dismounted her horse, leading him into the market by the reins. She wasn't the only one leading her horse through, she saw with relief. She didn't know where she might have left Vahdah, otherwise.

"Clairey!" someone was shouting in the crowd, looking for someone they'd lost in the bustle, and Vahekoh wondered where the medical kits might be.

"Excuse me," Vahekoh said to someone in the crowd, but they seemed too busy with what they were doing to turn to her. Vahekoh tried someone else. "Excuse me-" she said, about to touch someone on the shoulder to turn them about, but-

"Clairey!" the someone was shouting in the crowd, and Vahekoh -who was trying to turn someone toward her to get some directions- was herself turned about.

"Oh!" she said, turned about in the bustling crowd and wrapped warmly in someone's arms. It was a woman, Vahekoh thought, and she smelled like cinnamon, or maybe it was mulled wine. Vahdah snorted at the woman, a warning snort, and Vahekoh wrestled herself from the woman's arms, looking up at her.

The woman was tall, taller than most men, and Vahekoh wondered if she had a bit of ellune in her from the greyish tone of her skin. But she was freckled, too, with warm auburn hair, and her cheeks were rosy warm and appled. Vahekoh thought if she was ellune, it was at least two or three generations back. "Oh Clairey, it's so good to see you," the tall woman said, wrapping Vahekoh once more up in her arms, and Vahekoh let her hold on mostly because she didn't think the woman meant her harm.

"Let me get a look at you," the tall woman said, holding Vahekoh back at arm's length, and Vahekoh heard Vahdah snort a second time. "Vahdah, behave," Vahekoh told the horse, and the woman smiled over at Vahdah, who looked at her with his ears pointed back. "He never did like me, that one," the woman said, and Vahekoh said, "Well- he doesn't much like anyone."

"He likes you," the tall woman said, and Vahekoh sighed.

"Well yes," Vahekoh said. "He likes me."

"Let's go over there, Clairey, and get out of the crowd to have a bit of a talk." The tall woman turned to bustle her way through the crowd, and Vahekoh hesitated a moment.

She didn't remember this woman.

But it wasn't out of place for someone to remember Vahekoh and for Vahekoh not to remember them. "Clairey," she whispered to herself, still standing in the midst of the crowd, "Clairey."

The name was like an old winter coat, oversized and out of season, but-

There was definitely something about it. "Clairey," she whispered a third time, trying the old winter coat on. It felt- it felt like she'd worn it before. The tall woman looked over to see that she was coming, and Vahekoh nodded to herself as much as to the woman to let her know she was. "Okay," Vahekoh said to herself, "Let's see who this Clairey was," and she led Vahdah out of the bustling crowd to where the tall woman was waiting for her.
Notes-
Here's a link to the Dust Market.
Last edited by Vahekoh on Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:02 am, edited 8 times in total. word count: 1293
Vahekoh's incident.
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Vahekoh
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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2nd Vhalar, 723. The Dust Quarter.
Once they were out of the hustle and the bustle of the crowd, Vahekoh looked over at the tall woman, trying to think whether or not she should say something to the woman about this Clairey. Would it be too weird to say that she didn't remember who the tall woman was, or -she thought- who she herself had been? But before she could think of what to say, the woman said, "Clairey, where have you been? I've been worried. I've not seen you in the market in so long."

"Oh-" Vahekoh said, stalled in her thoughts.

The tall woman was looking at her like she should say something, and so Vahekoh said tentatively, "I- I've been out in the woods. I had a bit of trouble lately and I hurt my hand-"

When she said this, the tall woman grasped both of her hands, though gently, and looked down at them with a crease in her brow. She saw Vahekoh's hurt hand and the worry in her brow deepened. Vahekoh wasn't sure whether to go on because of the woman's worry, but tentatively she said, "My head is hurting, too."

Maybe the tall woman would be able to point her to a stall in the market that sold medicinal herbs. "I was in the market looking for herbs for my headache, and some bits and bobs for my medkit," Vahekoh said.

"Let's go, Clairey," the tall woman said, and -leading Vahekoh by her unhurt hand- she walked through the bustling crowd toward- toward, Vahekoh thought, a medical stall.

"Wait, wait-" Vahekoh said, because the woman's legs were much longer than hers, and because Vahekoh had to make sure Vahdah got through the bustling crowd without stepping on someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll slow down. It's just that I thought we'd ask Hannah to have a look at you," the tall woman said distractedly, still leading Vahekoh through the crowd. But, she did slow down.

"Don't step on someone, okay boy," Vahekoh said to Vahdah, and led the horse by the halter, rather than by the reins, to make sure he was going step-by-step where she wanted him to be going in the crowd.


The tall woman led them out of the market -"Wait, out of the market?" Vahekoh said- and through the mix of ramshackle and rebuilt buildings that made up the Dust Quarter. They were going toward Hannah, Vahekoh guessed, though she didn't know who this Hannah was, or where they might be going in the Quarter.

"Where are we going?" Vahekoh asked the tall woman, and the woman let out a sigh. She had not let go of Vahekoh's unhurt hand and Vahekoh wondered- was this Clairey that the woman remembered someone who needed to be led like this?

She, Vahekoh, did not really like to be led like a child.

"We're going to Hannah's," the tall woman said, like that should mean something to Vahekoh, but it didn't. "Hannah's Healers, Clairey." The woman's beautiful face was drawn with worry. "You don't know Hannah's?" she asked, and again Vahekoh didn't know what to say.

Should she say she didn't remember?

"Clairey," the tall woman said, worried but exasperated too. "There are times I think you'd forget your own grandfather. Speaking of-" The woman stopped a moment in leading her, turning toward Vahekoh. "Is your grandfather alright?" she asked. "I meant to ask before, but I got distracted by," she gestured to Vahekoh, "Well- by you."

"My grandfather?" Vahekoh said.

"Clairey-" the tall woman groaned, and then said, "Last time you were in the market you were really worried and you said that you thought your grandfather might be sick. Something about, you hadn't seen him in a long time and you thought he might be sick in bed. You asked for a lot of things for your medical kit then too -I'm guessing for your grandfather- and you went out really quickly, I've never seen you so worried. Normally you're so-" The woman looked for a word, then sighed. "So self-possessed."

Self-possessed, Vahekoh thought. There was something incredulous, she thought, about being described as self-possessed.

Vahekoh's headache, which had been a low grumble in the background of her head, was starting to get worse. It was all this thinking, this conversation. There was a lot going on in the threads of the conversation, and Vahekoh winced at the grumble of the now not-so-distant ache in her head.

I have a grandfather? she wanted to ask the tall woman, but would that be too weird? It was difficult to tell what she should remember and what she shouldn't. Surely she should remember her grandfather, though, shouldn't she?

But then, if she did have a grandfather, she didn't remember him. She didn't remember any of what the tall woman was saying.

"How long has it been since I've been to market?" Vahekoh said tentatively. That question wasn't too weird, was it?

But, she couldn't let the thread of this grandfather go. "You're sure it was my grandfather I was worried about?" she asked. "It wasn't some- someone else?" Was it someone else's grandfather, Vahekoh wondered. She had so little remembrance of what the tall woman was saying that it was difficult to trust what the woman had said. Was it was the tall woman who was misremembering?

But the tall woman said, "Of course it was your grandfather!" She seemed very sure, and very worried. "Ilaren's stormy skies! Hannah needs to look at you. Let's go!" she said, and she began leading Vahekoh along again, through the disorganized dirt roads of the Dust Quarter.

"Let's go, Vahdah," Vahekoh said, and went along with the worried woman.
Last edited by Vahekoh on Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:00 am, edited 3 times in total. word count: 1004
Vahekoh's incident.
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Vahekoh
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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2nd Vhalar, 723. The Dust Quarter.
The tall woman led Vahekoh to a little button of a shop in the back of the Dust Quarter. The shop, which the woman had said before was Hannah's Healers, really was where they were going -because Vahekoh had gotten worried a moment when they'd turned toward the back of the Dust- and really was a medical shop.

Vahekoh was relieved. She would likely be able to buy what she was looking for at the little shop.

"Hannah!" the tall woman said when she opened Hannah's Healers' little door. When she opened the door she looked around, but Hannah was not behind the little shop's well-worn counter. "Here," the tall woman said gently, sitting Vahekoh down on a stool by the counter.

To Vahekoh, the little shop smelled strongly of herbs, of soap, and of dust, and the well-worn counter had the sweet but bitter smell of old wood and herbal remedies. Something about the smell of the shop was familiar to Vahekoh.

I've been here before, she thought, the distinctive smell waking something in her memory, and that was relieving as well. At least the tall woman had led her to somewhere she'd been before.

"Hannah!" the tall woman said once more, because it seemed like Hannah, of Hannah's Healers, might not be in the little shop. The tall woman looked at Vahekoh sitting by the well-worn counter, but Vahekoh didn't much notice her worried look because she was watching Vahdah, who was looking in through the little shop's big windows.

"Don't lick the glass," Vahekoh told him, because the horse looked very much like he would like to lick the glass windows.

A very, very old-looking woman walked slowly out from the back of the little shop, and Vahekoh looked away from Vahdah -who immediately began licking the glass windows- as the two women greeted one another. The tall woman went over to the other woman and wrapped her in her arms much like she had done to Vahekoh in the market. It was a bit relieving, too, that Vahekoh was not the only target of the tall woman's warm embrace.

"Hannah," the tall woman said, relieved, when she'd let the old woman go, "It's very good to see you here. I thought you might not be here." The relief was not long in the tall woman's voice, though. She looked to Vahekoh. "I think you've met before, but I'm not sure. Hannah, this is Clairey. Clairey, Hannah."

"Oh yes, Clairey," the old woman, Hannah, said. "I believe we've met once or twice."

The old woman smiled, looking over at Vahekoh, but the smile did not obscure that she looked at Vahekoh with the gaze of someone very old and very wise. It was a look that was familiar to Vahekoh, the look of someone well-learned and well-respected in their domain, and here in the heart of Hannah's little shop Vahekoh straightened herself on the stool she was sitting on.

Hannah turned her gaze back to the tall woman. "What's the matter, Hyacinthe, you look so worried. If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times- don't worry so much, Cinthe. Today's not a day to be worried, there's a festival. Be festive," Hannah said, and Vahekoh saw the tall woman try to smooth the worry from her brow.

The tall woman, Hyacinthe, sighed. "I do get worried sometimes, you know how I get. But this time it's honest worry. I've not seen Clairey in a long time, and I'm not sure she's well," Hyacinthe said.

I'm not well? Vahekoh wondered, then thought wryly of her headache.

"I'm well enough," Vahekoh said. She'd been relieved by the familiarity of the little shop, but Hyacinthe's worry was walking that relief back. Hannah was right- there was a festival, and here they were worrying the festival away. What was a headache when there were festivities to be had? The two women, Hyacinthe and Hannah, would be better off at the festival than here with Vahekoh. "I'd just like to get some herbs, and-"

"And a medical kit," Hyacinthe said, sighing. "I know, Clairey." She looked to the old woman and Vahekoh once more had the feeling of being led like a child.

Vahekoh had felt lost before, like a child in the woods, but that didn't mean that she liked to be led like one.

"Would you look her over?" Hyacinthe said to Hannah. "I've not seen Clairey in the market since mid Saun and she doesn't seem well. She said she had a bit of trouble out in the Stormlands, but it seems like maybe it was more than just a bit," Hyacinthe said. She looked worriedly at Vahekoh. "I don't know- it's like she's not herself. Last time I saw her she was worried about her grandfather-"

"Her grandfather?" Hannah said, and Hyacinthe nodded.

"But this time, it's-" Hyacinthe looked for words. "I don't know, it's like she wasn't worried at all. Would you look her over? For me?"

"I'd honestly just like some herbs for my headache and some things for my medkit," Vahekoh said, and stood.

"Sit down," Hannah told her, the old woman's age gathered like a weight in her voice, and Vahekoh hesitated where she stood. She was worried herself now, worried over their worrying. But, at the old woman's words, she sat. "Yes, ma'am," she said, and Hannah walked slowly over to look at her.

"I know it's troublesome," Hannah said to her, more gently now as she glanced at Vahekoh's hurt hand, and then began to look more intently at her head. Vahekoh didn't think she needed her head looked at, but she let the old woman do as she would. "But," Hannah said, "Hyacinthe here is worried about you. It doesn't hurt to let me look at you so Hyacinthe will stop worrying."

"Yes, ma'am," Vahekoh said again.

With gentle hands Hannah tilted Vahekoh's head this way and that, and then looked intently into her eyes. Hyacinthe looked over the old woman's shoulder with worry in her brow, and Hannah sighed. "Would you get the herbs for Clairey's headache from the little shelves in the cabinet, Hyacinthe?" she asked, still looking in Vahekoh's eyes.

"Which shelves, Hannah?" Hyacinthe said.

"The little shelves in the cabinet, there. I believe it should be the third column of shelves, the sixth or the seventh row." Hannah smiled when she said this, something lighting in her old eyes. "Though, it might be the eighth row, Cinthe."

With Hyacinthe looking through the shelves, Hannah tilted Vahekoh's head once more, then touched her gently on the chin. "Nothing some herbs won't alleviate, eh?" Hannah said wryly, and Vahekoh looked at her, not knowing what to think of the old woman's words.

Was Hannah mocking her?

Hannah might be well-learned in herbs and medicines, and Vahekoh had a lot of deference for the weight of those learnings in the old woman's eyes. But, when it was about Vahekoh's headaches, she herself was the one well-learned. She'd had headaches for a long time- she knew what worked best to alleviate them.

"I'd just like some herbs for this headache," Vahekoh said,
and Hannah said, "Let me get a look at your hand." The old woman grasped Vahekoh's hurt hand gently, and despite her gentle touch it did hurt when Hannah manipulated her wrist, turning it this way and that. "That hurts a bit, doesn't it," Hannah said, and though it did, Vahekoh said, "It's not too bad."

Hannah looked at her knowingly.

"We'll get your wrist bandaged, and off you'll go with your herbs and your-" The old woman looked behind the well-worn counter a moment, before setting a medkit on it, "And your medical kit."

This was a relief. "How much money for both?" Vahekoh said, as Hannah went slowly about the shop, looking for bandages for the little scrapes on Vahekoh's hand, and a stronger, more stabilizing bandage for her hurt wrist. Vahekoh saw that Hyacinthe was still looking through the dozens of little shelves in the big cabinet Hannah had directed her to.

"I said the sixth or the seventh, maybe the eighth row, Cinthe," Hannah said to her, and Hyacinthe said, "I looked in the sixth and the seventh-"

"Oh, maybe it was the second column of shelves, then," Hannah said and winked at Vahekoh, that light still in her eyes. "Like I said, second column, sixth, seventh, or maybe the eighth row. Once you've got them, set them down on the counter and I'll get them weighed and bagged. Oh, here are the bandages I was looking for," Hannah said.

"Where's Oliver?" Hyacinthe asked distractedly, looking through the shelves, and Hannah spoke while she slowly bandaged Vahekoh's hand and wrist.

"Oh, he's out and about because of the festival. I was just about to go out when you girls got here. Good thing you got here when you did, otherwise the shop would have been locked up tight."

"Oh, sorry," Vahekoh mumbled, but Hannah said, "Don't worry about it, Clairey. I'm glad I was here. Is that better?" the old woman asked, knotting the last bandage onto Vahekoh's wrist, and Vahekoh turned her wrist a little. It hurt but not like before, and with her wrist stable the wrist would be able to heal, so Vahekoh said, "That's better. Thank you, ma'am."

"It's Hannah," Hannah sighed. "But ma'am works, as well. Though it does make me out like I'm old." The old woman smiled.

By the big cabinet, Hyacinthe was still looking through the shelves. Hannah walked slowly over, looked briefly at the dozens of indistinguishable shelves in the big cabinet, and then said lightly, "Oh, there they are."

"Hannah!" Hyacinthe said indignantly, because the herbs were not where Hannah had said they were in the cabinet, but Hannah just laughed lightly at her indignance. "Well, you wouldn't have stopped hovering over Clairey, would you have?" Hannah said, and Hyacinthe blushed. Hannah said more gently, "I thought so."

Looking to Vahekoh the old woman said, "I like trade, but it doesn't look like you've got much on you." That gaze of hers didn't miss much, Vahekoh thought. "If you've got coin, I'll take it in as a loan 'til you've got something good to trade. You'll be going out of the city when you're good and healed? When you're going out, speak to me, and when you're back we'll trade your loan for goods."

"Yes, ma'am," Vahekoh said, getting out her coin and setting it on the well-worn counter. Hannah counted it, and then gave the medkit she'd gotten out from behind the counter, and the herbs she'd located and weighed and bagged, over to Vahekoh. Vahekoh gathered them up gratefully, relieved to have them.

"I've got to get out and about before Oliver gets gabbing to someone or other, and spends all our good money on some little-known plant someone is hawking," Hannah said, but she smiled when she said it. Hannah didn't seem too worried that Oliver -her husband, Vahekoh thought- would spend all their good money. It seemed, Vahekoh thought, that Hannah would be glad to have the little-known plant Oliver would buy.

"Hyacinthe," the old woman said, and Hyacinthe let her indignance go to look intently at Hannah. Both Hyacinthe and Vahekoh noticed that the lightness that had been in the old woman's voice had gone, and there was weight where the lightness had been. "I'd like you to walk Clairey to the Order while I'm out," Hannah told her.

The Order? Vahekoh thought, her relief going up in heat and flame.

Vahekoh was going to object -she wasn't going to the Order- but Hannah noticed the heat in her and said, "Clairey, listen to me a moment. I believe Hyacinthe was right to be worried about you. Your wrist is nothing to worry over, it'll be healed in a handful of days at worst. But something is wrong with that headache of yours. There's something of the wrongness of the headache in your eyes."

Vahekoh was going to speak, but Hannah said slowly, looking at her intently, "If the headache is noticeable in your eyes, it's something that herbs won't make better. You'd do better with the Order, with a bit of healing by a proper doctor, than with the herbs in your pockets."

"I only need the herbs for the pain," Vahekoh said hotly, but Hannah said, "I'd imagine the herbs help with the pain well enough- it's what they're meant to do. But, listen to me Clairey, I'm worried there's something worse going on, beneath the pain.
Cinthe mentioned your grandfather before. I don't know what you've told her about 'your grandfather', but you and I both know this is about Folke," Hannah said, looking at Vahekoh with that weighted, wise look of hers.

Folke? Vahekoh thought, her headache grumbling in the foreground of her head.

"I've not spoken to him in a bit, now," Hannah said, "But he's a busy man, so I'm not too worried." The old woman did look a bit worried, though, Vahekoh thought. Something in Vahekoh's heart tightened at that.

Hannah said, "Folke and Oliver and I have worked with one another before, and I know as well as you do that he wouldn't like it if you didn't get properly looked at. Go to the Order with Hyacinthe, Clairey."

Vahekoh looked at Hannah, trying to douse the heat she felt at the old woman's words. She knew, by the way that Hannah spoke of him, that the weight of this Folke was meant to rein Vahekoh in. Folke was someone that Hannah thought was important to Vahekoh- or, she thought hotly, to Clairey. But Vahekoh did not know this Folke, despite the worry she felt in her heart when Hannah spoke of him, and she did not need to go to the Order for a headache that she'd be able to manage with a little downtime and the herbs that were now, gratefully, in her pockets.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Vahekoh said, letting out a slow breath to temper the heat in her words. "But I'm not going to the Order. I'm grateful for the help you've given- that you bandaged my wrist. I'm grateful you and Hyacinthe are worried about me," Vahekoh said. "But, I was looking for herbs for my headache and I've got the herbs now, and I'm good with my medical kit."

Hannah was looking at her in a way that made Vahekoh, who had a lot of deference for the old woman, defensive. "Gratefully," Vahekoh said to her, "I'll look after myself."

"Clairey!" Hyacinthe said, but Vahekoh stood and this time she did not sit down. "No, Hyacinthe," she said.

"I'll be back when my wrist is healed to do trade with you, like you said," Vahekoh said to Hannah. "I'll see you then, and you'll see then that I'm doing well enough. Now, I'm going," Vahekoh said, and walked out of the little shop before the old woman's look made her hesitate.

"Clairey, wait!" Hyacinthe said, going to Hannah's Healers' little door. But Vahekoh had a boot in Vahdah's stirrup, and the horse let off licking the little shop's glass windows when Vahekoh settled on his back and signaled him, without looking back at Hyacinthe or at Hannah's Healers, to go.
Notes-
A link to Hannah, and Hannah's Healers. Hyacinthe is a flavor NPC.

The basic+ medical kit that Vahekoh got is within her Tier, Tier 4, as per the Shoppe. The basic-level herbs are outside of her Tier, and will be 2 WP for medicine, Vhalar 723.
Last edited by Vahekoh on Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:56 am, edited 6 times in total. word count: 2766
Vahekoh's incident.
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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2nd Vhalar, 723. The Dust Quarter.
Vahekoh realized within bits of riding Vahdah away that she didn't know where to go to get out of the disorganized back streets of the Dust. "Damn it," she said, mumbling to herself, leading Vahdah this way and that on the disorganized dirt roads. There were not a lot of passerby, in the back of the Dust. Vahekoh guessed that most of the Dust's residents were over by the bustling market, or otherwise getting together in groups or in bars for the festival.

It was when Vahekoh had directed Vahdah to their fourth wrong street that Vahekoh realized she was on the verge of tears. "Damn it, damn it!" she said, and tossed Vahdah's reins down. "Walk, just walk," she said to the horse, signaling him to a slow walk, and Vahdah walked the dirt roads obligingly.

Vahekoh sat on the horse's back, not looking where they were going, and tried not to let the tears overwhelm her. Her head was hurting, she was lost, she had gotten heated at Hyacinthe and Hannah -who had only been trying to help her- and she was a mess. She bumbled in her pockets for her papers, holding the disparate papers in her hands. She looked at them, like they might be able to help her, but her eyes were too wet with tears to read their writings.

The writings wouldn't have been able to help her; there was nothing in them that would direct her out of the back of the Dust. But then, why had she thought they might?

Why am I like this, Vahekoh thought, but didn't put the thought to words. It would be too sorry to say aloud.

Vahekoh sat on Vahdah's back and simply let him walk. She didn't know how long they wandered the back streets of the Dust Quarter, but in time they discovered people out and about. Trying to disguise the tears that were still brightening her eyes, Vahekoh asked someone for directions, and they pointed her toward the outskirts of the Dust.

Once they out of the Dust Quarter, Vahekoh simply sat on Vahdah's back, not directing him forward or back. She didn't know where she was going, though she was now out of the Dust and back in the outskirts. She should go to the forests, she thought, but no, that didn't make sense. She took a breath and realized she needed somewhere to make some herbal tea, lie down, and let her headache go.

Where? she wondered, Where? Then Vahdah made a snorting noise -not a warning snort, just a noise of attention- and Vahekoh looked where Vahdah was looking.

"I didn't mean to intrude," the woman Vahekoh had met before, the woman she had borrowed the bucket from, said. "It's just I was wondering," the woman said, "If you were having some difficulty." Vahekoh didn't respond and the woman added, more directly, "Because you look like you've been crying."

Was it that obvious? "I'm just- I'm just trying to decide where to go," Vahekoh said, rubbing the lingering tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

"I wasn't just saying it when I said there was room for you at our table," the woman said, looking at Vahekoh stubbornly, and Vahekoh said, "I don't know-"

"I insist," the woman said. "It's better than sitting out here on a horse, with tears in your eyes, while the rest of us are getting on with the day's festivities." Vahekoh had to nod because the woman was right.

"Good," the woman said, less stubborn now that Vahekoh had nodded that she was right, and together they went back to the woman's group of tents.

Vahekoh had not paid much attention to the woman's group before -she'd had other things occupying her thoughts- but there were four or five tents in the woman's group, two of the tents quite big, and maybe ten to fifteen people other than the woman and the little boy Vahekoh had met. Vahekoh was not in the mood to meet ten to fifteen more people -people's names and faces, she knew, would only muddle her mind further- and so she said, "Is there somewhere I might lie down for a bit? And, might I borrow a kettle?" She was hoping the woman wouldn't ask why -she didn't want to mention her headache anymore- and, gladly, the woman didn't ask.

The woman simply nodded, and led her to a little tent in the group, which seemed to be the woman's own. "Don't go stealing nothing," the woman said. "I've not got much to steal but it would wound me greatly if you did steal it," and Vahekoh said, "I won't. I just need a bit of ground, some time, and some quiet."

"I didn't really think you would steal, deary, but I had to say," the woman said, and shrugged. "It's the Dust Quarter." Then she smiled and said, "Food will be on in a bit, I'll come back to you then. If the little one comes over to bother you, just kindly point him back to me."

"Thank you," Vahekoh said gratefully, and the woman smiled again.

"I'm Laurel, by the by," the woman said, and Vahekoh said, "I'm-"

Vahekoh, she didn't say. Clairey, she didn't say. She didn't know, she realized. If she wasn't Clairey, then who was she?

Vahekoh's voice was stuck in her throat for a moment, then she said tentatively, "I'm- I'm Ekoh."

"Ekoh," the woman said, looking at her intently a moment, and Vahekoh was worried she would question her about her hesitation. It would be weird to the woman that Vahekoh had hesitated to give her name, Vahekoh knew that. The woman, Laurel, seemed to think a bit. Then she smiled, a bit more guardedly, and said, "Okay, Ekoh. Like I said, I'll talk to you in a bit."

"Thank you," Vahekoh said, once more grateful, and Laurel seemed to sense her gratitude at not being questioned about her name. Laurel smiled her normal smile. "Like I said, don't steal anything, 'Ekoh the Forester'," she said, jokingly and not jokingly, and Vahekoh made herself smile a bit.

When Laurel walked away, Vahekoh let out a big breath, lying her hurting head in her hands. "Ekoh," she mumbled to herself, then sighed. She'd not thought about what name she might give. It just hadn't crossed her mind. Vahekoh was her name -her name for herself, and herself only- but Clairey had been- wrong. Clairey was gone from her- she'd learned that from her interactions with Hyacinthe and Hannah.

Ekoh was not bad for a name, she thought tiredly. Though, she would have liked to give a name not so like the name that was her own. "Ekoh, Ekoh," she mumbled, trying to memorize the nickname. Tiredly, she began making the medicinal tea with Laurel's kettle and the bagged herbs in her pockets.

When the tea was done, Vahekoh drank it down, then hesitated before getting out a litttle more of the herbal leaves. Chewing the leaves, she'd learned, brought the pain relief more quickly than drinking the tea did, and would do for headache relief if she didn't have the makings of tea. But, when chewing the leaves, the pain relief didn't last as long.

Making the leaves into tea would make the pain relief last longer, and the relief was likely to last long enough to send the headache to its end. But, making the tea took longer -so the relief was not as quick- and the pain relief was a bit duller, overall.

There was no harm in doing both, Vahekoh had learned, other than it being wasteful of the leaves.


She should simply wait out the pain relief, but Vahekoh wanted her headache gone. The headache was growing again, no longer a rumbling storm in the distance, and -with Vahdah nibbling at the grass nearby- Vahekoh lay down on the grass beside a low-burning fire by Laurel's tent. Laurel's tent was a bit back from the other tents in the group, and so the others in the group simply left Vahekoh to herself when she laid down. She bumbled off the light coat she was wearing and bundled it up, lying her hurting head on it.

The herbs began to work, and Vahekoh lay in a sort of dull meditation, trying not to listen to the others in the group in their talking and laughing, listening only to the low popping of the fire beside her. She wasn't the best at meditating though, her thoughts like little birds in a wind, winging from topic to topic, and they flitted and fluttered back through the overwhelming amount of information she'd gotten when she'd met Hyacinthe and Hannah. It would help her headache if she didn't think, if she let the thoughts go. But they wouldn't go.

The thoughts were a blessing in disguise, though. Vahekoh would have to write it all down, all she had learned today, before the details began to intermingle- like a flock of little sparrows, one little thought interchangeable with the others.

Thoughts and half-thoughts went on the wings of birds through her head while she lay beside the little fire, popping in and out of her head with the popping of the low flames.

There was the disparate papers, loose and disorganized in her hands. Sitting, lonely, in a forest, towered over by the forest's trees. A bound leather journal- the journal she'd lost. Hyacinthe's face- lighting up when she saw Vahekoh, then darkening with worry. The big glass windows of Hannah's Healers, and the little door. The winding, disorganized dirt roads of the Dust. Hannah saying, "This is about Folke." The image of an old coat, though it was not the light coat bundled beneath Vahekoh's head. The sense of being lost- of being lost not only in location, but in time. The green, leafy taste of the medicinal herbs, more bitter when they were chewed than when they were drunk.

Vahekoh laid like that for a time, the thoughts and half-thoughts reminiscent of her learnings today- and some of them, not reminiscent of her learnings. Those bits were from her imagination, maybe, or from some other time- some other learning. There was Hyacinthe saying something and laughing brightly, though Vahekoh didn't remember what Hyacinthe might have said. There was walking behind someone in the market- on a day when the goings on there had been normal, not a festival day. There was looking in the big glass windows of Hannah's Healers, and seeing the someone standing at the well-worn counter.

"Folke," Vahekoh said to herself, and then someone was touching her shoulder and saying, "Deary, the festival's on."
Notes-
Laurel and the others in her group are flavor NPCs.
Last edited by Vahekoh on Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:05 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 1872
Vahekoh's incident.
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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2nd Vhalar, 723. The Dust Quarter.
Vahekoh sat up slowly, the soreness having gotten back into her body from having laid down- but her headache was gone. She tilted her head back and forth, and touched along the side and back of her head with a light touch. She thought the headache might be back later- but, she had the herbs now, so if the headache came back she would be able to make more of the herbal tea.

"You alright?" Laurel asked her, looking at her while she worked out her soreness, and Vahekoh said, "I'm alright. I just got tired out, and I'm a bit sore."

"You still look tired as a dog, deary," Laurel said.

"I had a bit of trouble in the Stormlands," Vahekoh said to her, because Laurel was looking at her questioningly, and Laurel's gaze intensified. "Nobody hurt you?" she asked, "No bandits, or- or the like?"

"No bandits," Vahekoh said, and Laurel nodded to herself. Vahekoh said, "It was just a rough ride to Rharne."

"You listening, horse? You should ride smoother," Laurel said to Vahdah, who was standing just outside the little group of tents. Vahdah looked at Laurel intently when she spoke to him, with a lot of interest for the horse that was normally disinterested in people other than Vahekoh.

"I gave him a bit of grain," Laurel said, smiling at Vahdah. "He had a look-see through our stores while you were lying down and was going to help himself, so I thought I might as well help him."

"Oh, grain," Vahekoh said. But when Laurel said it, she remembered- she hadn't remembered it before. "I- I was going to give him some grain this morning, maybe buy some, but I-" Vahekoh was embarrassed Laurel had had to look after Vahdah for her. Vahdah was hers to look after. "But I forgot," Vahekoh said. Still embarrassed, she said to Laurel, "I'm sorry he went looking through your stores."

"He's a starving thing he is," Laurel said jokingly, then looked at Vahekoh. "Speaking of starving things- you look about as hungry as a horse." She smiled at the joke. "The food's on the table. There's a bit before we dig in, most of the others went to have a look at the Marchers, but I wouldn't mind a bit of bread before the meal, myself."

She was being kind, offering Vahekoh bread before the meal, and Vahekoh didn't know how to respond. Should she offer a bit of money for the grain and the trouble? While she was thinking this over, Laurel dusted off her colorful skirts and said, "Oh, one last thing. It's not the March if you're not dressed for it. You got clothing of any color on you?"

Vahekoh looked down at herself, but there wasn't a bit of bright color in her clothing. Laurel tutted. "Wear this," she said, and tossed Vahekoh a light shawl she'd been wearing, with all of the colors of the forest in the fall.

Vahekoh bumbled the shawl when Laurel tossed it to her, but didn't drop it. She was about to say she shouldn't wear it -Laurel was being much too kind, and Vahekoh still didn't know how to respond to it- but she looked over and saw that Laurel was looking at her stubbornly. "Wear it, Ekoh," Laurel said, and Vahekoh donned the shawl.

"It's beautiful," Vahekoh said, "But-"

"It's just a loaner, my ma knitted it for me," Laurel said, and Vahekoh was relieved. "You'll give it back like you did the bucket?" Laurel said.

"Of course I will," Vahekoh promised, and Laurel nodded.

"Let's have a bit of bread and wine," Laurel said, and led Vahekoh to the makeshift table -made of long wooden boards on top of barrels of alcohol- in the middle of the group of tents. "It's not much but it's ours," Laurel said, dusting her hands before getting a bit of bread and a couple of mugs from the table's side.

"It's more than I would have had otherwise," Vahekoh said.

"I'm grateful for all this, Laurel," Vahekoh added. "If there's something I could do to give back to your group-" she said, and was going to look through her pockets for some money, but Laurel shook her head.

"Just have a bit of this bread. I'm hungry just looking at you- you must be starving. I don't like that starved look, like a dog on the streets." Vahekoh wasn't sure whether she should be offended -though, she was starving- but Laurel smiled. The smile softened her words. "It's just that I was hungry when I was a kid and I hate that look," she said simply.

She was looking at Vahekoh when she said this, waiting for Vahekoh to have some food and drink, and so Vahekoh had a big drink of wine -a bit harsh and dry, but good- and had a bit of bread. Then, she had a bit more. Then, the bread was gone and she realized she really was starving. Laurel sat, looking at her with a little smile.

"Where's your little boy?" Vahekoh wondered, looking for more bread, and Laurel laughed a little. "You mean the little boy you literally ran off from this morn?" she said, setting a bit more bread on the makeshift table, and Vahekoh hid her embarrassment by drinking a big drink from her mug. Laurel hooted out another laugh.

"He went with the others to look at the Marchers," Laurel said. "They'll be back in a moment. Then we'll share in the bounty of the meal."

"It looks very good," Vahekoh said, looking at the dishes sitting out on the makeshift table, and Laurel said, "Been cooking all day. Not my best work, must be said, without a kitchen, but I imagine it'll be good. The others have been like vultures the whole day. I've been having to run them off with my wooden spoon."

Laurel seemed tired herself, Vahekoh thought, but not worryingly tired. She simply seemed tired from the day's long work- but tired in a glad way, glad the day's work had been done and done well. She seemed glad too, Vahekoh thought, to have Vahekoh to dote over while her little boy was with the others.

Speaking of- "More wine?" Laurel asked, and Vahekoh nodded. "More wine," Vahekoh said.

But then she said, "Wait, wait. I've got to do something before I get too distracted." Vahekoh got out her papers, looking for little bits in the disparate papers that hadn't been writtten on. There were some bits of paper that were good for writing still, and so Vahekoh sat at the makeshift table and wrote about the day.

2nd Vhalar, 723, Vahekoh wrote.

I'm in the Dust Quarter. It's the March today. Lots of people about in the market- maybe a bit more than my liking.

Met a woman in the market named Hyacinthe. Hyacinthe is tall, grey-skinned like an ellune, but with warmth to her like a Rharnean. Reddish hair, warm-eyed, beautiful. Said my name is Clairey- I know the name? It's an old name of mine? I don't know.


Hyacinthe said Clairey was in the market last Saun, mid Saun. She said Clairey was worried about her grandfather. I have a grandfather? Look into this grandfather? Vahekoh wrote, tentatively.

Hyacinthe led me to a shop named Hannah's Healers. Met Hannah. Hannah is an old Rharnean woman, very old, very wise. Wise gaze. Hannah said she'd met Clairey- I think I've met her before? Said she'd worked with Clairey's grandfather.

Or was it not her grandfather? Vahekoh didn't know.

Or not her grandfather, a man named Folke, Vahekoh wrote. Hannah is a healer, and Folke is a healer? Hannah said she hadn't spoken to Folke in a long time. Was worried about him.

Made a deal with Hannah to go back to Hannah's Healers when I'm healed, and go out to the Stormlands for her. Vahekoh underlined the bit about making a deal with Hannah. That was important.

Got medicinal herbs for my headache, and a medical kit. Hannah told me to go to the Order for my headache, said something was wrong with it? But I said no. Walked out of Hannah's Healers. I don't need to go to the Order for an old wound.

Vahekoh stopped writing for a moment, then wrote with some abashment, Will have to say I'm sorry about walking out like that.

Was lost for a bit in the Dust Quarter, but am out of the Dust. I'm with a group in the Dust's outskirts. Met a woman named Laurel. She looked over at Laurel when she wrote this, and saw that Laurel was busying herself with the dishes on the makeshift table.

Laurel is a bit taller than me, a bit older, Vahekoh wrote. Brown-haired with her hair braided up on her head, Rharnean. She laughs like an owl. Has a little boy. Laurel invited me to their table for the March.

My name is Ekoh, I guess? Vahekoh wrote tentatively. I said Ekoh when Laurel asked. I didn't know what to say.

Vahekoh read what she'd written, swirling the wine in her mug. What had she not written, that she needed to write?

I treated the headache with the medicinal herbs. The headache is gone, but I think it might come back. Will be ahead of the headache, this time, if it comes back. She read through the writings- there was a lot written, today. But there was was still something she hadn't written. What was it?

Then she remembered, and she wrote, disheartened by the writing, Forgot to write before- I lost my journal. I have very little writings with me, on loose papers. Don't know where I lost my journal, or when. Hyacinthe said Clairey was in the market in mid Saun. Did I lose it then? It was difficult to think that she might have lost her journal so long ago.

I need to get a new journal before there are no more papers to write on, or I lose the papers, and I'm lost, Vahekoh wrote, and underlined the writing.

With that written, Vahekoh read through the day's writings one last time. The important things were going back to Hannah's Healers, because she'd told Hannah she would, and getting a bound journal- because otherwise all she'd learned might be lost.

Like her other journal was lost, she thought tiredly.

"I don't know what you're writing, but don't be too down about it, deary," Laurel said, looking over at her. She was trying to be kind, Vahekoh thought. Trying to diguise how disheartened she was, Vahekoh looked down, buttoning the disparate papers in her pockets. The buttons were there on her pockets because she did lose things- but she promised herself that the papers she was writing on now would not be lost.

"There there, deary," Laurel said. "There's good dry wine to drink, fresh-baked bread, good food on the table, and merriment to be had." Vahekoh looked over at her, trying to look glad so that Laurel would know she was grateful, and Laurel added, "Better drink, too, than this dry wine, must be said." She smiled when Vahekoh looked interested in the mention of better drink.

"That's better," Laurel said, her voice kind. Then she said, "Looks like the others are back."

Laurel went to the others, holding out her arms, and her little boy laughed as he was handed to her by one of the others in the group. "He behave?" Laurel asked, and the man said wryly, "He ran out into the Marchers and had a bit of a march himself. Had to run him down while the crowd laughed and laughed about it."

Laurel kissed the impish little boy on the cheek and said, "Wouldn't have had it any other way, would we?" The little boy wrapped his arms tight around her neck, and she kissed him on the cheek again.

"Alright," she said to the group, "Food's on the table, let's dig in!" The lot of them, the little boy included, let out laughs and whoops. "Ilaren bless, I've been waiting for this all day," one of them said, and Vahekoh made herself smile, grateful for them, as they all gathered around the makeshift table and began digging into the different dishes that Laurel had cooked.

"Ekoh, dig in!" Laurel said, sitting beside her with the little boy on her lap, and Vahekoh didn't wait to be told a second time. She was starving, and the food looked very good. She dug in.
Last edited by Vahekoh on Thu Feb 08, 2024 4:06 pm, edited 1 time in total. word count: 2184
Vahekoh's incident.
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

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Notes/Warnings:
Notes-

Vahekoh's headache in this thread is related to her chronic headaches. Hannah -a healer in this thread- thinks that there's something wrong with the headache, but she doesn't know that the head pain is chronic, and not because of something acute. Because she doesn't know this, she thinks that Vahekoh should go to the Order for her headache- but, it's worth noting that chronic conditions are treated differently than acute conditions. Vahekoh knows that her condition is chronic.

Concerning the things Vahekoh bought in this thread, I'll deduct 2 WP from Vahekoh's ledger. But, if it's okay, the deduction is going to be as a "loan". I'm going to write a thread where Vahekoh goes back to trade with Hannah, because the location says that Hannah likes trade. When I write that thread, I'm hoping to have Vahekoh's "loan" back, when Vahekoh trades with Hannah in the thread. But, til I write that thread, the 2 WP will be deducted, and if I don't write the thread, obviously Vahekoh will not get the "loan" back.

This thread is a lot longer than a 1500-word solo, and it's just a day-to-day sort of thread- though with some intrigue, I hope. It might be a bit boring- sorry. I wasn't sure if it should be broken into more than one solo, but I also wasn't sure where to break it.

Warnings-
No warnings.


Thread: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.
City/Area: Rharne

Renown: Reviewer's discretion.
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 ! Message from: Kasoria
Done!
word count: 401
Vahekoh's incident.
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Kasoria
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Re: [The Dust Quarter] Making my way downtown II- Walking fast, faces pass.

Vahekoh


Now THIS is a fascinating concept for a character. Kinda reminds me of the movie Moento, sans the murders and tattoos... maybe Dory from Finding Nemo would be more accurate. But the idea of plonking that character into a setting where she wouldn't have photos or a computer or a social structure in place to remember for her... I love it. Difficult to write around, and heartbreaking in places, but definitely engrossing. And yeah, not much happened in this story but that didn't make it boring. Not every thread needs to be the Battle of Helms Deep. Good job!
  • Renown: 5
  • XP: 10
  • Knowledges:
    • Mount: Leading a horse through a bustling crowd.
    • Medicine: The patient's learnings about their health are sometimes as important as the healer's learnings.
    • Medicine: Managing pain is different than proper healing.
    • Medicine: Treating head pain with herbal tea / herbal leaves.
    • Meditation: Trying not to listen to others talking during meditation.
    • Meditation: Writing down the day's writings before getting distracted.
  • Loot:
    • 1 basic+ quality medical kit
    • 1 season's worth of basic-quality medicine, Vhalar 723.
  • Losses:
    • 2 WP.
word count: 188
Common Speech | Thoughts | Ith'ession Speech | Speech of Others

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