DG woke to birds chirping. Slowly rising, memories of the previous night came back to her in jumbled images. Looking around, she finally got to see Jalanili's home. The young girl lived alone and with the luxuries of plumbing or power, though it was nice for a story and a half.
The house itself was interesting, almost a part of the nook of the hillside. The back half, where the stove could be seen, was varied colors of grey and blue concrete rock. The front was an open living area with wooden planks, but it was how the wood and concrete merged together the impressed DG.
"Good morning." Jalanili called, "Sleep well I hope?"
DG turned to see her climbing down a ladder from the loft. She nodded and smiled, "I was until the birds decided it was time for me to get up." DG laughed.
"They tend to like being the little alarms of the morning. It won't take long before you're use to them." Jalanili smiled back, "Hungry?"
"Yeah, I kinda am." DG said before looking outside, "How long have you been up?" DG asked, seeing the suns above the horizon.
"I am up with the suns and moon." Jalanili answered with a laugh, "Don't worry, I slept long enough." She added, walking to the stove.
"What do you have cooking?" DG asked, looking into the pot that Jalanili was stirring, "Oatmeal?"
"Oat-what? I think the village calls is porridge." Jalanili answered, scooping some into a bowl, "There is fruit on the table."
"Oatmeal is just another term for porridge, I think it just made differently." DG admitted, finding the small dinning table and sitting.
"Well, either way this easy to eat compared to what the Longcoats were having you eat. Though decent food, the animals of the Badiya have changed. They aren't good to eat for long periods of time, years." Jalanili stated, filling her bowl.
DG let this sink in as she waited for her new friend to sit, "Why is that? That animals are bad to eat?"
"We're not sure, but we think… how can I put this? I'll tell you later after we get done eating." She resolved, not wanting to disturb DG, "There is a lot that I need to explain."
"Realize that I am pregnant and I'm worried about my baby. I was in Zero's hospitality for five months." DG sighed, grabbing a green apple.
The two stared at one another for a few moments before Jalanili abruptly stood and headed back to the loft. DG felt as if she upset Jalanili, but she as quickly as she disappeared, Jalanili reappeared at the table.
"Here, I keep this around for situations like this. It's like a medicine, but it also helps the immune system. Trust me, it will help the both of you." Jalanili handed over a vial.
DG took the vial and looked it over. The liquid was a very interesting blue-purple. Braving herself, she tipped her head back and downed the liquid, nearly expecting to glow, "It's like grape and blueberry, interesting combination."
"That is how my magicks work. I just use the elements around me." Jalanili shrugged, taking a few bites of her breakfast.
"Magicks? How does it differ from those, like me, that can use magic?" DG asked, getting confused.
"Well, you use magic from inside. It is apart of your being." Jalanili explained, "I ask nature if I can use them to help me. Like my potions and protecting myself."
"That is how you made this house, right?" DG ate a few more bites, finding herself liking the porridge more.
"Exactly, I wanted to live out here and made a pact. I had to live without the pleasures of the village and I liked it. Don't worry, I still have a place to get good water and to goto the bathroom." Jalanili told as she finished her bowl, "There is an underground sewer that the village created and they remade it so that it runs past here before going to the village."
"What is the sewer? How do you get fresh water?" DG finished her breakfast and followed Jalanili to a tub that she guessed passed as a sink.
"There is an underground stream from the mountains. It's already polluted from the animal waste so we just tapped into it. But the village created a pipe that runs from the hill to my home, down to the village and rejoins the stream somewhere. I never really got the idea where the stream goes." Jalanili answered, washing the bowls, "It's all alright and nature accepts it."
"If you say so, but I still want to get back home when I can." DG finally admitted to her friend, "No offense, but I'm having a baby and missing for months."
"I understand, but can we wait a few days? In case the Longcoats are still around. That way we can get a plan of action."
"You're… gonna take me?" DG stared at the young girl.
"Yeah, I lived here for nearly six years. Getting away and seeing the world would do me some good." Jalanili laughed, "Come on, let's go outside."
"How old are you?" DG asked, following Jalanili outside.
"Twenty annuals in three weeks." Jalanili said with a shrug, "I know, I look more like fourteen or sixteen annuals."
"I'll say. So what did you…" DG suddenly felt a cold chill going down her spine, "What was that?"
"You felt that, too?" Jalanili said, stiffening.
"So what do we think it was?"
"I have no idea. Come on, I'll show you something." She said as she walked back into the house, "We're going to scry."
"Scry? Is that were you look into a mirror?" DG asked, "Like the Viewers do?" DG asked, following Jalanili into the house and up the ladder.
"Yes and no." Jalanili admitted, "The Viewers use mirrors to look into the past of a person. They are successful ninety-five percent of the time. Scrying is a fifty-fifty." She added, bringing out a little bowl.
Though it couldn't have stood more than six inches tall, it was the colors that caught her attention. The bowl was a rich and dark black with blue patches seeping through the black. Jalanili even let DG hold and look the bowl over.
"It's lovely. Where did you get it?" DG asked, handing the bowl back over.
"I made it. If we get a chance later, I will teach you how." Jalanili said before pouring water into the bowl. She also had a small vial and let a few drops fall into the bowl as well. Filling the air with a sweet scent of a flower field, "It's always nice to offer something."
"That's good to know. So what are we going to do?" DG asked, sitting across from Jalanili. She watches and the other woman closed her eyes and rubbed her hands together.
"I am asking if we can know what that feeling was. Scrying is a personal technique; from what once uses to how to ask. Once you do it, you feel comfortable in a certain way." Jalanili answered, opening her eyes and looking into the bowl, "DG… You need to see this…"
DG hovered over the bowl as Jalanili sat back. She looked down into the blackness and saw nothing at first. Then, swirls of color slowly formed images in the water. DG visible paled and looked to Jalanili who was in equal amount of shock.
DG raced from the house before emptying her stomach of her breakfast, leaving Jalanili alone. She peered back into the bowl and let the images solidify, revealing Zero lying in his own blood, the back of his head missing.
Whoever had made that cry last night had killed Zero and left Jalanili within a state of utter confusion. Shaking her head, Jalanili left to tend to the now sick DG.