Drowning in the night no longer velvet, but a metallic drape of inky black water…Streaks of red battering the miniature quar'z statue of the magical nauraya…well, it isn't a statue for it was actually flying blindly through the lightless dreamland…
As it turned around, suddenly a small speck of amethyst light started to shimmer from the back of the nauraya, growing bigger slowly until even the wing case spirals shimmered brightly. Suddenly, the sphere of magic expanded amazingly fast, shattering the empty darkness into nothing, releasing the nauraya into the open sky.
And all could see that now it had a rider…a Naurasian rider…a beautiful, black and desert-brown haired someone wielding lilac magic…
---
As starshine lay on his tired face, Zaviroa slowly awoke in a shield tree he wasn't familiar with. Unbeknownst to his still-groggy mind, the dream he just experienced slowly sunk deep into his memory, out of sight, as instead the scents of the forest took over his senses. Below him was a small hammock of woven vine, and as he bent forwards to get up, a branch came out of nowhere and whacked him on his forehead. Clutching his aching head, pain in both his shoulders erupted, dropping him like a stone back onto the vines when suddenly…was that giggling?
Pain forgotten for a while, he turned over to see who was mocking him when he came face to face with Princess Evika, head bowed low trying to conceal the spasms and squeaky chuckles. Eventually, she actually ran to the stream and battered her face with water, freeing her from the restraints of holding in humor. Her face turned starset red when she noticed that he was awake and staring at him.
"I-I'm sorry for disrespecting y-your status, sir. Please forgive my insolence." It surprised Zaviroa that despite all the times she "disrespected his status," she still stuttered over the traditional forgiving. But he had no time to think it all through because his mind was scrambled like eggs over Evika's brief humor spell.
It's surprising how, in the ten years he'd been her secret tutor, she had never shown her obvious funny side to him. Sure, there were the numerous pranks played on his unsuspecting person, but she always had slipped away before showing vocal recognition of her surprised, angry, and/or annoyed (and most likely dirty) victim.
Now that she had no way of escaping, the giggle that had showed its smiling face just for a moment had stunned his mind very nicely. The innocent sound triggered memories of the Naurasia before the Invasion; a peaceful, shining, green and blue planet of honorable people, both young and old. The skies were full of youngsters connecting with their nauraya companions; the royal family looking over all…Very funny, Zaviroa, he said to himself silently, you can't squeeze the entire spirit of Naurasia in one single person, even though she just happened to be the princess…A flicker of a memory played in his head; a Naurasian rider on a nauraya…
"Zaviroa; can you hear me? Don't give me the silent treatment just because I laughed at you."
"Eh? Oh, I'm sorry for that. Um, so yes, I forgive you, Evika. Try and keep your manner next time."
---
This can't be the Zaviroa I taught under, thought Evika, curiously watching her usually balanced ex-tutor slide from the tree and onto his behind. This time not even batting an eyelid, she walked over and pulled the unsteady Naurasian onto his feet. Blushing faintly, Zaviroa leapt to his feet, just to stiffen with the pain in both his shoulders. "Oh, and I know about your right shoulder being hurt; sorry about that," she added, "But what happened with the other shoulder?"
Zaviroa was a bit hesitant with the answer, not willing to tell her about last night, and then finally didn't give anything at all. "I'll tell you later," he said. Evika didn't press him any farther. So she proposed that the two of them go take a walk in the forest while foraging for their breakfast, which he accepted right away…after washing in the stream, changing into lighter clothes, switching bandages…
While waiting for her picky (and right now, slow) gathering partner, Evika decided to try some target practice; something she'd not done in quite a while. Gathering skinny twigs the length of her usual arrows, one by one she let them into the air in quick succession. With a last second thought, she shot the last one under her arm, behind her into the shadows of the woods. She was scared out of her wits when a sharp cry came from the place she just struck at. Turning around, it was hard to suppress a slight giggle when she saw Zaviroa bent over with pain; a long twig between his legs. "L-let us get going," he choked, wincing a bit.
---
"Isn't the harvest rather thick for this time of the year?"
"Have you been stuck in the palace all the time? How could you not know that?"
"Well, yes I've been stuck inside the palace all this time. How could you not know that?" Evika was getting very irritated with the know-it-all in armor trotting beside her. Her tired arms were squealing with joy as they stepped into the glade again. Dumping the fruit and roots on the ground, she sorted out the raw edibles to eat first. Unfortunately, Zaviroa was also on one of his talkative moods, so any hope of seeking out silence in concentrating was wiped out.
Eating in silence (for Evika tossed a swelliberr in his food to shut him up for a while), Evika asked the questions while Zaviroa wrote out answers in the dust.
"Why were you following me?" I thought I recognized your eyes. "I know I can't change that by myself…"
"How'd you get into town anyways?" It's easy; the side wall nearest the garden has five loose blocks. A simple copy spell and I have a day off..
"But using copy spells hurt." I know, but the situation was desperate. It wasn't about you, but I needed to find a member of (pause) my group.
"What group? Zaviroa, have you gone rebel all of a sudden?" Who isn't? Just about everyone's in Libertas…"
"There's an organization named 'fish'?" Zaviroa choked; probably trying to laugh. Wrong language, Princess. It's one of those Earth languages; Lapin or something like that, meaning 'freedom'. Ooh, don't make me write anymore, my hand hurts.
"Alright, but after twenty minutes we're having a little chat, do you hear?" Who's disrespecting who…?
"Sorry for disrespecting, um, your status, sir. Please forgive my insolence," she said almost lazily, "Ooh! Almost got it right."
Zaviroa silently finished his meal.
---
"So what do you want to do?"
"Well, I don't know. Can you make my tea?"
"What's in it, if it'll only make you stop talking so much?"
"Uh, basil, rosem, quarry grass…"
From there, it was a very simple brewing, except for one part: entertained by nothing but endless talk while sorting out the ingredients, Evika finally lost her temper. "Gee, can't you talk about something useful?!?"
"What's more useful than how to make arrows?"
"How about something I don't already know?!"
"Uh, what about Libertas?"
"That'll do."
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Vocabulary:
-Quar'z (Para. 1): The metal that Aikka's headdress is made of; very rare and magical
-Nauraya (Para. 1): What I call G'dar's kind
-Starset (Para. 5): Sunset
-Swelliberr (Para. 18): Fleshy berry that, when eaten, makes vocal cords stiffen, cutting off speech for up to half an hour.