Post by Alsivor on Jul 31, 2008 13:57:31 GMT -8
(Turn 94)
Midsummer. The Caminar were assembled for the turn's Gather in that no-man's land between Telgar and Igen again, hot wind blowing up from the south and carrying with it the faint scent of the sea as it made bright banners flutter and snapped the canvas of the tents. The sun baked the earth along the bank of the creek enough that the heat transferred into the soles of Silvio's feet. His toes curled a little into the dry dirt, enjoying the near-burning feeling that the cracked dirt conveyed. He was walking away from the camp, driven by the restless need to be walking. They'd been planted already for several days and his feet itched to be moving again. Aleda had laughed at him and tousled his hair. "Go for a walk, m'irmao she'd told him. "I'll go with you part of the way."
Gathering. Aleda was always gathering something these days. Silvio could swear she spent more time out of the camp gathering barks and roots and leaves and live plants than she did just about anything else. He knew she was busy with her apprenticeship, but a twinge of jealous hurt lurked in his heart. They did not see her for most of the turn, the least she could do at Gather was spend time with them. With him. They'd been so close as children, close in age, close in temperament though sometimes Silvio was not even so daring as his sister. She'd been the leader in their games, climbing trees, filching berries from plantado bushes, pretending to be brigands or seafarers from the oldest of the tales the aunties and uncles told around the fire late at night. He missed her and he wished she'd taken him with her into the woods. He could pick if she showed him what the right things were!
Silvio's head turned towards the shoulders of the nearby hills, thickly wooded and spilling dense underbrush almost all the way down to the creek. They'd crossed the bed on a board someone had put across so the encampment could reach the smelly trench dug for a necessary. They'd turned away from that though, to lounge along the line of brush and there Aleda had kissed his cheek, waved and slipped off to make her way up the hill. There in the woods she would find all the things she needed and Silvio had continued along the bank of the creek thinking of fishing and how low the creek was. They wouldn't be sitting on the bank dabbling their feet in it this turn. He sighed and bent to pick up a rock before he stepped on it, lobbed it into the water and watched the ripples spread across the brown surface. Nothing was quite the same without Aleda. And maybe soon she'd be married even and then she'd really really be gone.
Determination seized Silvio and he turned his steps towards the brush line, moving through the increasing undergrowth with care. A misstep put his foot down on a prickly plant and he stopped long enough to swing his strung up boots down off his shoulder, undid the knots and slipped his feet into them. Laced up, he continued on in the direction he thought best to intercept his sister. Silvio tried his best to find the little tracks the animals made through the undergrowth and the trees as they began to replace low shrubs and brambles, but it was hard going. He continued on for some time, working his way up the increasing slope of the hill without catching sight of his sister. Then suddenly a flash of red through the boles of two trees caught his attention and he moved at a diagonal past a fallen log, mossy lichen clingy to its sides.
The sound of Aleda singing reached his ears, a common bridal song of his people. Only in her mouth, it was a sensual thing, the implications of some of the words emphasized, made more the focus than the usual sweet interpretation. A smile curved along Silvio's face and he moved forward to catch up with her, only to be daunted by brambles lying thickly across the path again. He had to skirt around them and under some more fallen branches before he could pick up his sister's trail again and then it was more by the distant sound of her voice, echoing oddly under the canopy of the trees than by sight. Little furrows, dips and folds wrinkled the upward slope of the hill making the climb more arduous as it neared a peak. Tumbled stone broke through the ground, interrupting the flow of the trees, creeping growths clinging to cracked gray sides. Silvio put out a hand to balance himself on the smooth edge of one, felt warmth creep into his palm just as it had into the soles of his feet down by the creek. He regretted suddenly that he hadn't thought to bring a skin of water with him and wet dry lips with a swipe of his tongue before he moved on.
There. Aleda wasn't singing anymore. She was climbing the rocks which from this angle almost looked like a dragon with wings half-raised. Up and up she went then dropped down out of sight somewhere behind one of the wings. Frowning a little, Silvio wondered what she was looking for on bare rock. Rather than following her path he skirted around the boulders a little, tired out already from the climb up the hill. How did Aleda know her way through so well? She'd moved so smoothly through the trees. He hiked up over a low shoulder of stone and dropped down onto needle bestrewn dirt, ducked around a tree trunk and came to a sudden halt. Low laughter echoed a little from nearby then went quiet. A narrow defile opened up in the rock and he inched his way inward, following that sound, came to a stop again as he caught sight of his sister again. She wasn't alone.
It wasn't so much Aleda's bare skin that caught his attention as the pool of red fabric on the ground. Her skirts, puddled and mingled with less colorful garb, much patched. Their clothes twined not too differently from the way they did. His hair was blond. That much Silvio did notice and there were so few blond Caminar, he knew who that was almost right away and his brows knitted tightly together. Silvio felt even more out of breath than before and his heart hammered in his chest, beating out a complicated tempo of mixed emotions. he felt resentment and anger that /this/ is what Aleda kept abandoning him for. A rafeiro lover. He felt fear over her being discovered by someone, anyone, other than him, and their father finding out. He would beat her and beat her if Favio knew. Sympathy bled into the mix and more envy. He envied her the daring that let her boldly navigate these waters while he held back. Well. Maybe he /wouldn't/ hold back any longer. There'd been that pretty girl with the braids last night at the dancing. Maybe she'd want to explore a little with him.
Silvio took a deep breath and let it out slowly, pushed away from the boulder and walked out the way he came. He didn't look back. And when a soft, muffled cry made its way to his ears before he made his way out of the defile, he pretended that he didn't hear it. Then he half-ran all the way back down to the camp to get his younger brother and go fishing, putting any thoughts of his sister's red gown tangled up in patched brown trousers out of his mind.
Midsummer. The Caminar were assembled for the turn's Gather in that no-man's land between Telgar and Igen again, hot wind blowing up from the south and carrying with it the faint scent of the sea as it made bright banners flutter and snapped the canvas of the tents. The sun baked the earth along the bank of the creek enough that the heat transferred into the soles of Silvio's feet. His toes curled a little into the dry dirt, enjoying the near-burning feeling that the cracked dirt conveyed. He was walking away from the camp, driven by the restless need to be walking. They'd been planted already for several days and his feet itched to be moving again. Aleda had laughed at him and tousled his hair. "Go for a walk, m'irmao she'd told him. "I'll go with you part of the way."
Gathering. Aleda was always gathering something these days. Silvio could swear she spent more time out of the camp gathering barks and roots and leaves and live plants than she did just about anything else. He knew she was busy with her apprenticeship, but a twinge of jealous hurt lurked in his heart. They did not see her for most of the turn, the least she could do at Gather was spend time with them. With him. They'd been so close as children, close in age, close in temperament though sometimes Silvio was not even so daring as his sister. She'd been the leader in their games, climbing trees, filching berries from plantado bushes, pretending to be brigands or seafarers from the oldest of the tales the aunties and uncles told around the fire late at night. He missed her and he wished she'd taken him with her into the woods. He could pick if she showed him what the right things were!
Silvio's head turned towards the shoulders of the nearby hills, thickly wooded and spilling dense underbrush almost all the way down to the creek. They'd crossed the bed on a board someone had put across so the encampment could reach the smelly trench dug for a necessary. They'd turned away from that though, to lounge along the line of brush and there Aleda had kissed his cheek, waved and slipped off to make her way up the hill. There in the woods she would find all the things she needed and Silvio had continued along the bank of the creek thinking of fishing and how low the creek was. They wouldn't be sitting on the bank dabbling their feet in it this turn. He sighed and bent to pick up a rock before he stepped on it, lobbed it into the water and watched the ripples spread across the brown surface. Nothing was quite the same without Aleda. And maybe soon she'd be married even and then she'd really really be gone.
Determination seized Silvio and he turned his steps towards the brush line, moving through the increasing undergrowth with care. A misstep put his foot down on a prickly plant and he stopped long enough to swing his strung up boots down off his shoulder, undid the knots and slipped his feet into them. Laced up, he continued on in the direction he thought best to intercept his sister. Silvio tried his best to find the little tracks the animals made through the undergrowth and the trees as they began to replace low shrubs and brambles, but it was hard going. He continued on for some time, working his way up the increasing slope of the hill without catching sight of his sister. Then suddenly a flash of red through the boles of two trees caught his attention and he moved at a diagonal past a fallen log, mossy lichen clingy to its sides.
The sound of Aleda singing reached his ears, a common bridal song of his people. Only in her mouth, it was a sensual thing, the implications of some of the words emphasized, made more the focus than the usual sweet interpretation. A smile curved along Silvio's face and he moved forward to catch up with her, only to be daunted by brambles lying thickly across the path again. He had to skirt around them and under some more fallen branches before he could pick up his sister's trail again and then it was more by the distant sound of her voice, echoing oddly under the canopy of the trees than by sight. Little furrows, dips and folds wrinkled the upward slope of the hill making the climb more arduous as it neared a peak. Tumbled stone broke through the ground, interrupting the flow of the trees, creeping growths clinging to cracked gray sides. Silvio put out a hand to balance himself on the smooth edge of one, felt warmth creep into his palm just as it had into the soles of his feet down by the creek. He regretted suddenly that he hadn't thought to bring a skin of water with him and wet dry lips with a swipe of his tongue before he moved on.
There. Aleda wasn't singing anymore. She was climbing the rocks which from this angle almost looked like a dragon with wings half-raised. Up and up she went then dropped down out of sight somewhere behind one of the wings. Frowning a little, Silvio wondered what she was looking for on bare rock. Rather than following her path he skirted around the boulders a little, tired out already from the climb up the hill. How did Aleda know her way through so well? She'd moved so smoothly through the trees. He hiked up over a low shoulder of stone and dropped down onto needle bestrewn dirt, ducked around a tree trunk and came to a sudden halt. Low laughter echoed a little from nearby then went quiet. A narrow defile opened up in the rock and he inched his way inward, following that sound, came to a stop again as he caught sight of his sister again. She wasn't alone.
It wasn't so much Aleda's bare skin that caught his attention as the pool of red fabric on the ground. Her skirts, puddled and mingled with less colorful garb, much patched. Their clothes twined not too differently from the way they did. His hair was blond. That much Silvio did notice and there were so few blond Caminar, he knew who that was almost right away and his brows knitted tightly together. Silvio felt even more out of breath than before and his heart hammered in his chest, beating out a complicated tempo of mixed emotions. he felt resentment and anger that /this/ is what Aleda kept abandoning him for. A rafeiro lover. He felt fear over her being discovered by someone, anyone, other than him, and their father finding out. He would beat her and beat her if Favio knew. Sympathy bled into the mix and more envy. He envied her the daring that let her boldly navigate these waters while he held back. Well. Maybe he /wouldn't/ hold back any longer. There'd been that pretty girl with the braids last night at the dancing. Maybe she'd want to explore a little with him.
Silvio took a deep breath and let it out slowly, pushed away from the boulder and walked out the way he came. He didn't look back. And when a soft, muffled cry made its way to his ears before he made his way out of the defile, he pretended that he didn't hear it. Then he half-ran all the way back down to the camp to get his younger brother and go fishing, putting any thoughts of his sister's red gown tangled up in patched brown trousers out of his mind.
