Sky Full of Stars

Chapter 9: First Journey

    We had three horses between the six of us, and based solely on the size of each person, the sizes of the horses, and how much equipment we have, we paired up accordingly. The twins road together on the smallest horse, which they split the cost of. Emdrom and Cylqis took the largest horse, the one Cylqis actually bought. I mounted Penny, and Miznia climbs on behind me. Despite how calm the others are with riding together, Miznia makes it a point to keep as much space between our bodies as possible. Rather than holding on to my waist, like Emdrom and Alben hold on to Cylqis and Ulneak, she gripped the saddle and shifted back as far as she could without sliding off the horse. She was practically sitting on top of our packs, which I was quite sure would be more comfortable, if less safe, than how she was actually sitting.

    I didn't comment on her strange lack of physical touch, but I couldn't help but wonder about why she refused to touch me. It didn't exactly bother me, but I was still confused about it.

    "Emdrom, how long do we have before we get to Nightgate?" I asked, still not accustomed to travelling on horseback for long lengths of time with a passenger. Not that I minded Miznia riding with me, I just wanted to be sure Penny would have the stamina.

    Emdrom glanced over his shoulder at me and grinned. "Already bored of riding? Miznia givin' ya trouble?"

    I shook my head quickly, too quickly. "No no, nothing like that. I just want to make sure I'll be able to rest Penny when she needs it. She's never travelled a long distance with more than just me" I explained rapidly. Too fast, again.

    Emdrom raised a brow, and I could feel even Miznia growing suspicious. I smiled lightly. "So, how long...?"

    This time, Cylqis spoke up. "Four days. We'll stop for meal breaks, of course, and to sleep. If the horses get tired, we can always walk a bit, but it's a relatively straightforward path. The horses will be fine, even your Penny." Their voice was kind enough, despite our earlier encounter in the tavern, but I suspected even they thought something was up.

    Is something up? I wondered. Do I have an issue being so close to Miznia? I shouldn't, we are fine now, now that I know why she does what she does. What is wrong with me...?

    I found myself once again thinking back to my life on the farm...

~

    "Y'know, one day you're going to have to settle down, my Great Wolf" Mother said, chuckling softly as I rejected yet another suitor Father so lovingly presented to me. The poor boy sulked away, his head hung low. An aasimar, just like my own family. Father had made quite the effort to find him, in the hopes that maybe he could sway me towards marriage now that I've turned 23.

    Alas, I couldn't simply settle down with someone I didn't know, and Mother knew this all to well.

    "I know that, Mother, but that day is not today. I still want to see the world, and I want to choose my own partner myself. I'll settle down when I find 'The One', y'know?"

    Mother looked lovingly towards Father, who was escorting the young man out of the house and off the property. "Trust me, darling, I know" she said, just loud enough for my ears.

    I smiled softly. "Thinking about when you and Father met for the first time?"

    She chuckled softly. "Oh yes indeed. Have I told you that story?"

    I knew the story far too well, but I always loved hearing her tell stories. "I think once or twice, but will you tell it again?"

    She smiled dreamily, looking at some far off memory. "Ah, your father was a special man. When I first met him, I knew immediately that that would be the man I married. Of course, men are sometimes much slower to realize that fact, so I couldn't just tell him that then and there. But that's a story for another time"

    I smiled, listening to her rambling. Mother always went off on tangents like this. Starting a story and randomly trailing into something totally off-topic was her special talent.

    "It was raining when we met for the first time. We were both getting ready to board Gulgram's ship, him for the umpteenth time, and me for the first time. Gulgram and your father were such good friends, so they usually travelled and worked together. Gulgram was actually the one who introduced us, though I'd seen him from afar. Handsome like you wouldn't believe, having already tossed his shirt aside because the rain soaked it. He certainly was a looker. Still is, but that's what drew my attention first"

    I rolled my eyes at this part every time, and this time is no exception. Mother laughed at the reaction, swatting my arm playfully. "Of course, my crush lasted as long as it took me to beat your father in a fight and steal a kiss from Gulgram. But I digress. Our first meeting wasn't exactly special, at least in his mind. And if I'm honest, it wasn't all that interesting for me the first time either. I just knew that he would be my husband. And boy did I get lucky. I got him, and then we had you and your siblings. Life couldn't get any better than this"

~

    The memory faded with a twinge of pain that caused me to flinch back from my own mind. Why did that memory crop up just now? I didn't understand it, but my physical reaction seemed to have startled Miznia, as she wrapped her arms around my waist gently, almost like she was trying to... Comfort me.

    When she started to pull away, I found my hand moving to grip hers gently, against my will. Before it was able to complete the process though, I forced it back to the reigns and Miznia's arms slipped away from my waist.

    We rode in a slightly awkward silence for the next several hours, with Miznia only touching me at all when she needed help to keep her balance. The road was relatively smooth, but finally, as the sun was beginning to set, we stopped for the night. We'd opted to skip lunch in an effort to cover more ground, and it shaved a bit of time off our journey, but not as much as Cylqis would clearly have liked.

    I dismounted Penny close to our campsite and looped her reigns on the nearest tree with the lowest hanging branch. A small patch of grass was close enough that she's able to graze, but I made sure to give her some hay, oats, and a couple apples as a treat.

    I removed both my pack and Miznia's and set them against the same tree, grabbing both sets of night gear to set up camp. The twins set out to gather firewood while Emdrom, Cylqis, and myself set up the tents. Miznia had vanished to hunt some rabbits, apparently a common pest in this part of the world.

    The clouds that had been just hanging out in the sky for most of the day had started to move in to cover the rapidly setting sun, making it darker than it normally would be. Before long, however, we had the tents up, the fire going, and Miznia had managed to hunt down three relatively fat rabbits.

    Finally, we settled in for the night, sharing two-person tents in the same set up as our travel set up. The twins together, Cylqis and Emdrom, me and Miznia. We talked things over, and decided the twins would take first watch, Cylqis would take second watch, Emdrom would take third watch, and I'd take fourth watch, all about an hour a piece. Miznia would take the final watch, a four hour shift, since she only needs to meditate for four hours to feel fully rested.

    The night was incredibly quiet by the time my watch comes around. The late hour made me feel drained, but I forced my eyes to stay open. I entertained myself by drawing the stars in my journal once more, now from a new area in the world. I smiled up at the sky, glanced around quickly, then sighed softly.

    "I wish you were here, Mother. I wish you could show me what to do here... I don't know what's going on anymore, or who I am... Maybe I should've taken that last suitor offer from Father... He'd be much happier right now if he knew I was safe... What do I do?"

    I knew not to expect an answer. I'd been asking the same questions for three years, and I'd never received an answer. When I turned my eyes to the moon, something... strange drew my attention. The moon, which should only be half-full at best right now, was suddenly full and pulsing with white light.

    I jumped to my feet, ready to alert my companions, but a strange sense of calm washed over me. Rather than waking them and alerting them to the strange phenomenon, I walked a bit away from the camp, still within sight and shouting distance, and stared up at the moon.

    "Kareem...? Are you there?" I whispered softly.

    Surely you would think to ask that question much sooner, my child.

    I spun around, my mouth falling open as I spotted the massive white wolf standing easily at shoulder height for me, and recognized her as the light goddess herself, my patron.