Post by row on Dec 15, 2018 12:05:28 GMT -5
It was cold. The grey sky dulled the brown rocks and dying grass. A grey river guided Aiko out of the Steam Country into the new frigid lands to the north. Green pine trees speckled the path as invaders to the cold palette bestowed onto the land. In the distance black giant triangles poked into the sky cutting away at cloud blanket above. It was there that the girl would test how far she could push her story.
As nomadic her family was, Aiko had never been in the mountain country. Books said it was one of the least populated places on this land mass which made the lands all the more alluring. Who knows how much of the land was ventured by human feet? There could be caves with ancient drawing. Maybe there was a tribe of animal people who were part bird. What if there was some hidden treasure! As an explorer it would be the perfect place to make an discover or at least create a story.
There was one problem with her big plan. It was cold. The girl had on a few things she collected over the years like leather finger-less gloves, a black wool shirt which she had since she was little, and a long red scarf, but she was ill prepared for the winter weather. So she walked next to the river with her bandaged wrapped arms folded up. Her eyes followed the march of water until it was obscured by her own breath. She was going to make it to those mountains, but there had to be a better way.
A splash of water jumped at Aiko forcing her into a crouching position to hold in the escaping heat. With a deep breath, she broke free of her position and moved into the open field. The water way was not the answer. There were no animals with fur to take advantage of. The trees offered only tiny pointy needles and the hard ruff bark. Warm clothes could not be made with bark and needles. Fire was a different story.
The girl huddled several feet away from the tallest out of 12 tree on her side of the river. The small fire from a few broken branches added orange into the brown and grey landscape. A stack of dead grass lied against the tree away form the wind. She succeeded in fighting off the cold as she rubbed her hands over the flame. Now she needed a way to move forward.
Aiko's ears picked up something in the distance. It was loud, clunky, stomping through the land with powerful feet. Something was being dragged behind it, it was big with a constant grounding sound crushing the ground with a few pops. A snap of rope created the key to identifying the presences. It was a carriage. 2 heartbeats created the image of a powerful house and adult. Her mother would call this a Tsukami's blessing.
Aiko wondered how she could use this. The plains were clear minus the stray tree making it difficult to close in without being seen. She was not train in driving a horse so hijacking the carriage was completely out. Paying the entity was out of the question when you were money-less. She could pretend to be hurt... but could she sell it? The girl followed the sound, hugging every tree she could in hopes to completely stay out of site. The girl took a deep breath and threw some dirt on her face. She made her decision.
The girl sprinted a head of the carriage's path, using the few trees as cover and making no sound. Meanwhile, she unwrapped the bandages from her left hand and wrapped them around her forehead to fake an injury. Out of sight, she entered the carriage's path and then placed her exposed hand underneath her arm. Then she waited. When the carriage was just barely visible, she started walking ahead of it, pretending to be traveling. Several minutes later a man could driving the black and brown horse. Aiko cleared her through.
"E...Excuse me... sir... I"
"Sorry, I don't do hitchhikers"
Aiko struggled not to gasped. It was very rare for her to meet someone who would not even entertain a conversation. It was almost rude. Here she is dying in the cold and this man would not dare even listen to her story. Also he assumed she was going to ask for a ride. He was right, but it was still rude and mean spirited.
"But sir..."
"Sorry, I am very busy"
Aiko sighed. It was time for plan C. "See her sneak on board"
The man did not bother looking back which made things easy for the girl. She silently ran up to his carriage and climbed between the cargo. He did not noticed as the girl used a bump to hide any shaking that would signal her presences. Overall the mission was a success. While this was no campfire, it was warmer than being outside and the girl could save her energy and rest up. Next stop, she hoped it would be somewhere more populated.
WC: 856
As nomadic her family was, Aiko had never been in the mountain country. Books said it was one of the least populated places on this land mass which made the lands all the more alluring. Who knows how much of the land was ventured by human feet? There could be caves with ancient drawing. Maybe there was a tribe of animal people who were part bird. What if there was some hidden treasure! As an explorer it would be the perfect place to make an discover or at least create a story.
There was one problem with her big plan. It was cold. The girl had on a few things she collected over the years like leather finger-less gloves, a black wool shirt which she had since she was little, and a long red scarf, but she was ill prepared for the winter weather. So she walked next to the river with her bandaged wrapped arms folded up. Her eyes followed the march of water until it was obscured by her own breath. She was going to make it to those mountains, but there had to be a better way.
A splash of water jumped at Aiko forcing her into a crouching position to hold in the escaping heat. With a deep breath, she broke free of her position and moved into the open field. The water way was not the answer. There were no animals with fur to take advantage of. The trees offered only tiny pointy needles and the hard ruff bark. Warm clothes could not be made with bark and needles. Fire was a different story.
The girl huddled several feet away from the tallest out of 12 tree on her side of the river. The small fire from a few broken branches added orange into the brown and grey landscape. A stack of dead grass lied against the tree away form the wind. She succeeded in fighting off the cold as she rubbed her hands over the flame. Now she needed a way to move forward.
Aiko's ears picked up something in the distance. It was loud, clunky, stomping through the land with powerful feet. Something was being dragged behind it, it was big with a constant grounding sound crushing the ground with a few pops. A snap of rope created the key to identifying the presences. It was a carriage. 2 heartbeats created the image of a powerful house and adult. Her mother would call this a Tsukami's blessing.
Aiko wondered how she could use this. The plains were clear minus the stray tree making it difficult to close in without being seen. She was not train in driving a horse so hijacking the carriage was completely out. Paying the entity was out of the question when you were money-less. She could pretend to be hurt... but could she sell it? The girl followed the sound, hugging every tree she could in hopes to completely stay out of site. The girl took a deep breath and threw some dirt on her face. She made her decision.
The girl sprinted a head of the carriage's path, using the few trees as cover and making no sound. Meanwhile, she unwrapped the bandages from her left hand and wrapped them around her forehead to fake an injury. Out of sight, she entered the carriage's path and then placed her exposed hand underneath her arm. Then she waited. When the carriage was just barely visible, she started walking ahead of it, pretending to be traveling. Several minutes later a man could driving the black and brown horse. Aiko cleared her through.
"E...Excuse me... sir... I"
"Sorry, I don't do hitchhikers"
Aiko struggled not to gasped. It was very rare for her to meet someone who would not even entertain a conversation. It was almost rude. Here she is dying in the cold and this man would not dare even listen to her story. Also he assumed she was going to ask for a ride. He was right, but it was still rude and mean spirited.
"But sir..."
"Sorry, I am very busy"
Aiko sighed. It was time for plan C. "See her sneak on board"
The man did not bother looking back which made things easy for the girl. She silently ran up to his carriage and climbed between the cargo. He did not noticed as the girl used a bump to hide any shaking that would signal her presences. Overall the mission was a success. While this was no campfire, it was warmer than being outside and the girl could save her energy and rest up. Next stop, she hoped it would be somewhere more populated.
WC: 856