Whisper to the Wind

(8) Droplet

Droplet

Whisper hadn't spoken much. Then again, Droplet herself hadn't really said much. Her roomate hadn't really moved much, either. After she had returned from Master V'yn's office, getting her schedule, she had laid herself on the bed, her back turned to Droplet, and just laid there. Droplet could tell, though, from her breathing patterns that she wasn't sleeping. Finally, at sunset, Droplet became restless and began moving about the room. She had glanced out of their one small window and saw that the sun was beginning to set, painting a beautiful orange and red shade on everything.

"Uhm," Droplet said quietly, clearning her throat. Whisper didn't make any movement to acknowledge her sound. "I'm thinking of going for a walk... would you care to join me?" She asked politely. At first, Whisper's lack of answer made her think the girl didn't want to, but to Droplet's surprise, she sat up ont he bed and looked at Droplet. 

"Sure," she said after a few seconds. It was quite a surprise to Droplet that the girl had wanted to do anything because she had seemed fairly commatose since entering the room. 

The two girls got their boots on in silence and stepped out of the door. There wasn't anybody in the hallways of the dormitories. Most of them, Droplet assumed, were outside or heading to the dinning hall for dinner. It was geting close to that time, anyway. 

Outside, the Light Gardens were slowly starting to light up. The globes of light that the Fire students had placed in the plants and nestled in the warm limestone pathways were beginning to come to life. The Garden's were absolutely beautiful at night. Droplet, having lived by the ocean in a very poor village, had never seen anything so beautiful and captivating. 

"So, Droplet, right?" Whisper's sudden voice startled Droplet and she glanced nervously over at the girl. She had her eyes down at the ground and was watching the white limestone pass under her feet. Droplet hesisated slightly in her answer. 

"Uhm, yes," she replied quietly. Whisper nodded and kicked at a small limestone rock as she stepped along. 

"Where are you from?" Droplet wasn't used to people starting conversation with her. Or trying to, at least. She was a very shy, mousey girl and hardly ever spoke to anyone. 

"Dinhoff," she replied silently, "It's a small fishing village on the eastern coast." Whisper seated herself one of the stone benches placed randomly throughout the Gardens. Her eyes stared out thoughtfully at the lights. 

"I've never seen the ocean," Whisper stated distantly. A sad look grew in her eyes. Droplet awkwardly sat down beside Whisper, her hands picking at each other. It was a nervous habit of hers. "Is it beautiful?" 

Droplet nodded sadly. There was a small area she had found as a young girl. A quiet area with one large rock that crawled up onto the beach. When she was young, she had climbed up on top of this rock that stretched out to the sea. She found herself going back to that rock almost all the time after that. She would take her books out there, her scrolls, sometimes she would even bring parchment and pencil and sketch. Other times, she just sat out there, thinking and day dreaming. It was her escape and her safe haven from the village. 

"It's very beautiful," Droplet replied absently. The trees and plants of the forest were foreign to her. There was a deep longing in her heart for the open space of the ocean and it's beaches. The closed area of the forest was making her feel claustrophobic. 

Sadly, she looked down at her hands. "It's the most beautiful at dusk or dawn. If you get up early enough in the mornings, there is still a light mist settling over the beach and at sunset, the water and everything around it is a beautiful golden color as the sun slowly sinks behind the ocean." From the side of her vision, Droplet could see Whisper nod and lower her eyes.