Spontanéité

Miner's daughter // short story

Hey, guys, this is set in part of the Avu-Escatin world, which is where Figurehead and Healing Mars are set. This story explores a bit of one of the minor characters'- in Figurehead- backstory. (Written Nov 2017 before the character was introduced in Figurehead) For anyone who has read either published story, this takes place in the mines, in the mountains, south of Derinstu. For those of you who have no idea what I'm on about, don't worry. It's a short story by itself, completely separate to the other two pieces. The only thing that would help is with Figurehead, it would give a teeny bit of help with context. The map is up there for you but it's pretty rough (and I made it this year- 2018). I hope you like this anyways. :)
***

There aren't many people still lurking around here now. It is almost high night, after all. But I'm here, and Tek is here, quiet for once on my shoulder. Lantern flies flutter and drift and rest on and within the walls of the wide tunnels I walk. They keep the shadows dancing with their flickering lights and interrupt the silence with the soft flapping of wings audible only because of my solitude.

The stone walls are rough to touch, the ground solid and gently sloping beneath my fur-trimmed boots, which move in almost-silence. Tek must be asleep if he's managed to stay so quiet this long. I turn the corner to face the huge, open doorway to the Hall where rows and rows of huge, towering stone columns hold the cavernous space up and keep the ceiling from falling in pieces over us.

I love coming here every day, even on days when my ama says I should stay home, shut up and fix my clothes, tidy up after myself- and Tek, and Kum- and stop wasting clay making figurines nobody wants to trade for. Those days, I wait until she has no choice but to head for the farms while my afa goes deeper into the tunnels with Sav, his signal-bird. Or I wait until they're asleep, like they are now.

There are always some people here, always. Half of them are too busy drinking to notice me, others caught in brawls from which guards must rescue them- getting punched in the process, if not worse sometimes- and others asleep, oblivious to the ruckus always going on. Those ones, for some reason or other, stay because they have no home to go to, even if they have been designated dwellings.

I suspect my ama is well aware of my frequent visits here when she most wishes I'd stay home. But for whatever reason- probably because of my afa- she doesn't say anything, just continues the same way as ever.

In the vast expanse surrounded by stone, lit by firefly starlight and lined with columns casting long, ominous shadows, there are several fire pits constantly burning. There are long, stretching, creaking wooden benches lined with seats often upturned at night. There are always guards, here and there, conversing or stoic or sleepy.

When this place is filled, it is so easy to get lost in the mass, the scents and sounds, which echo in the enclosed space.

Tonight I head for one of the benches nearest the main entrance- the one I just passed through- and sit, resting my forearms on the cold surface. I scoop Tek from the crook of my neck and within my pale hair to hold the sleeping bird in my hand. His feathers are vivid yellow, as bright as the gold the miners occasionally find and celebrate over. I smile as the bird twitches his feathers, stirring in his sleep.

In the distant background, I can hear the stern voice of a guard and the slurred insults and shouts of two men. On one of the other benches I can see, in my periphery, a guard sleeping while another sits opposite, watching.

"No figurines for me tonight?" someone asks quietly, slipping into the seat beside me.

I grin, pulling one out from my jacket pocket to place in his waiting hands. He brings it up to his tanned face, fixing his dark eyes on it. His vision is worsening now. I try not to think about it. At least he can still recognise me- but it's not difficult when the Hall is almost empty and there is only one girl there. Still, sometimes it's hard to think he may one day lose his sight altogether. What will happen then?