Eclipse - Act 1 - The Healing

Chapter 8 - Oncoming Storm

Eryka

A few days before her arrival at Beacon Academy...

The small merchant town of Omirato was nestled snugly in the folds of Mistral's mountainous landscape. The sun never baked the red clay shingles for long, before disappearing behind the humongous hills surrounding the village.

Streams of cool clear water ran down the evergreen landscape, and straight through the middle of town; vivid gold Coy fish travelling down the length of the town square. Bright pink lotus flowers bobbed on the surface with every wind pushed ripple.

Rich brown wooden bridges arched over the river, the handrails decorated with twisting green vines, their bright lilac buds falling gracefully to the water below.

People were busy – happily so. Stalls and merchants litter the town cobble town centre, many set up by the stream's edge. Large buckets filled with crisp water sat by the stalls, colourful Coy swimming around within.

The smell of freshly baked dough travelled down the length of the town, the valley acting as a wind tunnel. Other vendors added their own smells to the air; sizzling sausages, vegetable stir fries, a lengthy list of delicious smells drew Eryka deeper into the town.

She followed the gravel paths through the dead Kuroyuri and Oniyuri, and out the other side she soon came upon the small village of Omirato. She'd be lying if she said her stomach hadn't lured her here.

Her huge Eagle sat stoically on her padded shoulder, fluffing his feathers up and preening at them. Her hand came up to his belly, scratching it softly as her index finger slid up his preening beak smoothly.

"Hungry, bub?" She asked, eyes fixated on the town centre. She licked her lips and pressed her hand to her stomach, trying to stifle it's growling. With a sigh she sauntered forward into the crowds. She strut her way between people, on a mission for food. Either she was ignorant to the fowl stares, or didn't care. People's noses scrunched as she passed them, for she did not smell appealing.

She was young, fit, and attractive – the Vasillias genes being very generous to her and her brother. But living in the mountains, surrounded by eagles and their filth, skinning animals and staying in her own sweat, left a scent that contradicted her beauty.

"Soap! Get your soap!" A trader hollered. "Seriously! Soap for sale! L-Like... for half price, wow what a saving! Please, miss... take the soap."

Eryka frowned, paused her stride and turned to the man leaning over his stall. The outstretched bar of blueish soap. She bit her growl back and blew out a breath.

"Thank you, Shonin." She bowed her head. "Your generosity is appreciated... " She smiled brightly, accepting the bar.

"That'll be fifty lien." He nodded, hand outstretched. Eryka baulked.

"I see... th-that's half price huh?" He nodded. "For this? This thingy in my hand?" She gestured to the soap. He nodded again. "Nah, keep it. That's food money." She dropped the soap into his hand.

"Hey! Believe me, you need this! So just accept the generous discount and clean yourse-"

"Perhaps you'd rather I shove that soap in your mouth and shake you like a maraca! That should wash your filthy mouth out, huh?!" The muscular woman towered over him, teeth gritted and eyes flaring. He soon shrunk down behind his stall. "Honestly. Speak to your momma with that mouth?"

She rolled her eyes and turned away, not before Dulcis could squawk loudly at the trader. Eryka manoeuvred past a few people with a huff. "Besides... I shouldn't be allowed soap. Why'd they make it look like fudge?! Easy mistake to make right?"