Elemental Witch: Child of the Earth (Part I)

Wonderfully Terrible

Verana opened her eyes, blinking a couple times as she stared at the white ceiling above her, shifting on something that was far too comfortable to be the ground. It took a couple breaths, but she sensed the absence of the earth, it calling out at a distance that didn't quite reach her. It was disorientating to wake so far away from the thing that usually cradled her in her sleep. As her senses returned to her, she realized she was in a room somewhere within the Human's Keep. 

She could smell the breeze, hear the river rushing far below her and rolling to her side, she looked out what could only be a window.  she watched as the sky darkened slowly. It had just turned to night and she was ravenous. Her body still dragged with exhaustion but she needed food quickly.

After a few moment's pause, she shifted herself to climb out of whatever she had been laying on, looking down at the simple white shirt she was wearing. It was made of cotton and hung to her knees, billowing around her legs as she moved.

 Following her nose, she found another room, containing a large basin that began filling with water when she played with the dials. One dial started the water hot, the other one started it cold and a small piece fit over the hole in the bottom to allow the large cauldron like thing to begin filling. 

 As she waited for the water to be deep enough for her to at least splash herself clean, she explored the rest of the room, finding a smaller version of the water basin and bottles of liquids that smelled strongly of perfume and  vaguely of soap. Picking the least offensive smelling one, she pulled her shirt off and climbed into the water, washing the grime and sweat off of her. When she was clean, she then scrubbed the scent of the soap away from her skin as much as possible. It was strong enough that it made her head throb slightly, threatening to overwhelm her sense of smell.

Straining her ears for any sound of movement,  Verana could only hear the daily bustle deeper within the Keep. She recognized its sounds from her previous visit, slowly figuring out approximately where she was based on what she was hearing. 

Verana paced back into the other room, allowing the cool evening breeze to dry her skin as she searched for her clothing. Passing by a large mirror she saw a flutter of colour on her back, jerking her to a stop to search for the mirage of wings she could have sworn she had just seen.

"Every night you dream of flying... and now you think you have wings?" Verana shook her head, looking at her reflection with bemusement. She ran her fingers through her damp hair and sighed. "You're losing it. You're not a dragon, even Sencha says you weren't actually born out of an egg."

With a sigh, she pulled herself away from the mirror and turned back to the room, smiling as she saw her clothing folded neatly on a table, her swords resting easily beside the pile. Someone had replaced the old, worn boots from Greylin with a newer but identically made pair. She picked them up and inspected them curiously, flexing them in her hands and sniffing at them delicately.

After a thorough inspection, Verana quickly got dressed before pulling the boots on her feet with a slight grimace, telling herself that there was no Earth for her to feel at the moment anyways. The leather was firm but had enough give that her feet did not feel as restricted as she assumed they would. She made her way into the smaller room, which held only a table and chairs and another window. This one was closed, leaving the room feeling stuffy and unnervingly warm.

It was then that she heard the movement down the hallway, listening to the quiet conversation between two people. They were speaking of councils and meetings, of fears that certain people would not be as accepting of the Feysha as they approached her door. She remained standing in the middle of the room as the portal opened to admit Shelby, followed by Lady Reyani. The other woman was wearing pants, which brought a smile to her face for an inexplicable reason.