04-04-2018, 03:13 PM
Velameestra sighed as she finished unwrapping the soft strips of fabric that were coiled around her chest, her feet positioned on the edge of the stone stairs that led into the square pool that dominated the side of the small room.
The quarters that Jaina had been kind enough to provide the young elf when she started tutoring the queen’s son had always served her well. They were not overly grandiose--offering what she needed with few extras--but they were still far from cramped. The fact there was a small, private bath had simply been a bonus given that once Velameestra retired for the evening there was no need for her to leave again.
As she preferred it.
The mage stepped into the warm water, quickly submerging her body beneath it as she leaned her head on the edge of the pool. Faint wisps of steam trailed off her skin where it met the liquid, and any droplets that had splashed onto her shoulders promptly frosted over, though she paid the phenomena little attention.
She lifted her hand to conjure the illusions she normally used to exercise the more active regions of her mind, but she froze before the motions could be made.
Right.
Her hand fell back into the water with a soft splash, and she loosed another frustrated sigh as she sank deeper into the water. For a moment she did nothing, simply floating with her gaze fixed blankly on the ceiling overhead.
Usually, she enjoyed the silence that came with the privacy of the room. There was typically little noise aside from soft splashing, or the periodic hiss of Arkha’din as the mana wyrm slithered through the liquid in pursuit of any fragments of mana he could persuade his mistress to spare.
But currently, Arkha’din wasn’t present. The creature was nestled away in the strange demi-plane that a wizard’s familiar could freely occupy, and the woman found herself unwilling to deal with his antics after the excess interaction that had occupied the majority of the day.
Rhonin’s getting involved.
One of the most recent conversations Velameestra had had that evening loomed in the back of her thoughts, her mind presently unoccupied by the distractions she normally utilized.
I made a mistake. He’s getting involved.
I shouldn’t have told him. What did I accomplish by telling him?
What did I want?
Her thoughts churned, firing questions and rebuttals to herself as she replayed the other mage’s response to her involvement in Durnholde. She had expected anger. Disappointment. Perhaps those were the responses she had wanted, in some sense. They were certainly the ones she had prepared for.
But instead there had only been concern. An acknowledgement of a mistake made, yes, but concern.
Reassurance.
The woman’s eyes, which had drifted shut during her ongoing banter with herself slid open again as her thoughts presented the word.
She frowned.
I’m fine.
Velameestra shifted forward, wrapping her arms around her knees as she pulled them up to her chest and secured her heels on the smooth stone platform she was sitting on. She rested her chin on her knees, just barely above the surface of the water.
I’m fine.
She repeated the thought more forcefully, though once again her mind wandered, replaying the events of the last several days, and for as much as she wished the stem them, the emotions associated with them. Fear. Sadness. Guilt. Desperation.
Riddled with the twinges of frustration at both herself and the lack of her normal routes of distractions.
Her father’s face swam in her thoughts. The loving smile he had offered even through tears. He had said she was the best daughter he could ask for.
I’m fine.
Even as she forced the thought again, ice slowly crept over another bead of water that dripped onto her knee.
The trail it left on her cheek spidered with frost, and her shoulders shook silently as she buried her face in her knees and the tears started to fall.
I’m fine.
The quarters that Jaina had been kind enough to provide the young elf when she started tutoring the queen’s son had always served her well. They were not overly grandiose--offering what she needed with few extras--but they were still far from cramped. The fact there was a small, private bath had simply been a bonus given that once Velameestra retired for the evening there was no need for her to leave again.
As she preferred it.
The mage stepped into the warm water, quickly submerging her body beneath it as she leaned her head on the edge of the pool. Faint wisps of steam trailed off her skin where it met the liquid, and any droplets that had splashed onto her shoulders promptly frosted over, though she paid the phenomena little attention.
She lifted her hand to conjure the illusions she normally used to exercise the more active regions of her mind, but she froze before the motions could be made.
Right.
Her hand fell back into the water with a soft splash, and she loosed another frustrated sigh as she sank deeper into the water. For a moment she did nothing, simply floating with her gaze fixed blankly on the ceiling overhead.
Usually, she enjoyed the silence that came with the privacy of the room. There was typically little noise aside from soft splashing, or the periodic hiss of Arkha’din as the mana wyrm slithered through the liquid in pursuit of any fragments of mana he could persuade his mistress to spare.
But currently, Arkha’din wasn’t present. The creature was nestled away in the strange demi-plane that a wizard’s familiar could freely occupy, and the woman found herself unwilling to deal with his antics after the excess interaction that had occupied the majority of the day.
Rhonin’s getting involved.
One of the most recent conversations Velameestra had had that evening loomed in the back of her thoughts, her mind presently unoccupied by the distractions she normally utilized.
I made a mistake. He’s getting involved.
I shouldn’t have told him. What did I accomplish by telling him?
What did I want?
Her thoughts churned, firing questions and rebuttals to herself as she replayed the other mage’s response to her involvement in Durnholde. She had expected anger. Disappointment. Perhaps those were the responses she had wanted, in some sense. They were certainly the ones she had prepared for.
But instead there had only been concern. An acknowledgement of a mistake made, yes, but concern.
Reassurance.
The woman’s eyes, which had drifted shut during her ongoing banter with herself slid open again as her thoughts presented the word.
She frowned.
I’m fine.
Velameestra shifted forward, wrapping her arms around her knees as she pulled them up to her chest and secured her heels on the smooth stone platform she was sitting on. She rested her chin on her knees, just barely above the surface of the water.
I’m fine.
She repeated the thought more forcefully, though once again her mind wandered, replaying the events of the last several days, and for as much as she wished the stem them, the emotions associated with them. Fear. Sadness. Guilt. Desperation.
Riddled with the twinges of frustration at both herself and the lack of her normal routes of distractions.
Her father’s face swam in her thoughts. The loving smile he had offered even through tears. He had said she was the best daughter he could ask for.
I’m fine.
Even as she forced the thought again, ice slowly crept over another bead of water that dripped onto her knee.
The trail it left on her cheek spidered with frost, and her shoulders shook silently as she buried her face in her knees and the tears started to fall.
I’m fine.