On the Ship (Prospero, Beca)
She nodded in agreement with Prospero's sentiment.
Beca sighed with relief as the boat rounded the last bend to reveal Hallein ahead. She'd never been a big fan of traveling on water but there was really no other way to get back to her home town. There was a barge docked at the modest pier half loaded with salt from the mine that gave the small town it's main source of income. It wasn't fancy or famous, but it was home. She could feel her spirits lighten. It had been four years since she'd last been home. One hand fondly brushed the holy symbol that she wore proudly around her neck. She checked her clothing and hair and adjusted her sword belt, then she caught herself and chuckled. It would still be five minutes or more before they'd docked and her parents and siblings didn't know exactly when she'd be back home.
Home. That word warmed her and just a touch... frightened her still. She'd always wanted to return home to see her family and friends but more... the memory of her brush with Kaltia still haunted her.
She recalled how cold, colder than the winter air, that seemed to creep into ones bones as the ancient dwarven ghost had glided towards her. The eerie, soundless yet all-encompassing whisper Salt and Blood... Blood and Salt... seemed to press down her and her friends. All had been frozen by the apparition. The thought of her friends becoming victims to this horrible legend, to fall prey to the icy incorporeal claws of the hag descending on them woke Beca from her paralysis. Raising her hands...
Beca shook her head looked forward to the docks. No, Kaltia, isn't going to steal the joy of my homecoming from me, she thought fiercely, I'm no longer the little girl I once was. I am a priest of Sarenrae! The goddess protected me that day and I will protect my town! Then she spotted little Sara... well, actually not so little anymore! Four years had added inches and curves to her younger sister who she spotted on the docks waving and smiling. Now fifteen, she was just starting to become a woman, the little girl that Beca had left behind fading. Still the smile and jumping and frantic waving... Well, some things never seemed to change, she thought, smiling and waving back. She'd probably been out on the docks to see if she'd be arriving every day since she'd sent her letter. She shook her head fondly at her sister. It was good to be home.
"Prospero, It's been a pleasure to meet you and I look forward to our discussion at the inn," Beca said formally but there was an undertone of excitement in the young woman's voice as the excitement of her homecoming was clearing taking hold. She turned to wave back to her sister.
A short time later, the riverboat docked and Beca quickly disembarked. She was almost immediately engulfed by the embrace of Sara almost knocking her to the ground.
"Beca! Beca! Beca!" her sister cried out, hugging her fiercely and lifting from her the ground, "You're home! I missed you sooooooooooooo much! Jena and Lily are gonna be so jealous that I saw you first!"
Beca laughed and tried to speak while apparently being squeezed to death by her sister, "Sara, it's... good... to... see... you... too... need to breathe." Her younger sister was now as tall as her (if not taller) and much broader of shoulder. She'd put on a lot of muscle and, like Beca used to, had clearly been spending time in her fathers smithy. Sara's biceps bulged as she grasped Beca tightly. She was definitely much stronger than the ten year old she'd hugged goodbye when she left. "You, young lady, have gotten big!" she laughed and wheezed. While it was clear that the two were related, Beca took after her mother in looks and frame, while Sara took more from their father with the squarer jaw, aquiline nose, and broader shoulders. They both shared their mothers blonde locks and blue eyes. Sara had cut her hair short and there was a ruddiness to her cheeks that reminded Beca of her father's smithy.
Tears of happiness and laughter subsided a bit as Sara realized she was kind of crushing her older sister. She cocked an eyebrow and seemed to realize that she was actually taller than her. "Wow. I guess I did grow," she said letting go of Beca. She put the flat of her hand on her head and went straight over to hover over Beca's head by over two inches. She stuck her tongue out, grinned, and then hugged her sister again, though not quite as tightly. "I missed you, Beca! she cried out again, snuffling.
Beca laughed again and hugged her sister back, "I missed you too. Let's go see everyone else, eh?" She released her sister and picked up her pack that had fallen to the pier when her sister had reached her.
Sara nodded and took her sister's hand to pull her down the pier and into town. Beca smiled broadly, slinging her pack to her shoulder with her other hand. Looking around, not much had changed since she left, but the town seemed so much smaller now. She'd been to Vigil, Absalom, and Oppara on her pilgrimage to the Everlight Oasis. It'd all been amazing but she'd always missed her family and the part of herself she'd left here.
Sara kept glancing at her and Beca finally stopped, dropped her sisters hand, and asked suspiciously, "What?!?"
Sara blushed and said, "You look sooooo much like mom. Sooooo grown up. And, um, still, um, not much up here?" She grabbed her own rather generous bosom in comparison.
Beca's eyes narrowed and she blushed with embarrassment, "Shut up!" She self-consciously covered her chest with one arm and waved a finger at Sara, "I'm... I'm not done growing yet!" She'd always been a bit embarrassed by her small bust and feared they'd never get any bigger. She rolled her eyes and wondered how just five minutes with her sister had somehow reduced her back to a thirteen year old girl again! She snorted and sorted out her robes, pack, and sword belt.
Sara quickly changed the subject, her eyes looking interestingly at Beca's belt, "And you've got a sword! Can you really use that thing?!? Can you show it to me later?!?"
Sara laughed to cover her previous embarrassment and said, "Yes, I can use this thing! The Dawnflower teaches her clerics many ways to protect. And, yes, I'll show it to you later. Come on..." She retook her sisters hand and pulled her towards the smithy and the attached home that she'd grown up in.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Fri 27 Nov 2015.