Khazrak's Aftermath

Mina sat next to her altar to Wiccana, the chill northern rain dripping from the leaves of the tree waving above. The clothing Eydis had loaned her felt strange after so long in robes of one kind or another, but her's had been destroyed in the encounter with Khazrak. She pulled the blanket Vincent had carried her home in tighter around her shoulders. Although Fennic had healed her wounds, the damage caused by the Darfari would remain for some time, even though she herself made efforts to fight against it.

She snaked a hand out to lay it on the altar, but was greeted once again by silence. More accurately, was greeted by silence from Wiccana. The voices of the earth and elements were painfully loud. So loud, she feared she would be lost to madness.. again. After the Library was destroyed, and the subsequent explosion, her link to Wiccana had become weak, but now it was gone, and the voice of the land had replaced it in a roar.

She looked up to the strange sapling she had been called to before the volcano had destroyed everything. It was one of the few things she had taken with her during the evacuation, and it hummed with some unknown power.. sleeping, waiting, but she wasn't sure what for. All she knew was that every one of her Druidic instincts was telling her to care for it, tend it, nurture it. And so she did.

Her thoughts wandered again. They had been erratic since she had been kidnapped, which wasn't all that surprising. She shivered, but not from the cold, and tucked herself back in the blanket, ignoring the damp and seeking the comfort. Thanks to Fennic and his clanmates, Khazrak no longer haunted her nightmares every night. Just every second, she thought to herself with dark sarcasm. Maybe a day would come when the approach of a strange man wouldn't cause her heart to want to explode in fear, but for now.. for now she would have to fight that fear.

Her 'family', of course, was doing it's best to help her in their own ways. Some knew the full extent of what happened.. and some did not. She treasured the innocence and kindness of Syvea and Julius as a balm against the memories. Eydis was, as always, by her side when she needed it most, and even Vincent was doing everything he could. Samyn was doing what she did, in her own Nordic way, and Aurelia was a bit over protective, but a guardian she had never expected.

The unexpected aid was from Fennic, who had healed her the day after her rescue, brought her the head of Khazrak as a gift, and offered her .. hope. He had wandered in, with humour, kindness, and a tendency to curse out his Gods when healing that had been a bit surprising and amusing, now he had become far more than just her healer, though she wasn't completely sure just what. Her emotions tangled in a confusing bundle, one that she picked at frequently, but she still didn't understand. All she knew was that he had become just as important as the rest of her 'family'.

She sighed and pulled herself to her feet, turning towards her house. Sitting in the dark near the altar was pointless.. and no doubt someone would find her and lecture her for sitting in the rain in the dark, even though such things never bothered her, and were, in some ways, a comfort. She lifted the blanket a bit and padded back home, barefeet near silent in the night. Tomorrow there was some kind of hunt in the jungle for relics and she had decided to go. Life would keep moving on, and so should she, and that meant she did need some sleep. That night, she would dream of tree's calling her name.