The River God (Open)

[Rilanda Carlson]

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Today, Rilanda was sure, was just like any other day, but she'd woken up with a strange tingle in her toes and head and had been running around town all day like a mad woman and her poor shop had been closed most of the day as a result. She had mud on her boots and bread in her pockets and the basket on her arm was filled with produce and grains. Her hair was a mess by now, she knew, pulled back and just barely contained. The woman pulled a few strands from her face and then handed over some money to old Ms. Rozari and then went along her way, the faint jangle of sewing needles and thimbles in a tin ringing from her right pocket with her every step. She held her basket higher as some children ran by, one turning briefly to wave at her before continuing to chase his companion and Rilly watched as the sun, still a few hours from beginning to set, danced and wove in the child's hair.

She looked in the direction of the ports by the Great River and decided to go over, just for a bit, to say hello to the River God. It wasn't as if he answered, and it wasn't as if she could actually say hello, but she liked to think that when she sat by the river with her fingers dipped in that he knew she was there.

The brown-haired seamstress walked swiftly to the river and set down her basket. She settled by the river and stared down at it. She could hear children running and ladies gossiping and the river rushing and singing and whispering. She smiled quietly, dipping her fingers into the rushing stream, wordlessly whispering back about all the squirming children and pinpricks; about burning her tongue on hot soup and about how bad this season's potatoes were. She could feel the water rushing over her fingers, he water tugging her hand towards the ocean as if to tell her that she should be out there instead of here.

Someday she would find someone else who talked to the River God and who didn't squirm even after she poked them with sewing needles to get them to stay still..[/size][/blockquote]

[ADAM BLACKWELL]

Adam glanced over his shoulder one last time. The camp had disappeared from his sight long ago, but the sentries were becoming more and more cunning by the day. Obviously the Narnians didn't like it when their Telmarine soldiers wandered off. It never really mattered to Adam anymore. He could easily explain that he thought he was supposed to be on sentry duty or something and had chased some sound he had heard. He hadn't used that excuse yet, right? Well, it was worth a shot when he would go back to the camp later on in the evening.

As he looked forward again he took in his surroundings. The area around the City of Beruna was definitely nice. There weren't many trees around (which made getting out of the camp so difficult in the first place!), but the river was nearby. He wasn't about to miss out on that. His stride picked up its pace at the thought of rushing water (well, it could be calmly flowing...he didn't quite know yet. He just liked to assume rushing water) and maybe watching a sunset on the edge of its waters. It was much better than sitting in camp with a bunch of tents blocking the view.

Soon Adam could hear people and rushing water mixing together to make a sound not too far from nature's own symphony. Another few moments and Adam could see the sources of the sounds, both the water and the people. They were all on the other side, but that didn't matter. He didn't really need to talk to them, just listen to their presence. He hadn't heard voices like these in awhile, even just the simply gossiping of ladies and the squeals of children. It was definitely a good replacement of the gruff voices of the men at camp. They could get tiresome very easily. As Adam reached the waters, he leaned close to inspect his reflection. It wasn't always that he got to really look at his appearance. Today, his hair was definitely more scruffy than usual and his eyes looked tired. Obviously another sleepless night had passed. He knew he had to fix that problem before it caused bad things to happen, but he didn't exactly know how to force himself to sleep besides getting a good knock on the head (and he definitely was not about to do that!).

Adam crouched and let a few fingers dip into the current of the river. It all went to the ocean. He hadn't seen the shores in awhile. As he turned his head to look in the direction that the water was flowing, Adam gently closed his eyes and recalled the images of the ocean from the shores of Cair Paravel. It had become his new home away from Miraz's Castle, yet he didn't feel the same longing for his new home as he did for his old home. That also needed to be fixed. Cair Paravel was an integral part of the new man he had become. If he couldn't attach himself to it, then what was he now?

Adam opened his eyes again only to nearly fall back in surprise. Thankfully he was able to catch himself before he did anything really stupid. Whoever that girl was looked similar to.... Did he even want to say her name again? Fine. Celeste. She had looked like Celeste for just a moment until he realized that this girl's hair was darker and wavy and Celeste had been taller. Or had she? Besides, this girl's face was much different. Ugh! He had to stop thinking about Celeste. He had already promised himself he would stop, but why was it so hard? Adam took a deep breath before he stood up to his full height and gave one last glance at the girl before he returned his gaze to the water.

Notes: Adam was looking at Rilanda....just in case you didn't realize...

[Rilanda Carlson]

The sensation of being stared at was an odd one, and one she hadn't felt in a long time. The people here had known her most of her life and — while admittedly there were many new people wandering around since the return of the Kings and Queens —it was nonetheless strange to be stared it, if for no other reason than that she was not, by any means, remarkable.

Slowly Rilly raised her head and looked around, scanning the crowd for the source of the person who had stared at her. It was interesting, new, exciting. Maybe this person had been on the ocean. Rilanda did always enjoy a tale about the sea! The idea made her perk slightly even if the likelihood was rather low. Either way, she would love tales of somewhere other than home.

She was rarely allowed to travel since she was accident-prone and her parents were so protective, which was ridiculous. She was much older than the queens and they went on adventures. The world simply wasn't fair, and, yes, she understood that the world wasn't fair, she really did, but there was a limit and this totally went over the limit of what was fairly unfair and what wasn't.

No one seemed to be staring at her more, which was probably a given since she was looking up now. She sat back and then stood up, gathering her basket, still sharply searching for the crowd for strangers, preferably tense strangers who looked as if they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have been.

Eventually she spotted a Telmarine soldier who looked pretty tense. She considered the merits of talking to him. It was nothing personal, but she didn't really like Telmarines all that much, it was just kind of a collateral. On the other hand, the guy could really use a new pair of pants, and as was demonstrated by the fact that she was perfectly amicable with King Caspian, she was perfectly capable of getting along with people no matter where they were from. She was a mature adult and was perfectly capable of pushing past the little bitter tastes on her tongue.

Seriously, though. That guy really, really needed new pants and possibly to wash his hair.

[ADAM BLACKWELL]

Adam kept his gaze focused on the water. Maybe, just maybe that girl would leave so he could look up and enjoy the view again without being haunted by past memories. Was it really that hard to give up on just one person? He left his family with ease and could really care less about them right now. He was free to go as he pleased and do what he wanted. Well, sort of. Being a soldier did have its restrictions, but it had its perks, too. He had way too much fun sneaking around the sentries, so much that it had almost become a game for him although the sentries would love to beg otherwise.

The water rushed by, its depths murky and its creatures barely visible. It got Adam to thinking about the ocean and Cair Paravel again. He would be going back to his new home again soon. The army was set to march back in a few days and his enlistment would be up. He was still considering signing back on, but he hadn't decided yet. Did he really want to go back out fighting another person's fight when he could settle at home? Probably not, but what else was he to do with his life at the moment? He shook his head and looked back up again to see if the girl was still there. Yes. Except now she was looking back at him and wore a scrutinizing look on her face like there was something terribly wrong with him. Adam gave her a questioning look back. Was his hair really that scruffy today? He knew he needed it cut.