backscene: star gazing Who: Yonca Ghanem and Desiderio Ledaal Where: Amaranthine Outskirts When: Late night of 13 Molioris, 9:45 Summary: A new apostate, Desiderio, and an experienced apostate, Yonca, meet in the night. Complete.
She had been beside the window. Her eyes strained from studying a large map spread out on the desktop in front of her. The candle nearby was flickering, close to its end. She had been staring outside, allowing her mind to wander for perhaps a few seconds. Her caretaker would not have liked such unfocused mannerisms, but she couldn’t help it. The stars were twinkling and she longed for the crisp night air instead of the stuffy atmosphere of the room. Standing, she rolled the map up and set it beside her pack. A walk was in order.
As she left the room, locking the door behind her, she nodded to the older woman sitting at the dining table. The woman looked up from the cards, wrinkled hands shaking as she held them, “Is something the matter, dear?”
Yonca offered a friendly smile to the woman. She shook her hair, loose dirty blonde curls tapping about her shoulders. “Of course not. I simply need a break from my studies.” With a small curtsy and nod of her head, Yonca continued to the door. As she stepped outside, she heard the woman mumbling to the cards about dust spirits. As soon as she was outside, she felt the coldness nipping at her face and neck. Except for those areas, her skin was covered by clothing. Her fingers were snug and warm in a pair of tight lace gloves. Her body had on the clothing of a simple commoner, the hem of the dress appearing as if it was worn down from working in the fields. She glanced up, looking over the housetops to see the tall keep in the far background of the horizon. It was quite large... much too geometrical for Yonca’s taste. It wasn’t decadent like Orlesian architecture and it didn’t seem to hold the same mystical organic sense that Tevinter architecture had, but it did have a sturdy, strong sense to it. She eyed the tiny box that the keep made in the distance before turning away to begin walking. The paths were dimly lit by torches and there were few people about. A main path went closer to Amaranthine, but Yonca did not take that way. Instead, she went off the path, trekking through the grass. It was preferably she stayed among the outskirts. She didn’t really want to run into anyone. The night was beautiful all on its lonesome.
As she walked along, Yonca kept her gaze above her at the stars. It was such a beautiful night, she was looking forward to leaving in a day or so. While it was nice having comfortable lodgings with the old woman, she was ready to move on. The woman made her nervous, she didn’t know when the old thing would go into a lyrium-induced hallucination or decide that the whole house needed to be clean, driving Yonca to help scrub the floorboards. It was tiring staying with someone that clearly should be taken care of. It was a relief that she was to head out soon.
The further Yonca walked, the darker it became as she traveled away from the lit path. She was not afraid of the dark. The young woman kept her gaze upon the stars, pausing in her walk for a moment to simply admire the formations.