A New Chapter

[Rhonya]

She hadn’t slept, at all. The sun shone harshly on the tent, making all of the inside looking like a mix of blue and purple due to the fabric it was made of. Skint turned on her side, looking at the sleeping form of Nakobu next to her. His face was at ease, his breathing slow.
Things had gone so fast. So much had happened since the clan had rescued her and she had gotten the offer to stay. It had never occurred to her she might find someone so like minded, so utterly selfless, someone who would worry so much and care so much for her.
Skint reached with a hand to brush a lock of dark hair away from his brown skinned face, her own hand so pale in comparison to him, almost glowing.
Two opposites but still so much the same.

With a soft sigh Skint sat up, using her hands to try and force her hair into somewhat of a presentable mass, but as usual the massive bunch of curls just did what it wanted to do, going literally everywhere. Maybe she should ask Zi’tani to crop it down a little soon and make it a bit more manageable again.
The headache that had been plaguing her the entire night was still there. It was a throbbing behind her eyes, automatically making her squint in pain. It had taken a few hours after having gone into the tent before she had dared to open her eyes. What was she even afraid of? That a spirit would barge into the tent? It could’ve done so before too, only she wouldn’t have seen it.

But now she would, if the potion had done what it said in the ancient scroll that it’d do. It was the first step on a new road, a long path of learning. But she was ready. Ready to leave the memories behind of what had happened to her in Zandalar and after. Ready to turn a new chapter, together with Nakobu. He’d help her.

Yet, Skint was still afraid to go outside of the tent. Nakobu had asked that she’d wake him when going outside the first time but for some reason she felt that she had to take this small step alone. He was already supposed to go with Morghka later and leave her in town, she wouldn’t have him miss out on learning more about himself only because he felt she needed him more.
So, heavily squinting into the harsh morning sunlight, Skint opened the tentflap and crawled her way outside. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. The headache increased, the pounding behind her eyes picking up again but she remained where she was. Just in the entrance of the tent, looking around.

Nothing had changed. At least nothing new that she could see. Relief flooded through her, but also a heavy feeling settled in her stomach. Had it even worked? How would she know?
Skint exhaled slowly through her nose and turned her head-… And closed her eyes right away with a soft outcry.
Oshu’gun. She’d been looking at Oshu’gun. But she shouldn’t even be able to see it from this distance! Yet it was burned on her inner eyelid. Bright, shining, like a beacon even from where she was. Slowly, very slowly she opened her eyes again, just a slit first and slightly more every second.
The entire air around it shimmered. It was beautiful. More beautiful than she’d ever seen before. It didn’t even look like the same mountain she had visited yesterday.

Skint couldn’t make out any details from this distance, besides the bright, bright beautiful light coming from the mountain. Is this what the spirits saw it like, after they left their physical form behind? No wonder they were attracted to it, if so. She could barely take her eyes off it herself now.
With a small smile she tore her gaze away from the brightness, looking around the town again. Everything seemed normal. Everything seemed calm.
Relieved, Skint crawled back into the tent to curl up against Nakobu once again. Maybe she could get a few hours of sleep before he’d have to leave. But at least she could let him go without her now without worrying too much.

Now just hoping he didn’t run into any trouble himself later… Auchindoun. A part of her wondered how that would look like now. But another part told her she wasn’t ready yet for that step.
Not yet. It was good she wasn’t going along. But one day, Skint would go look.
Skint closed her eyes, finally relaxing, even though the headache was still there. It didn’t take long before she drifted off to sleep.

Only to just miss a small, silent shadow passing by the entrance of the tent…