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[rowan_narrators]

Midday on Sunday, the group reaches the Tombstones, long rows of naturally rounded rocks emerging from the desert sand. The shaman announces that they're clear of the siren's curse, and for the first time, the caravan forges on ahead, not bothering with the twists and turns of their prior route

Comments

[cordy_estwynde]

Despite all the bad things that had happened in the desert, despite the scorching sun and freezing nights and the sand that just got everywhere, despite the sadness that churned in her stomach like a gurgling potion every single time she thought of Jake or Bret, and in despite of the guilt she felt whenever she looked at Cherry and noticed that, again, her eyes were pink and puffy--Cordelia was humming.

Just when she'd thought that Rowan couldn't be any worse, the desert had taught her otherwise, but now, they were back in a place that at least remotely resembled civilization. The Humans seemed pretty distrustful of the tree babies, sure, and she still missed Bret and Jake more than she cared to think about, but things were getting better.

Besides, the city was beautiful. It was old and unkempt, of course, but the stone architecture and the ivy reminded her of home more than anywhere else in Rowan had so far. This was the sort of place that Hylians would find beautiful. The old city ruins, interspersed with the natural elegance of nature, were a wonderful blend of mystery and time that the Hylian people would come flocking to.

Cordy had spent the afternoon wandering around the city, examining the ruined buidings, and just breathing in the air. The wonderful, earthy scent was so different from the dry, barren scent of the desert. She had stopped to sit and watch the sky, paused to run her palms along the moss-covered stones, just to delight in the feel of them.

As evening had come and the sun had started to fade, Cordy had made her way back to the fortress and claimed one of the still-empty rooms as her own. She leaned out the window of it now, looking out at the city. It was almost magical. She half-expected sparkling faeries to emerge from under the crumbled stones or for the surrounding trees to reveal themselves as dryads. She was glad to be here. Glad to leave behind the anger in the heat of the desert and the sadness and desolation of Jhelbor.

For the first time in months, Cordelia felt happy.

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry walked along the path beside the fortress, her eyes lowered, her fedora drawn down tight over her face. For someone with such a big, occasionally magnetic, personality, she was getting pretty good at avoiding people. Ellen, one of her childhood friends, had always been exceptionally talented when it came to avoiding people. Aside from a weight problem far more severe than Cherry's, Ellen had difficulties connecting with Humans. She claimed to be too far removed from humanity to be among them. For a good year, Cherry had dedicated time to watching the way Ellen deftly avoiding outsides. Never in her wildest dreams did Cherry imagine she'd been employing the same devices now. How the semi-mighty had fallen.

It was incredibly easy. Eyes-downcast. Shoulders hunched. Face always at a forty-five degree angle below the horizon (or more!). Move close to the side of the building at the sound of approaching footsteps. Hands in pockets. It all worked better than having garlic breath.

She couldn't wait for the sunset. Her bird body was becoming an increasing comfort as she withdrew further and further into her own depression. It was the easiest excuse she had to avoid unpleasant conversation. And lately, pretty much every conversation had been unpleasant. Of course, it was probably her own damn fault, but that hardly made her feel better.

Cherry paused when she sensed that there was no one else on the path. She took off her fedora, running a hand through her hair. She then, quite promptly, shoved the heel of her palm into her teeth and started chewing.

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordelia watched Cherry as she slumped by the building. There was no mistaking her. Unfortunately, Cordy was all too familiar with those hunched shoulders these days. Yet, Cherry didn't so much as look up at the sound of the humming.

Wake up, Cordy silently willed her friend. You're not the only one who's had everything go wrong lately. You're not the only miserable one..

Words that couldn't exactly be spoken out loud. Cherry seemed to take it personally whenever anyone else pointed out their problems. Which was unlike her. She used to be much more sympathetic.

Cordy chose not to call out. If Cherry knew she was there and was still hoping to ignore her, that was her prerogative. But just in case, Cordy began humming a bit louder. It was a song she knew Cherry would recognize, the theme from the ballet they had seen in North Castle last spring.

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry glanced over at the humming. Half of her delighted in the song (no amount of bullying or patronizing would ever take away her love for music) and the other half was upset to have an audience for her sulk. She really wanted to do that in private. At least she could take comfort in the fact that it was Cordelia. These days, Cordelia held very little back. She never stabbed in the back anymore. It was always the front. Which wasn't quite as bad as it sounded, when one was thinking about stabbing.

"North Castle," she murmured absently. "The soprano was terrible, but I could have listened to the alto sing all night."

She snuffled, dragging the back of her hand across her upper lip. Everyone used to tease her for being a total soprano snob. She never liked any of them. It was probably because none could measure up to the soprano who used to sing at the old opera house. Now that had been music.

[cordy_estwynde]

"Be fair," Cordy chastised lightly, leaning further out the window. "She was only terrible by your elitist standards, everyone else thought she was marvelous."

She leaned her elbow on the sill, propping her chin in her palm. "Come over here," she commanded, signaling Cherry over with her other hand. "If you keep wandering alone, you're just going to sulk, and this is far too pretty a city to be sulking in." She gestured absently. "This is a city for magic and mystery and romance. Stop shlumping and take a look around."

[cherry_reyer]

"Yeah, yeah," Cherry said, waving her hand absently.

This reversal was just thrilling. After being berated by Cordelia for not being sympathetic when she was sad, now, when Cherry was going through a complete crisis of faith, she wasn't exactly getting much sympathy. Go figure.

"Your cat could sing better than that woman can. The only marvelous thing about her were her breasts." Cherry had to admit, they had been decent breasts.

She made her way over to the window, hands shoved deep into her pockets. She really hoped Cordelia wasn't going to give her a hard time tonight. There was only so much she could take right now. Frankly, what she wanted more than anything in the world was to just fall asleep with her head in Cordelia's lap. Of course, the gods had a funny sense of humor about that one.

[cordy_estwynde]

Cordelia couldn't remember what the woman's breasts had looked like, but she wasn't going to argue the point with Cherry. Cherry was apparently paranoid enough about those matters as it was, no need to heighten them. "Perhaps so," was all she replied.

She reached out and pulled the fedora from off of Cherry's head, placing it on her own. "What do you think?" she asked, pulling the rim down slightly, so the hat was perched at a jaunty angle. "Does it suit me?" Cordy stood up straight and spun around, turning over her shoulder to look at Cherry. She offered a smile, sly and flirtatious, from beneath the hat. "Should I find one of my own?"

[cherry_reyer]

"You don't do well in hats," Cherry replied, holding her hand out for her fedora. She really wanted it to draw attention away from her eyes. "They distract from your curls." This was, admittedly, a genuine statement. It had been quite obvious, from the start, that Cherry rather enjoyed Cordelia's curls. She always remarked about them and sometimes would lie awake for hours, just tangling her fingers up in them, sproinging them when the mood struck her.

"Although I'd love to see you in one of those cone-shaped hats," she added as a teasing afterthought, forming a triangle with her hands and setting it on top of her head. "You know the ones. With the long veil coming down from the top."

[cordy_estwynde]

"I believe those pointy hats were fashionable in Fanelia a few years back." Cordy rolled her eyes. "I have no idea who thought that was a good idea. They should have been considered an aesthetic violation of some kind."

She pulled the hat off her head and reached over to set it back on Cherry. "There you go," she said graciously. "A very pretty hat rack indeed." Pushing herself up against the sill, she leaned out the window to plant a kiss on Cherry's cheek.

[cherry_reyer]

"Thanks," Cherry said, pulling the brim of the hat back down over her eyes again. She felt better, like she was wearing armor. Safer. Maybe not invulnerable, but less vulnerable than before.

"How about one of those doughnut hats you wear over a colorful hair net?" she asked.

[cordy_estwynde]

"No hats for today," she concluded. "They smoosh my hair down anyway." Absently, she reached up to fluff her hair as much as she could. Gods, she missed having a decent shampoo.

"How long have you got until flight time?" she asked, peering up at the sky. "If you're not busy, you should come in. I have a cot and everything, you know."

She waggled her eyebrows, smiling impishly.

[cherry_reyer]

"Not long," Cherry murmured, looking up at the purple sky. "Keeps coming earlier and earlier these days. Must be a sign of the seasons." Or a sign of Cherry's broken heart, but she didn't dare voice that out loud. "Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes," she estimated.

Of course, she wasn't going to turn down an invitation. It was nice to have someone to talk to who didn't patronize her every sentence. She could live with every fourth of fifth sentence. Cherry planted her hands on the sill and swung herself up, landing butt-first, perched on the window seat. She swung one leg over so that she was straddling the sill and leaned against the side of it, looking in at Cordelia.

[cordy_estwynde]

"You should be glad that's stone," Cordy murmured dryly, gesturing to the sill. "If it were wooden, you might have some slivers in some very interesting places."

She reached up and lightly brushed her fingers against the skin of Cherry's cheek. It was soft. Cherry had a youthful face, and her features could seem nearly childlike when Cherry wore certain expressions. Of course, those expressions had been scarce lately--amazement, wonder, delight. Strange how much Rowan had already changed them.

"Sing me a song?" she asked after a moment. "It's been a long time since I've heard anything from you."

[cherry_reyer]

"Just don't have the music today," Cherry said, trying to keep her voice light, even though her feelings were quite heavy right now.

She swung her other leg over the sill and slid into the room. It was just about as sparse as their room in Jhelbor, although she felt it was a little less...square. Yeah. Things felt softer, even if they were made of stone. Less militaristic, which probably was a bit ironic since this was some kind of fort.

"Pretty good," she murmured. "Not great, but pretty good."

[cordy_estwynde]

"I love this place," Cordelia chirped enthusiastically. "Doesn't it remind you of some of the abandoned cities in Hyrule? Like those ruins near Zora Harbor, the place where they have the spirit festival?"

She leaned against the wall, watching Cherry. "I wonder how long we'll be staying here," she mused. "I hope for more than just a night. I'd like to go do some more exploring. Preferably during the daytime." She paused briefly. "You know, so I won't be tripping over rocks and branches and things."

Cordy wasn't sure why she'd bothered to add the last part on. Cherry wasn't stupid. She'd have figured out Cordy's aversion to the darkness at some point over the past year, whether or not she'd ever addressed it directly.

[cherry_reyer]

Cherry nodded. "Yeah, it does remind me of Hyrule. A lot, actually. It's eerie." She paused. "I mean, not in a very bad way or anything. It's just...striking. I hope we stay more than a night." But given the way things were going, her hopes would not be met. This caused an involuntary shrug. "Exploring is a good idea. Might reveal something about Rowan."

She, herself, wasn't interested in doing much exploring.

"Mind if I squat in your rafters tonight?"