[ORP]A Dawning Awakening

[Jesamine]

Jesamine follows along the path as she is led by Ambra. Her spirit feels light and she is renewed with life. The coming of Spring is bringing about these changes in her and she embraces them gleefully, waiting for the great feeling of renewal that always follows the chill of Winter. They have walked for a while before she spies the first stump of a felled tree. From the weathered look of the exposed core, this deed was done a few seasons past. She kneels in front of the dead one and says a small benediction so that the earth mother with take back the essence of this one and restore it to the forest in a new form. They walk a little further and she spies more and more stumps. Her footsteps falter as she looks around her. There is a feeling of death and fear in this part of the forest. Death she understands as a natural part of living, but fear is a new sensation for her. She looks at Ambra and wonders how it can be that her friend is unable to sense the feelings that surround her now. Maybe this is what Earth Mother and Father Sky have wanted her to learn? Has there been a battle waged between her kind and the kind that have caused this destruction? Maybe it is up to Jesamine to find the truth and stop the pain? She swallows hard and tries not to let the sorrow of this part of the forest show in her expression even though she cannot help that it clouds her eyes. Jesamine continues to follow, but now she is more pensive than curious as she wonders what else she is going to see this day.

Soon the path grows broader and hardened by the passage of many feet. Jes stays close to Ambra as her eyes dart hither and thither trying to take in all of the new sights while her ears are assailed with a multitude of new sounds. Then she takes in the sight of people wearing metal on their bodies and her courage almost fails her. She feels a need to run back into the sanctuary of her forest home and to forget about the fearsome sights she has seen today, but then she is reminded of the death of her brethren, the calling out to her that she still can feel. She has to be brave for their sakes and for the sakes of others that may follow their same path. Seeking comfort, Jes holds tightly onto Ambra's hand, needing the reassurance of her friend to guide her through this strange place that is guarded by metal men and strengthened with the bodies of her people. Ambra's words seem strange to her, birds guarding their nests? But birds don't make their nests out of murdered beings, they make them out of twigs that are left for them. This starts her thinking down another path, one that fills her with more hope than she has been feeling since she first saw this place. Is it possible that these people do not realise that trees are living beings? Maybe they see them as lifeless things like the rocks they use for these walls and paths? If this is so, then maybe Jes can tell them of the pain they are causing and show them that there is another way. The forest will gladly share its bounty with them, all they have to do is ask and explain their needs. Jes looks to Ambra and tries to think of a way to answer about the guards. "All song is beautiful to another of its kind. To understand its beauty, we only have to listen as they do." She smiles then and continues to follow, understanding for the very first time just how little she knows and how much she has to learn. She is going to have to learn the songs of these people before she can teach them the songs of her own.

[Ambrosia]

Death was a step no matter the individual. It's just the perception of death appeared in many different ways. Death paid her a visit every time she closed her eyes, and replayed the severed heads on pike she left behind. However, at first she didn't catch on that it could have been an aura that Jesamine felt. In fact she stopped her steps when she noticed the shadow of her companion had vanished. Casually she turned her head to catch the nature woman knelt down in front of a tree stump. Brows arched into a crescent moon above her blue eyes, as her lips sunk into a temporary frown. "Are you sure you're alright?" Ambra asked softly. She was still uncertain if she should guide them down the roads into civilization. Was it a good idea to listen to her newfound friend? Ambra held the knowledge of what the pathway ahead of them held, and the way she reacted to one stump made her worry. To understand what her friend must have been going through she calmly shut her eyes. Right arm lifted as her fingers pinched the locket around her neck, and when she reopened her orbs the vision of macabre had taken over. Mangled, mauled, and decomposed humanoids appeared in front of her where the stumps once were. Around the bodies a dark foreboding cloud lingered to spread the disease of doom around. Much to her surprise, her friend was determined to learn the ways of the people. So, onward they carried down the venture of Death.

She wasn't a mind reader, but when she felt the grip upon her hand she didn't need to be a seer to figure it out. Fear was a universal language, even more important than love. Her other hand moved to calmly pat Jesamine's hand to gift her with reassurance. The tree Winterbourne wasn't and wouldn't be left alone any time soon. One of the guards took note of their approach, and stared at Ambra opening his mouth to show one tooth. "Ambrosia. Who is your little friend here?" "None of your business." "Just promise me you won't teesh her how to cook." A scowl was given to the man, but she nodded to let them into the town gate. Fenia city, they had reached their destination. Frozen in the entrance to let her friend take in the vision. The crowds of children running through the streets, and their parents out of breath trying to capture them. The old merchants that held stands with many various fruits, and of course the castle itself stood boastfully. Calmly lifted her hand to signal towards the large building, "That is my home...This is Fenia..Do you have any questions?" She guided her towards the castle, being careful not to lose the grip of her hand. Every now and then she would halt so the girl could experience the details of city living, and not of a forest.

[Jesamine]

Standing still and looking at all the people in the city of Fenia, Jesamine feels overwhelmed for a little while by all the sensations and feelings that wash over her. She is far more accustomed to the quiet tranquillity of her forest and this new place with its hive of activity is a lot for her to take in all at once. She is not frightened here however, as there doesn't seem to be anything to frighten her, if anything, the overall feelings that she can pick up from all of the creatures around her is that they are mostly content to live out their lives in this fashion. She doesn't let go of her grip on Ambra's hand, mostly because she feels that Ambra is her protector and her guide, but also because it is comforting to her to have contact with someone while trying to come to grips with all that she can see around her. "So many creatures that live so close together. Why do they all choose to live behind these walls? Do they fear the forest? Do they only wish to see Father Sky because they no longer speak to Mother Earth?" Jesamine turns her eyes to Ambra as she asks the question. Jesamine's eyes have altered subtly since she has first seen Ambra in the forest. This time is a transition time for the young Dryad, from Winter to Spring, and she slowly changes with the seasons too. So her eyes are gradually growing less pale and getting more light green hints to them. In full Spring they will be fully green, a bright green like you would observe on young leaves. Her hair is also slowly changing colour from the full white of winter, to gaining more and more flecks of gold as if her hair takes it's colour from the golden orb of the Sun itself. These changes take place slowly, as with all things in nature, so slowly that an observer barely registers the transition, but is still left with that uncertainty of 'didn't you look different before?' Jesamine is currently so excited by all of the sights around her that doesn't even realise that she is asking questions using phrases that their two cultures may not share. The concepts of Mother Earth and Father Sky are most likely alien to people who spend their live walled up in cities, but Jesamine can only speak of what she knows, it is not meant as an intentional slight. She smiles at Ambra, the only person she knows as yet and whom she trusts implicitly, "show me more of your home please, it is both strange and wondrous to me." So much has happened to her today, what else is she going to see? Jesamine has a slight spring in her step as she gladly follows her friend.

[Ambrosia]

People of all sounds were the melody of Fenia. Arguments between strangers vanished underneath the tone of gossip and laughter of others. The trees in her friend's forest were all different shapes and sizes, and the society in Fenia were no different. Reassuringly, she squeezes Jesamine's hand as they continue forward only to pause for a few minutes. The nature woman's words made Ambra fall quiet in thought to her response, "They live here because it's their home. Well, they use the forest..as you saw when we first came here. They survive off the forest, but the forest here is different. This is a house." She points at a wooden shack, and looks to Jesamine to see if she is making any sense."They don't know how to talk to Mother Earth, and they do not hear the wisdom of Father Sky." Ambra explained softly. Minutes passed as she found herself lost in the woman's eyes, and their beauty of the season change. Was the girl changing? Or was Ambra going color blind?

She blinked her eyes innocently, curious about the woman she had invited home. The gentle hold on the Jesamine's hand didn't waiver, as Ambra kept her pace towards the castle. She took time with their stride, to let Jesamine gain knowledge and ask any questions she may have. After what felt like hours they made it to the gates of the castle, and Ambra motioned towards it. "This is a castle, this is where I live..I sleep, I eat.."

[Jesamine]

“The forest here is different ...” This doesn't make sense to Jesamine, because it had seemed to be the same to her. She is silent as she ponders this for a while. The forest is the same and yet it is not respected by the people that live here. Maybe it is different because they perceive it differently? If they perceive it differently then they treat it differently and if they treat it differently then maybe it acts differently around them? These are very convoluted thoughts that are buzzing around in her head but she feels as though she is close to understanding how things are here. If she can fully understand this changed relationship between people and forest, then maybe she can find a way to teach the people of this city to work with the forest and not be in conflict with it. She wonders how it can be that they cannot feel the life in the forest as she can. Maybe they have spent so much time within these walls that they have forgotten how to listen? Maybe they have even grown fearful of things beyond their walls? This makes sense with what Ambra has said about them not knowing how to talk to Father Sky or Mother Earth. Jesamine smiles as she meets Ambra's gaze. “Maybe I can show them how?” Her question is only a whisper, a hint of a suggestion and it carries with it the naiveté of youth.

Jesamine gladly follows Ambra as they make their way towards the Castle gates. She tilts her head to one side as she tries to take in the size of the edifice in front of her. It is daunting and very imposing, causing her to take a step back, not out fear, but out of a sense of awe. Than she steps forward again to touch the cold iron of the gates. She has never before seen part of Mother Earth used in this way and she is entranced by it. She can feel that a strength has been given to the raw ore that it never possessed in its natural state. The strength has been given, but it came at a price. Jesamine takes a deep breath as she realises that there is a trade off when a transformation is wrought, a cost to be paid to gain a benefit. It is only afterwards that it can be seen if the cost was fair or the price in fact was too high. This thought saddens her a little because her whole young life has been filled with the radiance of growth and joy, the thoughts of consequences and compromise are new to her, new enough to make her feel discomfited by them. She looks at Ambra with a sense of wonder and of compassion, “you live in a cage?” A tentative gesture at first, but then grows more bold as her hand reaches out to softly touch Ambra's cheek. “How brave you are to venture back once you were free. Or were you brave to leave in the first instance?” Jesamine smiles a little and then turns towards the magnificent prison that Ambra calls her home. “Show me ...” Jesamine has more to see and Ambra has lots still to teach even if she doesn't know this is what she is doing.

[Ambrosia]

Humans and nature had a complex relationship. Most humans took the resources of nature, without giving seeds back to the soil. Blue spheres that matched the tone of the sky glanced over to Jessamine, as she tried to read the thoughts that might occur to her friend of the forest. She caught the bare end of the whisper, and only could imagine what the beginning was. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. To show them." A revolution easily started with the ideas of one person, it's just the matter of getting it spread around. Almost like a lone petal that falls from the blossom and gets carried by the whispers of the wind to countless destinations. A child's naïve perception could easily alter the way the adults saw things. Maybe her delicate means would be a good start of a fire across Fenia. With any serene voice set out, there were always people that would try to hush it.

Her steps stopped as soon as she felt the slightest tug backwards. "Are you alright?" Ambra whispered, unaware that it was awe and not a sense of overwhelm that made the girl back peddle if only a few feet. Spiral curled black threads tilted alongside her head with a brief moment of confusion. A cage? Her eyes moved to glance up to the castle with a silent gaze. She could see why it would be referred to as much, and if so Zuan held the key. A reassuring smile spread across her lips. "It's not really a cage. It's shelter, just very.." After a long pause she couldn't think of a word to match it. She remembered how she reacted the first time she had seen the castle. The images in her memory break as she felt the touch of the hand upon her cheek. What could she say in response to that? "I come back because this is my home." Her hand gestures to the different people they had passed by, "those are my people. If they need my help I should be here, cage or not."

There was something she would never admit to, and that was the life she had before she came to the castle. Few knew the ghosts that haunted her, and if they noticed it they turned a blind eye to it. Ambra took her friend's hand again to lead her through the gates into the frost covered marble tiles, towards the two massive wooden doors that lead to the mysterious inside of the cage. Little did Ambra know, that the castle may have seemed like a prison, it didn't hold a candle to her future imprisonment. "This is the first room." She murmured and nodded to a few knights in passing, before she pulled open the wooden barriers to reveal the inside warmth. The inside of the castle buzzed with the servants inside, and those that had came inside to seek counsel. The vaulted ceilings made the outside appearance seem deceptive for what it could contain inside. Slowly she motioned Jesamine to step inside, and almost collided head first with a maid. "Err, sorry!" She called outwards, but the maid didn't stop instead only hastily walked in the same direction.