Snippet #2762904

Xia took a breath inside her tent, leaning back in her chair at her desk while setting down a cup of tea she'd poured herself earlier.

"Sigh... This mining town is nice, but I need some clearer air." She said quietly.

Xia got up from her chair and walked outside of her tent, and was swiftly greeted by the steadily rising sun of morning. She shielded her eyes as she looked in its general direction, and then turned away from it to stretch her arms out while giving her eyes some time to adjust to the light levels.

Xia went for a stroll, and due to the small village size it was not a long one. So, to prolong it, she did laps around the village several times to drag it out. And by the time her feet started to tire of the laps, she meandered through the village until something caught her eye.

Off to the side, she spied a broken metal gate leading to a rather lush and green area where she could see a few plants through the gaps.

Meandering over to it, she peeked inside the broken gate to find a half-turned barrel which served as a bird bath. Several finches were already bathing, pausing briefly to gaze at her warily before resuming their activities.

"How adorable," she said with a smile.

She really liked small animals, birds especially. They were so tiny and cuddly. She used to raise small birds just like these when she was little, but eventually her parents decided that she was no longer allowed to for the sake of her studies and her noble stature. She was to be prepped to become a proper lady, not a bird wrangler.

She walked past the bird bath to find rows of growing vegetables and medicinal herbs, most of which she recognized thanks to being forced to spend time with Linde in years past. She wandered through, walking carefully over the placed wooden boards which served as something of a walkway, until she came to a more flowered section which was more decorative than the food and medicine sections.

She walked among the flowers gingerly until, out of the corner of her eye, she spied something that made her eyes light up and her heart skip a beat and start fluttering madly in her chest.

"Oh!" She exclaimed.

She dashed over to what had caught her eye, and found it was indeed what she'd been hoping for... A Gwenyuran Orchid.

It was her favorite plant in the world, and it had a special place in her heart since she was a baby. It was incredibly rare, and very fragile for a flower of such size. The flower itself, minus the stalks and bodies of the plant it grew on, was almost eight inches in diameter. But if the growing conditions, sunlight, and even soil were not just right, the orchid would perish in a matter of days.

"I had no idea... You could grow here." She said happily as she used her fingers to gently cup the flower in her palm.

She leaned forward to smell the flower, and it was exactly as she'd remembered.

The last time she'd been able to see or smell this flower was over twelve years ago when she was a little girl, but she still remembered the scent and texture of it.

Xia startled when she heard a little gasp behind her, letting go of the orchid and turning swiftly around with her blade drawn and pointed - in the direction of the Velran Priest. The white robes he wore were turning brown with dirt, a sun hat shielded his pale face and his hair was pulled into two tiny pigtails. His wide grey eyes darted from Xia to her katana, his watering can tipped by his feet. He let out a little laugh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Lady Crescalla," he said, then his eyes sparked with alarm and his cheeks went red. He shed his dirty gardening gloves in a hurry to pull out his pigtails, "I-I'm not used to anyone coming here. With the rebellion, nobody takes the time to... ah, stop and smell the roses. Ehe."

Xia's blade dropped slowly as she recognized the Velran Priest. She sighed, sheathing the blade as her own cheeks turned slightly pink and she looked away.

"I-it's... Nothing. My apologies for drawing my blade against you." She said quietly.

She looked at the orchid again out of the corner of her eye, reluctant to touch it again while the Priest was here.

"Oh, it's fine, really. You would be surprised how much it happens to me," he chimed, "Tensions are always running high here, and I know I'm not the most... noticeable."

He bashfully scratched the back of his neck and glanced away, before peering back up at Xia with a sort of determination.

"You found my Gweynuran Orchid?" he enthused, coming over to kneel before it, lifting its face up gently with one finger, "As pretty as she is temperamental. I, I used to have five, but... ah, well. They demand time and care, and time isn't something I can spare anymore." He smiled at the flower with fondness. "I'm lucky to have just one."

Xia's pink cheeks were stubborn and would not leave, and she felt the heat radiating from her face. But the Priest's interest in the orchid was... striking a chord with her. Her heart rate slowed back to normal, and she brushed a few strands of hair out of her face.

"... You are... It's very rare." She said quietly.

"But... It's beautiful." She added, her flushed cheeks becoming the slightest bit redder.

There were a few moments of silence they shared, just looking at the flower, when he cleared his throat.

"I'm... sorry, your friend left that way," he murmured, then shook his head and pulled down the brim of his sun hat to hide his face as he corrected himself, "If she was your friend. I, um, notice things about... I'm sorry, it's no business of mine."

Xia was enjoying the silence looking at the flower. She glanced to the Priest and a tiny smile appeared on her lips as she watched him observe it with about as much love as she did. But...

He then mentioned Linde, and her smile, tiny as it was, vanished immediately.

Xia glanced downward, her eyes disappearing beneath her bangs.

"She was not my friend..." She said quietly, but with obvious disdain in her voice.

He looked over her way, grey eyes peeking out of his brim and soft with concern.

"Then let's not talk about her," he said simply with a disarming smile, then turned his head back to the orchid. There was something more than fondness in his eyes when he looked upon it, something like... a happy memory. "I... I didn't have the time to ask, in the tents..." His head suddenly whipped around, eyes wide and sparkling as he blurted, "What is it like, traveling with the Maiden of Revolution? Is she nice? How did you meet her??"

Xia was happy he chose not to continue speaking about Linde. She didn't want to have a conversation about that woman right now. Ever since her departure, that was all she heard about.

Instead, she was greeted with a more pleasant sight once again of the Priest staring fondly at the orchid. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he stared at it much the same way she did... Did they share a common experience with it?

Then, he asked about Quinn with a rather odd sparkle in his eyes. But... It reminded her of herself. The Priest obviously had a lot of admiration and respect for Quinn, but didn't seem to know her very well... Not that Xia could talk. She didn't know her that well either, but still she did know how to answer his questions.

"Well," she began, toying with a lock of her hair.

"Traveling with the Maiden was nice, for the most part. The dangers of the revolution and of Te'i Sai made it difficult going, especially when she was kidnapped... I don't believe I've ever been so worried about someone before in my life." She said.

She looked at Kade.

"She is... She is nice when others are nice to her. But she is also stern and authoritative, as you'd expect the leader of the revolution to be." Xia said with a slight smile.

The pink in her cheeks started coming back.

"Umm... I met her through a... Mutual acquaintance." She said.

If the priest's face could go any paler, it just did.

"She was kidnapped?" he echoed, then looked at his knees, "No... No wonder it took so long for her to come home..."

His head suddenly jerked up, "Is your mutual acquaintance the D- " He stopped himself, eyes averted from hers, "S-Sorry, I, um, I know too much for my station. I won't talk further of this. But ... however you did, I'm glad you met her."

He looked back to her with a beaming grin, "When she walked into the mines, with all those people... all of them, so..." His head ducked down, his blush deepening, "I - I just, I had a good feeling. I don't know their reasons or your reasons for coming here, but... I think, you look like you're going to be good for us. I... I guess the good feeling was hope."

Xia's pink cheeks flushed slightly more and she looked away from the Priest.

He's... Very kind. She thought
.
"Thank you, good Priest." She said.

She took a breath to relax herself and some (though not all) of her flush went away.

"May I-... Umm... May I hold the Orchid again, please? I promise it will come to no harm." She asked.

“Of course,” he said cheerily and shuffled away on his knees to give her space, “Your hands look too soft to hurt it.” Pause. “... !!!” He suddenly was waving his hands about frantically, “I meant nothing by that, Lady Crescalla! I’m sure you are as every bit the fighter as you are gentle!”

Satisfied with the hole he thought he had dug himself from, he glanced away with sheepish expression, “And my name is Kade. Kade Dunzt. Though I don’t mind good Priest.”

Xia blinked when he said her hands looked too soft to hurt it. She looked at her palms and fingers, turning them around a few times to examine them. They didn't look as soft as he said, but he quickly turned it and said he meant no offense.

Xia chuckled.

"No offense taken." She replied.

She turned and smiled at Kade.

"Nice to meet you Kade. You may call me 'Xia' if you'd like." She offered.

"It was nice meeting again under less dire circumstances," he agreed, then stood. "I need to return to the High Priestess, but... you may spend as much time in this garden as you wish, Xia."

Xia smiled at Kade and waved to him as he left the garden to return to the High Priestess. She then walked over to the orchid and gently cupped the flower in her hand and smelled it once more before sitting down in front of it and offering a small prayer.