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Nadia had spent much of the night pacing back and forth across the circle. Partially to wake up her left foot, which kept falling asleep on her, partially just to keep warm as it had gotten quite cold by around 4 am, and partially just to keep herself from falling asleep.
Now, though, she was seated again. Her hunger, overnight, had grown from an inconvenience to almost making her stomach hurt. Her throat was dry, and her body was stiff and aching from walking for most of yesterday.
It was hard to believe, looking back, that she'd ever managed five years on the street, when the hunger pains, the aching body, and the cold and lack of sleep were things she dealt with every day. Life in Fandom had made her somewhat soft, she supposed. She'd grown too used to eating regularly, sleeping on a mattress, and central heating.
Still, she was determined to do this, and to do it right, so she sat throughout the morning and into the afternoon, watching the patterns the sunlight etched across the water and listening to the sounds of the preserve.
After several hours, she became aware of another sound, behind her and to her left, the sound of water rushing over rocks, and of footsteps through the pine needles.
"Dammit, Walter, I told you not to come until tomorrow," she said, turning to look.
( It wasn't Walter )
When Nadia awoke back to her body, the sun had set, and the moon, just past the halfway point of waxing full, illuminated the clearing.
She was stiff and sore again, hungry and thirsty and very, very tired.
But it didn't matter. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, and something glinted, catching her eye.
It was a round stone, smoothed over by years of water flowing over, around, and through it. A river rock with a hole running through it, lopsided and off center. It was just smaller than her palm, maybe 2 1/2 inches in diameter, and only a quarter inch thick at its thickest point. It was a comforting weight in her hand and she tossed it into the air once, catching it with a solid "thwap" into her palm. After a moment's thought, she went to her pack at the edge of the cirlce and pulled out a small length of twine. She looped it around and through the hole in the rock. As she bent over, something fluttered from her hair.
A feather. Sleek, shining, damp, and black. A duck feather. She smiled, threading it into the knot as she tied the twine to the river rock. Then she slipped the twine through her belt loop so that the rock and feather hung just at the center of her left hip. She had enough necklaces, but she felt she should keep these things. It was her own little medicine bag.
She looked out over the water as the wind began to pick up, a soft smile on her face, then she bent over and put her boots back on, put her blankets away, and lifted her pack onto her shoulder.
She'd be getting back early. Wouldn't Walter be surprised.
[ooc: that Nadia is out on the preserve is fine for broadcast. Anything she sees or does here is NFB, since the vast majority of it isn't technically physically happening, anyway. Not for interaction, though OOC commentary is always welcome, if you can't make it past the tl;dr. Mucho thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
untouchableskin for helping me figure out Nadia's spirit animal. The Narcolepsy plot is now complete, yay!]
Now, though, she was seated again. Her hunger, overnight, had grown from an inconvenience to almost making her stomach hurt. Her throat was dry, and her body was stiff and aching from walking for most of yesterday.
It was hard to believe, looking back, that she'd ever managed five years on the street, when the hunger pains, the aching body, and the cold and lack of sleep were things she dealt with every day. Life in Fandom had made her somewhat soft, she supposed. She'd grown too used to eating regularly, sleeping on a mattress, and central heating.
Still, she was determined to do this, and to do it right, so she sat throughout the morning and into the afternoon, watching the patterns the sunlight etched across the water and listening to the sounds of the preserve.
After several hours, she became aware of another sound, behind her and to her left, the sound of water rushing over rocks, and of footsteps through the pine needles.
"Dammit, Walter, I told you not to come until tomorrow," she said, turning to look.
( It wasn't Walter )
When Nadia awoke back to her body, the sun had set, and the moon, just past the halfway point of waxing full, illuminated the clearing.
She was stiff and sore again, hungry and thirsty and very, very tired.
But it didn't matter. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, and something glinted, catching her eye.
It was a round stone, smoothed over by years of water flowing over, around, and through it. A river rock with a hole running through it, lopsided and off center. It was just smaller than her palm, maybe 2 1/2 inches in diameter, and only a quarter inch thick at its thickest point. It was a comforting weight in her hand and she tossed it into the air once, catching it with a solid "thwap" into her palm. After a moment's thought, she went to her pack at the edge of the cirlce and pulled out a small length of twine. She looped it around and through the hole in the rock. As she bent over, something fluttered from her hair.
A feather. Sleek, shining, damp, and black. A duck feather. She smiled, threading it into the knot as she tied the twine to the river rock. Then she slipped the twine through her belt loop so that the rock and feather hung just at the center of her left hip. She had enough necklaces, but she felt she should keep these things. It was her own little medicine bag.
She looked out over the water as the wind began to pick up, a soft smile on her face, then she bent over and put her boots back on, put her blankets away, and lifted her pack onto her shoulder.
She'd be getting back early. Wouldn't Walter be surprised.
[ooc: that Nadia is out on the preserve is fine for broadcast. Anything she sees or does here is NFB, since the vast majority of it isn't technically physically happening, anyway. Not for interaction, though OOC commentary is always welcome, if you can't make it past the tl;dr. Mucho thanks to
untouchableskin for helping me figure out Nadia's spirit animal. The Narcolepsy plot is now complete, yay!]
