by Vida was merely a child when she witnessed the infection of blood sickness for the first time. She'd passed the cages in silent wonder alongside her mother, who'd tried to keep her distracted from them. But, the feral snarls of the captors within had caused her to fail.
She looked toward the cages with wide, frightened eyes before she shrank back behind her mother, pointing in their direction. "What is wrong with them? Why are they behaving like that?"
Edda did not look at her daughter. Instead, she placed a hand to her shoulder and continued to guide her away, but not before the small child witnessed for herself the savage sinking of one man's teeth into another's shoulder. "It is blood sickness, Vida. Many within our clan believe it to be a clever means of causing chaos among the other clans, or obtaining something they wish for but have not been granted." While her words were neutral, Vida knew her mother well enough to understand that she didn't approve. At all.
Neither did Vida.
She frowned and looked up at her. "Why would they do that to someone on purpose? There have to be other ways to get what you want, right?"
"Yes. However..." She drew in a deep breath and took a knee so she could better see eye to eye with the youngling, barely ten years old. Her sensitive ears had caught the hints of growls at the words overheard by passersby; it caused her to whisper to her. "Be careful with what you say near the ears of others. You can trust me, my love, but do not trust too many others with your thoughts so openly." She patted a loving hand over her daughter's auburn hair before she withdrew and rose back up to a stand, taking her hand and leading her out into the woods of Blood Clan territory in search of herbs.
In the present, Vida had abruptly left Frost Fang Village to battle a steady stream of panic attacks that had hit her throughout the evening and night. She had seen blood sickness induced and spread in her young life, but she had never seen those victims cured - or at all - once they were "let loose" upon their home clans. To her, it felt like a death sentence.
The realization had sent her into a panic that she was only glad she'd left the village to endure. Her anxiety had caused her to hyperventilate; to sob hysterically; to rake her sharpened nails down the sides of her face just to provide a hint of pain to distract from the hysteria.
Vetis and Ludo could not be lost just as they'd been found. They could not join Fozz so soon, especially with the Umbra in the state it was in. It was not their time; of this she was convinced.
So, in a move of desperation, she tried in the dead of night to contact her mother for word of a possible cure. She sat before the blue flame; tossed mullein into the fire to try to make the communication process easier. Edda did not appear. She could not show any sign of her presence, save the weak, faint whisper that came from the fire in her voice.
"I am sorry, my little runt..."
Vida stared toward the fire in contained dismay. Hints of it rolled down her cheeks as warm tears, but she did not break down. Not again. Instead, she shook her head and rose to her feet.
"There has to be some way..."
Flame scrying. She herself had never done it before - only heard of it - having believed it to be something that the Spiral Clan was more likely to do... but she felt enough desperation to do it herself.
Gathering enough dry wood to form a decent fire, she pushed the brazier of blue flame aside carefully. In its place came the fire pit, ignited to a warm burn. She sat before the fire in complete silence and began to quietly stare; it would be morning soon enough. She had to try and work quickly.
Vida leaned back into the nearby rocks as she began to make herself comfortable. Her eyelids drooped and her gaze softened. She stared into the flame with her biggest concern at the forefront of her mind, and she did this until she slowly fell into a trance-like state.
What she saw in the fire was not clear in the slightest, nor did it make sense to her. A woman with hair of red. Herself? She could not see the face. She saw a flurry of bodies tangled in conflict, though she could not tell how many or who lie in the midst of it. It looked more like past than present or future to her... but she continued to stare.
By the time she came out of her trance, the sun had fully risen and the fire had died. She remembered what she had seen, but she did not understand.
Descending from the Rise, she spent the next few hours wandering aimlessly in the stretch of woodland between the den and the village, as if she could not decide where to go. She waited for alert of Arianna's return, but did not want to enter the village until she'd caught sight or scent or sound of her. She stared northeast toward the den with the temptation to visit him for comfort and company - but as if she felt ashamed, she did not go to Ásbjörn.
Instead, Vida returned to the patch of wildflowers beneath the willow tree. She laid herself among them, sighed... and eventually, her exhausted mind forced her to sleep.
She looked toward the cages with wide, frightened eyes before she shrank back behind her mother, pointing in their direction. "What is wrong with them? Why are they behaving like that?"
Edda did not look at her daughter. Instead, she placed a hand to her shoulder and continued to guide her away, but not before the small child witnessed for herself the savage sinking of one man's teeth into another's shoulder. "It is blood sickness, Vida. Many within our clan believe it to be a clever means of causing chaos among the other clans, or obtaining something they wish for but have not been granted." While her words were neutral, Vida knew her mother well enough to understand that she didn't approve. At all.
Neither did Vida.
She frowned and looked up at her. "Why would they do that to someone on purpose? There have to be other ways to get what you want, right?"
"Yes. However..." She drew in a deep breath and took a knee so she could better see eye to eye with the youngling, barely ten years old. Her sensitive ears had caught the hints of growls at the words overheard by passersby; it caused her to whisper to her. "Be careful with what you say near the ears of others. You can trust me, my love, but do not trust too many others with your thoughts so openly." She patted a loving hand over her daughter's auburn hair before she withdrew and rose back up to a stand, taking her hand and leading her out into the woods of Blood Clan territory in search of herbs.
In the present, Vida had abruptly left Frost Fang Village to battle a steady stream of panic attacks that had hit her throughout the evening and night. She had seen blood sickness induced and spread in her young life, but she had never seen those victims cured - or at all - once they were "let loose" upon their home clans. To her, it felt like a death sentence.
The realization had sent her into a panic that she was only glad she'd left the village to endure. Her anxiety had caused her to hyperventilate; to sob hysterically; to rake her sharpened nails down the sides of her face just to provide a hint of pain to distract from the hysteria.
Vetis and Ludo could not be lost just as they'd been found. They could not join Fozz so soon, especially with the Umbra in the state it was in. It was not their time; of this she was convinced.
So, in a move of desperation, she tried in the dead of night to contact her mother for word of a possible cure. She sat before the blue flame; tossed mullein into the fire to try to make the communication process easier. Edda did not appear. She could not show any sign of her presence, save the weak, faint whisper that came from the fire in her voice.
"I am sorry, my little runt..."
Vida stared toward the fire in contained dismay. Hints of it rolled down her cheeks as warm tears, but she did not break down. Not again. Instead, she shook her head and rose to her feet.
"There has to be some way..."
Flame scrying. She herself had never done it before - only heard of it - having believed it to be something that the Spiral Clan was more likely to do... but she felt enough desperation to do it herself.
Gathering enough dry wood to form a decent fire, she pushed the brazier of blue flame aside carefully. In its place came the fire pit, ignited to a warm burn. She sat before the fire in complete silence and began to quietly stare; it would be morning soon enough. She had to try and work quickly.
Vida leaned back into the nearby rocks as she began to make herself comfortable. Her eyelids drooped and her gaze softened. She stared into the flame with her biggest concern at the forefront of her mind, and she did this until she slowly fell into a trance-like state.
What she saw in the fire was not clear in the slightest, nor did it make sense to her. A woman with hair of red. Herself? She could not see the face. She saw a flurry of bodies tangled in conflict, though she could not tell how many or who lie in the midst of it. It looked more like past than present or future to her... but she continued to stare.
By the time she came out of her trance, the sun had fully risen and the fire had died. She remembered what she had seen, but she did not understand.
Descending from the Rise, she spent the next few hours wandering aimlessly in the stretch of woodland between the den and the village, as if she could not decide where to go. She waited for alert of Arianna's return, but did not want to enter the village until she'd caught sight or scent or sound of her. She stared northeast toward the den with the temptation to visit him for comfort and company - but as if she felt ashamed, she did not go to Ásbjörn.
Instead, Vida returned to the patch of wildflowers beneath the willow tree. She laid herself among them, sighed... and eventually, her exhausted mind forced her to sleep.
