On A New Path

[Nayt]

Serj nodded slowly. Sometimes, he wanted to get out of this place too. It wasn't personal when he stopped her from leaving; really, it was just him giving a damn. It was the same reason he stayed out front for awhile after Celestine went inside. Sometimes, he just cared too much for his own good.

Sometimes, though, getting involved with the problems of others often meant that one could ignore one's own problems. Serj didn't play it up or ever talk about it, but he had his own difficulties to attend to with his life, and it wasn't always easy. Being a militiaman, for example. He genuinely hated the job. It took everything he normally did and organized it into something annoying and tripe. If he was going to be a peacekeeper, he would've rather done it on his own terms, not someone else's. It was like slapping corporate doctrine on keeping the peace. It took away all enjoyment of actually keeping the peace and helping people in general . . .

He acknowledged her as she left, but said nothing to Celestine. Rather, he took one last drag from his cigarette and flicked it away, into the street. It was safe there; wasn't going to burn anything down. As Celestine started on her slow walk out of town, Serj stepped away from the side of the house, and arced around to the front door, where he knocked and awaited Celestine's father--to go inside and talk for a little while.

Celestine could go any direction out of town that she wanted. Yesterday, she'd gone out beyond town to the north, off the path and into the woods, which was definitely a much more dangerous route. Nonetheless, she had options. Two, to be exact. The east and west were dead ends; the two parishes were part of the town, but the road stopped there. One could go north or south, though--but, of course, it was a risk all in itself, as no one really had a map. Truth be told, the town was self sufficient, and didn't need other towns to help it exist--but the option was there. They had roads, but no one really left town, so no one really needed a general map of the area. It was going to be a guessing game either way.

[olive juice.]

Celestine's trek through the town was one filled with an onslaught of memories, and though they were precious, they did not cease her from continuing. The journey ahead was one of uncertainty, the words of her father hovered aggressively around her thoughts as each footstep took her to the path she was remotely familiar with. The path lead into the wild brush and into the unknown, and though she was slightly afraid, she felt liberated. She had only touched the tips of the outside world when she had sprinted through the wild green, and though Serj was hesitant of her decision, he had not tried to stop her. She was thankful, and yet slightly remorseful that he would not at least attempt to be guidance in her journey of self discovery. The small possessions she contained would last only a short period of time, and she had no knowledge of other towns or civilizations past the gates of the town. It was a risk she was willing to take, however.

Her figurine soon disappeared into the brush, her mind attempting to retrieve the movement she had made yesterday, opting to continue in the direction she had gone then, but to her dismay she found it rather difficult to truly recall. She continued regardless, and though she was slightly unprepared for what could possibly come across her path, she was still determined to breath in the soft clean air, and enjoy this moment. The nature around her was singing, and she loved every moment of it.


[I apologize Nate. I slacked so horribly. I didn't mean to halt this roleplay.]

[Nayt]

Offtopic: It's fine, I suppose. The only problem you encounter during things like that is, well, I forget what I'm doing after a couple weeks or so.

Of course, there was a path leading out that way-- a path much easier to take, rather than running blindly through the trees, with no consideration of north, south, east, or west.

It wasn't an hour after Celestine started out and down the path, a path that seemed to go nowhere-- so far --that she might hear something behind her. Of course, there wasn't anything; it was the wind, but the wind sounded a lot like footsteps. In fact, it was an absolutely uncanny resemblance to the sound of footsteps. It mimicked the exact tone of a boot's imprint into the almost moist earth, but there were no footprints, and there was no one walking behind Celestine. She was completely alone out there.

The further out she went, though, the closer trees were together. Eventually, the canopies all seemed to connect, even across a somewhat wide dirt road, and slowly but surely began to block out the light of the sun. And that was only an hour into the walk.

And all the while, the wind continued. It didn't let up. It wasn't tearing through the trees with strong gusts, but it was whipping through branches and leaves, and leaving behind traces of sounds best left unheard. Sounds that may have suggested that Celestine wasn't alone out there . . .