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clairetherose · 6 years

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Draecember 2017 Day 5 - Discovering a New Place

(((((Yeaaaaaah we’re late again. I’ll be trying to get day 6 up as well, today, too. But here’s this. I’m not sure if it was on purpose, but I’ve somehow had all five days so far be from different points in Kelci’s timeline, showing five different major points in her life. She’s been through a lot. Thanks to anyone still with me <3 )))))

Even though she couldn’t see it, Kelci could feel and smell the cool mist around her as she used the handrail to guide herself off the boat. As she took her first steps onto Pandaria, her hooves dug into soft sand below, and the call of seabirds above mixed with those of other birds; ones she had never heard before. Between the spray of salt and the mists gripping around her, she felt like she was practically swimming through midair, taking each step very slowly. At some point on the trip over here, she had lost her guiding cane, and was having to feel her way around by groping about in each direction with her hands as she walked. It was very slow going, and she heard a couple other people bustle past her off the boat, eager to make landfall.

“Ah, hello miss,” A warm, heavy voice came from just in front of Kelci, “You ought to be careful. This beach is no place to be wandering about. Did you need help?” It was one of the natives, a Pandaren man, and if his voice was any indication, a very large one at that. If he had picked up on her blindness, he said nothing of it, a fact Kelci was thankful for.

“Well, normally I’d say no,” She began, but sighed, “But my hooves are sinking in the sand and I lost my cane on the trip here. So if you could just help me get off the beach, at the very least, I’d appreciate it, sir.” She sounded ashamed of herself for being any kind of bother at all, as if it were her fault things were more difficult for her.

It seemed like the man picked up on her troubles, because he gave her a hearty laugh, “Ohoho, don’t be silly, small one. You are no trouble at all.” He gently placed a guiding paw on her back and helped to lead her from the beach, talking all the while. “Though, I must say, you are so skinny. Do you never eat, girl? Come! I will get you some dumplings!” He was generous, at the very least.

Kelci ducked out of his arm when she felt more solid ground under her hooves. “No no, I’m alright. I ate before we landed.” She’d heard of the legendary appetites of Pandaren and wasn’t about to get accidentally roped into that. “Thank you for your help!” She smiled and promptly stumbled over a loose stone on the path as she walked. Miraculously, she kept up on her hooves without falling over. She just sighed.

“There is no harm in asking for help, if you need it,” The man repeated, joviality painting every word, “You said you lost your cane? Perhaps I can help you to find another one, hm?” He wasn’t mocking or taunting, if anything he sounded impressed by Kelci’s strength and conviction.

Kelci weighed his words. It would be all but impossible for her to continue in a new, unknown land without something to help guide her. And she did need a new cane. Her face was a mask as she considered things. “...that’s actually a good idea,” She conceded, in the end, “I could use a hand, yeah. At least until I can move about on my own, yeah? I’m Kelci, by the way.”

“Ahh, good. You need not worry on pride, my dear.” The rumbling voice came from somewhere to Kelci’s left, instead. She hadn’t heard him move, at all. “For I have none. Daolong Zhao. The honor is mine.” Based on how is voice changed and moved, he probably bowed when he said that.

“Arkenon poros, Daolong,” Kelci greeted him more formally, upon learning his name. “I suppose if you’re alright with devoting your afternoon to a blind woman, I’ll happily accept some help. I just don’t want to be a burden.”

“Oh my, is that your native language?” Daolong asked with a genuine, burning curiosity. “It’s so unique! Come on then, miss Kelci. You are only a burden if you cannot lighten your own load. Do not be so dragged down by worry.” He began to lean her, gently, again. “Come on, I know the perfect place. It is a bit of a walk, though. I hope that you do not mind.”

Kelci’s reply was warm, “It is Draenei, yes. And of course I don’t mind. Not at all! I wanted to experience the land myself, in whatever way I can.” Despite her loss of sight, she had heard so much, she needed to walk the paths and just feel the land around her. “There is something about this place. I’ve only been here a short time, and I already feel at peace. It’s… nice.”

Daolong paused in his guiding, “Mm, that is the way of our land. Peace, tranquility, and balance. We do not let negative emotions dictate our lives, as we have learned all too well the damage they can wreak upon a land and a people.” He ever so gently nudged Kelci forward, just so she could feel that there was the start of a flight of stairs leading upward. “We’ll be going up these, so be careful. They’re even, but just watch your step. They can get slick with the surf and the mists. Once we’re up and into the forest, things will improve.”

Kelci just nodded, slowly getting lost in the sounds and smells of the world around her. Even her hooves on the stones felt differently. All of it was gentle and welcoming, quite unlike anywhere she’d ever been before. Each new moment as they ascended the steps became another new memory for her. The constant mist tickled her cheeks, giving the whole of the land a feeling of mystery and wonder. The smell was unlike the cities and sheltered areas she had come from, far off from the sterile, dryness of Draenei structures, and altogether the opposite of the dingy, smelly human streets. This land was full of people, but allowed to live free and continue to be its own. Birdsong and animal calls, each unlike any she’d heard before, drew her into her surroundings.

It was slow going up the stairs, but Kelci managed. By taking the time to reach with each hoof before stepping, she could keep up the pace almost without aid. Daolong would murmur something when they came to a short landing, so she wasn’t standing there, groping about with her hoof for a step that wasn’t going to come. After some amount of time, Kelci couldn’t keep track, this place drove all notion of worrying about how long something was taken from her mind, they reached the top of the stairs and stepped out into a sprawling forest. Wind rushed up from the beach and through Kelci’s hair, blowing it over her face, but she just left it there. “This place is wonderful,” she smiled, grasping forward with an arm as if she could touch the very essence of Pandaria, “I feel at peace just being here. Thank you for the help, Mister Zhao.”

The Pandaren man just chuckled at her, “Please, just call me Dao. And I’m glad that you can find a way to appreciate my land, even without seeing it. You show wisdom for one so young and so small.”

Kelci continued to face toward the forest before them, but she replied, “I’m nearly three thousand years old, Dao. Young by my people’s standards, though.” She touched the skin around her eyes, “I’ve been without these for three hundred of those years. I was told by someone not to let that hold me back, and I try not to.”

The Pandaren was silent, for the first time. A bit in shock. “Three thou-- My girl, you’re making an old man feel like a young boy.” He chuckled heartily and patted her on the back. “You have been through much, I would guess, and to come out of that so strong is a testament to your character. So tell me, my dear, what brought you to Pandaria?”

He began to walk as he spoke, and Kelci followed. “I would like to tell you it was all discovery, but there’s a more personal reason, as well.” She stuck close to where Dao’s footfalls were, trying not to get lost in a forest she’d never walked before. “I overheard someone saying something about your Monks. That they can fight while blindfolded. That… not being able to see wasn’t something that stopped them. I wanted to see if that ability could be learned.”

Dao paused to think on that for quite some time. Her answer had not been what he was expecting. When he spoke, his words were slower and more thoughtful, “Well, that isn’t unheard of, no. But there are only one or two Masters in a generation who can do so for their whole lives. And even less who’d be willing to teach someone blind. Though,” He added, “There is one who might. But he refuses to teach anyone who does not come and seek him out, on their own. It is said that he sits atop Mount Neverest, the highest mountain in Pandaria, and meditates until he has a worthy pupil. But that climb is more dangerous, these days. I don’t know very many untrained people who could even attempt the climb, let alone survive it.” Though she couldn’t tell, he was giving Kelci an appraising look.

“Then,” She nodded, “That is what I’ll do. A cane first, and then this Mount Neverest.” She sounded like she meant it, and she did. It was her intention to find the Master on top of the Peak and to earn the right to be trained by him.

Daolong spoke no more on the subject, as they had just arrived in a grove of bamboo. “Ahh, here we are. There is nothing that makes a better staff than bamboo. And what is a cane but a shorter staff?” He released his guiding hand from Kelci and took a step back. “The best way to find something that is just right for you, is to do so yourself. Go around to the bamboo and find one that speaks back to you.”

Kelci nodded and moved around the grove, setting her hands on the stalks of bamboo as she wandered. There were some that felt thinner, others had more bend, or a softer stalk. Dao was right, there was a lot of things to be considered. “Speaks back to me,” She repeated, one in particular held in both of her hands. It was sturdy, but light. Durable, but with a bit of spring to it. Hard and solid, with a firm feel in her hands. This was the one. With a swift kick of her hoof, she split the stalk near its base, then again at the length she felt was right, for her. She’d taken Dao’s words to heart and made it more of a staff than a cane. If she was going to be traveling a long distance, it was better to have something that could be both.

“Here it is, and thank you.” She turned in the direction she remembered them entering the grove. There was no response. Daolong had left her be to find her staff. “I suppose I will have to find my own way, then. That’s probably for the better, anyway.” She turned and breathed in, gripping her staff in both hands. If the wind came from the sea, where the air felt more dry and smelled less of salt and water must be the right way to go. She arrived at a direction and she followed it, off into the mists.

It was that day Kelci would first hold the staff she would use for many years to come.

#draecember #draecember2017 #draecember day 5 #draenei #warcraft #writing #roleplay #kelci shadeleaf #pandaria

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