Journies

Guest

Haruka Hichisou	It wasn't long after dinner that a knock echoed from the door to Haruka's room, the sound of someone rapping on the wood boarder of the sliding door taking her attention away from the window. Haruka had been watching the sunset, and it reminded her of something she had painted when she was a young child - using pastels, she had very artfully (in some opinions, sloppily) used pastels to capture the beauty of a sunset as well as a 10 year old could. That picture was still around there somewhere... Before losing tract of her thoughts again, she replied to the sound. "Come in." The door slid open to reveal her mother, who stepped inside with a smile to her daughter and closed the door behind her. It was sort of strange, for her to visit like this - usually Haruka would say goodnight to her parents at dinner and spend the rest of the evening in her room before falling asleep, but it appeared that there was something to talk about. Her hand wandering to play with the end of her braided hair, Haruka shifted on her bed to make room for her mother to sit down, though there was plenty of room on the king sized mattress without her moving. As she took a seat, her mother went straight to business talking: "Your father and I are celebrating our anniversary in a few days." Ah, so that's what this was about. Every few years her parents would make some sort of plan to celebrate their anniversary in style. Without a reply, Haruka waited for her mother to continue her explanation and make clear of what she wanted. "The thought is... We'll, we were planning on making this year special. Perhaps going on a vacation, of sorts..." This would be the part where her mother invited her to come or to stay, since she was old enough. It would be the first time she was given that option, and before hearing the rest of what her mother had to say, announced her decision. "Of course! Where will we be going, then?" An anxious look crossed her mothers face, and she looked away. Confused, Haruka stared at the woman next to her, waiting for a reply. Surely they weren't thinking of making her stay, were they? "The truth is, your father and I plan on travelling to Ember Island... But, maybe while we're gone for the week, you could take your own vacation? You're more than old enough to manage yourself, and I've heard the Earth Country is beautiful this time of year..." Haruka remained composed, but was internally stricken with panic. Her parents were going without her? Even though they offered to pay for her own vacation, it was an unnerving thought. She'd never been away from her parents... Even her tutoring in literature, history, and bending had all been at home. She'd never had to deal with people in the city, since the servants did all the shopping... The realization of her sheltered existence made her wince, and turning away from her mother, the thoughts of time outside of the capitol crossed her mind... Haruka had never been to the Earth Kingdom, however. The stories she'd heard of places like Omashu and Ba Sing Se sounded like something out of a dream world, though actually leaving the Fire Country never occurred to her... Maybe there was some sense in what her mother said, after all. She was almost a grown woman, and had never spent any considerable amount of time outside of her city. As she turned to look at her mother once more, Haruka noticed the apprehension that crossed her face. Was this because she was worried of Haruka's reaction, or because her mother was just as scared of her being on her own as Haruka was herself? The truth was, Haruka wouldn't really be alone -- there would be servants, probably a carriage, even a ship to take them across the ocean between the kingdoms. The only time she'd been on a ship was in her dreams, where descriptions from literature told her everything she would experience... Knowing that this sort of journey would need to be taken eventually, Haruka smiled sincerely to her mother and replied, "That sounds amazing! Of course I'd like to visit the Earth Kingdom!" This seemed to both surprise and relieve her mother, and before she could change her mind the woman stood, uttering a few words of praise to her daughter and leaving her to think about the decision she had just made. Turning her gaze back towards the open window, Haruka noted that in the time it had taken for the entire interaction to occur, the sun had barely budged an inch from its place along the horizon, and the sky itself had remained a blend of orange and lavender, not yet taking the shade of night. Haruka assured herself that the time spent away from home would be a similarly short experience, but somewhere in her heart she secretly hoped the journey would last much longer than that.
Mood: Restless Condition: Healthy	Link: xxx