35.5 Fic: Letters

Marwa,
  “Thank you” doesn’t begin to suffice. This may be the most thoughtful thing anyone’s given me. We haven’t even landed yet and you’ve already got me wanting to run back there. You’re birthday’s coming up, right? I’m not going to pretend I can get anything nearly this nice but you have to at least let me try. It’s not a transactional thing, I swear, I just want to.
  We’re landing in Whitepost in a few hours. Been a while since we were out this way. You have Laith’s address from before, right?
  Talk soon,
 

K. Mika Oliviera

Hi, Marwa;
  How are you I am Actually fine hope you are well blah blah blah you want to know how the sleep thing went. Short version: it worked, I'm fucking starving now, and I was out for almost a whole day.
  The long version:
  Whitepost is like, five houses and a well, I swear. There's apparently a few people who live outside the village proper but still count - cabins in the Ramblewood, shepherds who follow their flocks from shelter to shelter, etc.
  Took Laith home first. His mom's cool. There's no inn here but Ms. Baker said we could stay with them for a couple days. Their barn has a loft, and hay is not as comfortable as it looks, but it beats the hell out of a ditch.
  Eldath's spring is more like a little pool between hills. There's no sign or fence or anything, and it doesn't need it, there's no mistaking. Laith said it's Actually silent and I'll grant that you can't hear the wind there, but I'll have to take his word for the totality. I'd like to come back here if when we find a way to shut up the shit in my head. It sounds nice.
  We went with the priest, who is also cool. He's not actually called a priest, Eldath's clergy don't have titles. Honestly, I asked whats proper to call him and he said Ned.
  Ned is the most chilled out person I've ever met, and I've met Saeldor. He's a dwarf, older than sin, and he doesn't even smoke, he's just zen as fuck. Obviously I had questions for him. We ended up having a... I don't know, interesting? Productive? Genuine? A good conversation, anyway. Gave me some stuff to think about.
  The water isn't like a knockout potion, Ned said prior tend to just get tired when they usually would. Then I told him how long since I slept even a little and he said okay might be a bit quicker for you then. Totally unfazed. Dude has seen some shit, I tell you.
  Oh, and no, the water can't be stored. So this is a one off. It's genuinely fine. You're going to be annoyed with me for saying this but we are trying this whole open and honest thing, right? It's annoying I lost that much time to this. Boss said I was out like the dead. What if something had happened? Not to mention just the work-hours wasted. And I wasn't kidding when I said I woke up starving. I couldn't eaten a literal horse. So taking care of that was a time sink too.
  I guess while I was out, Laith told his mom about the sleep thing and the whole story about what happened with Amir, because she suddenly didn't think just putting us up for a couple nights was enough. She asked where we were staying like, between trips and I told her I’m kind of between places.
  She made me the craziest offer. Said there's a little place at the Ramble's edge with some holes in the roof and no one lives there and I could stay as long as I wanted if I fixed it up.
  I really thought she was kidding. She wasn't. I said doesn't the mayor or someone have to approve that kind of thing and she said picking a spot and setting up is how she moved in. I told her she should be choosier with her neighbours at least. I mean geez. Can you imagine? I kind of can't stop imagining. Your fault, you know. It was a lot easier to focus when the future was a write off.
  Anyway it's not happening, obviously. Got a fairytale to chase down first. Besides, there's no library here and I'd go actually insane from boredom in like, a week. Dawnharbour, though...
  Kidding. Mostly. For now.
  Don't think I'll be hanging around long enough to get mail, if you wanted to write back, but I'll send you a note with a more reliable address soon as I have one.
  Yours,

K. Mika Oliveira

  PS Boss says you can write him at Stagwall, fort proper, care of Lt. Hixon. He stuck around to make sure I didn't skip the Eldath thing then bounced. Ms. Baker offered him to stay forever too, but in a way that made Laith's eyes roll so far back I thought he'd hurt himself. I don't think I'll ever tire of seeing the boss flustered. It's such a rare treat. Anyway bye-for-now-for-real.