The One Bad Thing About Spring [Bjarga]

Her eyes opened with a start. She did not remember falling asleep. She did not remember much of the time before either. The way her eyes burned indicated she had not sleep nearly long enough. She tried to remember back, but it was all fuzzy. All she could remember for certain was trying to find Arithelia.

She heard shouting once more, and realized that was what woke her. She'd rise, slowly and clumsily. For some reason, it was hard to get balance, and she was slightly dizzy.

Then a strange woman with flowers in her hair ran beneath where she lie upon the thick branches of the tall oak tree above, and a small cloud of bees followed.

This brought her mind in to focus. She'd leap, catching the air beneath her as she all but swan dove between them. She curled in midair, sending a gust of wind at the bees before rolling upon her back across the ground only to stand erect and unharmed between them, with her back towards the bees. Her years of training with the monks on various motions associated with the safe flow of energy had taught her well.

She'd turn upon her heels to face the dispersed and disgruntled swarm of bees. She'd take a deep breath, and enter a trance. She was too delirious in her sleep-deprivation to think straight, and the familiar motions of her body reminded her of things that normally a better rested mind would urge her to forget.

She took up the stance slowly, as any of the monks would have done, but suddenly, rather than the slow and peaceful motions their kata took in meditation, hers were fierce and aggressive: meditation turned to focus to defend one's self against enemies. Her movements were fluid, if swift, and the flow of energies through her body caused the hair on her body to stand on end. This was most evident in her tail, as it became larger than seemed possible, emulating a large, spiked animal itself.

Then the energies began to cause her body to spark. Every motion was swift to ensure the proper transference of energies so that they would not linger too long and burn her. She walked slowly towards the bees, maintaining this kata. The bees would be able to feel the fierce, electrical energies in the air, and would disperse.

Bjarga, seeing this would give one, final, fierce motion, unleashing a strong burst of electrical power from her palm. She briefly wondered, for a moment, if she might one day be able to do more with this power. She'd forgotten how it felt.

However, as she left the trance she could feel the way the hairs on her back stood on end - and those on her head. She'd groan and try to pat it back down, but it was a useless endeavor. She'd sigh and turn to see if the strange woman was still there, hoping she wasn't so she wouldn't see her in such a ridiculous state.

Bjarga would sulk slightly. She'd close her eyes and sink in to a meditate stance. She'd focus on balancing her energies. Her hair would not return to it's normal state, but would not longer stand quite so erect. Another deep breath, and she'd finally reply, calm and composed.

"You're welcome." She'd open her eyes and give her first real look at her acquaintance. Her red hair was pretty, but not as pretty as Alex's. She seemed to be about her height, when she became a guy that is. Her clothes weren't fancy, but there was a sort of charm to her. She was nice to look at.

"The flowers on your head are really pretty. I can see why the bees liked you. I like you too." Without shame, she'd elaborate, "Your swirls look fun. I kinda wanna trace 'em with my fingers." She'd giggle and begin rolling in little circles, shifting her weight between her thighs, shins, and bottom. She was having way too much fun thinking about the swirls. She'd slow down shortly after though, as she grew a little dizzy. Her eyes never left the stranger. "I like the stick you got there. The blue shiny rock kinda looks like a sapphire. How'd you get it to stay like that?" She'd give a goofy smile, that made it very apparent how tired she was.

She'd suddenly give an exaggerated, "Oh!" almost a shout. She'd laugh at her own volume, almost rolling on to her back, her tail curling to keep her upright, before proceeding, "I'm lookin' for Arithelia," her words would slur, "you seen 'er?"

Bjarga would stand, staggering a bit as she did so. "No can do, fair maiden!" She'd say far louder than she realized, practically shouting, "I have to find Arithelia. It's super," she'd hold out the 'u' for an exaggerated amount of time, "important. Who else is going to fix the world?" She'd shake her head emphatically, "Nope. I gotta find her."

Then, abruptly, "You're really pretty. I mean, I can understand why the bees were drawn to you. If I were a bee, I'd be drawn to you too." She'd look pensive for a moment before saying, "You're lucky. You could probably pass as Arithelia. I bet she's at least as beautiful as you are."

She said these things with no shame nor lecherous intent. Bjarga was earnest and sincere in her compliments. However, despite her words, she'd make no actions to indicate she intended to stay, and would instead begin to walk away as if to continue her search, with no regard as to her current condition.

She'd completely forgotten about her hair, so it still mostly stood on end. She'd reach down and grab a piece of shattered crystal, holding it up to the light as she did so, with a practiced motion of one who had done this so many times it was effortless, in order to cause it to act as a prism and create a small rainbow. She'd smile at it.

She'd wonder what the woman's flowers smelled like, and would turn away from her rainbow for a moment to look at her as she wondered. However, her eyes gave no answers, and her mind was adamant about the fact that finding Arithelia was more important than satisfying her whims of fancy. Unless she was stopped, or successful, she'd return to her search until she passed out once more.