Home is the Huntress (closed for Snow Shy Kitty1)

[RedDeeDee]

The little hamlet of Vinahoe was one of the places in the Empire that was of no importance to anyone who didn't live there. Point of fact, the servants of the Imperial Tax Collector were always on the verge of forgetting the little village even existed. It was on the edge of a province whose governor was the Emperor's brother-in-law, said brother-in-law getting the post because it was assumed that he couldn't screw this up. The village laid on the edge of a vast steppe which had, over the centuries, been turned into a vast grazing area for the Empire's various ranchers. Vinahoe had once been a thriving little town on the neverending trek of the Empire's herders, but climate and custom had made it little more than a stopover for government officials heading out to check on the herds.

Still, Vinahoe had its advantages. It was home to the last vestiges of the Towan Gypsy folk. At one time in the distant past, the Towans had roamed across the steppe, but as the Empire had spread into their territory, they found themselves absorbed by their new masters, so that there were very few Towan Gypsies left, even in the little town of Vinahoe.

One of those few was a young woman named Hizka.

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Hizka had many of the traits that made her seem like one of the Towan women of ages past come to life. Her long dark hair had mixed within the violet hues that came naturally to a Towan woman. She was soft spoken but confident, skilled in the art of the ceremonial dances of the Towan, a capable midwife and healer, and had at her fingertips the wisdom of her people on everything from herb usage to weather folklore.

And she was blind. From birth. Though one could talk to her for quite some time before you realized this about her. She moved quite confidently and gracefully, and her other senses were so honed that she seemed more aware of her surrounding than those around her with normal sight.

Hizka was seated in a small hut, mixing a draught that would help the village's headman with the gout in his left leg when she looked up, a smile suddenly lighting up her face. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew. Today was the day her friend would be returning home. Home from her adventures, home from her journey to see what the world held outside of their little village. Hizka wasn't sure what changes had come over her friend, but her friend was coming home, and for now, that was enough.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

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Sylvania was not from Vinahoe by birth. Her parents were both engineers for the Empire, building strange machines and automatons. She was orphaned when they both died in an explosion caused by a maniac who thought their work dangerous. She was sent to live with her uncle in Vinahoe, a humble Towan Gypsy man. She was treated differently because of her fascination in the world, but she became friends with the Gypsy girl Hizka. She always felt protective of her after she found out she was blind, and Sylvania was beat up alot defending her against bullies.
After she had become of age, Sylvania joined the Empire's army, and was able to explore, but, terrible things happened. While in a zeppelin they were testing, an explosion went off and the zeppelin crashed, the only survivor being Sylvania, but she had lost her left arm and her right eye was scorched. Thanks to engineers, she got a mechanical arm, but her eye couldn't be saved.

Sylvania walked into the village, sighing in relief at being home. She was changed, wearing the standard military clothes of the army for the women trained in hand to hand combat, a revealing white dress, a sword at her hip, and a flower shaped eye patch over her right eye. She shifted her mechanical left arm, the brown-red metal contraption clicking and whirring as she shifted her pack, and she set out for the house she was told Hizka was at.

 

[RedDeeDee]

Hizka packed her bag as she recalled growing up with her friend and heart-sister Sylvania. It hadn't been easy growing up as the only blind child in a small village that was not equipped to handle her handicap. Children especially can be cruel to those who are different. Hizka being teased to any degree, though, was not something that Sylvania would tolerate. And Sylvania didn't do anything by half measures. Any teasing meant Sylvania was going to make the confrontation physical, no matter what the odds. And no matter is she won or lost, and lost badly, Sylvania was always ready for the next fight.

As Hizka gathered the rest of her belongings before leaving her small house, she reflected on how all the traits that had made her the target of ridicule as a child were admired and sought after now that she was an adult. She had heard the soft whispers of the young man who admired her purple-tinted hair, fair skin and other traits of her Towan ancestry, as well as the gracefulness lent to her movements because of her sightlessness. And even at her young age, she was the Healer and midwife others sought out over those twice, thrice or more than her age.

Hizka put a shawl over her modest outfit as she stepped out the door, and she could immediately tell something was different in the village. Husted tones and excited whispers of the villagers surrounded her. A hint of a smile touched the corner of her mouth as she cocked her head one way, then the other, before making a surprisingly surefooted and direct line toward the source of the commotion, meeting Sylvania as the other woman headed toward Hizka's house.

"Welcome back," Hizka smiled at the other woman, before the smile turned to mild concern. "You're tired. Let's get you settled in, cleaned up and something in your stomach." Without another word, Hizka turned around and headed back to her home, trusting Sylvania to follow.

 

[Snow_Shy_Kitty1]

Sylvania shook her head, the faintest hint of a smile on her face. Hizka knew her well, even after all these years, and she followed her. She saw the looks her friend got, but the ones shee got were mixed: amazement, confusion, intimidation, and awe is what she felt in all the stares. She sighed, shifting her left arm, the gears clicking and whirring in a low tone barely audible even to her. She soon walked inside Hizka's house, looking around with her good eye, and she set her pack down. "You look good, Hizka." As she straightened, her arm hit a table, resulting in the sound of metal striking wood. "Sorry. Stupid arm. Still getting used to it."

 

[RedDeeDee]

"Don't worry about it," Hizka said with a smile. Even though Hizka's eyes were sightless, they seemed to gaze straight into Sylvania's. "Sometimes relaxing, rather than striving, helps. Though I wouldn't know anything about the technology used on your..." Hizka cocked her head to one side before continuing ..."left arm. Take a seat. Relax. I'll get you something to drink. I keep my fare pretty simple, but I think I still have a bottle of juice in the cold storage."

Hizka made her way through her house gracefully. The interior was simple, even more so than the other homes of the village, and lacked even the most basic innovations that had made it to the hinterlands of the Empire. Still, its spartan order seemed to fit Hizka perfectly. Hizka opened a small trap door in the floor, and raised a small box from it. She pulled a clay bottle from the box and grinned. "I thought I hadn't drank the last of it." Hizka disappeared into the house's kitchen and returned, a glass of purple juice in one hand and an odd looking electric lantern in the other.

"I should have brought this out when I invited you in," Hizka said, handing the glass of juice to Sylvania as she hung the lantern on a nearby hook. "I tend to go to those seeking my services, rather than the other way around. And," Hizka chuckled, "When it's just me here, I have no need of the lantern."

"Now let me tend to a midday meal for you," Hizka continued. "You just take a seat and relax. Talk or don't talk, whatever makes you feel comfortable. Though I suspect that once the village recovers from its collective shock, you'll be plied with plenty of questions."