Sheila Sheila's Journey
"What would she do without me?" asked herself Afura Mann, air's high
priestess of Muldoon. She flew after her workmate, Sheila Sheila, the
fire's high priestess.
"Really Sheila, you should learn to behave. You already have such a bad
reputation among our pilgrims. What would they think about you falling
down a hill like that? "She proposed her hand to help the red-spiky-
haired priestess to stand up.
The said red-head ignored her hand and growled "That's none of your
concern!" She straightened her dress and cleaned the dust off. "By the
way, what are you doing here? you certainly don't follow me to blame me
for my manners!"
"Actually, I decided I would visit some of the libraries I supervise and
see if I could find something to help Makoto. I figured it'd be less
boring if I accompanied you. "The black-haired girl replied. She added
in a whisper, but loud enough for Sheila to hear "...And make sure you
wouldn't bet your temple in a stupid money game again."
"Hey! I heard that! You..." She interrupted herself when she saw the
wide smile painted on Afura's face. 'That woman! Why does she keep
going under my skin?' She turned around and began to walk down the
hill." Humpff! Do as you want!"
With an even wider smile, the black-haired girl joined her friend. They
walked in silence, each one admiring the beautiful landscape in the
sunset. From time to time, Afura threw quick glances toward her
companion. Which didn't go unnoticed by the fire's priestess. She didn't
know why, but it gave her a weird feeling.
"What's with you?" she finally asked Afura.
"Mmmh? Oh! Err, I was thinking we should find a place to rest. It's
almost the night..."
"Oh I see! Not used to walk, isn't it? You spend too much time with your
books! And when you've got to go somewhere you just fly. If you go on
like this you'll soon be as round as a ball." She twirled and took a
pose. "While I'll still be as beautiful as ever!" The last sunrays were
playing on her well-tanned skin and gave her blue eyes golden sparkles.
Indeed, she was breathtaking. She looked like a goddess and Afura
couldn't take her eyes off her.
Sheila frowned, usually, Afura'd have retorted something nasty. There,
she just stared blankly at her, probably eating every flies of the
surrounding. Her friend was definitely strange today. Anyway, she was
right, the night was falling fast and... - GROWWLL... - ...she was
starving to death!
Afura snapped out of wherever she was. 'Ohh! Wonderful, Afura! Really
smooth! Why don't you drool in front of her, when you're at it? Okay,
you can still save it, just be your usual stoic yourself, don't show
emotions! Piss her off! It's not difficult, you do this all the time!'
"Oy, who's the big stomach here? You're the one who should care about
her weight with all the things you eat!" With a thoughtful expression,
she added, "Well, at least you'll roll much better down the hills!"
The red-head girl grinned, THAT was her Afura! "Then we'll make
contests, I'll win of course! Particularly if you're as slow as today,
I almost thought I'd have to train turtles to drag you along."
"They are lucky you didn't have to, you'd have eaten them!"
"Yeah, but only after you killed them with your fat ass!"
Both of the girls threw daggers at each other, then broke in laugh and
finally shivered. Nights were still fresh in this season. They decided
to camp before entering the deep forest. Afura set up the tent and
Sheila lit up the fire. Then the black haired girl took care of the
food - she had better if she wanted to eat anything, no matter what her
red-head friend said - while the other girl left to fetch some water to
the near river.
When Sheila came back, she handed two beautiful fishes to the cooker
and sat next to her.
"Whoa, how did you get them? They're gonna complete our meal very
nicely!"
Her red-head friend smiled "Remember when I told you about my life
before I forced the academy's doors? I used to take care of myself, if
I wanted to eat, I'd better be resourceful." Her gaze got distant "I
guess there are things you never forget..."
Afura looked at her friend, she had never told anyone why she lived
alone at that time, she never talked about any family members. What had
happened she had to stuff it so deep in herself? Afura remembered the
days back at the priest's academy. That wasn't only the hunger that
prevented the red-head girl to sleep - even if herself had to admit the
food was really a pity - but awful nightmares. Every nights her fiery
friend woke up, panting and sweating. What had definitely not helped
was the way the other students treated her. No one would help her,
comfort her.
They all looked down at her because of the way she entered the academy.
They said the high priest allowed her to stay because he took pity of
her, but that she could never be more than a mere servant's temple. All
this grieves, instead of breaking her down made her tougher, steeling
her resolve to be a fire's high priestess. But it also closed her off.
Since then, she always showed a cheerful and careless face to anybody.
But the nightmares were still there...all Afura could do for her was
to be there and hope she would let it go one day. She wanted so badly
to help her, it was amazing how she had grown attached to this fool
girl! So much that she...
"Sooo, you never answered me," she said when resuming her meal. "Are
you on a love's trip?"
Sheila choked with her bread, turned bright red and had to drink half
her flask to swallow it. "Gargle...hack! Wha-wha-what -hips!- are ya
-hips!- talking about?-Hips! Of cour-hips!-not-hips! I'm above -hic!-
those things -hips! hips!..."
"There, there..." The air-priestess patted her friend's back. "Breathe
deeper and your hiccup should stop..."
"Stop -hips!- mothering me! -hips- I can handle -hic!- this by myself!"
Afura reached a hand and stroked her friend's cheek. "I know... You
always had..." She whispered. Then she got up and went in her tent,
leaving a very dumbfounded Sheila behind her. 'What WAS THAT?!?' she
wondered. Why such gentleness all of a sudden? Sheila couldn't
understand this at all. she could even less understand the sudden
warmth in her heart. She smiled unconsciously, hugged herself and
closed her eyes.
Little she knew that in her tent, Afura was asking herself the same
question.
'WHAT did I do, dammit ! But I just couldn't help myself! Am I
becoming insane or something?' She shook her head. 'She's just a
close friend... Right? I wouldn't want her to go all weird around me
because of this incident, would I? Oooooh, Spirits, what's happening to
me?'
Again, she couldn't help herself and spread one side of her tent to
peek on her friend. The fire priestess was curled up close to the fire.
Could she be already asleep, wondered Afura. Cautiously, she crawled
out of her shelter to have a better look. Indeed, Sheila was fast
asleep, a little smile tugging at her lips.
She was so cute like this, seeming so carefree...at last at peace. The
air priestess stared at her a long time this night. Until the fire
almost died, actually. She then noticed she was almost frozen.
'She must be cold too!' she said to herself, her eyes widening. She
looked for Sheila's bag and once she found it, pulled out the thickest
blanket. When she neared her sleeping friend, she could see her
shivering, a slight frown appearing on her tanned face.
Afura wrapped carefully the red-head in the blanket, but the frown
remained and got even worse. The fire priestess trashed a bit. Afura
realized that Sheila probably had one of her nightmares. Out of
instinct, she reached down and ran a light hand in the messy hair of
her friend. In the meantime, she whispered soothing words.
After two minutes, the red-head calmed down and went back to a
peacefull sleep. Almost in a trance, the air priestess bent down and
kissed lightly her friend's forehead. Then, she settled back watching
the sleeping girl.
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The next morning, Sheila found herself next to the now extinguished
campfire. She was startled, she didn't remember when she had fallen so
easily asleep, she even didn't have any of her usual nightmares. How
could that be? Then she realized she was tucked in a thick blanket. She
didn't remember pulling it out of her bag. "Afura?"
"Oh, good morning, slept well?"
The voice came from behind her, she rolled on herself to see her
friend. "Better than ever, err, thanks for the blanket..."
"Why, you're welcome... 'Seems I can't stop myself mothering you!"
Grinned the black-haired girl.
"Well, I certainly wouldn't complain this time," she extracted
herself out of the blanket. "And would my new found parent have
prepared the breakfast, by any chance?" she asked playfully.
Afura sighed dramatically. "Ahh, children, you bleed for them and all
they do is asking you for food!" Oh no! Sheila was giving her her most
studied puppy dog face! The air priestess gave up. "All right, all
right, but you better go cleaned up or else I won't make you anything!"
"Yay!"
The air priestess watched her friend stretch herself like a cat. She
let her eyes travel along her graceful curves, almost feeling the soft
skin under her fingers, the silkiness of her hair...she averted her
gaze in an angry motion. What was she doing? She wasn't supposed to act
like that, she was a high priestess, damnit! If she kept on like this,
she 'd become as nut as princess Fatora and Alielle.
"Hurry up! The sun is already high in the sky!"
"What? Bullshit, you're right! Why did you let me sleep that long?!?"
"A twister wouldn't have woken you up!" No way she'd admit she'd
enjoyed watching her sleep, and even less to herself.
The red-head ran to the river and came back a few minutes later to wolf
her breakfast down. Then they packed their belongings and entered the
forest.
It was one of those old, deep and very dark forest, the kind of you
found in every good fairy tale, filled with monsters, witches and the
Spirits knew what else. Why in the hell had Sheila to take this way? It
would be much faster - and safer - if she let her take them both in the
air. But noooo! Sheila had to be more stubborn than a bugrom and she
wouldn't change her mind, whichever pleas Afura would come up with!
They walked for what seemed hours to Afura, pausing occasionnaly. They
were apparently headed south-east. They finally reached a clear at the
bottom of a high hill under wich went on the river they had been
following all along. On the other side of the river stood a humble and
old house with the remnants of a garden beside it. This house was
obviously abandoned for a very long time. Afura wondered what could
have possibly driven her friend to come here. She glanced at the fire
priestess.
The later had just turned around, her face more expressionless than
ever, though, her jaws were firmly closed. Sheila walked until she
reached a place on the opposit side of the house, across the river,
where the forest was beginning again. Then she kneeled and began to
clean a particular spot, cutting wild grass, pushing away old arm tree
that had fallen there...
Afura came up behind her to see what was up. When she realized what it
was her friend was cleaning, her eyes got wide. Wordlessly, she sank to
her knees too and helped the red-head in her task.
Once it was resumed, they both stood back up and stayed like this,
somberly silent, staring at the single grave before them, for a long
while. The gravestone was a very simple one, and time hadn't been kind
with it, but one could still read the name of the person who lied
there: Muthani Sheila.
Finally the fire priestess talked. It was barely above a whisper, as if
she was afraid to disturb the last slumber of the person who rested
here.
"It was a long time since I last saw you, wasn't it? But I know that
wherever I go, you're there, with me, watching me, protecting me...I
still miss you so terribly, but I've got great friends now. One came
with me. Mother, this is Afura..."
She looked at the air priestess who seemed to have a hard time keeping
her feelings in check.
"...Afura, this is my mother..."
Not waiting for a reaction she turned back towards the grave. "We know
each other since our days at the Academy. She's watching over me too
and she's very kind, even if she's a bit stuck up. She spends too much
time in her library, if you ask me..." She smiled softly.
"I hope you're fine and that you don't worry too much about me. I
remember you telling me it was dangerous to act without thinking when I
did something stupid. But I'm still your little devil and I don't see
myself change. I'm just praying I'm not too much of a disappointment to
you..."
At this point, Afura's head jerked up and tears fell freely from her
eyes. She struggled to keep herself from embracing her friend and pour
out all the love she had for the wild girl. Instead, she reached for
her arm, squizzed it affectionately and said in a throaty voice:
"I think - No, I know for sure that your mother could never be ashamed
of you. She's certainly very proud of who you've become, of who you
are!"
Sheila looked at her in surprise, then she gave her friend a smile that
Afura would forever commit to memory as the most beautiful thing she
could ever see.
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Later, they were preparing the camp for the night.
"Sheila... I want to thank you..."
A slightly startled look appeared on Sheila's face. "What for?"
Afura took a deep breath. "I want to thank you for sharing this with
me, especially when I imposed myself to you like I did. You don't know
how much it means to me..." '...And how I can't deny anymore how
much YOU mean to me,' she added to herself.
Sheila's feature grew serious. "No...I'm the one who should thank
you. Your presence made it easier for me. You know, I didn't come here
for years, since my mother's death, actually. I'm not sure I would have
come all the way here, had I been alone..." Her eyes clouded suddenly
and she whispered, "I tried many times, but...it...brought too many bad
memories..." Then, she refocused on her friend. "But I'm glad I could
do it, thanks to you. You've always been there for me, now that I think
about it. So, thank you..."
Afura felt herself blush to the compliment and she busied herself with
the food (she was now the official cooker, by mutual agreement).
'Maybe there's hope...' She thought. Argh! Na! Stop daydreaming! She's
straight! No use to keep your hopes up!'
An akward silence fell upon them and lasted through the whole meal.
The air priestess finally decided to break it, her natural curiosity
rising back.
"So...how did she...die?"
Looking up to meet Sheila's eyes, she was shocked by how cold they had
suddenly become. A chill ran up and down her spine. Sheila's stare
reminded her of Ifurita's, when the demon was still obeying Jinai.
Afura had never seen this facet of her friend. Usually, when the fire
priestess was upset, you could see the anger burning in her eyes. She
shouted, screamed, ran, hit, cried, misused her powers... Anything but
this. Here she was, stiff like a board, her jaws thight, her gaze
empty. This was frightening...
Afura couldn't quite describe it. There were wounded, frustrated
anger...and deep, endless sadness in those eyes.
Then, in an instant, it was all gone as Sheila averted her gaze.
Afura had to strain her ears to hear what Sheila said next. But it left
her paralized, while the red-head took off in a dead run, disappearing
in the forest, away from her. And the words burnt in her confused soul
like lava: "Don't mess with my life! Don't EVER approach me again!
Leave me alone! I hate you..."
I hate you.
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Ah, ah! Yes, I'm a real bastard to leave you like this. I'll probably
make a suite, but it won't be anytime soon. This one took me long
enough! (Months, actually, and it sickens me when I think about all the
errors I've certainly missed, sorry.) Although I hate unfinished fics
as much as anyone, I need a break from this one. Besides, I've got
other fics in mind... It will certainly be a long time before I can
post an eventuel next episode, but you know what it is: work,
life...then, I hope you had a good time with this story anyway, if not,
well, you've probably already closed it a long time ago...
Ja ne!
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