Getting Away

BETHESDA , Central District, The Inner Ring, 2420AA, Havillah looked around her living room one last time and turned around to walk out. Her brown Triban robes swishing and swashing behind her even as the golden thread that embroidered its edges glinted in the light that the crystals provided. To walk or to fly? The thought weighed heavily on her mind even as she walked out of the house and sealed the door one last time. There was no ritual to it seeing that her ancestors before her had simplified everything and with every step that she took away from the inner circle, the energy that had settled within the crystals dissipated, deactivating them until the next time she or one that was related to her found themselves there. It was that simple. Too simple in fact, but not the Modus that was behind it. How her Virtue or rather the imprint of the Virtue of her ancestors flowing in her blood, for it was hereditary, was the key to every thing. How her will coupled with her presence in the circle could open it and subsequently, how her will coupled with her abscence from the house could lock it up. It was the perfect marriage of the First and Second Virtues. How she was able to do it, not even Havillah herself could explain it. For despite it being as easy as breathing, it was not as straightforward when written down on paper. "Flying it is."she mumbled, even as looked up to stare at the darkening sky devoid of any clouds that could help to cover her. The cloudless sky acted as a deterrence, but her mind was made up. Despite the option of going back, Havillah knew that there was no telling if the weather would change and also, other things could always crop up. Breaking up the plans that she had so well thought up and delay the journey that she had no choice but to make. No, she needed to do this and for that to happen, she would have to improvise. Who knew what necessity would brew up? All that she needed were the right conditions and a new use for her Virtue would always pop up. Had not the scrolls said the same? That the gift would improve with practice? As long as she remained diligent, there was always a million ways in which she could push the gifting that had been so graciously given to her. Havillah slinged the knapsack on one shoulder and moved to take in the view outside. Shadows had began crawling in even as the night continued to quickly croach in. The wind was quite still and the air silent as if anticipating the next move that she was going to make.  A heavy sigh left her lips even as she looked back one more time. She needed to leave right away. That is, if she ever intended on leaving unnoticed while keeping suspicious eyes at bay. With the orange sky as her guide, her Triban robes flattered even as the winds beneath her feet stirred,  propelling her upwards. In no time, the sanctuary and the entire area under the inner ring was way beneath her feet and quickly shrinking as she sped off upwards and towards the cover of a small cloud that had just drifted in from the ocean. With the first part completed, Havillah continued to fly under the cover of the effervescent mists that made up the cloud. Her thoughts remained occupied even as she continued to ruminate on the next steps that she needed to take in order to make a safe getaway. With the sun already sinking on the western horizon, Havillah followed it, thankful that the air currents were on her side and were seemingly driving the small cloud in the direction that she wished it to go. As the light continued to fade, the little cloud slowly disintegrated and Havillah was forced to fly down and land on a grassy knoll. The people in that place were paranoid and Havillah knew that well enough. If she did not wish to get shot out from the sky, it would only be wise to quit flying, especially in the cover of the darkness that was continuing to slowly waft in. The people in this place had technology and she had seen it. How they could spot flying bodies miles off especially in the gloom of the night. Their magnified infrared heat sensors making sure that they could do so with most of them becoming active only with the setting of the sun. They would be looking up, she was sure of that. Scouting the skies for the ophidian intruders. The terrors that they had come to expect, despite the fact that it being a while since the terrors had been spotted in the Eastern sky. For the soldiers under Killion's command would always remain vigilant. Unwilling to let down their guard and become taken unawares by what for a long time had been their only mortal enemy. No, they were not the type to back down easily and for that reason alone, Havillah would do well to abandon her flight until the sun came back up. "Walk it is then." she spoke to herself even as she adjusted the knapsack on her other shoulder, before moving on to wade through the tall grass flowing down a small hill. On the farthest side she spotted a dark line and as she moved closer, she realised that it was a line of trees. A forest, a woodland if she was lucky and she continued in that direction, to the west where the sky was aflame with the remnants of that same orangish glow that the sun had left behind. "You know, I could use your company right now." "Yes I know, but I chose to remain silent with good reason. It is getting dark and you need to remain vigilan.  Something that our conversation would greatly undermine." The voice told her. "Fine then." she grumbled back at it, him, her? She still did not know what gender to refer to the voice as. "Why are you even complaining? It was not my decision to go at night now, was it?" "You know why I did so." The voice did not respond and Havillah continued to fume silently even as she trudged on, wading through the field of grass and in the direction of the wooded area that still seemed a far off. Until now, she had not allowed herself to think of what she had left behind and the Voice's accusations were not something that she could take lightly. Why did she even feel the need to be so secretive? She huffed. Was it possible that she felt something more than a growing friendship for the young man that she insisted on calling her brother? No, she shook her head in denial even as the mental barrage continued. A brother, if he was just that, she would have at least tried and told him goodbye but no, she had to act all dramatic. But then again, the man would have tried and stopped her and that was not something she was willing to risk considering the connection that had existed between him and Calla. She would let him go and truly hope that he would forgive her actions. She told herself. Hadn't she brought him enough trouble lately? Since the day she had landed there, Havillah had dragged herself from one mess into another. He would have peace now that she was gone. That was the only payment that she could give him. Peace of mind that is. A thing that she found so priceless now that she had a companion that was constantly invading her thoughts. II. Fragments. After moments of Rumination Havillah decided to ask the questions that had been plaguing her. She had nothing else to do apart from walking and even though the voice had warned her of the dangers that lurked in the darkness, she shook off the warnings and allowed her curiosity to roam free and even get the best of her. After all, if there was any danger, she could see it from a mile off, wouldn't she? For the land was now flat apart from the ocassional rise and fall of the grass and the ocassional termite mounds. "What are you anyway?" She finally asked the question. "Why? What do mean?" "If you are not the Light? Then, what are you? I know you said you are a guide. A messenger of some sort, but what is your make up and why can't I see you." There was silence and for moment she thought that her question would go unanswered. "A fragment of the Light." it finally told her. "Whereas your body is a vessel that can hold the Light. We on the other hand are constrained by such vessels. All in all, all life is the essence of the Light flowing on within us." Havillah paused for a moment, thoughtful as she mulled over the words that had been spoken. The Guide had answered her question but still, she was not convinced of the reply she had gotten. It told her of what it was made of, but really not what it was or its purpose in her life aside from making her miserable that is. "Then why are there differences?" "Differences in living beings you ask? Well, because it would be boring. Don't you think?" "Somehow I do not believe that that is the full answer." She answered skeptically. "It is part of the answer." Then there was silence. Try as she may to draw into a conversation, it chose remained quiet. Having withdrawn into itself. "You are not going to give me the rest of it now?" she was answered with more silence. "You know, you are quite irritating." Still nothing. Havillah huffed trampling over the blades of grass in her exasperation but even then it did not respond. Maybe it was due to the fact she was nearer to what she had marked as her first destination. She had decided to spend the night there in the forest. It was a forest not a woodland, she could see that now. She would find a tree that was large enough to hold her and when the sun came up, she would fly away as she scoped out land and the possible places that she would go on to from there. For now, she hoped, that she was far enough from Bethesda and hopefully her presence would not be missed until she was much farther away. Far away enough for them not to follow her. As Havillah's feet came to the edge of the forest, she glared back at the thicket of shrubbery that was now obstructing her entrance into the darkened forest. She had taken great care to avoid the roads and any other paths that led into it for fear of meeting up with people, and now, as it stared back at her she could not help the feeling that it was mocking her. Her earlier decision to avoid discovery coming back to bite her in a place that she would rather not mention. The undergrowth was thick and thorny along the edges even as it melded together with the shrubbery that had once dotted the grassy meadow. It stuck out of the forest and high like a wall. A forbidding wall of thorns and blossoms that enticed as much as they repelled her. These woods seemed to have been made to keep everyone and everything out or rather in, and even though the moon had long come out and was already illuminating the area around her, it seemed to make the forest darker with shadows and more eerily than it had once appeared. "What to do?" she mused even as she looked around for other entry points that were not as obstructed as the one standing before her. She could fly and grab a branch, but this being the edge meant that the shrubbery had grown really tall and she doubted that even she could manage to go through that without a scratch. In the end, despite the risks associated with it, Havillah decided to fly up into the canopy and find a way in through the tree tops. There was still the issue of the darkness along the forest floor but hopefully, with her eyes, the cresent moon would light her path to a tree with a base that was wide enough for its branches to serve as a resting place. Not just for her weary body but even more, for her weary mind even as she planned out the next step in what was now seeming like an endless journey.