Zion - LotNM Character Prologue (Valda Corwin)
Zion - Path of the Moon Mother Prologue, Valda Corwin
Awaking with a start, Valda quickly cut her cry short. Sitting up, she put her face in her paws and steadied her breath; it was the dream again... one she'd been having ever since Allen had disappeared. Her memories haunted her years after he had gone into the mansion against her direction. He had wanted to impress her-- he said that it would be the biggest haul they'd get that year. Liberating belongings from the rich was never that easy. She said that he didn't have to do it... he didn't have to impress her, but he had made up his mind. Valda waited at that same spot for almost twenty hours, but Allen never came out.
Slowly, the squirrel moved her paws from her eyes. She wiped the fur around them one more time as she bid the deep pit of ice in her gut to go away and she looked around; it took her a moment to remember her surroundings. She was in the temple, she had to remind her self. It wasn't a good visit, and she wished that there had been another way... but there was not. She sat on a rug draped across a stone floor; a broad cot with fine linens was situated directly next to her, soft and inviting.
Despite what her 'hosts' offered, however, he hadn't used a bed in years and wasn't about to start. Valda stood, letting the sweat-soaked sheet she had used as a blanket become just another crumpled pile of cloth on the floor. She didn't have to bother opening the shutters on the window to know that it was still early. Though she would have liked to have had more hours of rest she realized that her mind was too awake for that and she wouldn't be getting back to sleep.
Ignoring the icy bite in the air of the drafty chamber, Valda didn't bother dressing. She moved to the small writing desk, feet shuffling across the stone floor. Wiping wiped the last tenacious tendrils of sleep from her eyes, she took a seat on the simple stool, pulling her tail around to rest in her lap in an attempt to help her conserve some of her warmth in the cold room. The squirrel drew a paw across the fine grained wooden surface of the desk, blunt claws lightly scraping along the grooves.
She reached for the candle resting on the corner of the writing desk with her other paw and touched a finger to the brass ring at its base; a blue flame flared into being on the wick. It was a simple enough enchantment, or so she'd been told. It made light easy to come by for those like her who weren't familiar with spells. Taking a breath, she pulled a piece of parchment from a scroll basket and took a quill from its resting place in an ink bottle.
"Club, Tott, Nails, Sprout, Jasmin, Spike, Kicker, and Cups." she spoke aloud, scribbling on the unfurled scroll, "I know you're all worried about what's going on. First of all, I'm alright and so are you. There's some stuff I gotta do and it's gonna take me awhile to do it. It won't be long til I'm gonna go join some other folks and we're heading out on a trip. The people here are going to look out for you until I get back."
Valda paused as a teardrop darkened the page. Hazarding a sniff, she wiped her cheek with the back of her forearm, "Hold it together, damn it." she berated herself. It had been several years since she had been on her own; her orphanage had surrounded her with the castoffs of society that she considered her family. It had been a good life for her no matter what the priests said and she knew that she was able to care for the orphans better than anyone else. Without them she felt alone. Even though she was surrounded by priests and acolytes of the temple she had never felt more isolated. Clearing her throat, she continued scribbling, and speaking as she did so.
"Make sure you take care of each other." she added, "I know the life here won't be the same as what we had but you can be sure as all get-out bet that I'll be back in no time and the orphanage is gonna be bigger and better than ever." she accentuated the final words, "I don't want anyone misbehaving while I'm gone-- you know how the temple people can be about their rules. Make sure you all listen and do as you're told and do NOT use any of the White Room tricks I taught you." Valda smiled to herself fondly as she considered the White Room, the place within the orphanage where she taught her wards the skills they'd need to live on the street... skills that would surely cause problems if they were used in the temple.
Dipping the quill into the ink reservoir, Valda continued speaking as she marked the parchment, "I'm not sure how long this is gonna take but I'll come back for all of you no matter what." she paused to wipe at another damp spot on the scroll, "Club... Nails... you two take care of the little ones. Spike... Kicker... try not to do anything that'll draw attention. Cups, you make sure that Sprout and Tott get their bedtime stories." Valda let out a shaky breath and wiped at her eyes with her free paw, "Jasmin, I don't think I'll be able to light a candle for Allen while I'm on the road... if you can find one, please do it for me."
Jasmin had been with her longer than any of the other kids. Almost an adult in her own right, the doe was the only one of her wards that remembered Allen-- it was something that she valued in Jasmin's friendship; the doe had helped her more than anyone else during those dark days. The squirrel set the quill down as her eyes started to well-up. She scowled, growling at herself for the strangely out-of-character emotional moments that hit her one after another. Blaming it on lack of sleep, she wiped her eyes dry again and gripped the edge of the desk; she missed the kids already... and she missed Allen.
Coughing, Valda bit her lower lip, forcing herself back to the present. She realized that no amount of tears would bring Allen back and no amount of crying would change her situation. The only thing the squirrel could do would be to look forward and pray to Tah'aveen that the orphans would be well-treated by the priests. Knowing how poorly most of the temple was familiar with real life, she committed to herself that she'd return as soon as she was able... until then, all she could do would be to hope for the best.
Gazing down at the parchment on the writing desk, Valda sighed. It was a feeble gesture, she knew, but she did what she could to make herself feel better. Looking back over the various marks and scribbles on the scroll, the squirrel sighed and lowered her head. Picking up the quill once more, Valda gingerly returned it to the ink bottle. Touching the brass ring at the base of the candle, the squirrel found herself once again in the darkness, gazing at the unfurled parchment still resting on the desk top.
Valda read the scroll back to herself several times ignoring the fact that she couldn't even see the ink marks; in the end it didn't really matter because she couldn't read... she couldn't write. As more tears started to fall down her cheeks, the squirrel crumpled the paper in both paws and dropped it into the waste basket beside the desk. It had been a feeble gesture, one she hoped would have raised her spirits. She hoped somehow that her wards knew that she was alright and would take her advice to heart even if she wasn't able to get it to them. She had taken good care of them... she hoped that she had done well enough that they could do the same for one another.
As the first rays of dawn started to peek through the shuttered window, Valda's attention turned more to the present. Despite her misgivings of leaving the children with the temple, Valda was very aware that what dangers they might be exposed to would be barely a fraction of her own. As she finally went to dawn her clothes the squirrel still couldn't help but fear more for the kids than for herself. Valda flinched when she heard a knock at her door. She didn't know who it was but she had no doubts as to why they had come.
Sliding her pack over her shoulder, the squirrel went to meet the caller. A coyote messenger stood outside the portal and politely informed her that the expedition was gathering in the courtyard. She didn't bother responding, rather, she stepped out into the hall and followed after him. Valda remained right beside him. There were no physical restraints on her but, as long as the temple had custody of her wards, there may as well have been some... either way, Valda's paws were tied and she knew she wouldn't be free until she had her kids back.
Before that, however, she had a long journey ahead... one she planned to complete. She as a survivor and she knew she held her life in her own paws... but what would happen if she failed the orphans? Descending down the staircase behind the coyote messenger, she realized that she didn't want to think about it-- failure wasn't on the list of options.