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A red haired Gnome girl sat on the grass near the Crossroads, hunched over as tightly as possible, largely obscured by the tall grass around her. No sounds were to be heard other than the chitter of nearby wildlife and the faint scratching of her writing in a small, rather tatty book.
Without warning, a tiny drop of water appeared on the page, wetting the ink of a character she had formed just moments ago. She blotted it gently with her sleeve, the liquid quickly soaking into the cloth. It was more than a moment before she realised that she herself was the source of the droplet. She removed her glasses, took a pale blue handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed her eyes with it.
Suddenly, a sound disturbed her. Voices. Footsteps. She snapped the book closed quickly, threw it into her satchel and drew it closed. She curled herself even smaller, peering through the long blades of grass. A man, possibly a merchant or somesuch, was passing through, talking to a human lady. She waited for them to pass before reopening her satchel and removing the book once more. She flipped through the pages until she located the one she had been writing on moments before. She stared at the slightly smudged ink where the single tear had fallen. She regarded the word she had written, trying to make out what it had said before it had been obscured by the salty teardrop. She could barely make it out, but reading through the few words before it, she realised that it was the Gnomish word for "dignity".
Before she knew it, she was weeping once more. "I wish I really had destroyed you," she muttered to the book through her sobs, "but you hold too much to lose." She slammed the book closed once more, and burried it at the bottom of her satchel, piling everything else she carried on top of it, burying it deep.
She wiped her eyes once again on the handkerchief. "Stop it, Juniper, stop it now," she chastised herself. "People cannot see you like this. What would they think? You have to be happy, people expect such, and no less. They don't want to know your troubles, they want you to be Juniper, so Juniper you shall be." She finished scolding herself, took a deep breath inward, and let it out as a weary sigh. She dried her eyes one final time, ran her hands through her red curls, and rubbed her cheeks until they were a glowing, healthy, happy, rosy pink colour, and in an attempt to force herself to smile, thought about her friends.
Picking up her pack, she headed toward the Exigo Trading Post, adding a spring to her step as she went on her way, heading toward a gathered crowd, offering a cheery wave as she drew closer.
Without warning, a tiny drop of water appeared on the page, wetting the ink of a character she had formed just moments ago. She blotted it gently with her sleeve, the liquid quickly soaking into the cloth. It was more than a moment before she realised that she herself was the source of the droplet. She removed her glasses, took a pale blue handkerchief from her pocket and gently dabbed her eyes with it.
Suddenly, a sound disturbed her. Voices. Footsteps. She snapped the book closed quickly, threw it into her satchel and drew it closed. She curled herself even smaller, peering through the long blades of grass. A man, possibly a merchant or somesuch, was passing through, talking to a human lady. She waited for them to pass before reopening her satchel and removing the book once more. She flipped through the pages until she located the one she had been writing on moments before. She stared at the slightly smudged ink where the single tear had fallen. She regarded the word she had written, trying to make out what it had said before it had been obscured by the salty teardrop. She could barely make it out, but reading through the few words before it, she realised that it was the Gnomish word for "dignity".
Before she knew it, she was weeping once more. "I wish I really had destroyed you," she muttered to the book through her sobs, "but you hold too much to lose." She slammed the book closed once more, and burried it at the bottom of her satchel, piling everything else she carried on top of it, burying it deep.
She wiped her eyes once again on the handkerchief. "Stop it, Juniper, stop it now," she chastised herself. "People cannot see you like this. What would they think? You have to be happy, people expect such, and no less. They don't want to know your troubles, they want you to be Juniper, so Juniper you shall be." She finished scolding herself, took a deep breath inward, and let it out as a weary sigh. She dried her eyes one final time, ran her hands through her red curls, and rubbed her cheeks until they were a glowing, healthy, happy, rosy pink colour, and in an attempt to force herself to smile, thought about her friends.
Picking up her pack, she headed toward the Exigo Trading Post, adding a spring to her step as she went on her way, heading toward a gathered crowd, offering a cheery wave as she drew closer.
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