Every Little Thing She Does

SHIBA KLEIN

The small woman invited Shiba to take the gourd with her to her spot in the grass, and while she questioned if it would be wise of her to continue to indulge, she took the offering without complaint. From the woman’s words, she learned the older of the two was named Rhythm, and the smaller one quickly introduced herself as Iolaire. "I’m Shiba. It’s a pleasure to meet you both." Iolaire then asked for here her and Rhythm were from, indicating to her that the other two women must also be strangers. Rhythm claimed she was from many places, but was currently heading East to a place called Abaven. "I come from a place very far from here… And I don’t know yet where I’m headed." She looked at Rhythm then, thinking about what she had said. Shiba had spent her entire life in once place until tragedy struck, uprooting everyone and everything. This one move had turned her entire world upside down and she was certain that once she found home once more, she would never leave it again.

As the older woman asked Iolaire of her origins, Shiba took another long sip of the alcohol, trying to push down and subdue those memories that threatened to swell in her mind at mentions of her past. After she was sufficiently numbed to her own thoughts once more, her gaze returned to Iolaire, wondering what her story was, what both of their stories were. Perhaps it was the drinking that did it, but she found herself far more invested in the little details of these strangers personal lives than she ever would have expected, but it made for a good distraction. Her mind kept her wanting to drift back to her own issues, but with the other women talking, it was easy to refocus her attention back on them.

"Speech."