Khaeris Dawndancer

The Voices of Strangers

Khaeris pulled her knees up to her chest and lay her cheek on them, still smiling. Her ears flickered with the popping snaps of the fire and the rush of the wind through the nearby canyon; but she was more interested in the voices around her.  Night didn't hush things here, sound raced over sands.

She couldn't understand what the vulpera families were saying between themselves, but the mixed company was a mish-mash of different races and languages. The accents soothed her and the laughter made her smile. Someone a few wagons away was singing a lullaby, she found herself humming along. Voices from strangers floated around her like water, lapping at her mind and retreating in seductive waves. She could drown in this, with no fear, numb with the knowledge she didn't have to exist here.

There were voices parts of her ached for, but other parts fled from them. That's what this whole trip was about, wasn't it? Her head pulled off her knees and she sat up, looking around as if someone might have heard her private words to herself. Khaeris flushed, Running from words you want but won't get, from voices you are afraid will shatter you.  But you can't run from the voices in your mind.