Grove [Itari x Shizuochan]

[Aero Blue]

Chrys awoke in the only place, they said, that still knew beauty.

She awoke surrounded by tatami mats and trees that hung from the ceiling, or that interloped into the room through open windows, offering up their lush fruit as tribute for the privilege. The fruit's purple skin caught the light in the most perfect of ways, its skin an almost translucent sheen that turned into a mirror in the morning. She could see her dull, hazel eyes reflected off the skin of the fruit, her narrow, sunken features, and the pristine emptiness of her bald head - she kept her hair (or lack thereof) in the manner of the Old Ways, of the esoteric monks who did not allow their hairs to grow, whether it be for modesty or discipline.

This was Oasis, home to the Order, the Replenishers, and the last beacon of the world. So they said. She was Chrys, an apprentice, who would embark on a journey today with one other.

With a quick kip-up, she left the safe abode of her wooden bed, deftly snagging a peppermint leaf with which to chew and freshen her breath with, as well as the purple fruit from the tree that reached into her room - that would be for breakfast, later. Outside her room was the community of the Oasis, Replenishers and Apprentice Replenishers, as well as the poor, sickly, famished and sometimes deformed beings that sought sanctuary from awaited out there - in the world without trees or fruit.

She looked upon the far horizon, and shuddered - an involuntary motion, at this point - at the foreboding burning orange of it all.

A shrill shriek sounded, delivered from the twelve-layered reed flute. The Elder called for them.

 

[Itari]

Aurelia woke long before the sun rose. She had been too excited to sleep long, and now paced her room while braiding her long hair into two plaits that hung down to her waist. She was anxious, but most of all excited. Aurelia had been born and raised in Oasis but today was finally the day. She would finally get the chance to leave. To travel and see the rest of the world. Many couldn't understand her excitement. Outside of Oasis, there was nothing, and Aurelia knew that. She could look outside her window and see that. Still, she couldn't help but feel there was so much to learn outside of Oasis. There had to be more to it. There was no way the entire planet could be filled with the nothingness she saw outside her window. Or at least, that's what she wanted to believe.

After getting out of bed and eating some fruit for breakfast, Aurelia found herself unpacking and repacking her bag over and over again. She had woken too early and now had nothing to do to occupy her. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the sound of the reed flute drifted down the hall. It was time.

Aurelia burst from her room and ran down the hallway to Chrys's room and knocked loudly, "Chrys, hurry!"

 

[Aero Blue]

"I hear you, I hear you."

Aurelia was made of more excitable stuff than poor Chrys was, and a believer of the bright-side to boot. Chrys herself more subscribed to the 'down-hill philosophy', indicating the way she typically believed things to go. There was a world outside, and it was ruined, the normal folk all knew this. That was about the extent to which Chrys and the senior Replenishers of the Order agreed, however. The senior members thought that, through their efforts, they could revive the world again. Make a lasting change.

Chrys disagreed. Yet, she was still one of them.

She opened the door, baggy eyes peering at Aurelia with some degree of weariness, "... you seem excited."

 

[Itari]

"Of course I am!" Aurelia replied cheerily. The two of them made their way down the hall, Aurelia chatting aimlessly along the way. At the end of the hall was a domed chamber. The walls were made of large trees, their branches reaching up and weaving together to form the ceiling. During the day, the chamber was lit from the sun shining through the gaps. In the evening, lights hanging from vines were lit. The Elder waited for them in the center, along with their other mentors throughout the years. They were among the first to arrive, and within five minutes a small crowd of apprentice Replenishers stood in front of the Elder in silence.

"Apprentices. It is time. You have all studied hard for this moment. This is your final test." His gaze passed over all of them, his expression unreadable. "Not all of you will return. But that is a risk you must take. Now come and receive your Passage.

The apprentices lined up in pairs. Some nervous, some excited, some impassive. Each pair received a small bundle that contained a map and a small sack of seeds. After, the apprentices went back to their room to prepare to leave. Those who remained at the end of the day would be punished.