[Lumen Valley]

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[attr="class","lumenquote"]❝ I'm just trying to do the one right thing.❞ WC 507 TWC 507 Sinopia DeStellanova

[attr="class","lumentemp"] It was the weekend so, whatever Lumen did was on his own time. [break][break] And sometimes, Haven and Mistral were all too fast-paced for his liking. In truth, he still longed for his simple life back home in that nameless village on the far outskirts of the continent. The closest he could get to it here was scraping by the outskirts of the Capital, far enough away that he could determine himself practically alone. [break][break] Most of his professors would have likely advised against it, a lone trainee all by themselves, camping? He could have listened to that, but honestly, he was far too accustomed to living life like that. As he sat by his campfire, he casually took out his scroll (complete with a cracked glass screen he’d never bothered to get fixed) to check to see if he’d gotten any messages from home lately. While such messages were few and far between, he was more likely to get them on the weekends since he supposed his family believed him to be less busy. [break][break] Lumen let out a small breath, his shoulders dropping when he saw that he didn’t have any new ones. He slipped the phone back in his pocket and went to check his salmon on the small mobile grill he’d set up. It was nearly sundown now, and his catch of the day had been a nice river salmon. His tent and campsite were located just off the shore of a decent-sized lake. He wasn’t sure about its name, but he could sure be thankful that it had some excellent fish. [break][break] The youth had spent most of the afternoon fishing, setting up his camp in the evening when he’d decided on keeping a catch for dinner. His grilled salmon was looking pretty good, and beside it was a small cut of potatoes and vegetables he’d brought with him. Despite not being the biggest fan of many modern amenities, things like mini coolers and compartment organizers were inventions that he’d grown to like quite a lot. He’d prepped his salmon with olive oil, paprika, garlic rub, salt, and pepper and the satisfying sizzle was music to his ears. His vegetables, also lightly buttered and salted, were looking to turn out pretty good too, just a few more minutes under the fire, and he would be having a dinner his mother would be proud of him for making. He did prefer making his own food over the meals they served at the Academy, but it was rare that he could go out, hunt or fish something, and make it himself. [break][break] He took a sip from his thermos, which had flavored tea. His eyes drifted over the nearby lake again, watching the sky turn to shades of orange and red, fading into a dark, deep blue. It was quiet all around him, echoing the tranquility that the wilderness brought. The only other sounds were the cracking of wood and ember spark from his fire. [break][break] Tonight was a good night, and so far, a relatively solitary one as well.

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[Sinopia DeStellanova]

It had been awhile since something like this happened. After spending two nights in a village collecting some goods, she made the critical mistake of not checking her car before driving off. The people were nice, but she was still tired and wanted to get back home. Lo and behold, there were some fucking squirrels in the engine that didn't make their presence known until she was a good day away from that village, and still a day away from Kerch. When she went to take a nap they thrashed and chewed through a bunch of wiring that would be a pain the ass to get fixed, especially since she was in the middle of nowhere right now. She kept plenty of spare tools and supplies for emergencies like this, but it was so chewed up and filled with squirrel guts that she simply did not have enough to cover it. Not even she was paranoid enough to take that much stuff with her, especially when she needed that space for transport.

Thus began her trek to the nearest town. It wouldn't have been so bad if she didn't have to push her car with her, but she didn't want to leave it out in a non-descript field where she may or may not find it again. She pushed it for several miles, only to find that village was no longer there. This sort of thing happened often, but it didn't make her feel any less terrible every time she saw it. At least it was a landmark she could leave her car at so she didn't have to lug it around.

Take two on that trip to the nearest village. It was a good distance and she was tired, her arms felt like jelly, and she wasn't sure how her legs were holding her up anymore. She had been walking the entire day, mostly because she was too out of steam to run, and was only still moving because of a combination of super human stamina and determination. She really needed to get back to Kerch.

As she walked, she started smelling something really good, but she could only assume she was hallucinating from not eating anything but these weird berries all day. And from walking too much. Really, she barely had any idea what was going on anymore. The bags under her eyes were deeper and darker than usual, her shoes and pants were covered in dirt, and she was sweating like crazy. Eventually, she made it to the top of a little rock outcropping and realized she wasn't actually going crazy and that those berries probably weren't poisonous. Someone really was here. It seemed like he was having a good time, so she didn't see any need to interrupt. With a small smile on her face, she pushed on.

Except gravity had a different idea. For how coordinated and dexterous she normally was, all of that went out the window because of how weak her legs felt. She lost her footing and tumbled down the hill, and while she didn't scream, it was still a loud fall. She flopped at the bottom of the hill face down in the dirt. It didn't hurt, her aura protected her from all of it, but being horizontal on the ground felt really good right now and she didn't want to get up.

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562/562

[Lumen Valley]

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[attr="class","lumenquote"]❝ I'm just trying to do the one right thing.❞ WC 508 TWC 1015 Sinopia DeStellanova

[attr="class","lumentemp"] He wasn’t expecting his time to be all that eventful. He decided to go camping because it was his time to relax in an environment that was as close to home as possible. It had been around two years, and he still missed home. [break][break] But he knew that he couldn’t go back until he’d done something that would fill his family’s hearts with pride. He was pretty sure that being a Huntsman was precisely the thing that could do that. [break][break] He still missed home, though. [break][break] The youth had already taken his food off the fire, chewing the salmon a bit slowly as he savored the flavor and juiciness of the filet. He quietly began to think about how his mother would nag him for eating just meat, but he did have vegetables to make a full meal. But at least, without that slightly guilty reminder, he probably wouldn’t have brought the vegetables along at all… [break][break] So, his quiet evening was supposed to go just like that. Maybe he was prepared for a Grimm attack. That was always something to be ready for. [break][break] What was he not prepared for? [break][break] Some girl falling out of nowhere. [break][break] He jumped at the sounds of branches breaking the rustling of something moving a far too fast, all too suddenly. He did jump up from his spot, ready to grab his gunblade from his supplies, but he suddenly did see that… it wasn’t a Grimm or other wild animal. [break][break] Instead, it was a girl who had fallen just at the edge of his camp. Firelight reflected a warm golden hue on her silhouette. He couldn’t see her face because she was more or less face flat on the dirt. If this was meant to be an ambush, she was doing a poor job of intimidating her opponent immediately afterward. He kept his weapon down but left it just within reach if he needed it still. [break][break] There was silence in the woods that surrounded them. At least she wasn’t being followed or chased. He assumed anyway. [break][break] Lumen stood, still unsure of what exactly he was supposed to do. He waited another moment, perhaps waiting to see if she would move… or something. Was she even still alive? His instincts were still on high alert to be nothing more than cautious. [break][break] But eventually, his concern for her safety won over his need for caution. [break][break] He stood up, setting his food to the side, but was still slow to his approach. He held his hands up, a universal sign to say that he meant her no harm if she happened to wake up or look up at him. He knelt closer but didn’t move to touch her, only holding out his hands if she wanted to take them. He still looked her over, hoping not to see any broken limbs or open wounds, and he was thankful not to spot any. [break][break] “Um, hey?” He kept his tone neutral, neither exceedingly calm nor excited, but there was a sense of urgency he played out. “Are you hurt? Hello?”

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[Sinopia DeStellanova]

She wasn't sure why she thought just laying there when she knew there was a random stranger sitting nearby was a good idea, but here she was. Maybe part of her hoped that he hadn't noticed and he could just go on with his day, or that he wouldn't even care, but really, she just wasn't thinking at all. Her tired muscles screaming at her made it difficult to think straight. When she heard movement, she tensed for a moment then sighed. What a way to ruin someone's evening.

Rather than get up, she stayed laying on the ground and just waved her hand to acknowledge his presence and show that she could move. After, she let her arm flop lazily back to her side. As much as she wanted to keep laying there, she supposed she shouldn't. With one more deep breath and sigh, she mustered up the strength to force herself up enough to at least sit up. She didn't feel the need to stand up completely, if she had already been caught in the area then it was probably fine to sit and rest for a second, so she sat cross-legged on the ground. She wiped off the dirt on her chin and nose, but didn't care about the dirt on her hair or clothes. Those were already soaked in sweat and other crud that she was going to have to clean them when she got home.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. Car broke down way back there," she pointed towards the direction she fell from, "So, I need to walk some place to fix it. I don't suppose you have a spare engine wire harness on you?"

The last sentence was said dryly with another sigh because there's no way anyone would keep something like that on them. Hell, the entire reason she was in this mess is because she didn't keep something like that with her. After taking a moment to stretch she started to stand back up, though she was still a bit wobbly from exhaustion and looked pretty terrible.

"Sorry again, to bother you. I can make it to the next town. Enjoy your evening."

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361/923

[Lumen Valley]

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[attr="class","lumenquote"]❝ I'm just trying to do the one right thing.❞ WC 563 TWC 1578 Sinopia DeStellanova

[attr="class","lumentemp"] She moved, and that was a good sign. At least, Lumen guessed so anyway. Though, if the youth thought about it a little more, her whole situation seemed not very good. Anyone falling out randomly in the middle of the wilderness was not a good idea. [break][break] She was dirty, more than just dirty. Grime and mud seemed to caked onto her hair and clothes. She was sitting up, and her whole demeanor seemed, for lack of any other descriptor, downright depressing. [break][break] And Lumen, while usually not the kind of person who liked making it his business to be in other people’s business, felt like he needed to help. At the moment, he had no idea about the girl’s backstory, who she was, or where she came from, but it was the right thing to do to help someone who was in trouble, right? [break][break] Maybe she seemed too proud to admit she was in ‘trouble,’ the quick sarcasm and dry remark regarding a faulty engine wiring harness proved that she was aware of her problems and knew how to fix them. The next question only came out of pure curiosity. [break][break] “Wait,” Lumen said. He didn’t think it was well, not safe, but not sound for him just to let her go as she requested. She started to stand back up, so Lumen got cautiously close once again, making it a point now that he offered to help her up. “No, I, uh, don’t have a wire harness.” He was somewhat aware of what a wire harness was, at least, in the cases of controlling most of the electronics that an engine and most of the accessories and vital functions of the engine itself. And well, she was right to guess that he just didn’t have an ‘extra’ one on hand. [break][break] “It’s not a bother, just unexpected.” He said, rather poignantly. The next thing he did was grab a towel from his stack of things. He poured a little water on it to make it a little cool and damp and offered it to her. “You can pity someone else’s misfortune, but it doesn’t do anything to change the situation.” He said his words without much thought to them. It seemed like the most natural thing to say. In so many words, it seemed like misfortune had plagued her that day. Car broke down. The nearest settlement was at least a whole afternoon (or in this case late night) walk away, and then fallen down a hill… [break][break] “At least, that’s what my mom says.” He sighed a little before turning to her again. “Nearest settlement is a few hours hike away, and it’s getting pretty dark. I can’t say it’s a good idea to try and go finding it right now.” And he couldn’t, in good conscience, let her go just like that. He’d already seen enough of her practically falling down a hill. Could he trust her to make it to the nearest settlement like that this far in the evening? [break][break] “You should at least rest up.” At least he could make a suggestion. It looked like she had a tough day. He then just held out the whole water bottle to her. [break][break] “If you’re not in a hurry anyway.” [break][break] It would be her decision if she wanted to listen anyway. This was still the Wilderness, Grimm, and who knows what could still be lurking.

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