Consoling the Disturbed

The sky was a piercing color of light shades of blue...containing painted splotches of white all over. Each cloud passing by through moments spent here is every minute attributed to a living painting.

A painting of a serene atmosphere.

One that complimented a similar painting on the surface.

Beneath, lay a field of two particular flowers whose petals swayed endlessly from the soft breeze of the air. Colors of red and green were evenly distributed throughout every portion of land on the surface...and the majestic cherry blossom tree only contributed to adding color from the swaying pink petals.

But the most beautiful sight of all...would definitely be her.

Her hair was naturally slipping down to her body, slightly shining...as the gaps of light from the tree captured her true beauty. To pair with that, the serene look in her expression when she closed her eyes...

Brought me a sense of tranquility that I needed after a gruesome week of endless training...and of fighting in a dungeon that would traumatize me for days to come.

She was fiddling with my hair in her fingers, calmly humming to some foreign tune that I knew nothing about. Her hands were tapping lightly on my head as she assimilated the rhythm of the song in her head.

What a peaceful scene.

...but how did it get here in the first place? I could only remember getting shocked at the turnabout of what happened to my master...she was sent to be temporarily shunned elsewhere.

Shouldn't I have been terrified?

That I would spend the month figuring out how to fight...than to be guided by someone with experience?

It should have been a daunting experience...right?

So then, how did it come to this? What I'm seeing now is not a panicked or fidgety reaction...but that of peace. I'm resting on Rosalina's lap while Druvis is tending to her flowers. 

"You're thinking deeply," Rosalina's voice woke me up from thoughts of contemplation. I look up at her, meeting her cold yet unperturbed eyes. "What compels you to do so? Why the sudden contemplation? I believe I've already answered your questions regarding Alvana." She asks, resting her fingers on my forehead.

I can only blush in response...not even understanding what was happening in the first place.

It's not supposed to be like this...but it is. She's with me, using her blistered fingers to treat me. It's almost intimate in a sense. She's tolerating this...sour and angsty mood that I've been bottling up for a day...or who knows?

Maybe it's been there for years and ever really resurfaced when it got triggered.

"I would have never expected this to happen," I say honestly, redirecting my gaze to the blue sky. She only chuckles...and I swear I could feel her still staring deeply into me.

"There is no point in tirelessly suffering when one seeks comfort," She says quizzically, causing me to frown slightly. It's hard to decipher some of her words...especially when she uses such complicated prose.

And I can't even use my own lingo on her...especially when it's something akin to slang. She'll only misunderstand it.

What a confusing language barrier...but then again, I don't mind. There's really nothing going on.

She digs her fingers on my forehead and starts to massage me.

"When the Lianths come home to celebrate their victory on the battlefield...neither wine nor delicacies is given to our people," She says, rubbing her thumb on me. I close my eyes from the fulfilling sensation and sigh with relief.

"What do they use to celebrate, then?" I ask, wondering what she is going to say this time.

"Nothing," She chuckles...feeling my forehead crease into a frown. 

Nothing? What does she mean by that? 

"War was not a lifestyle that many abide by," She murmurs, using a circling motion to massage my temples. "It exists as a curse...a bane to many who want nothing to do but rest," She continues, making me feel puzzled...but I can somehow piece her words together.

"...is that the Lianths celebrate their wars through nothing?" I ask opening my eyes to look up at her...hoping that I understand it slightly.

She only nods, humming softly. "Yes...it is through peace that we feel deserving of such a victorious outcome," She answers back, staring at my eyes. I must have looked naive there...not even knowing what to do or say.

But she says nothing about my flaws.

For a few moments, the only sounds I could hear were: one, the plopping sounds of Druvis moving from flower to flower...and two, the soft melody sung by Rosalina.

But she breaks the melody, looking down at me again...catching me staring into her face. My face turned red...but she didn't look like she's noticed it. 

It didn't seem like she knew how much she made me blush.

"Is the melody to your liking?" She asks, and I only nod eagerly. I loved the hums from her voice...it was therapeutic in a sense. 

"It's calming," I answer.

She only nods expectantly, swaying her head from side to side. "It's a melodic tune used for war celebrations," She says, contradicting her earlier point.

Didn't she say that nothing happened for them after their battles? So then, why--

"You seem confused...have any of my words caused such a reaction to you?" She asks, looking at me with bewilderment. At this particular moment, there was a petal that fell down on her hair.

Which made her look a little silly.

"I...well, didn't you say that nothing was used after your battles ended? If so...then why do you use such melodic tunes?" I inquired.

She only laughs softly and shakes her head. "Oh, that?" She says for emphasis, getting rid of the petal on her head and casting it away to the ground. "What is happening now...is an example of what has happened then,"

"Therapuetic massages, accompanied by euphonious melodies...are a great way to treat the soldiers who are suffering. It is treatment that is used for our so-called celebrations." She explains, giving me two realizations.

The cheeks on my face redden, as I shake my head.

I'm an idiot! Clearly I was thinking wrongly! I thought that this development between ours was something sudden and intimate-- but...apparently not. This was something usual to her.

And second? That she thinks I'm in pain.

"You think I'm suffering?" I ask...and her response was to caress my forehead again.

"It is evident," She answers, her answer melancholy and...oddly disturbing. It opens up a new perspective to myself that I've never once considered.

I'm suffering.

But is it truly just because of what happened in Wraith's Bequeath? Or was it something that resulted from hurting my mother? Or maybe it was--

...my brows contort into pain, as she forcibly digs her fingers on my forehead a little bit deeper.

"Allow yourself to be consoled. Get rid of all your inhibitions," She commands...and I follow. I helplessly follow.

How could I not?

This was a pleasure that should never be denied. This situation...soothed my soul, calmed me from within...and brought me to a sort of euphoria that I needed.

And then...

Before I knew it, the hours moved by through mere seconds...as the clouds in the sky shifted into heaps of orange and red. The sun was setting, offering its goodbyes to all those who thrive with it.

It was already dusk.

...and yet. I didn't want to leave.

But I know I should...I have an issue to deal with in real life.