Nimeway smiled as she sat the note beside Ross, who was fast asleep. The note told him she went out to collect herbs, and she did. She wandered away from the house on top of Arieway when she spotted the familiar leaves of burdock. Nime strayed from the path, till Arieway bucked her off and ran. Startled, Nime looked around the forest to try to see something familiar, but her eyes fell on a strange beast which scared her even more. As a bush for cover, Nime curled up and looked for an escape route, which she waited for a while before the beast was distracted ad she could sneak out.
She managed to escape unseen when Nime wandered into a town in the middle of nowhere. The name she did not know, and she did not speak to any of the people to find out. But what surprised Nime is when she saw her mother, well, adopted mother there. Cuilelass Naonna. Nime hadn't seen Cuilelass since the time Cuile and Ross got into an argument. There ws a problem Cuile had with Ross, she was overprotective of Nime, and so was Ross. Cuile didn't trust him, and wished to take Nime away to protect her from the dangers of Bree.
So when Nime ran into Cuile, Cuile attempted to take the opportunity to steal Nime back. Yet Nime refused to go down without a fight. Nime drew her elegent sword and Cuile drew her daggers. The two broke out into a fight, and it ended with Nime cutting into Cuile. The Elf fell, and Nime fell with her, trying to clog the wound to prevent it from bleeding out, but it was obviously fatal no matter what Nime did.
'You are just like me,' Cuile choked out as her final words, 'Heartless and empty.'
That burned into Nime's mind as she covered the body in a blanket from nearby. Nime turned and took off, stealing an unattended horse to make her way home. She made her way inside, after letting the horse go of course, and collapsed onto the guest room bed. 'You are just like me.' Cuile's words were repeated in her mind as she sat there in silence. How could she be anything like Cuilelass? Cuile did not love, not care. Nime cared. Of course Cuile was wrong, but what if Nime was starting to not care? What if Cuile's words had truth to them? Nime feared she might be right. And the fact that Nime felt nothing for Cuile's death, made Nime even more afraid.
And then the familiar voice rang out, 'Love, you home?' Nime sat up and responded to Ross as he took care of Ber, relieved to hear his voice. She told him of what she had faced, and together, they drank the sorrows away. Perhaps some things are best forgotten momentarily. Perhaps some problems can be saved for another day. Nime did care for people though, and she felt her love for Ross then. Right then, she knew Cuile had to be wrong. Nime knew she wasn't heartless and empty, that she loved Ross and Ber, and she cared for others.
“The closest thing to being cared for is to care for someone else.”
