[Color=gray][center][h1][Color=silver]M[/color][Color=lightblue]i[/color][Color=cornflowerblue]r[/color][color=green]i[/color][color=mediumpurple]s[/color][/h1]
[Img]https://i.imgur.com/qDMVZHa.png[/Img]
[H2][color=red]F L A S H B A C K[/color][/h2][/center]
[Color=darkturquoise]Race: [/color]Changeling
[Color=cornflowerblue]Location:[/color] Rekkenmark, Karrnath[hr]
The sun was just a few hours from setting when Miris left Wendel’s workshop. Her sack was just a little bit heavier, and her heart felt a lot lighter. She had visited Wendel to steal something of value from him, but, instead, he gave her something priceless and genuine. She knew he had been careful with his words, but the meaning was clear to her. For the first time in a long time, she recognized that someone truly cared for her. Sure, they had talked and eaten together from time to time, but Wendel had never tried to pierce through the layer of her she kept on the surface— to face her and the problems she hid from everyone. 

Still, she found herself venturing outside the walls of the city, not yet ready to request a living space in the kind dwarf’s home. Miris felt she was far too tangled in unsavory dealings and wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she inadvertently involved Wendel. What mattered now was that she knew she had found a friend in him, someone she could trust. 

Miris carried her sack into the crumbled stone ruins of what used to be a fort or a tower. It was here that she called home. Here, where there was no family or wealth. Its only security was the fact that it was a place left forgotten, but too close to Rekkenmark to be occupied by those who might cause harm. 

[color=white][i]Home bitter home.[/i][/color] Miris thought as she shifted into her natural form and leaned against a stone wall. Gazing up, she took note that she still had time to take advantage of the light. As much as she wished to sleep, she’d need to reset her camp, but before that…

Miris undid the rope that tied the top of her sack, opening it to reveal what she had inside. She knew what she had placed into it, but this time she wanted to look at her items with Wendel’s words in mind. 

[i][Color=silver]“Some things might seem like they lack any value when they are on their own. A quill without ink, is just a feather after all.”[/color][/i]

She squinted her eyes, finding something new at the top of the pile. 

[color=white]“Huh?”[/color] Miris grabbed a small sack filled with gold coins. She couldn’t see the coins, of course, but she was accustomed to the weight and shape of them enough to know Wendel had given her something for her troubles. She sighed discontentedly, but couldn’t help smiling. She dropped the sack of gold to the grass below, finding the next gift Wendel had added to her collection. It was light, wrapped, rectangular… and she had no idea what it might be. Setting down the large sack, she gave the wrapped item the attention of her two hands. As curious as she was, she wanted to prove her wit by figuring out what was inside without opening it. She turned it about first, then lifted it up and down, pressed her thumbs against it, but it was when she shook it that she had some clue of its contents. [color=white]“It’s made of paper.”[/color] She figured it could be a map or maybe a schematic, but upon unwrapping it, she found something far simpler. [color=white]“It’s [b]just[/b] paper…”[/color]She raised an eyebrow, unfolding the several sheets containing nothing of note. She squinted her eyes at it, knowing Wendel had a good reason for gifting it to her. She first thought it might be for her to sell, but again, Wendel’s words reached out to her to find reason. [color=white]“Paper… with ink… and utensils… and a seal…”[/color] Miris’s eyes widened with the realization. Each item on its own could not accomplish much, but together, they could produce something of worth.

That night, Miris chose not to visit the fence, for she had plenty of handwork to do with the items she had. Instead, with a smile on her face and her thoughts filled with ambition, Miris counted the many stars while sitting beside her warm fire. To think this was only the beginning of something [i]extraordinary[/i]. [/color]

[center][hider=A gift from a friend][img]https://i.imgur.com/YNCow2P.png[/img][/hider][/center]