09-15-2024, 06:19 PM
“The Sanctuary is open to Seekers, if you are curious. And the gardens around it are still quite beautiful this time of year. May I show you?”
The woman who stared was tiny, and swamped under the necessary thick attire to combat Muscovite winter. Awe writ her expression, which was not an uncommon reaction to the sweeping arch of the Monument. Likely a tourist, but the architecture was enough to arrest even a familiar soul – or at least so Cali thought. Should the woman glance beside her, she would find her new companion smiling in welcome; openly so, and utterly genuine. Her fingers were laced within the folds of her sleeves, a wool capelet snug around her shoulders and clasped at the throat with a small gold Ascendant Flame. Encroaching winter sucked the pallor from Cali’s skin, leaving her pale as glass but for the vivid flush of her cheeks. It gave her a friendly air.
“I’m Calliope,” she added. “Friends call me Cali.”
The woman who stared was tiny, and swamped under the necessary thick attire to combat Muscovite winter. Awe writ her expression, which was not an uncommon reaction to the sweeping arch of the Monument. Likely a tourist, but the architecture was enough to arrest even a familiar soul – or at least so Cali thought. Should the woman glance beside her, she would find her new companion smiling in welcome; openly so, and utterly genuine. Her fingers were laced within the folds of her sleeves, a wool capelet snug around her shoulders and clasped at the throat with a small gold Ascendant Flame. Encroaching winter sucked the pallor from Cali’s skin, leaving her pale as glass but for the vivid flush of her cheeks. It gave her a friendly air.
“I’m Calliope,” she added. “Friends call me Cali.”