Her feet quickly carried her toward the groves where her father worked, wondering what her father wanted to speak with her about. Although she wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted, she was sure it was something relating to her journey. She had heard several warning tales, some from the elders but most from her father. Nil’s father had, on his journey, accidentally revealed his true nature to one outside their village. It was a mistake, one made by a young man, but it was what caused the scar that appeared on his back even his held shapes. Most of the time, her father, while working in the groves, held the shape of a gnome, one of the races that he had met on his journey in Eithiera.
Quickly seeing the groves in her sight, Nil slowed down to a more leisurely pace if only because her father would scold her for wasting energy running before her journey. Running up to one of the workers Nil asked: “where is my father, he asked me to visit him at the groves.”
“Ah, young miss your father is out by the apple groves on the Northside. Where the trees shade the river.”
“Thank you,” Nil said as she turned onto the path toward the north side of the grove. She knew of the spot they were speaking of, it was one of the places her father took her when she was too young to understand where she was, but her mother was tired of keeping her at the house. She used to come with her father to work and play in the shade of the apple trees, sometimes being allowed to take a careful dip into the river to cool during the dry summer heats.
Carefully, Nil followed the path toward where her father would be, kicking the dirt with her feet, she saw him resting under one of the taller trees. His held form being his usual one of a gnome. Her father in this form had tanned healthy skin, with little wrinkles around his eyes. His eyes were a sparkling mischievous green, and no matter what form he held, she could always recognize him from his eyes. Seeing her, her father stood and opened his arms to hug his daughter.
Quickly Nil focused on her shape in order to be in a comfortable size for her father to hug. Focusing on the feeling of shrinking, and folding Nil felt her skin start to shift and felt her body obeying her command. In the beginning, Nil could hardly shift as she was unable to hold the thought and feelings required for the shift. Her visualization was great, it was just the fact that she could not focus. With time and a lot of help from her brother, who was amazing at holding his form, she was able to learn how to shift and hold her form properly. As she shrank down, she continued walking until finally, she was about the same height as her father in his gnome form. Nil gave her father the hug he had subtly suggested and seen as he looked at her with appraising eyes.
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“You have gotten better at shifting, I think you will do fine on your journey” her dad rumbled as Nil realized the hug was probably to test if she had her shifting under control.
“You are the one who taught me how father, you are one of the best shifters in the village.” Nil said as she finished her hug with him. Stepping back, she surveyed her father with a questioning eye, wondering why he had called her here. Maybe it was to say goodbye? Or mauve her had just wanted to test her before she left.
“I can see you thinking” her father laughed as he turned to face the shimmering river surface. “I wanted to see you again before you left for your journey, the shifting was only an afterthought.”
“I can never tell with you,” Nil said as she went to join her father by the river. They both stared at the clear water with round rocks on the bottom.
“You know, when you were little I used to be worried for you all the time. You never stopped moving or talking unless your brother was telling a story.” he sighed and reached up to rub his forehead with one hand.
“Now though, I don’t know what you will do. What I do know is that you don’t need me anymore” he looked downtrodden, but quickly looked up and focused on her.
“I hope tonight, you are ready for what is to come, you will never forget this journey. I hope you do better than I do though, I wasn’t careful enough.” He said with a laugh as he patted the scar on his back.
“Now, it is time for you to head back home, your mother is waiting for you.” He said as he started walking toward the groves.
“Thanks, dad” Nil called as she headed back toward the front of the groves. She decided as she headed back that she would stop by the pavilion where they would start their journey before heading home. As she walked, she thought about the journey ahead, and what little her brother had told her about what be expected of her. As she pondered she quickly arrived at the pavilion. A clearing within the trees that had soft glowing moss growing with vines wrapped together to create places for families to sit. It was bright outside but the heat wasn’t overwhelming. Luckily, no one was in the pavilion now, as the setup for the beginning of the journey had been set up for weeks. Tonight though, the entire pavilion would be packed and she would stand on the wooden stage. She knew that part of being ready for the journey was receiving a tattoo, one that would reflect part of yourself on your body, only able to be seen by other changelings. Her brother had received a cloud-filled sky, on his back and it seemed to shift and move. She didn’t know what she would get, part of the magic is that it shapes itself out of part of the soul. That was later tonight, right now Nil needed to focus on making sure she was ready with the details of her imaginary life as Lucea CloudWeaver. With one last glance to the empty, but beautiful pavilion, Nil headed home to her mom.