27 Chirreb 4385: This Is the Trip that Never Ends

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

LONGEST TRIP EVER.

I can't believe it's almost Surprise and we're STILL traveling! Who plans to travel during Surprise? I DO, apparently. ARGH.

The villagers at Eriach suggested we stay until Surprise started so we'd know whether it would be a Scalding Surprise of Burnination or a Frozen Surprise of Icy Death. So we could maybe be prepared a little better for whichever one it is. But whichever it is, traveling through it will be AWFUL and we figured it'd be better to get as far as we could before today ends. You know the WHOLE REASON that I wanted to be sure I had money last month was that I don't want to be homeless during SURPRISE and here I am forty miles from home ARGH.

We stopped for lunch at a village with a postal grove so I sent a leaf on ahead to GloriousBlue telling her not to get a new roommate because I AM coming back even if it kills me. AGAIN. And I have rent money for next month so yay!

But we're almost to Vheshrame Mene now so I'm hoping to be back before sunout on Surprise.

We saw Intoxicating Sky earlier today! He was flying by and I saw him overhead. All right technically I saw Summer Sky because his color pattern is REALLY distinctive even at like a quarter mile away, but whatever. So I yelled and waved at them like an idiot to get their attention and the seven of them in the flock flew down to say hi and ask me to style their feathers.

...

I totally should have seen that coming.

Also, next time I need money, I'm going to advertise furstyling services for friendly nonprimes. I am writing it down here so I don't forget. ULGRANE LOVE FEATHERSTYLING.

By now we were totally desperate to get to Vheshrame and it was impossible to get a coach because all the SMART people are ALREADY HOME on the last day before Surprise. I promised the ulgrane that I'd style their feathers if they'd fly us to Vheshrame Mene so that we'd gain time on travelling instead of losing it spending hours styling. They were willing to carry me and most of the others but while ulgrane are big, Mirhandrax is EVEN BIGGER. Outcast and Mirhandrax offered to stay behind but I didn't want to split up AGAIN. Not from Mirhandrax anyway. So we rigged up the camoflage tarp Mirhandrax still had into a sort of hammock and two of the Ulgrane carried him in it. It slowed us down and the ulgrane had to take turns on it because SO HEAVY. They even made him put his armor into a pack for a different ulgrane to carry, which didn't make him at all happy.

"There's-No-Delight-in-Surprise, are you sure we can trust these ulgrane?" Mirhandrax asked me in an undertone, fidgeting with the buckles on his armor instead of taking it off.

"Did they give us the right information about the bandits?"

"Yes, but ... "

"Did Chain Lightning or his girlfriend do anything but help us?"

"No, but they didn't ask --"

"Yes, we can trust them."

"..."

"Do YOU want to be walking home during Surprise?"

He took off his armor.

They flew us homewards until an hour after sunout, when we reached one of their cloudnests. They promised to carry us to the ground at least tomorrow morning, and to Vheshrame if the Surprise weather wasn't toooooo awful.

So I spent alllllll night featherstyling them all even Intoxicating Sky ("Didn't I JUST featherstyle you?" "No, that was almost three weeks ago." "AGH stupid Chirreb.")

I probably should have slept after the last one but it's only an hour until dawn and I'm kinda curious whether Surprise will be hot or cold this year. I am hoping it's warm because then I can spend all of it naked in the swimming hole which isn't so bad. In cold Surprise all you can do is huddle under a heap of blankets and ask "Is it over yet?"

I hope wishing for a hot Surprise doesn't make it cold. Maybe if I promise to make my name "Delight-in-Surprise" if it's hot? Oh I guess the goddess doesn't care what I want and it'll be the same whether or not I sleep now and I am