Clarity, Pt. 2

((Found some inspiration biking home from work today.))

By the end of 10 miles, The Girl who would become Aashe De Winter was trudging. She was exhausted. The only bonus of her 10 mile stint was that her water bottles were empty, which made her backpack that much lighter. The sweat on her skin was cold in the morning air, it made her shiver despite her muscles running hot.

The lights of the spaceport were her guide. Her mind was numb with fatigue. She could hear the motion of speeders, which was music to her, the roar of their engines called like sirens, guiding her as she walked blindly along her path. She reached the edge of the town right as the sun began to crest over the edges of the skyscrapers, and took a moment to stop. She knew she couldn't sit... if she sat down, she wasn't sure she'd be able to stand back up - but she needed to look more alert if she was going to deal with the bank tellers. Coffee and more water was in order.

Walking on the streets of the Port was more kindly than walking along the open land. The 10 miles of beautifully manicured land separated the hustle and bustle of the Spaceport and its surrounding suburbs from the high profile estates. Hills, rivers, boulders, and creatures had all been constructed or imported to give the Manicured Forest a proper wilderness appeal.

The streets didn't shift under her feet, or raise and lower in elevation. Her muscles cooled, leaving her only with the cold of the drying sweat on her skin. She chanced a stop at the Mechanic Shop where she and her friends worked on their Speeders. They had a shower there, and she had a change of clothes in a locker in the back.

She let herself in with the hidden key to the back entry, so her fingers would be tagged on the front keypad. She walked through the Shop for the last time, knowing every tool and everything she could trip on. Walking through the unlit Shop with no issues at all.

She grabbed her extra pair of clothes and got a hot shower, the warmth of the water warmed her skin and soothed her sore muscles. Once she was done, she dressed in her clean clothes, and threw out the clothes now soaked with her sweat. She refilled her water bottles from the cooler in the back, tied her hair up and made herself a pot of cheap coffee.

She paced the back room in the dark. Thirty minutes until the bank opened. Ten minute walk. An hour until she was on the cargo freighter. Ten hours from now, she'd be off the grid, and at the Citadel. She was fortunate to be so close. Only the next star over.

She drank the cheap coffee with nothing in it. No sugar, no creamer - the horrible bitter flavor helped wake her up and clear her mind. Two cups. She left the rest of the pot for the others. They'd be coming in for work in about 30 minutes, the coffee would still be hot.

She was tempted to stay, to see her friends one more time. This place... the Shop - it had been home to her. People loved her here, helped her grow and change - helped her realize and understand the holes in her heart that her life at the Manor had left her. No obelisks here... no people telling her she needed Clarity...

She left with difficulty. The finality of the door closing behind her was a painful reminder that she would never again hear the creak of it reopening. She slung her backpack over her shoulder again, beginning her walk to the bank. Once the withdrawal had been made, she was at the point of no return...