Work Text:
The winds howled with unpleasant ire. Well, that was for one of the many visitors of the golden wasteland. But with his experiences akin to the desert, this was simply its everyday temper.
The hot breeze tousled the sand of the great dunes, creating a hollow golden veil under the burning sun. It scraped his skin as he walked with his almost bare feet—almost a little too cocky for the desert’s wants—with only a strip covering the thin soles but leaving the rest and his toes to feel the rough searing texture of the glittering sand.
With a thin line pressed on his chapped lips, the man’s russet eyes stared back at the empty waste. Except for that one distant silhouette. The sky erupted into flames from afar, great strong currents of moving sand branched up from the base of an upside-down pyramid were reflected in his eyes. With one last look, he gripped his staff and turned his back, setting forth to the greener side of Sumeru.
Bright yellow mellowed to green shades as dry sands that tickled his soles grew lush dewed grass. The dry, hot air that made travelers cough was replaced with the soft textures of the forest’s alluring viridescent redolence, comforting the senses of those scorched under the unforgiving heat that experienced the harsh love of the desert.
“By chance,” the hooded man spoke. Low and guttural, although it held no ill-intent or malice like the bandits usually encountered by passersby in the wild; conspicuous dark tall ears pointing up at the sky, “are you taking the trail towards the city gates?”
-:-
"Going back home from the desert, ey?" The man on the saddle asked, despite the gruff voice, he held a jubilant ring in his tone.
"Just visiting."
"Really? Seems like a cut short vacation to me. Must be, you're a researcher in the desert, aren't ya? Your fam must be kicking their boots to see you."
He snorted. "Not really..."
A short, yet strained laugh. The man fell silent, humming his graveling voice in deep thought. He must have touched something sorely.
However, the hooded researcher digressed, "What work do you do?"
"Ahhh," he merrily sighed in great start, "Lil old me is an exporter of goods. Wine. I export wine. Just so happens I just sent a batch before I met you on the way! Couldn't be any happier to have a companion in this lonesome trip!"
"You do this everyday?" The traveler perched his arm over his knee, leaning back in relaxation, although the raise of his eyebrows couldn't be seen by the man on the saddle.
"Nah, about once in every two weeks or so. Though when I travel, it takes up about at the least, four days so travels could get a lil lonesome. Couldn't wait to get home," he said the last with more enthusiasm, almost jumping from his seat. The traveler snorted at the man's jubilant behavior.
As much as the traveler wouldn't indulge himself in pointless chatter, this was a starter to break the ice. The merchant was good at it.
"Sounds to me like a hard-worker. Are you a man with family?"
"With this round stomach, shure do!" He slapped the slight bulge from his clothes. "Two kids and a wife. They're my world. Also why I also do these exports. Best way to support me fam."
He nodded. "What does it feel like?"
"Hmm?" The man raised his brows in question, a little out of the question.
"To have a family waiting for you."
"Ah, how do I say this?" He scratched his nape. "Ahm not really good with explaining words like you Akademiya students... It's not something I could easily... Hmmmm..." He paused, his hand brushing the little stubbles under his chin. "It's something I feel: warm, fuzzy, bright. I feel like a fulfilled man when they all rush to me with a hug, asking me about how my trip went, showing me the things they accomplished when I wasn't around, all the while my wife would come greet me with a kiss on the cheek. She was like a warm pillow, or a sunshine. No, she's more than that. She provides more than anything. It's like... I'm at home. I feel complete..." The joy on the merchant's face was genuine. It was a sight to see. Jubilant and free; caring. He slapped his thigh with a few laughs without being irresponsible of letting go of the reigns, then he said,
"Here I am rambling. Must be because I don't get people to talk to quite often. How about you, lad? If ye don't mind lil ol me."
The traveler went soft-spoken. "I'm... visiting someone."
"Seems to me this someone's important," he chirped.
The young man made no affirmation but, he didn't decline. The look on the hooded researcher's face was in the line of reflection and undecidedness.
"Something wrong, lad? You looked like you saw a spinocrocodile with a tiger's head. Is it something about what I said?"
"No, no... It's..."
"Ye can forget bout what I said if it makes you uncomfortable. Wouldn't want to touch something personal."
"It's not really a problem. It's just, when you say it like that... It gives me new perspective of things. Say, tell me what's this... About you at home?"
"What de ye mean?"
"Do you call it home because it's the place where you established as something you'd go back to?"
The branches that stretched over them gave enough shade with aureoles of sunlight cast on their faces as they move. The wagon slightly stumbled over the uneven dirt path and the beast would occasionally let out a snort as it pulled their weight.
"Home..." The man mulled over it, never really having the chance to think too deeply into it before, or to him, it didn't matter to think over things he already knows for sure. "It's not just about the hut or any possessions I left there. Home is where my heart lies. The only place I would want to be. The only place that my heart yearns, where my thoughts are, it aches when I'm away. It's the place I can rest. It's not a secret special place place. It's a place that is my most cherished ones—my family."
After he gave his words, the other said nothing. Or more like, it sent him into critical thinking.
So he said, "I know how you researchers might think too deeply into it but, you don't think. You feel. Do you always feel like you wanna go back somewhere to see someone? To be with someone? To spend your time with them?" He grinned, relishing how the humid heat brushed the thin sweat on his back. His boisterous snort filled the young man's ears. "Heck, I would even say home is where I come home for dinner, my wife with the kids finished preparing dinner. We would sit down and have a nice meal, chat about what went on my day, for the best or for the worst. Home is when they'd be there."
-:-
The stumper beast came to a halt, its stubby legs giving out as it lay flat with its belly on the ground. The ground shook a little from its weight. The dark figure hopped off from the wagon behind, the end of his pole digging the dirt as he tossed the man a pouch. It jiggled with Mora more than the humble man could get with his weekly earnings in one go. He fumbled, awestruck from seeing so many in his hands but bewildered by being returned with more—he means, much more —than he offered.
“Take my kind gesture. You helped me out more than you think.” He waved dismissively with his back faced on the confused man, hiding the small curve on his lips beneath his cloak.
The dirt pathway turned to cut coarse stone. The buzzing of the city offered haven to those who seek it from the wild, as well as an intellectual hive to those who were after wisdom and knowledge. The same faces behind every stall, white and teal uniforms worn by the academics conversing about their own research, some stressing on their exams and due projects.
Instead, he decided to weave the edge of the city walls, avoiding any sort of contact until he passed by the great city tree. This wasn’t his destination.
The lush flora rustled beneath him as he trekked further, not straying far from the dirt road. Although looking far ahead, he could distinguish the familiar silhouette of another tree edifice resided by a community that wants a life away from here; away from the Akademiya; away from the stressing life.
A warm feeling swelled in his chest. A smile graced his lips as he quickened his pace, yet maintaining it to not tire himself sooner. His staff left an audible thump every hike he took, counting the seconds he spent anticipating as the giant tree grew larger in view.
It was as he imagined. Setting foot in this place yet again… It was something he desired to do every day when he was away. To go back.
He gazed up at the large evergreen that withstood the time of testing, branches hanged off little huts with lights lit. The orange light gave warmth to the cold blue setting of the dark forest at night.
To go back somewhere… He didn’t know when it started but such thoughts are irrelevant when he’s already past beyond that point. He liked to embrace that thought. He just knew it made him feel like he had a home.