Board Thread:Archive/@comment-24866242-20140520225648

Subj: Fish out of Water Date: 9/25/97 6:39:10 PM From: Alyston

He had often caught quick glimpses of the strange woman, but when he asked about her, no one seemed to know who she was or where she had come from. Several of the Vextis officers had assured him that she was not part of the crew, suggesting that she had come on board as a passenger. Ry and Kat confirmed this.

It was actually Kat that had brought her on board. The woman had assisted when Ilrea had fallen off the bar in the RDI and injured her knee quite badly. Then, once the healing had been preformed, she had turned and simply walked away, leaving mother and daughter to their privacy. But there had been something about the woman that had piqued Kat's curiosity. One of those annoying little puzzles she couldn't put down until it had revealed all of it's secrets. And now, with Matt's off-handed questions about her, Kat smirked faintly, knowing she had made the right decision.

Her name, Kat informed him, was Alyston Laele Nathrae. According to her own admission, she was a bard, a healer and a fighter, in that order. Kat said that Alyston...or Aly....had been "paying her way" by entertaining the crew in one of the lesser req rooms and, although she hadn't seen the woman's act herself, she had heard it was quite good. She smiled as Matt turned and walked out of the room muttering something about an appointment.

He had finally found her in the rec room Kat had mentioned, sitting by herself in a dimly lit corner, quietly plucking a mandolin. Although her fingers moved in intricate patterns across the strings, the expression on her face led him to believe she put no effort or thought into the playing. Still, the song was lovely and spoke to him of clear spring mornings on the highlands of a peaceful land. Her ice blue eyes were distant, as if her soul was far off in that land, and a soft smile curved her lips.

Slowly, he sank into a chair not too distant from her and listened to her play, all the while taking in her features. She seemed to be about 5'7" and the contours of her body showing she exercised often. Her hair was snow white and curled softly over her cheeks and neck. She dressed in keeping with the more traditional of the RhyDin folk and he caught the faint glimpse of an ornately carved short sword leaning against the wall behind her. She was out of place in this world of technology, but it appeared not to disturb her.

With a blink, he realized the song was over and apparently had been for some time. Now, her eyes bore though his and into his soul for a long moment. Suddenly, and without warning, she released his gaze and stood, gathering up her belongings and disappearing through the door before he could gather his thoughts. Yet, the sight of her eyes lingered in his mind the rest of the night. 