as he watched the last evidence of her leave his living space, her shadow seemingly in pursuit of the blade of light reflected when she parted the hanging doorway and stepped through it.
she walked she feeling no sign of fatigue and relished the work of reassigning and redefining the character of her occupations. she loved to help bring forth any and all talents of they who shared her passion for integral community, but this new disruption was a welcome change to her routine.
if she let herself examine the personal her personal part of life, she can see how the excitement of the new and exotic exposed a feeling of staleness that had been repressed.
if she were brutally honest with herself, and she was, she had to admit to a space having found its way between herself and otto.
while never remarking on it, she had noticed he had a tendency to leave and go spend time in his other supposedly secondary intimate other relationships. she felt he'd done so supposing it had to do with her having more enthusiasm for her work than for love and the rest of her life. or at least, it's what she thought his perception of their dynamic to be. for her part she couldn't argue his enthusiasm, but it did not reflect hers. she shared his or ardor but the way she showed it needed to be frequently restated to him. the high maintenance manner she was expected to express and maintain, well, it wasn't her way.
she needed to be prodded and reminded and she believed oto may be harboring passive resentment over it.
she understood this. she understood the peril for their union this possessed and was suitably concerned. in her way, and she was doing her best, but she was painfully aware he may well not only choose not to join her on her projected move to the treatment sector for the broken arrivals. he may well decide to stay and remake their partnership. this, she would accept.
once she arrived home again after stopping at her place of work to dispatch the new organization of staff, placing frissa in her former spot, she found the place vacant. she laid down the sheaf of schedules and plans and projections for the office on a desk and left to make her way home.
she finally succumbed to her fatigue and managed to just peel off her clothes and accessories before falling onto the bed nearly already asleep.
later, oto stepped quietly into the dimness of the sleeping chamber he shared with quotillda. shedding his garments and taking care not to allow the hard fasteners to clack against one another, he folded them by memory and laid them on the chair he hoped would be there.
the tiniest glow emmitted through gaps in the intertwined branches that acted as a ceiling. light from firefly traffic provided the slightest glow. in it he could see his beloved bed share's profile. the fall of the thick strands of her hair that so resembled the plants that grew in the crotches of tree branches once the wind had deposited seeds there. they grew into a fountain-like cascade and thickened to a clump that sent fragrant tendrils earthward.
he suppressed the urge to reach out and touch it, not wanting to wake her after she finally had settled down to rest. he lowered himself onto the bed alongside her admiring her now closed eyes. still beautiful even with out seeing the sparkling darkness of them. he could see the shades that made up the lines and creases that told stories about the years she had lived. in the low light he had to use memory a lot but he knew the gradation from the regular brown to the most recessed crease that appeared black. spreading out the colors blended, from lighter cork, and brown mushroom to blue slate red cedar and iron oxide. the texture was soft to the touch, deceptively hard looking where the colors looked more stone like.
he hesitated to wake her knowing he was in for a conversations he didn't want to have. not out of the fear that there'd be discord of any type, but because he knew it was time to reassess their bond agreement.
he knew they'd both come to a new nexus point and that whatever they decided they were more than likely to part ways.
he felt as if his regard for her exceeded hers for him. he knew she'd say that wasn't true, that she simply showed hers differently. he knew she was probably right and that he was his own problem that made it so difficult for him to appreciate her affection the way he gave it. so, it was time, for the severance and he already begun to pave the way for his departure. spending a lot of time away from home, overnights with other partners.
something very normal and acceptable, except for the spirit in which he did it. he was sneakily backing out of the contract he had made. the worst part was, he assumed she was aware of all of it, and that she'd say do whatever you need to do to heal yourself and let me know how I can help. he both loved and hated that about her. she was so understanding and changes? drama? they didn't faze her.
he wanted so much to be like her, but he knew he could truly only be himself and that the woman sleeping before his eyes would tell him the same. which was what was so attractive about her to him.
as if on cue, quiltilda's eyes opened and stared into his with such care that oto's own eyes teared up. she placed her palm on his cheek and murmured in a husky just awoken tone, saying, whatever it is we'll make it right. alright?
that was enough to unlock the watershed and quo pulled oto into her arms and he collapsed forward and down into her chest. she stroked his head as sobs wracked his frame. it surprised her, even though she'd known their parting would be hard. the level of passion pouring from the man with whom she shared her bed with for 14 Seasons was intense and quo was sutprised oto felt this strongly about it. it made her wonder at what other unsaid words he had been withholding inside? simmering away for how long? it had boiled over now and she'd help him get to the bottom of it all.
after a while oto's breathing slowed and he pulled slightly away from quotillda's chest. repositioning himself to his back, he turned to look at his love. she met his gaze and cooly took in a great breath before placing her palm on his bare chest and saying, saying playfully, "you've got to be hungry after that just burst of energy."
"you know what else? she asked. he grinned and indicated with his head he didn't. sitting up and clambering over him to the bedside she stood and said, "and i didn't eat yet today either."
together they gathered sweets and savory morsels from the communal dinner they'd missed and over them back in their quarters they talked. feeding each other and laughing they spoke of nothing of consequence not of his tearful outburst nor of the not so sudden, or unexpected change of quo's employment location.
instead they dropped the intense and driven personas they had usually worn. both relaxed and chattered with such exuberance that their neighbors had to stop and listen to be sure new people, new loud and unruly people had not taken over their friends' home from under their noses. they were soon reassured after the hilarity diminished some and their voices sounded normal again. they soon moved on pleased for their friends' joy. finally sated, the couple moved their location to the bath and quotillda stepped up to a shelf with a woven filter hanging acting as the door. she swept it aside to take up a stoppered container made of more woven fiber and carved wood. from inside she grabbed a few pinches of dried leaves and sprinkled them into the recess in the roots that oto had meanwhile been adding hot spring water from the tap to that they got piped in from the outside. he fussed with the flow mixing it with the colder catch water, tempering the warmth to near amniotic perfection. will continue sprinkling dried bits of this and several drops of liquid bad, extracts and oils for relaxing and to heal tired muscles and protesting bones. to induce restful sleep, and to call forth prophetic dreams. so as to start measuring the drapes to fill in the empty rooms of the new experiences they both have on the way.
they finished their tinkering and stepped nearly in unison down into the steamy fragrant pool each shrugging off the loose robes from their shoulders and arms. the slippery slidy surface of the fabric allowing it to the gravity of the world to collect it in a neat pile at the water's edge.
the water that closed so welcome Lee welcomingly around each part of the couple's bodies became submerged in the liquid. setting their stance upon the floor of the pool they faced one another and sat until all but head and shoulders were covered by the steaming water surface. almost immediately the pair felt the effect of the additives quoillda had so carefully concocted. their bodies became weightless and their forms more like fluid compared to the dryer and more rigid norm. the water's temperature only added to the hallucinatory effect being almost the same as body temperature they hardly knew where they ended and it began. soon they felt more aligned to the liquid, allowing its entry into every orifice and adjacent opening without resistance. mainly due to there being no defense anyway.
the illusion quickly vanished however, when they cleared their vision and saw the person across from them. looking into the eyes burning out from the steam slick face glistening there.
this was a different type of communion than that which she shared with client her twin and fellow since carrier. oto was as deep a connection, but in a way so different there was little to liken the two. except intensity.
quo filled her eyes and nose with oto's essence, making herself a battery of him to keep a boost of his energy. her secret inner concession to her knowledge that she'd miss and need his presence in the tougher moments that she knew she'd face while they were apart. she hoped he was doing the same .
after not too long the soperific effects of the bath water additives began to pull their eyelids down. steadying themselves using knurls and crevices in the tree wall the pool butted up against and the gentle slope up and out of the pool, they stood to one side of it. using both sides nut husks as scoops they collected fresh water and rinse the residues from themselves. as it washed down where it ran back into the pool.
oto leaned down and took up a braid of fiber and started pulling it toward himself. he looped slack neatly until a basket became visible that was filled with the sodden remnants of quo's mix of herbals. this he took and poured into a hollow in the tree wall that led to a natural chute to a heap of material that was composted upon reaching it's destination.
the pair finally made their way to the bed they shared for 14 harvests .
the pair made their way from the steaming bathing area, stepping with the care of sedated people. ambulating drowsily, their only mission to fall to bed without barking a shin. this they achieved, and spent, they immediately slept.
when they awoke later, nearly in sync, they exchanged grins and pretended playfully to race and beat each other to wash first. they chattered and splashed each other. after they dressed and took a small parcel of belongings each for their trips.
receiving the well wishes of the other denizens of their home in the trunk of their enormous tree dwelling oto made many assurances that they would be back. first oto, then quo. as soon as she completed her assignment.
the people of their arboreal home, the sprinkling of passers by and those with business dried up and the extension of the other roots' reach also petered out. the tips sunk finger like into the soil, hiding themselves from view. as they walked, the sounds of the land around them began to rise in volume as it had decided their soft steps and speech we're not there to create any discord.
their relaxed time together had eased the apprehension they had previously regarding their upcoming separation. they spoke of oto'a feeling of abandonment over close departure. he was surprised to learn she'd feelings on the matter andboth were reminded of quo's very self-contained nature. the way she was able to have feelings on things but assessed them with a glance, then put them aside until she put her mind on whichever administrative tasks she'd taken on. her instinct to act as shepherd and caretaker in her society. she was not a touchy feely type but because of her, jobs got assigned to those were most suited to them by her and her underlings and the rules. or is she managed trade with other areas. it was in the moments she was forced to manufacture that she opened to oto. frissa and quotienne any of the quants, her family.
it was a rare thing seemingly open up but discreetly and work priorities allowing. little did people imagine that due to her ability to separate her emotions from face and body as well, never had she been observed unawares displaying the signs of overwhelmed.
she came by the quality innately where anyone else would have to develop it, put in the effort. it was why she was so well suited to her work. it was why she was sought after two, that and the shared with her brother quotinne. her twin, which wasn't unusual, it was the ability to gather, that they could enter into trance state and to take it to a grand scale puzzle solve. a puzzle of some sort be able to commune with the sacred tones. they might be called by the ritual books . in either case, it was always to consult with them on concerns with the potential to impact the whole world. that wasn't common but it wasn't unheard of. both siblings possessed the ability to enter into trance state independently of the books or each other and that was the rarest ability amongst her people.
through them everyone invested the skills and energetic trades they too all bore some degree of all adding to the whole. the people plants creatures, even the very air and atmosphere up to the dark sky and stars.