To Earthland...And Beyond!

Job:

It was absolute mayhem at the docks today, with fights, arguments and general pandemonium taking place. Everyone seemed to be screaming and shouting with each other and it was the atmosphere which caused fear and panic in the mind of a young and petite girl, who was watching the scene from a far, her head poking around the corner of a building. It had taken her ages just to steel up enough courage to come and now she was faced with this. The angry crowd's aggressive nature caused memories to stream through her mind, unpleasant ones that made her want to crawl in to the nearest corner and cry. Of all the days that she could have picked to come here, she just had to pick today. Yet, she dared not actually join the line and simply stayed where she was, hoping that eventually things would calm down and then perhaps it would be OK for her to get her passport then. Oh, how Leliana wished that she could just skip her way over there and make the best of the situation but she just did not have the courage to do so.

Time passed slowly but Leliana was patient enough to wait and it was only when the sun started to set that the crowd had began to disperse and that was when she took her chance. There were only four of five people waiting now and the black haired teenager emerged from her safe spot and joined the back of the queue. It was quite a quick process to be fair to the people behind the wooden counter and she could tell from the tired looks on their faces that the day had taken its toll on them. Yet, they performed admirably and were just as polite now as they had been all day long, much to Leliana's relief. Her confidence was razor thin as it was and an unpleasant retort would have sent her dashing off in the other direction.

The woman who saw to her was a tall figure, with light brown hair and blue eyes, a soft smile on her face. "I was wondering if you were going to join the queue," she said gently, "I've been watching you peeping from around that corner for some time. You don't have to be afraid of us, you know. Things might have got a little rowdy today but we're in full control of what happens here, you're quite safe. Now, I just need a few details and I can grant you a passport."

Leliana simply nodded and answered the questions to best of her ability, keeping her answers as short as possible. Her voice was tinged with nervousness but the woman's kind words had helped her to settle. The questioning was not as bad as she had thought either and after about ten minutes or so, she was given a brand new passport. Relieved, a small smile briefly crossed her face and she turned to leave.

"If you're interested, there's a new device that's come out that might help you," the woman behind the counter said, "They call it an iLac and it has a lot of useful functions that mages find useful. You should think about taking a trip to the Neutral Grounds and getting one for yourself, they're free."

With another simple nod, Leliana thanked the lady and then left the counter, heading for the town exit. She had no real plan and the thought of a free item was tempting so she set course for the Neutral Grounds. Relying on her intuition to guide her way.

(603 Words)