Lumani+paints+Fiona

About a year ago... Luthais felt a small tug to the east, but paid it little attention until he went up to see his sister, Lumani. She was high in one of the towers. He walked in to find her, strangely backward... normally when she painted, she sat overlooking the city, but today her back was to the large open windows and she was sitting in line to look to the east, painting on her canvas. She was concentrating, bubbles of paints drifting around her as she worked. He smiled at her, and moved further into the room. Lumani paused and looked up toward the noise, joy spreading over her sweet face, "Big Brother! You're home!" She leapt up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. Luthais grinned wide and lifted her into his arms, hugging her, "How is my favorite painter today? You know I'm your biggest fan!" He spoke to her cheerfully, playing up how amazing he thought she was much to her great delight. He carried her around the canvas to see what she was working on. He stopped short when he seen the young woman's face on the canvas... she looked a little different, and it was a strange shop Lumani had painted around her... cakes and muffins and pastries, a bakery to be sure, but nothing like any of the bake shops here... and the face... he would recognize her anywhere... Fiona.

Fiona is a great hero to her people in the Grey Cloak Hills, having made such a sacrifice to protect the kingdom. No one seems to know what happened to her, and most believe her to be dead. Yet... here his sister was, painted on a canvas by their younger sister, who would have barely known her.

"Lumani..." he said slow and carefully, "Who are you painting here?" "The woman in the east," Lumani smiled up at him like it was the most ordinary answer that needed no explanations... but he seemed to still be studying the painting with great interest, so she offered more thoughts on her new painting, "I seen her last night... and she still speaks to me today, so I needed to paint her. It's not quite done though... Do you really like it?" She tilted her face in front of his, blocking the painting with her adorable smile. He blinked at her and then smiled, "Yes... Yes, I do. ...but you said you seen this woman last night? here?" She giggled, "Well.. not here..." She opened her arms wide gesturing to the room, "but here." She pointed to her head.

He nodded to her and set her down. "Do you think you can finish that painting for me?" he smiled encouragingly at her and nudged her toward the canvas. "Oh! Yes!" she beamed brightly and hugged on him again before running over to the canvas and grabbing her brush. She waved the bubbles casually out of her way, and went back to work, filling in the painting with details. He watched as the little bake shop took on life on her canvas, and the elven woman was unmistakably their sister. He felt a small tug to the east, and looked down at Lumani. "Do you like it?" she grinned at him, little colorful speckles of paint decorating her face. He grinned at her, "It's beautiful, Lumani! One of your best! Do you know her name?"

She thought hard and shook her head, "Mmm no... the wind isn't clear enough yet. There is a whisper... but I don't understand it." She frowned, and then suddenly beamed with excitement, "But I think it wants me to find her! Let's go east to look for her! Can we, big brother, can we?!" He looked at her puzzled. She had never asked him to take her out of the city before... for ice cream, sure... and to toss her around in the air... but never out of the city, and she had asked with such determined excitement. Is she being pulled to the east too? Is Fiona really alive there? He patted her gently on the head, "Lumani... it was probably just a dream. You're much too young for that kind of traveling." She pouted her lips, and looked up at him with the biggest, saddest, most angelic blue eyes... "Please? ... You go on adventures... I want to go on one too! ... Pretty please? Pretty pretty please?" He started out looking at her sternly, but she could see him rethinking and starting to cave. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"You would be there to protect me... Just a little adventure... it would be fun! You could teach me things! And we'll find the woman in the painting that you like... Please, Please, Please, Please, Please, Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaassssse?" She begged him with the most adorable. pleading face.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">He shook his head at her and smiled, "I'll think about it, okay?" She beamed and leapt back to her supplies and starting packing away her paints into a little case. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"What are you doing?" He asked, looking over at her packing her things in a hurry. <span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"I want to be ready!" She flashed him a big smile, and added with playful accusation, "I know how you are! ...and you're NOT leaving without me!" She giggled gleefully as she packed.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">She certainly had him pegged. He shook his head at her. What was he thinking? He couldn't really take her traveling with him to the east... their parents would have nothing to do with that! ...but if she was the key to finding Fiona... shouldn't he at least try? He would tell them he was leaving, but he was going to have to sneak Lumani out with him. She's going to love that... he laughed to himself.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They left together, just the two of them, on horseback. She had been taking lessons, and rode well. She had a beautiful white horse, but Luthais told her that she wasn't really for traveling long distances, and he chose a different horse for her instead. They rode until Lumani fell asleep, falling off of her horse with him deftly catching her and pulling her onto his horse with him as though he had done it a million times. Weeks of traveling... Lumani was sore and tired, but ever cheerful. They took the roads, and he taught her what to look for, and what to be cautious of.

<span style="color: #0070c0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They eventually took a ship east, and came into Lyrabar's harbor... where both of them felt the pull the strongest. He took to one knee in a flower garden in town and pulled her onto the one that was up. She set down her easel with a canvas and opened up her paints, scooping out the various colors with bubbles of air that floated around her in time to the music as she worked on her canvas. Her quiet display drew in a little crowd. She was also observed by a few watchful gazes. Luthais watched her as a new scene began to come alive on her canvas.