Harper's Pathos

Chapter Eighteen: The Heaven Sent Detective

If the morning had been a whirlwind for Morgan, that went doubly for Harper, who actually had to spend the majority of the day at the temple. In the early hours -long before they would have gotten up on their own- they were informed that they were to meet Priestess Kiya for further instructions. Before they could follow up with even a single question, the messenger had disappeared down the hallway to move on to some other task.

Despite not quite understanding the rush that everyone seemed to be in, the drowsy and slightly annoyed Harper oozed out of bed to get ready. They brushed their strawberry blonde hair before sleepily throwing together their outfit. 

Their top was a long cut of linen cloth wrapped and tied around their small chest, not unlike the upper section of a kalasiris. Instead of the bottom half of such on outfit, however -as they would rather die than wear a dress- a soft and puffy pair of pants hung low on their hips and cut off just below their knees. After equipping these clothes, they slipped into their sandals and out of their room.

As soon as they did so, Harper was nearly trampled by the friend they had made the previous day. Natah rounded the corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with them, then continued bounding through the halls.

"Wait! Natah, wanna grab breakfast?" Harper pleaded before the girl could leave earshot. They assumed Morgan had already left, and did not want to eat alone.

The young priestess didn't even look back to deliver her run on sentence in response, "Already ate have a message to deliver I am sorry!" This shout grew quieter as it went on and she gained more distance.

Harper pouted. "It's gonna be like that today, huh?" They rubbed the sleep from their eyes and thought about that. That was a grumpy response. Is Morgan rubbing off on me, or am I just not a morning person?

On their way to Kiya's quarters, they had several more near misses with rushing and anxious priestesses. Some appeared to be frantically cleaning, polishing floors, dusting; others were carrying trays of food, ingredients, and boxes and crates of... Harper didn't know what. They had no idea what was going on, what sort of event the temple was preparing for, but if anyone could tell them it would be the High Priestess.

Harper saw Kiya as soon as they entered the room. She dashed about putting on her makeup and jewelry, presumably almost ready for the day ahead. She was just now finishing her morning routine and clearly waiting for the blonde to arrive.

"Ah, Harper, Fahdim," she greeted as soon as she noticed them, "Please, close the doors and sit down for a moment. Would you like kofeh?"

"Fahdim. Yes pl- woah!" As soon as they were seated and the confirmation was halfway out of their mouth, Kiya had shoved a cup into their hands. "Thank you."

"You are welcome. Now listen. I have much information to relay and not much time; it is a busy morning." The High Priestess said this without sitting down, instead leaning against her chair and adjusting a bracelet on her wrist.

"Ok," came a peep from behind the nephilim's cup. They had already sipped down a quarter of the mug of black liquid. They needed the energy if they were going to deal with this all day.

"Alright, I'm sure you are confused about the frenzy that has characterized the morning thus far, but I'll explain that in a moment. First, there is more you must know for your investigation." As she said this, the priestess glanced to all the doors and windows. Her caution was commendable, but it set Harper on edge a little.

"Oh?"

"First of all, do you know of the situation between The Glass Desert and Taxime?" she asked.

Another piece of worldly information which had escaped erasure from their amnesia, they were familiar with this, if only vaguely, "You're enemies, right? But you aren't currently at war...?" Harper half stated this and half asked.