Savita's Trials of Wisdom

"I'm going. I'm going," I muttered to myself, trying to jam the last of my clothes into my backpack, "Where did I leave that stupid cloak?"

The sounds of clinking glass bottles, whooping and yelling were coming through the wall from next door. They were always loud when they got together to drink; it was a shame they could never hold their liquor. The phone rang and I raced over to pick up the receiver. "Hello?" I said, breathing heavily.

"Savita? What's wrong?" my father asked.

"Nothing! Why are you calling me at this hour? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong. I just talked to your uncle and he seemed worried about you."

"Whatever for? Did that Bansal guy get drunk again? He should know better than to harass me -- I've told him a million times already."

My dad sighed quietly on the other end of the line. "Your uncle is worried about you being out so late at night by yourself."

"What do you mean? You don't think it's safe for me to be here by myself tonight, do you?"

"Well, it is late... But I thought you had someone with you..." My dad sounded concerned now.

"Oh no!" I almost dropped the receiver in my panic. A sudden realization hit me hard and made me sick inside. "I didn't tell anyone where I was going! How am I supposed to find my way back home now?"

The faint glow of the city lights could be seen in the distance as Savita walked aimlessly along the beachfront at nightfall. The waves crashed hypnotically against the shoreline while her mind wandered aimlessly in its own thoughts as well. She was lost somewhere in her memories of childhood when she caught sight of a lone figure standing further down the beach. It was difficult to see clearly from such a distance but she could make out what looked like an old-fashioned cape fluttering behind him as he paced restlessly along the shoreline, his hands clasped behind his back. With a new wave of dread rising up within her, she started towards him, wondering if this was all some twisted joke played on her by her friends after all with an unexpected guest waiting for her at some remote location as part of a prank gone awry -- she had seen stranger things happen before now after all. As she drew closer she realized that there were two figures standing further down the shoreline; one wore a dark-coloured cloak while the other stood facing him, dressed simply in plain white robes with his arms crossed against his chest. Despite his stoic stance, she could sense the underlying tension in his body language as he continued to argue with the cloaked figure while gesturing wildly with his hands and pointing towards her direction. After watching them for only a few moments longer, she stopped walking towards them and stood rooted to her spot beside a cluster of rocks near where they were arguing instead, watching them intently and listening closely until she heard voices carry through on the wind across the water's surface towards where she was standing on land just then. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she slowly crept forward until she could hear them more clearly now:

[Cloaked Figure] "...She doesn't have any training or anything we can use..." Cloaked Figure whispered harshly into his companion’s ear in exasperation with a heavy sigh afterwards before continuing quietly again: "We won't even know how long it will take for us to train her before we can send her on this mission..."

[White Robe] "...We don't have much choice though... We need to send someone right away..." White Robe replied softly before turning back toward where Savita had been standing moments ago but found only empty sand behind him now where there were no footprints leading further down along the shoreline anymore -- they had not noticed her presence yet. He sighed heavily and began pacing back and forth impatiently along the shoreline once more: "How are we supposed to protect this world from those vile Solarii demons if we can't even protect our own world from ourselves first..." White Robe grumbled under his breath as he paced back and forth...

[Cloaked Figure] "...Don't worry about that right now... Let us handle introducing ourselves first," Cloaked Figure replied calmly as he turned towards Savita who was walking towards them now without either noticing nor hearing their conversation at all just then: "Hello Miss," Cloaked Figure greeted politely with an elegant bow as he raised his hand in greeting -- his words had startled Savita slightly just then but she responded quickly and politely with a smile and an awkward curtsey anyway: "H-Hello..." [White Robe] "...It would seem we have troubled young lady here," White Robe called out solemnly by comparison after taking notice of Savita's startled reaction in return just then: "What troubles you young lady?" White Robe continued after seeing that Savita did not answer immediately after being addressed by both himself and Cloaked Figure several times already: "Can we help you somehow?" White Robe asked kindly as he approached Savita slowly from behind finally with Cloaked Figure following close behind once more: "Do not be afraid young lady," Cloaked Figure added reassuringly as well... [Cloaked Figure] "...You look very tired young lady," Cloaked Figure went on gently: "Perhaps we can help speed up your journey home somehow?" He offered helpfully finally after watching Savita fidget nervously with embarrassment while she remained silent still just then... [White Robe] "...We do not mean any harm young lady," White Robe added soothingly: "You can trust us..." White Robe stated confidently as well when he saw how nervous Savita appeared after being approached suddenly by both himself and Cloaked Figure earlier without warning earlier: "...Can you not?" He tried adding reassuringly once more... [Cloaked Figure] He glanced over at White Robe briefly before turning back towards Savita again: "...Look, whether or not you trust us is immaterial really because we need your help more than anything else right now anyway..." Cloaked Figure went on gravely again once more after listening to White Robe speak so confidently earlier -- he hesitated momentarily before continuing cautiously on next: "...There is an ancient prophecy that needs fulfilling in order for us to prevent this world from falling prey to those vile demons soon enough..." Cloaked Figure continued solemnly despite taking one last deep breath afterwards before finally revealing everything about himself and White Robe's true identity next: "...We are not here by choice... We are here because we need your help desperately otherwise this world will fall prey to those demons sooner rather than later..." Cloaked Figure paused momentarily again before adding confidently once more without taking another breath afterwards like earlier anymore either: "...There is no time left anymore young lady..." He concluded solemnly as well... [White Robe] "...He speaks truly young lady..." White Robe added calmly but sternly all of a sudden after hearing what his companion said earlier without interrupting him or correcting him when necessary earlier either: "...The prophecy must be fulfilled -- there is no other way around it otherwise our world will surely fall prey to those demons soon enough too..." White Roge repeated solemnly yet urgently again after hearing what his companion said earlier without interrupting him or correcting him when necessary earlier either... A heavy silence fell between them for several moments afterward until Savita spoke up quietly again finally after another long silence passed between them: "Your names please?" She asked curiously this time after another short pause between them instead... [Cloaked Figure] "...I am known here on Earth only as 'The Seeker'," Cloaked Figure replied calmly but seriously finally after seeing that Savita did not respond immediately upon hearing what he said earlier before continuing quietly again afterwards: "This is my friend here -- 'The Watcher'," he went on courteously while gesturing toward White Roge who bowed politely in return while bowing deeply once more only slightly ahead of where 'The Seeker' had bowed previously while doing so slightly ahead of 'The Watcher' slightly beyond where 'The Seeker' had bowed previously still but only slightly so -- they were separated by only a small gap between each other wide enough for only one person side-by-side between them still however which allowed both of them to fit perfectly side-by-side comfortably together perfectly alongside each other perfectly side-by-side alongside each other perfectly along side each other nicely anyway although they tended to wander off occasionally during their conversations sometimes leaving 'The Seeker' alone instead although he preferred solitude most of time anyway most days otherwise however whenever 'The Watcher' happened to wander off looking elsewhere searching for something nearby instead whenever 'The Seeker' asked him about something important needing answered for example instead whenever he happened to ask him about something important needing answered for example instead which usually led him straight towards wherever whatever or whoever needed finding or helping next eventually instead whenever 'The Watcher' happened to wander off looking elsewhere searching for something nearby instead whenever