Beginnings

by

modernbard

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“I think I’ll start a
journal.” Gabrielle watched as Xena pulled out her sharpening
stone and grabbed her sword, sitting across from her at the
fire.

“A journal?” Xena set the
stone to her sword and began the rhythmic motions to sharpen
it.

“Ya know, to chronicle our
adventures together.” The sound of the stone sliding against
the sword filled their campsite and made Gabrielle smile.
They’d only been traveling together for a few days but
somehow, the sound of Xena’s nightly ritual had become a
soothing and welcome aspect of her new life.

“Hmm.” The sound was simple
and noncommittal.

Despite their short time together,
Gabrielle felt a slight thrill run through her at having been able
to keep the dark warrior involved in the conversation. She
wasn’t known for being very vocal. “You don’t
think it’s a good idea?” As of yet, Xena had never told
her one way or the other that any of her ideas were bad. Unless of
course said idea placed her in some kind of danger. No, for the
most part Xena had pretty much let Gabrielle go her own way in many
things. It was one of the things that Gabrielle found herself
pleasantly surprised by. That she could, in large part, start
making her own decisions.

Xena shrugged. “It’s an
idea.”

Gabrielle reached into her bag and
brought out her writing supplies and laid them next to her as she
contemplated her traveling companion. “You know, you’re
not all that talkative.”

Again there was a shrug. “Not much
to say.”

“Guess not. Well, if you
don’t mind, I think I’ll just sit here and write in my
journal.” Gabrielled took the scroll in her hands and
proceeded to simply stare at it for several moments, the sound of
Xena sharpening her sword fading to the background and she
contemplated the blank surface before her.

She ran her fingers across the writing
surface, feeling a slight shiver of anticipation run through her at
the thought of putting down her thoughts. A wistful smile crossed
her face as she let her mind wander to the possibilities of just
what to write about.

There was sudden silence as Xena stopped
sharpening her sword. “What’re you
doing?”

Gabrielle turned to her, her smile
somewhat infectious and shy at having been caught daydreaming.
“I just love a fresh scroll. The way it smells, the way it
feels, so fresh and crisp. I love the way they look too; it’s
blank, empty. Just waiting for that first drop of ink, for that
first idea to be formed and put down into words. With this in my
hand, I’m like a god able to create something from nothing.
It’s so exciting, so thrilling so…so…” She
trailed off at a loss for words to explain the thrill that writing
something new gave her.