I got busy and wasn't able to finish Donu's Spring Update before Summer 139, so here is the Spring Update. It's pretty long, so I'm keeping it in the spoiler.
Zothoabo climbed onto a table, held his mug in the air and proclaimed, "One more glass and I go home!"
Donu shuffled over to him, "I think you've already had four to many." She reached up to help him down, and he clumsily tumbled down, landing on top of her. "Get off me dad, you're drunk!" She pushed him off and helped him to his to his feet, then guided him back to the hospital.
After making sure he made it to his bed, she reached into her pack and handed him a biscuit, "Eat this and go to sleep." She patted his head as he curled up on his bead and began gingerly chewing on the mystery biscuit. "Now it's my turn to take a nap." she said as she wandered out into the hall, and began walking towards the temple.
As she made her way to her room, she heard a soft voice ask, "Donu, are you ok?" As she tried to stop and look at the person asking the question, she tripped over her feet and landed squarely on her butt in the middle of the hallway. "oww, that hurt."
When she looked up from rubbing her bruised backside, Sirris was standing in front of her with a worried look on her face. "hey Sirris, what's wrong?"
"Are you ok Donu?" Sirris asked, "You seem.." Sirris struggled to find the right word, "stressed."
"Me?" Donu let out a burp "I'm happy." She forced herself to smile as best she could, then shook her head and slapped her cheeks, "You know me, Mate's number one food taster. I'm just enjoying life as a working, productive member of society."
"What about what happened to your mom?"
Donu felt her lips trembling and her eyes began to tear up, "Oh... uh, I don't - " Donu stopped and wiped her eyes and nose on the sleeve of her robes.
"I know how you feel." Sirris sat down next to donu, and put an arm around her shoulder, "My mom was killed in one of the first goblin raids. I still miss her today."
Donu leaned into Sirris and began sobbing, "She cared so much about the safety of her children, she never thought something terrible could happen to her."
Sirris held Donu and let her cry it out for a while. Eventually, she was able to regain her composure. "Thanks Sirris, I know we weren't too close before this, but you really helped me out. Maybe we should hang out sometime. I'm going to have a lot of free time once they make me a priestess."
Sirris chuckled aloud, "That sounds fun, but I've been kept busy with training. I don't know how much time I will have."
"I'm sure I could find a way to get you out of training." Donu smiled and gave Sirris a hug, "You're a good person Sirris, I'll try to bust you out of training soon, so we can go to the tavern together."
"Thanks Donu, I - " Sirris sentence was cut short when Zefer stepped forward with a flower in his hand.
"Take this." he said, placing the flower into Donu's hands.
After standing there awkwardly for a moment, Donu blurted out, "You know I'm becoming a priestess not an herbalist, right?"
"Er, well... I thought.." Zefer stuttered and his face turned beat red. "I just wanted to cheer you up." he blurted out nervously.
Donu began laughing, "You're so funny Zefer!"
Zefer chuckled to himself, then muttered an excuse and walked away. Donu finished her conversation and returned to her room. She didn't have a good place to put her flower, so she stuck it behind the last page in her journal.
Donu's Diary
5th Felsite 139
Dear Diary,
I'm still pretty sad about what happened to Mom, but Dad seems to be taking it worse than me. I haven't spoken to Valken since, and I think I will have to wait a while before i do. Just the thought of Mom, trapped in a room, starving and forgotten is too much to bear right now. Once I become a priestess I will have more free time to look after Dad and make sure he is doing alright. Maybe I'll eventually work up the courage to talk to Valken and Mom again.
I did have a good talk with Sirris. Sometimes I forget about the other people who have lost people in this fort, and it was good to make a new friend. I'll have to devise a plan to get her out of training so we can talk some more.
I also ran into Zefer. He gave me a flower. It's funny imagining him trying to pick flowers out in the field. He's normally so strong and serious it was funny seeing him with a little flower in his hands. It was really nice of him to do though. Zefer has always been a good friend, and he's super strong. Maybe I should spend more time with him. He's still a soldier, so he may have a way to get Sirris out of bootcamp.
It's been really crazy around here since Mom was attacked, and I haven't had much time to write. I'll try to give you another update when things settle down.
<3 Donu <3