It had been a busy and frustrating two weeks. There had been so much to try and do and comprehend in such a short amount of time that she was absolutely exhausted. Kahlani scratched the side of her nose absently, and blinked into the fading light of the afternoon. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to make a start on her travels when she would have to stop soon enough, but if she was going to beat the bolts of fabric she'd ordered at the start of her trip back to Ketra, then she knew she had to get a move on.
Her head was filled with a tired buzzing, a droning that went on and on and reminded her of all the communication problems she'd had. She should be getting used to it by now, she thought, after so many years of living in silence, but it still annoyed her to no end that something as simple as everyday life so difficult. She had no letters aside from those used to spell her name, had no sign aside from what she'd made for herself, and certainly had no comprehension of language, and how words even sounded.
Scuffing her foot along the ground, and watching the flowing silk materials of her skirts and admiring the way the silver stitching glimmered subtly against the midnight blue fabric (there had to be some perks of being a talented seamstress – she occasionally got enough commission on a job to be able to make something lovely for herself, and not that it was practical for travelling, but chances were she'd be stopping before she reached the outskirts of the city anyway, and would find a cheap inn to sleep in, so her wearing of it was validated), the young woman was completely distracted.
She began crossing over the road, completely unaware of the wagon coming up from behind and rider approaching from the front. She lazily walked forward, ignorant of the blasting yells of the wagon driver; she yawned, missing the sight of the rider waving his arms at her, and his yelling at her that she was about to get trampled. She didn't even notice from the thundering vibrations on the ground that there was something big approaching. Things might have been different had there been more people around, but the streets had been quiet in this area for a good amount of time. There was no one to yank her back from impending doom.
She wouldn't remember how it happened exactly, and would know how it was that she had been so distracted as to not have noticed, but less than a second after stepping down, Kahlani was knocked to the ground, sprawling forward underneath the back wheels of the wagon. She didn't feel them bumping over her and bruising her legs, or the road tearing into the skin of her hands, or the way she hit her head. It was almost a merciful thing she didn't hear the wagon driver curse, and spur his horse on; or see the other rider just pass her by after giving her a cursory once over.
