Safi - Tumblr Posts
Mexi Thai | A sentimental gift from mom | The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo | Record player
A surreal western undertone keeps following her | I'm not mad at it | I'm not mad at it at all! | Just gonna keep following it and let it happen
Thé Matcha 26 & Lavender Oil
Chapter Two: A Humble Yet Cozy Abode
(Let’s just pretend this shot is at night alright?)
We watch Asha ride through the thick forest. She glances back a couple times, but there’s only thick branches and bushes behind her. She finally pushes away a cluster of branches to reveal a clearing with several little houses. A tree stands tall in the middle of the huts. She’s finally reached the hamlet. Asha dismounts Maximus and grabs the large sack, slinging it over her shoulder. Valentino crawls onto the saddle and sits down.
“Welcome back, Asha,” and older voice says. Asha stops and turns around to see an older man standing by one of the huts, leaning on a cane for support. A lute is strung over his shoulders.
“Aren’t you up a little late Sabino?” Asha says with a teasing tone.
“Ha, I could say the same to you young lady,” Sabino says.
Asha chuckles and walks towards a tree in the middle of the clearing. Sabino follows. “Well, I had to travel to Rosas and back in the cover of darkness so I wouldn’t get caught and beheaded. What’s your excuse?” She sets down the bag in front of the tree.
“Insomnia,” Sabino says, “And I wanted to make sure my favorite adopted child made it home safely.”
“Your only adopted child, Sabino,” Asha teases. “You don’t have to worry about me. I have mastered the blade and the art of theft. I can take care of myself out there.” She grabs Max’s reigns and leads him into a small pen. Sabino hesitates, his smile fading as he glances away. Valentino notices Sabino’s look and rubs his head against the older man’s leg. Asha notices it as well and stops pauses after taking off Max’s reigns. “Is something wrong?” She asks, her tone more serious.
“Safi was in the eastern woods earlier today and spotted a couple knights by the edge of the tree line.” Sabino says.
“Is he okay? We’re there dogs this time?” Asha asks, looking worried.
“No and no. They left after a couple minutes without spotting him.”
Asha sighs with relief and shuts the gate to the horse pen. “Good.” She takes off her cavalier hat and pinches the bridge of her nose. “That’s the second time this month. I would hate to force everyone to stay in the hamlet for a few days again, but those knights are getting closer and closer to searching the forest, and I don’t know what else to do…”
“Perhaps just advise them to stick closer to the western side of the forest instead. It has less to forage, but it’s safer,” Sabino suggests.
“Good idea, Sabino,” Asha says, relaxing.
“I have those from time to time,” Sabino jokes to lighten the mood. “Now, let’s get some rest.” Asha nods and picks up Valentino, walking into the hut next to Max’s pen.
We transition to the next morning, where Asha emerges from the hut in a very different outfit from the previous day. Instead of a plain shirt, pants, cape, hat and boots, she sports an orange dress with flat shoes and her hair in a large bun.
We get to see a montage of an average day in the hamlet. First Asha gives the hamlet morning announcements and hands out the supplies she had gotten from the previous night: food, cloth, seeds, a couple books, and a few toys for the children. We see some people washing their clothes and collecting water from the river. Others are preparing food for their families. A few collect berries and wild mushrooms in the woods. Several men and and women tend to the fields and their livestock.
Near the end of the montage we have a scene of Asha sitting alone in a stump, sketching. Valentino sits in front of her. His ear twitches and he strikes a goofy pose. Asha looks up from her sketch of the genet and giggles. She reached out and scratches him behind the ear.
We transition to dusk. Asha is brushing down Max when a couple teenagers walk by and stop. “Hey Asha!” One, a boy, calls.
Asha jumps slightly at the noise and turns around. “Oh, hey Safi. Need anything?”
“Well, my sister and I wanted to come by and ask if you wanted to come over for dinner. Our mother is making some Shish Tawook tonight that’s to die for,” Safi explains. His sister shyly nods.
“Uh- sorry. I wish I could, but I have some work I need to catch up on around the house,” Asha says.
“You always say that,” the girl says. “Why don’t you take a break from working for once and relax with some of us?”
“I-I know, I just-” Asha hesitates, clearing her throat. “I’m very focused on, um, taking care of Sabino, you know? I mean, someone has to look out for him these days.” She stumbles over her words, looking somewhat uncomfortable.
Safi’s brows furrow. “Is everything alright, Asha? With you I mean.”
“What? Yeah, of course I’m fine, everything’s fine. I’m totally fine.” She takes a deep breath. “Look, I know I don’t hang out with anybody these days, but I have my reasons, alright?”
Safi nods and walks away with his sister. Asha leans against the fence and sighs.
We cut to Sabino, who’s sitting in a chair and watching Asha from the window. Valentino is curled up in his lap, sleeping. Sabino gasps and grabs his chest, coughing. Valentino wakes up and whines, watching Sabino with worry. Sabino gently pets Valentino as the coughing stops. “I’m okay. Im okay.” He watches the sun for a few moments as it sinks down the horizon, and gets up.
Asha walks out of Max’s pen just as Sabino walks out of their hut. “Asha, would you care to join me on a walk?” He asks.
Asha perks up. “Where to?”
“You’ll see,” Sabino says with a wink. Asha hesitates before following Sabino into the woods.
We skip to a little later in the evening. Night has settled over the forest, and Sabino is still walking with Asha. Valentino trails just behind them. “Are we there yet? This dress wasn’t exactly made for long strolls in the night,” Asha says, a little irritated.
“Almost. Have patience, child,” Sabino replies. He pushes away some branches. He slips out of the forest.
Asha follows him and stops, letting out a small breath. “The old willow tree…”
“Well don’t just stand there gawking, hurry up,” Sabino calls from ahead. Valentino hurries after him and helps him up onto the tree’s roots. Asha makes her way over and climbs onto the tree with ease. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?” Sabino says.
Asha nods. “It’s lovely.” She pauses, gently running her fingers down the bark. “Papá took me up here a lot. He’d tell me lots of stories about the stars, and how they helped people long ago. He gave me his sword that last night we came up here. Said I would need it more than him. I guess I really did…after he disappeared….” She trails off, looking downcast.
Sabino frowns and rests his hand on Asha’s shoulder. “I miss him too.” He takes a deep breaths and sits down on one of the roots. “When I came here with Sonia, Jon, and their families, he did everything to make us feel safe and happy. Even after we had lost our wishes.”
Asha looks at Sabino with surprise and a hint of sadness. “You lost your wish? I had no idea.”
Sabino nodded. “I only learned about the hamlet after the king took it. I try not to think about it too much. I’ve lived a good life. It was modest, but I’m alright with that.” He frowns. “Though it doesn’t stop the pain, knowing my wish may never come true-“ He’s cut off by a coughing fit, startling Asha and Valentino.
“Sabino?” Asha says, putting a hand on his shoulder with concern
Sabino waves his hand. “Ah, I’m okay. I just forgot to breathe for a moment.” Valentino whines and licks Sabino’s hand.
“What can I do?” Asha asks. “You know I would do anything to help you and the hamlet.”
Sabino sits thinking for a moment. “You can stop the king,” he says firmly.
“What?” Asha blinks and leans back in shock. “I wouldn’t know where to begin. I’m good with a sword, sure, but he’s a sorcerer king. There’s no way I could defeat him and save the kingdom, if that’s what you’re implying.”
“Well, there’s your first problem,” Sabino says, holding up a finger. “You can’t think about saving the whole kingdom, you have to think about saving one person.”
“Like you?” Asha asks.
“Perhaps, but I don’t want you to worry about me. I’m old. I’ve lived an honorable life without my wish,” Sabino repeats. “But there are still so many young people out there whose wishes have been stolen from them. Asha, no one should have to live and die without a chance for their wishes to be granted.”
“If I’m not supposed to worry about you, then who do I focus on saving?”
Sabino smiles. “That is for you to decide.” Asha gives him a hesitant smile and looks up at the stars. We fade to a bush, where a pair of cat eyes narrow before fading into the shadows.
Author’s Notes
This chapter was a little heavy with the dialogue and exposition in the second half, but I like how it went. I feel like I’m really picking things up with this chapter. Asha gets some more characterization that will be important for her arc later, and we get to see the hamlet. I wanted to let her leadership qualities shine early on. None of that adorkable shit for this Asha. She does have her moment of awkwardness talking to Safi, but that’s there for a reason.
So far the hamlet citizens won’t be that important, so they don’t get much dialogue or screen time. But Safi here did get a cameo, as well as an unnamed cameo from Bazeema (his sister in this rewrite).
We also finally get to meet Sabino! I took a lot of inspiration from Gramma Tala from Moana when developing his character. He’s very mischievous and teasing towards Asha, but also offers a lot of guidance to her and acts as her advisor. A big change I wanted to make with his character was having him be more worried about other people’s wishes than his own. Like he says, he’s lived a fine life without his wish. The heartache is there, but for the most part he’s pushed past it. I just think it makes him more sympathetic than wanted his wish and his with alone to be granted. I really like how his speech turned out, especially the line inspired by the deleted Spiderverse scene. (“You can’t think about saving the whole world, you have to think about saving one person”). Again, it will be important to Asha’s relationships later on as well as the climax.
Next chapter will be back to the royals, so lots of fun stuff there. I honestly can’t wait to flesh out Flazino and his parents more.
Thanks for reading!