Improvisational Correspondences

Catherine my love,
I will be in Channelwood for a few days checking on the boys. Would you mind going to Simmoore to collect the samples? I do not anticipate they will be difficult to extract, but I am afraid the growth rate of the plants may cover them over if they are left for too long.

Atrus,
I have left them in your study.

You would have found it amazing. The flowers have grown by several inches. Will you come look? I have something for you.

Incredible! This is...
I will have to examine the soil again. At that rate they may begin to deplete its nutrients before decay can replenish them.

I found the rock you left there. What Age did that come from? And where are you? I thought you did not wish to spend so much time away from home. Don't make me worried.

(laughter) Come find me, Atrus. I'm waiting.

(exasperated clearing of the throat) All right, all right. A game, is it?

(image of Catherine looking faintly smug. There are leaves in her hair, which is rather disheveled.)

I have found the vein in Selenitic. A very strange mineral. Did you know that it seems to be repelled by the application of an electric current? It quite startled me when the samples floated away from my scanner. I will have to Write an Age to explore its properties more fully.

He holds up a small scrap of paper, clears his throat, and reads:

Then will ocean meet sky
Caressing clouds
There is no finer tapestry
And no brighter hue.

He smiles. "Marella, you mean? I'm on my way."

Atrus' clothes seem to be damp, and his hair is slicked back against his head.

"I really must raise the observation deck by a few more feet; the turbulence of the water is getting wilder. You're right; the sunset through the spray is quite spectacular."

He sighs exaggeratedly. "When are you coming home?"

Catherine appears again. Her face is painted with odd swirling blue patterns. She places a fingertip on her chin, poses as if for the camera, and smiles broadly. "Why, Atrus, you just missed me."

Atrus is shaking his head, grinning.
"I was watching the dock carefully, and you still managed to catch me napping. Very well. I will come find you at Tilah's place. Hold still, will you!"

Catherine appears again (her face scrubbed clean) holding a brightly-colored cloth knapsack over her shoulder. "Sorry, I just need to collect a few more things."
She leans towards the imager, speaks low and seriously.

I dreamed of a sky with six bright stars
But their number was seven.

Atrus is wearing a change of clothes, looking amused. "The constellation does resemble the sign for vahgabree, doesn't it? You must be laughing at me for taking so long to work out what you meant." He leans forward.
"Branch gave me the Book. You should be more careful, Beloved. I trust him, but what if there were some accident? I don't want to imagine it!"

Catherine places a finger over her lips. "Shhhh. I left a spare Linking Book in the library. I am careful."

Atrus spreads his arms expansively. "The new Age is beautiful. I will make a ladder for you up that twisted green spire, so that you can sit at the top and sketch."

Catherine paces, ticking off her fingers, turning to face the imager as she finishes. "Now let me see. I have a good supply of Tilah's sweetwater, your telescope from the Stoneship Age, some of those scrolls from the library on Teranth that you've been meaning to translate, the Garden Age, and plenty of stores belowdecks. Clio and Vanrye helped me fix the sails. We are going on a cruise. Are you coming?"