Like Bird Watching, But With People [Open]

[Levi Athan]

40th of Spring, AV 512

The children ran around in the streets, tossing about some wooden ball in some game that would have made sense to Levi about twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, he was about that age, careless, happy, and had a family. It was strange to think that these very kids were unknowingly in the exact same situation that Levi was when he was their age. He was being followed, watched, observed. It was like some feline predator hunting an innocent, harmless, cute bunny rabbit in the woods. The rabbit never knew any better. And when the cat approached, it followed, stalked, until the little rabbit accidentally lead the cat to its true prize. The rabbit's sister. Levi shook his head slowly as he refocused his attention on the kids. Two boys and a girl, the girl was younger, unlike his sister was. The boys were average, thin (Zeltivans were known for being thin, just look at Levi himself), and caked with dirt and grim. The girl, well she had a hitch to her step, and her eyes were just so very slightly skewed. Like she was looking at your nose and ear at the same time. Lastly, she wasn't what Levi would consider beautiful. Yeah, she was a child and had time to grow into her body, but that would take several years. That's a business plan that would not pay off in the end, unless she had the appearance of a goddess, could sock cock like a high-priced whore, and lost that limp. She'd need a full set of teeth, and long gorgeous hair. Overall, Levi couldn't imagine her being worth the effort. The boys? Even less so. A girl could be a child prostitute at a young age, sure, but boys were different. If you bought a male, you wanted strength, you wanted physical labor. These kids, they couldn't do more than sweep floors and satisfy the few strange men that were out there, and they were difficult to find (society nearly everywhere were not kind to such perverts). Even now, Levi might be looked upon at a pervert. Watching children without so much as a bat of an eyelash, or a smirk that might say "I'd love to have children of my own someday." No, it was a cold, calculating stare that only those of higher intelligence might recognize as pure observation. He was gathering details, to the best of his ability from his spot against the Kelp Bar's outer wall. The boys are brothers, no more than two years apart. The taller one, older, sickly. Coughs often when he runs around or dust is kicked in his face. His hands are small and clumsy, and he's timid for a boy child. The other has potential. Younger, but aggressive. No obvious illness, no deformities, still more than half a suitable labor-working age. The girl, she's intelligent, but looks insipid. She's possibly a sibling as well, though different eyes and hair say at least one different parent. Possibly the child of inbreeding, meaning all of them could be. A worthless batch. And that's how Levi saw the value of human life, in profit. Maybe the older boy would be a merchant. Some hopeful parents might say the younger could go to Syliras to join the Knighthood, and the girl might make a splendid wife and bear children, but Levi didn't bother with vague possibilities. He saw what was certainly possible. The only child of the three with any value, and that wouldn't even bee for another decade or so, was the younger boy. After several chimes of watching, the ball they played with rolled across the streets and stopped a mere three inches from his booted foot. The children started to run after it, then stopped as they saw Levi watching them. They froze, much like a rabbit would when it picks up the scent of potential danger. Levi only faked a smile and knelt down to pick up the ball and rolled it around in his hand. It was simple, worn. He held it out for whichever child would prove the most adventurous. "Here you go, you dropped this." It took a moment, but the girl giggled and skipped over, taking the ball from Levi's hand, then stopped to gaze up at him. "Thank you, sir." She then bowed slightly before hurling the ball back to the boys, turned to smile at Levi one last time, and ran back to their game. Levi's smile faded.

[Cael]

Levi was not the only one people watching. Cael was new to the city, and he wanted to get a feel for the people. This was the first time in his life he was away from Avanthal, and he intended to make the most of it. Though he'd originally come for the university, he'd decided to wait until the summer season to enroll due to the problems it had been having. No sense in throwing himself in the middle of a mess he had no interest in.

Leaning against a wall somewhere to the right of Levi, Cael took in the sight of the children. He had no interest in them whatsoever, but he understood that they were important to society. He watched them for awhile until one of them dropped their ball. His gaze wandered to the man who picked it up, and there it stuck. There was nothing truly interesting about the man, nothing remarkable, but Cael's gaze stayed there nonetheless.

Thinking back, Cael tried to figure out what was so significant about the man. Then it hit him. The man had been sitting in that same spot for the past few chimes, watching the children, just as Cael had been. He hadn't noticed him before, but now that he was aware of his existence, it was all too clear.

Pedophile? Cael thought to himself curiously. Nah, he doesn't look the type. Then again, most don't. He could be a slaver, Cael reasoned. Definitely not a parent or relative by the way those kids are treating him...

Cael shifted into a more comfortable position and continued watching the man watching the children, a wry smile on his face. The sun in Zeltiva was too hot, but the breeze was nice and cool. As he relaxed, Cael began to make up a back story for the man he knew nothing about. Hmm, maybe he's one of those escaped wizards from the asylum, Cael mused to himself. Perhaps he's looking for young hosts for his experiments on ghosts. He could turn on us at any moment. Cael grinned briefly before he thought about what he'd just imagined. On second thought, perhaps it's better not to think of such things, lest the gods make it come true...

[Levi Athan]

And as his smirk faded, his dark green eyes wandered briefly towards Cael. For just a split moment, the two saw each other, not just watching each other, but they spoke spoke at intense volumes. "I see you." That's what they were saying. Or, that's what could easily be inferred from Levi's gaze, which is about what he had obtained from Cael's own intriguing stares. And that's what started to make Levi somewhat tense. Though he made no sudden movements, changes in attitude, neither did he speak to confront this man to give away his discomfort, he turned his gaze away, once more on the children, who at this point were departing from the area. No matter, he figured he understood just about all about them that he needed to. Next, it was this pale man with the intriguing colored eyes. Cael was the stranger's name, though that much was still unknown to Levi. The first step in observing this man, was to observe his intent. If he wanted something from Levi, or wanted to do something to him, wanted to say something or know something, he could confront Levi (or at the very least, stay in sight) so he could watch him like a house-cat stalking a mouse. Levi casually picked himself off the wall and started to walk down the street, slowly of course. He wanted to make a slow, casual pace that would be easy to follow, without the man having to naturally break simple saunter to keep in pace with. It was all part of his trap he was forming. Before today was over, he would find this man's intent, that or the man would be lost like the simple, uninteresting, near-meeting person as usual, excluding the odd colored eyes that is. It was going to be up to Cael to reveal himself from here or not.

[Nexis]

OOC :

I am new here hope you don't mind me crashing this thread.

EDITED:

What it would feel like to inhale the salty edge lining the breeze; that was the curse of undeath. To attempt to partake in the sensual feelings of humanity was like trying to pretend that one was still living.

In theory, he was still alive- consciously, in spirit. However, the body in which he made rest was not.

But today was a fantastic day regardless of his state - A day where the people meandered about participating in their daily activities. Eyes coated an emerald green watched as three children skittered past chasing half hazardously after a ball. His agile frame darting out of the way as they stumbled past laughter filling the clean air around him. Ah, sport. Humanity was always so edger to chase after an object whether they caught it or not. It was a driving force, if you will- all part of the game that was life. Here we were, back continuously relating it all back to one thing; the living. It was that time in the century. Usually spurned by some event in the beginning where old sentiments reared up and memories ravaged through his mind, ripping it apart like plague. The longing comes and goes like the breeze that licked by his face and combed through his auburn locks. Nexis adjusted his cloak, the cloth wrapping and curling about his person as he shifted lazily to the right withdrawing a book from the interweavings of his attire.

It was only recently that he arrived in this city. It was a fairly pleasant city, a city of intriguing verses and ways. He had happened by here in his travels once or twice before but he didn't tend to stay long due to his existing condition. This time was different however. He looked better this time not in the state of decay that he was previously. He even smelled nice today having started incorporating a sweet smelling perfume into his daily routine of self care. This time as he made his way into the heart of the city and it's winding streets it would be a longer stay. Awhile. Yes, no ... or maybe a little bit. He never really knew and quite frankly at this point in his life the nuit had forgotten the very thing of time. The curse and blessing of death was that time no longer factored into your existence - or at least, it was not as relevant as before.

'Time? What a false illusion of life. What does time mean to one who suffers not from it's penalty.' A mild chuckle parted from his white lips as he continued his walk down the street way. There were a few people littering the street as he approached a small intersection of which two man an a few others were standing. Now this was a perfect place. Calmly his frame glided across the cobblestone before promptly seating on a stone bench nestling in as if for the day. Glass eyes only dabbled with a feint hue of red to them glanced across the layout intently as properly his frame would retract.

A man with his young wife conversing with another was what caught his gaze first. That was what most people saw. Young pretty thing she was, the way her golden locks cascaded down her back lightly brushing past her shoulder blades ... He, a larger man with nicer garbs (which to Nexis screamed overbearing), was positioned next to her arm placed on her shoulder. Her face. For a moment he could not place it. There was something odd about it as he glanced at her before gaze darting to the two gentlemen off to the side then back again. Her left was slightly higher than her right, yes but that was not what had him utterly confused about her. As Nexis's eyes trailed off and back onto her watching the couple as the man talked to another. She had worn makeup today. One could tell by the way her skin glittered in the sunlight as well as her hand brushed by her face she made careful to curl her fingers in order not to smudge it. That was what was bothering him, her eyebrows were painted on rather than the natural beauty she should have accepted. Nexis had often stated that one need not rely on such things as 'paint' in order to obtain beauty. If one is beautiful it would show, if you are not beautiful why pretend? Though she must have done it for a reason and hidden behind the dolled up appearance there was something she was hiding just as they all did.
A secret.
Nimbly the man's hands reached back into his cloak removing from it a small vial of black ink and quill. It wasn't long before the leather bound book was open in his lap and he was writing.

Ah, he loved the sound the edge tip of the quill made as it cascaded lightly against the page. Truly it was a gorgeous thing as words began filling the blank page with observations. This was a new book one that had more than plenty of pages to fill- he had been looking forward to it. As his hand guided itself up and down, gliding across the page like a fish in water, he might appear to the odd passerby as a busy young man writing furiously only having brief moments to look up and around before retreating back to the solitude of his work.

As the eternal albino continued to stare and write, from the corner of his eye he mildly watched the two males - one scruffier than the other slowly approaching on the younger looking one. Perhaps one was going to proposition the other into an act sexual of nature, some other instigation of social interaction, or some other minor experience. 'How curious' he thought to himself his ideal thoughts pouring in and out as they please. The shorter of the two was mangey in the aged one's opinion. Unkempt brown hair tied back wearing clothes that best befitted any traveler of sorts any more details and that would require moving closer to the two. The other taller figure dawning the apparel of a darker hue stood against the wall. The one detail that one could not miss even from sitting quite a few feet away were his eyes. Blazing like the sun above in such a vibrant hue a person could not help and stare for a moment. Oh how, he yearned to get closer and examine such vibrant, dare say, beautiful eyes however the man remained seated.

"Patience- dear, Nexis." He hissed under his breath a the quill drizzled in ink skidded across the page beautiful words appearing close behind with every valiant stroke. "In time, timing is everything after all." The nuit remained seated eyes trying to remained transfixed upon the woman and her golden locks but curiosity superseded. After several moments of debate slowly his gaze would turn watching the two gentlemen curiously, emerald gaze parting briefly every few moments to watch the two before descending back down to the page and taking note of every move they made.

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[Cael]

Cael didn't notice the nuit watching him. As his eyes locked with the first stranger's, a cold chill ran through him. The icy touch was not his beloved Morwen's doing, but the result of fear mixed with trepidation. Angry that he'd let himself be cowed by such a mysterious man, he kept his face blank as they held each other's eyes. The moment seemed to last several lifetimes, but it couldn't have been longer than a few moments. Then it was over. The man stood up and began to walk away. His slow, sauntering pace was clearly meant for Cael to follow. He'd be stupid to fall into such an obvious trap. Or would he? If he knew it was a trap, would he still be "falling" into it by taking the bait? If he was prepared, perhaps it didn't even count as a trap at all. It never occurred to Cael that the man might be completely innocent of any malicious thoughts, or that this wasn't a trap at all. To Cael, his fantasy had come alive. This man had to have been an escaped mage from the city's asylum bent on performing awful experiments upon the city's people. That meant it was Cael's duty to stop him. With a sigh that turned into an annoyed growl, Cael stood up and began to follow the man. Damn you, he thought to himself. May Krysus curse you for making me do this. The blue of his eyes amplified, becoming more piercing. Though many other Vantha experienced red eyes when angry, Cael's always became the clear, icy blue of Morwen's kingdom. He normally took pride in the knowledge that his eyes almost always reflected his beloved goddesses kingdom, but now he was too angry to care about such vain ideas. He followed Levi without any attempt to stay hidden. The man expected him to follow, and so he would. In his hands, though, he was already beginning to accumulate res. If this ended in a fight, he would be ready.

[Levi Athan]

There was so much to take in. At first, it was just the Vantha, the man with eyes that shifted, even if subtly, to various hues of the rainbow, who had attracted his attention. But Levi was beyond the tunnel vision that plagued nearly everyone else in this world. No, he was not binded to a single target when planning, observing, considering situations and options. The Nuit, at first seemed nothing special. A student of the university perhaps, studying anthropology perhaps, taking notes on the interactions of men and women perhaps, observing the behaviors of Zeltivan society... perhaps. That is until he started to glance occasionally in Levi's direction. That made two humans (he naturally assumed until given facts to otherwise suggest another) near the same time to notice him. This made Levi more suspicious than curious. This game of leading Cael into exposing his own intentions, now became Levi's paranoid urge to get lost, dodge sight, and ultimately return home safe and sound. This shit was intense! Levi couldn't deny the intrigue, but he was never a man to take unnecessary risks just for the sake of learning and expanding his views. Yes, knowing was half the battle. Survival was the entire victory. Levi didn't glance back to see if Cael was following or not, but rather he listened. The footsteps of his own were easy to identify, being in synchronization with the vibrations on his feet with each collision with the stone walkway under him. Cael, yes he heard his footsteps too, though as to be expected they were fainter, softer, and undeniably behind him, directly behind him. He may not have been immediately on his heels. He was able to differ these footsteps (Cael's) from others because of their cadence, steady, in pace, and always about the same distance from him. Cael, was following him, as he figured he might. Now that he had briefly noticed the Nuit, he even faintly feared it. The coincidences held just a small level of threat he had to watch for. Levi looked across the street, not backwards to make it obvious he was looking for a tail, but into the glass windows of the shop across the street. And in the reflection his assumptions were confirmed, Cael was following. The Nuit, well he couldn't see him at this angle, not without revealing he had noticed him. If these two were a duo that had ill planned for him, he needed to keep them somewhat off guard before he could lose them. Besides, how often was it that people just watched you out of intrigue? I mean, sure, Levi did it to people all the time, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being on the opposite end. Levi ended up wandering through the streets, neither gaining or losing pace, so that Cael would understand that he wasn't trying to be lost, but neither was Levi wanting to be any closer to him; and in his wandering he found himself stepping through the doors of the Kelp Bar. A place he didn't frequent often, but he had come on occasion. Today was a special occasion, he was being stalked and watched. He needed a public place to confront this man. The Kelp Bar would work fine. "Yes, get me three Kelp Beers please. I have some friends joining me. I'll be in the corner over here." Levi nodded to the barkeeper as he made a "b-line" to the back corner of the room and sat himself down. From this angle, he could see everything, and nobody but mere centimeters were between his blind back, and the wall. Now, he just had to wait for his "friends"

OOCSorry I took so long, I've been sick

[Nexis]

Likes scenes from a play, each stood; one enrapturing the other's mind and coiling about it. The tendrils of mysticism left just as the two began to fall from view.
What a delightful moment in time when the young male's gaze and his own were interlocked and for a moment time stood still. It was precisely the correct amount - that raw curiosity that he so desired. His eyes traced the man's young features curling about his face and back up to his raven locks. It was held as long as the other allowed but as nothing lasts forever, this too fell. Saphire eyes darted away from his emerald stare as the man proceeded to get up and leave presumably following the other who had departed only seconds before.

'Ah-' The undead's expression was muddled as a hand traced down to the book within his grasp. Firmly, he closed it, the quill nestled within its scribbled pages upon the moment's shattering. Both men began to walk down a side street both seemingly a bit uncomfortable. Slowly his wiry frame rose from where it was once placed, former intrest of the man and his wife fleeing his mind completely. No, no - now he had something much more 'interesting' to attend to than an issue of apology. Rudeness was something he tried to avoid with every avid piece of his being and to let himself allow another being to think ill will of him for staring was a completely foreign concept to him.

Nexis's frame creaked as he stretched outwardly fingers tucking the leather bound book under his arm, adjusting the cloak that cradled his body. Slowly the nuit began to follow the men, lips pursed as a melody began to flow through them- humming a tune he had learned in a former life of his no doubt. His posture was precise with strides long and gapping though he was careful to fall a bit behind as not wanting to startle the male with an abrupt encounter. It all came down to timing, as with many things. With Cael in sight he calmly followed perhaps with an underlying hope that his departure was not mistaken for more than it was. Nexis allowed a soft chuckle to exit his lips as he prodded after the blue eye'd male and thus his companion. Riddled with curiosity and intrigue, he reflected on what a fantastic day it was to be making new acquaintances.

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