[Rearing Stallion] Over A Mug of Ale (Kaie)

by **Aoren** on August 19th, 2013, 2:48 am

Aoren chuckled and dipped his head with a shrug. He was no master of observation. Sure, he was a very observant individual. Far more observant than most in many regards but even he missed finite details that could clue a more adept detective into the deeper mysteries of people's lives. It was an ability that Aoren tended to cultivate. The more aware he was of people and his surroundings the better he was at blending in or making himself comfortable in a given situation. He knew all too well the consequences of sticking out like a sore thumb. The game he was currently playing was one that had been drummed up by...

He paused. All mirth left his face for a moment as he was slammed with the memory of precisely the one person he'd come here to forget. He shook his head and cleared his throat. He didn't need this tonight. He didn't need to be haunted by phantoms of people who'd left him. People who'd abandoned him to his own misfortunes or even his fortunes for that matter. If there was one thing that Aoren had learned in his years as a denizen of Syliras it was this:

For as much as the city offered to protect and shelter you it demanded twice that in return.

While Aoren had no principle issue with that way of life it was daunting at times. Mizahar was a ferociously dangerous world. Outside the purview of Syliras there were things that the Drykas couldn't even dream about...well...he did dream about such things. He just tended to push the memory of those horrors from his mind.

Clouds gone, Aoren brought himself back to the here and now plastering the smile back onto his face. He had come here to distract himself and distract himself is exactly what he would do.

"My name?" He arched an eyebrow before flashing his pearly whites.

"You may call me Aoren. To whom do I owe the pleasure of sharing such fine company with?" He gestured grandly to Kaie with a showman's bravado.

by **Kaie** on August 21st, 2013, 2:45 am

He was a clever guy overall. She could see that much. He was intelligent on a newer and far more refreshing level. He was not a budding knight who tromped through the bar, all high and mighty with assumed status, nor was he some sort of arrogant drunkard on the nightly bar crawl. Somehow he was still more than just a commoner. There was something different about this one. She could feel it. It wasn't in how he spoke or how he dressed. It was his eyes that said everything to her. Within those pretty blue eyes laid unknown horrors, misfortunes, and mystery. Silently they told her he was like no other she'd encountered before. And she listened.

The Myrian woman eyed him carefully now, trying wholeheartedly to figure him out. To guess what a pretty face hid from him in that well put together disguise. All men had disguises, she knew. Hell, even she put on a carefully crafted mask when it suited her. There was something rather obviously intriguing about his that truly made her curious. Made her wonder why exactly the chuckling guy, who could clearly handle his drink, came her in the first place. She'd never seen him before. Kaie had seen just about every drinker that existed in the entire city. Of course he could be some sort of traveler. Some sort of merchant or perhaps a mercenary making a quick stop. Something about him didn't scream "murderer" though. Not like the men who fought with her as allies did. And so her question remained: What troubled the guy enough to stumble to her counter?

"I should've guessed a pretty boy like you would have a name to fit," She teased initially with a playful grin. Of course she had become so well versed in her bar talk that she often lost the less flirtatious tongue. It had become a second fluency within Common, and she almost had to remind herself this wasn't a mediocre bar-goer. Aoren had much more to bring to the table. Well, literally, too.

"Kaie. Now where do you come from...Aoren?" She replied with extra emphasis on his name like she was teaching her own tongue to learn it. Without needing a reminder, she slid her hand toward her companion. Swiftly, her hand popped off the pile of coins and returned to rest on her edge of the counter. Kaie was a woman of her word and Mizas weren't the most important of things to her. Not in the grand scheme of their meeting.

by **Aoren** on August 22nd, 2013, 12:28 am

"Pretty?" Aoren arched an eyebrow. His eyes were glinting with mirth but he made it seem as if his face was deadly serious. He leaned forward and fixed his gaze upon Kaie the dim light dancing in his eyes.

"My lady, if you make any more references about my being "pretty" tonight I'm going to start thinking that maybe it's true." He maintained that dead serious look for all of two more seconds before breaking out into a grin. He returned to his upright sitting position, back straight, head held high in a quiet dignity that bespoke an inner sense of moral character and strong morality. Still though, his overall countenance was that of a downtrodden man.

"Now I do believe that my mug here has been empty for far too long. I came in here with the intentions of leaving without the ability to walk straight or see clearly." He gave Kaie a quick wink and a nod of his head as he pushed his mug toward her along with the required two silver mizas. Once the mug was adequately filled he picked it up and took a swig from it. He was getting a stronger buzz now that the rest of the ale that he'd consumed was beginning to catch up to him. Unlike some drunks who got loud, boisterous and obnoxious the drunker they got Aoren got more social. He was usually a quiet man. A man who tended to let others be about their business while he went about his own. The alcohol lowered those inhibitions. One might even say that he was charming when he was drunk. If you excused the breath, the belches, and the inability to stand up straight.

That would come later though. Well...not too much later if he could help it. At Kaie's question he raised the tip of his mug and shook his head. He gave her a half-smile.

"One free answer is all you get. Well...not exactly free." He nodded toward the mizas she'd taken but there was no malice in his voice. He was a man of good humor and honor after all. "The point of the game is to observe. To draw conclusions about the other person be they fact or fancy."

He took another gulp from his mug. Not quite as deep as the others but deep enough to let any professional drinker or observant bar-goer that he had most definitely not consumed enough to forget his troubles. When he'd had his fill of that swallow from the mug he set it down, wrapping his hands around the mug as if clinging to it for dear life. He quirked his head to the side slightly.

"So, you tell me. Where am I from?" It was a double edged question to be honest. Truthfully? Aoren himself wasn't entirely certain about his origins. Syliras was where he lived but it was not his home. In his heart Aoren knew this. He'd only just started to feel that way more and more as of late. While he could never abandon the Fortress City of Peace he knew deep down inside that his heart lay in a place far from the stone walls of Syliras. Where the grass grew as tall as men and the winds danced among the fields. He held in him the heart of a nomad who had been stationary for far too long.

And it was this, in part, what weighed heavily on his mind. If only in part.

Receipt-2 SM to Kaie

by **Kaie** on August 24th, 2013, 9:51 pm

Kaie couldn't help but laugh a bit at his joke in reference to her bar-speaking habits. Grin still beaming on her features, the Myrian leaned in as he did to counter him.

"Fine then you're by far the ugliest man I've ever laid eyes on," She offered with a shrug and then refilled his mug as he asked, removing the change from the counter. She watched him take long, well deserved gulps from the container until he was satisfied. All the while the mystery of his misfortunes weighed heavily on her focus. Was it money? No, he seemed like he had plenty to spare considering their game. A death? Maybe but he wasn't in hysterics or completely numbed by grief. Love? Another possibility but he held his cards tight to his chest. If she really wanted to know the answer to her question, she'd have to guess. Even then she wasn't so sure he'd correct her or let her know if she succeeded. Just when the unknown was becoming something less than an obsession, he corrected her with facts. Facts she ignored in hopes she could get around for free. Kaie did agree to play by his rules after all.

Where are you from?

The Myrian studied him for a long time. Eyes scanned his whole body, his entire stature until she found what she needed. All that was given to her was superficial and not a good indicator of any location in particular. He could be from some place in Sylira or from some foreign part of the world completely blind to her. Of course she had heard stories of the region to help her narrow down choices. He didn't appear to be any sort of religious fanatic. Actually he didn't appear to have any physical representation of a deity at all. No markings, tattoos, jewelry. Nothing. His skin was just like any other in the area. Of course there was a chance he was from Cyphrus. Was he a Drykas? Maybe hailing from the tent city of Endrykas? Kaie had passed through the region on her way to Sylira. She had become familiar with the people there. Only problem was they all varied in appearance. This guy could've been from the horse clans but why would he be here? Alone and without any sort of horse at all. It seemed too unorthodox for her to really consider it as a possiblity.

"Not from Ravok or Nyka, that's for sure. You're definitely not the Sunberth type either. Not a Nuit either, thankfully," She began carefully, verbally crossing out nearby locations she'd heard about but not actually visited. In fact she was so lost about his background she decided she'd do exactly as he mentioned. She'd create a past for him. Whatever she fancied she'd pretend was fact. Another bit of the game that made things interesting.

"You're a scholar from Zeltiva visiting this fine city on a whim. Then some pretty lady struck your fancy and you've been rooted here ever since," She teased with a shrug, passing it off as the best she could do given what she had. The Myrian eyed him wondering how he might react to her fairy tale. Was she maybe almost right in a way? Was Zeltiva a proper guess to make for the man before her?

by **Aoren** on August 26th, 2013, 1:13 pm

Aoren nodded in agreement as she ticked off place by place that he couldn't have been from. He'd only ever heard of Nyka from the merchant travelers along the Kabrin Road. He had been lead to believe that it was a religiously fanatical city ruled by the gods themselves. Whether that was true or not he would just have to find out for himself one day. No time soon but one day. One day Aoren would see many places but only in their due time.

"No I am most definitely not from Ravok." He gave a mild shudder. He was very familiar with what life was supposedly like in Ravok. He had never been there himself but he knew enough people who had suffered through its quiet but creeping evil to find it a black hearted place where he doubted even Syna's light shone without some form of taint. He lifted his mug to take another sip but nearly choked on it in amusement as Kaie drew her conclusion. He coughed for a moment as some of the ale went down the wrong part of his throat. He pat his chest lightly trying to clear it.

"A scholar? From Zeltiva?"

"Well she's not far off. That is where you're headed."

Even with those thoughts prevalent in his mind Aoren was still a little perplexed as to how she pieced such a thing together. He looked down at himself coughing up just a little more ale. He didn't think he looked like a scholar. He certainly didn't have the physique of a man who spent all of his time huddled in books though as of late he'd been more consumed with higher learning than physical learning. Maybe he was slipping? He ran a hand through his hair. His right hand to be specific. Kaie's attention might be drawn to the stylistic lily that appeared to be tattooed there. It was simply magnificent. Colors swirled within its petals. The ink, if one would assume it was ink, glinted when it caught the light. If it weren't branded on his skin one might even think it was alive.

And that's exactly what it was. A brand. But not one wrought by mortal hands.

"Well..." He downed a little more ale to stop himself from coughing it up. "...I uhh..appreciate being though a learned man. But no. I am no scholar. I am, believe it or not, of Drykas heritage."

Aoren was sipping his ale at a more courteous pace now. The dimly lighthearted and lightheaded feeling that came with being drunk was setting in nicely. He had every intention of drinking more. The way this conversation was going however, he was interested in seeing it go a little longer.

"I was told by the caretakers of The Welcome Home, the orphanage, that I bear a resemblance to the man who left me there. I can only assume it was my father. He left them with a note and..." He reached into his shirt and retrieved a necklace upon which hung a perfectly smooth teardrop shaped crystal. "...this. The note proclaimed two things. My name and that she will always be watching." He shrugged and sipped from his mug again.

"Who the "she" it was referring to I'm guessing is my mother."Aoren seemed lost in thought for a moment before he sighed with a chuckled and shrugged yet again.

"Such is life though, eh?" He winked at Kaie before downing some more ale.

OOCI mentioned the Gnosis Mark earlier. Briefly. Probably should have brought more attention to it. Haha, sorry for the delay!

by **Kaie** on August 27th, 2013, 11:10 pm

Aoren practically spit his ale all over himself, choking a bit when she gave her ridiculous guess. Smirk returned as she watched him trying to recover, eyes glimmering in the dim candle light with nothing short of amusement. She could see him looking down at himself, trying to figure out how she could've made such an off conclusion about him. Eyes naturally trailed down him impressive physique see could see from her position. Kaie knew from the start he was no such stagnant, dull man.

"I was kidding, Aoren. But a Drykas orphan? Now that is interesting. So mysterious..." She began with a laugh, a light string of words that faded into good natured mockery at the end. Kaie wasn't bashing his story though. Only trying to keep the mood light, remembering he certainly had a reason for coming there in the first place. She didn't need to darken an already dims story.

"Life does have a tendency to strike hard in odd places, doesn't it? Although I have to say...Oh, whoa. What the petch is that?" She broke off all of a sudden, eyes staring right at him arm where she had noticed the fantastic, bright and unique tattooing. It was like no ink she had ever seen. She stared at it for some time, blinking thrice with narrowed eyes. Kaie was actually trying not to make a scene but she had never seen something so...Beautiful. The Myrian looked up at him with eyebrows raised high, waiting for him to give her some kind of explanation.

OOC:Don't worry! Kaie's observation is still at Novice skill level so I was trying to keep it within playing field. Now that it's been drawn to her attention, I have to bring it up!

by **Aoren** on August 29th, 2013, 1:13 am

Aoren paused as he was lifting the mug of ale up to his lips. His eyes followed Kaie's mesmerized ones until he stared down at the mark upon his hand. A small smile touched his lips as he stared at it. The stylistic lily was probably one of the greatest comforts to him in all of the world. While there were times when he wished he did not have the ability to see the things he could through its wonders he always regretted that wish. It was a blessing in the highest form. To be favored enough by one of the powers that be to earn their attention. He set his mug aside then extended his hand for Kaie to view it.

"It is the godsmark of a goddess. The gentle Seer, Mother Avalis. She is my patron. The guide who nudges me along the correct path. In most things I do, I do to honor Her." He chuckled quietly and spoke as an afterthought.

"Most things." He brought the mug up to his lips and took a drink. Avalis was the only god that had ever taken an interest in Aoren's life. At least as far as he knew. He prayed to Her and through his Gnosis mark he always felt closer to her.

"Though right now I am not entirely certain She would be very happy with me drinking away my troubles." He winked at Kaie with a brief smile. Carefully he watched Kaie examine the mark on the back of his hand. His cobalt eyes observed her further. She was truly a striking woman. The exotic hue to her skin. The way her hair curled around her face and the way her eyes glinted in the correct light...

"It is no wonder the owner of the Rearing Stallion gave her a job. She definitely draws in customers."

OOC"Hell" doesn't exist as a concept in Mizahar. You may want to go and edit that to say "By the Void!" or something else.

by **Kaie** on August 30th, 2013, 8:03 pm

As soon as his marked hand was moved her way, Kaie leaned in eagerly. She gently took his hand in hers. Wondrous eyes studied it curiously. The Myrian slowly pulled it toward her a bit more and turned it in her hands. Bronzed fingers gingerly traced along the beautiful, unearthly ink. There was no doubt it was true. There was no denying it was clearly the mark of a goddess.

There was something a bit foreign about the design. Not in the sense it was just from a region other than the one she was from. It wasn't even the fact the goddess marking him was one other than Myri. Something about the fantastic lily claimed distance and though Kaie knew nothing about Avalis, she knew what 'see' meant. Her bold pools narrowed as she looked at the flower. Then she found his face again. Her expression was quizzical like she was piecing together information. Even as he spoke she was still lost in her own thoughts. Still trying to figure him out.

"What power does she grant you? What weapon is this?" Kaie asked a bit perplexed as she finally released his hand. There was not one symbol in combat she knew the lily to possess. Unless it was a guise for something else, she was completely bewildered.

OOC:Ah, yes my bad. Transitioning is a bit sloppy occasionally. Completely slipped my mind this time around. Thanks for the reminder!

by **Aoren** on September 2nd, 2013, 6:18 am

"Weapon?" Aoren was caught off guard by the question. The concept of his gift as a weapon was completely foreign to him. Avalis was a very peaceful goddess. She lead her followers with a gentle hand nudging them in the right direction where her gifts could be of the most use to those in need of them. It was not long ago that Aoren had used his knowledge of the goddess to aid a young man in finding purpose with his life. He sort of stared at Kaie a little open mouthed as if the idea of Avalis in any form of aggression was offensive.

"It is no weapon. I am a Seer. An oracle. That is the phrase some use. With Her blessing I am able to reach into the divine realms and bear witness to everything that was, is, or will be. Though at present She has deemed me not ready to view two of those three paths. Currently I know only things that were." He retracted his hand. As an afterthought Aoren could see how such gifts could be used to aid in war or combat situations. With a Seer on the side of any general they would, in theory, be able to predict the outcome of the battle. They could divine the battle strategies of an opponent or bear witness to moments of weakness and exploit such things.

Giving such advice did not come without consequence though. This Aoren knew...but as the tingling sensation in his body continue to spread as a result of the copious amount of alcohol he'd consumed he couldn't quite remember what those consequences were. With a heavy sigh he still clung to what little judgement he had left. The way her fingers had traced over his hand had stirred something in Aoren and he was in no mood for that. Rising from the bar he took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. He stepped away from the bar and the world seemed to tip every so slightly.

"Definitely wasn't a good idea. Too late now though."

"Our game seems to have gone off track, Lady Kaie and I think I've put too much thought into the past. That wasn't my intent upon coming in here." He shook his head rubbing the palm of his godsmarked hand over his face with another sigh.

"Thank you, for listening to a fool. Now a very..." He brought a hand up to conceal and muffle the belch that bubbled up from his stomach. "...a very drunk fool." In his most valiant effort to appear gentlemanly he gave Kaie a bow at his waist with a grand sweep of his arm.

It appeared more clumsy than anything as his normally rigid demeanor began to fray at the edges now that his self-control was deteriorating. The onset of the alcohol was taking its toll very quickly.

"I am going to feel this in the morning." He sighed inwardly but managed a final smile and a nod to the Myrian woman.

"Good night, Lady Kaie. Goddess guide your winding path."

It was going to be a long night. Aoren had come to the Rearing Stallion with the intention of forgetting. All he'd done is remember more and more about things he wanted to bury. He managed to get to the door without too much difficulty. He wondered though...

"Just how long is my balance going to last?" With a final glance over his shoulder he nodded to Kaie and left the tavern. Now he remembered why he didn't drink often to begin with.

The Goddess did not reward him for running from his past.

OOCMy final post for this thread. I had fun. Thanks for playing along! Feel free to make a final post or PM me and I'll submit it for grading.

by **Radiant** on October 7th, 2013, 12:55 pm

Aoren :

Kaie :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+4 XP
Socialization	+3 XP
Rhetoric	+2 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+4 XP
Socialization	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+2 XP
Flirting	+1 XP

Completed [Rearing Stallion] Over A Mug of Ale (Kaie)