Flashback An Aggravatingly Arranged Arrangement

[Ricky Maze]

An Aggravatingly Arranged Arrangement
Summer 55th 503 AV, 13th Bell
Location: The Cerulean Pier

Ricky wasn't sure what all was going on at the moment, all he knew was that his father decided to make sure he looked well cleaned up, and decent enough to be considered presentable for company that they were about to have. Syna had already started her descent now as the day worked towards the goal of reaching it's end, as the young fisherman felt the warmth of her rays bear down upon his skin with gentle kisses in the seaside breeze. They had arrived at a spot along the Cerulean Pier, where they were supposed to meet with these people that his father Burten apparently knew. "So, who're dese people we're suppose t' meet Pa?" He inquired curiously as he dipped his hands in his pockets, a look of aggravation in his eyes as he didn't understand why it'd become so suddenly important for the two to at least look cleaner than usual, granted they never had to worry about their outer appearances unless there was an absolute good reason like a social meeting.

"Well son, we're meetin' a couple o' people Oi know dat work wit' me over de years. De way Oi see it t'ey 'ave somebody t'ey want ye t' meet." He hinted with a grinned wink shot down at Ricky, a soft chuckle to follow as he crossed his arms to lean on the rail to look out over the water.

"Okay, so why do we need t' look all tidy den?" He prodded as he looked at the blue colored shirt he wore, he had a grayed colored vest on over it while his trousers were a lighter brown color. Both he and his father looked like ordinary rabble today compared to the usual attire fisherman generally wore, granted that such outfits were generally loose and more comfortable to wear instead.

"Because we wanna make sure ye give a good impression now, both yew an' t'eir daughter 're gonna be friends 'fter all." He explained with a pat on Ricky's shoulder as he shook the young sailor a couple of times, the boy still didn't look so enthusiastic about the meeting although one factor did change things. A daughter. He wasn't really friends with anybody nowadays, and the fact he was about to meet yet another girl he would talk to. That being a problem mainly because... he never knew how to talk to girls. Girls were something he hadn't the time nor interest in at the moment, even if he'd come to find himself curious at times he still shied from the idea in general. They were... different to say the least. Nira'lia being the first one he ever bothered with at a younger age, she'd come to be the only girl he ever talked to, and that was only when she was around to go swimming or spend time together. Which wasn't often unfortunately.

Now he was to meet somebody's daughter? The thought alone made him feel nervous deep down, as he hadn't the most single clue about what he should do when the moment would arrive. What am Oi t' do? Oi dun know what's suppose t' be said or done! Maybe Oi should ask Pa!... No, no Oi can't. He'll probably t'ink me silly, wonder how it is Oi dun know how t' talk wit' a girl. The notion alone irked him when he thought that, as he practically made himself a bet that he could prove himself wrong then. He was out of his right mind of course, and deep down he sort of wished that his Uncle Odis was here to help lend a bit of encouragement.

[Bianca White]

Bianca did not have a problem with being clean. She did not have a problem with brushing her hair, or brushing her teeth, or washing her face - she had a problem with suddenly being expected to do these things in the middle of the day with no other reason than the fact that she was going to meet someone. The young girl did not particularly care if one of the fishermen or sailors at the docks would see her messy hair or unwashed face; she was a child of barely edging on 12, and even then she'd probably still be cleaner than any other child there. The children had a habit of getting messy.

"Mooom, why do we have to go down to the pier? It smells like fish." Her voice had began in a whiny note, but her mother simply began combing her hair and smiling. Bianca wrinkled her nose, but she continued to simply let her mother comb her hair. Her father walked into the room, beckoning for them to leave. She still didn't know the purpose of the trip, but she followed them regardless.

Dressed in at least one of her nicer dresses, she followed her parents to the pier, dawdling behind and staring at the carvings of Eyris and Laviku dotting the edges. The young girl heard snippets of their conversation ahead, but she didn't pay much attention until she realized they were talking about her.

"Are you sure about this? He's..." A wave crashed over her mother's voice, and she couldn't hear the rest of the snippet. Bianca was still curious about the mention of a 'he', however. She doubted they were talking about anyone she knew, but the thought of meeting someone new gave the entire situation some excitement. She strained to hear her parents again, walking a bit faster than she had been before to get closer.

"It's only a five year age difference..." Another wave, though it was her father's voice this time. Why the age difference would matter escaped Bianca, though doing the little bit of math in her head she decided that whomever they were going to meet was either 17 or 7. She dearly hoped they were not seven. Children who were that much younger than her only served to be annoyances, though she didn't know the purpose of meeting someone that much older than her.

It wasn't until she arrived and her parents started speaking to another man who appeared mildly uncomfortable in his current clothing, leaving her and a boy who looked almost adult but not quite there by themselves. She stared at him for moment, slightly frowning. Her parents had walked down the pier a bit, out of the reach of her voice. Sensing the newfound freedom, Bianca decided to speak freely.

"Who the petch are you?"

[Ricky Maze]

"Aaaah, 'ere dey come now." Burten cheered after he looked to the side past his shoulder, Ricky followed the direction of the stare and in turn found two older people were headed towards them, a smaller child walked with them which could only be the little girl he was to meet. The young fisher gulped out of anxiety as his stomach rolled from anticipation, his nerves already racked as he tried to remain casual and look confident in front of the family. "Remember son, yer t' be on yer best behavior. An' fer Laviku's sake boy, try t' look a bit more relaxed." His father encouraged as he placed a hand on Ricky's shoulder, it took a few moments before the family reached them and arrived to nudge the two kids to be alone for a bit.

Why they were to be alone made little sense as it was apparent the grown ups had to do a bit of talking, although admittedly Ricky envied he wasn't with them because he wasn't too far away from being a grown up. Practically was in terms of responsibility, yet all the same he respected his dad's own wishes, so if he was to keep the company of a little girl occupied then sure enough, that's what Ricky would attempt to do at least. "Oi'm Ricky! So who does dat make yew?!" He sneered almost in a mocking manner, although there could already be a bit of a rivalry developed between the two of them. Deep down though he felt his heart ready to race as he hadn't the slightest clue what to say or do with her, granted they'd just met and she was in fact a girl rather than a guy like him. Uuuuh, Papa why did yew 'ave t' t'row dis on me all o' a sudden. The young fisher wondered as he kept his hands tucked in his pockets, as he sheepishly rocked from the back of his heels to the front of his toes.

So what am Oi suppose t' do again? Just be nice t' 'er huh? Guess Oi... could try dat out. He kept his gaze down low as there were faints signs of a bashful child before the girl, hesitation found in his approach as he struggled for a moment to find something worth talking about. "So what do ya do fer a livin'? Oi fish wit' me pa." He shared as he figured that was the best way to start, although he had to admit he hadn't a petching clue about what they should talk about. Girls were weird to him really, they acted so odd and different compared to boys. The only few Ricky ever hung out with wound up getting in short play fights if not spending time swimming out near the docks, he'd never really done anything with a girl save for learning how to swim and that was because of one. He thought of Nira'lia now and wondered if she'd been doing alright, granted it'd been a while since they'd seen each other.

[Bianca White]

Bianca audibly snickered at his accent. Her parents were fishermen, but their accent was much less noticeable, and it only seemed to appear on the young girl when she was particularly upset. She had forced herself to start speaking like the richer Zeltivans. This boy, however, seemed to do no such thing. He introduced himself as 'Ricky' in a rather condescending matter, and the girl decided to introduce herself as well - but with her full name, and spoken in proper Zeltivan common. She wasn't going to let herself sink into accent right after laughing about it.

"I'm Bianca White." She said, gesturing to herself. Any nervousness she had felt before was gone now; this meeting obviously had a secondary meeting to both sets of their parents, and she would rather find out what that was than continue talking to Ricky. However, she felt that she should humor her parents. That seemed to be the most effective course of action to getting her way and finding out what the real reason behind this meeting was.

Ricky continued to introduce himself as a fisherman, though she wanted to tell him that it was obvious from his calloused hands and the fact that many people worked the same profession as their parents. Bianca seemed to be the exception; her parents didn't want her to work like them. They'd decidedly blocked that option away from her and were currently in the process of saving up money to send her to the University, something with which she was very happy about. Regardless, her attention was turned to the boy now, with little time for thinking about herself.

"I go to the library a lot. I'm going to go to the University and be an attorney!" She briefly wondered if he even knew what an attorney was, though he probably did - being a fisherman didn't mean he was stupid. Her parents, she found, were smart, despite having little formal education except for the basic education that the city offered, and they were smart enough to want more for their little girl.

"I've only been fishing once. It's hard. And it smells." The pier on which they stood smelled a bit fishy as well, though a little over a decade of living in Zeltiva helped her to ignore it. It was the actual fish that smelled the worst, marinating in the salty sea and coming out smelly. How her parents managed to live with this job was the real question, and they always came home smelling like the sea. It was when they were out overnight that they came home the worst, but Bianca always stayed at someone else's house during those times and by the time they came to get her, they'd usually bathed. The scent still lingered on them, but it was far more subdued.

"Do you know what the petch our parents are talking about or am I going to have to figure it out?" Bianca liked swearing, but she knew that it was a habit she'd have to grow out of if anyone was going to take her seriously. No one would like an attorney that spoke like a sailor.

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky's expression changed quickly as he found himself baffled by how quickly the girl seemed proud to introduce who she was, the name presented in a straightforward manner as she didn't wait to share what it was she did. So she studies at the University then. What's it attorneys do again? Don't t'ey help wit' de law or somet'in? Oi'll have t' ask Pa 'bout it later when we're done wit' whatever we 're 'ere fer. The boy nearly shook his head in mentality as he wondered why it was this girl wanted to be some sort of law enforcer, it that really was what he thought it involved anyways. Girls were usually doing other things like sewing or arts, if not also fishing or working as shopkeepers or merchants. Honestly Ricky didn't understand much about girls as he never really bothered to, his own father told him enough about girls as he grew older and sure enough he learned enough to get by.

Yet to deal and interact with them was a totally different story, he never expected he'd have to actually meet and get to know a girl purposely. "Ain't not'in t' fishin! Me Pa and Oi catch loads o' fish almost everyday, an' dere ain't no smell t' it eit'er!" Ricky argued in a slight disagreement with Bianca as he crossed his arms, determined to make her see otherwise until she pointed out something that had been on his mind once. Why where they here? They're parents were no doubt talking about it right now, therefore her question was met with surprise from Ricky as it totally caught him off guard. They did have a chance at figuring out just what it was their parents were planning, by the looks of it his father seemed to be old friends with her parents, or at least that's how the appearances were from first glance. Sure his Pa could look friendly and smile while he socialized but there was no telling as to whether or not he was truthfully enjoying the company, Ricky on the other hand couldn't determine whether or not he was enjoying Bianca's just yet.

He wasn't sure about her, then again he had only just met her really. So while he definitely needed a bit of time adjusting and getting used to her, he actually found her idea rather smart and agreed to partake in it with her. "Aye, Pa did mention ya were comin' wit' yer parents. Maybe we can find out why." He looked towards the adults once more and tried to listen in to their conversation, the sounds of the waves proved to make it a bit of a challenge though as they muffled the voices quite a bit. He couldn't make out anything specific with the lot, only the usual "hey how are you" and "how has the day been" seemed present at the moment, but when it came to the three looking at the two children nearby that's when Ricky found his interest caught. Were they finally speaking about them now? He listened in again as he tried to filter out the sound of the ocean to the greatest of his ability, still hard at hearing whatever it was the adults had to say until he caught a few words.

"Huh. T'ey 're talkin' 'bout an' arrangement or somet'in." He looked to her with a wry frown, unsure as to what this sort of arrangement could be between the three of them. It had to be some sort of adult thing really, seeing as how they left Ricky and Bianca alone to chat for a bit. Maybe they had business together or something, something important that his father didn't want him knowing anything of yet. It really sucked for Ricky because he already considered himself an adult, or at least 'adult material' since he was close to that age of being a legitimate grown up. He watched her with a lost but curious expression, a bit of wonder found in the thought that maybe she might know about some sort of proposition or something her parents had with his own. "Do ya t'ink ye might know what it is our parents 're tryin' t' 'arrange' or whatever?" He inquired curiously as he waited to see what she might have to add.

[Bianca White]

Ricky's defensiveness over fishing only made Bianca smirk. The fisherman's son was used to the stench, that much was obvious. She, personally, didn't like fishing, though she saw no need to convince him onto her point of view. It would be a pointless waste of time over something unimportant, and she had better things to do with her current time in his company.

Bianca's thin neck craned towards her parents. Faint ideas were shuffled in her mind like cards before it settled on the right one, pulling it out and showing it around like magician, asking awed spectators if it was theirs. This idea was not out of place - arranged marriages were commonplace in Zeltiva, and the discussion of ages and meetings seemed to fit the bill. There was no other reason for them to meet, really.

"The smell of fish isn't important right now," She leaned in a bit closer, standing on her toes to whisper over the sound of waves. "I think they aim to have us married." It all added up. She had never met this family before, but they obviously wanted to strengthen the ties between the two families. Why this was decided was beyond the young girl - her parents did not allow her to deign into the profession of fishing. Perhaps, the thought tickled the tip of her tongue, perhaps they wanted her to grow up and strengthen their fishing family with political or government ties. They had high hopes for their little girl, and they were scary to realize.

"This can't happen. I, no offense, would rather not marry a fisherman." The statement was rude, but held the painful truth. If she was going to get anywhere, despite the importance fishermen held in Zeltiva, she'd rather marry someone from a rather powerful family. Blackmire, maybe. She briefly thought of Keene, but she pushed that out of her mind as quickly as it popped up. Bianca angled her head towards Ricky, tilting it slightly.

"We need to think of a plan."

[Ricky Maze]

At the sign of a smirk Ricky couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows just a bit as he somehow felt she had won, as if though she had intended to test and see just how protective he was over the lifestyle he'd been raised into. Granted he loved and enjoyed fishing almost more than anything, it remained in his interest to stand up and properly defend the trade he favored so well. He was good at it and he felt willing to prove it through any means, whether it meant standing up and declaring it or actually showing he had the skill to prove it. Yet at the same time with this girl, this strange little girl he couldn't help but think of as a brat, he didn't feel it a necessity because... well what did she know? She could've been holding prejudices about it before she'd even tried it, then again she could've also been like every other girl that hated the smell, and he just could've knocked her down into the "typical everyday girl" category and left it at that.

Of course when she'd looked sharply at the adults Ricky played along, a couple of glances shot their way as he stood there with hands still dipped into his pockets, and then the most preposterous thing had been said... marriage. "What?! Eww!" He expressed disgust to the fullest extent with his tongue shot out in horrid flavor, the thought a bitter one to swallow as he tried to keep from a shudder. "No offense t' ya, but Oi'd ra'ter not marry someone..." He stopped to consider the correct term to say, snooty came to mind but he didn't really want to push it with this girl. He failed to consider that maybe he'd just been rather assumptive about her, seeing as how they had met only just now of course. Marriage though? That would be why his dad wanted him to be on his best behavior, and to see to it that this "new friend" would see to it that he was liked. Clearly though that needed to change, or at least part of that plan needed to anyways.

"Nevermind." He finally gave in as she came to pitch the right idea, they needed to come up with something to prevent this. He would after all rather marry someone of his own accord, and it would be a woman of his own choosing if that were to ever actually happen. Marriage hadn't been something he'd honestly considered, and to do so now at his age definitely raised a few red flags. "And do somet'in we shall, but Oi've honestly no idea what." He crossed his arms with an index finger brought before his mouth in the form of a C, while his thumb rested under his chin as he started to brainstorm ideas. Him being a good kid however didn't generate things so easily, therefore he would've much rather heard what she had to say. "Maybe we can try t' talk our parents out o' it, unless ye got somet'in better in mind?" He suggested with shoulders raised afterwards, eyes locked on the girl as he wondered just how inventive she could be with this.

[Net]

Ricky – Please go through your Character Sheet and address the following issue:

Most people list it in their thread list like so:

Fall 515AV Threads
15th - Observing The Trees! - 5 xp Observation, Lores: Trees: How to Identify them, Tree Species: Oak, Elm, Hemlock traits.
30th - People Watching - 5 xp Observation, Lores: (list of lores here)
45th - Searching For A Cure - 2 xp Observation, +5 Medicine. Lores: (insert lores here)
60th - Socializing In The Park - 4 xp Socialization (list of lores here)

We've always required this to be TRACKED in your CS. If you aren't tracking this in your CS, then you need to go back through ALL YOUR THREAD AWARDS and backtrack and track it from the beginning.

You can find the full post in the Founder's PSA thread; page 7 labeled: Character Sheets!
Bianca: If you would like your grade and you are returning please feel free to throw me a PM and I will grade this for you.

Thank you to Sayana for this lovely template.