Closed Where the Sun Rose (w/ Lem Free)

[Iblette]

3rd of Summer, 515 AV

It was three in the morning, at least. Mathews Bay was only a few miles away, but it didn't concern the young Konti awaiting the dock. In fact, she didn't worry for much, for she was asleep on a bench that was built into the side of the quarter deck. With her head resting on her hand, her bag underneath the weathered bench, and her violin in her lap, she was as fatigued as any of the crew members there. Her curly, platinum hair was tousled and her clothes disheveled. She looked like a castaway, and surely, at the time, felt as such.

Iblette didn't have it easy, as anyone could've guessed. For being considered a graceful, charming and exotic race, she certainly didn't feel beautiful, or graceful, no less exotic. She did, however, need time, and time was the only thing that was going to heal the wound that was constantly reopened by her people's sympathy. She didn't want sympathy, she wanted to start over, and this was the only way to do it.

But, alas, she wasn't thinking about that. Her sleep was laced with fatigue that accumulated over a long period of time, and her slumber dragged on until the boat came to a stop, and the deafening clank of the anchor jolted her into alertness. For being startled easy, that certainly didn't help. She had to calm herself down before truly waking up, and after doing so, she stretched, yawning. Looking over the forecastle deck and onto the dock, she saw the thriving city of Zeltiva. So, this was now home, and since she had been here before, it wasn't too unfamiliar. Grabbing her bag, her violin, and fixing her ragged clothes, she stepped off the boat and onto the dock, getting out of the way of those who were bringing goods onto and off of the ship.

As she exited the ship, one of the men who was going over stocks with the trader glanced at her, looked back at the Konti he was doing business with, and jokingly inquired, "She for sale, too?" and pointed at her.
The Konti, who was a good friend of Iblette's mother, was disgusted, "How dare you. She has come over here with us because she wants a new life, and none of us are going to deny her that. If it is so her calling, so it shall be. Please keep your comments to yourself."
"Whatnot," the man huffed, and continued on his way. Iblette looked back a final time to the woman who defended her, and waved. She waved back, and Iblette turned around, ready to face this new world.

[Lem Free]

Light shone brightly from the glowing moon, the illumination occasionally obscured by clouds that swirled lazily above in the night sky. Shadows darkened and flared along the ground as the moon played hide and seek with the bodies of floating moisture in the air.


As the moon peeked out from behind the veil of clouds, a shadow suddenly separated itself from the surrounding darkness, darting quickly around the corner of a building and into the middle of the street. Feet pounded loudly against the cobblestone, causing echoes to bounce wildly from the stone structures.


The boy could feel his chest burning from exertion as he ran through the empty streets of Zeltiva, his eyes bright with excitement, arms pumping hard by the silhouette’s side. The city had been buzzing with life since he had arrived not two days prior. There was so much to absorb, places to explore and people to interact with. But since arriving, he had yet to experience the city during the wee hours of the morning.


Coming from the farming community in Syliras, he was used to waking up before the light of day to begin his morning. But the adolescence wanted to check out the city before it awoke and watch it come to life. So here he was, a few hours before the first morning light, rushing recklessly through the streets, without a care in the world.


Lem Free’s brown hair bounced wildly around his face, a few tendrils of hair sticking to his sweaty face as he sprinted down the road, eyes flickering back and forth, looking for something interesting to catch his attention. A twinkle ahead of him caught his attention, the dim light reflecting off the sheet of water that was the harbor.


Oh wow! The docks! I haven’t been there yet! I should totally see what it’s like WITHOUT all the people there!


Excitement bubbled up in the boy’s chest at the possibility of an adventure presenting itself before him. His soft brown eyes locked onto the glimmering body of water ahead and he zoomed towards it, starting to feel the muscles in his legs burn.


It didn’t take long before the street ended and Lem found himself perpendicular to the docks. His eyes shone excitedly as he came to a screeching halt at the end of the road. He panted heavily, hands on his knees. It took him a few ticks before he could look up. But when he did, he inhaled sharply, momentarily stunned.


Massive ships lined the main ports, other vessels dotting the smaller piers for as far as he could see. Nothing seemed to move as he stood still, gazing in wonderment. Salt speckled wind blew against his face, sending goose bumps up and down his arms. Spellbound, the boy stood there, oblivious to all else.


No way! Those ships are HUGE. Wait till I tell Papa, he’ll never believe me! Oh man, this is so cool! I wonder if I could someone check out the INSIDES of one of those…they wouldn't mind...right?


His thoughts and admiration were soon interrupted, however, as voices slowly filtered through his brain, catching his attention. Lem cocked his head to the side, listening intently, trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from.


Lem spotted a few large crates stacked in front of him, a few paces to the right.


The wooden boxes stood about ten feet in the air, two stacked atop each other while a lone crate sat next to them. Without a second thought, the easily excited youth jogged over to them. He quickly grabbed the edge of the single crate with both hands and hoisted himself up.


He scrambled for purchase, feet kicking wildly as he wiggled on top of the crate. Having successfully climbed one, Lem moved over towards the second stack and jumped up, fingerless gloves grasping for the top of the other crate. The agile climber clamped onto the top of the wooden box, feet dangling a foot off the other crate.


The boy grunted as he slowly pulled himself up, his scrawny muscles straining to pull his meager 130 lbs. up and over. Finally, after a few ticks, Lem pushed himself up off the crate and peered down. He now stood about ten feet off the ground.


Pleased with himself, Lem grinned and turned his attention towards the voices that still carried across the docks. He spotted a ship that seemed to have just arrived, no more than fifty feet away. The crew bustled about, moving goods around and securing the ship’s equipment. He saw two men talking adamantly with one another, it seemed as though they were discussing business matters, the way they gestured towards some papers.


However, a different figure caught the boy’s attention. The person seemed out of place, slimmer. More petite.


But what really caught Lem’s attention was the seemingly silver hair that shone in the moonlight. He stared at the figure, curiosity gnawing relentlessly in his stomach from his perch on the top of the crates. He debated on what to do. Finally he decided to just take a moment to rest as he finally noticed his arms and legs complaining.


Hmm, well I guess it couldn’t hurt to just watch a little and see what happens.

[Iblette]

She blew a sigh and began walking into the city. A place of work would be hard to find here. What would she look for in a place like this? Who would be willing to hire her? Many thoughts swam through her mind, but then one thought formulated perfectly in her head. The inn! It was the only place she knew well from her voyages with her mother. Perfect! What other choice did she have at this point? Luckily, she knew where it was.

She almost wanted to run to the inn! Get there before anyone else. But she was in no mood to run! She wanted to skip! To play her violin, and to twirl and spin with glee in this new opportunity she had been given! How often this did not happen for her people! What a release this was for her!

She began to skip happily, and slinging her pack around her shoulder, she grabbed her violin and its bow. She began to play the melodious, acoustic tunes of the four strings. They ringed through the quiet town, and the ribboned tone of the bright chords reflected her happiness. She twirled, spun, and skipped as she played, slowly but energetically making her way to the inn.

[Lem Free]

The girl seemed lost.


Lem watched her from afar as she began making her way down a street, deeper into the city and away from the docks. He hadn’t seen such a pretty girl before, her hair still having captured most of his attention. But he managed to tear his attention away from it and notice a rather odd looking contraption in her hands. It wasn’t until a beautiful sound floated lazily towards him did he snap out of it and forced him to make up his mind.


The boy swung down from the stack of crates and descended onto the lower box below him before jumping off, landing with thump on the ground. He tucked and rolled, softening the blow and jumping back up to his feet. He took off, staggering a few steps to regain his balance, arms flailing.


Lem took off after the mysterious girl.


A thrill rushed through him as he ran, his thoughts abuzz with questions for his new friend. They hadn’t met yet but in his mind they were already best buddies. He hoped she was nice. So far he hadn’t met a whole lot of kind people. They all seemed too busy to want a new friend. He didn’t mind though, they were probably just tired.


Lem rounded the corner and saw the girl twirling around, a look of joy upon her face, the object placed up against her chin, a stick rubbing up against the wooden looking item. He didn’t think twice but charged forward, running right up to her, unconcerned what she might think at his abrupt arrival.


The youth came to an abrupt halt next to the women, panting slightly from the exercise. He smiled brightly at her, bits of hair sticking to his sweaty face, the rest frazzled. He held out his hand politely and began speaking hurriedly, still panting. Excitement lit up his face.


“Hi there! My...name’s Lem and I saw you get off the sh...ship! Whew, I'm tired... But man, that must have been so cool! I’ve never been on a ship before but I bet it was so much fun! Did you like it? How was the water? Can you swim? Where did you come from? What are you holding? How is it making that noise? It sounds really pretty. Like your hair, why is it so bright like that?”


Words tumbled out over one another in a torrent, the lad oblivious to the possibility that he would overwhelm the women with his presence. He looked up at her expectantly, his faces animated, waiting for her response.

[Iblette]

She had stopped skipping after a while, since the energy that had so quickly risen up had been spent just as quickly. She continued to play, however, until she heard rushed footsteps. She stopped and turned around, only to find a young boy run up to her, panting and wheezing. She was startled. Was he injured? Did he need her assistance? Her questions were soon answered, but not with the answers she was looking for.

“Hi there! My...name’s Lem and I saw you get off the sh...ship! Whew, I'm tired... But man, that must have been so cool! I’ve never been on a ship before but I bet it was so much fun! Did you like it? How was the water? Can you swim? Where did you come from? What are you holding? How is it making that noise? It sounds really pretty. Like your hair, why is it so bright like that?”

Her only response was to lean back, unsure of what to say. Her hands grasped her violin, and she seemed to retract farther into herself.

"Uhm..." she began quietly, her eyes shifting nervously, "Hello..."

[Lem Free]

The small boy looked up at her expectantly, waiting for a response to the bombardment of questions. Soft, brown eyes blinked eagerly at her, body slightly hunched forward in anticipation to her words. He had to strain to hear her reply as it slipped from her lips. It took him a few moments to realize after her initial greeting, her voice drifted off into nothing.


Lem shifted back a few centimeters, straightening his back, the silence lengthening. Finally, seeing he wasn’t going to get anything further from the mysterious women, the Syliras raised youth prattled on..


“So where are you going to go? It’s pretty late, I’m only out here because it’s easier to explore at night when it’s not so hot. It’s really hot here in the Summer time isn’t it? I bet all that hair on your head must make you feel like a human blanket in the heat. Or does the color make it cooler? I wouldn’t know, I’ve never had long hair. Or white hair…”


He ran a hand ruthfully through his short curly hair, still staring at her's, fascinate. He babbled on.


“Yeah, my Papa always said I’d get my head stuck in a tree branch if I kept it too long, the way I climb through them.”


Lem giggled out loud at the ridiculous image of dangling from a branch off the ground.


“It’d probably hurt though…”


He nodded to himself wincing slightly, mulling over that thought. Hmm. Yeah. Better to keep it short, he decided. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, he remembered he was with his new friend and it was rude to ignore her. He'd think more about that later.


“Soooo yeah…short hair is good for me.”


Tearing his gaze away from the women’s hair, he looked at the musical instrument she still held clutched her hands.


“You gonna play that? It sure sounds pretty.”


He admired the sleek curves of the wooden piece, wondering where the sound came from. Maybe she'd show him. Yeah. He'd like that.

[Iblette]

"Uhhhmmm..." was the only word Iblette could let out. She was still processing what the young boy said earlier, until he bombarded her again with more questions. She almost had to shake her head to begin reshuffling her thoughts. Couldn't he stay quiet for more than two minutes? Everything was still very new to her, no less to him, and she was still trying to make sense of everything. It wasn't until she heard, "Where are you going?" that made her mind go back on track, and she so replied.

"Ah! I am headed to the inn!" her eyes glittered at mentioning the inn! Oh, how she couldn't wait to see an old friend again! "I am looking for a place of work, and I'm hoping the inn will have some offers. Maybe my shared history with the owner may give me an edge." she nodded, then looked back at the boy, realizing she was thinking aloud. She then processed his question of her hair, "Oh, my hair? Well, as far as I know, it has kept me cool, but it is quite a hassle." Finally, and the only other thing that registered with her was her violin, and she replied, "I did earlier. And thank you. I would like to think I make beautiful music."

She suddenly put a hand to her mouth, and almost wanted to pinch herself. How rude of her! She never even asked this boy his name, despite the fact that she hadn't given him hers. She held out a hand to shake, "My name is Iblette. And you are?"