Completed New Beginnings

[Elann]

She had to think to herself that she was very fortunate she supposed that she would have a guard with her. It probably would guarantee her fair prices rather than exorbitant ones. She nodded peacefully to the man next to her and took in a deep breath.

"Well then...I am going to need some furniture, um..." she tried to think of a word for it in common and just couldn't think of it. "Um...the dishes holder" meaning a hutch, and then she continued. "I could use the spoons, forks, knives, and I think that is all for today. I still have some of the food from the boat with me." she grinned to him happily as she managed to complete her list of needs, which was more of a challenge in vocabulary for her with her somewhat decent but far from fluent common tongue.

She waved him on through the bazaar and met with a metalsmith's apprentice who was selling nails, knives, spoons and such small utensils. Elann perused through his wares as she spoke back to her faithful guard. "Do you want sons?" she asked with a hint of playfulness in her tone. She thought having daughters was much better as she was such a treasure to her parents. It wasn't that she was prideful, but she could just see how power hungry men were in her tribe as they were raised from young men to adults. She didn't like them for that, so now she asked him this to see if he had a preference.

She finally finds a few spoons for coffee stirring and holds them up for the vendor to see. He quotes her a good price and then she nods in agreement, then sticks them in her basket and keeps looking. In her head she kept a tally, trying to remember the amount of what she bought. By the end she was having slight trouble remembering as it wasn't just utensils she found, but pots and pans for cooking, washing basins and such. By the end she set down her basket and re-arranged the contents inside so that they were more organized and easier to carry, but regardless it was getting heavier.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Garland]

"You mean a hutch?" Garland asked and looked around for such a thing, he couldn't quite remember if there was one somewhere here. He decided to let Elann lead for the time being, he didn't know where they could find a hutch right now. Garland watched the flow of people walk here and there, milling about and such.

He followed Elann to a small metal workshop and watched as she bought a few utensils. A few spoons, knives, forks and such. He watched Elann with a curious look, he had never been outside of Syliras-controlled region. He had wanted to see the world one day, but with his children coming, that was out of the question.

"Do you want sons?"

He looked at Elann with a small jolt of surprise, he had not even considered what if he had a son or a daughter, though the two fortune tellers he asked did say he would have both, but he was still not sure about that fortune. "Do I want sons? Yes, I do. Though I'm fairly worried on how I should raise them... I never knew my father... or mother." He said and looked down on the ground. "I'm sure the mother would make a fine role-model..."

Random visions flooded Garland's mind, most of them involving April, drunk off her rocker and giving the babies hard rum instead of milk...

They were gonna be the worst parents ever. "Elann... Do me a favor and check up on us whenever you have time, it might be a good idea to have someone else look after the kids from time to time when they finally pop out."

He was busy just keeping an eye out for trouble or such, there were a lot of people here, a huge crowd blocked most of Garland's view, he wasn't exactly the tallest of squires, luckily for him, there were other squires and knights on duty here as well. "Elann, how was the desert? I've never been outside the city's grasp before, the farthest I've ever been I think was in the labyrinth. It wasn't a pleasant time."

[Elann]

.

The man standing next to her in full on guard armor was figuratively shaking at the knees. She could tell from his tone that he was a nervous parent. He was not focused on doing his job so much as normal she guessed just from his tone of voice. It seemed as though he wandered in thought back to the children constantly. That was at least her perception of things as he was so very open to her, a complete stranger.

She ended up paying the man for her things and lifted them up. She then reached up with her hand that had the small burn on the underside of it and pat him softly. She didn't say anything but her eyes did. Though they were not human eyes with their dull colorings, and were instead vibrant and full of bright color, they still could speak words of encouragement. He had asked her if she could watch them and she thought a moment. What he really needed wasn't a nanny, but courage. Her heart weighed heavy for him and if that were not enough she heaved the heavy pans further up her arm as they too were getting heavy standing there. While doing so she said, "You are the man. You were born fight hard, fight well, and to take care of children and protect them from bad things. The mother feeds and clothes them. You are a guard. Make sense? You protect." Her common wasn't very good but she hoped she was making sense. "You can protect all of us, but you can't protect your children?" She spoke in a sarcastic tone,"No...You will be a good father. You will protect them fine. Raise up some strong boys. Maybe be guards themselves one day?" she leaned a bit closer to him playfully and then beckoned him to follow her.

She continued on looking for a hutch and when she found a furniture style vendor she stopped and began to look at various pieces. He may have been distracted in thought but he was always looking about for trouble it seemed. He then asked her how her home was. She reached up to brush some hair away from her face as she looked inside one of the few hutches here. It looked poor in quality, but its bones looked good. She gave it a light shake and it didn't fall apart. In fact she couldn't even really move it. She said to him while pulling at a handle, "The desert? Dangerous. Tsana cause problems, lions, bears. They come kill our goats, fight with us. There is Chaktawe too near us who fight. Meanwhile we keep faithful to Yahal and he protects us. Sandstorms blow, thunder rages, sand gets too hot, but we survive. We not only survive, but grow. Nothing can stop us. But the desert is beautiful if you have the look right. You wander for hours and can find many very interesting things. But be careful because you can get lost easy. Armor like your too would not do well. You would die from heat." she chuckled. "You look like the heat here is bad. This is cold to me. Very cold."

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Garland]

"You are the man. You were born fight hard, fight well, and to take care of children and protect them from bad things. The mother feeds and clothes them. You are a guard. Make sense? You protect. You can protect all of us, but you can't protect your children? No...You will be a good father. You will protect them fine. Raise up some strong boys. Maybe be guards themselves one day?"

"Huh! Hahaha, I guess you're right." Garland laughed and smiled. "Alright, I can probably protect my children, I'm worried about their mother though. She's not the most... responsible person... I think she was a pirate before she settled down here in Syliras for a season." He said without realizing what he had told her. "Erp! I mean Uhh... umm... Don't tell the other knights."

He gave a nervous smile, but otherwise didn't actually mind if Elann knew. He scratched his slightly fuzzy cheek and thought about something, he had been missing a training exercises with his Patron because of April and her fooling around. She was a handful of trouble and just a general nuisance to the community.

Though the bulky, but short knight loved her with all his heart and nothing will change that. Not even death or abandonment would change that. She could leave him whenever she wants, and he would probably be a wreck, he would recover and find someone else maybe, but he would still love her all the same.

"The desert? Dangerous. Tsana cause problems, lions, bears. They come kill our goats, fight with us. There is Chaktawe too near us who fight. Meanwhile we keep faithful to Yahal and he protects us. Sandstorms blow, thunder rages, sand gets too hot, but we survive. We not only survive, but grow. Nothing can stop us. But the desert is beautiful if you have the look right. You wander for hours and can find many very interesting things. But be careful because you can get lost easy. Armor like your too would not do well. You would die from heat. You look like the heat here is bad. This is cold to me. Very cold."

"This is cold to you? Oh no... Umm... I agree that I'm absolutely boiling in this thing, especially since there are a lot of people clumped up together here, but if this is cold to you, winter will be harsh then. Hmm... I know a man that sells firewood extra cheap if you ever need em, but winter is still very far away." He said and looked at her. "Is there anything else you want to buy? Do you want to go sightseeing or something?"

[Elann]

.

Garland seemed to her to be a very friendly sort. He was a bit to quick to speak she thought and definitely revealed much about his life, but perhaps there was some unspoken bond between them. She didn't know why or how, but some people just seemed to click together and more readily put their trust in one another than others. She figured Garland saw her as someone who he could trust, and fortunately for his sake he was right. She shook her head to his request at not letting the other Knights know. She made it clear by the look on her face she wouldn't.

Curiously she brushed her hair with her injured hand as she set down her basket. She wanted this hutch an it was beautiful in her eyes. While the exterior was scratched and worn, it was nothing a good polish and scraping wouldn't clean off. She then caught eye of a very beautiful set of sitting room chairs. They had and elegance about them with a hint of simplicity and that was her style. Continuing to speak as she headed over to them she said, "To keep a woman's heart you must know the woman. If she is quiet and loves pretty things, buy her flowers. If she is wild and free, be free with her. Don't change the woman as you are not changed." She meant to say that he shouldn't be changing her, just like he wouldn't want to be changed but she didn't realize her faulty common.

Her hands danced over the edges of the chairs as she walked around them. They were certainly nice, and of good structure. They would probably be her most expensive item, but you don't settle for less when guests need to sit. She could fix up the hutch and make it look better, but a chair that is faulty is something far beyond her skill. This was new and nice. She looked up to him and nodded as he asked if it was cold. She definitely thought so and if he wasn't wearing gauntlets he would have known for sure how clammy and cold her skin was right now. She chuckled lightly at him saying he was boiling in his armor. She would have loved to be in some armor right about now. "I would like to maybe meet this man some time. I could use cheap firewood for my hearth. I love to cook." She was still however learning as she never did it herself and always let her mother do it. He asks her if she had many other things to buy. She nodded, "Yes...many things, but I wanted these cooking things first..." , she pointed to her basket full of them and then said, "...and some furniture so that my room is not so dead feeling. The fabric and color will help."

She then struck up a deal with the merchant for a dinged-looking coffee table, her desired chairs, and the banged up hutch. Once deliver was established and she explained where she was staying at the Travelers Row, the man gave her a time of when they should be delivered later today. She nodded and paid him. Turning on foot she moved back to Garland where her basket of things resided and smiled. "I think I could be done for today. I have some raisins and small amount of food at home, so I'm okay." She held her hands together in front of her and swung back and forth awaiting to hear what he had to say before she picked up her basket and headed off.

Other's Words ~~ My Words ~~ My Thoughts

[Garland]

"Alright. I can't leave the bazaar until much later." He said with a small frown. "Maybe I can visit you later when I've off duty, to help you get settled in." He walked beside her and carried her basket for her. "I can walk you out the bazaar however."

He gave a tiny grin and looked closely at her. "You're from the desert right? I know someone else from the desert, maybe you might like her. She works at the Rearing Stallion as a dancer." Garland said and led the way back from where they came into the bazaar.

Garland gave the basket to Elann and shook her hand. "It was nice meeting you Elann, I would love to visit you sometime and help you fix up your home." With that he waved goodbye and walked back into the bazaar.

oocJust a short little ending post to tie this all up.

[Devi]

Your Grades have arrived! Elann Comments: : EDIT - AMENDMENTS MADE. There are a few tweaks to make to the thread before I can award your grades. I've sent you a PM with the details, just let me know when everything's sorted so I can update this post with your XP. Skills: Observation: 3 Planning: 1 Singing: 1 Land Navigation: 2 Socialization: 4 Negotiation: 1 Interrogation: 1 Persuasion: 2 Lores: Syliras: Smells of the city Garland: Helpful Stranger Location: Syliras Bazaar Garland: A soon to be father. Garland Skills: Intelligence: 2 Interrogation: 2 Observation: 1 Land Navigation: 2 Leadership: 1 Negotiation: 1 Philosophy: 1 Lores: Elann: Shy Benshiran Armor: Plate unbearably hot in the Summer Comments: +2 Shield Points for helping a citizen in need. Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to edit your post in the Grade Request Thread. Happy Writing!