Placeholder Aura Hunting

[Shiniri]

Season of Fall, Day 47, 515 AV Shiniri had just woken up in her shallow home. She felt an aching sensation in her back that seemed to come and go every few chimes. She felt uneasy as well, not as if she was hungry, or woozy, but it seemed like the air that brushed against her skin was... Unsettling, to say the least. The fact that she could've been in danger never passed her mind, too focused on her aching back. She started to wonder why it was aching. She remembered that her father said you usually start getting back pains when you're older. Shiniri was only fourteen, living alone in Riverfall. All this had been slipping through her mind for a whole bell. "Maybe a walk around town will freshen me up," she finally thought. Shiniri walked outside and respired the brisk, cool air. When she was young, she'd remembered summers in Riverfall were blustery and very hot. Fall time in Riverfall was like a mini-heaven to Shiniri. As Shiniri walked into town, she still felt uneasy. She didn't feel hungry, dizzy, anything of the sort. Again, it felt more like a unsettling feeling rather than uneasiness. At that moment, she simultaneously remembered she knew Auristics - which would explain the unsettling feeling. But it didn't explain how she was using Auristics. Usually Shiniri would practice Auristics for bells at a time, and usually only some success learning facts about objects and people. She snapped back into reality. As she walked around town, the very same unsettling feeling was following her. As if she was being watched over every second. She quickly thought that she was just hungry or something similar. And looked around for a place to eat. She didn't have a good idea of whether a place was a shop or a bar, or something else. She'd never eaten at a restaurant before, only buy bread and other simple things to eat at the Zhongjie Warren. Although she could've just bought bread and eaten that, the uneasy feeling made her have a mini panic attack. She just crossed her fingers and hoped she would walk into a restaurant or something like that, and she walked inside the first place she saw. OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech.

[Shiniri]

After a few chimes, a male bartender glanced at Shiniri and asked, "Excuse me? Might there be anything you needed from here?" The bartender cleared his throat. Shiniri looked a bit startled by the man's question, since she was swimming around in her thoughts for sometime. "Oh! I... Er..." Shiniri's gaze drifted slightly, but kept eye contact. "This is the White Crane, right?" she asked. Shiniri was naturally nervous around strangers, but somehow managed to find a way to slip by. The bartender grinned. "Yes, the one and only." he replied. It sounded like he was laughing under his breath for a bit. "So, who might you be? And what brought you to the White Crane?" Shiniri suddenly didn't feel awkward talking to the bartender, and words started flowing out of her mouth like a waterfall. The words didn't come out clearly, and there were some intervals here and there, but still could be comprehended. "I'm... Shiniri. I had an uneasy feeling today, and... I thought it was because I was hungry. So... Now I'm here." She tugged on her shirt, losing eye contact with the bartender. The bartender looked confused for a moment. "Shiniri..." He scratched his head. "Is that foreign?" Shiniri started to feel a bit uncomfortable in the seat, but responded either way. "I'm not sure. You'd have to ask my dad, who's currently in Syliras..." The bartender stared for a moment, as if he was lost in his thoughts. He snapped back to reality quickly. "Ah, yes. Sorry to prolong this... Meet and greet of sorts. You said you were hungry, right? What are you wanting to eat?" OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech. This is the color of other's speech.

[Shiniri]

Shiniri had a confused look for a moment, then realized what he meant. She had almost forgotten that she was hungry the entire time. "Ah, right. Hmm..." Shiniri took no less than ten seconds to figure out what she wanted. "Do you have bread?" she asked politely. The bartender had a stunned kind of look on his face. "Er, yes, we do. Is that all?" he asked, with a slighty surprised look. Shiniri smiled. "Yeah, that's it."she replied. The bartender shrugged, and within a chime or two a loaf of bread was in front of her. The friendly bartender stared and scratched his head. "One loaf of bread. That'll be two copper mizas." Shiniri reached into her backpack pocket and pulled out a couple of mizas. She placed some on the counter. The bartender leaned on the counter and watched Shiniri for a bit. She had took out her eating knife and sliced the bread in half, putting one in her backpack. Shiniri started to take small bites out of the bread, making the bartender a bit hungry."Are you sure you don't want some ale or somethin' to wash that down with?" he asked after a few chimes. Shiniri finished chewing what was in her mouth, then said "I'm only fourteen. I think I'm too young to drink." she said with a slight tone of annoyance in her voice. She rolled her eyes discreetly. "R-right. Apologies." he said, drifting his gaze. But Shiniri didn't stop talking there. "I don't think I ever got your name, did I?" she said with a smug look on her face, then taking one more bite of her bread. It was almost finished, but they both didn't seemed to notice, even a bit. The bartender felt a bit more comfortable now, relieved that the awkwardness was over. "I'm Tellar," he said, extending a hand. "It's a pleasure." Shiniri looked cautiously for a moment, but she shook his hand either way. The man's aura felt like a blanket of some kind. Like one with holes here and there, but got the job done. Shiniri finished up the last of her bread and shook the crumbs off her hands. Receipt : Bread - 2 copper mizas New Ledger: 80 GM, 4 SM, 98 CM OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech. This is the color of other's speech.

[Shiniri]

"Th-thank you, Tellar. I had a good time," Shiniri said. She expressed her gratitude and bowed. The somewhat bewildered look on his face told people he was confused and embarrassed. Shiniri caught on, as well. "Oh, er... I apologize. Was that--" she said, blushing slightly. "Er, no," he replied, interrupting Shiniri. "Just... Don't bow next time." he continued, with a false smile on his face. Shiniri blushed a bit more, and lost eye contact. "Right, I won't." she said, head hung down. "What am I thinking?!?" she thought to herself as she walked out. The second she walked out, she seemed to collide with a tall man. He looked human, had black hair and a had what looked like an axe in a leather case strapped to his back, along with several other things. He looked a lot like a hunter to Shiniri, and she felt very uneasy. Still, she had to get out of his way. "A-ah... I'm very sorry!" she said, fear overlapping her entire body. This man gave Shiniri a shock, almost a heart attack. She then noticed her backpack behind her, and her sword had fell out of her backpack. "Wait. Let me just..." she mumbled as she put the sword in it's place, in her backpack. "Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going and I..." she trailed off. She felt extremely uncomfortable in her own shoes right now, and stepped aside, waiting for the man to pass by. But he didn't. He stood there for several seconds, staring at Shiniri with a serious, or even furious look on his face. "Umm... Do you need anything?" she asked after a bit. "Gods, this day is going great." she thought to herself, sarcastically. "...No." he replied, blinking twice. "You look familiar to me. That's all." His voice was quite low, and he seemed to speak with a sense of authority, making Shiniri somehow more comfortable and let out a sigh of relief. The man's face perked up as this happened. "By any chance... Are you an Aurist?" he asked, surprising Shiniri. Shiniri looked shocked, but she shook it off. The man had only guessed, and she just happened to be an Aurist. The man piqued Shiniri's interest. "I... I am. Could I ask why?" The man had a stern look on his face. Not mad, stern, as if he was trying to tell her something in sign language. "Do you mind waiting here?" he asked kindly. Shiniri didn't feel completely safe around this stranger, but decided to stay where she was for a while. OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech. This is the color of Tellar's speech. This is the color of other's speech. This is the color of Shiniri's thoughts.

[Shiniri]

Shiniri had been waiting there for only a few chimes, but already getting impatient. She'd had enough craziness for the day, and didn't want any more. She just wanted to go home and nap. As she was floating around in her thoughts, the hunter came out of the White Crane. "Sorry for the wait," he said, clearing his throat. "So, to confirm, you are an Aurist, correct?" Shiniri snapped back to reality and nodded, only knowing half of what the man just said. A grin stretched across his entire face. "Good," he said, with a slightly lower tone than usual. Shiniri wasn't feeling well at this point. "You can be of use to me," he continued, with a smile on his face. Shiniri gulped. "I-in what way?" she asked, stumbling over her words. "I'm trying to find one of these," he said, taking out of his backpack what looked like a drawing of a bird. The bird was crimson red and had a black head. There was a black marking on it's left wing that looked similar to a leaf of some kind. "Er... What?" she asked, confused. Why would a hunter be looking for a bird, she asked herself. "It's a Crimson Jay. My... Crimson Jay." he said, with slight hesitation. Shiniri looked surprised. "So....... You have a pet?" she asked, trying not to smile. "Well... In a way." he mumbled, looking away. The hunter was obviously embarrassed to have a pet, looking away, mumbling, etcetera. Shiniri didn't think it was that embarrassing. She thought it was... Cute. Yes, cute. That's the word. Shiniri didn't want to embarrass the hunter any more, so she quickly changed the topic. "Er... What does this have to do with me being an Aurist?" she questioned, not exactly sure of what he was trying to say. She knew it involved that bird and her Auristics, but in what way? "Well, I lost him forty-eight bells ago. I couldn't sleep. Last night I paced back and forth, thinking of a way to find him. I went to the Valkalah Library and started researching. I eventually came across Aurists and Auristics. Apparently they can pick up 'auras'." he told her. "So I was thinking, if I did find him and he got away..." he continued, intensely staring at Shiniri. "...I'd have an Aurist pick up his aura, so I'd have a little map of sorts to find him." he said, his voice starting to crack a bit. What he did next was extremely embarrassing for Shiniri. He got down on his knees and started pleading, "Please help, I'll give you anything! Mizas, gemstones..." Shiniri looked around and saw people staring. She had to stop this at once. "Please stop! Please!" she ordered, embarrassment rising in her. "Let's... discuss elsewhere." she ended it off, trying to sound polite. OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech. This is the color of other's speech.

[Shiniri]

About thirty chimes later, both the hunter and Shiniri were sitting on a bench in Semele Park. They park seemed to be devoid of any sound, other than the wind. Shiniri didn't know what she was feeling. Was it anger, embarrassment? Guilty or no remorse for her actions? She just didn't know. She took a deep breath and sighed. Shiniri wanted to apologize for her behavior back at the White Crane, but just before she could speak, the hunter spoke first. "Listen, I..." he trailed off for a moment, then continued. "I apologize. My emotions got the better of me," he explained. Shiniri nodded her head in understanding. "I have to say sorry as well. I... I acted so paranoid and bossy, and I--" she replied, before stopping in her tracks. The hunter cleared his throat. "All that matters it's over," he assured her, patting her on the back. Shiniri felt odd letting a stranger pat her back, but it felt familiar somehow. Reassuring. "Er..." she mumbled, thinking of some way to reply. "I... I'm Shiniri. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance..." she continued, sounding fancier than she actually was. She held out a hand to the hunter. The hunter looked suspicious, but shook her hand anyhow. "It's Ricky. Nice to meet ya." he said while shaking her hand. Ricky. The name sounded uncommon, but Shiniri didn't mind a bit. She was just glad it was all over. The man continued speaking. "You don't have to help me anymore. My outburst earlier shows my immaturity... I don't deserve your help." He sighed. Shiniri felt horrible on the inside. As if it was her fault. She didn't know if it even was her fault. Whether or not it was or wasn't, she wanted to comfort Ricky. "No." she simply stated. The expression on Ricky's face was... In a word, shocked. "What do you mean, 'no'?" he asked with a tone of questioning and irritation. "You do deserve it. You're passionate. You have a good soul," she continued, pointing at his chest. "That's all the evidence I need." Ricky looked like he was about to tear up. "Gods, you're so sweet..." he said, sniffling a bit. OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech. This is the color of Ricky's speech.

[Shiniri]

Ricky looked away for a moment to clear his mind, and stood up. "Shall we be going?" he asked, with a grin on his face. This was the first time Shiniri had seen him this happy, and she obliged to do so. In her mind she knew this was start of a friendly relationship, and somewhere in her mind she assumed that even after he would leave and mostly likely thank her, she knew it wouldn't be the last of him. "Of course. I'd love to." she replied, smiling. She completely forgot about the uneasiness she was experiencing earlier, and the thought never passed her mind again. As they were walking, Shiniri wasn't sure exactly where they were going, so she asked "Where are we going again?" Ricky didn't stop walking or turn, but responded "The Knirin Gardens. That's where I last saw him..." Shiniri had a puzzled expression for a bit. "Why do you keep calling your bird 'him'? And how did you lose your bird in the first place, anyway?" she asked again, sounding a bit rude and demanding. The hunter stopped walked and started what looked like contemplating. Shiniri was wondering what he was thinking about, but as she was about to repeat herself, he interrupted. "Pepper. His name is Pepper..." he replied, trailing and contemplating a bit before speaking again. "He seemed very energetic and excited one day, so I decided to take him to the Knirin Gardens. Gods, he flew so far, so fast..." he continued, starting to walk again. "He disappeared that day." he finished. He held a fist up to his chest. "I will not rest until I locate him." He sounded brave and determined, almost like a hero. At this point Shiniri was stunned. The bond between Ricky and Pepper was very complex and strong, to say the least. "Wow.... That's... That's deep." she managed to utter, sounding quieter than normal. OOC : This is the color of Shiniri's speech. This is the color of Ricky's speech.