Fresh Air, Open Spaces (open)

[Keyta]

After studying how Blythe seemed to just ignore her mostly, the Kelvic took noticed to the odd taste of the fruit in her own hands and took sight to the familiar fruit in Blythe’s. Keyta’s eyes grew large and her mouth began to water, she hadn’t had an orange in a while since she carved her name into her last orange which remained in her bag. The little girl quickly came back to her senses when Nari held a rather large cloak to her, it was only then Keyta realized she had not put her clothes back on before running back to greet them. She felt embarrassed a little and hoped she didn’t disturb her new friends; she dropped her fruit and quickly ran back to the other side of the brick home. She found her clothes still laying across her bag and put them back on herself and grabbed hold of her bag throwing it back on her back. Keyta ran around the building the opposite way she had before and hid in the forest trying to stay hidden and sneak back to the food they had on the ground. Noticing the sky turning dark, the playful Kelvic girl closed her eyes and opened her mouth emitting a noise so high pitch only she herself could hear as she ran forward through the trees. Footsteps as light as she could and ever tree as identifiable as could be, she crossed through the forest to the other side of both Nari and Blythe and hoped to sneak up on them for a small laugh. ‘They may be different people, but they should still have a sense of humor’ she thought to herself. Once she knew she was on the other side of them, Keyta opened her eyes and looked at them from behind a tree. Since she was not far from the blanket already, she jumped and rolled on the ground landing perfectly at the food that was laid out. Spotting an orange right in the middle of all of the food, she did nothing but stare and hope she would be given such a wonderful orange. She remembered a time her mother had gotten on to her for taking things that weren’t offered to her first. Keyta made as much noise as she could removing her bag and tossing it to the ground hoping to get the attention of both of the pale women that were still sitting there. When she was sure she had both of their attentions, she closed her eyes again but this time smiling as she always did, and bowed her head as if greeting them both once again for that day. Keyta never took her eyes off of that orange however, and was almost overwhelmed by the smell of the orange that was in Blythe’s hands.

[Nari]

Nari grabbed a small chunk of bread and dipped it into the jar of fruity jelly. It was one of her favorites, and she was definitely going to indulge today. Since she had missed the opportunity to bathe, she was going to pamper herself with treats and good company. It seemed a fair trade-off. She smiled at Blythe when the other Konti said everything looked lovely. She hoped they could become friends; she truly enjoyed the other woman’s politeness and easy conversation. It was different from some of the awkward moments she had with others or the lonely evenings with herbs as her only companions. “I’m not much of a cook, but it’s really hard to ruin fresh fruit,” she replied when Blythe complimented the food provisions. She couldn’t help but chuckle as Blythe squirted juice on herself, reaching up to cover her mouth with her free hand. “Unless they’re too ripe, I suppose.” Taking a bite of her own food, she watched as Keyta disappeared behind the house again. For the first time, Nari didn’t react with worry or alarm. She was, it seemed, getting used to the erratic comings and goings of the child. She knew children ran and played, it was in their nature, so she was perfectly content to sit calmly on the grass with her new acquaintance and enjoy the evening. The light was settling into a dim glow of purples and blues, creating a dream-like air around them. It was lovely to Nari, who often forgot to take notice of the richness that Mura had to offer if it wasn’t growing out of the ground. Even a sprawling net of stars seemed to twinkle merrily from its perch in the sky. When the young girl rolled from seemingly nowhere, Nari jumped, dropping her bread on the blanket. Her small gasp was most likely overridden by the sound of Keyta putting her things on the ground and sitting. Picking up her own bread, she reached out and plucked up the fruit that girl was staring at. “This is for everyone, you know. You can take what you want,” she said briskly, placing onto the child’s lap. "No need to be shy now," she added with a wink. Nari didn't speak much after that, as she was fully invested in her meal. Forgetting to eat was silly, but Nari had done it so often that she was used to making up for it by stuffing herself later. After finishing her slice of bread and a full meat pie of her own, Nari’s belly was full and she had to fight the urge to sprawl right there on the ground and pass out like a small child. The night seemed to have snuck up on her while she wasn’t looking, and she yawned into her palm. “It’s getting rather late, don’t you agree?” she asked suddenly, not realizing that some people had different sleeping schedules than she did- not everyone had gotten up at dawn to press flower buds. She continued, however silly she seemed, her attempt at being a gracious hostess. “I have room if either of you would like to stay here for the night, though the floor probably isn’t the most comfortable place to sleep, even with blankets,” she added, forgetting for the moment the mess that occupied most of the room inside. She gnawed at her lower lip, thinking. “Oh! I can walk you home if you’d rather,” she said, turning to Blythe and abruptly remembering that the Konti probably wouldn’t want to stay with a stranger when her own home was so close. Her face flushed and she waved her arms in the direction of the main area of town. “And there’s the Inn for you, Keyta, if you would like to spend the night there. It’s probably more comfortable,” she finished, embarrassed at her own lack of accommodations. It had seemed perfect when she wanted to move away from home, but it wasn’t exactly large or fancy enough for more than one person.

[Blythe]

“It’s getting rather late, don’t you agree?” Nari asked, Blythe nodded, getting up slowly, and throwing her bag over her shoulder. She reached her hands up towards the sky, to stretch her body out.

“I have room if either of you would like to stay here for the night, though the floor probably isn’t the most comfortable place to sleep, even with blankets,” Nari added. Blythe thought about it for a moment, her home wasn't too far, and Nari's house didn't seem like it could fit much more than Nari from the outside, anyways.

Blythe looked off into the distance, as far as she could see, which wasn't too far in this light. The moon was inching its way upwards in the side, behind a few dark grey clouds. Blythe smiled up at it, as Nari said, “Oh! I can walk you home if you’d rather,” turning to Blythe. Blythe looked over her shoulder at her, eyes blinking in the night, wishing they'd adjust to the change in light better. She could just make out the dark outlines of Nari's arms, which waved in the direction of the main area of town. “And there’s the Inn for you, Keyta, if you would like to spend the night there. It’s probably more comfortable,” she said.

Blythe nodded, "I could walk her," she said to Nari, as she turned back to her, and tightened the strap of her bag around her shoulder with her right hand, while leaving her left hand out by her side a bit, as if offering it to Keyta to hold. "But you could always come too.." Blythe added, her voice trailing off, "it's a nice night," she said with a smile, lavender eyes shimmering.

[Keyta]

Keyta watched as the orange was lifted from the blanket and almost began to cry when she thought she wasn’t going to get to taste it, but was surprised when it landed in her lap. She looked up and saw Nari as she said “This is for everyone, you know. You can take what you want, no need to be shy now," and she finished with a wink. The Kelvic was overwhelmed with joy as she took both hands around the orange and carefully bit into the sides, sucking at the juices as the left the shell. The strong smell and flavor filled her face with emotion, she couldn’t remember the last time she had actually had the opportunity to enjoy her favorite fruit. Like she had done several times before, Keyta ate the shell for its odd feeling, she enjoyed chewing on it even after the rest of it had been eaten. The little girl had only taking two full bites from the fruit when Nari commented on the time of the night, Keyta looked into the sky and saw the stars, amazed by the beauty of them all, noticing the distinct differences between the stars at her home and those here. She was however surprised when Nari and Blythe spoke about finding places to stay for the night, completely forgetting for a moment that most people slept when the sun was gone. Thoughts flooded the mind of the little Kelvic as she tried to deside what she should do now, Nari couldn’t tell if she wanted her around or not, and Blythe seemed to want to help hurry things up. Keyta looked at the hand offered by Blythe, then back at Nari, and felt lost, she couldn’t figure out how to describe she was not tired and wouldn’t be til dawn, and then she forgot about how hungry she was. The smell of the orange lifted into her nose softly, Keyta’s mouth began to water, and she became disconnected from the conversation, sat back down, and continued mouthing at her fruit. Only a few thoughts flew through her head, they were quickly considered, and just as quickly forgotten, most of them were thoughts of what she might try to do for the night, and then what she was going to do during the day. Her eyes closed as she entered her own little world and cherrished the flavor of her orange that Nari had so kindly offered to her.

[Alice]

Nari

Experience: 3 Leadership, 1 Interrogation, 1 Hospitality, 2 Conversation
Lores: Being Surprised by Strangers, The Desire to Protect, Welcoming Physical Contact, Putting Together a Picnic, Enjoying Oranges

Keyta

Experience: 1 Acrobatics, 3 Observation, 2 Running, 1 Stealth
Lores: Riding a Dog, Nose bleeding from Fruit Smell, Trusting a Stranger, Remembering Names, Being Invited to a Picnic

Dicae

Experience: 2 Seduction, 2 Observation
Lores: Addressing a Woman, Happy Memories, Behaving Like a Gentleman

Blythe

Experience: 1 Writing Poetry, 2 Observation, 2 Conversation
Lores: Being Invited to a Picnic, A Relaxing Afternoon

Comments

Nice thread, guys. There wasn’t much to award, but I tried to give at least something. The interaction between three (four) different characters was an interesting read.