Open Beautiful, New World

[Daninna Kvalheim]

2nd Day of Autumn 520 A.V

The tick her palm pushed the door of The Citizenship, Housing, and Labor Aid Office open, rays of sunlight and a beautiful scent of something she was not familiar with, seemed to spring her back to life. Taking a step forward, she inhaled deeply, stretching her arms out above here head, before sliding one strap of the bag over her shoulder.

Rolling her eyes at her own silliness, she pulled the bag back down and shuffled through its contents, grabbing the map she was handed by the guards, the night before. Looking over it for a few ticks, she pointed a finger at The Knirin Gardens "Aha!", choosing it as her first... well, second destination of the day.

Folding the map and stuffing into the pocket of her cloak, she gently rolled her shoulders a few times, before beginning her stroll. Taking the long way around seemed like a good idea, as exploration was really what she was after. Her eyes moved about with each step, taking in as much of the architecture as she could. The streets seemed to boom with life, even that early in the morning.

Switching her attention from buildings to people, she tried her best not to stare. The variety of those around made her feel less like an outsider than she thought she would. Her attire, however, did the opposite. With each woman she passed by, it became more obvious - she needs to buy something more appropriate, the moment she gets a job.

Attempting to adjust her top, in hopes it'd make her stick out less, she just sighed once more. It seemed best to ignore that problem for now, as she had no real way of dealing with it. Taking a few more steps forward, she found herself at the entrance to the most beautiful place she had ever seen. Even in autumn, the park looked absolutely stunning, with scents and sounds enveloping all her senses in a pleasant veil. She wasn't sure what she was going to do in there, or how many people she would encounter, so an initial goal of walking through the entire park before finding a bench to sit on, seemed reasonable.

[Daninna Kvalheim]

Slow, careful steps allowed her body to soak in every bit of her surroundings. Her eyes rapidly switching from one side of the path, to the other - exploring each bush, tree and individual moving around. Every leaf, every strand of grass covered in a light mist, seemed to glisten in ways she had never seen before. An almost overwhelming urge to touch everything she saw filled her mind with each tick.

Finally, she caved in - taking a few steps off the main path, she crouched down and reached for the ground. Her fingertips brushing over the glistening grass, almost as if caressing it with an unspeakable amount of love and respect. It was a beautiful connection, the connection she felt with nature, especially in moments like these.

Her fingers continued exploring, moving from the grass, over to a bush close to her. It still seemed to have its leaves. The fall season had only just begun, after all. The slightly rough texture was unlike anything in Endrykas. Her head tilting to the side, she explored every branch in detail. A mix of herbal scents filling her nostrils, as she inhaled deeply. Her admiration was abruptly interrupted by a soft, yet near sounding chirp. Almost instantly, her gaze began looking for its source, only to finally travel up into the branches of a tree near by. A beautiful, tiny, colorful bird seemed to be enjoying this morning just as much as the young Drykas.

Careful not to disturb the small creature, she pushed herself back up onto her feet, taking slow, quiet steps towards it. When she was but a couple of feet away from it, gentle words escaped her lips "Hello there, little one. I won't disturb you, I promise". As odd as it sounds, in her mind, the bird looked down at her with a slight tilt of its head, as if to question what Dani was doing.

Taken back by what she thought was happening, she just stood there, looking up for what seemed like an eternity. Only when the bird chirped louder than before and quickly flew over the Drykas' head, did she snap out of her train of thought. A wide smile curled her lips, adding a little spring to her step, as if a jolt of happiness just made its home within her.

Her admiration was pushed to a whole new level, as she approached the Lake Knirin itself. Lips parted in awe made her seem like a child - exploring the world for the first time. In reality, that's exactly what she was. Her entire life, she was in and around Endrykas, seeing the same people, same wildlife and nature, season after season.

Walking up to the edge of the Lake, her eyes wondered over the glassy surface. It was incredible in the sunlight, but she could only imagine its true beauty shining through at night, with the starry sky perfectly reflected. She wondered if they would seem almost touchable... the stars.

All that beauty around her, made the young Drykas hum, a tune she had heard before - not sure of when or where. With the tune, came the desire to move, spin... to dance? How could she dance? She had only ever seen it during ceremonies in her camp, but never dared to try, especially not after the only attempt at it was being twirled in the arms of her loved one. Quickly shaking her head, to erase those memories from her mind, she turned around and continued her stroll.

As she approached what seemed like one of the edges of the park, she was once more taken back by the sight. Suvan Sea, in all of it's might and glory, stretched before her eyes. It was here, she decided to stay for a while, slowly lowering herself onto the grass. Her fingers reached for the bag on her shoulders, letting it drop down onto the ground, followed by a deep thud of her battleaxe next to her right hip, and a soft clank of the sword on top of it. She finally felt free, her arms reaching up, towards the sky - making the muscles in her back stretch. For the moment, her mind seemed silent, if not blank.

[Surreal]

A few feet behind her, someone cleared their throat. It was more like a sharp exhale followed by a shuffling off to the side. The noises belonged to a konti, and her companion battle goat that happily munched on a tuft of grass. She was wearing a leather bodice with a long grey skirt, trimmed with black fur along the edges. On her feet were a pair of slender grey slippers.

However her violet eyes were perhaps the most striking thing about the Konti. They were wide as they studied the woman with a battle axe. The konti’s right hand strayed to a small handle of horn that protruded from a leather harness that wrapped snuggly around her hip. Upon their eyes meeting, the Konti spoke up in a fair voice with an unfamiliar lilt to it that seemed to carry with it her unabashed curiosity.

“My name is Vaoka. Are you..?” She touched to silver bracelet that twisted across her right wrist with her left hand. When she didn’t see any recognition, her hand quickly shied away from the bracelet and before too long she hid both hands behind her after she offered a small bow.

“Sorry.. Its just. You don’t see many women going without around here. Are you new?” She asked, slowly walking over to stand closer to the battle goat that seemed to be placidly watching the pair of them as it grazed. Vaoka chanced to reach out to scratch the back of the goat while she listened for a response, patting its back when it came time for her turn to speak again.

“This is Timac. He keeps me company while I’m traveling the city. Do you have any pets?” She asked as she balanced herself against the goat for a moment before slowly kneeling on the ground. Picking at a long blade of grass she played with making knots with it but they always came loose before she got very far.

Looking down caused her hair caused the long slivery locks to fall across her face which she promptly brushed back over her shoulder. “I’ve been here for around two seasons now and..” She hesitated, and stared up at the sky for a moment before looking back down. “Well it has been a lot to adjust to. Here, in this place. Its quite different from my home.” The blade of grass snapped between her fingers as she tossed the bits onto the ground before she stretched out to pat the side of the goat. “Fortunately I have him around.”

Vaoka’s smile was somewhat bitter sweet as she met her eyes. “You are a drykas right? I haven’t met too many of your kind, but they have always been good to me which is more than I can say for most people I have seen in my travels. Are you looking for anything in particular? Perhaps I could help you, though if you’d rather enjoy the park on your own I’d understand.” Vaoka said in a tone of slight self depreciation as she stood up and brushed off the bottom of her skirt off.

[Daninna Kvalheim]

Usually rather careful, the young Drykas was surprised by not noticing someone was standing near until it was almost too late to react in an unalarmed manner. Was she getting tired, soft? Was it just this place, that made her feel safe for some reason? The girl's thoughts spun like an endless web, only to be interrupted by now a clearly feminine voice, introducing herself.

Dani's upbringing had quite an impact on her behavior, to this day, as she slowly shifted up to her knees and onto her feet, turning to the young, violet-eyed girl standing by. Her pouty lips curled into a smile, as the fingers of her right hand moved up and gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Nodding, the girl added in a rather quiet, almost shy sounding voice "Hello there, Vaoka. My name is Daninna."

Even with all the politeness in the world, this young Drykas' curiosity always got the best of her. Those piercing, light green eyes started slowly moving over the silver haired woman in front. Exploring every feature, every new, interesting thing she could find, until finally meeting the beautful, violet gaze of Vaoka's eyes. Probably a rather awkward few seconds later, Dani managed to catch herself in her staring act and interrupt it with another smile, as if to ease the situation a bit
"Yes. I am new here, I actually just arrived last night. I am sorry about that, I've just... never met one of your kind, I think anyway"
Her fingers now moved from the red locks, down to her neck, idly scratching it, revealing just how embarrassed she was for staring.

The woman's first remark made very little sense, as Dani's eyes shifted downwards, looking at the bracelet for a brief moment, before once more making eye contact. Only when the name Timac was brought up, did she actually notice that there was a goat, standing next to them, happily munching away. She couldn't help herself but allow a quiet chuckle to escape her lips, while listening to the woman attentively. It was interesting to hear other people's stories, especially since she knew very little of where she actually was. Her only connection to Riverfall was that one Akalak she had seen, many seasons agon, and funnily enough, it was another embarrassing moment in her life.

With so many questions asked, Dani had to pause for a second to gather her thoughts. Sighing quietly, she began explaining, as her feet shifted over the ground, attempting to locate her axe and dagger without distracting from the conversation too much
"Well, I sadly do not have any pets. I've spent most of my life with my clan, family and.." her words suddenly stopped, eyes closed for a second as she gulped down a rather large breath of air, before continuing "I am sorry about that, I have just lost a loved one recently, so... But yes, I don't have any pets and I am a Drykas. I don't find it difficult to believe my people have been kind to you, at least from what I know about our customs... May I ask what is it that you ran into, if it's not too much of a personal question?"

It was often that the young Drykas only realized just how intrusive her questions were, after she had made them. Rolling her eyes at her own idiocy, she took another sharp breath and slowly crouched down, grabbing the handle of her dagger with one and her axe, with the other hand.
"I have just announced my arrival this morning and have also applied for a job. As I've mentioned, I think, I've been a warrior my entire life practically... So I've applied for what I think is the militia of Riverfall? I'm not quite sure, honestly, whether I am even able to be a part of it, so if I could get some assistance with that, it would be much appreciated". She finished her little monologue, before standing back up and effortlessly sheathing both her weapons.

[Surreal]

Vaoka seemed to take the look in good humor. Her eyes glistened with a wry amusement as a slight blush cross the top of her cheeks. “It is nice to meet you Daninna.” She said softly in a cheery tone before she turned her head to the side so her neck was angled towards the drykas woman. “I am a Konti from Mura, though I..” Vaoka laughed lightly at herself and rubbed her forearm. “I’m sorry, its a question I get often but never know quite how to explain other than to say the sea is my home just as much as the land.”

Shrugging slightly, she moved on readily enough with the flow of conversation, seeming rather keen to hear from the woman. Vaoka frowned slightly to hear of Daninna’s troubles but she didn’t press the issue. Instead she skipped lightly over it to focus on the question pressed to her, answering it with the ease of one whom has put that pain long since past her.

“When I went on my calling, I thought naively of Sunberth. I went there hoping to put my gift to good use, but ended up putting the ones I love in danger. Soon after I was taken from that situation and transported to another until I found myself free to live my life here. I haven’t looked back much on that time since then. My life here has suited me quite nicely.” She said somewhat soberly, though she did manage a slight smile as she looked up from her Udan to meet Daninna’s eyes.

“I don’t know much about any militia I am afraid, but I know where you kind find such information. But..” She hesitated, and chewed at the bottom of her lip. “Well, you look like a woman who can handle herself.” Vaoka said, pointedly acknowledging her weapons before continuing. “But you won’t have an easy time of it I’m afraid. These men take their weapons very seriously, so much so that few men ever attain such a position in the city, and even fewer women. I will wish you well however on your journey.”

Vaoka favored Daninna with a broad smile then as she walked up to thread her arm through Daninna’s, provided the drykas didn’t object. Then together they were off, with Vaoka pulling them gently along down a slight trail that wound down the cliff face. Brushing her long hair out of the right side of her face so she could get a clear view of the woman, the Konti looked her in the eyes before continuing. “I think you will like it here, and do hope you plan on staying. If so, we should definitely make plans to see the city more properly. Preferably in the evening to escape this heat.” She said with a slight grin as she played at fanning herself with her hand. “Do you like to drink?”