Just another day? (open)

by **Lorcan** on January 23rd, 2011, 2:31 am

Season of Winter, Day 20, 510 AV

"Pff..." Lorcan breathed heavily as he was busy pounding the hot piece of metal he was holding in his left hand, it felt hot to the touch but didn't burn him at all. The sparks from the metal hitting metal jumped up all the way to his leather apron, but he was fine with it. Intently staring at his project he noticed the orange-reddish color was slowly going towards dark red. Time to put the metal back into the forge. And so he did, using tongs, the forge burning at a very high temperature, it filled the room with a bright glow. When the metal was finally in the forge he looked up and wiped the sweat from his brow. Suddenly he noticed it was already getting dark out and he could feel his vision changing a little, he always loved this time of day, everything started looking a little different, brighter, because it was getting darker. It confused and amused him at the same time. Eventually he pulled the piece of metal out of the forge and held it against the face of the anvil, pounding it with his hammer some more, soon enough it started getting shape, a simple square block, fit for becoming a hammer. Funny though, creating a hammer with a hammer. Eventually he felt it had the right shape, grabbed a heavy rod, placed it on top of the hammerhead and punched it through with his hammer. He reached for a hot-chisel and smoothed out the hole while the metal was slowly cooling, after it'd cooled a little he smoothed out the edges and went looking for a piece of dried wood they used to make hammer-handles, all he'd need to do was put it in there and pour some water over it, wait for it to cool off completely, and there was his hammer. Once he found a piece that seemed to have the right thickness he took it to the hammerhead, put it in the recently punched hole and grabbed the head with his left arm, holding onto the handle as well, he then went for the closest bucket of cooling water and put his hand in. He could feel the wood absorbing the water and the metal cooling so fast it started expanding around the handle. Pulling it out he inspected the hammer for faults, showed it to Isen who told him it was a fine hammer and that he should head home.
Lorcan agreed, he felt like he'd done a fine job and was satisfied with his day, though quite tired, he grabbed his backpack and sword-staff, of which the blade part was hidden in a piece of leather he'd made from an old torn up apron. He strapped it to his back along with his backpack and got going. Leaving the warmth of the smithy behind for the chill of the cold winter night. As he was walking the short distance to his house he noticed something near the water, feeling curious he couldn't help but investigate. Even though he was cold and tired, he went over towards the water and thought he heard a noise.
"Anyone there? Hello!?"

by **Aello** on January 23rd, 2011, 3:52 am

Aello was sitting with her legs dangling over the side of the docks. They were swinging back and forth, as she looked up at the sky. Her quiver rested on her back, her bag hung off her side, and her bow was resting in her lap. Aello was looking up at the night sky, at the moon that was creeping out from behind the clouds and casting long shadows along her face and the rest of the city. She was staring up at the stars that twinkled like tiny lanterns in a field of darkness. Aello smiled sheepishly, she wondered just how far away they really were, and how high one would have to fly to reach them. She wondered what it would feel like to touch a star. Where they hot or cold? Did it hurt to touch them? Did it sting like a bee? Or poke you like pine needles? A cactus? A porcupine? Were they soft like a kitten's fur? Smooth like a baby's skin? Silky? Or more like velvet? Were they truly as bright as they appeared to be on earth, or was that a figment of Aello's imagination? Were they as bright close up? Would she have to avert her gaze to look at them? Aello wondered, as she looked up at the tiny balls of fire lovingly, longingly, swinging her legs back and forth faster and faster as the wind began to pick up and whip her hair wildly around her. She wished she could touch them. She wished she could fly. But even then, Aello wondered, if she could even get high enough in the sky to be near them. After all, she had never heard of a bird being capable of soaring amongst the stars. Aello sighed, it never did hurt to dream, did it? She could always hope, long, adore them. Sure, it would never truly be the same, but it would have to do. Aello looked up at them as they twinkled. Hearing what sounded like footsteps coming from behind her, she gripped her bow a little more tightly; her knuckles turned white. She was nervous, but didn't know why. Her palms were cold and sweaty, and her heart was skipping beats here and there. She looked over her shoulder, trying to discern a form in the shadows, but finding herself incapable, her night vision not being the greatest. "Anyone there? Hello!?" Aello heard, coming from behind her. It was a man's voice, it sounded tired. "Hello?" Aello called into the wind as loud as she could, fearing that it may carry her voice away. Her greeting sounded more like a question than anything else. "I'm by the edge of the docks," she called, having no idea who she was talking to. If she was talking to anyone, she could be imagining it after all, because she certainly couldn't make anyone out in the darkness.

by **Lorcan** on January 23rd, 2011, 7:44 pm

Lorcan got closer to the docks and got startled by a sudden call "Hello?". There was someone there, it sounded if she was scared of something, so Lorcan went towards the source of the sound. Thinking he might be able to help this girl. "I'm by the edge of the docks!" He heard, confirming his feeling that she was there. Her voice still sounded as if she was scared of something, it was however, unmistakably a female voice. "Are you alright miss?" He called out, still slowly moving towards the source, curious as he was, he was also cautious. He stopped as soon as he saw a figure on the side of the docks. At first glance it seemed like she was just a normal human girl. With his slightly better vision and the light of the stars and moon he saw that she had brown hair, was quite small, perhaps even smaller than him. When he looked around her he saw she was armed and instantly put his right hand on his own weapon. Although it was cold, he wanted to go home and he was dead tired, he'd rather not have a potential enemy at his back.
He breathed deep and called again, this time with a tinge of fear in his words. "Friend or Foe?" From where he was standing, with the light of the heavenly bodies at his back there was no light hitting his face, and with his hand on his blade he would probably look quite menacing, even though he had an expression that showed a little fear on his face. He was unsure of what he would do next, for all he knew this was a bored ebonstryfe looking to shoot someone in the head for fun, on the other hand it could also be a lost girl who needed his help or something. So he just stared at her, trying to figure out what kind of metal he was dealing with, lead or pure gold.

by **Aello** on January 23rd, 2011, 8:28 pm

Aello glanced back and forth through the darkness. For the longest time, she couldn't make anything out. But after awhile, she thought she could just make out the outline of the man she must be speaking to. Judging from his darkened outline, the man was taller and broader than she. Aello slowly got to her feet, and turned to face what she assumed was the person she had been addressing before. The wind had picked up again, and was whipping her hair wildly about her face. The moon was illuminating her pale complexion, casting shadows on several sections of her face, while bathing others in its light. She must have appeared as though she were about to whisper ghost stories to small, easily-frightened children by the firelight.

"Yes, I'm alright," Aello called, to the mysterious figure. "Just enjoying the starry night," she said, as her words were carried to the man's ears by the whistling wind. Aello held onto her bow more tightly, as her arrows blew around in their quiver, some of the peacock-feathers brushing up against her skin, tickling her cheek as she stared into the night. "And I suppose you could say I am a friend... unless you give me reason to be your foe," she said, her voice wavering again. Her heart was pounding, as her anxiety level continued to climb. What a strange way to introduce oneself... to be nice, and then to almost retract their kindness, and question whether the person one was meeting could be trusted. It made Aello wondered if she could even trust the person she had been talking to all this time.

Aello took a few deep breaths, in through the nose, and out through the mouth to help calm her trembling body. A body that was trembling partially because of the cold, partially because this strange man was making her nervous. Aello concentrated on the spot where the man was standing, she took in one last deep inhalation, and then let it out before she tuned into the man's aura. A mustard-colored mist surrounded the man, and was flying out about him in all sorts of directions. Maybe it was the wind? Aello thought, as she quickly waved the aura away with her free hand, and turned away, exposing the left side of her face. An intense wave of exhaustion had just swept over her. She hated that part of magic. Reading auras, although helpful in the sense that it could help a person figure out what they were dealing with, it always left the reader tired, and sometimes, even paranoid if they didn't stop using the magic long enough where their bodies could rest.

Aello sighed, as she turned back towards the man. A mustard-colored aura meant that he was angry, ill at ease, or in pain. Aello doubted the man was angry, after all, she hadn't really done anything. It was possible however, that he was in physical pain, and that he was nervous, after all, so was she, and his greeting was slightly out of the ordinary. But how did she make him so nervous? Aello wondered, she was tiny after all, and in her opinion, not too intimidating. But then again, she was clutching her bow rather tightly in her right hand. It was clearly displayed. Was it her bow? Aello wondered, casting a quick glance back down at it before she fixed her gaze on the man again. "I'm Aello, and who might you be?" she asked.

by **Lorcan** on January 23rd, 2011, 9:04 pm

Lorcan stared at this woman, he was unnerved by her weapon, even though she was smaller than him, she would most likely be able to put an arrow between his ribs if he wasn’t careful. When she rose up the moon shone down upon her face and he could finally get a good look at her face, it looked too kind to be Ebonstryfe was his first thought, but his second thought was that the stryfe were excellent liars. He still didn’t feel completely at ease, because the moonlight reflected on her face in such a way that it gave her a somewhat scary glow.
"Yes, I'm alright," The woman called. "Just enjoying the starry night" A stargazer? Could she be just a lonely girl looking up at the stars? Or was she a vile killer trained to hunt down random people that weren’t completely faithful to Rhysol… Lorcan really wished he knew. He could see the quiver on her back and her bow in her hand, so there was no mistake that she could be dangerous.
Then she called out "And I suppose you could say I am a friend... unless you give me reason to be your foe" this time Lorcan could clearly hear her voice waver, a true killer of Rhysol would never have such a waver in her voice. Internally he let out an enormous sigh of relief and with that he started breathing easier. When he looked closer he could even see her tremble a little, Lorcan figured he must have frightened her a little, or she was just cold. Either way she was most likely not a threat at all. She suddenly made a waving motion with her hand and turned her head left, which he found to be quite odd. Then she looked down at her bow and then back to him. "I'm Aello, and who might you be?" She told him her name, clearly she wasn’t looking for a fight. So Lorcan stepped closer towards her, removing his hand from his weapon and putting it up in the air, as if waving back to her. "My name is Lorcan, pleased to meet you Aello. What brings you out here?" He tried to make his voice sound as friendly as possible, without a single trace of fear left. He was still not completely sure, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

by **Aello** on January 23rd, 2011, 10:51 pm

"Nice to meet you Lorcan," Aello said tiredly, her eyes fluttering shut, she had to force them open again. "And as I said before, simply enjoying the stars." Aello yawned, covering her mouth with her free hand, her eyes shutting again temporarily, for the duration of her yawn, before opening again. She was watching Lorcan approach her out of the corner of her eye. Doing her best not to take her eyes off of him, which proved difficult considering her mounting level of exhaustion. Stupid auristics, Aello thought, as she asked, "what were you doing out on such a cold night?" through another yawn. Aello covered her mouth with her free hand while she yawned, so as not to seem rude. "Excuse me..." she muttered as the wind started to pick up again, whipping her hair and the folds of her skirt around her. "Wind's picking up," Aello commented.

Aello looked up at the sky. The stars were still twinkling up above them. Glowing radiantly, and making Aello feel as though they were smiling down at the world. She wondered what it would be like to look down at the world from way up there. Would she be scared to be up so high? Or would she be ok? Would the world look like a big blob of color? Or would you be able to make out every little detail, every entity? Or would they all merely appear to be ants, only the largest structures capable of being seen from way up there? Aello wondered, gazing up at the sky lovingly as the stars and the moon illuminated her pale skin. She allowed herself to soak in the moment for a few minutes before the wind picked up again, sending a sudden chill up her spine. Aello turned back to Lorcan, "it's getting cold, you live around here? Have some place relatively warm to get back to?"

by **Lorcan** on January 24th, 2011, 3:03 pm

Lorcan was looking at her again, examining her, after waving her hand like that she seemd to get so much more tired. He wondered why. Since he'd never really been in contact with magic he couldn't identify it or even imagine her using it. "And as I said before, simply enjoying the stars." She was simply enjoying the stars... What kind of woman would be here out in the cold just to look at those balls of light in the night's sky? He'd look up at the sky and stare at the stars for a moment, trying to figure out why she enjoyed them so much. It was all confusing for Lorcan, he had never met a woman like that. "what were you doing out on such a cold night?" She was yawning while she said it, and kept yawning constantly, she must've been very cold. He started to get more curious about this girl, so he stepped a little closer, causing the light of the moon reflected on the water to fully illuminate his face, he was looking tired and cold. Just like her. "I just got off work, I was actually heading home." While putting his hand up and pointing to the Defiled Blade with his thumb. He actually turned his head and looked over towards it. When he turned back she seemed to be staring at the stars again. She probably hadn't heard a single thing he said. She'd been staring at the stars for the entire duration he was talking, she seemed to be deep in thought. Lorcan kept staring at her, unsure of what to do next, should he offer her a place to stay? Say farewell and just try to get home, then again that'd be very rude. He didn't know.
"it's getting cold, you live around here? Have some place relatively warm to get back to?" Lorcan moved his head back a little, he was shocked. He'd just met this girl and already she asked for a place to sleep! It'd be rude to just decline, right? Or not, after all she might just intend to rob his place. "Well like I said, I was just heading home, it's quite close.. I suppose you could come a long and warm up a bit." Lorcan had no idea why he said that, even though all kinds of crazy and contradicting ideas ran rampent through his mind. He wished life and strange women asking for shelter were just as simple as striking a bar of metal with a hammer, at least for that he didn't have to think that much. But alas, reality just wasn't that simple...
He pointed towards his house, which was already visible in the distance. He realized Dervish might be home, but he might just as easily be in some bar getting drunk and beating up some guys. He'd just have to make the best of it. "It's not that big and probably messy... But it should be warm enough once I have the fire going..."

by **Aello** on January 24th, 2011, 3:33 pm

As Lorcan took a few steps towards her, the pale moonlight illuminated his features in such a way that Aello could just begin to make them out. His skin was fairly pale, but that may have simply been the light of the moon and her exhaustion playing tricks on her, she could not be certain. What Aello was certain of, however, was the color of Lorcan's hair. It was kept fairly short, and was a bright, flaming red. The chaotic and slightly unkempt nature of it seemed to reflect its color. As if the tiny wisps and waves that curled around his head in an unruly manner mirrored the image that came to mind whenever one looked upon his red lockes: a crackling fire. The man's eyes, on the other hand, still seemed to be at least partially lost in shadow, making it difficult for Aello to make out their true color. Surely the man's eyes couldn't be black after all?

Aello listened as the man spoke, before she slowly nodded her head, and gripped her bow more tightly, or at least as tightly as she could at this point, her fingers were starting to grow even whiter than usual, and numb with the cold. "That sounds nice... thank you... I will follow you I suppose..." Aello's voice trailed off as she looked into Lorcan's eyes, smiling as warmly as she could despite her steadily mounting level of exhaustion. Why did magic have to be so darn exhausting? Aello wondered, as she took a small step forward, helping to close the small gap between herself and Lorcan. Only a few feet, and the cold night air separated them now. Aello shivered, she'd have to get inside before she continued to freeze, and her teeth started chattering. Never-mind, it was too late for that now.

by **Lorcan** on January 24th, 2011, 8:38 pm

Lorcan couldn't help but feel sorry for this girl, probably because he identified with her a little.. She seemed so lost, alone, cold and tired, just like him. "That sounds nice... thank you... I will follow you I suppose..." He was still a little suspicious, but when she smiled as warmly as she did he couldn't help but feel like he really wanted to help her. She took a small step forward and Lorcan took a step towards her. Lorcan was still unsure of what to do about the situation, but internally he shrugged and just figured he might as well let things be as they are. He felt it was getting much to cold for his taste, she noticed it as well. Lorcan figured that Aello was either cold or frightend, probably a bit of both, just by looking at her, his suspicion was confirmed when her teeth started chattering.
In a fit of rashness he made another step and extended his arm towards her, cursing himself for letting his guard down while he was doing it. "Come on, if a stryfe comes by he'll probably bring trouble, we should get going." He'd been pretty late a couple of times and every single time he met an ebonstryfe looking for trouble. He could usually get out of it by saying he worked at the defiled blade and made that particular weapon he carrying, true or not it seemed to work most of the time. He looked into her eyes and tried to see what color they were, he felt curious about this girl, and now that he looked better, her odd clothing as well. Finally he was able to fully see her clothing because he was up close, a dark green dress like … thing. It looked unusual but interesting.

by **Aello** on January 24th, 2011, 9:35 pm

Aello nodded as Lorcan extended his arm out to her. Aello's teeth were chattering, as her face grew pale; coming close to reflecting the color of the moon. The color in her lips drained to a pale pink shade, while her nose turned red. She had lost all feeling in her hands and her toes, which, Aello was certain, were more than likely turning a light shade of purple by now. Aello trembled, taking a few more steps towards Lorcan, and closing the gap that had once stood between them. She looked up at him, still smiling shyly, and linked her free arm through his.

Her arm trembled; his skin was cold to the touch, but at least he was something solid to hang onto, Aello thought, as yet another wave of exhaustion swept over her, and her eyes closed. It took her a few moments to open them again, and when she did, she was convinced that Lorcan was looking at her as though she were a burden... or as though she had completely lost her mind.

"That is true... we should probably get moving," Aello said, as she leaned into Lorcan a bit more, trying to lock whatever warmth the two of them created into the tiny space between them. But all it did was create a steady ribbon of invisible, icy cold air between them, slicing through the left side of Aello's body like a newly-sharpened blade. Aello shivered once more, before looking down at her feet. She was trying to wiggle her toes, but they seemed too cold to move. That, or the fact that she had lost feeling in them kept her from feeling them actually moving. Either one. Aello wasn't sure which. "Lead the way," she said through chattering teeth, looking up at Lorcan again as she did so.