Two snowflakes meet. (Darren, flashback)

[Constance]

OOCSorry for the title. Thought it was suiting though, since Constance and Darren are both Vantha. XD Timestamp: 10th of Summer, year 504 AV Constance had been waiting all of last night for the medicinal salve her grandfather had made, to wear off. It was, indeed, very convenient when she needed the use of her normally unseeing eyes. But she was warned not to become dependent on it. What would become of her if she did? It would no doubt leave her in a dysfunctional predicament. And so, although she used the salve on a regular basis, she would always take time away from it. Usually a total of one or two weeks out of each season to remind herself of what she truly was. Blind. This particular day, was one to remind herself of just that. When Constance awoke that morning, only darkness greeted her. It was the beginning of a long day. One full of accidents-- bumping into people and things --but that was the very reason she needed to follow through with it. The day was already off to a rough start though, when she rose from her bed and ended up tripping over her own feet, landing with a thump on her behind. Sitting there on her bedroom floor, she gently slapped her own face in hopes that it would help to rid her of the lingering drowsiness. When she felt the remaining fogginess leave her mind, she sat there in stillness; taking time to note the smells and sounds that surrounded her. If she planned on surviving the day, she would need to let her other senses take over. Once she had readied herself for the day, with some difficulty and help from her parents, she took up her walking stick and made her way out into the streets of Avanthal. Her mother had given her some errands to run, knowing that they would be the perfect challenge for that day. The first was an order that had been filled and needed to be delivered. It was a large basket her mother had weaved, and it needed to be brought to a resident from one of the other holds, the Coolwater Hold. Perhaps it was going to be used to hold fish of some sort? Regardless, Constance hadn't visited the port in a while, and was disappointed she wouldn't be able to enjoy the sights along the way. Walking down the already busy streets, she did her best to avoid any oncoming traffic. Horses pulling sleighs and children running about, unaware of the people they crossed paths with, was only a few of the obstacles she needed to overcome. Her eyes were clouded in white while still holding a hint of color to them, if anybody took the moment to look at her, they would see she was blind, if the cane wasn't enough of a give away. But even with those tell tail clues, many of the people she bumped shoulders with were too busy with conversation or work, to take note of the fumbling girl. She would get to her destinations eventually, but at a snails pace.

[Darren]

Maybe if I get creative with it? Darren looked at the busy marketplace, resonating with the sounds of busy craftsmen and workers going on throughout the day. He grimaced at the amount of movement throughout the respective marketplaces, he'll have to slow down. He was just on his way to do his usual routine, morning jog, do some training, fool around for a bit then just go home, nothing too fancy. It was unavoidable but he had to pass by the market at the start of his runs but otherwise he should be fine. Usually making a point of visiting a few key areas before the day was through, was an unspoken oath Darren had with himself. Whether it was just to have a good social standing or just to greet others was hard to say but he would do it whatever the reason. I really shouldn't have slept in, now I'll have to manuver around this place if I want to continue he mused to himself as he took a look at the market. Noisy, sweaty, and in a good spot in Avanthal the markets was always busy, always crowded. "Now then, creative right? What to do?" he muttered as he waded through the crowd. Gentle pushes, gentle pushes ...and I'm going nowhere he thought as his eyes glazed over. He stepped back as he removed himself from the crowd giving an irritated look at his progress. If I can't run through I can always... jump through? he thought as he saw a large stand beside him. Right next to the stand was a small building, I can probably pull myself up there... Propping himselp atop the table of the stand he gave a hasty apology to the storekeep before he jumped up. Pulling himself up atop a nearby building he took a moment to admire the view, and to plan his route. Alright, just have to pass through the Coolwater and Iceglaze markets and I should be able to resume my trip to the boardwalk he thought as he checked his first jump. "Looks like I'll be getting a different type of training today" he shrugged as he took a quick run through of the path. Alright let's go Darren thought as he rushed forward, two, three, four steps across the roof of this house. "Now jump!" he shouted outas he pushed himself off the edge. Unto a smaller house..., keep running, prop yourself up that wall... His feet started to feel sore at the new excercise, pushing forward as he tried to build enough speed required. After awhile he wasn't too worried about keeping up images, it was starting to be fun. "Haha... Alright..." he said with an easy smile forming on his face. Faster now, push off the top of the sign and keep going, try not to trip up, don't think just go. Darren made his way through the market in record time now, granted there wasn't too many actual stores roofs to take advantage of but it was certainly alot better then just walking through. The whole jumping and climbing business was starting to get tiring as he had to find a way atop a roof every few houses. Granted the place was pretty packed but it was mostly stalls and small tables, he had to risk doing long jumps to avoid them entirely. This one in particular seemed to be impossible as he tried to rally himself to go. ...come on just this one and I'm free from this place he thought, trying to persuade himself. "Alright let's see if I can get a little boost here" he whispered to himself as he put himself into a track position. Feeling the tension in his legs as he assumed the stance, his eyes stared to shimmer blue as he concentrated. Focusing his djed into his legs he breathed hard as he felt a standardized flow starting to form into his legs. "Let's go..." He murmured softly as he pushed himself off. It only took three steps to go across the house before the last step. Oh no no no no no No! he thought as he looked down, it was the first time he had done so and it was a mistake. He copped out, he averted his course to the side as he half-assedly jumped. His back bouncing off the roof of a smaller house he continued spinning as he hit the ground. Tucking himself into a ball he managed to roll back to his feet as he staggered backwards haphazardly. Now if others the others below watched out, he could probably walk or run away with some of his dignity intact. oocSorry for the long post . Took alot more words then I though

[Constance]

OOCPlease don't apologize for the length of your replies. I prefer reading lengthy reply's over short one paragraph replies. Write as much as you want or need to; I'll enjoy it, I promise. ^^ Sorry if mine are a bit on the short side, or don't flow very well. :x... So far her venture had been, surprisingly, accident free except for the few occasions where she almost tripped over uneven cobblestone. And aside from the annoyed grumbles she sometimes heard from the ones that were forced to move from their path lest they collide with her, the city folk were friendly enough. For the few whom were irritated by the inconvenience of her presents, she would smile and wish them a good day. Years ago, when she was still a little girl, her grandfather convinced her to forfeit her apologetic feelings, knowing that if she didn't, she would spend the rest of her life apologizing for the fate she did not pick. As a repercussion, she has found it difficult to apologize or feel remorse, even towards things that hold no connection to her blindness or something that is truly her fault. Along the way, she heard a mans deep, loud voice bellow over the blend of noises that filled the marketplace. He was announcing the warm fresh bread he carried with him. "Fresh baked bread, get your bread, strait from the oven!" Continuing on in his mission to sell a loaf or two, she could tell he was closing the distance between her and him. But as his voice grew louder and closer, the rest of the noises started to mute. Thankfully she was almost free of that noisy place. Nearing the end of the busy market area, her ears still rang with the mix of sounds. Footsteps, hooves against cobble, friendly conversation, children's lighthearted laughter, and heated words between customer and seller were, ultimately, the everyday noises that came from that part of the city. And also the reason she found it so difficult to navigate. When so many noises were coming from so many directions, it had been a daunting task. After turning a corner to avoid the loud baker, she stepped into dangers path. There was no warning for her to 'watch out bellow', or even somebody yelling out in fear. A person had fallen from atop the building nearest to her. If the person had yelled out, or said something, she might have had a chance to move out of the way, but somehow, he fell without so much as a 'help'. She listened to him hit the ground and roll back up onto his feet, but before she could say anything, he was staggering back in her direction. He bumped into her, made her lose her balance, drop the basket she held, and fell back on her bottom. Sitting there for a moment while she rubbed her bum, she started mumbling to herself. "Ouch that smarts... And I was doing so good up until now too..." With a sigh, her hands started to move over the ground in search of the items she dropped. Namely her cane and the basket. She would have asked if the guy was alright, but she was a bit preoccupied with her own situation.

[Darren]

When he attempted to roll into a ball what actually happened was a somewhat sorry attempt. He hit the ground hard, rolling over himself twice before his feet managed to push him back up. Backing away haphazardly, he shifted as he tried to take a step forward, trying to stop himself from his momentum. Unfortunately for him that was when someone else decided to pay attention to what their looking causing Darren to bump into Constance. Falling to the side he groaned in pain as he got reacquainted with the ground. "Ugh, damn. Sorry about that, didn't see you there" he muttered as he turned himself over to see just who he bumped into to. Darren's eyes perked up at the unfocused eyes he was presented with alongside the uncoordinated attempts to recover what it had just lost. "And... it looks like you didn't either" he said in an aside as he waved his hand back and forth in front of her face. He sighed skeptically as he looked for anything that might help her. A fancy cane caught his eyes as he leaned over to grab it, taking a quick moment to appreciate the small detailing done to the walking stick. "Here let me help you with that" he offered as he prodded her with the stick, before turning to retrieve her bag. "Sorry about that, are you okay?" he asked as he handed the basket in turn. His eyes ran over the figure of her, shrugging before he tried to help her up. She looked able at the very least, almost a cut above others if he was feeling generous but still she had a distinct disadvantage. He eyed her incredulously and immediately laughed at the notion, he would have to talk for her to understand what he was meaning to convey. "Hehe, wow that's a bit of a surprise. Um... if you don't mind me asking but what is a blind girl doing in a busy market? Got plans? A date even?" he said in an amused and teasing tone. He was about to start a small chuckle before he cringed in pain. Looks like I am still a little on the sore side there he thought as he tried to loosen up his shoulder.

[Constance]

Constance sat on the ground and listened to the stranger apologize for their accidental collision. Once the man finished speaking, she was going to be nice and let him know it was alright. But that was before she heard him walk up to her. When he started waving his hand in front of her face, she felt the slight disturbance in the flow of air around her. In reaction, her previously placid complexion had turned into one of annoyance as the corners of her lips curved downward in a noticeable frown. And as one might expect, Constance tried knocking his hand away from her; finding his actions a bit embarrassing or demeaning. When she eventually spoke, it was not in acceptance of his apology, but instead, an annoyed request that sounded like a command. "Will you stop waving your hand about?" Her voice was calm with a hint of annoyance. When instead of hearing a compliance to her request, she heard him offer to help her with her walking stick, she figured it was a second attempt at apologizing. It wasn't very effective if that was truly the case though; once he returned with her walking stick in hand... he decided to prod her with it. Although that may very well have been the only method this stranger concluded would work, it was still a bit rude. After a few pokes and prods, Constance reached out and yanked it from his hands. The stranger tried to help her to her feet, but whether from pride or just annoyance, she refused his effort. Mumbling a few incoherent words to herself, Constance, with the help of her walking stick, pushed herself back up onto her feet. Once she regained her stability, she stood with both hands covering the top of the cane and listened as the man scurried about, collecting the other item she dropped. Returning with her baskets, he apologizing once more and asking if she was alright. And in reply, she stated, "I was doing just fine until now." But being the difficult person she could be when she wanted to, she did not take the items from him. Instead, she let him stand and hold them. After a moment of silence passed between the two of them, he spoke up again, asking her what somebody like her was doing in the market. Not exactly the works she wanted to hear coming from his mouth. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she spoke. "I'm already having a bad day, and you go and ask me such a question? My destination, business, or reason for being here, is nothing you should concern yourself with." Then an idea crossed her mind. "But... if your really sorry like you keep saying, then you can carry my baskets and accompany me to the harbor." She wasn't having a very good day, but having somebody to help her with the baskets... she no doubt thought it would make the rest of her day go smoothly.

[Darren]

Darren seeing the somewhat indignant look on Constance face couldn't do anything but chuckled a for moment. What could he do about it? she was what she was, his actions are justifiable. To add to her attitude she even bothered to suggest that he carry her stuff around all day. ...I do have better stuff to do then that he thought quietly as he stared straight faced at Constance. Another few moments passed as his eyes slowly narrowed before he finally sighed somewhat irritated. For all she knew Darren was just someone who managed to knock her down and help her up. If he wanted he could probably just back out into the background without her even knowing and come out of it with a nice basket. "Hehe..." he finally responsed as he shook his head chidingly. Nah I'm not like that he reassured himself as he took another look at Constance. "Sure" he said, allowing himself to be humbled. Might as well he thought as he he swung the basket haphazardly, thought I will keep myself entertained while doing so. "Docks right? What are you going to do there? Though it really doesn't matter, I just might follow you wherever you go. Your quite the catch yourself" he flirted, rolling his eyes as he spoke. He then stopped swinging the basket around as he leaned in slightly. "I truly mean it... you seeing anyone after?" he whispered suggestively as the back of his hand stroked her cheek. Having done enough, Darren withdrew as he started away. "So let's go" he called back, leaving Constance to follow. Only when he thought deemed it safe did he chuckled at her expense, dealing with blind people was some a bit difficult but it still had it's perks. Maybe he would find hanging out with a blind woman to be fine. Hmm... probably not he mused happily as he watched Constance make her way though. She still has yet to deem herself relevant in any case, even though her sauciness was a breath of fresh air. oocJerk mode! :3

[Constance]

After 'suggesting' that he accompany her to the docks, she waited for him to protest. But when she was answered with silence, she crossed her arms in front of her chest out of frustration, still holding her cane in one hand. Just before she said anything, he began to talk to her, agreeing to walk with her and... flirting? His flattery caused her words to run dry, her embarrassment leaving her unable to speak for a moment. The awkwardness of the situation left her cheeks burning and her frustration growing. Why did his words frustrate her so? It was on rare occasion that someone would approach her with such bold words, calling her a 'catch' and what not. And she was about to retaliate with some harsh words to counter his, but was cut off when she heard him walking away and telling her to get going. His ability to change from one subject to another so quickly was a little surprising to her, only noted in the way she stood in place while he walked off. Before she knew it, he was a fair distance ahead of her and she was only falling further behind. Concerned that she would lose the person that carried her basket, she walked in a hurried pace to catch up while also trying her best not to trip over any uneven slabs of stone. Unknown to her, Darren had stopped walking and was waiting for her. But he wasn't saying anything or making noises as she approached, leaving her blind to his location. Without any guidance or sound to give him away, Constance ran face first into Darren. Hitting his shin with her cane accidentally. The collision threw her off balance and causing her to stumble forward. And while she was able to catch herself using her cane, she dropped her bag and its contents fell out, the noise announcing exactly what had fallen out. It was glass scattering across the ground that made her heart race. Not because she feared that the glass would crack or break, but out of fear that a passerby would see the mess and sneak over to try and take one of the vials. "This is become more troublesome then its worth." She mumbled to herself. Without warning, Constance reached out to Darren and felt out the area at her finger tips. After finding his arm, she latched on, her fingers wrapping around the width of his arm and clamping down. Moving down its length, she came to his wrist and the palm of his hand, then the rough texture of the weaved basket. Taking it from him, she knelt down on the cold ground. Holding the basket in one arm and setting her cane down on the ground next to her, she began searching the area in front of her. "Help me gather these, and--" Flicking a dagger out from her sleeve into her hand, she held it out to him. "--make sure nobody gets away with anything from my bag." Then her voice grew quiet as she seemed to be talking to herself. "Maybe I should do this another day." Under 'normal' circumstances, she wouldn't have been so willing to ask for assistance, let alone give her dagger over to a stranger she had only just met, but today was not a 'normal' day for her. Granted, she needed this challenge to stay accustomed to her true state of blindness, but if things didn't start smoothing out a little then she would need to try this another day.

[Darren]

Ah...how he loved to play with spitfires and their wavering emotions. Such entertainment was made even sweeter by the woman's inability to see goading look on his face. Watching Constance stumble around the crowd for a moment, he realized that he has yet named his latest source of joy. However, the imminent upcoming question was delayed as he watch Constance trip, managing to take down another pedestrian alongside her. By now Darren didn't feel to bad about running into the girl now, seems like she has to put up with these predicaments regularly. After the short crow of amusement Darren suddenly found that it wasn't so fun to make fun of the blind girl... Slightly disappointed in himself he walked over to the fallen pair to make amends. Darren looked in surprise as he heard the sound of glass shattering. Upon hearing the Constance's reaction he felt even worse for laughing at her earlier. For some reason though... there always seemed to be a good reason to do just that. Darren nudged the basket towards her before turning to pick up the vials she dropped. With some help from nearby pedestrians he managed to salvage enough as he turned to see Constance pulling a knife out at the stranger she ran into. The younger Vantha couldn't take it anymore. Darren allowed himself a soft snicker to escape his lips as he coughed politely. "Ah you really should! That way I get to do this with you again." His lips formed a sincere smile as he excused the other man away. Closing Constance hands, he managed to secure the dagger on her persons before returning her belongings. "Nobody's planning to do that" he whispered low. Following up he put his arm around Constance's hips before pulling her slightly towards him. "Don't worry I'm here to help. So tell me stranger. What name should I call you, Miss Klutzy?"

[Constance]

The sound of glass against stone had drawn the attention of a good number of eyes as they wandered by. For a moment everybody in the vicinity was watching the spectacle, wondering exactly what had happened. But quickly they lost interest they returned to their business, whether it was manning a shop, or doing the shopping. As quickly as their interest had come, it was gone. Except for the few that approached the scene later then the rest, everybody else ignored them as they sat and knelt on the ground. The innocent passerby that Constance had accidentally taken down with her, tried to sneak away as quietly as he could after seeing the dagger she held. Her nervous hostility must have frightened the poor man; and rightly so. How safe was a dagger in the hands of a blind woman? It looked like a catastrophe waiting to happen. But thank goodness, the stranger Darren had been there to ease the poor mans fear as he motioned for him to leave. After he had left and disappeared into the crowd, the rest of the market goers started to avoid the, once three, now two people that knelt on the ground. They all seemed to favor leaving a five foot radius of distance between them and the dangerously haphazard girl. That was quickly righted though, when the seemingly friendly Vantha tried persuading her to put the blade away. It took him several moments to succeed before Constance eventually, and reluctantly, complied. No doubt those that were in the immediate surrounding breathed a sigh of relief when the dagger was safely tucked away in her sleeve again. And once it was so, Darren reassured her that nobody was going to take her vials. She would trust his words for the time being, but would also leave him with a warning. "You say nobody will take even one of these vials, but if any of them come up missing then my blade will find its home in one of your arms, or one of your legs." When she spoke her voice was calm and nonchalant, even when mentioning the threat of her dagger. From her words it was painfully obvious she was still a bit edgy. As her hands continued to move over the ground in search of the dropped vials, her hand would also run over shards of broken glass. A couple of them had broken, but at the moment it didn't seem to bother her. Nether the fact that some had broken, nor the sting of glass as it cut threw her skin. Then, unexpectedly, she felt his hand on her hip as he pulled her nearer to him and spoke more words of comfort, while also asking for her name in the process. And almost instantly, she pulled away from him, the motion loosing her hair from over her shoulder as it cascaded down and formed an effective barrier to hide her face from his gaze. "My name is Constance of the Whitevine hold. And what should I call you? Blatant Idiot?" It wasn't that she really thought he was an idiot, but it was more or her way at retaliating to his calling her Ms. Klutzy. Even as she spoke, her hands still scoured the ground in search of each vial, and by now her finger tips were painted red with her own blood. So far she had managed to gather around five vials, but there was still fifteen more to find. And although she knew that at least one had broken, she wasn't sure of the exact number. If she could find a cork without a bottle then she would get a better estimate. Once all of them were gathered, she would find that two had broken and eighteen remained, five of which she has already found OOCLol, sorry for the little math equation at the end. There are 20 in total and she has found 5. Two of the mare broken, so that leaves 13 more to find. But Constance would still want to know about the two that had broken.

[Darren]

Darren's eyes glazed over at the threats before retorting back. "Sure thing. I'll go ahead ahead and find a fish so you have something to stab and we'll both say that you hit me." He pointed to a distant stand near the Coolwater market for before catching himself. *Sigh* The blind seem difficult to talk to. Darren understood why she seemed slightly tense but his small jokes might have came off as cruel. His further actions to cheer up or otherwise comfort her were shrugged off, feelings of tension grew as Constance seemingly tried to make space between them. "Excuse me? What did you call me? Blatant idiot?" Though his earlier jabs might have been a bit much what she called him was unmistakeably hurtful. His facial expressions barely moved though a slight twitch was made at the word. Idiot. "Well now... I'm not the one cutting my hands up into ribbons trying to pick up broken glass am I? Your the idiot, I'm just someone that is getting abused while he's trying to help. Stop that" It was hard to tell at all if she was being serious or not. The unhappy Vantha muttered out a few curses as he tried to pull Constance away from the floor. "Please... let me. I really don't like seeing you hurt yourself and I doubt whoever you are giving these to would appreciate the extra blood." He managed to salvage seventeen vials for her, with one still left in his hand wondering if he should pocket it or not. "What are these to you Whitevine? The others back at home teach medicine and healing. Why would some see-through material matter to us? Yes us, I'm a Whitevine too. Darren Whitevine, Silfer's son. I don't think we seen each other until now." His tone softened as he gazed at Constance's face, he really was serious when he called her attractive earlier. "Let's go deliver these together. As fellow Whitvines hmm?" Taking her hand with his free arm he then enclosed the eighteenth vial in her hands. "What do you say?" oocSorry for the lack of words. I feel that there is more room to interpret what he is trying to do.