A Day in the Life [Open Thread]

by **Talen Stirling** on June 17th, 2011, 11:05 pm

Talen stretched and looked at the tall Ethaefal with a curious tired look. He seemed abit annoyed, yet he couldn't quite tell why apart from the boy actin' rudely. Perhaps he hadn't slept well, gods knew why people were grumpy in the morning. He was a morning person himself - A trait many found annoying but he himself usually found useful, getting up to do what needed to be done at first light was easier than sleeping late. There were no dreams or good things to gain in sleep for him anyway.

Thinking back, he was pretty sure he'd seen someone of that approximate description in The Stranger's Welcome a fall evening. He'd been with some of the guard, and spirits had been high but even now he remembered the unearthly appearance of the Ethaefal. Pale gold hair, strange skin coloured as the moon and, if he didn't remember wrong, a pair of yellow horns. He smiled abit at the memory, it was quite the sight. "I think I saw you around, actually.." He murmured briefly just after the Ethaefals' explanation.

As he continued, Talen simply returned his joking smile and nodded agreeably as he suggested The Stranger's Welcome. In truth, he didn't eat out often and preferred to save the money it cost by attempting some sort of mishap cooking himself. All too often it ended in burnt food and dry sandwiches, but it was cheap and still reasonably healthy. It was too bad though - At this rate he wouldn't get to go for a morning run and his usual morning schedule would be broken. After a brief look of indecision back towards the road, he followed suit after the Ethaefal. "I don't think it ever lets anyone down, though it's probably sent quite a few to the floor."

Sitting down at the table Talen ordered an equally simple breakfast with a glass of water. He almost ordered a glass of milk - a childhood habit - yet for the sake of appearances decided that it would look childish. He looked at the two curiously in silence for a moment before deciding to pick up conversation. Their good natured brotherhood and familiarity seemed so natural, and although it might have bothered some he thought it was nice and comforting to be around. "You're brothers? I think I've actually seen you before in town .. Sitkanis. Just over there at that table, in fact." with a polite smile he indicated a random table near the bar. "I was more than halfway gone though, so I could be wrong. I was out with Zagary and a few of the guard." He smiled at them politely, indirectly telling the two abit of himself. Lighting up abit, a curious gleam entered Talen's eyes.

"What's it like being an Ethaefal? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't know much about you." He smiled happily, even more so as food arrived. His forward questions seemed less blunt accompanied by a friendly smile and the look of a young man eating breakfast much too quickly.

by **Lysander** on June 18th, 2011, 8:53 pm

Lysander ordered a relatively reserved breakfast, copying Sitkanis’ order – childish, sugar-filled foods had lost their appeal when he was the only one ordering them. Who was he kidding? No they hadn’t. Lysander’s round, hungry eyes leered at a dish that passed them: pancakes piled high with juicy, colorful fruit and topped with delicious sugar he swore he could taste. Perhaps, if he was good, Sitkanis would let him get something like that later. “I was exploring, you were gone,” he murmured absently in response to Sitkanis’ inquiry and his stomach rolled and groaned. Hunger, however, did little to wipe the grin from Lysander’s face.

“Being an Ethaefal is … confusing,” the youth pressed a fork hard into the wooden tabletop as if to test the strength of its thin prongs. Realizing it left behind pleasing pock marks in the wood; he repeated the gesture before adding, “But it can be fun! You’re one person during the day and someone else entirely at night. I like my night form more than my day form; I’m manly and beautiful, and taller than Sitka.” The last thought was an obvious jab from Sitkanis’ mention of him being taller than Lysander chimes before. “I like my horns a lot, and I miss them during the day. They’re green right now, and harder than stone!”

Little was derived from Lysander’s obvious vanity about his Ethaefal form. In reality, it was terror on the psyche merely existing in such a state. Faint memories of a passed life and a world and language that were impossible to enunciate haunted his dreams nightly. Hands lifted to his temples and the fork clattered against the wooden tabletop. For a moment, he appeared serious, deep in thought, but Lysander’s grin would unfailingly return as his index fingers curled to emulate horns. When their food arrived on warm plates, steaming and tantalizing in the smell of spice mixed with eggs and greasy, glistening strips of meat, dirty fingers clamored for his fork again and he chirped a happy prayer. “Thank you Leth, for Sitka and our food and our new friend, Talen!”

Shoveling a swath of eggs into his mouth, Lysander’s chin tilted up again and spoke before he had a chance to swallow. “What’s a Zachary guard?”

by **Sitkanis** on June 22nd, 2011, 5:09 am

Sitkanis' dark brown eyes followed Talen's motion toward a table by the wall. "Yes, I used to come here at night when I did not feel like sleeping. I have been coming less though. I need to keep an eye on this one." He pointed to the child sitting at his side. He was almost surprised when he felt a small smile poke at his lips. Was he actually growing a bit fond of the kid? He glared at him when he spoke up. "Well don't. I don't want to have to save your scrawny butt if you fall into a ditch or something." The Ethaefal meant the statment with a hint of compassion, even if it did not seem like it.

Sitkanis made an almost growl-like sound as he looked Lysander stabbing at the table. "Don't stab the table! What the petch is your problem?" He swiped the fork out of the little Ethaefal's hand before he could do more damage to the table. "I cannot take you anywhere..." He looked out the window blankly as Lysander chittered on about being an Ethaefal. The boy seemed to be much more amazed by his divine gift than Sitkanis was. He saw his Ethaefal body more as a curse than a gift. He glared at Lysander for sharing his nightly height problem. "You don't have to tell the boy everything you little petcher." His gaze then turned to Talen as if he had not even spoken to the boy at his side. "We are brothers. In a way at least. We are both sons of Leth and we both fell in Denval. I found him after he fell so I have been taking care of him." Sitkanis was not sure if he liked people knowing he was talking care of a kid all on his own. The two claimed to be brothers but Sitkanis appeared to be twice the age of Lysander. His mortal form was not old enough to be a father to a child Lysander's age but it was enough to make people wonder.

A devilish smirk came to Sitkanis' lips when Lysander asked what a Zachary guard was. Sitkanis was not Zagary's fan in the slightest. In fact, one could say he dispised the man. He had been leering at Adalia since the day they had gone into the ruins together and he did not stop until the day she had run off. Sitkanis simply shrugged at Lysander's question, seeming to be playing off as dumb. "No one you need to get involved with." Adalia was long gone but Sitkanis' distaste for him still seemed to linger even in her absense. He looked at Talen darkly. "And if you want my opinion on being an Ethaefal Talen, imagine sleeping in your bed, perfectly happy and then falling out and into the sea in a completely different body." He did not like talking about falling and one could tell by the poisonous edge to his voice. "And most importantly, you cannot remember anything about before you went to sleep and you can never get back into bed until you die. Lysander seems to forget that being an Ethaefal isn't a complete walk in the clouds. Actually, it is the complete opposite." He was angry. Not really at anyone in particular, just angry at the fact that he was an Ethaefal in the first place. "Lysander says it is confusing, I say it is the most painful thing you can imagine. Does that explain it well enough for you?"

by **Talen Stirling** on July 6th, 2011, 1:40 pm

Talen felt more confused than enlightened by the boys' explanation, although some of the general idea was more clear. He was curious to see what they looked like in their nightly guise, it sounded very original and exciting. His spirit was soon lowered with Sitka's remark. the boy? He was always annoyed when people thought less of him because of his youth, and this man seemed strangely angry, as if something was bothering him this whole morning.

Talen was about to answer Lysander's question with a grin at the mentioning of his friend when Sitkanis interrupted. He didn't like Zay? He matched Sitka's dark glare with his own, this man seemed so passively angry and volatile. What was his problem? "Zay's a good friend of mine." He murmured just before Sitka delivered his explanation.

As Sitka spoke, Talen listened without interrupting. Perhaps this was why he was so aggravated, there seemed to be alot of pain behind his words. Still, it was annoying to be the target of all of his bile. "I don't know if I understand but I suppose it makes it more clear why you're so angry. I'm sorry you feel cursed, I hope you'll be able to move past that feeling sometime." He sent Sitka an offended glance and had some more of his breakfast. If nothing else was said, he continued shortly afterwards. "Why d' you not like Zay? He's a good man 'n' brother-in-arms, though you might not realise at first glance." He sent the Ethaefal a curious glance, hoping he wouldn't get angrier than he was already.

by **Lysander** on July 6th, 2011, 2:30 pm

When Sitkanis turned to speak to Talen, Lysander reached up and snatched the Drykas’ fork to replace the dirtied utensil he had been robbed of. A growing boy had to eat – well, an Ethaefal stuck in a constant state of early teenage gluttony had to eat. Another mouthful of eggs were swallowed nearly whole before his other hand extended to grab the glass of orange juice on the other side of his plate to take in a greedy gulp. Lysander had grown quiet as Sitkanis explained his opinions on being Ethaefal. It was certainly ... depressing. Dark brows knitted together as a second drink of the bitter orange juice was pushed from one cheek to the other, accompanied by an audible swish swish swish. This would go on until Sitkanis had finished explaining their situation to Talen before he swallowed the juice.

“Well I’m happy.” He muttered. Sitkanis had a way of yanking the airy child back down to earth when he seemed his happiest. Most would become discouraged by the habit; Lysander was a resilient soul.

As Talen spoke, Lysander’s fleeting offense turned to mirth and he leaned his elbows on the tabletop as he bent over himself. The blond had a pleasing accent when he spoke Common; Lysander had been a fan of the amusing way the Denvali spoke to each other and hoped that, in time, he would be able to make sense of the gibberish. It wouldn’t be long before the accent would turn to words Lysander understood would inevitably anger his brother – in fact, he could feel the Drykas growing more annoyed. Dark brown darted between the pair as he wracked his brain for a way to diffuse the explosive situation the Denvali would drag himself into: a distraction.

That’s it!

Lysander deliberately snatched up a strip of the fried pork and swallowed it whole. It looked to be an accident, a result of a boy too hungry to be careful; and when the panic swelled up inside of him and his airway became blocked due to the large portion of food refusing to glide down his throat he’d smack the table, face turning red and open mouth failing to gasp for air. Sitkanis would have to forget his growing rage and help his choking brother ... wouldn’t he?

by **Sitkanis** on July 6th, 2011, 11:32 pm

Sitkanis' shot a dark look at Talen. "I'm not angry and I'm not looking for people to point out my emotions." He didn't appreciate Talen trying to figure him out. The boy could not have been much older than twenty. Sitkanis might have tried to be a bit nicer but the fact Talen was trying to nonchalantly get him to stop talking about Zagary bothered him. "Thank you for your sympathy but I don't need it. I can deal with my falling on my own." The boy had no idea what it was like to be like him. To not know who you were or where you came from.

A sigh escaped Sitkanis' lips as Lysander spoke up. "At least one of us is." He usually found the boy's optimistic comments a bit annoying but at the moment he was happy for the words. Sitkanis clearly was unable to carry a conversation with Talen without it getting heated. Lysander seemed to even out the ex-Drykas' pessimism without even trying. "I'm glad you are happy. Maybe you are better to explain who we are then I am then." His brown eyes seemed to drill into Talen. He was angry, even if he claimed he wasn't.

The Ethaefal's eyes seemed to darken at Talen's question. He didn't appreciate the interrogation, even if it was completely innocent. He stood up fast, rage filling his eyes. "My personal aff-" Sitkanis' words were cut short when he heard Lysander choking at his side. "Lysander?" His heart started to race as he watched Lysander's face turn red. His rage took a back seat as he tried to think of what to do. His eyes turned to Talen, crazed. "You! You are something of importance in this city right? What am I supposed to do to help him?" He couldn't wait for an answer. He couldn't lose Lysander. He wrapped his arms around the boy and pushed his fist into his stomach in an attempt to get whatever was stuck in his throat to come out. "Please Leth, don't let Dira take him." He spoke quietly as he prayed. If anyone would have heard him it would have been Lysander since he was so close to the ex-Drykas. He was embarrassed at the words as soon as he uttered them but if Lysander was safe he could live with the fact that the boy knew that he was starting to care about him.

by **Talen Stirling** on July 7th, 2011, 11:39 am

Talen looked from Lysander to Sitkanis, it was amusing how the boy seemed to take the edge of Sitkanis' wrath. He was so serious and brooding, but then Lysander stepped in to meddle in the situation.

Talen looked up at Sitkanis in surprise as he stood up enraged. The Drykas-Ethaefal was imposing, taller than him with a wide muscular frame and a loud voice. He instinctively almost raised his hands to parry and fight when all of the opposing mans' wrath and anger turned to fear and worry as the boy apparently started choking. He screamed at him, and Talen almost felt guilty although he in truth wasn't anything particular in the city and had virtually no medical skills.

Talen started and got up quickly, but before he was anywhere near the boy Sitkanis had already shoved a large fist into the boy's stomach in an attempt to force whatever was choking him out. Assuming Sitka succeeded in forcing out the bacon, he approached the two with a question and a genuinely concerned yet confused look. "You allri'te?"

by **Lysander** on July 7th, 2011, 2:43 pm

The entire thing would not last more than a few seconds, maybe a chime from the time he’d deliberately swallowed the meat until he was calm again. To Lysander’s unwitting surprise, his world was turning black and hazy before him. Without air in his lungs, he wouldn’t last long. Lips soundlessly searched for words before the imposing figure of his Leth-fallen brother was behind him, large muscular arms wrapped and shaking around his stomach.

"Please Leth, don’t let Dira take him."

Lysander’s large brown eyes rolled upwards as his mind clouded. The pain of a rough fist in his stomach felt distant and Sitkanis’ desperate prayer echoed in his mind as the food dislodged and flew out of him, hitting the table with an unceremonious thud. Lysander drooped from Sitkanis’ death grip to gasp for glorious and deep breaths of the stale tavern air. “Fuck.” He hissed, white-knuckled hands grasping at the edge of the bench where they sat. Eventually his breathing would normalize and his face would go from red to the ruddy pale olive it had been before.

As the clamouring chaos of the incident calmed and Lysander found himself sitting again, bleary brown eyes looked up to Sitkanis, searching his face for any signs of the boiling anger that had reached its climax only moments before he had realized his brother had stopped breathing. His throat hurt - no, burned - and tears had stained his cheeks in streaks that glittered when light hit them. A weak smile tugged at his lips as a hand smaller than the Drykas’ wrapped around two fingers and gave him a tug as if to motion for him to sit again. To anyone not living in Lysander’s head, the quick turnaround from near death to cheerful mirth and apparent intent to finish his breakfast in peace would be absolutely infuriating.

“Sorry ... I didn’t think it’d be that scary.”

by **Sitkanis** on July 29th, 2011, 5:55 pm

Sitkanis was not sure why but he was scared to death. He had only met Lysander a little bit ago and yet he was scared to loose him. When the food finally did become dislodged Sitkanis breathed a sigh of relief. He felt calm for a moment before his eyes focused in on the large piece of meat Lysander had tried to swallow. "What the petch is your problem? Why would you try and swallow food that big! You need to cut your food." Sitkanis knew what he wanted to say. The words were right on the tip of his tongue. "I was so scared I was going to lose you." He stood quiet for a bit, just staring down at Lysander before he felt the boy's hand wrap around his own. Reluctantly, Sitkanis sat down at Lysander's side. He was angry, more so than he could express. Looking at Lysander's tearstained cheeks made his emotions cool a bit. It came as a surprise to the Ethaefal. He had never gotten over being angry so quickly. He did not feel as though he could stay mad at Lysander though. Not when he looked so scared. "Don't do that ever again."

Sitkanis could not look at Lysander or Talen. He did not want them so see the fear and worry in his eyes. "Of course it was scary Lysander. You almost died again." Sitkanis looked down at his food but he did not feel like he could eat. He was still too shaken up. Instead, Sitkanis took Lysander's napkin and cleaned up the chunk of meat he had coughed up on the table. "Sorry about that Talen." His previous anger towards the boy had faded now that he was calming down from Lysander's little show.

by **Talen Stirling** on August 1st, 2011, 9:56 am

Talen was convinced the two were insane and stared in disbelief.

"I didn't think it'd be that scary..? You did that on purpose?!" He repeated the boys words slowly and then yelled only to sit down heavily and scratch his forehead while looking at him with hazy confusion. The other Ethaefal was obviously concerned, but as he sat down he seemed calm, not a relaxed calm but a tired and worried fatigue that had gripped him after what had just happened. He even apoligized to him, which forced him to stifle a laugh; perhaps it wasn't the first time Lysander embarassed him like this.

"No problem Sitka..-nis Though, why on earth would you do that?" Talen sent the boy a gaze that was supposed to be searching and hard, but it was difficult not to smile at the madness of what he had just done. He almost called the man by the nickname the boy had used, yet thought the better of it just in time. He didn't seem all that friendly and would probably take offense.