A Time To Heal. (Closed)

[Seodai]

OOCI'm going out of turn, sorry Talen. I tried to wait for you, but my quarry is escaping. (In other words, we can't let Syllke leave the festival ) Seodai accepted the breezy explanation with blind faith. He had no reason to question that, after all. Talen was a trusted figure in Seo's life, and the farmer had no idea that the fallen one had anything to hide from him anyway. He inclined his head in the slightest, still smiling. Always smiling, with Lysander. "A few times," Seo said, shooting Talen a glance. When they had been younger, Seodai had much avoided these festivals. On the rare occasions when he was forced to attend, Talen had been his only real playmate. They had too much in common, after all, and Talen would never judge his cousin for a deficiency that resided in his own veins. They'd bobbed for apples, at least until Talen had managed to slide his hand on the bucket. An impossibility, almost - and yet it would be the two blonde hemophiliacs running about who managed it. That had been many years before, though, such childish pursuits behind them. But when someone was beautiful as Lysander fixed you with that innocent, lovely suggestion with absolutely no guile, how was it possible to resist? "Talen used to be quite good at it," Seo tacked on, already swinging his legs around so that he could stand. As the other two, who had consumed more alcohol to Seo's nil, moved more slowly to do the same, the blue eyed Denvali glanced around the festival. It had never felt quite so exciting, wholly to blame upon the ethaefal who brushed his shoulder as he stood. It was in this cursory perusal of the crowd that Seo noticed Syllke, walking away from the cluster of people with his pet. "I'll meet you there?" he asked, glancing up to gold on gold on gold. "I want you to meet a friend I've made." Seodai trailed off before he admitted that he'd told Syllke all about him. He simply fixed his point of obsession with a charming smile, then darted off. He was agile and quick and it wasn't so difficult to slip through the pulse of people, to catch up with the Vantha who was walking at a measured pace. Seodai, full of life and joy thanks to the addition to the festival, had no idea that his friend was in a sullen mood. Approaching from behind, he half pounced upon the boy with the beautiful eyes. His slender arms wound about Syllke's shoulders, tugging on him as the rest of Seo's lanky form caught up and fell into step beside of the equally lithe Vantha. "You can't leave yet, Syllke! I want you to meet someone." Seo didn't say it, but his positively sparkling blue eyes did, as well as his foolish smile. "C'mon," he insisted, releasing his grip on Syllke's shoulders, but only so that he could grasp one elegant, artistic hand and tug him in the opposite direction. "We're going to bob for apples. That's something you'll love, right?"

[Lucy]

"Oh, yeah, I'm alright, really. I'm actually great.", she answered to her brother. "I really missed this place, and hanging out and the most you. Just... it seems like I've forgotten how to have fun." She smiled sadly to him. It seemed impossible, no? But it obviously was like that. "I guess it's because I haven't talked to anybody for a while. Friendly, I mean." Except Bryan. But he's quiet boy, it doesn't counts. "And I pay too much attention on little things my eyes show me. But you don't wanna make me too talky, I babble sometimes.", she haven't spoke too loud, but yet she haven't whispered or anything. "But I'm not bored or in bad mood or anything." After she answered she saw Syllke and Murphy going away. She decided not to pay attention. It was enough for this evening. She'll talk to Galio. "Well then, what do you think, could we do something here? I thought Denval changed, but it's still small and quiet unpopular place, isn't it? I know it's silly for Klevic to ask, but could we make something big her? To make peoples visit us. I don't know why that came into my mind now, but I've been to Sunbreth, awful city, full of criminal and mean peoples, but there are really a lot people over there. It's not fair for such a great place to be forgotten..." It was not actually having fun, but that bothered her and she didn't wanted to hide it form Galio. It would be just like with others. The Lucy's way of thinking were going something like this: "I wont bother him now, I'll let him have fun... Now he is in a good mood after a festival and tired, maybe tomorrow... I won't start from a early morning... And why would I tell him/her?" Galio isn't some "other".

[Veldrys]

„I’m definitely interested“, Veldrys replied. „Although I don’t have an ugly face as far as I am concerned“, he added somewhat dryly. „I’m more interested in how you make them and how they improve somebody’s face.“ He had never heard of a salve that could do that. Was there some kind of magic involved? Did Jarret possess one or more gnosis marks? Or was the salve completely useless and Jarret only after these people’s money? „Or ...?“ he repeated. His gaze followed the human’s hand, and he looked at the green bottle. „Blood Key, Master Jarret?“ The human could tell that this was definitely more to the Symenestra’s fancy, although the salve hadn’t been entirely uninteresting either. „What does it do?“ As a Symenestra and a servant of Viratas he was interested in everything that had to do blood, and the bottle’s label had made him very curious.

[Syllke Skyglow]

Syllke, caught off guard, glanced down at the sun tanned arms that had halted his flight. For, though he was only walking, he was indeed fleeing the festival – and the very person who now slipped his arm so companionably and with such familiarity about his shoulders. The euphoric tone of Seodai’s voice, that look of elation on his handsome face, were enough to make Syllke want to wrench himself from Seo’s light grasp and truly run – far and fast. But beyond that look, as Syllke’s eyes met Seo’s, he saw the reason why Seo was here, walking with him, though they had slowed to a bare crawl – and not there, with the one he had just left, if only temporarily. In Seo’s joy, he saw that he was some part of it. Knowing his friend as he did, he fully recognized that Seo was far too shy, too introverted to wear this love openly – to share it with all the world. Seo had confided this in him because he trusted Syllke – knowing that he would listen, would care, would be complicitous in this secret as only a best friend could be. Seo thought that Syllke would be happy for him. As Seodai began to tug on his hand, Syllke once more reached desperately for that resolve of the other day. That careful balancing of what there was to lose against what there was to gain. It wasn’t that he was afraid of meeting the competition. There was no competition here. Syllke and Lysander – that surreally beautiful creature – fell into two distinct categories. His heart, his mind, his eyes and his ear all told him that quite plainly. And as he had done back on that cliffside, Syllke really had no difficulty deciding that he valued Seo’s friendship greatly, and he wasn’t ready to give that up. Syllke could be shallow, flighty, tactless and flippant. And he wasn’t a quitter, but he wasn’t one to waste time over a pointless exercise. If Seo valued him as a friend, then that was what he would be – in the best way he knew how. True friends were there for the good times as well as the bad ones. True friends rejoiced in each other’s happiness. Well, he would give it his best shot. He allowed Seo to pull him back in the direction of wherever these apples were. Glancing over to Murphy, he said with the same small smile, “Well, guess that walk will have to wait. Come on, you.” To Seo, he said lightly, “Does this mean I get to push your head under the water and hold it there until you stomp on my foot?”

[Galio Keln]

Galio watched his friend, his eyes changing colors once more, this time to indigo and violet. It was strange to see it happen, but Galio had gotten used to seeing Syllke’s eyes change colors. He had explained that they did that with his mood and emotions, yet today Galio could not figure out what it was that had caused the sudden change in him. Then suddenly Syllke stood and walked away from the group. Confusion filled the young Kelvic as he watched the Vantha leave. He was torn between two things, he could tell something had upset his friend, but he didn’t want to leave Lucy by herself. Glancing around the festival Galio spotted Seodai, he knew that he ahd been with Syllke when Galio and Lucy had arrived. Was Syllke mad because Seodai had joined the other two that were with him? Seeing Murphy and Seodai join Syllke Galio decided to stay with Lucy. The two of them would be enough to make sure his friend was okay. Turning back to his sister he grinned. “You don‘t babble sis! Come on, I think they’re going to start dunking for apples again.” He gestured to the group that was forming by the barrels once more. Galio could see Syllke and Seodai heading towards them as well. This way he could get Lucy to make a few new friends and find out what had happened to Syllke.

[Lysander]

When Seodai parted ways with him, assuring him that he’d return—with a friend, no less—Lysander beamed, nodded, and was off like a shot.

The Ethaefal weaved his way through the crowd, bumping shoulders with here and there a shuffling stranger before he was upon the squat tub of floating apples. It was no surprise that no one recognized him when Lysander returned to where he had claimed so many victories. They had barely noticed the scruffy brunette leave, though the paltry gathering around the barrel seemed a lot quieter for it. The water, left calm and vastly undisturbed by children that had since found their parents in the masses when day turned to night, glimmered with the silvery fingers of moonlight. Even the fruit themselves, drifting and abandoned, glinted against the night’s sky. The fallen crouched, lurched forward and pushed one such fruit fully beneath the water before letting it ponderously resurface.

“We have it to ourselves,” he commented to no one in particular, though no one turned into someone, and then another, when his laughing honeyed irises lifted to greet the blonde and his companion. “Oh!” A breath was caught behind a line of white teeth. “You must be Seo’s friend.” No one was poised to give the young man any award for his prowess in deduction, but the thin creature at Seodai’s side certainly wasn’t anyone his mind’s eye recognized. Both hands steadied his quick rise, clutching the edge of the barrel until he had straightened to approach the oncoming pair. Anyone that Seodai deemed worth befriending was a decent man in his eyes; though the two had done little since the earth-shattering night that threw them together—a conversation here and there—Lysander felt comfortable in trusting the blonde’s judgment of character.

A wet hand pushed back a mess of golden mane that gathered over an ear, a horn; the only tangible part of the man’s body that was clear evidence against him merely being gifted with outlandish beauty. They seemed to share the same affinity for gathering moonlight as the surface of the water now at his back. The same set of alabaster fingertips, for the most part dried, extended to the vibrant-eyed arrival with a broad smile.

“My name is Lysander.”

[Syllke Skyglow]

OOCShort and perhaps out of order but I didn't want to hold up the show Looking at Lysander, Syllke could understand why Seo felt as he did. That didn’t make this any easier, though. But, smiling – trying to find that happiness for Seodai that he knew should be in his heart, and not all those other feelings – Syllke took the proffered hand and shook it firmly. “I’m Syllke. Seo has – has told me a lot about you. Pleased to meet you.” The artificial conventions of polite social interactions – sometimes they provide an unexpected sanctuary for those who otherwise have nothing at all to say.

[Talen Stirling]

Talen felt awkwardly misplaced. The others were much too vibrant compared to him, and he wasn't sure if he should go apple bobbing armed and ready... But if everyone else was going, then he supposed he could give it a try. He had been pretty good at it, but then again it was not like anyone was allowed to be better than him at any challenge without serious competition. Seo ran off, apparently to find the first of his newfound friends. Lysander lead the way to the game, and Talen followed after emptying his degtine and eating the apple he'd taken on the way. Even though he wasn't technically on duty but only support in case something happened, he couldn't really relax the way the festival called for. He made his way to the group through the crowds, looking around without much thought noticing who were around and who, if any, were missing. It was fair weather for a Fall day, mostly like the last they would have before the days grew short, wet and windy. He walked up behind his cousin and looked at Syllke with a curious, polite smile. He couldn't help but find it strange how the three others were all so lithe and... Peaceful? He wasn't sure how to place it, but he didn't feel that he was alike these artistic, pretty boys that his cousin knew. Regardless, he reached out a firm handshake to the stranger. "Talen Stirling. Seo's my Cousin."

[Tabarnac]

"I don't think we need to help it along," she said quietly to Sitkanis. "These things take time for a reason, and with magic acting so strangely these days, I wouldn't want to risk the child's health." Some women softened entirely into pregnancy, but Astrid seemed her normal self, except for the bump of her belly. She was still the Sword of Denval, and she would protect the child of her flesh as fiercely as she protected the children of her office. "We don't have to dance, but you're going to have to learn. Jarl says dancing and swordplay are the same thing." A flame-colored brow arched with amusement. She could sense the dark tide within him, but she was unafraid. If what remained of his Drykas self wanted to be a part of the child's life, he would have to become a warrior again. The Denvali respected nothing less. OOCSorry for my absence. I skimmed the thread, but you'll have to PM me if I've ignored anyone's post that requires me!

[Hanno Frostfawn]

Denval, Hanno decided, was a wonderful place. Though it wasn't like Avanthal at all - there was no snow, no ice sculpture, no mother goddess watching from a glittering castle – the town boasted its own charms. Plants flourished across the entire earth, blossoming free of the confines of a hold; the woods beckoned with cool shade and whispering leaves, the animal chitterings within promising fruitful hunts; and most importantly, the people were loquacious and friendly. For Hanno, it was a new, magical world, sparkling with excitement and novelty and fun. There was a tiny problem, of course: most of the time, she had no idea what anyone was saying. “Papa,” she hissed in Vani, tugging on his coat. “What does he mean?” She thrust a stubby finger towards the orating Cian Noc, remembering only too late that it was rude to point. Sheepishly stuffing her hands into her belt, she waited for her father to explain. It had been pointless to ask. Haraza knew little more Denvali than his daughter. Still, Hanno was not ready to give up. Scrunching up her face, she listened for what few words she could recognize in the flow of foreign sounds. So many swam by, slippery like fish; but she managed to catch just enough, their meanings piling together in her net. Denval. Rak'keli. Long. Watch. Sick. Heal. Hanno knew this was the healing goddess's feast, but had something else happened in Denval? Who was sick? Understanding seemed to wriggle at the edge of her mind, but proved too distant to grasp. Pouting, she resigned herself to ignorance, sorely wishing that the healer would just speak Common. Noc's cadence and tone, however, conveyed what his words alone did not. When his voice lifted from grave notes to buoyant calls, Hanno's spirit rose with it. Alongside the rest of the crowd, she soared on the breeze of his triumph, elevated by updrafts of hope. Cheers broke out, and Hanno cheered too, hooting and jumping and shouting until her dog bayed and leapt beside her. Perhaps some things did not need words to be understood. The idea itched at Hanno through the succeeding toasts and trail of prayers. Even though she knew precious little Denvali, the crowd's happiness and relief was easy enough to see. She caught it in the raucous salutations beneath lifted cups of degtine, the gladsome murmurs of worship at flower-strewn doorsteps, and the hearty laughter over laden tables. She considered too the way her father wove her favorite stories, hinting at a hundred conclusions with only a smile, or how her mother's art had inspired awe with just colors and shapes and lines. Denval and its people, it seemed, could tell her stories with more than their mother tongue. Grinning, she plowed through the orchard with her dog scampering behind, determined to make a friend even if she had to sign. “Hello!” she announced in Common, halting at the side of a willowy, red-robed man. Despite his alien appearance, she did not seem fearful or perturbed in the least. “What are you?”

OOC: VeldrysShe means you!