[Sculpture Yard] Meeting Among The Statues (Kendall)

[Aurore Isatis]

1st day of Winter, 511 AV; The city was proving to be somewhere that Aurore enjoyed. It had many different places to explore, and the culture was rich, which she liked. Culture, to her, was an extremely important part of life. Who was she, without her culture--her family? Her entire religion was based on bloodlines and heritage. Being the first day on the new season, the cold was especially surprising. It grasped at Aurore's skin and threatened to rip it from her bones. Or, that's what it felt like. She knew that she was going to need to get some warmer clothing if she expected to survive in Avanthal. The hard truth was that this city was an arctic tundra; the temperatures were not what Aurore's body was used to. But she decided to ignore the cold today (as hard as that was) and take a trip to the Sculpture Yard. Whispers of the marvelous art there were heard throughout the city, and Aurore had heard just enough to pique her own interests. She found it easily enough, getting better at navigating the city, and began strolling through the different rows of sculptures. Many of them were of wildlife, which came to no surprise. Avanthal was filled with many different kinds of animals, and the fact that many artists were inspired by them was understandable. Some were made of stone and some of metal, but none of them really captured her attention. She understood that they obviously required skill to sculpt, and Aurore could never do it herself, but still. They lacked something. So Aurore wandered through the Yard aimlessly for some time, hoping to find some sort of sculpture that caught her eye and inspired her.

[Kendall Saarinen]

Last season, Kendall had first come to the Sculpture Yard. It was a short visit but still, the experience had warranted him to return again. It was a place like none he had ever seen before. There had been the Stone Garden in Syliras, a city which seemed to be like a halfway home for him. It was the closest thing he could compare the Sculpture Yard of Avanthal to. There was nothing like it in Zeltiva, that was for sure! It was not to say that the city was not beautiful. It had it's architectural flourishes, just as most cities did. Vantha were known for being artistic though and it showed in this landmark.

The last time Kendall had come to the Sculpture Yard, he had met a Jamoura named Grot. It had been surprising, that was for sure. He had met only one other Jamoura in his life. One by the name of Ramesh, back in Zeltiva. It felt like an entire life away now.

The blond walked alone, eyeing the statues and sculptures as he walked. As he did this, he tried to calm his mind. He let the Taldera wind blow all the little worries out of his thoughts. This had become a new sort of meditation but he enjoyed it. Breathe in, breathe out. Air in, anxiety out."This went on for several chimes before the blond decided to make something of his meditative state. He pulled off his glove, feeling the bite of the frozen air against his hot skin. He breathed in again, but this time, on the breath out he worked to push his Djed out. He was still somewhat of a novice at shielding. Sadly, he was not the honed scholar that Hadrian was. The mage had the focus Kendall seemed to lack, although he was sure being in his presence had caused the blond to work harder.

Soon, the Djed started to show. It wrapped around his palm as he thought deeply of one thing. "Keep my hand warm. Block out the cold." He focused hard on the thought and the forming shield as he walked. In his concentration, he had failed to notice a woman in his path. The shield was starting to thicken and Kendall could feel the warmth returning to his hand.

On the other hand, only moments after, he blond walked straight into a woman who was admiring the statues as well. In surprise, Kendall jumped, the shield shying away in his shock. He turned bright red as he looked up at the woman. She was so tall, although it seemed so many people were. Hadrian, Ethan, even Cathan had been. He seemed to be a bit shorter than the average man. She seemed to be close to Hadrian's height though! "Oh gosh… I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He looked down at the snow in embarrassment. "I didn't mean to run into you. Thats what I get for trying to meditate while I walk…"

[Aurore Isatis]

Typically, when someone runs into Aurore, she smacks them upside the head. Not because she's completely rude and misunderstanding, it's just a natural reaction. Instinct, or something along those lines. So when then young blond ran into the back of Aurore, she immedeatly let out a small sound that sounded something like a "meep!", followed with her rearing around and lifting her left hand to strike. But, of course, when she saw the small (well, small compared to her) man in front of her, red-faced and embarrassed, she simply couldn't help but feel sorry for him. So immediately took her hand out of the air, attempting to hide her long dark claws, and began retracting the her large canine teeth. They had grown and good half-inch in her mouth on instinct, her body reacting without her even thinking about it. "Oh my," She said in a startled voice and let out a nervous laugh. "You gave me quite the scare there! I'm sorry for reacting so violently, months of being on the road have left me ridged." She smiled at the young man, noticing that he was quite cute. He reminded her of a little child, one who had just done something that he knew he shouldn't have done. "But it's quite alright," She replied, reassuring him. She could handle being bumped into a few times. Perhaps she just wasn't very prone to physical contact? Her Web back in Kalinor never displayed much of any emotion, something she loathed about her family, and no one outside of Kalinor much of even looked at her. "I wouldn't advise meditating while moving, no," She said with another giggle. "It can obviously lead to dangerous collisions." She shuffled on her feet slightly, a little nervous. This was the first time she was engaging in conversation with someone in Avanthal that wasn't business related. "So," She began. "Um, what is it that you were meditating on?"

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall's eyes turned up to look at the woman. Her hand was outstretched, each finger was lined with a black claw. Was she preparing to hurt him? The fangs peeking out from behind her lips seemed to say as much. Kendall, with the same kind of reflex as the woman no doubt, readied himself to defend. His exposed hand slipped behind his back, tugging off his other glove. When his palms were free from the cloth, he began to release his Res. If she fought with claws, he'd fight with fire.

But just as soon as the woman had coiled to strike, she relaxed, a an apology escaping her lips. Realizing the more calm stance she seemed to be taking and more so, the way she looked at him, he knew the summoning of his Res had not been needed. Still keeping his hands behind him, one palm wrapped around the other's wrist, he ignited the Res before closing his hand around it to snuff out the flame. It still hurt of course, but it did not burn him.

Kendall smiled back at the woman. "No worries. It is understandable. Better safe than dead I suppose." His words still sounded a bit shaken from surprise but composure returned quickly. He was becoming less of a frightful man. One would hope he would have gotten a bit of backbone by now. He had braved the Northern Reaches and survived half a season in Ravok where he was not a registered citizen.

The blond watched the woman, focusing on her. He called upon his auristic vision and slowly the aura was starting to show itself. The art was a slow one, this was for sure. It demanded focus. Any calm Kendall had found had been washed away in his little fright before. Just as a faint outline of the woman's aura started to show he spoke up again.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. I suppose I am not the multitasked I thought I was." He smiled lightly after the words. The woman seemed to be civil. Even her aura said so. Still, he was not sure if he would be wise to share his skill in magic. "I was just mediating for the sake of the art." That wasn't a complete lie. Hadrian had wanted him to practice and he had done so. The work with shielding had really just been… extra credit, if you will.

Kendall kept his eyes on her, curiously trying to focus on her aura. Hadrian was much more skilled in the art but there was only one way to get better, to read. Some emotion was showing through, although even if he was completely focused he still would not be able to see too much. She felt flustered, although he didn't need auristics to tell him that. Her body language said it.

"You aren't from here, are you?" The question was a bit forward but in truth, the woman had no hope of hiding that she was an outsider. "Not to be blunt, but you are a bit taller than the locals. I'm not one to talk though. I'm not Vantha either." He pulled his hood back to show the light blond hair that seemed to brand him as an outsider in the city.

"So… are you enjoying the sculptures?"

[Aurore Isatis]

Aurore laughed at his response. "Aye, being dead isn't something I want to be," She replied, smiling. By this point, her canines had retracted back to their normal length, which was still much longer than the average human. Maybe it was all in her head, but she noticed the man looking at her in a strange way. She figured it was because of her strange appearance, compared to his. She, of course, stood out among all of the Vantha in Avanthal. "I often find myself realizing that I'm much less than I thought I was," She said. "I can't multitask for the life of me. But it's good to meditate on art, I think. I wish I could calm my own thoughts long enough to do the same," She muttered. Aurore wasn't one to sit still for very long; she had the habit of being consistently active. She looked at him closely, trying to study his face. He seemed genuine, more than anyone she'd met in a long time. She felt odd for thinking this, seeing as that she had only just met him. But something about him, something seemed different about him. She knew he had a past, one that she was sure was interesting. She was a tad startled when he mentioned that she wasn't from around here. She bit her lip nervously. "You're right, I'm an outsider. I'm from Kalinor, home of the Symenestra. I am Symenestran, you see," She said as she held up her hands again, showing her long talons. She took a pride in her claws, and she often filled them to keep them sharp and ready to use if needed. She smiled when he pulled back his hood, showing his sun-bright hair. It really was a beautiful color, one she enjoyed looking at. Her own hair was a bright silver, one that she had only seen among her own kind. "I admire your hair color. It reminds me of Syna herself." When he mentioned the statues, she made a small frown. She glanced around, looking at the different statues and sculptures once more. "Truth be told, I'm not enjoying them at all. I find art terribly boring. I wish I could enjoy it like others, but I just can't bring myself to even consider it. What about you? Do you enjoy art as much as I wish I could?" She asked with a thin smile on her mouth, her attempt at being humorous. OOCAurore obviously smiles way too much. :3