Tour de Syliras. (Airil)

[Markus Andres]

"Avalis? Hmm, oh, this is embarrassing, I can't seem to remember what she is the goddess of." Markus said with a sheepish grin as he looked around the temple, trying to see if he could find any obvious reminder of her coverage or if she had any obvious followers in the room, chanting her name. But he didn't see any of that.

"So, do you want to leave an off...." That was when Markus noticed the Konti's right eye. He didn't recall seeing that the other night. In fact, he didn't recall seeing her right eye at all until now. Always covered by her long hair. He had just figured it was her kind of style. Now he couldn't help staring at it, just like when he had met that girl, Diane, the Vantha. And her mesmerizing ever-changing iris-color. It would be a couple of seconds before Markus' brain got back on the tracks again. "-ering..."

"I er, do you? Want to leave an offering?" These words slowly left his mouth as he tried to stop himself from talking before he said something stupid. "Is that a Gnosis mark?" He finally blurted out, maybe a little too loud for he thought he saw some people turn to see what he was talking about. But his eyes were locked on the flower like thing next to her eye. Markus leaned a little forward, looking at the mark closer for a second before he realized how incredible rude he was being. Not to mention how uncomfortable the poor Konti mustn't feel. He reminded himself of the Drunk from the other day. Being obnoxiously rude and violating her personal space.

Markus jumped back as if he had been shocked and looked incredibly embarrassed by his own behavior. His head snapped down so he was looking directly at the ground. Keeping his eyes away from her body.

"I am sorry. It's just... I've never seen a mark before..." He wouldn't even look up while saying this.

[Airil]

Avalis is mother of the Konti and,” she hesitated knowing what would happen if she told him the rest, “and Goddess of Divination.” Her face started to fill with color as he noticed her mark and then more so when other people turned to look. She'd expected the reaction but that didn't make it easier to bear. As he leaned forward, she started leaning back, trying to maintain a certain distance between them. Airil resisted the urge to cover her mark again. She really felt it would be rude here in the temple, even though others with marks could cover theirs so easily. But hers had been put in an obvious place, she still wished she knew why. “I was born with it.” Her fingers touched her mark lightly. Markus had made her uncomfortable with his looking, but she kind of understood. It was the reason that she kept the mark covered, a lot of people had never seen one. Her blush had faded without his continuing scrutiny. The fact that he was now trying very hard to not look was rather... sweet. She touched his shoulder lightly and offered him a small smile if he looked up again. “It's all right, and before you ask, I can't see the future.”

[Markus Andres]

Markus felt very stupid and his eyes didn't stray away from the floor, even when she spoke to him and said she had been born with that mark. He really wanted to ask about it, but he still felt too stupid to just have blurted that out loud. Mentally berating himself for his own eagerness when he saw the mark. Markus felt her touch on his shoulder and he looked up, it took much of his willpower to look only at her left eye when she said that she couldn't see the future. Markus hadn't even thought about that, his brain had decided to stop dead in its tracks. But now that he was looking at her again his brain process was slowly picking up again and he could see the lingering colors on her face. So, it wasn't only Markus who had blushed by his little foolish stunt. Markus wanted to apologize again, but he knew it would only sound pathetic if he apologized after she had said it was alright. Still, he couldn't let go of the feeling that he had been a complete buffoon.

Markus took a deep breath, trying to regain his former composure so he could have a good tour around the city with Airil and not just stand there like a mute idiot. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, naturally making sure he wasn't blowing air in Airil's face. But her low stature made it quite easy to breathe over her. Something he would never say out loud. He opened his eyes and flashed a bright smile at Airil.

"Is it only the future you can't see? How about the present?" 3...2...1. Realization. "I mean past..." Markus wasn't entirely back to his carefree inquisitive nature, but it was a good start. "And you never answered my question, would you like to go pray to her? Or should we continue the guided tour?"

[Airil]

Poor Markus. She watched as his eyes closed and felt like she knew what he was doing, she'd had to regain her composure that way many times. She wished she'd considered the fact that he might feel bad about his actions, and it hadn't really been his fault, she should have warned him. His smile was slightly reassuring, she hoped he really did feel better. It hadn't occurred to her before but she was starting to like Markus, and so quickly. She still barely knew him but he had a kind air about him that made him hard not to like. However, this fact scared her. If he got to know her, he probably wouldn't want to have anything to do with her. The thought brought her dreams back to her her mind and her heart fell. She needed to not get close to him, however likable and kind he was. She pushed the thoughts from her mind for the moment. They'd go on with their tour and she'd worry about distancing herself from him later. “Actually, some Konti can see the present, like things that are happening somewhere else,” she paused, “we can continue. But thank you for showing me this place.” She offered him another smile. She purposely avoided the question about seeing the past, she still wasn't comfortable with that subject.

[Markus Andres]

Markus turned towards the exit when Airil said they could continue. He send a glance around, they were no longer the center of attention. Markus was pleased with that, he would hate if someone would approach Airil and then scare the girl or make her feel uncomfortable. The gods would know that Markus had done a great job of that already.

"So, you are basically saying, that somewhere out there, a pervert could be watching me when I am bathing?" Markus said giving Airil a gentle nud with his elbow. But as he joked with it - it dawned on him that people like Airil had an enormous power if they learned how to utilize it correctly or learned to use it in context of war. Markus had a unwilling shudder go down his spine. It was a terrifying thought. But then he remembered he was in the middle of the strongest castle in the world and in this castle was the most powerful army in the world. Markus felt safe here. Safe enough to not carry around his blade all the time. He looked to see if Airil was still with him. Quite pleased to see she was keeping up.

"Whenever I look at this city, I find it amazing that they managed to stuff so much inside this castle. The castle was built first, then the city was built within the castle. That is why some places are so cramped..." Markus explained. He didn't know what to say, so he just told her a little about the castle.

"If you have any questions about the city or the Syliran Knights, feel free ask away." He didn't know much about the city's history, only the history seen from the knight's viewpoint, but he figured if he just kept remembering what he knew of the knights and the city, then he knew the city's important moment and how everything benefited the knights in some way.

[Airil]

“Avalis doesn't grant her gift to many so... I hope not.” She frowned, the thought that someone might use their Sight for such a purpose was rather disturbing., she completely missed the fact that he was attempting to joke. She followed him quietly, still not really paying attention to where they were going. It wasn't really important to her. Actually nothing was really important to her anymore. She was just floating through life now, trying to remain unnoticed by the majority of the world. Death had taken everything she'd ever loved from her and though she didn't have the courage to follow, she wasn't really living anymore anyways. She hadn't even begun to think of what she might start doing now. The future was beyond her, she was only living in the now and right now Markus was speaking. It was kind of nice that he was really proud of his city. A crowd moved passed them, exemplifying how cramped the place could be. Airil slipped her arm around Markus's, afraid of getting separated from him. A question did occur to her. “Is there a wishing well in Syliras?” She was still wondering if her mother had made that up.

[Markus Andres]

Markus was getting used to her silent nature. The crowd thickened as they moved through one of the busier places in Syliras, around the shops and he made sure to keep his speed so slow that Airil wouldn't get lost in the crowd and he constantly sent glances backwards. That was when he felt an arm reach around his own and hang on to him. Markus felt the temperature in his cheeks go up a couple of degrees. He made sure to look away from her until he knew his blush was either dying down or was gone completely. He tried to see if he could talk about anything in the other direction. So that it wasn't suspicious that he was looking away.

"Wishing well... Hmm... Yes. Yes. We got one of those. Let's go find it, shall we. Yes..." Markus still didn't look directly at Airil. He lifted his arm that hadn't been hijacked by Airil and pointed up the street. "It's in that direction, just a little further than The Welcome Home, our local orphanage up there." Markus led the Konti through the crowd of people. For some reason he felt awesome having her by his side. He could imagine the look on Richard's face if he saw him right now. Markus grinned a little at the idea. But they passed through the worst parts of the crowd and Markus hoped that Airil wouldn't let go of his arm.

"My knowledge of the Wishing Well is actually pretty limited. So, I hope you don't mind if I don't have an interesting story to tell..." Markus apologized beforehand. He then looked up the road and they could see the Well standing in the middle of the road. "Ah, here it is." That was all he had to say.

[Airil]

Airil let go of his arm as they approached the well. The area was quieter than the others they had passed through. She approached the well, her fingers grazing the flowers that someone had placed in the bucket, and looked down into the well. “My mother took me to a wishing well once,” she said quietly, she suspected this was the same well. “She said, that a ghost, a woman who'd died of some tragedy, guarded the well, waiting. When someone would come and drop in a coin and wish with all their heart, the woman would appear and grant that wish. But, if the person was bad and made a selfish wish, the woman would curse them before disappearing.” She tried to think if there was more to the story. It was pretty feeble, but that was all she remembered. Airil looked back up at Markus, still leaning over the well. She realized that she'd probably said more to him just now, than since they had met and she blushed a little at the thought.

[Markus Andres]

Markus stood by Airil near the well. Listening to her tale about a well she once had been at when she had been a child. Markus was surprised by the Konti's tale, not because of the context, but because it was her telling it, he had begun to assume that she would stay silent unless he talked to her. It pleased him to hear her talk about something he hadn't directly asked her about. He hoped it meant she was warming up to him and would be move talkative in the future. Or, it meant that her memory of a wishing well had a caused a strong emotional response. Either case, Markus was pleased none the less.

When she looked up at him, he would give her a small smile and give her a pat on the shoulder, a light pat, he had no intention to push her into the well.

"Did your mother wish by the well back then?" Markus asked in a silent tone of voice. Much different from his normal jovial tone. It was a tone of voice he assumed instinctively every time he felt it was appropriate to keep the conversation more private. He would have used the same tone in the Temple, had he not been unable to contain his joy at seeing a Gnosis Mark.

[Airil]

Airil looked back down into the well. It was interesting how Markus's tone had changed from his usual. She hadn't heard him sound so somber before. She explored the memory, trying to remember if her mother had made a wish. “No wishes. You shouldn't ask for things unless you really need them.” That's what her mother had told her. It hurt to think about her mother even after all this time. Airil wondered how her life would have been different if her mother hadn't gotten sick. Her mother would have protected her. She'd never have been a slave and she could have been friends with Markus without worry. She really wanted to be his friend. Her attention returned to Markus and she studied him in the light. She hadn't bothered pushing her hair back in place, leaving her mark visible. This wasn't the time to think about the past. Markus was trying to do something nice for her by showing her around. Even if she couldn't remain friends with him in the long run, she still needed to show her appreciation for what he was doing now. “Where do you like to go?” Her throat closed around the words, her emotions making it difficult to get them out clearly.