Tour de Syliras. (Airil)

[Markus Andres]

23rd of fall 510 AV.

Markus felt the sweat drip off of his brow, he let the string go and felt the as the arrow moved past his head. He knew instinctively that this arrow would be a bad one. The arrow barely hit the target. It was in the outermost circle. Markus could feel that today's training had been worthless in the long run. He had a single arrow that had hit within the inner 2 circles. The rest had been scattered across the target with little to no pattern at all. It annoyed him endlessly. He walked up to the target, pulled the arrows out and gathered them in a quiver before returning it to the armory near the archery range. He had been at it for a couple of bells and he hadn't been improving at all. He might as well just spend the day throwing dirt at something.

When he had changed into his civilian clothes, he walked out into the city and was determined to find something else to do with his time than training. Besides, he still felt sore all over his body after training the day before. His poor body probably couldn't handle the stress he was putting it through. He barely give his bruises time to heal before he got another one right on top of it. He walked through the city, wondering what to do, he could go drink. But it was too early for that. He reached into his pocket and felt the shape of an apple. He remembered that he had taken an apple from the morning table. He took it out and took a bite of it and remembered something he could do. Go pay Airil a visit.

"The Traveler's Row, right?" Incidentally, he was quite close to it, so he picked up the pace and was there within a couple of chimes. He stepped through the front door and looked around to see if Airil should be in the lobby for any reason, he didn't see any cloaked assassin looking-girl, nor did he see a pretty white-haired girl hiding behind a bush, so he assumed she wasn't in the lobby. He then proceeded up to the room she had told him she stayed at, he knocked a couple of times on the door waited a second and knocked once more. Before leaning against the frame, taking another bite out of his apple. Waiting for the shy Konti to answer her door.

[Airil]

Airil was sitting on her bed bent over an embroidery hoop. A pattern lay on her knee and she looked between it and the cloth trapped in the hoop. They didn't look at all similar. She gave a sigh of frustration as she poked herself in the finger again. Her fingers were dotted in little red spots where she'd accidentally stabbed herself, repeatedly. A knock at the door brought her attention away from her work. She wasn't expecting anyone. The knock sounded again so she called out for them to identify themselves. Markus? She supposed she had invited him to meet her again but hadn't really expected him to seek her out so soon. The hoop was set aside and she pulled on her new gloves on her way to the door. Markus was greeted with a very different sight when she opened the door. Gone was the shabby cloak, which considering her was calling on her at the inn made some sense. Instead she was wearing a dark blue blouse with high collar and long fluffy sleeves and simple black pants. The blouse had been a bit frilly for Airil's taste at first but the store assistant had talked her into it in the end. It was definitely more feminine than what she'd come to Syliras wearing. Beyond her clothes, she actually looked a bit haggard. It was quite apparent that she hadn't been sleeping well, possibly for the past few nights. She shifted back and forth on the balls of her feet. She smiled faintly at him, looking quite unsure. “Hi.”

[Markus Andres]

Markus did indeed notice the difference between her from the tavern and now. Her clothes were much different. Prettier. Of course, it was easy to find prettier clothes than a cloak. But it was a huge improvement. Markus took another bite out of the apple. Then he looked up at her face and noticed that she looked quite haggard. Maybe it was a Konti's version of being well-rested?

"Wow, you look great! The fabled Konti-beauty." Markus exclaimed when he was done looking at her. He flashed her a big smile and reached out to pat her on the shoulder. "What do you say that we go for a walk and show the world how pretty a Konti can be? I could give you a tour of the castle?"

Markus had already forgotten his annoyance with his own skill with the short bow when he had entered the tavern. Over the years Markus had learned to push away his own annoyance if it was bothering him and instead focus on something new. This time he was focusing on Airil who looked like she needed to have a good time.

[Airil]

She blushed at the compliment A tour? She wasn't so sure about about showing off, but a tour did sound interesting. She looked back at the hoop resting on her bed. She certainly wasn't getting anywhere with her current project and she'd spent the better part of her days and night working on her sewing. It was probably a good idea to get out. Her smile seemed a bit more sure when she looked back at him. The sewing had kept her mind well off her nightmares, without that fact she probably wouldn't be able to look at Markus without thinking of her dreams. As it was, his role in her nightmares didn't even cross her mind. “Let me... get my coat.” She moved away from the door, leaving it open and plucked a coat and scarf from the mess of clothing laying around the room. The coat was really meant to go over a dress, but the way it fit to her waist had appealed to her more than the bulky cloaks, plus she could wear it under a cloak if she really got cold. Konti weren't exactly meant for cold weather. She wrapped the scarf around her neck, efficiently hiding what her collar did not, and returned to the door., stepping out and locking it behind her. She turned to face Markus, obviously ready to go.

[Markus Andres]

Markus almost protested when she said she would get her coat, that sort of ruined the purpose of showing her off, but maybe she didn't like the idea of that? Ah well, they were fundamentally different there, Markus liked to show people his good sides, so his less appealing sides were left overshadowed. He took another bite out of the apple as he waited for the Konti to get dressed. Markus flashed her another smile when she was ready to go.

"Well then, let's go show you the castle in all its glory!" Markus said as he motioned for the Konti to follow him. Once they were down at the street level, he realized that they were hardly in the good parts of the city. He looked back at the Konti and reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

"So, how has the city been treating you thus far?" He said as he walked up one of the roads. "And disregard those bums the other day, they're quite rare." Markus gave her another smile to cheer the Konti up. This was to be a day for her and he enjoyed walking around the city, except now he had someone to talk to while he walked.

[Airil]

Airil followed Markus. Following was what she was good at after all. He seemed rather excited by the idea of this expedition and it was a little catching. He reached out to pat her shoulder for the second time since showing up at her door. She wondered about the gesture. Why the need to touch her? She didn't resist the gesture, nor look displeased but she didn't really give any indication that she sought the touch either. She followed him as they headed off down the street, wondering where he would take her. Really, she kind of liked Markus, even if she didn't know him very well. She never exactly had friends and wondered if this was how friendships started. “It's all right,” she answered, “I've mostly stayed in my room.” The idea of being couped up in her room for days on end didn't seem to bother her much. She really didn't fancy the idea of continually getting lost.

[Markus Andres]

Markus looked up the street trying to see if there was anything interesting to be said about this street, but as he had noted earlier, they weren't in the best parts of the city. No wonder Airil had spent the time in her room. Markus knew he had nothing to fear anywhere in the city, because of the cheer magnitude of knights in the city. He began to walk up the street.

"So, you haven't been out exploring on your own? And are there any places you really would like to see if you've heard of some places? If not, then I have a place in mind."

Markus said as he walked. He kept his pace slower than he normally would walk, he was with a girl who might not be used to walk in his very fast pace. He took a deep breath of not-so-fresh Syliran air, but it was a lot better than the air in the Traveler's Row.

"So, what do you know of this magnificent city?"

[Airil]

“I don't really know anywhere to go.” It was a statement that served to answer both of his first questions. The truth was really that she didn't feel like wandering the city alone. She'd been to the city as a child, but those memories often blurred together with memories of other places. Like, she could remember her mother showing her a wishing well, and she thought it was in Syliras, but she wasn't really sure. Besides, what was the point of wandering around other than to get out of her room for a bit. She didn't know what there was to see or do and what was the point of doing anything if she didn't have anyone to share it with. Her curiosity wasn't usually enough to drag her out into the world. She'd had an innate curiosity as a child, even if it had been stamped down a bit by her shy nature, but she'd learned as she grew that curiosity could be a painful thing. “Uhm.” She tried to think of something positive about Syliras, “it's safe?” She realized after she spoke that might not have been what he meant.

[Markus Andres]

Markus was partially pleased that she didn't know where to go, that meant he could show her places she hadn't heard about, and he was a little displeased that she hadn't taken it upon her self to seek out the city. But that did mean there was more for him to show her and he was planning to show her one of the more important buildings in the whole city. He turned a corner and waited for Airil to turn it as well. For she would find herself in an open place, or as open as it could be in a Castle. And there she would see the religious hot-spot for the whole city. Of course people had their own little private places, but this was the temple of all gods. Markus had been here many times. He began to walk across the open space towards the building. He would stop a bit away from it.

"This is The Temple of All Gods. This is where you go if you want to worship the gods. You may worship all gods here, as the name implies." Markus turned to the Konti. "Come on, let's go inside. Just for a quick peek. The building is just as awe-inspiring on the inside." Markus walked through the gates to the temple and looked and the scattered individuals and the occasional group of worshipers.

"So, Airil, any god or goddess you favor?" Markus asked the pale girl, trying to get to know her better and maybe have her open up a little to him.

[Airil]

Airil rounded the corner a step after Markus. A temple. Interesting that he would bring her to a temple. “All?” Somehow she didn't fully believe that but she followed him anyways. Her master had been a follower of Rhysol. Though he hadn't actually expected her to become a follower, it had pleased him greatly when she'd spent time in his personal chapel. She doubted the other worshipers here would look kindly if someone were to start saying prayers to that dark god. Truthfully, it had been Avalis that she would spend her time praying to in her master's chapel. Even if she'd spent her life believing she didn't have a gift, she still honored the mother of the Konti. Her mother had told her that Avalis still lived in Mura but it was probably just a tale. She stopped just outside the gates, looking up at the temple. Her hand disappeared under the hair covering her right eye. “Avalis, I guess.” She had a constant reminder of the goddess every time she looked in a mirror. It certainly wouldn't be honorable to walk into a temple while hiding a gift from one of the gods. She reluctantly pushed the hair out of the way as she passed through the gates. The mark growing from her eye shimmered softly as it caught the light. She looked to Markus, wondering what he'd say. It wasn't something to be ashamed about, she just felt so awkward with her mark in such a visible place.