Open Azure

[Nyra]

5th of Summer - 514 AV - Day
The Azure Market

A child walking on the street earned a massive amount of curious stares around her. Where the hell was her parents? What was she doing alone? She didn’t have to use anything to tell that they were perplexed, she could just simply tell. It was written on their faces like ink, and she wanted to keep moving to the Azure, and hide in the crowds. The stares were uncomfortable, and she didn’t want an adult to come up to her, asking the damn written questions on their faces. She could say that she was actually an Ethaefal, but who would believe that? A child, becoming an Eth?! It was unheard of.

The glances seemed to become glares, and she felt it like daggers hitting her back, slowly becoming even more curious, but they felt more accusing of something than anything. As she thought this, her face turned redder, her neck feeling warmer as she did so. She hated the sensation of it, especially in the damned sun, making her feel more warm than she usually was. She sat down at one of the benches by her own, trying to calm and cool herself down before jumping off to the Azure.

A person started muttering about her, which she could hear. She wasn’t deaf. She scowled, catching faint words, “ child.. alone.. should-” She promptly stood up and left, annoyed, wishing she looked a bit more like a teen, but no, she died as a child. She’d even take a old lady instead of this. At least she would be given respect instead of the mutterings. She rushed out of the area, starting with a walk then a run to the Azure, getting into the crowds, then slowing back down to a walk like the others.

She took a small, crumpled piece of paper from her pocket, saying all the things she wanted to buy, which was two things- a book about Auristics and a small fluffed animal. The latter was stupid to have and was really just an accessory, but.. she just craved it. She knew after she bought it, she would probably enjoy it for a few days, then just leave it alone, but she wanted it right now. It felt comforting, anyway, to get something that she would once had in her past life.

She walked along the stalls, looking for what she wanted.

OOC : Feel free to jump in and yell at Nyra or we can set up people ganging up at her, or something. Also, if you ask for her name right now, you’ll get Cassia instead of her real name ( Nyra ), feel free to pm if you want to do this complicated plot or w/e

[Xylona Redwater]

There weren't many times that the stubborn, bitter girl got out of her apartment. When she did, however, these were the kind of things that made her want to stay at home.

People whispered all around her, talking about the child drifting through the crowd. She didn't have to use auristics to know the that child was stressed. She sat down and stood up. She walked slowly to avoid stares and then ran to get away from them. When the child turned away from the street and bolted into the Azure Market, Xylona had a choice; she could continue on her way to Okomo Day festivities like she should, or she could follow the child and see what was so different that she was allowed alone on the streets.

There was barely a tick of thought involved. Xylona pelted after the child, calling out "Sorry!"s in her wake. When she finally caught up, the girl was reading off a crumpled paper. Hanging back, Xylona relaxed her eyes and focused on another layer of her sight.

Let's see what's different about you...

When the child's aura first came into view, Xylona was hit with a blinding wave of heat. The child was hot and probably needed to rest. However, after careful prodding there seemed to be more. A feeling. There was a strong feeling coming from the child. It was hard to pinpoint, as though the aura were slippery. Upon closer examination, she could make out that it was a negative emotion- a cloud that smelled of smoke and sweat. It smelled, to her, almost as though the child were paranoid. What reason would a child have to be paranoid?

Before Xylona could decipher the emotion, her eyes began to sting with the strain of a long focus. With a sigh, she relaxed and shifted back into her everyday focus once more. The only armor Xylona was left with were her fist and her tongue; one of which would be effective and one of which would be acceptable in public. Without further ado, the aurist lengthened her stride.

"Hey!" She called, waving as she approached. "You look thirsty, kid. You got money for a drink with you?" Xylona slid her hand into her pocket as she talked, retrieving three Topaz Kina. Something told her that learning about this individual was worth the price.

[Nyra]

Oh, the whispers were still here, and they were so very.. annoying. She wished she could banish voices from here still. She looked back to see if anyone was following her or talking like everyone was. It would be nice if she had an apparent mother or something, like a kelvic that looked old. Or young- old. Or something. When she looked back she saw a woman looking at her, with green eyes that reminded her of the forest, and were so very penetrating she looked away, and wanted to move on. Why did she look at her so intently? Hopefully she wasn’t a creeper or something.

“Hey!” Someone shouted, and oh, no, someone could be just asking her what in the world she was doing here- she turned for a brief second, frowning as she did so, to see the same woman that looked at her earlier so intently, and her frown grew deeper. She asked if she was thirsty, and if she wanted to get a drink with her. A drink of what? She hoped it wasn’t something with alcohol, but it probably was. And why should she go with her? She only just met her for a few seconds.

Yet, she could probably take her on if it resulted in some.. bad things. Flux could do a quick, hard punch and with some on her legs, she could get the heck out of there before she could do anything else, and if extreme cases, Reimancy, but she doubted she could use it before people ran up to her and stopping her from doing so, but she guessed Flux was enough, and besides, the keepers of where ever they were going were probably good enough to stop her if petch happened. She feigned hesitance for a few more seconds, and sighed, then nodded. She still didn’t trust her at all though.

[Xylona Redwater]

Xylona's concern and intrigue was only heightened when the child nodded. She was willing to get a drink with a stranger? This meant for sure that there was no one with her and no one expecting her home. It was frightening to to Xylona to think that the child had no one to care for her.

Trying her best to act welcoming, Xylona gestured down the street.

"The Star's Shadow shouldn't be too far. Might be crowded," which could be a good thing, she thought, "But they'll likely have some cold tea or something for you to drink."

After a brief pause, Xylona asked "Are you done in the market? I saw you had a list..."

Her question was left open-ended after the realization that it might sound as though she had been following the child for a long distance. Come to think of it, she had been following her. Guilt twanged at her heart, but did nothing to change her sharp demeanor.

Her fierce tongue still as intact as always, Xylona prodded on. "You know, you need to be careful out here. It can get dangerous on the streets unless you know what you're doing."

[Nyra]

"The Star's Shadow shouldn't be too far. Might be crowded," which could be a good thing, she thought, "But they'll likely have some cold tea or something for you to drink." She could, technically, drink alcohol, but the sounding of muffling feelings and such wasn’t what she wanted. A awkward pause, then, she asked, "Are you done in the market? I saw you had a list..." “Oh, yeah, I’m done.” she answered. She couldn’t really get a book of Auristics infront of her, could she? And she didn’t want to carry the animal as she went to a bar.. it would be odd, wouldn't it?

"You know, you need to be careful out here. It can get dangerous on the streets unless you know what you're doing." She sighed. “ Yes, I do.” It was annoying, the question. She couldn’t really tell her, because she’d believe it was impossible, say she was making it all up, and she couldn’t even prove it, unless they saw her shift. The comment was kind of ironic- telling her to be careful when in reality she was a person didn’t know.

“Lead the way, then? Name’s Cassia.” She still didn’t trust the woman, though she had supposed she had good intentions, but.. staring intently at her didn’t help.

[Xylona Redwater]

Cassia...

It was difficult for Xylona to understand anything about this girl. She was ready to leave the market without buying what she had come for, even though she had dashed to get there? She was ready to go to a bar with a strange woman she didn't know- to a place she didn't even know? Xylona frowned briefly, before returning to an emotionless face.

Xylona nodded to Cassia as she led her towards the tavern. Reluctantly she gave her own name. "I'm Xylona."

A ponderous silence fell between the pair as they wound their way to the tavern. For Xylona, it was easy to locate due to the wide range of noise and activity stemming for the building. Pushing her way in, Xylona looked behind her and resisted the urge to hold out her hand for the child. Rather, she gestured lamely.

"Come on."

[Nyra]

Walking was boring, honestly, and her mind tended to just fade away, but she couldn’t this time. Hell, the woman could just as easily snatch her somewhere else and well, sell her to somewhere less pleasant, maybe again? “I’m Xylona,” She said, breaking the monotony of the walk, as she opened the door. She gestured to get her inside, and she hesitantly went inside. It wasn’t what she’d think what a bar was, more.. messy, rather than built with all skyglass. Realizing she was standing right at the door like an idiot, she moved to the side, not really sure what to do.

What did adults to in bars? Did they just drink like idiots? She certainly didn’t like the smell the place had- alcohol smelled strong, and it just had this.. smell. The place opened to the courtyard with chairs, illuminated by shrubs and small trees. She didn’t really how that worked either, but Lhavit was full of magic, so she supposed it was that. One of the waiters looked hesitantly at her, probably noting the size of her. She knew her size was small, but she pretended she felt kind of okay going into here, but the smell was getting to her nerves and as she thought about the possibilities that could happen, it made her feel less comfortable here. She took a quick hesitating glance at Xylona, before looking back at the waiter. How did bars even work? She felt so clueless in these.. adult places. Why did people like drinking again? The thought of letting your mind run free and not knowing what was happening the next day worried her.

“So, uhm…” she whispered to Xy, her voice clearly clueless and confused as she pretended to look around again, but the view was already known to her. She looked at her pocket, which had a few kinas for the shopping, which wasn’t used.

OOC: Sorry for long wait, xy

[Xylona Redwater]

OOCNo problem.
"So, uhm..."

The girl's hesitant words trailed off, lost in thought. Or perhaps she had nothing to say in the first place. People had an irritating habit of talking when there was no reason to be talking that Xylona tried to avoid.

She waved to the closest bartender and held up a finger meaning "one". The man nodded in response and scurried away, leaving Xylona to pick a table for the odd pair. Once seated, Xylona frowned and leaned forward, her brow furrowed. Although her expression may lend to thoughts of anger and suspicion, she was more curious than anything.

She examined Cassia for a chime, watching the way her childish lips stayed set in a line and her deep, chocolatey eyes darted from side to side. Scars painted the skin of one arm, drawing even more questions. With practiced ease, Xylona slipped into the focus that allowed Cassia's aura to come swimming into view. It was wavering between a dull brown- which usually indicated a lack of mood or interest- and a vibrant yellow that Xylona had yet to understand. She had never seen it before, save on surreal entities and bizzare enchanted items; Cassia was clearly neither. Still locked onto the girl's aura, she posed her first question.

"What happened to your arm there?"

[Nyra]

Xy quickly moved them to the table once she had motioned to the bartender, and they sat down. Seeing the small box of nuts on the table, she eagerly grabbed it before Xy could. The visit here was a bit fruitless in reality- nothing really interesting she could do besides take the tiniest sip of a drink, maybe, but she doubted it. Almost at the halfway of the box, she looked up, only to see Xy looking at her with suspicion. What did she do? Did she want the nuts? It almost seemed like she was looking right through her and into her thoughts, which made her want to just stop thinking but that she couldn't do.

She put the nuts back on the table, pushing it toward her if she wanted the rest, assuming that she wanted them, and suddenly she asked what happened too her arm. Her eyes shot upwards again from the nuts, her hand moving to the scars that probably made Reimancy happen. The question was full of curiosity, but not with.. gentleness. It was more aggressive, if that made any sense.

"I.. I dunno..." It was partially true, yet partially false. It probably didn't sound confident enough, so she went on- "I've had them since I remember. I just don't know when or where, honestly.." She said, compelled to say more as her eyes seemed so.. Threatening. It kind of scared her to be honest. "Why were you staring at me earlier? And why now? There's nothing much for you to look at, isn't there? Do I have a stain on my shirt or something?" As she said the last sentence, she looked at her shirt, her pants, moving her hands away from the scar again, hoping she had lied well.

BoxcodebyVerena

[Xylona Redwater]

OOCBeautiful Boxcode, Nyra! Kudos to Verena.

All at once, Xylona remembered why she didn't want children- besides the fact that she saw men as ignorant that was.

Children were simple. They thought only of the now, never of the past or future. They didn't absorb information as they should and they didn't care if anyone else cared about them. Ignorant Rakva, that's what they are.

Mentally, Xylona patted herself on the back for use of her mother's favorite swear. It was one of the few things she learned of Benshiran culture.

With a nearly inaudible sigh, Xylona tried to weigh how much to tell Cassia. As with before, she did not want to reveal anything but did not trust her own skill in lying. This time, she opted for lying and hoped for the best.

"I thought I saw something around you. I guess it was just the light." It's close to the truth anyway.

Luckily, Xylona was saved from making anything else up when the bartender delivered her drink. He placed a glass of water in front of Cassia, nodding politely at her. Xylona handed him enough coins to cover their drinks and leave the man a small tip for his kindness. The exchange was over soon, but Xylona hoped it was enough to draw the littler one off track.

"So, Cassia." She stumbled over the name and the amount of "S"s in the sentence but quickly regained her composure. "Ah, if you don't mind me asking, why aren't your parents doing the running around? Wouldn't you want to go play at the park or something?"

That's what childhood is about, right?