Closed All That Glitters...

[Alses]

Timestamp: 11th Day of Autumn, 514 A.V.
Location: Surya Plaza

The day was crisp and clear, with the first nip in the air that heralded Autumn, the sky a cool powder-blue stretching off to infinity. Lhavit glittered in the bright sunshine, the mists from the peaks all around drifting beneath the city such that it seemed to float, ephemeral, on a raft of cloud.

The air was full of a thousand smells as the city – never truly asleep – woke fully after the Dawn Rest. Bakeries fired up their ovens, sending great billows of the scent of fresh bread wafting down the avenues, boulevards and courtyards, whilst other purveyors of the many and varied comestibles that Lhavit enjoyed also opened up, ready to feed the morning rush.

Mushrooms sputtered in pans, skillets flashed and sizzled, full of delicious meats and vegetables carefully cultivated on the Sharai, sending up plumes of fragrant steam that mixed and mingled with all the other sights and smells of the city to create an all-pervasive odour that fired the tastebuds in anticipation.

Small wonder, then, that all the tiny stalls and cheery restaurants and cafes did a roaring trade every morning, perfectly poised to catch the crowds as they flocked from home to work – or, indeed, vice-versa.

Alses had always liked to wander through the city, even when she’d been a courier and her whole job had revolved around its streets and boulevards, its cul-de-sacs and courtyards and all the sudden alleyways and cut-downs that were the characteristic of an ancient city growing organically, without much in the way of the dead hand of central planning.

Today was no different; she’d risen early, far before she ever needed to, but then that was the lot of the Synaborn – to rise perfect and fulfilled with the dawn, energized by Syna’s photon rain, tireless and indefatigable for all the hours that the life-giving sun burned in the sky.

Her little escort might have resented the early bells of activity, but in true absent-minded Ethaefal fashion Alses had never really given it a thought, going about her business and her diversions exactly as she would have if she had no set of shadows.

Ah well – they were paid for that sort of thing.

Alses had a smile on her face as she moved through the crowds, her movement eased by the deference the city showed its forty-six Ethaefal. She was instantly recognizable and recognized by the majority; quite aside from being one of the Favoured and Chosen, she’d been a prominent member of the city for some time now.

That had its ups and downs, admittedly; open surgeries were always a trial – everything she did always upset someone – but here, with the stallholders, traders and transients who were less affected by what she did, she was greeted with smiles and calls of recognition instead of anything more confrontational or hostile.

Thus, the smile remained and Alses spent some time on her way to the Plaza proper simply enjoying the company – and regard – of the citizens, using her powerful auristics to experience richly all the treats on offer, without paying – which she occasionally felt slightly guilty about – and crucially, without actually having to put food in her mouth.

Like a magnet, though, despite Alses’ original intentions, the discreet shopfront of the Shining Diamond drew her eye. It had taken her a while to even notice the city’s premier jewellery shop at first, tucked away as it was for the leisurely perusal of a discerning and elite clientele, which these days included her.

Perhaps they’d at last have a new shipment of black opals in from…Alses’ face creased into a frown as she tried to remember exactly where the gems came from. Not around Lhavit, that was for sure – there were no mines in the vicinity.

Which, when one thought about it, was most odd.

Come to think of it, where did Touch of Fire get its bar stock or ore from?

The crowds flowed smoothly around Alses as she stood there, frowningly contemplating this new aspect of city life that had never before exercised her faculties. Fortunately, Lhavit was used enough to the absent-minded Ethaefal not to find anything too strange in a statuesque figure stopped dead in front of an unremarkable shop, even in the main shopping plaza.

[Cecily]

Cecily wandered around the plaza aimlessly, as she was still recovering from her horrible fall. Luckily, she had regained a lot of strength, and was able to walk around. She let out a heavy sigh into the fresh Autumn wind, thinking about the lovely Summer that had gone by far too quickly, and ended quite abruptly and painfully. She hadn't gotten a single thing accomplished last season, so Cecily was determined to make up for it in the current season. First, she knew there was one extremely important task she needed to complete; getting a job. This would be the first step in becoming a famous jewelcrafter.
Cecily was quite skilled in jewelry crafting for her age, if she didn't say so herself. She began to speak aloud to herself, "Hmm... where does everyone even get all of their materials from?" Cecily giggled to herself. "Why did I just think of that now? Maybe I can go around asking different shops if they're low on any gems or minerals, and then eventually I'll save up to have my very own shop and use the place that I found for my own crafting!"
That frivolous thought of hers put Cecily in a bit of a better mood than she had been just moments ago. She trotted along, not really paying much attention to what was in front of her. She felt she didn't have to worry, since this was one of the rare occasions Cecily actually put her hair up. It took her quite a while to do so, and it was only recently that she had been able to do it with the help of her mother.
Cecily wished that she could stop by the Good Book, but she didn't really think it was in her budget. She really wanted to focus on getting a job. But who would even hire her? She had no prior experience that was documented, and she didn't really have anything to show for her skills, either. In addition to that, Cecily couldn't even buy the materials necessary because she was unable to afford it. Her mood slowly became soured from the very thought of her struggles. She knew she had to persevere, but she still didn't like thinking about it. It irritated her to no end that not even one person was willing to even attempt to acknowledge her skills. Cecily also felt that maybe a lot of people thought that she was very naive and easy to take advantage of, or she was some little girl with a big dream and a big mouth but actually was lacking in skill.
By this point, Cecily was fuming, stomping around in the streets, probably freaking some people out. This had never happened to her before, she had always been pleasant no matter how she was feeling inside, so why was then any different from any other time?
Of course, the more she questioned her feelings, the more irritated she became. Cecily continued to march angrily throughout the plaza, still not paying attention to where she was going, and therefore she did not see the Ethaefal that she was heading straight into.

[Alses]

Cecily might not have noticed her dangerous trajectory, as occupied in internal fulmination as she was, but others most certainly did. Key amongst them were Alses’ twin Shinya escorts, trying – and failing, as ever – to be discreet in her presence, and not least Alses herself, her bright attention drawn to the thunderous aura closing rapidly, burning bright and revolving with deadly speed like an ephemeral morningstar.

It was still early in the season, and Alses was still getting used to the change which had stripped away the golden blonde of summer and replaced it with the burning crimson of Autumn, had retuned her jewel-toned skin to topazes and rubies and garnets and all the warm colours of the flames, and had redyed her glorious crown-of-horns in the gold sucked from her hair.

As a consequence, even though it happened every year, for a few days Alses felt like a stranger in her own body, and the changed appearance made her jump every time she looked into the mirror or caught sight of her own fleeting reflection flashing from window-glass or still water or polished metal or any of the hundred and one polished and gleaming surfaces that the Diamond of Kalea sported.

Perhaps that explained the slight delay in recognizing the imminent danger of a collision – along with her deep cogitation which reduced her awareness of the surroundings. Under normal circumstances, Alses would have gracefully and naturally moved out of the way: forewarned, after all, is forearmed.

As it was, though, she realised too late, taking only a step back and half-turning to avoid Cecily as she approached, neither movement being quite enough to take her out of the line of fire.

Her guards, though, bless them, saw the impending collision as well and acted before she could, moving like fish through the crowds and one of them putting a heavy hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Mind your step,” he growled, voice deep and rough but not immediately threatening – that wasn’t the way of the Shinya, after all. “You could to knock someone over, walking around like that,” he added even as he removed his restraining hand and nodded over in Alses’ direction, to where the radiant Ethaefal was looking directly at Cecily and Shinya both now, momentarily appearing like a deer caught in a hunter’s sights, briefly paralysed by their regard.

She caught herself very quickly, though, approaching with a graceful quickstep, absolutely sure in the knowledge that anyone in her path would move out of the way – which they did, and with alacrity at that.

“What’s made you so angry, miss?” Alses asked, one eyebrow arched in question. “We do hope it’s not something I’ve done.” Sotto voce, she added, unable to resist the self-mocking jab: “It usually is.”

Under more normal circumstances, she’d not have instantly made reference to what she felt in the girl’s aura, but it was so prominent, so obvious to even mundane observation, that Alses felt quite comfortable in referencing it; Cecily was practically shouting her fury to the skies, after all.

Mentally, Alses was already girding herself to hear a grievance of some sort about the Department, or one of the laws of the city, or even just against her and the fact that she was an Ethaefal, one of the favoured few who were, admittedly, rather over-represented in the city government.

[Cecily]

Cecily looked up at the Ethaefal with awe. She stood speechless for a moment, also taking into account that this person must be in an important figure, and that's why the scary guard told her to watch where she was going. At first, she was a bit scared of the guards, but when Cecily saw the Ethaefal, the fear melted into curiosity. Cecily felt the guards staring daggers at her, and realized she had been standing there staring at the creature in silence. This was probably not a very good idea.

"Oh! I'm very sorry, Miss! I meant no hostility, I assure you!" Cecily spoke up quickly. "My name is Cecily Lightfoot, and seeing as you have guards, you must be an important figure! I appreciate you worrying about how I'm feeling Miss, and I'm actually a little disappointed in myself for letting it show!"

Cecily bowed respectfully. In all honesty, she had actually never seen an Ethaefal before. She had always been either not at the right place at the right time, out of town, or off in her own little world. She never really paid much attention to politics and the sort, so there wasn't really a reason she would have bumped into one anyway- literally and figuratively.

Her mind then drifted to the thought of how easily her feelings had been read. Had it been that obvious? she thought to herself. Even when she was feeling like this, she was fairly adept in hiding it. In addition to that, why would the Ethaefal think that it was something she had done? Cecily had never even met an Ethaefal before, let alone this one particular.

Cecily looked up at the newly seasoned Ethaefal, with her probably new fall color scheme. Cecily had never met an Ethaefal before, but that didn't mean she was ignorant to their features. "I'm sorry, but why would I have a problem with you, Miss? This is the first time I've even met an Ethaefal, so I think you might be confused. Of course, I, on the other hand, might be confused as well. Although, I would have remember a creature of such fascination if I had encountered one once before, don't you think? I don't mean to imply that you are mistaken, since from what I've read, you are extremely intelligent beings."

Cecily quickly closed her mouth once she realized she had began rambling to a complete stranger whose guards probably wanted to knock her into the next season. She also forgot a bit of what she was even talking about. Cecily didn't exactly know what to do at this point, so she politely stepped out of the way, and apologized once more.