12B : Black Rock (Closed)

by **Amrita** on November 5th, 2014, 5:45 am

Behind the front desk stood a tall, brawny man bent over the obsidian countertop, wiping it down with a wet cloth. As she got closer, Amrita noticed that he wore a pristinely white sleeveless shirt so tight-fitted that it seemed to stretch over his deep tan skin.

“Excuse me, I—”

“Wait there,” he snapped, his eyes fixated on scrubbing a certain stubborn speck of dirt. “I’ll be with you shortly.” His gruff interruption struck her as awfully rude.

“I’m actually here to see Yamin,” she retorted, her deadpanned voice making it clear that she was slightly miffed.

“He’s not available. If you want a room, you can take a seat and wait. Otherwise, come back later.”

Well, his answer was certainly frank.

Avoid Kullin.

Oh right. This must be him.

With his eyes downcast, the man continued to clean, barely disturbed by her presence. She looked around the lobby. There were quite a few people mulling about. A group of women sat around a table in the middle of the lounge area, playing a laidback game of cards. She briefly considered joining them. A number of chairs were strewn across the floor, but none of them seemed particularly comfortable. Instead, she chose to leisurely pace in front of the counter, humming the tune to a lovely little Benshiran folk song.

It took a couple chimes for his eyes to shoot an annoyed glance at the woman now prancing in front of him. She stepped left and bounced right, then pirouetted thrice across the floor in harmony with her humming. The smile on her lips grew wider when she noticed him staring. The song grew into a crescendo and Amrita readied herself for a fun finale. With a nimble leap, she sprung high up and spun, feeling herself almost float in mid-air. The dancer landed somewhat softly, but a slight stumble made her giggle.

She felt light. Her cheeks tinged as she slowly sauntered up to the front desk, holding Kullin’s dark brown eyes in her own jade gaze. She couldn’t help but curl her lips mischievously upwards in answer to his perplexed brows.

“What the petch were you doing?” He asked, cautiously.

“Dancing.” She grinned.

“Yea, okay.” The furrow between his brows grew deeper. “I saw that. I just don’t understand why. Are you dead?”

The question took her aback, making her cringe in confusion. “What? No, I’m fine. I just like to dance when I’m bored.” She tried to sound matter-of-fact. It was true that the dancer loathed monotony of any kind. But initially, she really just wanted to grab his attention. And it worked. “Why did you—”

“Never mind,” he waved a dismissive hand, “just give me your name. You wanted a room, right? The cheapest one available is 100 Ashls.”

It had been a while since she’d met someone who grated her so quickly. His words were brash, direct, and free of cordiality. But none of what he’d said was inherently wrong, and she knew it. Why should she be upset? Amrita closed her eyes and inhaled, letting the air clear her feelings of hostility.

“Amrita,” she stated, her voice kinder than it had been earlier. Her gaze fell to the glassy polish of the countertop. “From the tents of Mizra, of the Sons of Rapa.” She looked up at him and smiled. “A pleasure to meet you, sir. And you are?”

The man left the washrag and grabbed a black-feathered quill from the side. He moved swiftly as he dipped the quill in ink and opened a large, leather bound book of what was presumably the list of residents. He proceeded to scribe her name onto a fresh page. “I’m Kullin.” He stopped moving. Something occurred to him, spurring his fingers to comb through his hair. “Listen, if you wanted Yamin to give you a room for a lower price, that won’t happen,” Amrita could feel the frustration in his tone. “We’ve got our share of things to pay for, so you won’t get a discount for being a wide-eyed Benshiran. If you don’t have 100, I suggest you find somewhere else to stay.”

She sighed. He judged her intentions correctly, of course, but that didn’t excuse the fact that he was being so— No. He wasn’t being rude. He was honest.

“I understand,” she replied, calmly. “I’ll pay 100, thanks.”

Kullin didn’t expect the passivity in her answer. She noticed his expression relaxing, and what seemed like the faintest hint of a smile. Amrita held out the coins in her hand and he grunted a non-verbal approval. He then crouched down to pull out a drawer full of keys and rummaged through it until he found the one he was looking for.

“Here, room 12B.” The iron key stayed in his hand as he stared at the Benshira standing before him. Kullin took a moment to survey the woman, feeling no restraint as his eyes wandered over her body. Strangely, Rita could tell that he wasn’t ogling her assets. He looked as if he was searching for something.

Apparently satisfied, he handed her the key. She clutched the cold metal between her fingers and felt a shiver crawl down her spine while she waited for Kullin to give her more information. He watched her and nodded, mumbling something unintelligible before picking up the quill. A checkmark and her room number was written into the column next to her name before he went back to wiping the desk. Taking his silence as a sign that she was free to go, Amrita turned to walk towards the stairs.

A gruff voice imparted words of advice in her direction:

“If you don’t want pests, keep it tidy.”

by **Maro** on November 22nd, 2014, 5:12 pm

12B

“Exotic,” they had said. Maro wasn’t really sure what that meant, especially in relation to beauty, but that’s what the Svefra on the docks had told him. “An exotic beauty.”

He had been on the docks haggling with some of the seafarers for some of their stronger fishing line, hoping it would help him land larger fish. Too often lately, his line had snapped while he was trying to bring in a fish he had hooked. While he was there, the Svefra had told him of a newcomer to the island. Maro didn’t doubt the sailors’ descriptions, but they were sailors and as such always tended to think they had discovered a siren any time a beautiful woman arrived. Regardless, there was a newcomer to Black Rock, and that made Maro both excited and curious. It had been a while since any living person had come to Black Rock to stay. He paid for the fishing line, forgot to take it with him, and ran home to tell Autumn.

The morning was a foggy one, and as he slowed to open the door to their home, Maro absently tried to brush a swirl of the fog out of his face. His hand cut through the spectral cloud, and it danced an erratic pattern before it slowed and stayed where it had been. He pushed open the door.

“Autumn?”

She materialized by the window and caught the wild, excited look in his eyes. It seemed like she never missed anything. “Maro, what’s happening?”

“What’s exotic beauty?”

Unsure as to where Maro was going with his question, Autumn answered, her own curiosity peaking. “It’s a different type of beauty, I suppose, but still beauty nonetheless. Who said it about who?”

“The sailors at the dock about a newcomer.”

Autumn nodded. “It’s usually used to described the beauty of someone foreign. I imagine whoever it is, she’s Benshira… or maybe Vantha, though they don’t tend to come around here.” She paused and looked at him. “You want to meet this person, don’t you?”

Maro nodded. “She’s the first newcomer we’ve had in a while, first living one at least.”

“Do you have any idea where she is?”

Maro nodded again. “Someone said she was looking to find a place to stay at the Dormitories.”

Gesturing to the door, Autumn placed her hand against his back to push him toward it. Her touch sent a swift chill down his back while she spoke. “We’ll see if we can find her. If she seems busy though, we’ll leave her be. We mustn’t be rude.”

Maro opened the door for Autumn, shutting it gently behind him as he stepped out and followed Autumn toward the Dormitories. Along their way, they stopped at the local coffee shop, Cookies and Scream, and bought some baked goods. Though it was nothing elaborate and it wasn’t homemade, the two hoped the simple gesture might make the newcomer to the island feel a little more at home. They arrived at the Dormitories just as the man at the desk was handing a young woman a key.

Autumn whispered to Maro. “That’s got to be her at the desk. I agree with the Svefra. Exotic beauty.”

Maro looked. He still didn’t understand what the difference was. She was foreign, sure, but that didn’t seem to change her beauty at all. Something about her almost suggested she was trying to disguise her beauty a bit, but it seemed a nearly impossible task. When the young woman stepped away from the desk, Autumn started forward, materializing herself in full color, and Maro followed off to one side and slightly back.

Catching the woman before she made it too far, Autumn reached out and touched her as gently as she could on the shoulder, knowing that not everyone found the freezing touch as pleasant and comforting as Maro did. When the woman turned, Autumn smiled. “Excuse me. I'm Autumn, and this is Maro. I hope we're not being bothersome, but I don’t recognize you, and I'm generally pretty good with remembering faces. Are you new here?”

Maro stepped forward and, uncertain as to how he should greet the woman, held out one hand with the plate of cookies and the other for a hand shake. He beamed a warm but awkward smile and hoped he didn’t look as ridiculous as he felt.

by **Amrita** on December 1st, 2014, 6:16 am

She gasped; the icy touch caught her by surprise. Unsure as to whether the feeling was only a figment of her imagination, Amrita nervously held her breath. She waited a tick before she was sure she felt a presence behind her. Had the dancer incurred the wrath of a vengeful spirit already?

When she turned to face the woman’s gentle smile, it immediately put her at ease. Relieved, Amrita exhaled, returning the smile with that of her own. It was such a pleasure to find that the ghost was enchantingly friendly. She beamed when the woman’s charming companion stepped up to offer a hand and a plate of scrumptious-looking cookies.

“For me?” Staring at the plate with widened eyes, she was incredulous at how welcoming they were. “Gods, thank you! This is awfully kind of you.” Amrita took the man’s hand in both of hers and shook it as she slightly bowed in gratitude. “Yes, I’m new, I just arrived at the docks this morning. I’m Amrita, by the way. From the tents of Mizra, and the sons of Rapa.” She let go of his hand and clutched the plate of delights.

“Autumn and Maro, was it? Do you live here?” By 'here', she meant the Dormitories, but Amrita didn't stop to think if she'd been clear. “It’s really nice to meet you both.” It had been a while since she’d tried to make friends. She wasn’t really sure what to do next.

“Um…” Maybe it’d be best to say farewell. Besides, this had been a long day, and she could really use some rest. Plus, Abu told her to go straight to bed, and…

“Would you like to come up to my room?”

Impulse. It was a weakness in the worst of circumstances. But for now, she blushed, praying that these folks were truly as pleasant as they seemed.

“There’s no way I can finish these all on my own,” she kidded, knowing that it’d take her less than a chime to maul every last crumb. “This is a lovely treat, and I really think it deserves to be shared. If I’m not troubling you, we could chat while we eat these together. Yes?” Seeing Autumn's materialized form, the dancer had completely forgotten that the woman couldn't have the cookies. She eagerly stood before the two strangers in hopes that they'd want to join her.

Should either one of them agree, Amrita would lead the way to the winding stone staircase. Twelve flights later, they’d reach her floor, and she’d search the wooden plaques for the right letter.

“12B. This must be it.”

by **Maro** on December 5th, 2014, 3:45 am

12B

Maro was surprised at how warm her hands felt when she took his own between them. The warmth wasn’t unpleasant; in fact, it was comforting, though in a way that seemed foreign to him. Perhaps, he had been hanging around ghosts too long. There were plenty of people, living ones, on Black Rock, but he must not have interacted with them as much as he thought if a simple handshake was so odd. Odd but warm, and he was okay with that. Her smile was as beautiful as she was and spoke of the same warmth that her hands held.

“We do,” Maro responded in response to her question about whether they lived here, then added, “in a small house in the city a little ways outside the market. It’s a nice spot, quiet most days when the children or ghosts aren’t trying to cause a bit of good-natured trouble. You should come see it sometime.”

At the invitation to join Amrita to share the snacks, Maro immediately nodded his head. Autumn would not be able to join them with the snacks, but he had something for her. A glass vial pendant was hooked on his necklace next to the Ashl pendant, the only remainder of Autumn’s killer. This morning he had made several helpings of Soulmist, and the remainder he had left in this vial. It would serve well enough to keep Autumn satisfied, but he didn’t know if she could hold up this intense of a materialization for long. He had never seen her hold color long, especially in the presence of other people. Whenever she materialized in full color, it was for something special and, generally, for him.

He looked to Autumn, trying to figure her out as they wandered up the stairs behind Amrita. Her spectral, blue eyes kept sweeping over Amrita, flashing back and forth from various features, and that was when it hit Maro. Autumn was jealous of Amrita’s beauty, jealous and afraid. She was afraid that Amrita’s beauty, the beauty of someone living, would detract attention from her own. When she looked at Maro, he smiled, and the fear left her eyes.

Maro made small talk as they wandered up the steps, sure from the time they had already spent traveling that they were nearly to her new home. “Are you from Eyktol itself? It must be beautiful, all the endless desert.”

All during their walk up the stairs, he had felt it building, but when Amrita announced they were at her doorstep, his anticipation reached its high point. He was shaking in all his wonderful excitement and wondered if he was maybe even more excited than Amrita to see her new home. There was nothing he loved more than new things. She stuck the key in the lock, turned it, and pushed the door inward. Maro was practically ready to run her over in his elation, but this being her home, he let her enter in front of him and caught his first glimpse of it over her shoulders. From that first view, it struck Maro as humble yet majestic with its view of the ocean through its solitary window.

by **Amrita** on December 12th, 2014, 4:04 am

OOCApologies for the late reply! Exams are eating me alive :disgust:

I can't wait for when they're all over on the 19th

Eyktol.

It felt like he’d said something almost foreign. Her chest heaved as her mind suddenly flooded with memories of what was once a land she called her home. Amrita forced a smile, even though the man couldn’t see her face from behind, and blinked a few times to stop her eyes from watering.

“Yes, it’s quite lovely,” she chuckled softly. “Gods, after more than a year away from home, I can’t believe I still miss dancing in Ekytol’s sweltering heat.”

There were things that she missed far more, but Amrita was thankful that her expressions went unseen. “I grew up in Yahebah, actually. Have you heard of it?” She glanced behind her shoulder to catch his gaze, hoping that her slightly glassy eyes looked untroubled. Truth was, talking about the past made her heart seem to grow heavier by the tick. “Let me know if you ever find yourself interested in heading to the city of Yahal’s love and grace. I’ll be sure to tell you everything you need to have an enjoyable stay, including how to get into the best of Basalom’s entertainment.” Amrita flashed a friendly wink in his direction.

She noticed his excitement and it immediately brought her a sense of comfort. Maro seemed like the genuine sort, and she appreciated that about him. She cast a quick glimpse over at Autumn who also seemed to be relatively enthusiastic. Amrita was far too absorbed in the delight of making new friends and having her own room that she didn’t see anything peculiar about the ghost’s emotions.

As the door creaked open, she slipped the key into the pocket of her emerald, floor length tunic, and stepped inside what was more than anything she could’ve ever imagined. There were cobwebs in every corner and layer of dust covering every surface, but it was certainly far better than being cooped up in the cabin of Abu’s ship. She walked over to the quaint little table on her left and blew over the top. A grey cloud swirled in the air, making her sneeze before she placed the plate of cookies in the middle.

“It’s perfect.” Amrita beamed, walking towards the tiny window. She jiggled the latch and pushed out the glass. The gauzy dark curtain fluttered as a fresh ocean breeze filled the room, replacing the old, almost musky odor. A bed with simple linen sheets sat invitingly by the window, and she willed herself not to jump into it at once. Amrita beckoned to her guests, welcoming them into her new home.

“Come in, please, make yourselves comfortable.” With Syna’s rays sinking below the horizon, it was a tad darker than she liked. Amrita surveyed the room and spotted a half burned candle by the nightstand. She carefully slipped the bag off her shoulders and placed it on the bed before rummaging through her things. Extra clothes, a book, an art kit, and a few other essentials were now spread out on top of the sheets as she unpacked, searching for the flint & steel. “Ah, there it is.” She took the items in both hands stepped closer to the candle. After a few quick strikes, a spark lit the wick and illuminated the room in a faint, golden glow.

“Much better. I should probably sweep up around the place, but it’s much nicer than I expected. And I think—” she paused. Something squeaked behind her. “Wait. Did you hear that?” Amrita turned and looked down to where she heard the sound.

“EEEEEK!” She shrieked, flailing backwards in panic.

A swarm of rats started scurrying out from under her bed.

by **Maro** on December 24th, 2014, 3:24 pm

12B

Yahebah. He vaguely remembered the name from geography lessons he had had from Autumn only a year ago, but he could not remember where in Eyktol it was. Yahebah. He rolled the name over and over again in his mind, trying to pronounce it the way she did. Though the name was simple enough to say, the natural pronunciation of someone who lived there seemed to have a certain ring to it as if it was pronounced differently by someone who knew it as home, and Maro was certain he had never heard it said that way before.

When Amrita pushed the window open, Maro felt the fresh ocean’s breeze sweep over him and disturb the dust that had lain dormant for so long that it had forgotten how to move. Something tickled Maro’s arm, and he watched a spider that had fallen from its web above crawl over his arm and stop to stare at him with arachnoid eyes. The seemingly sole inhabitant of the room looked at Maro for a moment, as if sizing up the new guests in its home. Maybe it didn’t even see him though. Maybe Maro was just another part of the geography of the room that made up this spider’s entire existence. He let the creature crawl down his arm and pant leg and scurry across the floor until it stopped beneath the shelter of the table.

The soft glow of the candle, once lit, played a wavering light over the walls and around the room. Autumn had taught him not to pry into other’s lives without permission and searching through ones belongings was included in that, but with some of her belongings spread out across the bed, Maro’s curiosity won over his propriety. He kept his distance, but his eyes swept over what had been laid out on the bed, trying to figure out anything about his new friend.

Autumn said that was a bad habit of his. He often considered anyone he had met to be his friend. Anyone that would normally be considered an acquaintance to someone else was a friend to Maro. Ever watchful over and for Maro, Autumn warned that some people might find this irritating, but Maro found, for the most part, that people found it endearing. He hoped his new friend didn’t find him too odd or irritating.

“Did you hear that?”

Maro had to admit he hadn’t. He had been too busy trying to imagine how each of the possessions on the bed fit into Amrita’s life. Turning, he only managed to take one step toward her before a swarm of rats burst out from underneath the bed. At her shriek, his first instinct was to duck down, but a moment later, he thought of something to do. He dashed to the door and opened it as wide as possible. The majority of the rats took the opportunity to escape, but a few scurried elsewhere in the room in their panic.

He ran after the others herding them toward the door. Most decided to use the door when he had them in front of it. One, though, ran beneath the table the spider had found shelter beneath. Having already shifted up one of the legs, the spider watched the rat warily. Several times, Maro tried to frighten the rat out from beneath the table by stomping and by rushing it, but the rat felt safer where it was than it would if it ran. Seeing he was getting nowhere with his current strategy, Maro reached down and swiped at the rat. To his surprise, his hand actually wrapped around the furry creature’s body. He had no idea what to do; he hadn’t expected that to work. It only took the rat a matter of a moment of instinct to decide what it wanted to do. It sank its fangs into the closest part of Maro available, his pointer finger.

Maro forgot his manners, and a curse slipped past his lips. Running to the door, he released his grip around the rat, but rather than scurry off immediately, the rat decided to take a few more bites out of his finger. For a moment, the Kelvic considered eating the rat, but Autumn had emphasized that eating live animals in front of others was ill-mannered. The Kelvic closed the door behind the last rat and stuck his finger in his mouth, sucking the blood off the wound. It smarted, but he quickly forgot it hurt when a familiar sound came to his ears.

It was Autumn, and she was laughing. When she was finally able to stop, she spoke to both of them, laughter still in her voice. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh. That’s mean, but you should have seen your faces when those rats jumped out.”

Maro grinned ruefully. Little scared Autumn, now that she was dead and all.

After a short conversation and a cookie, Maro and Autumn both welcomed Amrita to their city once more, wished her a good night, and headed back home, Maro still sucking the blood off his finger as they walked.