[Knirin Gardens] Sweet Breeze (Open)

[Caladien Trea]

55th day of Spring, Morning

Spring brought along wildflowers blooms in Riverfalls and one of the best location to appreciate these delicate blooms would be the picturesque Knirin Gardens.

As morning just broke in the gorgeous Knirin Gardens, a frail figure could be seen wobbling towards the flower patch. A rattan basket hung from his teeny, tiny arm.

Morning breeze blew through Caladien, in it, intertwined a refreshing,alluring smell. The source of the smell was the reason why he was there.

Clusters of milky white flowers grew around Caladien. As he bent down to pluck one of the bloom, the very same scent rushed against him again. These flowers that are just about the size of a person's palm are the main ingredient in one of Caladien's perfume. He has no idea what they are called for he never has any form of formal education. He always refer to them as Spring White, mainly because they only grow in Spring and they are white.

He started to slowly picking them and putting them in his rattan basket. He was careful not to harm or hurt the delicate flower in any way, for they were his main income.

[Gwin]

The Akvatari came from the Suvan Sea, having just hunted for breakfast. After her hunger was sated, she swam against the current to reach the mouth of the river that decorated Riverfall in such an original and beautiful way. She found the city serene, almost overly so. It betrayed the strength and self-confidence of its citizens, the Akalak.

However, she hadn’t come to ponder over architecture. Instead she emerged from the water at the beach and used her vibrant green butterfly wings to rise up to the second tier. There she spotted a garden, a beautiful patch of greenery dotted with first flowers. It looked like a good place to relax and practice some music. As always, Gwin had her satchel and violin case with her, so she was ready for playing whenever she wanted. The day proved to be a warm and pleasant one too.

Upon approaching the gardens from the waterfall, she saw that someone was already there. The figure was far too thin and small to be an Akalak, although it looked distinctly male. The boy was gathering flowers, or so it seemed. Gwin wondered what he did here, in a city in which Akalak males were of the highest social standing. Although she had only wandered the streets for a couple of days, listening to chatter and watching the everyday routine, she could already tell that the Akalak were extremely proud and protective of their own kind. So, what kind of reason did a human have to come to such a city?

However, she wouldn’t press the matter as she wasn’t particularly curious. Most people wished to maintain their privacy, after all, and who was she to intrude? She tried not to disturb the boy as she fluttered closer and carefully let herself drop into the grass. After placing the instrument case on the ground, she stretched her tail, a furry thing resembling green moss, and exhaled. Her hair was still wet and a little darker than usual which created a dirty blonde shade. Slowly, thoughtfully, the Akvatari sat up, wrapping her tail around her, and started running her fingers through her hair. Again and again she did that, combing each strand and trying to fasten the dying process.

Well, she had a comb, but she had forgotten its existence, because she was too occupied with watching the boy gathering his herbs and the sun slowly rising over the horizon. The city was awaking ... once again. What would the new day bring?

[Caladien Trea]

Raised in the wild, Caladien acquired an acute sense of smell since he was still a child. That's also the main reason he ventured into the world of perfumery, he always knows what smell goes with what, who and where.

Another gush of morning breeze blew past Caladien, with a sniff, he knew something was out of place. He carefully took another sniff, and his suspicion was cleared, something was indeed out there and most probably nearby.

He stayed away from the residents of RiverFall most of his life and they in return payed no attention to him unless necessary. He easily reached a conclusion, who or what was around was certainly new to RiverFall. Only the newcomers would came that close to the outcast of the city of RiverFall.

Caladien's eyes ran through what was around him subtly, thinking in his head of the scenarios that could took place next. He knew he wasn't physically build nor he had any weapon on him to fend with, making him the perfect target for robbery or acts like such. As if those haven't gave away enough, he was plucking flowers for heaven's sake!! He knew he shouldn't have left his tree that day but all was a bit too late. If the wilds had taught him any thing, it was to never give up without a fight. He thought to himself:"If the worse were to happen, i would smite them with my rattan basket and drown them with the god damn flowers!"

As he ran scenes of his demise through his head, the sun broke through. The early rays of lights fell on his slight figure and cast a shadow behind him. The dark shadow stretched and stretched, stopping just in front of a patch of grass. In that split second, Caladien sensed something moved in the greens. His heart skipped a beat, he knew something was closeby but he didn't expect it to be THAT close.

Who was hiding would take actions soon, he told himself.

He had been running away his whole life, been called a wimp countless times, been called and sometimes threatened to man up more than he could keep count. Lastly, he just fell and gave it all to fate.

[Gwin]

Suddenly a breeze washed over the grass, making Gwin’s hair drier much more quickly. She simply ran one hand through it, going around her head several times and shaking the water out of it. However, when the breeze came from behind her and blew her hair into the boy’s direction, he froze. Did he really smell her? From Gwin’s observations she had been sure that the human sense of smell was more like underdeveloped. In fact the Akvatari’s senses were similar to those of humans.

She continued combing her hair with the hands, positive that he couldn’t see her yet. Syna hadn’t climbed high enough to fill the garden with light, so she supposed that her green wings and pale hair color simply blended in with the high grass and flowers surrounding them.

As if she had heard her thoughts, the sun was sending first rays towards the two people in the grass. Gwin watched as the human seemed to tense even more. He really was a little anxious, was he? Were all humans like that? They seemed to suspect violence everywhere. She understood, because the Sea of Grass nevertheless was violent and full with dangerous creatures, but she didn’t understand how they could be cautious even in cities. The Akvatari was glad that she could find peace and didn’t have to worry where to sleep. And sleeping at the beach or on a rock was certainly more comfortable than sleeping on a tree. She valued that, although it didn’t make her happy. Relaxation and relief she only found in her music.

Well, but one could try, after all? Even the Akvatari didn’t like to be called ignorant. So she led an active lifestyle, very much so in fact.

That was also why she decided to combat the boy’s fear. Flitting her brilliant green wings, veined and edged with black, she rose a little over the ground. Satchel and violin case were still lying there, but she didn’t expect him to take her stuff hostage. Why would he? When she was sure he saw her, she raised her hands in a gesture of peace and dipped her head. “Hello. I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I’ve come to find peace and inspiration in the beauty of this garden. In fact this entire city is beautiful.” She was trying to say many things at once, also revealing that she was a traveler.

Now, how would the human react? How would he see her wings and her tail covered in moss green fur? How would he react to her only wearing a strap of fabric across her mid-torso? Humans were interesting, but they often interpreted things in a wrong way. Gwin was curious, but she also expected him to react in a not so pleasant way...

[Caladien Trea]

Before Caladien stood the most beautiful sight he ever bear in his eyes. From her pale blonde curls to her fluttering green wings, the Akvatari was a sight to behold( To Caladien anyway~).

And just right there and then, Caladien just froze. The world seemed to halt to a sudden stop. He was dazed, deeply dazed.

Then she started to speak, it was like music to his ears. He swore there will never be a more beautiful thing he can hear in his life. From her words, he understood that she was a traveler and came to admire the beauty of RiverFall.

"Oh, i'm thought you were something else, that's why i'm so tense. You can't be more careful, right?" Caladien say to the Aktavari while trying his best to form a smile on his face. He hoped that he haven't offended nor scared the traveling Akvatari in anyway. "And i agree with you that RiverFall is indeed a beautiful city" he added, "but not half as beautiful as you are." he silently finished that sentence in his mind.

The teenager slipped his hand into the basket he held strongly in his arm and with some twists and turns of the wrist, he pulled out a wreath made using the flowers he gathered earlier. "Here, take this a sign of welcome to the city." he said and handed the white wreath to the Akvatari.

[Gwin]

The boy smiled and said that he had expected something else. Was Riverfall dangerous? Or did the boy simply fear the blue men who inhabited the city? Gwin didn’t know as she didn’t have enough information to make a judgment. However, the boy did seem to be a very cautious and shy individual. He didn’t speak much, although humans were known to be more cheerful and lively than the Akvatari. Compared to a human, she was but a distant star in the sky, one of many stars, and not the brightest too.

Then he repeated what she had already said, as if approving it. She nodded a little, lost in thought. Beauty wasn’t everything in the world. What Gwin had come for was more than beauty, was culture and music and art. But she hadn’t seen much of it during her short stay. The Akalak seemed to focus on trades and crafts. She had seen no art galleries, no libraries, but weaponsmiths and training facilities. It made sense, considering the muscular and tall figure of the blue men. Still, she wanted to see more. Would the boy be able to give it to her? He certainly didn’t look like he knew the city well, and he didn’t sound like it. One could only admire the beauty of a city if one was new to it. The longer one stayed, the more would beauty be replaced habit. And habit was the one and only thing Gwin tried to avoid.

Suddenly she saw a wreath of flowers in the boy’s hand. It was for her? Almost shaking her head in disbelief, she carefully accepted it. Then she hesitated, wreath in hands, and dug through her brain. What did one do with a flower wreath? Ah. She raised her hands and placed it on top of the pale blond locks, carefully making sure that it stuck to her head. “...Thank you”, she eventually said. The boy didn’t seem to have hidden motives, so her gratitude was sincere.

But then, she wondered what he was doing and why he was doing it. Certainly he wasn’t a resident, and she was curious about his life, so she started at the most obvious point. Her hand pointed at the basket. “What are you doing with the flowers? ... I hope you don’t mind telling me something about yourself.” Tilting her head, she waited.

[Caladien Trea]

The wreath sat perfectly on top of her flowy, blond hair. Caladien was glad she accepted his gift.

Then he wondered why this Akvatari was in Riverfall. She seemed like a misfit here, something this delicate doesn't really fits in this rough city of Riverfall.

He was lost in his thoughts until the Aktavari before him directed him a question. He answered with a smile," My name is Caladien Trea and i'm a perfumist, not a very-good one at that but still..." he trailed off.

"managed to survive",he ended. "I'm raised here at Riverfall and that tree right there has been my parents, guardians and best friends since my parents.....left, since i was still a child.", he said while pointing at a tree not faraway.

"You might have noticed, i'm all alone here and i only ventured into the city when needed and the flowers here are the ingredients for my perfumes." his hands gesturing at the flowers growing beneath them. "So i'm sorry if i can't tell you anything more about this magnificent city of Riverfall, but i'm glad to be of your acquaintance."

[Gwin]

OOCI'm sorry for the delay! Didn't really feel inspired for a long while.

Gwin listened, mild interest sparkling in her eyes. It seemed that the Akvatari only dabbled in the most useless forms of art, such as painting, playing instruments, writing, poetry, and so on. But here was someone who actually did something useful for others. Perfumery seemed to be a beautiful trade as well as popular. Gwin still didn’t understand the mechanics of Riverfall society, but she had seen women in the streets and supposed that he could make a living off of perfumes. But then, if an artform was practiced to earn money, what kind of art would that be?

When he mentioned a tree, Gwin abandoned her musings and followed his hand with her gaze. So he had been raised by a tree? Was he some sort of nature fanatic, a follower of Caiyha, then? Gwin couldn’t quite imagine a life with a tree as family, but then she traveled to experience something novel and appreciated the little surprises that came with foreign places. At the same time she felt the sadness that came with being far away from home.

Well, the Akvatari called themselves children of the sea and sky, so why could this boy not call himself child of a tree? Gwin thoughtfully nodded her head at that conclusion. Then she said: “I'm Gwin. I would be content with sitting here and talking... about anything... as well. Someone raised by a tree surely must have interesting stories to tell. Does it sing to you sometimes, share its wisdom?” While speaking, she sank into the grass once more, making herself comfortable. The tree and Caladien surely communicated somehow, and to Gwin’s musical mind song and melody was the most reasonable possibility.

After all, rustling leaves didn’t sound the same, no, there were countless melodies of rustling leaves, depending on the type of the tree, just as no place was the same, and water taken from different wells didn’t taste the same.

[Caladien Trea]

Caladien was slightly taken back by her question for no one had ever showed any interest in him before. His small head went into complete chaos trying to form the perfect answer for her question. He finally settled on:" He never really sing to me, well, for obvious reason.... "he wondered whether that sound dumb and continued,"It's just he made me feel safe and secure when i'm around him and he provide me with fruits just enough to sustain life so he's as good as parent a person can get." Just when he finished his sentence, he spotted a hint of sadness in the Akvatari's eyes. Then, it dawned on him. She must be homesick and there he was talking about his family and everything, he prayed that he haven't offended her or struck a nerve somewhere.

Sweat formed on his face while he frantically try to find a topic to start another conversation. His eyes finally landed on the weird-looking instruments beside her and decided that would be much safer land to travel. "What are those?"he asked sheepishly while gesturing at them.

[Gwin]

Safe and secure? Gwin tried to imagine it in her mind, the rustling of leaves above her head and around her form, the roughness of the bark against her fur and skin and the brilliantly colored leaves and fruits dangling from the branches. However, she found that she didn’t understand how it gave Caladien comfort. Being provided with fruits she could relate to, because the ocean readily provided squid and other foodstuff for the Akvatari to eat, so they had no need to grow, hunt or buy.

Gwin sighed. In the end everyone was on their own, and her race probably even more so than others. But still the longer she traveled, the more she became aware of the canyon of differences that separated the Akvatari and Abura from the rest of the world. It sometimes saddened her even more than usual.

Lost in thought once again, Gwin only came back at the sound of his voice and the gestures. Her gaze followed his hands and landed on her violin case. “This, you mean?” she asked, making sure. Upon receiving an affirmation, she opened the case and revealed her instrument. It was a beautiful piece made of light wood and lacquered with care so the surface shimmered in the fresh sunlight. To the layman, it simply consisted of a body shaped like the number eight, with strings running from the bottom end diagonally over its entire length up to what looked like a neck of some sorts and ended in a couple black curls of darker wood. Oh, and there were two holes of ornamented shape in the body, left and right of the strings and their dark wooden underground. The case didn’t only contain the violin, but also a bow made of a long wooden stick and an equally long bunch of strands attached to it, probably hair from a horse’s mane.

Gwin ran her fingers over the surface. “It’s a violin, an instrument. It... creates music.” What a painfully simple explanation for something so beautiful, so artistic! But then, she didn’t know how much Caladien knew. He most likely didn’t know enough – which really was a pity, a waste of resources, so to say. So she would try to teach him something, she thought. “Tell me... Are you interested in music? Because I really believe in its power to spread something good. Call it tolerance, or communication, or simply peace. I don’t know.” After pondering the question for another while, she concluded: “But it’s good.”