Welcome to Gaia! ::

The past weeks had been unusual to say the least. Ayluin had his first wake up call that the world was not peaceful as much as he thought it was. Being mainly raised in a castle, the young man had been sheltered from a lot of problems that other people faced. Whether that was by design or out of care was something that he couldn’t say for sure anymore. After that Erik had ended up with him in his home. Ayluin hadn’t minded, he was glad he could help. And even now he was able to help as Erik accepted the offer to keep the room and call the residence in Pasadena home. The elf had been thinking a lot lately about where he came from though, what he had learned so far after arriving in Soleil and having a bigger picture of his ‘parents’ behavior. He did find his symbol on his forehead in a book about symbols of royalty and it hadn’t been tattooed on, so it would mean he was a prince for sure, but was he truly a moonelf? The young man couldn’t care less if he were royalty or not, but if Driz’ hunch was correct, then he would like to know who his biological parents are. Perhaps he could find a way to learn that truth, but he was not going to Odoraen to get it.

Ayluin startled from his thoughts when he turned into a street and was called back to the here and now by familiar sounds that always seemed to hang around this area. And of course the scent of coffee and pastries that came from the nearby cafe. Perhaps he should consider a visit there later on. For now he was in the shopping district with a mission. His friend had called that he indeed still had his job and that he would be busy until later that day. His eyes went around the area as he scanned the by now familiar buildings and storefronts as he walked further. It didn’t take long to reach his destination after. The young man had walked to the bookstore. Of course he would also look for more books to help him study or learn more about his people, but his main reason for coming to the shop was Erik. Ayluin couldn’t deny that. In his hands he also had a bag with lunch he made for the other. The elf wasn’t sure if they had thought to bring some, so he would take lunch to them just to be safe. He needed to eat after all, he was still on the mend, though Erik definitely healed up quite nicely. Ayluin smiled as he reached the door to the store and he opened it before walking in and looking around the establishment to see if he could spot Erik somewhere. They probably wouldn’t be behind the cash register all the time.

Sure enough he spotted him not far from the door with boxes and books as he was working on the shelves. At least he wasn’t carrying them, he was restocking books. The young man smiled and lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey Erik, I am glad to see you still get to do what you like to do." he said and walked to them at the shelves. The moonelf had not seen him move this stuff after all, so he assumed someone else did while Erik just placed them. "I wasn’t sure you packed lunch, since you were going to ask if you still had the job, so I decided to bring you some. I hope you don’t mind." he said and offered him the bag. Of course he was still learning the recipes and the like for this country, so he kept it relatively simple for now. In fact he had followed a cook that was showing how to make the food on television. It had worked out pretty well. In the lunchbox was a spicy Coleslaw and the main lunch meal was baked Tilapia tacos with spicy Mango Salsa. Ayluin had deliberately picked spicy as he had learned Erik was fond of spicy food. And all the ingredients had been freshly bought earlier that same day. The young man had been up early in case his friend might need some help from him before checking if he still had his job.

Ayluin shook his head a bit and smiled gently. It sure sounded like they were well on the way to recovery indeed. More recovered than injured by now, so perhaps he was overly cautious when he worried that they might be working too hard right away but the young man couldn’t really help it. He cared about the other and it only seemed to go deeper and deeper as time passed. Still Ayluin hadn’t really wondered too much about it. Not only was he quite unfamiliar with such feelings, he was still being overflowed by this so different culture they had around here and the real world in a whole. The moonelf walked further towards Erik now he had spotted them, though he made sure not to get in the way, and stopped nearby. They seemed to be taking it easy, just pushing the box around with their feet, which relieved Ayluin and eased some of his worry. When they were done with that, the moonelf had offered the bag, glad they seemed to be alright with him bringing it over. "I had a hunch you might not have. Since you had to ask about the job first, but I am glad you aren’t stuck with a double lunch nonetheless." he replied to them and chuckled a bit. Of course from what he had seen, Erik could easily finish a double lunch just as easily. The moonelf didn’t mind, it was a good thing they had such a healthy appetite.

"Scandalous?" he wondered but was soon enlightened about the rules. For some reason, the elf wasn’t even surprised that Erik would do that, but he smiled a bit. Usually he might have been more on top of rules, but over his time in Soleil he had learned to live a lot more free than he had at the castle. It was actually quite refreshing not to constantly have to watch it that he didn’t tread over anyone’s rules. He handed the bag to them and waited as they placed it in the staff room. While they did he looked around at the shop as he stood there. It was pretty quiet, just like last time, but perhaps this time it was because of all that had gone on during Halloween. Ayluin couldn’t blame them really. His attention soon went back to Erik when the other walked back into the store and started to continue their work. Not wanting to get in the way, the moonelf stayed aside a bit though he stuck around nearby. He was looking at some of the books while Erik was placing more on the shelf. Of course his first instinct was to help but Erik wasn’t hopeless and he already noticed they liked to do things themselves when able, so he refrained. As long as they knew they could ask Ayluin and the elf would help right away. Ayluin was looking at the books one row away from Erik so they had all the room they needed.

There were some books labeled fiction, though some seemed to speak of entirely different worlds. Curiously the young man looked at the books that were lining the shelf, his finger passing over the titles on the spine before his hand wavered over one specific book. His first thought was why the book was here in the first place! It was a known book that was also part of Saela’s immense library, it was a detailed work about the history, geology and population (citizen and wildlife) of Odoraen. His second thought was why it was under fiction. Because it was a revered encyclopedia of his world. Did people really think Odoraen was a fairytale? Perhaps some would feel insulted that their home was so unfamiliar to other areas, but Ayluin was mostly curious what made them think that way. The young man tipped the book a bit so it revealed part of the cover and then lifted it out of the shelf, instinctively pushing the other books together again as he always did in a library too. After that he looked at the cover which was exactly the same as back home. There was no denying that it was a copy of the original. Ayluin chuckled a bit and looked at Erik. "Apparently I’m part of a fairytale to this world’s standards." he actually joked a little as he showed the cover to Erik.

The cover showed a bird’s eye view of the massive island of Odoraen, to the unknown perhaps a place of fantasies but for Ayluin it was easily recognized. He could easily tell where Saela was and Ystysti and the various cities and towns from humans and others who called the place home. In large silver colored letters it spelled out Odoraen encyclopedia. The book looked really new, but it gave Ayluin a feeling of relief really. After all, if people thought Odoraen was a fairytale, even if they would find out or hear that a certain elf was from there whichever ranking was included, they would probably not take it seriously. He hadn’t heard Erik about this book even after they learned Ayluin was from there, so perhaps they had stocked it while the other was recovering. By that time Erik was finished though and the moonelf followed them to the closet, holding the book still. He did miss his home, this was a chance to keep it close to him either way. Perhaps it would even have pictures. For a moment he forgot about the book though as he looked at what Erik showed to be his old place of residence. The young man blinked a bit before he shook his head and looked at the other. He felt bad they had to deal with sleeping in there. "How did you ever get any sleep in there? I’m glad I was able to offer you an actual house." he spoke with the surprise still in his voice.

After that they went to the staff room and Ayluin looked at the room when he had walked in. It wasn’t incredibly large but seemed to have all one might need for lunch. Ayluin walked to the table as they offered him some food but shook his head in a no. "Thanks for the offer but I already ate my lunch. That is all yours." he said with a happy tone and smiled at them. He looked at the coffee machine when they pointed it out, but he wasn’t sure if he should. He wasn’t that used to coffee after all. Deciding against it, he sat down at the table to keep his friend company and chuckled when they asked about the food. "Nothing at all. It would be my pleasure to make you lunch. I like cooking and learning new recipes and this place has many interesting ones from what I noticed." the reply came. Sure he loved it and he learned more by actually cooking, but he didn’t need any payment for it. If they really wanted to ‘repay’, Ayluin hoped they would be satisfied with the knowledge they would actually be progressing his endeavor to cook better and better. It would seem Erik wouldn’t get an undisturbed meal though as he soon had to excuse himself because a customer walked in.

The moonelf nodded when they spoke and as he waited for Erik to come back the young man opened the book he had picked up earlier. Browsing through it and reading snippets for now fortified his knowledge that this was indeed not fictional at all. But what also interested Ayluin was the many pictures that were throughout the compendium. They were very detailed and accurate paintings. At least from what he had seen in books about the rest of Odoraen. Only Saela he could confirm was perfectly pictured to truth. Ayluin smiled a bit when he looked at the familiar houses, the plaza and of course the tree. It didn’t avoid him feeling homesick still, but it was a step closer at least. He looked up from the book when he heard Erik enter back into the staff room and listened to them. "I’m sorry to hear you are so busy. I hope you get the chance to eat in peace for a while." he replied and smiled a bit before he turned around the book and showed the two pages with images of the city to his friend.. "This is Saela. Exactly as it is. I wonder how they even got this book. It’s odd to hear it said to be a myth though." he admitted, though his voice betrayed he wasn’t sad about them being considered a myth but actually intrigued. While he was here in the shop, with no one around but Erik, he felt alright speaking those words out loud. He wouldn’t if there had been others around of course. That said, Ayluin would not show the entire book, just those images. If Erik wanted to see more or learn more, they could always ask. And if they weren’t interested, the moonelf didn’t want to bore them either! He would buy this book before going home, but if it was up to Ayluin, Erik would be able to enjoy his lunch in peace.