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 Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:24 pm
This will be a Private RP between Owlied (Elias) and Phantom of the Pyre (Elst)
Setting: The lovely little Shop/Nursery ran by Elst.
Time: Evening, late enough for the first few stars to rise in the East.
Weather: There is a summer warmth in the air, offset by a cool night breeze.
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:01 pm
It was nearly sundown, yet the silhouette of a restless night owl was busy against the attic shades. No more seeds - this was quite the emergency. There was always a drive within those pale hands, an eagerness to create and expand upon the present, but what could he do without seeds? Even with several newly planted sprouts lining a wood made pot he was not satisfied. Little else could lure the hermit from his home, even at a safe and darkened hour. Elias simply would not allow himself to go without, especially his flowers.
Pulling a thin jumper over his gray attire, Elias stepped into the cool, summery night. He locked the door carefully behind him, sure to sweep across the alley before venturing toward a little shop he once or twice passed though never entered. He had noticed the scent of greenery and the refreshing exhale of leaves on those rare outings and knew very well there must be seeds within. It was a short walk, pressed with nervous agitation and the softest whispers of fear. The outside was a dangerous place - and the few faces he passed were even more intimidating.
When he finally placed his hands upon the door, tasting the sweetness of something floral somewhere inside, every tangled nerve settled. The ring of the door startled him, and with the return of his addled nerves came the shop keep's attention...
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:15 am
Elst, in the back room of the lobby, had been keeping himself busy by sorting through some of the sprouts and seeds he kept in storage. He was running somewhat low on orchid bulbs, he noticed. He heard the cheery ting of the bell hung on the door, and swiflty reached out to the windowsill, where he'd been allowing a certain rock to bask in the small bit of moonlight glowing from the freshly risen moon. He figured moonlight was just as nice as sunlight, after all. He placed it inside a carefully cushioned pocket, and walked out into the lobby.
On the opposite side of the counter stood a rather interesting-looking man; green hair on, and nervousness within, his head. Not that Elst was one to dislike green, of course. He smiled.
"Ah, welcome to Elysian Gardens, can I help you with anything? It's rare I have customers at this late hour, it gets so boring sometimes..."
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:32 am
Elias was little good for talk, but he did give a genuine gasp to the floral fellow. Here he was, expecting someone very much like himself, and instead met with this. What exactly would one call this merchant - a plantman? Was he of his own species, or was this another one of the land's many anomalies? Several moments of staring gave way to a familiar frown and the hermit found his hands cupping one another habitually.
"I don't agree with the sun." He managed, eyes delighting upon this green creature and his familiar scent. Why had he come again? Of course - babies... "I need seeds." He offered, finding it difficult to remove his eyes from the hospitable stranger.
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Posted: Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:40 pm
Elst smiled at the stare that greeted him, nodding at the man's oddly-phrased request.
"In case you are wondering, yes, I am a plant. I get that quite a lot. And seeds are certainly something we have here, what kind might you be looking for-
He'd been about to finish the question, but his pocket had released a quick flash of green light, and abruptly began to overflow with a rapidly-expanding indigo cloud, of a substance he recognized, to his dismay. A long, thick, twisting vine emerged from the sea of purple hues, and began to sprout a purple flower large enough to match the situation - unusual. Elst's pupils dilated slightly from shock as he tried to think of what to do. He realized he'd have to get to the storeroom, the customer had already seen too much of the emergence.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, this -uh- tropical bulb I was carrying's doing something rather unexpected, please excuse me for a moment while I put it in the storage room. I'll bring back some samples of the most popular seeds I have..."
Without another word, Elst rushed into the storeroom, closing the door behind him. He emptied the contents of the pocket onto a wooden table, the now-stronger moonlight casting a ghastly pale hue to the violet cloud. The flower continued to grow from the rock, and before Elst's eyes grew two, three, four limbs from the thick central stalk. It stopped growing, however, and after a few moments the petals lifted to reveal two coal-colored eyes returning Elst's stare, with just a touch of green embedded in their darkness.
"...hello, Aoi...
A tad dumbstruck, he'd not the slightest clue as to where the name had come from, but it... fit. From within his own mind came, in a rather melodic voice,
Hello.
Elst's eyes looked ready to fall out of his head. He'd either never known, or had forgotten the speech levels of Proto-stage Essentics. His heart sunk a bit, however, as he realized he needed to help a customer, which required leaving Aoi for a slight bit of time.
"Listen, I'm...sorry, there's someone out there I have to talk to, could you stay here for a little bit? I'll leave the door barely open, that way you can watch."
Aoi nodded, and Elst rushed out after a slight wave, picking up a few packs of seeds on the way out.
"Terribly sorry about that little intermission, sir, I brought the seeds I mentioned."
On the counter he placed a small selection of seeds, some vegetable, others for flowers.
"Here are a few examples... I have many others of course. So, as I was saying, what kind of seeds were you looking for?"
He attempted a slight half-smile.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:19 am
Noting a change in the air and the subtle though hard to miss eruption of smoke, Elias did little more than stand agape at the register as plant-man stole away into the seclusion of his office. Strange fellow, thought Elias, tugging helplessly at his hands. He took this moment alone to reflect on his surroundings, trying desperately to make himself comfortable though his eyes had difficulty leaving the door. They bore into the shop's ill light, further expressed by the growing darkness outside. Before he could slip away completely into his worry the merchant had returned. He did not ask where the man disappeared to, after all, someone in his situation might display strange characteristics from time to time.
Two pale eyes surveyed the packets warmly, touching them gently, giving a particular bag of perennials a jostle. He seemed relaxed - strangely content as he prodded and turned about the packages, tracing his finger along their images. "Tasmanian Poppies." Elias offered in response, still going through the selection...he was quite taken with the idea of questioning his companion on his flowery growths, but that could come later.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:49 pm
Brushing off the slight bit of indigo still floating around his pocket, Elst watched as the mean examined the seeds, hearing his request.
"Tasmanian poppies... I believe I have a number of those somewhere, I'll need to go find them, hold on just a moment."
He had a somewhat worried look on his face as he turned away from the counter to head to the store room, for he'd utterly forgotten where he'd kept his supply of the particular seed. As he opened the store room door, however, he was surprised to witness Aoi walk right out, holding a few packets of poppy seeds and a small pot containing a sprout wielding a red-and-white bloom.
...Poppies...?
Elst tried to calm himself, taking the seeds and flower from the well-intentioned helper. He placed them on the counter, no longer even trying to hide Aoi's presence.
"Uh... thank you , Aoi, I probably couldn't have found those on my own..."
Trying to read the customer's eyes to see his reaction, Elst took a long breath, then faced him.
"Uh, this is my assistant, Aoi, he's uh, a plant, like me... Anyway, here are some poppy seeds, and in this pot here's what they'll end up looking like."
He hoped that by ignoring the oddity of Aoi's appearance, pretending like this was normal, he could remove a few of the tensions he'd just caused, but that seemed rather unlikely.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:59 pm
As could be expected at the sight of the little flower, Elias held an unreadable expression. The dip in his brow threatened alarm, but the force tugging at his lip suggested curiosity. There on the floor, holding his soon-to-be poppies, was a little plant, not unlike this Elst character himself. How did one process this? Giving little attention to the poppy in it's pot (for he knew very well what poppies grew to) he was instantly enamored by the pair.
Acting on instinct, Elias let a hand fall in the direction of the 'assistant'. "Is it...hmm." He appeared at a loss for words, his hand retreating to his chin for a good, long stroke. For several long seconds his eyes burned into the little flower - "What sort of...seed...did it come from?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:28 pm
Elst, of all things, hadn't been expecting to see curiousity from the man. Maybe accompanied with a bit of shock, but just plain curiousity? This was unusual. A tad befitting to the situation, Elst mused. He left the poppies on the counter, but before he could answer Elias' question, Aoi did it on his own, projecting his voice into the minds of the two men. His rather deep, soothing voice showed clear, albeit somewhat halted.
I... Came from a rock.
He reached his delicate hand towards Elias, in almost a wave of sorts. He looked back to Elst for guidance, who spoke up abruptly.
"Well, that is to say, uh, the seed was a lot like a rock. I, uh, found it during my travels one day, I've never really found anything like it..."
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:38 pm
Elias was puzzled, not only by the molasses thick voice in his head, but the statement itself - there seemed to be something missing here. Wouldn't a plant know he came from a seed? And if that is the case, why wouldn't he say a rock-like seed? If Elias were more experienced in the art of conversation he would have found the pauses between words telling; Fortunately for the shopkeeper, this was not the case.
Taking the pod's word for what it was, Elias felt the urge to return the gesture, but took to wringing his hands instead. He was sure no one had ever found anything like this before, though it seemed somehow familiar. Yes it was a plant, and Elias had many of them, but it was different - like beholding a secret of the universe or a link from a past life. "And it talks, too..." He managed. He mused for a moment this could be the plant-man's child.
This curiosity bloomed, arching the pallid man's brow. He hadn't enough sense to take the Poppies and be on his way - there was more to this visit now. There was a surreal comfort amongst these speaking, moving plants. "I've never seen one like this before...Is he seasonal?" That last note was steeped in humor, though it was as genuine a question as any other.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:54 pm
Great, just great... I've already managed to let this slip, and it's only been a few minutes since he emerged...
Elst scolded himself in his thoughts, watching the man examine Aoi. He tried, -and failed to- figure out just what was going on inside the man's mind, wondering if his secret would remain safe.
"Well, to be perfectly honest with you, I've not been with Aoi long enough to know, but I doubt he'll just wilt away some season. I certainly hope that doesn't happen, at least. I'll just have to keep on learning, huh, Aoi?"
The flower nodded towards Elst, lowering its hand and returning to his side. In a way, he sort of clung to Elst's overcoat, it being just within his reach, and comforting his anxieties somewhat in this rather impromptu first socialization.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:07 pm
There was a gentleness in this creature that touched Elias. Somehow it was like reaching into a mirror and pulling out a piece of himself, the part which connected him to nature and made everything beautiful in the right light. And there it was, standing beside it's superior. He heard very little from Elst, focusing instead on the flower below and the newly discovered Poppy seeds which he quickly took to handling in his palms. They didn't distract him for long.
...He simply had to have one.
"Were did you say you found him?" Oh, Elias was being difficult tonight.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:24 pm
This is where Elst began to worry. The man had asked the dreaded question, where had Aoi come from? He knew he couldn't answer it with the whole truth, yet he knew he was horrible at lying, and didn't want to lie to someone as kind as the man in front of him.
"Well, I... I found him, like I said, while I was traveling. He's fairly one-of-a-kind, but... I may have a, uh, friend who might be able to help... I'd have to contact him later, though."
Elst was fairly pleased with himself. He had managed to not reveal Aoi's Essentic nature, yet had not actually lied, technically. He had found Aoi while travelling... to Essential Biotics Inc., after all. He supposed he would simply arrange for a meeting wth Banning himself later, and explain the situation. But not yet.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:34 pm
Everything was starting to sound eerily familiar...
An unusual and one-of-a-kind creature, more like an object really, so shrouded in mystery that his captor was reluctant to release it's beginnings. He was suddenly reminded of that hot afternoon with the author, whispering nonsense about a messenger and his secretive Keeper. Tick Tock - his addled brain managed to pull everything into a loose puzzle. He had his corners, now for the details.
But this one was trustworthy too, he could tell. Just as Miss Ellandra had spared her contact's secrets, so did Elst. Might as well express his interest in an entirely Elias sort of way. "This friend..." And he reached knowingly toward his front pocket, passing through notes with eager fingers. "...does he have a messenger, by chance?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:46 pm
Elst let out an audible sigh, realizing he'd already lost this little game.
"Well, you certainly know more than I thought, I suppose. Yes, he has a messenger, but I fear there's nothing I can tell you that you don't already know, am I right?"
He wore a somewhat defeated grin, digging behind the counter for one of his jars of candy. He found it, popping one of the candies in his mouth. He held the jar in Elias' direction.
"Would you like one? They're sugarcane candies, these ones are licorice... Might I ask your name, by the way?"
As he said this, Aoi grasped at one of the candies, holding it up to the light in curiousity. Though small, the candy was enough to weigh down his thin, wisp-like fingers.
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