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 Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 7:10 pm
It had been a rather eventful day. After weeks of restraining himself to the bridges and alleys fo Sutfirth, Tempest had finally deemed himself ready to go out into the wider world. The young man started with Eyncastor, because he'd heard nice things about the place - that it was full of little shops and restaurants where they had excellent pie, and Tempest was nothing if not a fan of excellent pie.
Though he'd started the day with a fair chunk of change in his pocket, a gift from his foster mother when he'd told her he was planning an expedition (and he was sure now that he knew what that word meant, and she was proud of him because it had four syllables and ten letters), Tempest was now down to a few sad little tens. He liked them, though, because they were jingly in his pockets. So on he went, jingling and jangling as he walked through the streets of Eyncastor, content with his belly full of pie and sack of leftovers - lots of tiny boxes like presents filled with the pie he couldn't finish. Tomorrow would be like some great present-filled day when he opened up all the boxes and there was more pie.
He couldn't wait to get home and tell his hosts what a wonderful day he'd had in Eyncastor. Tempest did not think he liked it better than Sutfirth (or, if he did, would never say so, because he did not want to hurt anyone in Sutfirth's feelings), but it was certainly a delicious district!
Arriving at a crossroads, Tempest paused and pondered the streetsigns. His reading had been steadily improving - such was an occupational hazard of living in the Library City, it seemed - so the words on the streets signs posed no problem to the intrepid young adventurer. Rather, the problem was that he had no idea where he was.
Biting his lip. Tempest turned around and tried walking in the other direction in hopes of finding himself someplace more familiar. This did not prove fruitful, and the boy found himself standing alone in the gathering dark. This was troublesome. He tapped his feet against the cobblestones and looked up and down the street, but it remained unfamiliar. He was lost, there was no one around, it was almost night and his foster parents would wonder where he'd gotten off to...
A light appeared at the far end of the street. Then one light became two and a streetlight blazed to life. Tempest could make out a City Person bathed in its glow. His savior! Whooping with excitement, the book child hurried down the street towards his newfound friend.
"Hello!" he called exuberantly as he drew closer. "Do you know the neighborhood well? Maybe you could help me- I'm lost."
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:22 pm
"  " Myopia exclaimed, turning as an unfamiliar Child addressed him. "Why, this is where I make my home! Just right around the corner there~" The tilde at the end of his sentence pointed back to its speaker, who in turn pointed down the street perhaps half a block, to indicate a door to a ground-floor flat. "Where is it you're trying to go?" he then inquired, extinguishing his lighter's flame for the moment for safety's sake. Holding the long-handled lighter in one hand, the mothman rested his hands on his hips, and leaned down slightly to get a good look at the stranger. "I could give you directions certainly in exchange for you telling me where you got your sash," Myopia ventured, then hastily added, "But if it is one of those things that, well, came with you when you arrived, I understand, and would not leave you stranded and lost because of it." The look of the fabric pretending to turn to water was truly stunning, and the lamplighter harbored hope that there might be somewhere he could acquire one of his own, but, jealous as he could be of the accessories that came into the City with the Book Children, he would not hold it against one of them if it would be impossible to find another like it. He then eyed the stranger's sack, wondering what he had been collecting, but made no mention of that for now. ... Did he smell ... pie?
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 8:29 am
Tempest was thrown for a moment by the moth-man's lavish font, but quickly caught up. People in Sutfirth were more plainspoken, he supposed, but that didn't mean he didn't want to be friends with everyone and being friends with everyone meant being able to read everyone's speech, whether or not they spoke in Helvetica.
"Sutfirth," supplied the boy, glancing up at the flickering lamp above their heads. "I was supposed to be back before dark, but... I suppose that's hopeless now." Not with streetlights being lit. Night was falling, and fast. "As soon as possible, then," he sighed, flapping his hands lamely against the side of his legs. His host parents were going to be so worried! He'd be grounded for weeks!
"My sash?" asked Tempest, fingers flying to stroke the silky length of cloth. He was rather fond of it, all things considered - it had come with him from the forest and it reminded him especially of his story. There was no ocean here in Library City, but with his sash he could never forget what it looked like. "It did come with me from the forest," he nodded, feeling a bit sad to say so. The moth man seemed to like it as well!
"You'll still tell me how to get back to Sutfirth, right, please?" added the boy, only a shade or two below desperate. "I really - I know how to get home once I get back to Sutfirth."
Tempest glanced around lamely. The shadows were getting longer and he didn't like it - they were going to be so furious with him! "Please, please," he begged. "I need your help, my name's Tempest, and if you help me-"
He held up the sack. "I could give you some pie. Do you like pie?" It was a silly question. Who didn't like pie?
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:03 pm
"Well, light follows me where ever I go," Myopia stated proudly, standing up straight again and puffing out his chest just a little. "I am a lamplighter here in Eyncastor ... which, ah, means that you have wandered a bit far from Sutfirth, but I can get you back there, knowing a few shortcuts." It occurred to the moth-man that he would be venturing out of his lamplighting jurisdiction on this errand, but figured it alright since he was aiding a fellow citizen. A Book Child, even! He was nearly home anyway, and could light the last lamp right before he returned.
The thought of cult activity gnawed at his mind, though, but he did his best not to think about it. He would be travelling with someone, not alone, so that made it all safe, right? And, as he had stated, he brought his own light with him. Myopia supposed he could always use his lighter to thwack any white-robed ruffians who might try to jump him. Not... really hurt them, but just enough to deter stabbings. He hoped.
Twirling on his heel, Myopia started a stride, and grinned at the boy. "I will certainly take you back, reward or not, but I love pie." Promise of pie more than sweetened the deal. "Very pleased to meet you, Tempest! I am Myopia! And if you will follow me right this way--" One foot hovered in mid-air: a journey of a thousand miles (or, you know, fifteen or twenty blocks) started with a single step, of course!
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 4:59 pm
A lamplighter! Tempest beamed, unable to believe his luck. Not only was he sure to find his way home now, but he'd have his way lit for him as well! The boy was too young and new to the city to share Myopia's concerns about cult activity, but even without bogeymen lurking in the shadows the prospect of spending his night lost in Eyncastor wasn't exactly enticing. "Thank you!" exclaimed the boy, jumping for joy. He even did a little bit of a heel click - life was just that good at this very moment.
"I'm going to the Drunken Playwright, I'm living there," he explained, eagerly falling into step behind the lamplighter. He was under the impression it was a bit of a landmark, so maybe even if Myopia wasn't a Sutfirth local he would know the place.
"So how did you learn all the shortcuts?" he asked, trying to focus on the cobblestones and not to trip. "Is it, like, a lamplighter thing? Or do you just like exploring?"
Tempest loved exploring, and sincerely hoped he'd met someone who agreed! That would just make today even better - first he'd met Fortuna, and now he'd met a lamplighter who loved pie, and maybe even exploring as well! Life just didn't get any better than that.
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