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 Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 1:22 am
『 Location: Makai
xxxxxxx|↳ Clarus Arbor → The Swamp of Sorrow 』
 With the end of his schooling days draw ever nearer, Yun found that the homework was increasing immensely. It was as if they were trying to burn the students out before they could reach the finish line. He had a mountain of assignments, all finished but one - the most troublesome of all.
Find a rare, exotic, unique, sentient plant specimen. Record it in your journal, take note of its behavior, sketch it. He let out a huge sigh, shoulders dropping. He hated to admit it, but he was beginning to get worn out. Between this and that and school and work, he had literally no time to himself. It was exhausting and sad. A kid could only go without social interaction for so long, they had told him. Well, he'd show them.
His search for the perfect score on his assignment had had led him to Clarus Arbor; a strange, mystical pet shop, to be exact. He was used to traveling around for whatever jobs were available, and now, for school projects. He had already been to the Riftwood.
Never. Again. He rolled his eyes and stepped through the large, wooden doors. A pleasant tinkling of a wind chime greeted him, as well as a plump, rosy old woman. A smile graced her features as she skirted her way around the counter.
"Hello, young man," she cooed, her tone causing Yun to blush a bit. He stammered a hello and kept his gaze on the caged animals that lined the walls. "Is there anything in particular you are looking for?"
"Well, I'm not here for a pet, really..." he started slowly, lowering his head and looking away. "I had a question for you, if you could help me, ma'am...."
Her face dropped a bit, but she regained a well-practiced smile and gently put a hand on his arm. It gave him the heeby-jeebies to be touched by a stranger, but he endured it. Brave, he thought. I am so brave.
"Well, dear, what can I help you with?" She tilted her head.
"I just need to see a rare, exotic," he rolled his eyes as he recalled the exact terms used, "Unique, sentient plant specimen." She raised her brows. "For school," he added quickly.
The shopkeeper tapped a bejeweled finger to her chin, thinking. "Hmm... I'm not certain if I have anything of that sort here, dear. We have all sorts of adorable, fluffy creatures, but... It sounds like you're looking for something a bit more rare than what I carry." His shoulders drooped again, followed by a huge sigh.
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," she said sadly, rubbing his head like a woman who was not familiar with personal space. He backed up a few feet and shook his head. "Don't worry about it, but... where will I..."
Great. He looked over his shoulder, staring hard at the door as if it would give him an answer.
Come on, think. He didn't want to go into the Riftwood again, god. What did that leave him?
"The swamp, he said suddenly. He looked at the shopkeeper with wide eyes. "My god, that's it, isn't it? I'm going to have to drag my sorry arse down to that swamp and find a plant." His voice rose with each word, until he sounded quite stressed. The woman waved her hands worriedly. "Good heavens! No, child! You can't go there! You'll catch your death, and then what?"
Yun shook his head. "So it's fail or die, huh... I guess I'll have to take my chances. I can't just not try, right?" He looked at her, and got a shrug in return. "I would just rather you didn't get yourself killed. The young are our future, you know!"
He sighed. "I know." It was a stupid idea. He probably wouldn't get lucky like he had in the Riftwood. Going would be a death sentence.
A death sentence... Yeah. School was literally going to be the death of him, at this rate.
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Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 5:48 pm
Asteria was humming quietly to herself as she headed towards the magical pet shop in town. She was there to deliver a special cold cream to the shop's owner. She was in a bit of a rush, since she finally found the whereabouts of a rare plant she'd been hunting down: the Honeydew Lotus. It was was a white lotus blossom that held a bit of clear liquid in it's center. The liquid was said to have beneficial properties of some sort. The only problem was that it was located in the Swamp of Sorrow, which was on the other side of Makai. Oh, and it was dangerous as well. Asteria sighed as she realized that she would need a fair amount of supplies for the trip. Just then, she realized that she made it to the pet shop. Asteria opened the door to find an Academy student and the owner of the shop as well. "Oh! Umm...ah am I here at a bad time?" The shop keeper looked at her and shook her head "Not at all dear. I assume your here to deliver me my cream?" Asteria nervously glanced at the young Academy student and then walked over to the elderly woman "Yeah...umm here you go...it's the usual price." The old woman took the cream and smiled at her "Oh thank you dear! Let me go grab my purse! You just wait here and I'll be right back!" Asteria watched the old woman walk away and then nervously glanced at the boy next to her. He was young, but looked older than her due to his height. He was also handsome...no doubt he had girls drooling over him at the Academy. Asteria realized she was staring and looked down at her feet. She was getting better at socializing....but the first step was always scary. But then again, he was a student, there was no way he was Witch-Eater....right? She glanced back up at him and noticed he looked kind of frazzled; school was probably getting to him. The old lady's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "So deary, here you go! I can't thank you enough for making this cold cream for me. It does wonders for the skin! Where do you get the ingredients for it?" Asteria gave her a small smile, "Here and there. I'm actually heading out today to gather more." The old lady finished handing her the money, "You don't say. Where is it that you're going? Maybe you would like to take a small animal companion with you?" Asteria glanced around nervously and started playing with her hair. "Well I'm going to the Swamp of Sorrow you see...and I don't really know about a pet. I mean I climb trees and stuff...so I don't really know." The shop keeper gave her a look before going on "Well dear, as far as I'm concerned you're just as reckless as this young gentleman here! Babbling on about going to the Swamp! But I know how you young people are, never heeding your elders. As far as a pet for you, well how would you like this adorable little raccoon? He can climb trees you know." Asteria was beet red with embarrassment by the end of the old woman's speech however, she snuck a glance at the Academy student. 'What could he want in the Swamp?' She glanced at the small raccoon. It was very cute but she didn't really know about having it as a pet. But it could warn her of danger...but she was good with plants and she'd never had a pet. "Maybe when I come back. Umm thank you for your business. Good bye.." Asteria then proceeded to go out of the shop and start her journey to the Swamp....but not before bumping into the Academy student. "Ah! I-I'm very sorry!" It was going to be a long day.
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Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 11:52 pm
Relief washed over him when another entered the shop, effectively taking away the shopkeeper's attention. Yun closed his eyes and thought for a few beats, not intending to listen in, but it was hard not to when he stood right next to them.
It was almost hilarious, how coincidental it was, to hear that the woman who had entered the store after him was also going to the Swamp of Sorrows. His eyes snapped open and he turned his head quickly to stare at her, but she didn't seem to notice as she hurried her way out the door.
In her hurry, she bumped into him; Yun gave her a strange look, muttered a "Don't worry about it," and proceeded to watch her as she left. He turned his head to look at the shopkeeper, who threw up her arms.
"Youngsters! You'll all catch your death in there, you know? As for me, I'll be staying here." The woman turned the cold cream over in her hands, eying it with immense satisfaction. Evidently, she wasn't as concerned now as she had been before getting her prize. Yun rolled his eyes with a half-smile and turned to leave.
Before he exited, he looked over his shoulder. "Um, granny? If I do find something really rare, can I sell it to you?" Her face contorted into a scowl at being addressed as an elderly woman, but she huffed out a dramatic breath and crossed her arms.
After a long pause: "I suppose. Just don't get yourself killed! And don't let her get into too much trouble, either. I would simply die if two adorable children were lost to this world after having just left my shop, why, I --"
Yun smiled and was already out the door. If he could get a good grade and make a quick buck, it would be doubly worth it. Times were hard with finals approaching, and he needed to learn how to multitask in order to afford his supplies.
Raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, he scanned the busy streets for the woman who had likely already gone on her way to the swamp. If she was serious, anyway.
He had a knot in his stomach. It would be wrong to not offer to go with her now, since he was already on his way, and she could get hurt, and his conscience would gnaw at him for it, and...
He shook his head and scowled. People were so annoying, doing stupid things and making him get involved. Even though she hadn't actually done anything to imply that he had to involve himself, he already felt responsible for her. The shopkeeper granny wouldn't ever let him off the hook if he didn't do something.
"There she is," he said under his breath, walking quickly to catch up to her. Careful not to stand too close, hoping she might also respect his personal space like the shopkeeper had not, he offered an awkward wave.
"Er, hello. Pardon me, I'm sorry for bothering you, but... you said you were going to the Swamp of Sorrows?" He bit his lip and looked away, feeling like an idiot for what he was about to say. "I'm... er, I'm going there, too. And it'll be dangerous for either of us to go alone. Would you... do you want to go together?" His face grew stupidly red at the request; he was painfully shy, literally painfully. It was like stepping on nails to ask someone to be his partner in class. He was often the last to pair up.
He also didn't exactly give off a pleasant vibe. He didn't realize he was glaring at her, now, the frustration he felt over this situation painted clearly on his face.
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Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2013 11:09 pm
Asteria turned to see who was adressing her and was surprised to see the Academy student from earlier. She was even more surprised to hear that he wanted to go with her to the Swamp. 'He wants to go? With me?!' Asteria slightly panicked. She'd never had a travelling companion...especially not a minor! She snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed that his face turned beet red. Her gaze softened as she replayed his request in her head. He had sounded so awkward, so uncomfortable, so much like her. 'He's just like me in that aspect...We're both awkward.' Somehow, Asteria felt a sort of kinship to this boy due to their shared awkwardness. She could identify with him. Maybe she could help him like others had helped her? Asteria cringed slightly at his scowl and then gave him a shy smile. "I-I think that would be really nice. Umm thank you ummm?" Asteria realized that she didn't know his name. "Uhh my name is Asteria Rangecroft. What's yours?" 'Maybe I really am getting the hang of this...'
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Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:44 pm
He hadn't seen her around the academy; either she wasn't a student, or she was better at hiding and avoiding company than he was. Unlikely, he thought with a snort. His expression quickly reverted when he realized he was almost thinking aloud again. He hated when his thoughts could be read on his face.
She accepted his offer. Relief washed over him and he frowned triumphantly - his expressions were often backwards. Although he looked annoyed, he nodded determinedly. "Excellent. I wouldn't want you to go and get yourself... killed," he said with a wave of his hand, looking away. Such a bother, but if there were no one to do good deeds, would anything get done?
He glanced back at her. Oh. "Er, yes. Of course. My name is Yun." He thought for a moment, and added, "Just Yun. It's... a pleasure to meet you, I suppose." He cringed inwardly at himself. He was so embarrassing.
Still, he felt a little proud - empowered, even - for doing so well, lately. He had voluntarily spoken to the shopkeeper, he was already talking to people he never thought he would willingly interact with... He was doing pretty well for himself! It was hard to come out of his shell, but he had the nagging feeling that he couldn't run away from people for his entire life. It was apparently necessary to interact with other living beings at least once a day.
Well, this was twice, now. Once they had gotten what they both sought, he would be good for tomorrow, too. He could hole himself up in his room and study to his heart's content.
"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "Well, are you ready to go, then? Do you need to grab anything, perhaps?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:06 pm
Asteria looked up at Yun and slightly cringed 'Does he always look so scary?' However, his actions and tone of voice assured her that he wasn't a threat to her. She checked her bag to make sure she had everything. 'Food? Check. First Aid Kit? Check. Water? Check. Seeds? Check. Miscellanious papers? Check.' Asteria then looked herself over to make sure she had the appropriate clothing on. Sure enough, she had her practical travel gear on: pants, shirt, boots and gloves. "Oh! Yes, I'm ready. Umm I suppose that if you need something, you should probably go get it. I'll be waiting right here." At that, Asteria leaned against a nearby tree. She was slightly wondering how the trip would go at this point. It would probably take longer with Yun in tow. She sighed, she also had enough supplies for herself but she was always willing to share. She just hoped that Yun was in good physical condition; the Swamp was a dangerous place. (ooc: I'll be using the map from the front of the thread.)
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