Welcome to Gaia! ::

Virali lingered outside the leather shop as the wind chilled her nose into an ice block. She sniffled and looked down at her boot. A hold stare up at her, the result of a nasty rock, and her big toe wiggled through it. The tiny mage sighed melodramatically. At least she was in a town, where she could replace the boots, although she was far more tempted to ignore the hole.  Virali hated spending money on things she needed (although, things she wanted, she had no problem with). It was a weird outlook, she knew, and she had been called irresponsible anfd flighty a number of times over it.

Rolling her tense shoulders, she pushed open the shop's door. The husky scent of leather mixed with sweet cinnamon inside, instantly warming. Her staff tapped almost timidly against the floor as she poked further into the shop. The yellow silk fluttered gently. Sighing, she reached out to stroke a finely worked dagger sheath. The leather had been tanned expertly, and a delicate hand had etched a violent swirl of flowers across the sheath. Virali wanted it although she didn't have a dagger suitable for such beauty. But she was here to see if they had any boot uppers, not for finery.

Virali startled a little, surprised by the woman's voice. She turned and headed closer to the counter. A woman, a heavily pregnant woman, leaned against the counter. Virali smiled as she opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. Her teak wood eyes widened sightly, then squinted. How strange to find someone so similar. Virali scuffed her foot against the floor. She was suddenly reminded of the reason why she came. The hole in her shoe stared up from her left boot. She smiled at the woman. "Hello to you as well! I am wondering if you might help me find a replacement for my boots- the uppers at least. They've got a large hole in the right one as you can see. It's getting quite cold son so..."

"Ah..." she cut herself off, sucking one lip inwards to gnaw on it briefly. "You.... wouldn't happen to have a brother, would you?" She shook her head as if to say 'never mind'. Such a coincidence would be highly unlikely. It was just because Terrowin had been the only person she had met on the road, and he had been very sweet, Virali was surely just imagining things; painting Mylle's face with his simply because she wished to see him again.

At Terrowin's name, Virali's smile widened. What chance! She never forgot a face and the woman's had been so similar, too. She gracefully slipped off her boots, setting them on the wooden counter. Bending over whilst pregnant must be a difficult thing, she mused, and to leave her boots on the floor would be rude. Her toes curled against that floor, the chill snaking between them with icy fingers. Inside was, of course, much less chilly than out in the elements, but, nonetheless, Virali preferred footwear.

"You are related! Your faces are a little similar, I thought." As she spoke, Virali contorted a bit, bringing first one leg, then another up to put the shoes on., She tapped the toes against the floor experimentally and giggled a little. They were much larger than her normal shoes, why she could probably fit both feet in one, if she tried hard enough. But then she would have to hop wherever she went and that would be very awkward. Virali gnawed her lip again. She was just about to try a bit of experimental hopping when a squeaky voice cut through her fancy.

"Tiffan! Hello, little singer. I had acquired a rather unfortunate hole in my shoe. Why are you immersed in fabric? Oh, is Terriwin here too, then?"

Tiffan was... strange, to say the least. A taciturn little plagueling, Virali mused. She seemed to dislike most questions. She watched, bemused, as Tiffan scampered away. Turning her attention back to Terrowin's... sister? Virali tapped her fingers along her staff. "Ah, reinforcing the heel sounds like a good idea, if you're able. I find myself attached to these boots very much." She twirled her staff slowly, the yellow silk fluttering out briefly.

"I meant no offense in my statements." Here she chuckled a little. "Just enough alike. How long has Terrowin been in town, ...?" She trailed off, hoping the other woman might introduce herself. As she spoke, she wandered over to the chair and perched on the seat, dangling one slipper from the tips of her toes idly. She wondered if Terrowin would show up, and found herself wanting to ask the woman more questions than was polite.

"I accidentally left the other pair behind at my last stop." Virali pulled her long braid over her shoulder as she sat, playing with the ends. "I should be fine barefoot for one night, really..." A sheepish smile squirmed across her face. Her staff was secured between her legs, her slipper-clad feet wrapped around it as bets she could.

"And yes, I'm Virali. I'm sorry for not introducing myself! I didn't expect to meet Terr-" her voice cut off as the man himself lumbered into the room. Virali bounced up, almost forgetting the staff betwixt her legs. She flailed and caught herself on the chair, barely managing to prevent her staff from hitting the ground. Using the staff, she poked him in the stomach gently.

"Hello, Terrowin. What are the odds?"

Virali turned back to Mylle. "You are far too kind! To be honest, I had bee hoping to ask how he manged to get here more quickly than I, even though we parted ways not long ago. We met while traveling, you see." Seeing Tiffan's precariously leaning form, she angled her staff towards the plagueling. "Tiffan, if you want , you can touch the staff. It's my one companion. But first, Terrowin, do you think we could sit?"

She grabbed Terrowin's hand and dragged him along to her seat. He was so very tall. After a while of looking up at him, she knew her neck would hurt. So she pushed his shoulder gently, trying to prod him into taking the seat next to her. "How was your travel?"

Virali tucked her feet underneath her as she sat, subtly adjusting her sash where it had tightened uncomfortably around her chest. When she looked up, the expression on Terrowin's face caused a chuckle to bubble in her throat. She couldn't help it, something about him invited teasing or, better yet, she wanted to see his pale skin flush. It had been a while since she had doggedly pursued someone's reactions. The old mages at Knotwood had always only frowned at her. She knew she seemed to be a flitter-twit sometimes, but they were so unyeilding. That was part of the reason she had volunteered to travel, and part of the reaason she had stopped specifically in Freykeep.

As Terrowin talked, Virali hummed quietly, a small sound of content. His awkwardness was somehow amusingly endearing in a man of his size. In fact, he could probably pick her with ease. She did wish, a little, petty thought, that he was more prone to flirting. Virali liked the attention from flirting, both the giving and receiving.

"I guess knowing the way beforehand would make it much easier," she mused politely, smoothing the hem of her tunic - blue this time. "My trip was a little longer, obviously, but not hard. I did almost run into a boar, though. And one night, I paid for nice lodging with my -" Abruptly, Virali paused and breathed out a few quick puffs of air. One by one, she deftly flicked them at Tiffan. A tiny whirlwind rose around the small plague, lifting her up onto the top of the staff. "Ah... are you alright, Tiffan? I, um, am sorry for the abruptness. I thought you would fall..."