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 Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:00 am
Istanell sighed deeply as he moved through the market place. It wasn't as crowded as usual, which was a blessing. He let his gaze roam around, pausing any time he came upon the tell-tale dark skin of a daylight shifter. Each time he spotted one his heart sped up a little... and then sunk deep into the pit of his stomach. None of them were Incanthis, and perhaps it was unrealistic to think he and Illian would find their brother so soon after meeting each other again. Each morning they set out to search, each evening returning to the designated meeting spot with no news and no leads. Istanell prayed nightly now, praying for at least a new hint of Incanthis.
He moved to the side of a building, trying to seek some form of solace from the sun that beat down it's intense heat. He drank from a pouch, reminding himself to find food soon. He would hunt tonight, maybe. Hunting took more time, but he simply didn't have the money to be buying food from vendors left and right. He'd need to do something about that too.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:08 am
A familiar giggle would echo off the building as Kalliope skipped along. She was out with her brother, though he seemed to be more intent on getting food than keeping an eye on her. Eventually she'd get separated from him as he stopped at a stall and she continued on. She was doing much the same that Istanell was doing. The youngling would pause to look at the shifters and when they weren't the one she knew she'd continue on. That was until she laid eyes on Istanell himself. She blinked as she came to a complete stop. Staring at him she'd tilt her head. He wasn't who she was looking for but she knew him. With a wide grin she'd rush over to him and haphazardly wrap her arms around his middle.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:29 am
He was in the process of stretching his arms over his head when something thudded into him, startling him! He grunted and his hands came flailing downwards, eyes wide as he frantically tried to take in what was clinging to him and at the same time reaching for his weapon. It took him several seconds to place the red hair and the warm skin but when he was able to his hand came away from the hilt of his sheathed sword and he felt his muscles relaxing.
"Kalli!" He surprised even himself with being able to remember her name. Awkwardly he patted her on the head before gently unwinding himself from her surprisingly strong grip. He was looking much better than when they'd first met. Still skinny, still obviously needed to eat... but better. He wasn't about to topple over, at least. "Why are you here?" He spoke in a bewildered manner, slightly in awe of the odd coincidences that had been happening to him of late.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:34 am
The child grinned up at him when he said her name. When he tried to get out of her grip she let go but still stayed close. "Silly Istanell, I live here." Another giggle came from Kalli. Her dark red eyes took in how he looked and she couldn't help but continue to smile. So far she'd not heard his stomach growl but she was waiting for it. After all the last time she'd seen him it had. "What are you doing here? Are you hungry?" The youngling questioned him as she gently reached out to poke him in the belly. "My house is nearby." She lit up at the mention of it and seemed to bounce. "Oh! I have something for you too! It's at my house though."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:05 am
He coughed, nodding along. He knew she lived in Oba, just not where exactly. It made sense, it wasn't too far from the boarder. Still a pretty long hike. "Right, of course." He involuntarily sucked in his stomach as she poked him, smiling just slightly. He was really glad most adults didn't go around acting so impulsively because he didn't think he'd like being constantly poked or prodded or hugged by practically strangers. Younglings were an exception to that, though. He hesitated at her question though, there wasn't really any reason she had to know his purpose in the settlement. On the other hand, it wasn't like it would hurt to tell her. "My brother and I are searching for someone." To the point but still vague enough, just in case. In case of what, Istanell couldn't be certain but there weren't many things you could be certain of in this world.
At the mention of hunger his stomach gave a little growl and Istanell found himself chuckling. "I'm usually hungry." The words were offhand, meant slightly as a joke but true enough. In the past it wasn't so... travel changed things.
He tensed right back up at the mention of her home though, and he couldn't help the dark look that fell over his features. Her home, meaning and Oban residence. He looked away to hide his dark look, feeling there was no real reason to indicate something was wrong. If she had been older he might not have been able to keep in the words circling around in his head. But will I be allowed to leave your house? Not an appropriate question to pose to a youngling, of course. He blinked at the further mention of her house, and a gift of sorts...
He felt awkward about it, unsure. It'd been a long time since he'd been showered with such kindness, and here it was while he interacted with an Oban. Both times he had met Kalli she proved to be... very different than how he had previously thought of Oban youth. One Oban youth did not make the entirety of the youth, of course. "... Okay, we can go but I'd like to wait outside." That seemed like a fair compromise to Istanell.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:46 am
So he was looking for someone? Kalliope blinked a few times as she tried to think on that. Who could he be looking for in Oba? The child shrugged her shoulders, deciding it didn't matter since she got to see her friend again. That she was happy about. "Well I am glad you are here!" Genuine glee showed on her face. As if on cue she heard his stomach rumble and laughed. Kalli would get him something to eat while she was at her house as well. As soon as Istanell agreed to go to her house with her she lit up and grabbed his hand to pull him along with her. "Come on, come on! I think you'll like it. My friend Inca helped me to pick it out. He's a boy so it's not a girly thing either."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:24 am
He was glad it did not take much to keep Kalli happy... some younglings would cry no matter what you did or said. He nodded along to her words, thinking that the world was indeed quite a bit smaller than you imagined when you were little. At least, he used to think it was this grand, huge thing... time and again he was proven just how wrong that was.
He moved a few steps forward, managing not to stumble over his feet as he was suddenly yanked forward, but stopped the instant the name passed her lips. He froze, her words lost on him as his brain zeroed in on Inca.
That had to be a coincidence, right? Surely the world wasn't that small? "What?" His mouth suddenly felt very sticky and he needed a moment to gather his thoughts. His hand came away from hers as he rubbed his forehead, like it was bothering him. He brought it away and was suddenly frowning, a stern look on his face. "Who did?" Was Inca... Incanthis? Was he a servant for their family? A slave in nature but not in name? He heard many Oban families had taken to the idea of paying their slaves very low wages, especially when they had no where else to go. "Your servant?" He probably could have phrased things differently, taken a moment to compose himself but... No. It couldn't be Incanthis she was talking about...
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 11:43 am
When Istanell stopped following her and even took his hand away from hers she paused to turn and look at him. He seemed bothered by something she'd said. A frown formed on her face as she did her best to comprehend what he was asking. "My friend Inca helped me to go shopping." It was then that she shifted a little bit to show off the yellow ribbon that had been woven into her braid. "I picked out a ribbon just like yours and then we got the necklace." Oops, she let slip what his present was. Once the shifter asked her if Inca was her servant she looked upset. "No! Inca is not my servant he's my friend just like you are! My family doesn't have servants!" Tears had started to show as she half yelled at Istanell. "I don't know where Inca lives but I wish he did live with me. I wish you lived with me too. Then I'd get to see you more." Clearly she hated not being able to see her friends more.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 5:17 pm
His heart hurts, he realized. His eyes moved to her hair, only now noticing that it was different than when they'd first met. Without thinking his hand moved up and his fingertips brushed at his own braided hair before dropping again. "A ribbon just like mine..." He wasn't sure why he was parroting her words, except that he couldn't help but feel she was talking about Incanthis. But many earthlings must have known how to braid hair, right? "His name – a necklace?" He was trying desperately to push something onto his face besides the vacant look that had overcome him. "Is Inca his full name?"
But suddenly she was upset, tears were beginning and he knew he had made a big mistake. He took a deep breath, kneeling down. "No, no, no... Kalli it's okay, don't start crying!" He winced a little because it had been wrong of him to just assume she'd had servants but... how could he not jump to that conclusion? His brow wrinkled, trying to catch up to what she was saying... live with her... Inca living with her... no, she simply wished that Inca lived with her. Incanthis.
"Oh... " He wasn't sure what to say to that. "I have a brother who I call Inca." He couldn't get off the subject of his brother, and he wasn't really trying to.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:02 pm
Kalli dropped her tear filled gaze to the ground and started to sniffle. Did her friend really think she would be mean to someone and force them to serve her? Or that her family could be like that? When he repeated her words about the ribbon she reached up to touch hers. "I didn't get green but I wanted a ribbon like yours. The yellow matches the wrapping for your gift." She noticed that Istanell had knelt down to her level so she peeked up at him, doing her best not to let her tears fall. "No, I can't say his whole name so he said I could call him Inca. I met him shortly after you walked me back from Matori." She sniffed again as she tried to tell him about her friend. "I was too happy about the necklace we got for Azure that I didn't pay attention and we bumped into each other." Kalliope frowned. "He had to go shopping for some lady and I went with him to get you a gift as well. He helped me to pick it out."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:40 pm
Istanell was at least glad she wasn't full on blubbering or in hysterics. That would have been bad. And it seemed like... the ribbon had distracted her slightly. He should stay on that, at least for the moment. "You have good taste, yellow is a good color."
Calming things down was better in the long run, it would help him get the information he needed. His throat felt sandy though, his tongue heavy. She'd met Inca-too-long-of-a-name-to-pronounce so soon after him? Right when he had met Illian? Fate was a funny thing... He tried to work some spit into his mouth, swallowing. "If I said his name, would you remember it? Is he called Incanthis? A shifter, like me?"
If it was Incanthis.... Incanthis had helped pick out the necklace? Istanell didn't wear jewlery, didn't like it much. But Kalli had been so kind to him... and now maybe she was going to give him information he and Illian had been desperately searching for...
She kept bringing up the gift. He was suddenly standing, motioning for her to move forward. "I'm sorry for stopping us, I was just shocked... I think your Inca is my Inca."
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:49 pm
Kalliope nodded her head a little. Yellow complimented her red hair where as green would have made it look funny. Sniffling once more she brought her hand up to wipe away the tears. "Y-yes.." A small hiccup came from her as she tried to calm herself down now that Istanell had explained things more. As he said Incanthis' name she went slightly wide eyed. "Yeah, that's his name. I can't say it right." She'd tried and failed at it when they had met. "He's not mine but he's a friend like you." Someone she'd met when she was out on her own and someone that had helped her. Kalli held her hand out for Istanell to take. She was hesitant to be as bubbly and touchy as she had been before. Mostly because she felt like something was off. Istanell didn't like her kind. Just like Azure. Before he could take her hand she lowered it and turned so that she could start walking again. "This way.. I'll get the necklace for you." All of her excitement was gone.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:21 pm
He probably would have stood there for the rest of the day when she confirmed his hopes, but he realized something was off with Kalli. He'd hurt her feelings, maybe. He used to be so good with kids... what had happened? The separation of he and his family, he guessed. The animosity he felt for the Oban race had obviously not gone away just because he felt differently for the Oban youth ahead of him than he did for the rest of her kind.
Istanell couldn't help but feel slightly hurt the sudden change in the youngling. It made him feel guilty, too. He followed along, pushing his hurt feelings away as he thought of his brother. "Inca... he lives here? In this area?" He could fix the child's hurt feelings later. Right now he needed to know about his brother! "Do you know where?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 7:35 pm
"He goes to that market to shop so he has to be on this side of the city." Kalliope pointed to the marketplace they had just left as she continued to walk. The little fire child didn't look back at Istanell. "I don't know where." Within moments she was in front of her house and heading right for the door. Since the shifter had said he would wait outside she didn't even pause to see if he followed. Kalli assumed he'd stop there and wait until she came back out. In all it took her several minutes to enter her house, go to her room, get the gift, and come back out. When she did she was holding the necklace in one hand though it was still wrapped in the yellow fabric she'd picked out to keep it safe. "I remembered what you said about necklaces hurting your scars, so I made sure it was long enough not to touch some of them." The youngling held it out for Istanell but still had yet to meet his eyes, or even to really look at his face. Now that she knew, or had a feeling really, that her friend wasn't really a friend since he didn't care for her tribe she didn't want to be herself.
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Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 8:16 pm
Istanell needed to get back to Illian as soon as possible... if Incanthis lived on this side of the city... if this was all really true... they had a very real chance of finding him....
He felt as though he was walking through a dream, so bizarre and like his feet were not even touching the earth. He blinked, shaking his head when the house seemed to jump in front of them, causing Istanell to stumble to a stop to get a better look.
He was still staring when Kalli had come back out, standing before him. He looked down, eyeing the gift and frowning deeply. This time the frown seemed pained, or perhaps slightly ashamed.
He was being a complete and total a**. He put a hand to his head and pressed at his temples simultaneously. He was trying to figure out a quick fix... children were fickle. He could do something to fix Kalli, couldn't he?
He hadn't moved to take the gift, because now it was awkward. It felt wrong to take a gift from a child who was angry with you. "Kalli..." His tone was slightly pleading. "I didn't mean to make you angry." He didn't even think to explain who Inca was, and why he was so important. ".... that is a very thoughtful gift." He added, touched.
"You know, it is very bad luck for friends to part angry with each other."
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