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 Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:26 am
Don't worry about me. I won't get lost. I've gotten older and wiser. Trust me, I'll be able to find my way back.
Yeah, right. Those were going to be her famous last words at this rate. She had wanted to stop by a small settlement to grab a change of clothes and a few supplies, convincing herself that she wasn't going to get lost. After all, it was the younger, less mature Araie that had managed to get lost all the time. She wasn't going to fall into that trap. And yet, here she was, having absolutely no clue where she was. Apparently she had yet to fully overcome her impatience.
Now she was walking along a small dirt path that didn't seem to lead anywhere in particular, hoping that she was going to see a familiar landmark sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, right now all she had was the strange feeling that she was being watched. And she really didn't like it at all. Biting her bottom lip, she slipped her hand into her pouch and wrapped her fingers around her familiar runes. If someone was going to come after her, she wasn't going to go down without a fight.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:34 am
She had played nice with everyone during the fights against the Alkidike, but now Xariy was growing restless. Her sticky fingers needed to snag something, or better yet a few somethings. There had been no chance to do that when they were fighting. They'd all been on the same side at that point, and it would have been wrong to steal from them when they were fighting a noble cause. Or as noble as war could be anyway. Her code of course got in the way from her eating too well during that time and now she was practically starving. Instead of stealing Kauff's pants she really should have snagged some food or something when she'd been with him. At least then she would have been a lot less concerned about her stomach. Luckily it seemed she'd just received a chance to get some food. A little lost ice girl would be the best person to go after. Though if she was poor then that would really ruin everything. She needed a rich noble to steal from! Someone who deserved having their things snatched! Really the only way to find out exactly who the girl was was going to be by interacting with her.
"You seem a little lost, gorgeous. Need some help?" Xariy called to her, stepping out of her shaded spot in the trees to come into view.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:43 am
Araie eyed the Fire Earthling warily, her fingers still tight on her runes. There was nothing about this situation that she liked and she was still uneasy, but she wasn't going to be hostile straight off the bat. That was just a way to make enemies in a time she really didn't need to.
"I'm quite proficient at getting myself out of being lost. I'm fine, truly," Araie answered cautiously. She was trying her best to not come off like a jerk and to be as friendly as possible, but she wasn't sure how well she did that. She wasn't as naturally kind as Eziya and she certainly wasn't naturally charming. She was afraid she still came off rather cold to most strangers. But there was something almost...predatory about the girl in front of her that was fraying her already stressed nerves.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 1:48 am
"Really? It looks to me like you've been wandering around in circles for quite some time," Xariy chuckled, stepping closer to the girl while still keeping a comfortable distance away in case things went south faster than she like. "I promise I only bite when asked." She couldn't really tell if the girl was being cautious, or preparing for an attack. She seemed harmless enough, but then again plenty of people seemed harmless and in fact were very dangerous. She hadn't interacted with many ice earthlings before, only seen a couple during the fighting and around marketplaces. She wasn't sure how they presented themselves most of the time. Other than being a little....cold.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:03 am
Araie flushed slightly at the girl's words, not willing to admit that was closer to the truth that she'd like to admit. She really needed to learn to leave markers or something on the trails she took so she'd be able to find her way back. Then again, if she did that, it was very likely that someone exactly like this girl in front of her would be able to track her down. There had to be a better solution, but for right now, she had something else to focus on.
"Well I thank you for your concern, but I assure you it is not needed. My friend is waiting on me and I'm sure he's concerned about my absence," Araie nodded, a soft smile on her face. She wasn't fooled into a sense of security quite yet, but she was willing to talk to her for a bit longer. She wanted to avoid a fight if at all possible, but she wasn't sure if the Fire Earthling was going to let that happen.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:07 am
"Ohhhh, what sort of friend? A lover? Or some sort of affair?" Xariy laughed, thoroughly interested in the idea of the ice girl having some deep dark secret. Why else would she be wandering around without so much as a map? It was silly. They must have had some sort of secret meeting place, some sort of hidden spot so they could be lovebirds together. She was so thrilled by her thoughts she completely forgot her original plan of trying to steal from the girl. Xariy was really the most easily distracted thief of them all. It was unfortunate for her, but really perfect for anyone that was her target.
"So how did the two of you meet? Is it forbidden romance?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 2:15 am
"I...uh...wha...no! It's not a romance at all! We're just friends! Why are you even asking??" The words all came out in a quickly stuttered mess as Araie flushed even deeper at the insinuation. To think that she would be having some sort of forbidden romance. Or any romance at all! Why, the very idea was...
Araie shook her head and looked down at the ground, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be on her guard and looking for any signs of betrayal. That one series of questions had completely thrown her off and now she couldn't even think straight, much less prepare herself for a hypothetical battle. It seemed that she was still very unused to social situations outside of the very proper Ice tribe.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 10:26 am
"So what's his name, huh? Is he another ice babe, or something a bit more scandalous? Tell me all the little details, dearest," Xariy grinned, thoroughly enjoying seeing the other woman flustered. To say she was amused would be an understatement. She was having a fantastic time teasing the poor girl in front of her. Not many people were as open about romance and the like as she was, so while the iceling most likely had a normal response it was all new to her. She'd plan on stealing from her, but had fallen into something much more exciting to her. She really wondered if she would ever really steal from anyone else at this rate. She'd been on a dry spell for quite some time.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 9:55 pm
Araie didn't even know where to begin with this strange woman. She no longer felt like she was in any real danger, but that didn't stop her from not knowing how to handle the situation any better. She may have been able to handle a fight better than she could handle what was happening right now. At least a fight was straight forward.
"I'm still confused as to why you seem to want to know so much about me, miss...uhm...Who are you, exactly?" Araie finally managed to say. The least she could do was figure out the Fire girl's name so she wasn't just speaking to a complete stranger. Instead, she would just be talking to a very strange person in the middle of the road while she was completely lost.
...That wasn't much better, now that she thought about it.
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Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 6:31 pm
"I find it fun, if you must know. I enjoy learning about people, and seeing you so flustered by simple comments is a great time. I haven't been this amused in quite a bit," Xariy chuckled, patting the younger woman on the shoulder. She was such a nervous girl that even she had trouble giving her a hard time. She almost felt bad about teasing her so much. Almost.
"Now now, gorgeous. Tell me your name and I'll tell you mine. It's only fair after all," she winked at her.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:25 pm
"Araie. My name is Araie," she responded after a few moments of hesitation. Oh, there was no harm in telling someone so simple as her name, even if this someone was as strange as the girl that was touching her why in the world was she touching her?? People out here really were much...friendler than she would have thought before. Still, the Fire girl's cheer was infectious and she had a hard time not smiling around her. While she was indeed odd, she had hopes that they could perhaps maybe be friends one day.
Besides, if anything, she looked like she would be the type to go on some wild adventure, and she needed someone like that in her life. As much as she loved her current friends, they weren't exactly the type of people who were down with exploring some random ruins or dark caves that she just so happened to stumble upon.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 3:51 pm
"A pretty name for a pretty girl," Xariy winked, bowing to the girl before her. "The name suits you, lovely. And since you were so kind as to give me your name, I'll give you mine. I am Xariy, stunning Oban extraordinaire." Sure she was being a bit dramatic at the moment with her introduction, but it was fun. It was always good to make a lasting impression on someone, whether good or bad. At least that was what she believed anyway. Though Araie seemed very nervous around her, she hoped eventually she would relax. She didn't want to keep intimidating the poor girl after all.
"So what do you do for a living, miss Araie?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 9:04 pm
Were all Obans this...forward? Somehow Araie doubted it. And she still wasn't sure how to react to such statements, but she had started to relax a bit more. It was apparent that Xariy has no intention of fighting her. If she had wanted to attack her, she had had plenty of time to do it before now. She was going to trust her, at least for the moment. She saw no reason not to, and if that turned sour, well...
"Uhm, whatever comes my way, really. I'll do anything from helping villagers get rid of some attacking beasts to helping rebuild some damage from the war. Just whatever needs to be done, I will do it. I've discovered that every job has value and a chance for learning as long as you're willing to look for it," the Ice girl explained. She was sure it wasn't the most exciting answer, but it was the truth. And it wasn't like she had a steady job. That was far too boring for her tastes. She was sure she could find one if she was willing to settle down, but she couldn't see that happening any time in the near future.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:02 pm
"It's an honorable way to look at things I suppose. Do they ever help you in return, or are you stuck helping people continuously without anything in return? If you are I really don't think that's fair on your part. You should take something back in return." Xariy was of the mindset that nothing was worth doing unless she was getting something out of it in return. There were very few cases when she went against that thought process, generally if she was helping a child or someone with no means of assisting themselves. If they knew how to work and how to do things on their own then they were able to do it on their own.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:13 pm
Araie shook her head, brushing stray pieces of her hair out of her face as she did so. "I don't look at it that way. I'm not helping them because I expect them to pay me back or because I'm trying to get something out of it. I'm helping them because..." Araie was silent for a few moments as she tried to think of the reasons why she had been helping these people for the past several months. Nothing was coming to her. "Well, because it's the right thing to do, I suppose. And it's not like I don't get anything out of it. I always learn something, and sometimes they'll give me a free place to stay the night or give me some food or supplies for my travels. So it's really not a total loss, and I feel like I've done something. Which was better than feeling like she had done nothing at all, which seemed to be an increasingly prevalent thought these past few months since the war had ended. But now really wasn't the time and place for such thoughts, especially with a girl that she had meant only minutes ago.
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