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 Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:23 am
Eudom didn't like going towards the more coastal areas of Yael. The man much preferred the solitude of his quiet farm that was nestled a few hours walk away from the coast, the harbors safely tucked out of sight and out of mind so that he didn't have to worry about the strange foreigners who were coming and going from his homeland so much as of late. Unfortunately for him though he had certain items that he needed to stock up for in winter and getting coin for his products was a lot easier in the harbor town instead of his own local village where they mostly traded necessities instead of coin. A frown crossed Eudom's lips as he tucked his satchel closer to his body and walked towards the shopping district of the bigger city that was along the coast of Yael. He rarely had been to such big places and every time he did come into the city he always felt so nervous. This year was no different especially since he was still adapting to being alone and not escorted by his grandfather or someone else from his local village.
Let's just hope for a quick and easy day. He prayed to the gods before venturing over towards a merchant so that he could barter with them. A few rare herbs later the teen found himself pocketing coin and glancing towards a larger building that always caught his interest. One of the few shops he did truly enjoy venturing into....a bookstore.
[Eudom 1]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:23 am
Nilah by Discord
Vepkhia hadn't been in Yael for very long, at least it didn't feel like it. In actuality, it had been almost 2 weeks since the boat arrived but the time flew by since she had so much to see and do. She didn't explore much in Oba due to hitching a ride with the old man 'Gramps' and that was okay, she thought. Instead she had a fairly comfortable and safe journey through Oba to meet Kresimr in Matori. The two had explored Matori a little bit together, it would be a time Vep would never forget. She was actually sad when he split from Arianum and her just as she imagined it was hard for him to leave them, the big protector that he was.
The young shifter hadn't actually traveled very far through Yael, instead trying to do a thorough search of the city for any mention of that plant the traveler had told her about. She had asked all the merchants if they knew of a certain plant that had medicinal and nutritional properties but they, at first, turned her away without any explanations. Yet she was not so easily dismissed when it came to something she needed to know about. And through persistence, she discovered they didn't know anything anyhow. It was how she found herself in the same bookstore every evening. If the owners disliked her scouring their books on herbology and medicine they never said anything. With an arm full, really maybe just three medium sized books, Vepkhia made her way towards the small table by a window she'd been commandeering as her own.
[Vepkhia 1]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:23 am
It didn't take long before Eudom's arms were full of books. The Yaeli mostly collected anything older and always had to bother the shopkeeper for access to any rare tomes that came into the store. Despite his isolated upbringing the teen was well read and always kept honing his skills by reading whatever he could grab. Some of it was mostly superstitious things, folktales and the like written down by Yaeli over generations while the rest were actual manuals on crafting and other necessary skills for upkeeping the farm. He wanted to study more on herbs lately since wandering the forests around his home more, especially now that everything had been planted for the season and set for the most part. So today's pile contained a few books on herbology and some medicines while a few other tomes were more akin to fiction, Eudom's strong belief in the supernatural still continuing on despite the loss of his grandparents.
Still, his pile of books kept his attention and he found himself balancing them before heading to his favorite table. It was nestled by a window to give him the perfect amount of sunlight for reading and so out of the way that he never expected anyone else to be there. Needless to say his surprise was obvious whenever he plopped the books down and almost sat down on a foreigner by mistake.
[Eudom 2]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:23 am
Could this be it? She thought to herself. The book was currently talking about local plants and what was actually edible and their common uses. While most of them were food related, she had just been reading about an herb that was usually steeped as you might with tea to sooth some illnesses. Vepkhia had reached over to grab her notebook from her bag so she could write down relative information about that particular plant and see if it was referenced anywhere else. Yet, as she turned away she felt her subconscious nag her that something had invaded her personal space...right about the time she felt something almost land on her. "EEK!" She squealed and curled in on herself, her notebook of plant notes falling to the floor.
[Vepkhia 2]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
Eudom's heart jumped as he heard the sudden noise beneath him. The Yaeli's cheeks darkened as he took a hasty step backwards, his books cluttering from his arms and onto the table in surprise. "I'm sorry." He managed before leaning over the stranger so that he could try to gather his books. His lips pressed into a line of confusion though when he realized a lot of their reading materials were the same and honestly he couldn't quite recall which titles were originally his. Eudom honestly didn't know what to do, especially when he pulled another step back with just one or two of the books in his arms. His confusion only increased more when he actually took the time to look over the stranger, his gaze widening when he realized that she was most definitely a foreigner. If he wasn't in the city and had met her in the woods then he would have believed her to be a shadow almost!
[Eudom 3]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
When the young woman finally unclenched her eyes to see what had happened her spirits dropped. Where was her notebook?! And the book she was reading?! "No no no, where did it go?" She was trying to be quiet but her panic raised her volume a little louder than it needed to be. She had been right in the middle of drawing the leaves of the plant, she hadn't even written down the name! Fool, she told herself as she quickly scooted the chair back and hunted around on the floor. It was then that she actually noticed the pair of legs right next to her table. Her gaze went up and up until they stopped on a face that looked more confused than anything. That caused her to stop, her brows furrowed in her own confusion. "Who are you?" She asked as if she had the right to know. Picking up a book from the floor at random, her gaze flicked to it. "This isn't mine..." Vepkhia said absentmindedly and held it out to the boy in front of her.
[Vepkhia 3]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
"Who are you?" Repeated Eudom as he stared at the foreigner, his expression perplexed as he tried to figure out the strange appearance of the shifter. He had to remind himself that this wasn't some spirit to whisk him away into the otherworld and that she surely was just a foreigner shopping here since it was a harbor city after all. Eudom took a deep breath before trying again. "Eudom, you?" He managed before slowly reaching out to take the book from her. His gaze narrowed thoughtfully before he shifted through the other books he had picked up. Did the rest belong to him or no? Eudom let out a sigh before placing the pile on the table and facing the stranger. "I don't want to steal from you so...do you know which ones belong to you? They're similar so it's hard to tell." As usual he was blunt and to the point though it was hard to focus like usual when he kept taking glances towards the foreigner as if fascinated to see someone from across the ocean in person like this.
[Eudom 4]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
Vepkhia tilted her head almost bird like as the boy parroted her question. She was about to answer him when it seemed like he decided to answer her after all. "Vepkhia..." She answered slowly as she watched him pick up the other books and set them on the table. He seemed almost....exasperated? No...that wasn't quite it. She wasn't sure what was different about him, Vep couldn't quite nail down what was going on with him. And quite frankly, that bothered her. Still, at his statement, she blushed and looked away slightly. "Actually..." Vepkhia looked through the spines until she found one with a small flower on the top and bottom. Carefully she plucked it out of the bunch making sure none of the little slips with notes, ones that she often jotted down quickly and shoved inside, fell out. "Actually only this one is mine." Again she blushed. "The owners have been pretty kind allowing me to do some research in the evenings provided I don't cause any disruptions." So she was understandably worried about this incident. He appeared like he felt that he had just as much of a right to this table as she felt sometimes which caused her to wonder who this Eudom was. "But..." She said as she looked over the books again. Vep pulled out three more books. "These were the ones I was going through today. So the others should be yours." The young woman was cheerful and smiled up at Eudom as she sat back in the chair.
[Vepkhia 4]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
"Vepkhia." Repeated Eudom slowly as he tried to match the girl's pronunciation. He had never heard a name quite like that one before but it was to be expected considering that they came from different worlds. It was strange to even think that he was actually in the same space as a foreigner. That was most definitely something he never imagined before. Eudom pursed his lips before noticing that she seemed a bit flustered also. Honestly if she wasn't flustered then he would be worried. Spirits after all had a good ability to trick the minds and to blend in when necessary, right? That was how they enticed you and pulled you into the unknown...Eudom took a deep breath before focusing again.
"Ah, I see." Eudom nodded as he glanced over the books and thought about her words. "They're all about plants?" He found himself questioning as he realized the similarities in their reading materials. Honestly it was already strange that she had taken his favored spot but for her to also have the same materials? Eudom found his worry growing. What was it with these coincidences?
[Eudom 5]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
She nodded as Eudom said her name. It wasn't quite right but it didn't bother her. They came from different places with different languages. Languages would always be a barrier between people, even with the use of a common language things could often be misinterpreted.
As he looked over the books, Vepkhia smiled somewhat sadly. "I'm looking for a particular kind of plant. My research led me here to Yael first, though things haven't been going so well." There was that one plant she had just started to learn about so she'd have to try to find it again before she left for the day. On that mental note, she quickly looked for the book and turned it so she could see the outside and tried to memorize at least the title and outside of the book. She thought about asking him about his books but decided not to pry...this time.
[Vepkhia 5]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
He really should just move along. Eudom kept repeating that in his thoughts almost like a mantra before glancing over at Vepkhia again. "A plant all the way in Yael? You traveled far for such a thing?" He frowned in confusion. What plant could be so important and better yet grow in Yael? The Yaeli pursed his lips as he looked at the few books on plants that he had gathered. Normally he would chastise someone for thinking of special plants in this rocky country but then he also knew that he lived on a farm, surrounded by plenty of greenery especially with the nearby forest. It was just so strange that a foreigner would seek Yael out of all places when he felt the other countries surely had so much more.
[Eudom 6]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
Vepkhia laughed softly, "Yeah...I know..." Kresimir had been skeptical as well, but he always was for her sake. "Yet my parents weren't able to find anything to help on the mainland and I had met with someone who had recently traveled here and suggested I look here on Yael. This island is so...different. I never really realized how different until I got off the boat. And now I'm thinking maybe there might be something here that could help me." She looked at him once again and then once again over the collection of books he had grabbed, she noted there were a few in there she had not read yet. "What about you? Are you training to become an herbalist?" Vepkhia asked, unable to stop her question this time.
[Vepkhia 6]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
Eudom blinked thoughtfully. What was this girl? A cook or herbalist maybe? He couldn't even begin to imagine what type of dish or concoction she had in mind that it required going all the way to a foreign country for some rare plant. "Perhaps you're the different ones." He found himself grumbling in response as he tidied the stack of books up, straightening the edges so that they were all evenly aligned. Eudom felt almost protective over his pile of books since they had been his own personal finds, a reward for his last hour or so spent in the dustier areas of the shop where he had to climb ladders and reach around into tucked away shelves full of old tomes. He liked collecting the older materials since they felt more familiar to him somehow.
Still, he couldn't help but to make a face and shake his head at the question. "Nothing wrong with being an herbalist, but that's not for me. I just enjoy living simply and venturing into the local villages when necessary to trade for supplies." He was a farmer and hunter, nothing more and nothing less. Eudom nodded at the thought before studying the stranger again. "Are you a herbalist or somethin'? Is that why you have an interest in finding plants?" Honestly he didn't even know why he bothered asking but it just seemed a bit awkward if he were to simply walk away now with his books, especially since he had wanted to look through them before spending so much coin. So much for doing that easily in his favorite spot though.
[Eudom 7]
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
"Please don't misunderstand. I didn't mean that it was different in a bad way. Just not what I'm used to is all." Vepkhia wouldn't want someone to think she was insulting their home so she hoped to make that clear. As he straightedge his books, Vep's eyes studied the pile and noticed there were quite a few older bindings on some of them. Some of those books were quite a bit older than most of the books in this bookstore.
The young woman frowned at his next question. She was in no way an herbalist but there wasn't quite an easy way to answer his question. "Not exactly...but I suppose my knowledge and research could lend itself towards that. It's not something I think I could dedicate my life to, I don’t think." She was quiet for a moment before she added quietly. "At least I hope not..." Vepkhia cleared her throat. "My research is more for a uh, personal reason." she didn't care to elaborate more than that. She disliked telling people about her illness, they always thought different of her differently. "Are you planning on buying all of those books?" she asked, interest clear in her voice. "Where did you even find some of these?" Her fingers reached out to skim along some of the older books. "I don't remember seeing some of these on the shelf." It was possible she had just missed them but she was sure she would have checked the older volumes first.
Vepkhia 7
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Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 am
The Yaeli raised an eyebrow but nodded at the further explanation. He supposed that did make sense in a way even though he did find anything outside of Yael a strange world indeed. Even if they had plenty of spirits and curses to deal with the young man had heard about even more dangerous and strange stories coming from the many countries across the ocean. And just like how she wasn't accustomed to Yael, Eudom still wasn't accustomed to sitting next to Vapkhia. She was definitely the most unique person he had ever seen, that was for certain. But he supposed that as long as she didn't try to curse him that she seemed polite enough and not the worst company considering.
"Understandable." Eudom gave a nod though he frowned at the personal reason aspect. "Is it something that you cannot share? " He found himself asking before flushing as he realized what he had blurted. Eudom coughed into a hand before glancing over at the book pile again. "I wasn't certain. They're older tomes that I had to climb into storage for." The Yaeli gave a slight shrug as he tapped a finger along one of the older spines. "I suppose the owners even forget about them sometimes and just let them keep collecting dust. Shame considering how interesting some of the books can be." At least for someone like him who was raised on old folklore and such they were almost like treasures.
[Eudom 8]
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