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 Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 7:18 pm
So Valerian’s first week studying in Belrea was already off to an interesting start. The young healer had been browsing in an outdoor market, looking over fresh fruits and vegetables brought in from farmers outside of the city, when the sun decided to hide behind a series of dark clouds that brought a cold wind into the city streets. After passing over money, Valerian had grabbed his purchases and tucked them neatly into his satchel right before getting caught in the rush of the crowd as others ran through the streets towards shelter in the wake of a sudden downpour. Of course with his luck he was in a different area, hoping to find some interesting finds in the open market, and that had left him lost in the southern part of the city near the docks when the chaos began. “Maybe that alley?” Valerian mused, trying his best to not look like a lost duruf pup while the rain soaked his clothing as he walked around the city with his travel bag tucked into his arms to protect it from the rain.
[Valerian 1]
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2024 7:39 pm
The books weighed delightfully in the satchel that bounced against his hip. Mako had managed to find himself a couple treasures at the old bookshop now that he'd had the time and ability to go through the whole shop. His usual companions usually put the pressure on him to merely scan the items. It was well worth the lonely walk! Not even the sudden downpour could damped his spirits! With a quality, water resistant bag protecting his items, he walked through the rain quite unperturbed. The winds picking up were a bit more difficult to deal with though. Being a beanpole of a guy, Mako was starting to get blown around. He ducked against a building for support and crept along it in search of a door or nook for further protection.
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Posted: Mon Aug 26, 2024 1:01 pm
"Woah!" Valerian let out a cry as the wind whipped through the streets again, the sheer force of it nearly making him tumble over like the boxes and other things bouncing along the street. "Watch out!" The leafling called out, raising his bag to block a flying brick...wherever that had even come from away from another earthling. This was no simple summer storm, the winds were truly trying to rip the city apart and the rain had turned into pieces of ice that stung his skin as he moved forward towards the other earthling.
"You okay? We should probably find someplace safer than this." Valerian yelled, hoping his voice reached the stranger over the screaming winds. If anything at least his father had taught him a strong sense of survival even if Valerian quite wasn't like him or his sister. Still, the young healer managed to nudge the other earthling in the direction of what looked like an open cellar door leading into the basement storage of a nearby shop. The wind had flung the door open since it wasn't properly bolted and it was a good chance for them to scurry inside for shelter.
[Valerian 2]
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Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2024 8:39 pm
Mako had just kicked away a basket skittering across the ground when he heard the shout. His heart leapt up into his throat when he realized what a close call that had been. These winds barely qualified as something so simple as 'winds' anymore! "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." He squinted against the wind to get a better look at his savior and nodded. "Something's gotta be open and safe." One hand firmly against the wall, he followed after the stranger without hesitation. Anything was better than being out here alone! Ah! That was something! He gave the other a thumb's up and hurried over to the flapping door. To return the favor, Mako leaned every ounce of his weight to pin the door open so that it wouldn't slam closed on them and pointed into the opening. "Get in!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 9:27 am
Valerian wasted no time in following the direction, the leafling rushing to get into the safe area as the winds howled around them. "Thanks!" He yelled, waiting for the other boy to get inside before tugging at the door to try to close it so that the mix of hail and rain would stop flooding into the storage room. "This is just insane. Do Belrean cities normally have typhoons?" He asked, working to force the door closed the best that he could despite how the wind tried to rip it from his hands. And Belreans thought other countries were more dangerous and wild! What was up with this insane weather?
[Valerian 3]
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Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2024 7:24 pm
Mako followed quickly and yanked at the door as hard as he could to help pull it shut. When the other teen had his grip on the door, Mako let go long enough to look around the new space. The big cellar was a pit of darkness aside from some very dim ambient light from outside that filtered in through a few tiny windows. Much to his delight though, the lamp on the wall had its own set of matches to light it with. They'd gotten lucky here! "We've had storms before, but I don't remember any being this bad, myself," he replied as he ran back with a length of rope. "Here, tie it to the handle there and I'll get the other end on the pillar; so you don't have to stand there the entire time."
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Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2024 5:31 pm
"Well, good thing to know I arrived to town just in time for this." Joked Valerian as he took the rope, tying it the best that he could to the handle. "Hopefully it's strong enough." If not well then they would just have a door slamming open with more wind and rain in their faces. The healer shook his head, tugging at the rope as if to test it one more time, and then when he was satisfied that the door was secured enough Valerian finally looked at his companion. "Need help with any other ideas?"
The wind was really screaming outside, he could hear it still despite everything. It was an insane storm and even Valerian couldn't help flinching when he heard something crash outside of the cellar. "Think the city will still be standing by the time it's all over?" It was a scary thought, but even if Valerian was being dramatic there was certain to be damage to the city by the time they did finally emerge from here.
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Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2024 9:22 pm
Mako snorted and shook his head. If the guy really was fresh to the area; this was the ultimate bad timing. "I'd suggest we see how deep this cellar goes. If that door does give, it's going to be miserable for us to be too close." Well, more miserable. Being stuck in a cellar wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. Hopefully the company would prove to be decent. "You got a light or anything? That'd be helpful. Or find how to start these lanterns." His brow cocked contemplatively while his eyes drifted back to the door. "Most of it, at least." He couldn't help worrying about the ship he'd grown up on. It was a sturdy vessel, but this storm... Hopefully his family and the crew was safe.
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Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2025 8:27 am
"You think so?" Valerian pursed his lips thoughtfully, the young healer worried about someone misunderstanding if they saw them wandering too far into their storage. Would they be taken for thieves even with the storm going on like this? Either way it was probably best that they take the risk. "Hopefully there's no real valuables or anything down here. I wouldn't want to make the wrong impression on the owner if they show up." He admitted to his companion before looking around the stacked boxes that were next to them. A light? What could he...
Ah.
"I did learn a new trick. Let me see..." Valerian shifted his satchel bag, the healer looking towards the other earthling for a moment. "You don't happen to have a spare coin or...oh wait." His fingers closed around a sprig of rosemary that was tucked in with other herbs he had grabbed in the market. "I think this can work." A few whispered words, a tap of his fingers and a pale light started to glow from the herb. It spread around them as if he was carrying a lantern, the glow allowing them to see more of the stone cellar that twisted away from them in curving passages. Valerian hadn't been in the city too long, but he had been studying tomes and books ever since arriving so he knew some about the buildings here and how some of the cellars would twist into longer corridors and have storage rooms for the stores and homes above. Would that be a wine cellar or something further in past those other crates? "Time to explore, I suppose."
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Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2025 6:28 pm
Mako hummed softly. The guy had a point... but he would still rather know there was a space to retreat to if the door should give. As though to make a point, something slammed against the cellar door and made it rattle on its hinges, but it continued to hold. Mako let out a short breath of relief and nodded. "We won't go in too much more. I think if anyone was home, they'd already be down here for safety. I'm guessing they were either out of town or are with family. We shouldn't be bothered." He pushed his hair back from his face and managed a weary smile. "By the way, I'm Mako. Hoping we won't be stuck for too long, but names are still good, yeah?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2025 7:34 am
"Fair enough." Valerian agreed, listening to the other earthling's logic and nodding as he started walking along away from the rattling door and towards the hallway he had spotted at the end of their main room. The walls seemingly continued into the darkness, the embedded stones cool and smooth to the touch as Valerian traced his fingers carefully across them while holding the twig up with his other hand to light the way. "Names? Oh!" A light flush covered his cheeks as he glanced back towards his companion. How could he forget his manners like this? And he had just gotten to the city! "My apologies...I didn't even think about that in all of this chaos. My name is Valerian."
A rumble of thunder to shake the ground beneath them, Valerian tensing as he waited to make sure that it was simply thunder and nothing more. "Okay well that was a bit intense." He admitted looking back towards Mako. "Maybe that's the worst of it and it'll be over soon. If not I hope you don't have any place important to be any time soon....and at least I think we found some drinks if we get desperate enough." And sure enough he had stumbled into a wine cellar, the wooden door creaking as he gently shoved it open and peered inside at all of the bottles that the flickering light showed as he raised the twig more to get a better view of the larger circular room with all of the stone cubbies and wooden shelves scattered about.
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Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2025 9:00 pm
"It's no problem. I only just thought of it myself. ..Valerian. Thanks again for the help up there." Mako's brow knit slightly with concern. "We can only hope that was it. As hard as it's going, maybe it'll go through just as fast as it came." His hand drifted to rest on his pack. "I was just going back home from the bookstore. My only rush now would be that I'm sure my family's worried. We live on a merchant ship, so they're pretty used to me being right there if there's trouble." Oh... A quietly playful smirk curled his mouth slightly. "Maybe they'll forgive us for taking a bottle if we leave a couple silvers in its place. I might leave a couple anyway just for thanks that we got to use this as shelter without permission."
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2025 4:29 pm
"You're welcome." Valerian flashed a small smile towards Mako, the healer feeling a bit less awkward now by the storm's forced companionship with the other earthling. "Ah, I see. Hopefully they'll realize that you had to take shelter elsewhere since your ship must be docked. That's intriguing though...it must be nice to sail the world." At least that was his assumption considering the vast majority of his childhood had been spent in the forest save for the last trip to Belrea and the earlier trip to Matori that had gotten him caught up with his relatives and guided him back here to the city with his aunt's help.
Another rumble of thunder had him tighten his shoulders, but the idea proposed by Mako had him relaxing a smidge once more. "We can only hope, right? I have a couple of silvers somewhere, I just need to dig through my bags but I have no idea which bottle would be best for the trade...." He began with a chuckle. "I guess you can pick and we can hope for the best while the storm keeps going." At least it would be a nice way to pass time while they were stuck here....telling stories and having a drink to try to keep their stomachs warm despite the cold damp air of the cellar space.
[Valerian 7]
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Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2025 6:59 pm
Mako gave a subdued smile. "Yeah, it's fun." Setting out on new adventures regularly was great... but what would it be like to have consistency? To get up knowing what you would do and letting others do the traveling for you? He was getting more and more curious about that kind of life... Oh, so a bottle was indeed the plan! Mako's smirk warmed and he leaned over next to Valerian for a closer look at the bottles. "We didn't transport wine often, but I think I've seen enough to judge what a few of these are worth." With his growing business senses, he made his best estimate from the offering before them. And hey; if they made it through the first bottle and the storm was still raging, he wouldn't mind throwing a few more coins to the pile!
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