|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:54 pm
What brings you here?
A duckling in distress...  He was used to days on end on the road with little to no company. It bothered the half-elf very little to live in solitude with just his horse, his wagon, and the few provisions of food he could gather out in the wild or at random towns. The only commitment he had been to himself, and he liked it that way. Though Voltaire did not object to company he just simply didn't yearn for it nor look for it. The Meji had other plans for the half-elf, however, and through its intent he was seemingly guided to a lonesome child one misty morning.
It was good morning for Voltaire the faerie of the surrounding wilderness decided to not play mischievous pranks upon his mostly unsuspecting person and he was able to cook himself a decent breakfast using the food he had bought from a village just a mile or two back.
The half-elf had finished breakfast and had been packing up to go on the road again when he heard the mournful cry of a child in the forest near where he had slept the night before. As a precaution Voltaire always slept off to the side of the road and just hidden enough so that bandits couldn't bother him and that he could easily get his wagon and horse moving again when he was ready to leave. The woods were often regarded the playground for faeries and other spirits and beings of mischief. So it not a surprise that he ignored the cry, brushing it off as a faerie trying to get off a parting joke before Voltaire could leave.
As Voltaire was walking toward Slaine to hitch him to the wagon, the horse suddenly shied back from the half-elf and turned to the forest to where the cry again resounded, but seemingly louder than the last time. With a whinny the large horse dashed off into the forest leaving Voltaire crying out for him.
"Slaine! Gah, damned beast," Voltaire muttered as he dropped the straps and things to the dewy grass and started after the horse. Dangers of the forest meant very little when one is about to loose their mode of transportation.
It wasn't hard to track Slaine, the horse was large and like any beast-of-burden in what seemed to be a slight panic their trail was glaringly obvious. Though the part he wasn't prepared for was to see Slaine in a clearing nuzzling his muzzle against a small girl about that seemed to be about the age of a toddler. Slaine wasn't an ill-tempered beast, but usually the horse wasn't all out friendly toward strangers, especially children.
Voltaire ran a hand through his long hair and started to approach the pair. If there had been something wrong Slaine would seem a bit more apprehensive and cautious instead of nuzzling the strange little girl. When Voltaire got close enough the violet colored eyes of the girl looked straight at him causing him to freeze for a moment. Something about the stare seemed disarming. It was the gaze of someone going through a constant inner battle, and already at such a young age she had gone through so much...Tear-stains streaked over her cheeks.
So it wasn't a trick of the Faerie...This was an actual child in need.
Voltaire sighed a bit almost reluctant to approach and accept the responsibility that was suddenly thrust upon him, but still he stepped forward and knelt while Slaine stepped back a bit and began to search the grasses for some sweet clovers as a reward for a job well done.
The half-elf got a handkerchief from a pocket and dabbed it over the girl's face with a frown, "Now, now, child. Where is your guardian." He muttered soothingly as he looked her over.
Such a queer child this one was. Flippers for feet and feathers attached to her through the skin, or rather apart of her. There were markings on her face red and black ones. They were mysterious, but beautiful.
The small swan-girl hiccupped and whimpered reaching up to Voltaire, but at first the man withdrew.
"Now, now, sweetheart, you know not what you ask for," Voltaire replied after drawing back, but seeing her face crumble into sadness again he felt like a heel. He sighed and shook his head, "then again nor do I...Can you talk, Duckling?"
The girl stared up at him with deep purple colored eyes and sniffed a bit, "Annjette," she replied sternly.
Blinking a bit the half-elf asked, "That your name?"
The girl nodded once.
Well, at least she understood what he said to her thus far, "My name is Voltaire."
Annjette raised an eyebrow at him, "Vohl-tear," she pronounced.
The man sighed and shook his head, "Neh, sure, want to come with me and see if we can find your home?"
A look of consternation crossed her face for the briefest of seconds before she replied, "You home now, Vohl-tear."
Voltaire mirrored the face she made at him back at her and just shook his head, "I don't know if I can take care of you, Duckling."
This time she didn't correct him using her name, but still she replied, "You home now, Vohl-tear."
The man's shoulders drooped as he bowed his head for a moment. What the hell was he doing sitting in a clearing and arguing with a god damn orphan toddler? Yet, still, the words seemed to ring true. The longer he spent with her the tighter the Meji bound them together and made his heart open wide enough to accept the child as his own. Voltaire moved forward and gathered her into his arms and she nestled into his arms as if she had belonged there. Voltaire's dismay and fear of further responsibility melted away, "Fine, Duckling, but don't say I didn't warn you."
With a free hand Voltaire tapped Slaine on the head gathering the horse's ropes and leading him back to the wagon with the child in his arms.
They got ready to leave and it wasn't until they had hit the rutted road that the fear of having to let go should he find where she did actually belong to. The fear that maybe she wasn't as abandoned as she appeared to be. The fear sat in his gut in a cold pit but on the outside he wore a smile when glancing at the child seated next to him secure in her perch and happy to once again be accepted.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:56 pm
RP Synopsis
Description: Voltaire finds a Caravan that seems to consist mostly of women and children. How odd. Annjette seems to recognize most all of the children here that put in an appearance. Though the girl can only remember vague misty faces and features for the longest while. Voltaire offers Lorelei to come live with him and Annjette for a while until she unto her own two feet.
Thread of RP: Thread, Click!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 4:57 pm
Lorelei sat on her bed, legs pulled up beneath her skirts. Her journal rested on her lap, turned to a crisp, clean page. The ink on her quill was dry.
How could she start this entry? Just thinking about the subject made her body ache with longing for a simpler time. A time when all she'd cared about was running away with the love of her...
The red-head sighed, moving to dip her quill in the small inkwell again. She had to record this, so she wouldn't forget. Though how she could ever forget was quite beyond her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:06 pm
Voltaire slipped into the wagon carrying sleeping Annjette in his arms. The girl had insisted on going out and so he had obliged her, figuring it would be good for Lorelei to be alone for a moment or two without a child scampering about. He stopped for a moment glancing at her offering a small smile, "Ahh, trying to write in your journal again. Well let me lay Annjette down for her nap and I'll get out of your hair." Voltaire murmured lightly moving toward the back of the wagon where another free bed laid, still not put away from when Annjette last slept there. He covered Annjette with her blanket and stepped back a bit, "She tires quickly some days, I hope that's normal.." He turned and started to head for the exit, moving past Lorelei carefully trying not to disturb her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:10 pm
She looked up, following him with his eyes. Then, figuring that there was no way she could write just now, she set the journal aside.
"Actually, you're not bothering me at all. Do you know when we're setting out on the road again...? We seem to move very little these days, now that we're safely away from Mulden."
She'd heard a few mentions of what had happened there, but she wasn't altogether sure.
"I wonder where we're headed to next..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:17 pm
He laughed a bit stopping midway to the exit happening to stop in front of her and he turned to face her now tilting his head, "Not totally sure, but probably soon. I have no idea what happened before I came here. So forgive my ignorance I guess." He smiled faintly and shrugged, "I just figure I'll move my wagon as soon as the others start moving theirs again." Voltaire rubbed the back of his neck, looking thoughtful a moment or two.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:21 pm
"That's as good a plan as any," she responded, smiling slightly. His enigmatic traveling companion was talking a little more often, now. That was probably a good sign.
She covered the small ink well and got up, moving over to a small trunk by her bed, a little storage container that Voltaire had given to her. She knelt, opening the lid and setting her journal, quill, and ink inside.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:29 pm
He watched Lor for a moment thoughtfully before he finally spoke again, "Want to sit outside with me a while? It's kind of nice out. We won't be wandering anywhere of course."
It would have been somewhat unusual for him to leave Annjette alone period, he seemed to have become a little more protective of her since she had pretty much claimed him as her father. Seemed as if Voltaire took the title given upon him quite seriously.
"If you don't that's fine, just figured we could talk more easily without the fear of waking Annjette that way." He spoke with her casually. He talked to her whether or not she talked back. Voltaire said small things likely in hope that they lead to conversation. He was glad that Lor was finally peeking a little out of her shell.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:36 pm
Rising to her feet once more, she glanced at him over her shoulder. "That sounds nice... perhaps I can get some sewing done on Annjette's little cloak." She bent down again and pulled out a needle and thread, along with a small, dark red bundle of fabric and an embroidery hoop. Then she closed the lid and turned to Voltaire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:44 pm
He nodded a bit, "Sounds wonderful." Voltaire smiled at her as he stepped out first, as the wagon was just a little too small to act out, 'Ladies first' mannerisms.
Once out he glanced around at the other wagons, smoothing out the front of his shirt thoughtfully. Moving soon would be good, but right now this seemed okay. There was a feel of waiting heavy in the air. Waiting for what he himself simply couldn't say for sure.
Voltaire shrugged off the thought physically and mentally as he picked out a nice patch of grass near the wagon to sit upon with Lor. A patch that was just close enough to the wagon so that he could hear when Annjette stirred from her slumber.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:49 pm
Lor followed and settled down on the grass gingerly, pouch of small cymbals at her waist clinking gently. The sound had altered, for her, from one of pain to one of remembrance. It was comforting, now. The only thing she had left.
She took up her sewing once she was settled, working on hemming the cloak. She'd fitted it just the other day, and was making the hem rather large to accommodate the girl's likely growth spurt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:58 pm
He watched her settle next to him and watched her still as she worked on the cloak with a small smile, "Looks wonderful so far, Lor." Voltaire complimented sincerely.
The man stared a head for a moment thoughtfully, "Do you enjoy living with us? Is there anything you need? I'm willing to help you with anything. You know that, right?" He didn't bother looking at her now. Just watching the peaceful scenery before himself with a tilted head.
"I do not want you to feel as if you have to go without just because you live with us." Voltaire chuckled a bit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:12 pm
She glanced up for a moment, then looked right back down at her sewing. "It's nice, having somewhere relatively permanent again. And no, you've done a wonderful job of providing for me - all I really need are quill and paper, and you've those in abundance." Lor laughed, very slightly.
"I only hope I can be of as much help to you as you have been for me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:32 pm
He nodded lightly, "Glad you like it then." Voltaire seemed relaxed as ever, it was like nothing much bothered him at all, "You are already lots of help just by offering to watch Annjette whilst I drive. It's a lot safer with you than with me up front." He looked at her and smiled, "I'd never forgive myself if Annjette got hurt and I could have prevented it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 6:36 pm
She nodded, pulling the thread through the fabric and making another tiny, barely noticeable stitch.
"I'm not much of a mother figure, but yes, I suppose being with me would be a bit safer..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
