❂ Xariy

[OpticPeach]

Quote:

This Quest is for Xariy who is striving to become a Pickpocket.

OOC
||. The quest prompt must be answered with a 2000 word reply (can be more).
||. Respond to the prompt given with an adventure of your own creation as long as it meets the requirements of the specific tasks.
||. NPCs may be used as long as they advance the quest in an interesting manner.
||. You cannot include any playable characters other than the quest taker.
||. Your responses will be graded with a Pass or Fail. Those who fail will have to continue with assistance from the staff.
||. Questions about quests can be asked here.

IC

Xariy had recently left her old group of bandits, so recently in fact that there was still considered to be bad blood between her and the group. It wasn't hard to see that normally Xariy would just be minding her own business, but the scene she was about to encounter would be a hard one to turn away from.

Some of the bandits from her old group were harassing a couple of children, kicking them down, harassing them for their things - what little they had - and demanding that they be taken back to their home so they could rob them even further.

Quest Tasks
||. This quest is to test Xariy's moral code.
||. The quest should begin with her finding the situation at hand.
||. The bandits still hold a grudge against Xariy and will not take her seriously if spoken to.
||. Xariy has to decide whether to get involved at all, or turn the other way to prevent future problems with her old group.
||. The quest should end with her decision being played out: either she stays out of it, or she helps the children avoid harm and deals with the bandits however she can.

 

[OpticPeach]

Word Count: 2,122

Xariy had thought she was rid of them for good. She and Zen had parted on good terms of course, but he had and always would be her mentor. The rest of the group on the other hand.....now they were a different story. They hadn't liked her coming in when she was younger in the first place, and even after she had proven her worth they were still sour about the whole ordeal. Even after doing everything they asked of her and nearly breaking her code to assist them they still treated her as if she was a child. It was one of the reasons she had left. She had been gone quite some time now, but it seemed no matter where she went she was bound to run into them. All she wanted was to go her own way and not deal with her old group, but apparently luck was not in her favor this day. She had just been happily minding her own business when she heard the screams. Which honestly weren't all too surprising when one was out in the woods, but being ever curious she decided to check it out. Usually she could tell the difference in the screams. Sometimes it was simply a beast sounding like a person, while other times it was from a group of bandits attacking others. Then there were the amusing times when she wandered in on some interesting things happening in the woods. To each their own she supposed. Of course what she was going to be walking in on was a mystery, but hopefully it was an exciting one. She'd been craving some excitement ever since she split from Zen and the group and started wandering on her own. There wasn't much fun in traveling by ones self for very long. She was surprisingly a people person and liked to deal with others. Part of it was perhaps because of her parents influence. Being merchants they had always instilled in her the need to be friendly and welcoming with people even if they didn't want to deal with them. Oddly enough it was one of the only things that had stuck with her about them after all these years.

Most times she didn't think about them, but every now and then a thought like that would slip through and bother her with uneccessary memories. One of these days she would have to find them, but for today she had other things on her mind. Like screams to locate. Yeah, that was her best plan of action right now. No more getting sentimental on her walks. Xariy paused, straining to locate the screams in an attempt to distract her from her other thoughts bubbling just under the surface. It took a moment for her ears to pick up the sound again, but after a long stretch of silence she caught sound of it again. Now that she was closer she could tell it was definitely a person. More than one in fact. Their shrill cries for help made her think they were no more than children, but why in Tendaji would children be so far out in the woods? It was way too dangerous for them to be wandering by themselves. She was split between leaving them to their own devices or going to figure out just what was going on. It wasn't her fault they'd wandered out there so why should she help them? Maybe having them find their own way out would teach them a lesson. Or it could get them killed. That was another possibility. Perhaps they weren't out here on their own free will. Maybe they'd been taken and were being transported as slaves. She would not be able to stand for that. She may be a thief, but she did have a code! Of course with her luck she'd run into more trouble than it was worth, but there was no way she could just leave the kids calling for help with no one else around. She was of decent stock after all. While she could only really follow the sound of their voices, she felt as if she were growing closer with each passing second. The woods were large, but she was an expert at navigating them. One had to be when they couldn't rely on anyone else.

The kids weren't far now. Though they had stopped crying for help she could hear the shuffling of feet up ahead and the apparent struggle still going on. Xariy slowed her walking then, pulling one of her knives out just in case things started to get ugly. Luckily she was no stranger to a fight. If thigns got to the point where she needed to defend herself or the children she was prepared to do something about it one way or another. There was no telling who would stoop to the level of taking children, but whoever they were they wouldn't be getting away with it. She would do her best to make sure of that even if it meant getting involved in things she shouldn't. She was curious just who the culprits were though. Most bandits weren't so bold as to try and ransom children, even noble children. That usually meant one of two things. They were either really really dumb, or knew exactly what they were doing and needed to be stopped quickly. With what she had gathered so far she could only assume there was more than one culprit. Taking children was definitely more than a one person job. It had to be planned and executed fairly quickly before the children alerted anyone, or so she'd been told. While Zen's crew had never done a job like that while she was around, Zen had told her that he'd been in plenty of groups before who had done such a thing. She could never see herself uprooting a child like that, and anyone who did was despicable in her eyes. She would stop these people.

"Would you hurry up already? You'd think you were taking a casual walk through the woods and not kidnapping some brats for money," a deep male voice grumbled, causing the thief to stop in her tracks. She hated that she'd been right about their intentions, but there was something more to it. The voice she was hearing sounded almost familiar in a way. Maybe it was someone from Zen's crew? That was ridiculous though, he would never allow something like that to go down. Zen was a lot of things, but a kidnapper was not one of those things. Still, it concerned her how familiar the person sounded. Her only real option was to go and see just who it was, hopefully without getting caught right away.

"Relax, will ya. There is no need to get all uppity about it. There is no one around here. Jus' us and the brats. Real easy job. We'll have our money soon enough and then we can get rid of these spoiled kids and be on our way. You just gotta chill out."

"Chill out huh? It's just that simple. Never mind the fact that we're doing extremely illegal things, stuck in this forest, with no now to call to come help us. Yeah, chilling out is really what I need to do right now." Xariy could sit and listen to them bicker all day, from the sounds of it that's what they had been doing the entire time. Or she could go ahead and act. She'd heard enough, knew what they were planning on doing. Still, the familiar voice was disconcerting. Inching closer to the clearing they had stopped in, she made sure to keep herself well hidden as she peeked out to see just who they were. Of course as soon as she did she regretted the action. From the voice she'd heard earlier, she had a sinking feeling on who it might be. She didn't want to believe it, but she knew it all the same. There was no mistaking people from Zen's crew. While not a lot of them had taken her seriously, she had still worked closely with the lot of them while she was learning her thieving ways. Why they would stoop to this though...she didn't get it. Zen would have never allowed something like this. So either they had split from Zen's crew, or maybe they were doing it behind his back. He tended to know everything going on with his crew though, so that couldn't be it. The best she could hope to do was step out and figure out what was going on. Steeling her nerves, she walked out to face them.

"Chilling out really isn't a good plan when you're doing something very naughty," she spoke, trying to assess the situation. The poor children had been gagged, probably to stop their cries, and were tied together by incredibly rough looking rope. They both looked terrified, and rightly so. She couldn't just leave the poor things there like that. Even if it meant stirring up trouble with Zen and his crew, she had to stop them. The two bandits looked between each other before turning back to her and letting out boisterous laughs.

"Well ain't this a surprise, huh Aceler? Who'd have thought little Xariy would show up to save the day," the taller man, Lerenar as she recalled, teased her. Of course they would, after all they still saw her as a child. It was silly really, she was a grown adult now and they still saw her as the young girl who had first joined their group. It was really not too big of a deal. She would just have to use what they thought to her advantage and show that she wasn't a child anymore.

"A coincidence indeed. Little Xariy has come to play, huh? Thought you were too good for the group. Even after Zen went out of his way to take care of you. Really hurt us deep down, ya little brat."

"Look guys, let the kids go and I won't hurt you. If you decide you do want to cause more problems, I promise it will not be pretty." The men simply rolled their eyes at her comment, pulling out their weapons and making a move toward her. She supposed that answered that then. It really was disgusting how willing they were to get into a fight. She thought being a thief was sneaking around and stealing only what was needed for the most part, at least she'd been taught that by Zen. They definitely did not follow that line of thought in the slightest. Lerenar took a lunge at her she barely managed to dodge his blow before Aceler came swinging. While their swings were definitely far more coordinated than she would have thought them to be, she was still a whole lot faster than the two of them. Knife in hand, she threw one hard at Lerenar, pleased when it lodged into his side. Oh the joys of having slow opponents. They both came at her again, this time managing to graze her side as she lodged another knife into Aceler's arm. They were both bleeding and getting slower in their movements. A couple more strikes and they'd be out of commission for a time.

"Is it really worth it, boys? Wouldn't you much rather go steal from someone more exciting than drag around some little kids for who knows how long?" She could only hope they had some intelligence and would stop this before she had to do more. They both paused for a moment, looking between the two of them before turning back to her. They looked worn, the blood from their wounds seeping into their clothing and making it stick to them.

"This isn't the last you've seen of us, punk. Just you wait. You think you got off easy before, now you'll have the whole crew after you. You've made a big mistake," Aceler practically growled at her, helping Lerenar along as they both stumbled off. With the two of them taken care of she could finally help out the children. They both looked terrified, and were going as far as trying to squirm away from her to hide somewhere. It was understandable of course. They really had no idea what was going on.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you. Let's just get the two of you back before more trouble finds us, m'kay?" she smiled, untying them and ushering them along. She'd saved the children thankfully, even if it meant Zen's people would be more hostile to her. She wasn't giving up her morals just to take the easy way out.  

[OpticPeach]

Quote:

Monsters?
Prompt 1

Solo or RP Format
Can be used toward Solo or RP req


With the recently discovered Yaeli, the land of Tendaji has been abuzz with talk and gossip about their new neighbors. They're odd, they're strange and skittish, their eyes glow - but that can't possibly be true most say - the word on the street is that they're starting to leave their island. Those that had met the Yaeli know that it's an odd thing to hear. They were terrified of the outsiders, why would they leave their safe villages...

Rumors are filling the toxic island where the Alkidikes extremists were banished along with the Matron. Rumors of monsters clawing their way out of the earth with oil black skin and glowing evil eyes that are even weirder than the strange monsters that landed upon their shores just one year ago. The Yaeli say that their gaze can steal the soul of any person dumb enough to get too close and they're vicious beings trying to take their children.

These rumors have reached the main land as well, mostly through the few Yaeli that have decided they would rather face the scary but similar earthling races than to have to find out what the terrifying monsters want with them and their land.

Is there any truth to these rumors or are the Yaelians seeing things?

[Yaeli characters can respond to the event with their own opinions on the rumors.]

*No longer world event*

Monsters. It was always monsters. There could never be any nice rumors about fluffy creatures or maybe even the Matori had islands made of candy. That would be one hell of a rumor. But no, it was the disturbing monsters instead. Xariy had never met a Yaeli before. She was there for the battle with the extremist and knew about said extremist being banished to their land, but that was about all. If what they were saying was true though, she was a bit concerned. They seemed to be a bunch that liked to stay in one place and not travel, so if they really were up and leaving then it had to be a serious ordeal. It made her uncomfortable to think of what sort of monsters could so easily uproot a race of people. Oil black skin, glowing eyes, something terrifying no doubt. They said they were more terrifying than the Alkidike to make matters even worse. While she didn't believe the Alkidike to be particularly terrifying, the warrior women were formidable foes and very different looking than the rest of the races in Tendaji. If they were worse than them, then it was a worrisome thing indeed. She couldn't believe that the Yaeli would want to come over to the mainland from their little island, but yet here they were. She'd spotted a couple of the strange new race, even heard some of them speak of the monsters. She just had a hard time grasping that something so monstrous would force a whole race away from their land. Then again, she supposed it wasn't too uncommon. Her people had done it to the Matori, and the Alkidike themselves had done it to the Shifters and even some of the people from Tale. For all she knew the monsters they spoke of were just normal people either being hostile to the Yaeli or some other thing. It was hard to judge based simply on rumors. She would really have to wait and see for sure, but if they were secluded to the island she may never know for sure. It was an odd situation they were put in, knowing something could be potentially extremely dangerous but being too detached from it to worry too much. As long as whatever the monsters were stayed over on the island there was no real need for concern. Of course the Yaeli were a superstitious bunch and all of their rambling could simply be that. They could be talking about some made up being they thought they saw. Like a ghost or some other spooky thing that crept around more in a person's imagination than actual reality.

"You know what, it is not my problem. I'm just going to sit back and enjoy what's right in front of me. It's worked out for me so far, there's no harm in continuing to do just that. No monster rumor is going to shake me any," Xariy grumbled to herself, shaking her head. As much as she said that though, there was still a little concern she wasn't willing to admit.

Word Count: 517

 

[OpticPeach]

Solo: Regrets
Words: 512

Xariy rarely thought about the choices she had made in her life. She figured it was best to forgot about the past and just focus on the now. It had always been a great way to get through things without having to deal with regret. Sometimes though, late at night when she was all alone wandering the forest with little to eat, she thought about what she had gone through. This was exactly one of those times. She hated thinking about it all. She liked being carefree instead. It was much easier than dealing with her actual feelings on things. She always thought about the same thing too. What her parents were doing, whether she'd made the right choice going with Zen or if she'd inevitably ruined her chances at something better. She'd thought that working to become a merchant like her parents had been a death sentence. It had bored her, been unfufilling, and drove her bonkers trying to keep up with it all. Her parents had expected so much from her, and she had refused it all and disappointed them in more ways than one. She was their only child. She was the one that was supposedly going to continue on their legacy of grand Oban merchants. Too bad she had had different plans on that matter. She'd jumped at the chance to go with Zen, betrayed the family that had raised her for so many years in an instant. Sure, Zen hadn't killed them, but she would never forget the looks on their faces when she had decided to just up and leave them. It was something that kept her awake most nights. Their pained pleas to get her to stay. She'd just ignored them both. She was a stupid child then and had no idea just what consequences it would have. She was sure there would be no pleasant reunion for her and her family. Things just didn't work out in her favor that way. She could only hope her parents were alive somewhere, living happily with a new child that wouldn't let them down like she would. They deserved that much after everything she'd put them through. There may not be a happy ending for her in sight, but as long as her parents lived happily she could accept that. She had been an awful daughter to them both despite everything they had done. Oh how she hated these poisonous thoughts invading her mind in the dead of night. She liked her life. It was fun, she met and stole from interesting people, got to sleep with whoever she wanted to whenever she liked. She had everything she could have hoped for and much more. It just pained her to pass by any merchant, especially when she was close to Oba. It was a reaction she couldn't stop herself from doing. Every merchant she spotted ended up getting thoroughly scoped out by her in some small hope that it was her parents. One day she hoped to find them, but that day wouldn't be any time soon.  

[OpticPeach]

Solo: Pants
Words: 508

At the time she had thought it a good idea. With little to snag that would be considered harmless and somewhat acceptable, it had been the top on the list. Now that she had the pants in her possession though, she had no idea what she was going to do with them. It wasn't like she had any use for them. Kauff was a big guy. There was no way she could casually wear them around. She would be swallowed by them in an instant. His height was enough to make the pants almost half her size alone. She could tie them around her like a strange cape and use the pockets for something. That could work. Then again she'd probably have someone ask her why she was wearing pants like a cape. Of course it was a silly option for her to think of. She couldn't bring herself to just toss them out though. Keeping them meant that maybe he would come and try to snag them back. Sure, an article of clothing was easy to replace, but she was a sentimental little thief and she could hope he'd still come for them. She'd left one of her favorite daggers and everything! He just had to come searching for his missing article of clothing. She'd thought about taking his hammer, but that had seemed pretty important to him, and if he was to come find her at some point he would need his big weapon for protection. There had been other things like his poscuta, but she was sure he would be a little enraged if she snagged his furry little friend. No, the pants were the best thing she could think of, but now she was stuck not knowing what to do with them whatsoever. Really she hadn't needed to snag anything, but she couldn't help herself. She was a strictly in the moment type of person. She hadn't thought of what she would do after leaving him pants-less other than how amusing it would have been to see his face. Now she was getting odd looks left and right due to the bundle of cloth in her hands. If she had been smart she would have invested in a pack or bigger pockets or something! But oh no, she was the great thief Xariy, she didn't need a pack to hide her treasures. Probably because she had no treasures of note up until now, but she wasn't going to go into detail about that. She was a great thief and she just stole very strange things. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that!

"Miss uh, are you okay? Are you searching for the owner of those?" A merchant called out to her, dragging her out of her pants thoughts for a moment. It took her a moment to register exactly what the short old leaf man had said, but once her brain had connected the dots she smiled. Bingo. Merchants had bags. Bags could fit pants. Her odd treasure would be safe from harm now.  

[OpticPeach]

Solo: Unwelcome Information
Words: 569

After getting her daggers Xariy had been quick to leave the old woman's weapon shop. She would have left even sooner if not for her troubling words about her parents. She had said they were looking for her, but why? Why would they look for her now of all times? There was no reason for any of it really. She'd wanted to tell the woman where she could stick it as well as a number of other colorful things, but she hadn't had the will to say anything. All she had done was nodded dumbly and walked away. How stupid could she have been? Surely she was playing a joke. She'd betrayed her parents and left them without a daughter years ago. They would never look for her. They wouldn't welcome her back with open arms, not after everything she had put them through. She hadn't tried to contact them in any way since she'd left. She'd dropped off the map completely and had no regret about any of it. So no, she didn't believe this woman and her lies. Not one bit. Something about how she had said it though. There was no reason for her to single her out. Maybe she really did know something. Something important about what was going on with her parents. She hated this sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She'd always been so sure about what she wanted to do with her life and her choices, but now she was struggling to come up with an answer on what to do. All she had wanted was to buy some nice Oban made daggers and now she was having a strange sort of internal crisis instead. She could always go back and ask the woman what she meant. She would probably have to pay the haggling witch too, but maybe it would be worth it. Anything was better than this uncomfortable feeling she was having. Maybe it was regret? That could be it. But she had never regretted anything in her life, so why start now all of a sudden? She just wanted to live her happy thieving life in peace. Now she was having to choose between figuring out what the old lady meant and continuing on her way.

"Ye really like to stare into nothing don't ya, girl?" Oh how wonderful. It seemed like her problem was just going to come to her. That was really what she wanted. She could just up and run, but what was that going to do for her? Absolutely nothing, that was what. While it would make her feel better about the situation, she was sure it would nag at her later.

"I'm just thinking, though I guess you don't get to see that happen often." And there she went being insulting. That was not the way to go about doing this. "Sorry, sorry. Just thinking about what you said. Do you uh...know my parents?"

"Well of course I do dear. Us merchants have to work together on things. Why? You wondering where to find them?"

"I'm not really sure. I'm just wondering, honestly."

"They're in Orrod. I'm sure they'd like to see you and how much you've grown." Xariy sighed at that, shaking her head. She wasn't so sure about that one. Though she guessed there was no harm in really looking. Maybe.

"Thanks old lady. Guess that'll be my next stop."  

[OpticPeach]

Solo: Finding Home (Growth Solo Pt. 1)
Words: 526

She had said that Orrod was going to be her next stop, but now that she was finally heading back to Oba she was having more and more issues. It seemed every couple of hours one way or another she was talking herself out of going. It was silly really. She had no reason to be scared of anything. She was going because she wanted to. Not because she felt obligated to. She wasn't obligated to do anything for anyone but herself of course. The big reason she was trying to find her way to Orrod was really out of curiosity more than anything. At least that was what she kept trying to tell herself. It was better saying that than saying that she'd let some random merchant woman get to her. What sort of thief would she be if she told anyone that? No, she would stick to just being curious for now. There was no harm in being curious. Besides, it had been a long time since she had even set foot in Oba. Going to Orrod would be a good experience, right? She hadn't really lived anywhere stable when she was with her parents. They had no place to really call home. Their home had simply been the cart they had wheeled around. It had been a cramped space for two and a half people and a lot of merchandise. She couldn't really remember a time when it hadn't been cramped, even when she was very small. Now she was supposed to somehow find this small wagon in all of Orrod. Oh she really had been convinced to do something incredibly stupid. She was sure if anyone she knew saw her at this moment they would question her sanity as well. Then again, Kauff had gotten into all sorts of trouble trying to find his missing family. She supposed now it was her turn to do the same. Really she knew all of it was going to be trouble. She still questioned why she even agreed to go. The old bag wouldn't know the difference if she had gone or not. She doubted she'd even ever see the woman again. The crazy woman sure did make fine knives though....no, she would never go back to her. No knives were worth all the frustration she was going through now. She hadn't really had a set home when she was younger, so why the woman had specifically said Orrod was beyond her. Her parents had never been people to settle for too long. Their home had always been more of the open roads than staying in one place for a set amount of time. Now that she was trying to locate whatever her parents had decided home was, she questioned what she was really doing chasing after this information. Every step of the way she had been questioning her motives for seeking her family out, and still she couldn't settle on an answer to her questions. There was no telling what her real reason was, all she knew is that for some reason she wanted to find this new home her parents were supposedly at.  

[OpticPeach]

Solo: Unexpected Findings (Growth Solo Pt. 2)
Words: 1,004

Orrod seemed different to her than when she was younger. Truthfully she had only been there a couple of times when she was younger, and only in passing. Her parents were too busy selling wares across Oba to really settle anywhere, well at least until now she supposed. Why Orrod of all places? What was so great about it all? She'd been away from Oba so long she couldn't really see the appeal. The only thing she thought worth noting was the fact that no one seemed to look at her strange for wandering about freely. In Sauti she was always given mistrusting looks by the wind folk. She didn't blame them for it of course. She was an odd outsider, and even though the war involving her own people was long over there were plenty of people who remembered and were still sore over the matter. At least she didn't have that problem here in good old Orrod. Now that she was here she had no idea where she should be heading. She couldn't exactly just knock on every door and ask the person who answered if they were related. She would surely have the guards called on her in no time. She hadn't thought any of this through, and her actions of course showed it. Here she was in one of the largest cities in Oba and she couldn't figure out where to go. What a big bag of fail she was.

"It would have been great to know exactly where in Orrod my parents supposedly were, but oh no. That would be revealing way too much information. Cryptic old merchant doesn't know what she's talking about and I've probably been duped," Xariy grumbled to herself, deciding her best bet would be to look for something familiar. If she went to where the shops and merchant wagons were she would hopefully spot something she knew. With her mind made up she eventually made her way down to the marketplace after a bit of effort. Unfortunately that didn't really help her out. There were carts lining the streets with every Oban and their mother scuttling through to get this way and that. Even worse, she felt as if someone was watching her. She hated the feeling more than any other, but no matter where she turned she couldn't spot anyone eyeing her. There were just too many people around for her to really do anything about it. For now she would just go up to one of the shop keepers and ask. There was no harm in that. Last she knew her parents sold all sorts of things, but they really enjoyed clothing quite a bit. Maybe they still did that.

"Hey!" she called to the first merchant she spotted, a small little man with a shriveled face and kind eyes. She could only hope someone as old as this guy looked would know who was going in and out.

"What do you need, sweetheart?" the man smiled, looking up from what looked like a small wooden figure. A carving of his maybe.

"This is probably a weird question, but do you know anyone by the name of Nezan? Maybe Khialina?" It was odd saying her parents names, especially after trying to ignore everything about them for so long. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them as the man continued to fiddle with his little wooden figure, and part of her wondered if he had even heard what she had said.

"Uh sir?"

"Yeah, yeah I heard ya and I know who you're talking about. Usually sell their wares down at the end of the strip. Not here today I reckon. Why ya need them?" the old man asked, looking up from his figure to stare her down. Oh she was just their long lost daughter trying to see if they actually still do live and breathe. Nothing too important. Like she could really say that. That was sure to go over well. "You aren't going to cause them any trouble, are you girl?"

"I'm uh, a family member visiting and forgot what they had told me. No trouble here. Just not from the area." There. Mostly true. It was better than outright lying to him, even if she was more comfortable doing that then partially telling the truth. He kept staring at her a moment longer before he seemed to decide whatever it was he was deciding and beckoned her closer.

"They got a house on the other side of town. Across from an old food store. If ya say you know them you should be able to recognize their wagon." She was so surprised they were actually there in Orrod she almost missed what the old man was saying.

"Yes sir, thank you sir. Sorry for interrupting your time," she nodded, running off. Now that she knew where she was headed it didn't feel as bad as earlier. She was nervous, definitely terrified, but her curiosity had gotten the best of her. If it truly was her parents she wanted to see how they were doing. The old man made it sound like they were doing okay. Now if she could just see it for herself she would be okay.

It was about midday before she finally found the somewhat familiar cart she had called home so long ago. It looked a bit older now, some of the paint had chipped off of the wood, but it was still the same old merchant wagon they'd traveled in and made home for so many years. She needed to get her feet moving. She just had to take a few steps towards the door and she'd be there.

"You taking an interest in my wagon?" Well there went that plan. Turning slowly, Xariy was surprised to recognize the face of her father in front of her. What she wasn't expecting was the smaller version of her father standing beside him.

"Oh uh, hi there dad. Long time no see huh?"  

[OpticPeach]

Solo: Facing Facts (Growth Solo Pt. 3)
Words: 820

Of course they would have had another child. She was stupid to think they wouldn't. Though standing there facing both her father and she supposed her younger brother, she knew that this entire thing was a mistake. They had their happy little life and she shouldn't have gotten back involved with it. She should have disappeared for good and left them to their own things.

"Xariy? Is that really you?" her father questioned, taking a hesitant step towards her. It was only natural he would. Last time they'd seen each other she was leaving them to run around with bandits. For all he knew she could be a dangerous criminal.

"Dad? Who is this?"

"This is-"

"I'm nobody. Don't worry about it, kid," Xariy cut her father off, waving her hand dismissively. They hadn't said anything about her then she was going to keep it that way. Nezanii gave her a stern look, hand coming down a bit hard on her shoulder and dragging her closer before she could run away. Not that she really wanted to at this point. She honestly didn't know what she wanted to do with herself. The only thing she was certain about was the fact that she was incredibly conflicted about the situation.

"You're going to come inside and we're going to talk. You, me, your mother, and your brother." Well if there was any doubt who the small fry was before that was gone now.

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She hadn't expected things to go like this. But here she was, sitting across from her family like some weird outsider, drinking tea in their home. No one had really said much of anything. Everyone had just been staring at each other awkwardly. Definitely the most awkward situation she had ever been in. Finally after what seemed like ages, her mother finally spoke.

"You're an idiot."

"Lina!"

"Don't you Lina me, Nezan. If you would let me finish speaking for once that would be fantastic." Xariy couldn't help but chuckle at the two of them and their banter. Really other than looking a bit older the two of them hadn't changed a bit. Really what was her young mind thinking when she decided to up and leave them?

"It's okay uh dad," Xariy shrugged off, figuring she probably deserved any negative words they said towards her.

"You go missing for nearly ten years and then you just decide to show up out of the blue. You in some sort of money trouble? Need an alibi?" The jabs hurt. She wasn't really sure how to respond to them though. Her parents had every right to be angry with her. They'd even had another kid. They were the cute little picture perfect family and she'd soiled it again by showing up.

"I just....wanted to see if you were both okay. Now that I know that you are I'll leave. You won't have to deal with me again. I swear it," she all but whispered, regretting her decision to come. It had been the one time she'd made up her mind about something, and now it was coming back to bite her in the butt.

"I don't think so. Not this time," her father shot back, standing up and moving over to her lonely little couch with her. "You are our daughter. No matter what we will always love you, even if your mother has decided to take the tough love approach. We're both at fault for this. Maybe if we had been better parents. Maybe if we'd not pressured you so much into trying to pick up our trade. Things might have been better. But what's done is done. The fact of the matter is you're here now, which means you forgive us and wanted to see us. That's enough for me. Isn't that right, Lina?" Her mother grumbled to herself, shaking her head before responding to her husband.

"You aren't getting out of this so easily. You're grounded. Stuck here until I think you've made up for it all. Your father may be a soft hearted fool, but I still want to know if you being back is really because you want to be."

"Lina," her father groaned, looking apologetically at her before looking back at her mother.

"It's okay, dad. She's right. Neither of you have any reason to trust me. If staying in Orrod is how I earn your forgiveness then so be it. I'll do that." While she would definitely feel more restricted sticking around in Oba, maybe that was what she needed right now. She'd been traveling around for a good while with no real home to call her own and little to eat. At least with this decision she would have a stable place to stay and could get back in touch with her culture. All punishments considered, this was a fairly good one to her. Being stuck with a family wasn't so bad.

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Relevance

After being forgiven by her parents and figuring out she has a little brother, Xariy realizes she can't keep running away from her problems and has to face them head on whether she's afraid to or not. Her regrets and fear of her parents made her incredibly noncommittal, and with them welcoming her back she can finally grow up and commit to staying in one place. This solo also kick starts her adventures in Oba and settling in to making an underground organization that she will eventually have Talin's help in.