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 Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:19 pm
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Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2022 3:19 pm
Guilty Conscious
Somewhere in Jauhar | Prentice
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After his meeting with Elka, Kayde had returned straight away back to the trope. They were set up within easy walking distance of the city, but also not too close as to be an inconvenience to anyone. Which translated more to them not getting in trouble with anyone for being there. Murie cared very much about appearances and would easily kick out anyone who caused too much trouble or brought too much attention onto the rest of them.
Which now made perfect sense why he had gotten rid of Elka as fast as he could. As much as Kayde still found he really liked her, there was always a haughtiness about her, developed from living a life of luxury as a noble in Zena. She had never been suitable for this kind of life. The constant moving around and packing up of possessions. All the shared cleaning duties between those who were only temporarily employed by the trope for those exact reasons. People who weren't sure if they wanted to perform in front of groups, but who had nowhere else to go. Elka always had somewhere to go. She still did, if her parents weren't completely heartless. He wasn't sure, having never met them. Looking back on their time together, it was likely anything she had said was just teenage angst than anything stemming from the truth. It was more likely her parents were just doing their duty as parents and that they were still worried about where their daughter had disappeared off to. When he'd also been young and foolish, talking up the freedom he had working here. Of course she had had problems adjusting, whereas he had not.
Kayde stood watching a pair of men lifting a pole high into the sky, one edge of the fancy banner dangling back down to the ground. Was all this his fault, than? Not really. He didn't know this would happen. Teenagers were known for making stupid decisions on a whim. Not that it helped his mood any. He sure felt guilty, all through his body.
He was stretching out his neck muscles of all the tension when Murie, the owner, spotted him and came over. "Kayde. I nearly have your area set up. Limber up and practice for the rest of the day. I'd like to put you on early tomorrow."
But Kayde wasn't listening. He gave his neck one more roll and put his hands in the pockets of his pants. He continued to watch the two men working on lifting the banner, focusing now on the second pole.
"I saw Elka today."
"Who?"
"Elka. You left her here years ago. She worked for you."
Murie gave a grunt, clearly becoming annoyed with the topic. "Boy, I can't remember every person who worked for me over the years."
Kayde looked at the older man, than, his eyes a bit unfocused, his mind still mostly in his own thoughts. "The snobby Ice noble's daughter." His voice held little emotion in it.
"Huh? Oh, her. I assume she's doing well." Murie waved a hand, either at a fly or to dismiss the conversation, it was difficult to tell. He certainly wasn't as interested in the topic as Kayde was. "Your setup is in your usual spot, right beside the strong man."
Kayde looked away, again, as the man continued talking, telling him all about the setup of shows he wanted to do tomorrow. Kayde had been working on a new routine the last few months and Murie thought now would be a good time to see how an audience would like it. He couldn't focus on the words. All he could think about was Elka, left alone in this city for so long without a friend. And how much of this was his fault, intentional or not.
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Wordcount: 636
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2022 4:14 pm
Determinedwith Elka
Neued | Prentice----------------------------------------
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2022 3:22 pm
Class Solo - Prima
Somewhere in Jauhar | Prentice
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The sight of Elka with a graceful leg arched in the air had been burned into Kayde's mind ever since he'd left the inn. He'd known her to like dancing. What young person didn't? He enjoyed it. It was great exercise and helped his act. In fact, he had been experimenting with adding a few dance moves into his floor routines. It made his performances better and more enjoyable to watch than just doing flips and summersaults did. But he'd never thought of her being that interested in it. It had simply been a pleasurable past-time. And when you worked and lived in a traveling band of entertainers, there wasn't much else to do.
That was what about the encounter had stood out so much to him. The book on the table told him she indeed was being serious about it. After a week of thinking about that book, still seeing the illustrations so sharp in his mind, Kayde had left for the city, to seek out a bookstore. After spending a while leafing through the books for the only two pages he had seen, he finally found the exact same copy Elka had and took it back to his wagon. There he flicked through it in the quiet of his own space, occasionally getting up to try a move himself on his limited floor space. After the fifth time he swung a leg or arm and knocked something over, he decided to take it outside. Realizing how ridiculous it was that he'd decided in the first place to shut himself up with the book. It wasn't like he hadn't been working in dance moves already. Indeed, no one paid him much attention save to stop for a few moments to watch before continuing on with their own work.
The book was fantastic. He could see why she was using it. After the pages with basic instructions on balance and position, there were lessons on a few different dance types. None of it too complicated. Just enough to give someone an idea of whether they wanted to do this or not. The page she had been looking at was towards the middle of the book, long past any of the easy steps. When he had caught a glimpse in the beginning, he thought her balance was fine. She was far from polished, but the lessons in the book were good. He had taken a few dance lessons in other cities before and thought he had a good enough idea of what was what. If anyone asked him about her, he'd say she had potential. Of course, in saying that, he was probably just being bias. It did get him thinking about other things, though. Was this a way to start mending their relationship?
As he picked up the book and headed back for his wagon's door, Kayde took a long look at the place around him. Other ideas were coming to his head, ideas he never thought he'd be having. It was hard to look at this place the same way as before, before he'd come back to Neued and saw how Elka was living. He hadn't had wanted to think about her before. Now it was impossible to think of anything else, with her being so close. He didn't want to let her go, again. That much he was positive about. But to have her back would mean losing something else or losing her once more. He was starting to realize which was more important to him. One of those two things he'd be fine with losing.
Opening the door, Kayde stepped up and closed it quietly behind him, placing the book carefully on the table next to his bed. Maybe a change would do him some good, too.
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Wordcount: 630
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Posted: Thu May 26, 2022 2:31 pm
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Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 9:11 pm
An Opportunity
Neued | Prentice
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With silver in his pocket, Kayde walked into Neued. A few minutes later, he was getting yelled at.
"Every day with this....Nonsense!" a Shifter woman was yelling behind a counter, waving a notebook in his face. "My job is so easy, that anyone can do it, right? Well, you can't! One piece of silver is nothing to me. Get out!"
Grabbing the silver off the table, Kayde flew out the door to lean against the side of the building, well out of sight of the windows. What a frightful woman! All he'd wanted to do was sell his one piece, not take her job away from her. He couldn't imagine any other reason to cause such a scene.
Oh well. Some people were just like that. The young Leaf shrugged his shoulders and continued on down the road. Had to be other places in a city this large. She couldn't possibly have a monopoly on the entire market with an attitude like that. How did she even get the customers she did get? It was an absolute mystery. But not one he wished to try and solve.
Sure enough, not too far down the road from this one, he found another appraisal shop that also doubled as a pawn shop. It was a lot simpler looking than the woman's and Kayde hoped that boded well for a more friendly meeting with the owner. Still, as he entered through the door, his shoulders tensed, waiting for another explosion. A chime came from directly above him, alerting whoever was likely in the back. The front room was empty of anyone.
"Just a minute!" came a friendly enough sounding voice from that direction. He relaxed a bit and walked up to the counter to wait, his hand in his pocket clasped around the bit of ore. His eyes wandered about the place, noticing how the interior was much like the exterior. Not plain, but not too overly fancy, either. It was a small building and it did the job it needed to. That was, it was here to store goods for people to buy and not look pretty itself. He liked that. Kayde had never been a materialistic person and liked to live more simple. It was a surprise to even himself when he fell for Elka, the most materialistic person he had ever met. Opposites do attract, or so the saying went.
While his back was turned, a man came up to the counter, a smile on his face despite how little he was being paid attention to. He cleared his throat and Kayde turned his attention back around.
"Yes? May I help you with something?"
The friendly smile on the Wind male's face erased every last bit of tension Kayde might have been feeling after his encounter with the Shifter woman. "I hope so," he answered, gripping the ore tight. "I found something and would like to sell it." He pulled out the silver and placed it gently on the counter, where the older man picked it up and started looking at it. Come to think of it, this was a pawn shop, wasn't it? He should have gone to a blacksmith or a jeweler. Someone who could actually make something with it.
But to his surprise, the man didn't seem annoyed or bothered. Kayde could have sworn quite the opposite. The piece of ore clearly interested him.
"It's small, but I do know a jeweler who would still take it for a price." Holding up a finger, the man returned to the backroom, where Kayde heard something unlocking. He returned with something in his hand which he placed on the counter. "I can offer you this much."
Not being much of a barter, the young Leaf accepted it, pocketing the money. He didn't leave right away, partly because he had an idea and also the man didn't seem quite done with him yet.
"You getting into the business?"
"Uh, no...I just found that while I was taking a walk."
The man chuckled. "Seems to be a lot of that going around. Hey, nothing wrong with it. Everything is good for business."
"Yeah, uh...Speaking of. I was wondering...You don't need any extra help, do you? I'm not looking for a job! Just small things you might need done."
"Oh." The man seemed surprised, and paused for a bit to think about it. "I guess I could always use more hands. I don't go out in the field myself anymore. Tell you what. I'll have a talk with my field worker, see if she can take you out and teach you a few things. If you want to search the forest at your leisure and bring me what you find, that's good enough for me. How's that sound?"
"That sounds perfect, sir! You have a deal." Kayde offered his hand to shake and the man quickly took it. He had a strong grip.
"I'm not sure when she'll be returning, so is there anyway I can get in touch with you when she does?"
"I'm currently with the wagons just outside of the city. I'm usually there or if I'm not, someone else will know where I've gone."
"That works out well. I can have her stop by on her next trip out."
"Thank you!" Kayde could hardly contain his enthusiasm, but it only made the other man chuckle. This was perfect. If he could do this when he had time between performances and practice, he could keep two incomes easily going. He'd have enough to move into the city in no time and find a more full-time job to support himself. And Elka, if she ever forgave him. She had to eventually, right?
He turned to rush out of the shop, too excited to realize he hadn't even given his name. When he was stopped by an amused "Your name, son?" he stopped, sheepishly rubbing a hand through his hair.
"Oh, sorry! I'm Kayde. I'm the acrobat."
"Alright, Kayde. Nice to meet you. I'm Chiro and I'll be in touch as soon as I can."
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Wordcount: 1014
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2022 9:47 pm
Secret Lessonwith Maia
Somewhere in Jauhar | Prentice----------------------------------------
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2022 8:07 pm
Reconciliationwith Elka
Somewhere in Jauhar | Rogue----------------------------------------
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2022 7:09 pm
The Futurewith Elka
Somewhere in Jauhar | Rogue----------------------------------------
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:14 pm
Escape Planwith Elka
Neued | Rogue----------------------------------------
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 8:39 am
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 9:30 am
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2022 7:09 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2023 6:59 pm
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:42 am
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