☾ Lerin

[Fluffesu]

P R P x R E F L E C T I O N
Find a Flock of Feathered Friends

There are not often a great array of visitors near my little village. We may be reasonably close to Neued, but we are off the beaten path, unheard of by most outsiders, and there's nowhere to go from my village, except deeper into the jungle, that is. It isn't really a usual stop for travelers, and we're not an especially hospitable family... So it's not really a wonder we dislike foreigners, since meeting them is so rare.

Still, one lone Fire female, and her animal companions, wandered far off track and too close for comfort to my village. If anyone else had seen her, I've no doubt that she wouldn't have received the help she needed. Fortunately, for all of us, I came across her first.

I still have many questions, concerning why she was injured and why she is here of all places, and with an equally injured mammu as well... Asking as such hasn't gotten me especially far. I don't blame her for not trusting me, though. I don't really trust her, either. Regardless, I did manage to heal her shoulder and her mammu with the extent of my powers (so not fully, mind), and I've also taken it upon myself to invite her into my village for supplies. I can't imagine my family will be happy to see an outsider...

But she needs the aid, and I must do what I can.

Results: Met and healed Ziari.
PRP Posts: 10
JR Word Count: 235  

[Fluffesu]

W O R L D x E V E N T x R E F L E C T I O N
Barter and Haggle

It was... Perhaps only just as bad as I imagined it would be. I'd hoped, of course, that my family could be convinced to take pity on one lone, injured, traveling Fire girl and not shun her, as they usually do with outsiders... But that was too much to hope for, and not really an expectation that I had.

At least Ziari seemed pleased with the view of my village, but the people... Well, I suppose it might have been worse. They don't mean to be so abrasive, I know. They are just afraid... They are afraid of change and those who don't look like them. They are afraid of the past and unwilling to ever forgive those who have wronged them. Or those who look like those who have wronged them, more accurately.

Ziari was able to get her medicine, though it wasn't at an especially fair rate. It will be enough to get her to the next city. Surely they will be more accommodating to her needs to Neued. I have... offered to take her there. She shouldn't be left to wander alone in this forest, and I doubt my family wants her lost so close to our home. This will make everyone happy, I think.

Results: Lerin and Ziari try to coerce Lerin's village into selling them medicine...
PRP Posts: 10
JR Word Count: 208  

[Fluffesu]

P R P x R E F L E C T I O N
Moldbreaker

As promised, I set off with Ziari toward Neued. I don't intend to stay for long. There's no reason to, but I wanted to see her through the jungles safely. This part of the jungle, anyway. She is too bold and exuberant, honest, and genuinely giving to be lost to Jauhar's shadowy monsters... But once we reach the next settlement, I'll need to turn back.

There will be people in Neued, many people, I'm sure, who will be able to take on the task of her safety better than I can. In fact, I can't imagine I'd be useful if we came up against animals or Alkidike intent on eating us... I wouldn't be able to protect her, at all.

But I am a good enough guide, and that seems to be all the service she needs from me.

Though... She did ask, if I would join her farther. It sounds like she wants to move on from Jauhar at some point, perhaps see Tale, Sauti... maybe Zena. I've not been to most of those places, and it is probably not my place to leave home, with some girl I barely know... It would not be good for me to join her, I think. We will both be happier if I stay behind, even if that isn't obvious to us both right now. Maybe next time a girl wanders into my village...

Results: Began his journey with Ziari.
PRP Posts: 10
JR Word Count: 232  

[Fluffesu]

B A T T L E x R E F L E C T I O N
[Juahar] Lerin vs Ujana

...

(N/A - NRP battle)

Results: ???
Word Count: N/A
JR Word Count: N/A  

[Fluffesu]

W O R L D x E V E N T x R E F L E C T I O N
Creepy Crawlers

This is a strange settlement.

But enjoyable, I think. There are so many people, and they are all far more welcoming than the Shifters in my village. Ziari and I are even staying in an inn together. Well, not together together. We are in the same building, but not the same room, of course. That would be very burdensome on her, I think. She would grow tired of me very quickly. So it's best if I give her some space, whenever I am able.

Such was why I found myself lingering near Neued's outskirts. At home, I always wandered away from the village in the mornings, just to see and enjoy the peace and sights of the forest. These forests aren't too far from the ones I'm accustomed to traversing, but they are different enough. Different enough to be the habitat for strange creatures... And strange men.

There was an orange perzi napping in a tree. I'd only just spotted it and started to sketch it when a hybrid came along wanting to rough it up for no reason. The perzi was so small, surely not especially troublesome to anyone. We got into a bit of a disagreement. As close to an argument as I'm willing to get, and during that, the perzi strolled away. I'm pleased that the hybrid didn't do anything unsavory with it, but he didn't seem as satisfied with the outcome.

Oh well. It was an experience, at least.

Results: Met Kian and a perzi.
PRP Posts: 7
JR Word Count: 243  

[Fluffesu]

P R P x R E F L E C T I O N
First Star I See Tonight

Ziari and I have been together for a couple weeks now. I didn't think we would spend so long here- Or, more accurately, I didn't think she would spend so long here. I agreed to accompany her this far and help her in finding a new guide once we arrived in Neued, but... It doesn't seem like either of us are especially intent on doing that. If she found someone more suited to the role of her protector and guardian and guide, she wouldn't need me, anymore, and I could return home...

But I am neither looking forward to home, nor am I especially enthused at the thought of someone else taking my place by her side. It shouldn't be my business to mind, as I'm not the best for the job, but I want...

I still want to be with her.

I have no excuse beyond that, as I'm sure she would be happier with someone more knowledgeable and better prepared, but I want to continue this journey for as long as I can. She asked me to travel further with her, and against my better judgement, I agreed. I'm not sure how the events that followed happened, really... We kissed, and sat under the moon and stars in the canopy of Neued... I feel lke I don't deserve that kind of affection, but... Ziari seems to not mind. She seems happy, and kissing her makes me happy too, so... Perhaps it is fine.

Results: Ziari and Lerin share their first kiss.
PRP Posts: 10
JR Word Count: 245  

[Fluffesu]

G R O W T H x S O L O
The Girl With the Fire Flower

The market plaza in Neued was, unsurprisingly, significantly larger than the one in Lerin's own village. Though his was enough, and he never gave credence to the idea that something was 'missing' from it, there was no denying the fact that this market surely had a great abundance of every supply anyone could need and likely many things they didn't. Despite being the largest settlement located near enough to his village, Neued still boasted a great variety of peculiar foodstuff Lerin had never had the opportunity to taste.

The base of the dishes surely couldn't be anything different than what he was used to- radaku meat, maglardilla carapace... But the flavor, the smells were new experiences altogether, likely because of the close proximity to and flourishing relationship with the Fire nation.

Though new things were always unfamiliar territory, new itself wasn't often a luxury (or curse) Lerin was afforded. So, since he was here and on an adventure, anyway, he thought to experiment with some Shifter/Oban blended cuisine to bring back to the inn for dinner. Ziari probably enjoyed that kind of thing, though he hadn't made sure to ask before coming out... Usually that thought would've stalled him in his tracks. He didn't want to mess up and do something unsavory that would irritate her... But after hardly a moment, he decided she probably wouldn't mind.

She didn't mind much.

He picked out something he'd never had before, something he hoped Ziari had never had before- a smokey-leaf-wrapped bundle of some meat substance layered in flaky red bits of flavor and garnished with strangely luminescent blue truffles. The luminescent bit was probably the most familiar thing to Lerin. The man who handed the two serving portions warned him that it was very spicy before sending him on his way. Lerin was about to inquire as to exactly how spicy was very spicy when the girl behind him impatiently nudged him out of the way.

It took perhaps the span of two heartbeats for her to step ahead of him, and for him to near immediately recognize her. Years had passed since he'd last seen her, and Eritha had certainly grown into a tall, skinny-yet-busty woman. The familiar dark dye of their tribe had probably long since washed out of her hair, so the recognition came more from the high rise of her cheeks, her little button nose, and the wide set to her eyes.

Lerin was still staring when she turned back from the merchant. When she caught his gaze, she recoiled slightly, body tensing in preparation for... something. "Are you watching me?" She accused briskly.

Lerin started slightly at her tone, more prepared for something a little less openly hostile. "Er, no," he assured hastily. "Ah, well, yes, I might have been, but just-"

"Well, don't," she snapped, and Lerin had to quickly glance away. "I don't enjoy being made to wait or watched by strange little boys, so why don't you keep your eyes to yourself and not bother pretty girls with them?"

If he was flustered before, her further harshness and outright unpleasant accusations made it far worse. "I'm not staring because you're pretty," he tried to explain. "Not that you aren't. You are pretty. I just-" Her brows pinched in tight, and her lips tugged down into an abrupt frown. She didn't recognize him. That wasn't much of a surprise, and it sounded like she was maybe having an unpleasant day to begin with? Lerin kept his gaze down as he smoothed a hand through the back of his hair, deftly unpinning the flower there and holding it in his open palm. "It's Lerin..." He told her, hoping that that would at least be memorable. She had given it to him before she moved, anyway. And had specifically told him to 'remember her.'

"So?"

But it was a long time ago, and his presence was probably unexpected. He swallowed, but dared to glance up again. Maybe he was wrong, anyway? It had been so many years, and the little girl he'd known could've grown into anything. He fingered his flower's petals. "You... You're Eritha, right?"

The Shifter woman's posture eased ever-so-slightly, and her frown shifted from something akin to deep loathing and mistrust to hesitant wariness. "Yes," she replied slowly, clearly still suspicious.

"I'm Lerin," he repeated. "We used to live together, in the same village, when we were small. We played together. You were my-"

"Oh!" recognition entered her eyes, and though she was still hesitant, the corners of her lips lifted faintly. "Right. Your hair. I should have known. Everyone in our tribe wore it black, didn't they? But it's not so uncommon to dye it any manner of colors, so I guess it slipped my mind until you mentioned it..." She rubbed the tip of her ear. "I haven't dyed mine in years. My parents haven't either, though." She shrugged. "They always were a little more progressive than your lot."

"Yes," Lerin agreed. "I remember." And he did. Of course he did. Maybe he'd been young, but this girl was his best friend. Practically his only friend, the only person he'd ever grown so close to, still to this day. He'd remembered everything he could about Eritha, while she was with him, and even once she was gone. He'd never done so much before as he had with her. Her influence, even in those youngest years, were the reason he wasn't content to stay at home and do mundane things.

She'd told him they would adventure together.

And he'd waited for that.

"Do you?" She queried inquisitively. When he nodded affirmatively, she clucked her tongue and shook her head. "I don't really remember much of anything from the village. The world is so big. There's so much out here. I don't have room in my mind to keep track of all the stuff that happened back then." She smiled at him.

But Lerin frowned, fingers still running over the yellow-orange surface of the flower she'd given him. But she didn't remember. Eritha hadn't expressly said she didn't remember him. She hadn't told him she didn't remember her promise or the flower or all of the adventures they'd had.

But she didn't need to say as much. Though she was smiling now, she'd been hostile only moments before. She hadn't recognized his name, and even now, despite her more friendly posture, there was a definitive sense of unfamiliarity. She was talking to a new friend, not an old one, one who had similar experiences that they could bond over, but not one who she'd been through those exact experiences with.

She didn't remember him, and for an instant, Lerin felt nothing except absolute devastation. His childhood friend didn't remember him. His best friend. He would've done anything for her, he would've gone anywhere-

But it was over before he could even fully process it, before it had the chance to register in his emotions and on his face. She didn't remember him because she had a life outside of him. Eritha was the same girl who'd left him behind. She was always on the move, always willing to explore, and constantly making new friends because people were drawn to her. She hadn't needed him like he'd needed her once she'd left. She hadn't needed him at all.

Even if he'd clung to her memory and wanted so badly to be like her, there was nothing memorable about him, and if it as anyone else, he wouldn't have expected it, anyway. It should have stung him. For a moment, it did.

But after that initial slap, he found that he wasn't as offended as he feared he would be. Their adventures were those of two small children, from a long time ago and in a place she'd long since moved on from. Though Lerin hadn't moved on quite as well or as quickly, he was doing so now. He wasn't in the village either, but instead traveling from Jauhar and through Neued with a beautiful young woman that easily surpassed Eritha in terms of bravery, sincerity, and adventure.

But if he hadn't ever known Eritha, he couldn't say for sure how he would've responded to Ziari. Probably only as positively as the rest of his village. If he hadn't known Eritha, he wouldn't have experienced the journey he was on now.

So rather than tell this girl that they'd been best friends and struggle to remind her of what she meant to him, he held out is flower. Eritha blinked inquisitively at him, but opened her palm to accept it as he settled it against her fingers. "I'm sure a lot has happened since then. You always were getting into trouble." She shrugged and quirked him a grin. He smiled back but shifted his weight in such a way that told her he was ready to leave. "It was nice seeing you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you again, and I appreciate..."

That she'd given him he time when they were small? He did appreciate it, but she didn't remember him, so there wasn't much reason to try and reestablish that connection. He let that thought die and stepped away. "Well, I have to get back."

"It was nice to see you too," Eritha agreed.

And that was that. She strode away from him in a better mood than when she'd initially bumped him, and Lerin turned to head back to the inn. People moved on. It was just something that happened, and it was probably time for him to be more prepared to do the same.

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Results: As a youngster, Lerin had a single close friend that dragged him into all of her adventures. He was a quiet, reserved boy, brought up to be acquiescent and polite and not cause trouble. So having this girl around gave him a reason to do more for himself and have fun with life. When she moved away at a young age, he sort of relapsed and never had much opportunity for excitement beyond that, as he always expected she would return (as she'd once promised), and they'd do things together once more.

That she would forget him is devastating, but it also encourages him to not be reliant on someone else to carve out a path that will make him happy. Now that he's met Ziari, he has a great opportunity to do things that will make him happy, but he's so far been very hesitant about staying with her for very long, as Ziari's presence offended his village and his parents. But she makes him happy, the things they do together make him happy, and after this encounter with his childhood friend, he's ready to be more proactive in his own life and not let others completely dictate his path.
Word Count: 1607  

[Fluffesu]

H U N T x R E F L E C T I O N
Tough Claws

LERIN'S THOUGHTS

Results: ???
Word Count: ???
JR Word Count: ???