|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:25 pm
The morning light struck her closed eyes in a very violent matter. Groaning, Alaina rolled over and covered her eyes with her arm; the makeshift pillow had fallen off her bed and her blanket was half off her body. A chill ran down her spine and her stomach growled furiously.
"Alright, alright. I'll get up," She mumbled to herself as she rolled out of bed. It was mid-morning; normally Alaina was an early riser but for some reason she hadn't gotten a decent amount of sleep last night. A night filled with nightmares and an edgy draft coming from her window. For a carpenter, she had been neglecting her own home.
Slipping her boots on, she tied them up sloppily before stepping outside into the sunlight. For some reason, she still couldn't help but feeling cold. It wasn't like it was warm out or anything; Alaina just had an awkward chill this morning, it seemed.
As her stomach growled ferociously once more, she sighed and began to make the walk towards the Marsalle Estates. Maybe she could bribe one of the men there with her services. A carpenter for hire; please pay with food.
Or she could just steal some of their food. Not like they'd ever notice .. right?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:43 pm
Trau "Weaponry, jewelry, tools, take yer pick," he said in a low rumble, motioning to his cart palm-up. Everything was arranged carefully. Swords lay on one side, cloth wrapped around the blades so only the hilt was displayed. Jewelry had its own little box, and tools and trinkets were stacked by type.
Elliot rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he inspected the assorted items in the cart. He was careful to let his hood cast a shadow over his features, lest it reveal the unnatural hue of frost-bite blue that was the color of his skin.
"Sorry, haven't got the cash to waste, but looking's still free, isn't it?" he said, picking through the small treasures in the jewelry box. He held up a necklace, allowing the locket to spin on its chain several times, then set it back in its container. "Nice little collection you've got here. Aren't you worried, though? There're rumors a food riot's going to start around noon--"
"Please forgive my companion!" Adalei interrupted, giving Elliot a scathing glance. "He hasn't the sense to keep to himself on the streets. He doesn't mean any harm. Please excuse us."
Adalei tugged at Elliot's sleeve, leading him away. When they were outside of Trau's earshot, Adalei began whispering angrily at the Actor: "What are you doing! You can't steal from that guy. He'd crush you like a bug."
Elliot shrugged, and watched Trau over his shoulder. "Still, we should keep an eye on him for a bit. I'm sure things'll get interesting for him once the action starts."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:57 pm
"A food riot...?" Traugott asked more to himself than to anyone who would actually know. Leave it to the rich folk to call in supplies, and leave it to the poor folk to try and destroy it. Now, he didn't like the people living in the Marsalle District any more than the next person, but what they bought with their money was theirs.
Of course, that was easy to say when your food grew in your back yard behind a stone wall.
He reached into his cart and removed the necklace the young man had touched, looking it over and deciding that he hadn't marred the locket. When he looked up, he saw the young man and a woman talking, and he immediately suspected it involved him. Believing this, he stared them down, glaring slightly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:08 pm
Miaka let out a happy squeal of delight, her smile growing in size as the lady-who-wasn’t hers played with her a moment before being moved out of her point of view. Within seconds, her and mama were following, a loud thud resounding behind her, the rising sun shining in her green eyes. She blinked, not pleased at the spots that danced in her eyes before burying her face in the bigger girl’s shoulder, her tiny hand, that once played with her tresses, moved to clutch onto the neck wrap on the older woman’s dress.
Mid morning saw that they’d made their way from their tiny house, towards the end of Lyster, quickly approaching Kensington. The morning had warmed, just a tad, and Miaka had grown less fussy, while Hikari had become tight lipped with their travels. The dancer shuffled, never too far, from her sister, her doe eyes taking in all of her surroundings as quick and as carefully as possible. The last thing they needed was for some escaped slave to attack them, or some other denizen to attack them for her other’s…exuberant taste in jewelry.
She’d been tempted to take them all off when traveling, but decided against it, not willing to anger her other. What had the people in the velvet room said again? Take care of her? The world depended on her? Something like that. Not like that was any pressure at all. She some how doubted upsetting a goddess was a good way of taking care of her. So the bangles and earrings remained where they were.
As the trio traveled, something caught the twenty-year-olds attention and she let out a tiny gasp, scooting impossibly closer to her sister.“Yami,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Ahead…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 3:50 pm
The duo's morning had been unfruitful. Of the handful people scuttling between houses and destinations only few a had looked at the two let alone took the effort to shrug them off. 'Better than being yelled at. I suppose,' Easter thought to her self and readjusted Egan's hood for the fifth time that morning. She was paranoid about people seeing his horns, let alone his ears. To this fussing Egan was compliant as usual, but soon he seemed to be restless at sitting in one spot. Perhaps the little one was right. It never was good to stay in one place too long, even if it seemed safe now.
Reattaching the heavy infant to her front Easter made to get up and start checking out the various houses for potential marks, when a few words drifted out of a recently opened window above her head. "-and that's what he said. Food delivery over in Marsalle District today and-" Easter flattened against the wall, hoping to hear more and simultaneously not be heard herself. She remembered what her parents had said about previous food convoys. How crazy things got, all the people killed. Risk was high but sometimes there was an surplus left over for the scavengers.
Normally the two had no business over near that side of town, but if there was the chance to grab left overs from some greedy family...Imagine what kind of food the wealthy threw away. Ham, roast beef, a slew of greens and carrots. Probably good sized portions too. Easter had no idea if Egan grew at a normal baby's rate, or if he'd ever really grow up, but she knew that unless she ate more she'd be stuck her small size forever. Not very advantageous to either of them. She'd be doing them both a disservice if she didn't at least think about working on that issue.
The trip would be long, but it wouldn't be very safe with just the two of them. Easter wished she knew of other people to go with. But no one was worth trusting these days, were they? Snapping out of her daze Easter looked up in time to see a pair of girls headed near her. By the looks of them they weren't in that much better shape than her. Easter planned to pass them by and go beg along the next street but Egan had a different idea and gripped tight to his companion's arm and stared pointedly at the group. When Easter tried to turn their backs to the strangers, Egan got fussy. "Hnnn!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:00 pm
The girls were making good time, at least in her opinion. Yami boldly took the lead, wary to any bystanders who might decide to take advantage of two defenseless girls. It wasn't unheard of in these parts, actually she considered her family lucky to say the least. With the shiny silver necklaces so plain on her and her sister's necks, and an infant such as Miaka graced with such beautiful gold ornaments, she knew that not seeing any trouble for them or for anything else was a reason to worship the gods. If there were gods, or if they even existed.
'I guess we would be unfortunate if we encountered trouble. What do we have to defend ourselves? My paint? my supplies? Then again, they do say that strength comes in numbers. But who could they trust or rely in times like these'. she thought, her foot placed one in front of another down the road.
Daydreaming was too frequent, a bad illness that she should prevent each time she stepped foot out of their house. Her sister and Miaka were counting on her, as guide and guardian.
Lucky for her again, she was able to snap out of it as she noticed what seemed like a small person carrying an even smaller one. A child and another infant? whatever the reason, he (she trusted her ears that it was a he) seemed to be making quite a commotion. 'Just when you think we're hard off, I imagine what those two must be going through' she thought as without hesitation, she immediately veered off course towards the infant as she put a single finger to her lips as she smiled and let out a comforting 'shhhh'.
"Don't cry...smile.....it's okay" she said in a soothing tone. In her head somewhere she assumed that the tiny person could never understand that it was a little white lie. Things WEREN'T okay, they were outside for starters. But she decided the truth wouldn't work in this situation, and decided otherwise.
Maybe she couldn't give this one some artwork to be happy, but the underline gift she wanted to give this child was a genuine smile.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:31 pm
Whistling a tune in a slightly audible volume, Alaina made her way down the streets of the Lyster community. Her stomach continued to rumble as she continued her tune. Apparently trying to distract her mind didn't work on her stomach. That's unfortunate.
Tools swung gently against her sides as she continued to walk. This morning, she had decided to bring her tool belt along with her; for some reason, when her "clients" noticed that she was actually going to work, they gave her decent food and not scraps. Of course, majority of the time she would just steal her supplies and their food .. but today, she was going to do things honestly.
Maybe.
It wasn't until she was nearing the end of Lyster that she noticed there were others walking along just ahead of her. From the looks of it, there were .. two adults, a child and two infants. Of course, the child could have been a little person .. Alaina was pretty terrible at judging things from far. For all she knew, they could have been some crazed creatures and foe .. but she continued to walk towards them regardless. After all, they were in her path.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:10 pm
Hikari watched as her sister veered off in the other direction, a startled and panicked squeak escaping her lips. What was she doing? Weren’t they supposed to stick together? She just left! The woman shifted uncomfortably, still in the middle of the road, her eyes darting back and forth as she clutched Miaka to her closer.
Yami, she was fairly certain, had lost her mind. Hadn’t she learned not to just approach a person- no matter how young or old? Some of the other districts were teeming with children gangs. And a person with a weapon, no matter the age, was always a threat. She took a step forward, uncertain. She needed to watch her sister, but…Miaka. “Mmnaaa,”
The soft spoken adult sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it nervously as she stared at the child that was humming in her arms. Another step forward and something moved out of the corner of her periphery. Her head jerked to the moving figure automatically, her eyes widening.
“Y-Y-Yami!” It was a shriek, in Hikari’s terms. In the rest of the populations, it was just a slight raise in voice, but she ran towards her sister all the same, her breathing coming in sharp gasps.
The heck?! Her sister just left her in the road to tend to some random baby who, it seemed, was nothing more than a distraction for the figure coming at them. Had they been followed all this time? A tiny whimper escaped her lips.
Miaka, on the other hand, was now much closer to the other baby, and let out a happy coo, trying to peer at the other’s face. She liked this one, yes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:36 pm
Event for Hikari Chou!! .:: [ . EVENT FOR HIKARI CHOU . ] ::.  Without warning, the child in Hikari's arm began squirming as if her limbs were controlled by separate entities pulling the small body in all sorts of unnatural directions. Was this in reaction to the other baby..? Despite the strange twisting of her body, the girl's eyes were calm and soothing as she stared into the face of her master. The strips of fabric that clothed her seemed to grow, whipping about and twisting over her.
Then, a voice emerged inside Hikari's mind; a voice that brought with it the spirit of an intoxicating festival: "Release me from your hold, Master! The time has come for me to transcend this lowly form!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:38 pm
Eli had headed south in an effort to get to Kinsington, but as he approached the shadded, empty buildings of the Lost District, his gaze drifted down to Lyra. Occupied with watching some shadow or another, she didn't notice the torn look on his face. The longer he was out, the more nervous he became. After standing for a few seconds at the edge of the neighborhood, if one could call it that, Eli turned around abruptly and headed back to the stables. He's rather go through the Rumwell Community, then cut across the Lost District where it was the skinniest, than travel the entire length of the Lost District simply for some flour.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:45 pm
Hikari let out a strangled gasp, the air rushing into her lungs with an audible whoosh. “M-Miaka?” the call was frantic as the child arms and legs flailed. What happened? What had the child and it’s…child…done? She took a frantic step backwards from the group, hoping to cease whatever had started this reaction. When nothing resulted from her movement, she looked down at the child, watching memorized and terrified as the fabric around her glowed and took on a life of it’s own.
“R-release?” She questioned, her eyes still wide, her voice breathy, for she was too wrapped up in the events going on around her to realize it was but a voice inside her head. Release how? Like drop her? No, that seemed wrong. Not certain this was entirely the right thing to do, Hikari slowly, painfully so, knelt to the ground and placed the babe on it. “…like...like that?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:04 pm
.:: [ . EVENT FOR HIKARI CHOU . ] ::. As soon as the child touch the earth, the fabric around her began to whip about much more wildly, then settled in a sudden stillness over the girl. The cloth had spread wide, completely covering the body beneath it. A moment passed, and then the pile of cloth stirred. An arm slid from underneath the mess of silken garments, much longer than an infant's arm. Then, with agonizing slowness, a girl rose from underneath the cloth veil, greeting Hikari with a glowing smile. Miaka as a Child .: [ Miaka (Child) ] :. [ Physical Traits ]
Miaka has a constantly cheerful demeanor, never hesitating to show off her radiant and charming smile. She loves to wear clothing with vibrant colors. Although not necessarily vain, she also owns an abundance of gold jewelry and clothes made from silks and expensive fabrics. An intensely exotic and spicy perfume trails from the movement of her body.
[ Personality and Behavior ]
The spirit of Parvati treasures and loves life, her attention always on some stray insect or bird that wanders into her field of vision. If she finds a wounded creature or injured person, she will show immediate concern. She seems especially attuned to human suffering and broken hearts, and is forgiving and patient even with the most abrasive people. For a child, she exercises an almost bewildering amount of self-discipline and etiquette.
When left alone or bored, she sometimes entertains herself with simple songs in a language foreign to all listeners. If she notices that she is gaining an audience, she will continue singing with even more fervor, attempting to enchant all around her. However, she is still a child, thus her singing abilities are still limited.
When speaking to Hikari Chou, Miaka addresses her master very politely by the title, "Master."
[ Relics ]
- Currently none held -
[ Spell List ]
[ * ] Marin Karin
Description: A simple spell that captures the attention of one person, and causes the person to feel adoration for the child. Miaka can activate this spell while singing. Because she has only recently learned this spell and she is still a child, her use of the spell is clumsy and sometimes fails.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:06 pm
As she continued to walk towards the group, she noticed the one on the outside with one of the infants awkwardly .. shriek, maybe? Alaina continued the walk and kept an eye on the happenings; the woman had stepped back and placed the baby on the ground in front of her.
Did the baby do something?
Watching as it writhed on the ground; eyes wide, Alaina slowed her walk down slightly, but still kept a steady pace. She would just walk by and act as if nothing was happening. Yup, that was what she was going to do. Maybe the kid was just having a tantrum.
But then the baby's clothing seemed to change and she grew larger.
What the hell?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 7:10 pm
Grondax found himself at the start of the gauntlet so to speak. He had recently collected his 3 henchman and assembled them to wait for the convoy to come in and make its way towards the estates.
"Your job is simple men," Grondax growled, "You are to protect shipments 18 through 22 for the De'Vall family. These shipments are to make it to the estates no matter what. Any other shipments are... expendable."
Grondax looked forward at the path they would take. "We're heading through Kensington boys, then around the edge of the university area, before finally entering the estates," Grondax remarked, "If something is going to happen it'll be in Kensington. If it gets hair push through the University into the estates. The University is protected enough that you should be fine, and I'll clear things up with the officials later."
As the carts started to arrive Grondax pointed out the four of note. "One for each of us, I'll take lead. If anything happens to me you are in charge Hans. I'm counting on you not to screw this up."
The three men impassively nodded knowing their rewards for success would pale in comparison to their punishment for failure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 8:15 pm
The dancer stopped breath, all together, as the fabric of her daughter’s--her others-- clothing covered her body, spreading, magically, impossibly, right before her eyes. Her orbs shot up to Yami’s, in a desperate plea for her to stop whatever was going on, then shot over to the child and her own infant, an angry, and terrified glare marring her features for a second before a rustling on the ground tore her attention away.
Darting her eyes back to the ground she watched as a tiny arm moved away from the fabric, and slowly, ever so slowly, a tiny body rose-- tiny, but much larger than the babe that had been put on the ground. The smile she offered was radiant and Hikari breathed once more, though it was staggered.
Her eyes drifted to her sister’s for a split second before going back down to the child before her, not entirely sure what to make of the event that had just unfolded in front of her eyes. “…Miaka…?” She questioned, not entirely sure it was even the same child in front of her. How could a child grow so fast?
“Master,” The word was polite, but the tone was playful, as her smile widened a bit more.
Hikari was instantly hit with both pride and remorse. This child in front of her was beautiful, and already evidently graceful. This was her. Her other side. Her other side was gorgeous and terribly happy. But the lingering sense of regret hit her. She’d grown up so fast… what happened to first words? Teaching her how to talk? Where’d all those steps go? Wasn’t that an intricate part of parenthood.
Biting her lip, she bent down to the ground, as she had when she placed the child on the ground, suddenly wanting the embrace the girl in front of her. A tiny frown marred the girl’s face, sensing the sadness and she moved, not really walking, but almost dancing, into her caregivers arms, wrapping her tiny arms around her.
Hikari stood with the child still in her arms and hugged her tight and the girl let out a squeal of a laugh before being placed back down on the ground. There, all was better now. Right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
