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 Posted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 1:36 pm
Naomi Naomi's green gaze turned back to Erryl upon hearing his tone. Here was another who hadn't the luxury of ignorance, but the burden of understanding. She couldn't agree more with his assessment of peace. Even when things were peaceful with one group, another would be troubled. Her gaze softened at the mention of family. "I imagine it couldn't have been easy to leave your family, even at odds with them." Naomi's thoughts were interrupted by the reappearance of the waitress with a steaming cup that she set in front of Naomi. "Sorry about the wait, here's your coffee. Would you like creamer with that?" The waitress's other hand held a small cup with a milky substance. A look of confusion crossed her face. "Um, I'll try that, yes." The waitress set the cup of creamer down and left with a promise to check on them soon. Naomi leaned down to smell the strange drink cautiously. It smelled good. A tentative touch to the cup told her it was still too hot to drink. She turned back to Erryl. "I seek to recover my family; we were separated against our will."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:05 am
~ Erryl ~ "My family died while I was away at school; a great sickness overcame them. But I wasn't informed until it was too late." There is definite regret in the man's tone as he speaks. "While I didn't agree with everything they did, or believed, I had never wished them dead. I had thought, at the time, that it was easy to leave them, but in hindsight, I should have known better." Erryl makes an impatient gesture with one of his hands. "I wish you luck with your own family." He seems sincere in this statement.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:08 pm
Naomi "I'm sorry to hear about your family." Naomi bowed her head for a moment before looking back up at his last statement, a definite frown upon her face. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't believe in luck. Luck does nothing but make people lazy. I'll gain my family back with my own abilities." She absently touched the side of the coffee mug to check the temperature. It was still too hot, but she didn't want to wait longer. She blew on it softly, exerting her will so a mini-tornado swirled the contents of the mug until it was cool. She had hoped it would be unnoticeable, but the steam revealed the form of the tornado. A fingertip dipped in the coffee told her it was now drinkable. She gingerly lifted the cup to her lips and took a tiny sip. It took all her willpower to not spit it out. Her grimace couldn't be helped as she swallowed the vile mixture. "Ugh, no wonder you don't like it."
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 6:15 pm
~ Erryl ~ At this, Erryl actually smiles. "It's merely a phrase of good intention; it has little to do with actual luck, if such a thing exists. The words I use are force of habit, and habits are hard to break." He watches as Naomi has trouble with the coffee. "I suppose it's an acquired taste, though most people put cream, and perhaps sugar, in with the drink." If he noticed anything amiss with the cooling of the coffee, or the swirl of the steam, he says nothing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 8:27 pm
Naomi Naomi inclined her head to acknowledge Erryl's statement about luck and seized the cup of creamer, dumping the entire thing into the coffee. As she stirred the creamer in, she sighed. "Habits are definitely hard to break. You're used to being polite, huh?" She tapped the spoon on the side of the mug and took another tentative sip. The grimace on her face was much weaker this time. The taste, though still bitter, was far more bearable to her.
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Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2015 9:29 pm
~ Erryl ~ "It is the way of my society to be polite, yes," Erryl says with a wry smile. "But that is just another part of concealing the way people truly are beneath the surface." Idly he taps his fingers on the table in front of him. "Slavery is a large issue in my land. A very long time ago, there was a great distress in the kingdom to the north of us. The people came down here in droves, and soon they were displacing those of us who were native to our kingdom. Feeling threatened, our King had his army round them all up and enslave them. A few fled the kingdom, but most of them were not able to do so. It was a selfish move, but because it was long before I was born, I have no way of telling if there truly was a threat or not." He shrugs his shoulders. "My mother was a somewhat sickly woman and she didn't bond with her children very much. We were largely raised by a slave girl, and when that slave girl was later sold, it opened my eyes to some of the wrongs involved in treating people as property."
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 5:49 pm
Naomi "I'm sorry about your mother." Naomi's shoulders slumped. "I can only pray mine is still alive. Slavery is an invisible issue where I'm from. Most people don't know it exists. I was not spared reality." Her voice grew quiet as she stared at the steaming coffee. "I was only fifteen. They killed my father and separated me from my mother and brother. I escaped, but not before I was forced to endure many things." She straightened her shoulders, gathering her strength and meeting Erryl's gaze. "I'm glad you understand that slavery is horrible."
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 5:57 pm
~ Erryl ~ "It's far from invisible where I'm from. My family owned a great deal of slaves, which is why I left," Erryl says rather darkly. "Later I learned that the woman that had practically raised me was badly used; she died in childbirth and the baby didn't survive either." He spread his hands on the table, palms down. "If you were able to escape, then that is an accomplishment to be proud of," he says solemnly, returning her gaze. When looking at Naomi so directly, his eyes seem to have a light colored ring around the irises. "Many of the slaves in my land were born that way; they know nothing else. Even then, they learn that other people have better lives and they try to run. Often they are not successful; often they are punished for this, or even killed. My father," and Erryl's brows draw together, "had a reputation for raising very obedient slaves."
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 7:59 pm
~Celestin~ Celestin threw the door open as he glided into the establishment, his reddened, numb body prickling with goosebumps. He tightened his cloak around his naked torso as he inched his way towards the counter. He climbed onto the bar stool, his back hunched over as he mumbled his order to the woman, pushing several coins towards her. He hastily glanced over both his shoulders at the woman and the man in the cafe, then quickly darted back to the steaming chai tea that the woman slid in front of him.
"Careful," she warned him sternly, "it's hot. You don't want to burn yourself."
"Gotcha," he muttered, dusting snow off of his black cloak.
He pressed the mug to his lips, sipping a small amount, and a blush rose in his grey cheeks in pleasant surprise about the strength and how quickly it warmed him from his mouth down to his thin belly. He sighed, running a hand through his thick, dark, purple mop of hair that hung over his left eye before stroking his goatee. He glanced back at the two over his shoulder as he sipped more tea, the warmth spreading through him. He visibly relaxed, his posture straightening a little, and he pulled his cloak around his body tighter, hoping the others wouldn't point out the large lumps beneath. Cautiously, hr spun the bartool around to face the others, keeping his back turned away from them. Suddenly aware of his naked chest and stomach, he crossed his arms in front of him.
"H-hello," he said, carefully and slowly, stammering slightly. His voice cracked, and he cringed.
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:46 pm
Naomi "My condolences for the slave woman." Naomi bowed her head momentarily. "I misspoke. I didn't escape on my own. I was rescued. It was not an accomplishment, but a gift. I have much to thank my rescuer for, such as freedom from slave masters much like your father." She took another sip of her coffee, grimacing once more. The door burst open and her senses sprang to alertness. Her gaze followed the newcomer through the shop to take his measure. By his behavior at the bar, he was not confident. She turned to continue her conversation with Erryl when a quiet hello surprised her. She half-turned in her seat to face the newcomer. "Hello. Are you familiar with this establishment?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:56 am
~ Erryl ~ "Then your gift was the other's accomplishment. Either way, it was a blow against an insidious practice." For once, the pale man raises his voice. "My father certainly wasn't the worst of the lot; he was more even minded than some. However, he could not be excused, and it's only respect for the dead that keeps my descriptions vague." Then the voice saying 'Hello' catches his attention and he turns towards the sound, eyebrows lifting upwards. "I've never seen hair that color," he says in mild surprise. "Not even from the islanders." Still, he makes a gesture to say that he would not turn the man away should he choose to join them, though he shoots a questioning look at Naomi; whatever she says, he will abide by in this case.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 4:41 pm
~Celestin~ He pressed the mug to his lips, and he sipped the chai slowly as he pondered his response. The woman seemed more inviting than the man, and he felt a little embarrassed from the comment about his hair. Self-consciously, he touched his purple locks with his free hand, his grey cheeks turning to a faint, blue blush. He set the mug down on the counter, and he forced himself to swallow the budding lump in his throat.
"I have never been here before," he said weakly. "Have you?"
He twisted his sweating hands in his lap, and he adjusted the collar of the cloak around his neck. He should have thought it out when he asked for it to be made of velvet, but he sighed in resignation. Nothing he could do about it now, and he certainly did not feel comfortable enough exposing his body further, especially with how the man spoke to him. He shifted in his seat nervously.
A few moments passed before he spoke to the man, but he finally said, "My hair color is not uncommon for my kind." You're one to talk, he thought, what with your weirdly white skin.
He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned a lighter shade of grey, and he followed the man's gaze to the woman, his red eyes resting on her.
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2015 11:25 pm
Naomi Naomi gave a brief shake of her head. "I found myself here unexpectedly. I had hoped to find someone who came deliberately." She sat back and crossed her legs, setting an elbow on the table. Strange as she found his coloration, she had seen others with unusual appearances and wouldn't judge him by appearances alone, especially in a place as strange as this. "What kind of land do you hail from?" Perhaps a clue lay in the different places people came from, but she didn't think so. It was just an easy question that people usually didn't hesitate to answer. She found herself growing more comfortable in the establishment despite the short time spent within. The more she learned, the more certain she became that her enemies would not find her here. Her gaze usually held a glint of skepticism. Now it held curiosity about the newcomer.
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 12:24 pm
~ Erryl ~ The pale man's intention hadn't been to be judgmental. Rather, he was simply surprised and stating it as such. But, he could also see how it could be taken that way, and he endeavored to smile slightly. "Ah, so it is natural for you?" he inquires. "No one in my land has hair that color. Brown and blond are the most common, with black being rather uncommon and red being downright rare," he explains evenly to the newcomer. "But we have already ascertained that the two of us are from very different places, so it stands to reason that you are as well." Then Erryl turns to Naomi. "Are there people with purple hair in your land?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 15, 2015 2:31 pm
~Celestin~ "That's an interesting take on this place," he said, sipping from his mug once more. "I don't think anyone comes here deliberately, so I'm afraid you're setting yourself up for disappointment."
He sighed. Etaeve had a point, but at least this person seemed nice. Actually, he thought slowly, the other person doesn't seem to be all that rude either.
"Me? Well, I'm from a place called Madrigald. More specifically, the town of Fen on Eulibor Isle. It's a chaotic place," he said simply, unsure of how much information she really wanted to know. "Where do you come from?"
He focused on the man. I hope I can trust you, he thought. Finally, he said lightly, "Certain races have certain ranges of hair color. It is normal for me to have this color because of my race, but it wouldn't be normal for a human to have this coloring. Same as my skin and eyes."
He didn't look away from the man as he sipped his tea.
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