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 Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 7:53 pm
Her days had been the same, flowing into one like a memory too nasty to forget. Ever since her parents had threw their fortune to the wind and gamboled out of her life, Adalwolfa had been doing whatever it took to get by. Money was scarce and there was only so much she could do on the farm before she was living day to day on the crops given to her as payment in the room she rented on the land. The silver-haired girl started seeking other jobs; namely, anything that paid well and required the least amount of work.
Unfortunately, not many places took a girl whose only strength was her prettiness. She failed her first few tasks of labor with ease; clumsiness, a sour attitude, and snap-backs when she was rebuked leading her employers to fire her as quickly as she was hired. Recently, Adalwolfa was let go from a fishmonger's stall after spilling a barrel of disemboweled bottom feeders on herself. She tried to reason with the man; pleading to him not to let her go (and not adding that scooping guts out of a slimy creature was the easiest job she had all week) while also crafting the story she had plenty of children to feed. The man didn't by it at all -- and after jabbing his finger in the direction out of his stall, the once noble hung her head and trundled off to mull.
That guy's an a*****e, she reasoned to herself mentally, tossing a rock into the river at the spot she frequented whenever she needed time to think. Just like the rest of them.
Despite trying to reason with herself that it was their fault and not hers, Adalwolfa felt guilt clog her throat. I can't stand this, she huffed, This is not the life for a Westhofen. The hell am I doing working for others? They should be breaking their backs for me. She spat into the river next in disgust before her nose wrinkled in dismay.
"s**t," the girl cursed next, "Now I smell like fish. What else could go wrong today?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 8:24 pm
Rin's day had been about the same as it had been ever since her father had remarried. Well, with one minor difference: her stepmother had taken her to sign up for the latest recruitment session. She was going to be a part of the military. It still didn't seem real. Maybe she'd even be able to join the Military Police, like she'd dreamed of these past few years. But surely there would be people far better than her, so maybe just the garrison. That would still be fine. As it was, Rin was walking home from shopping for her family, but taking a scenic route this time since she had some time to kill. She chose the river near her new house, walking while watching the water stream by. She paused as she saw a young woman by the river. And... was that fish? Rin tilted her head slightly at the smell before deciding that, yes, that was fish she was smelling. The young woman swore to herself, and Rin felt herself drawn to her. "Is something wrong?" she asked the other girl, walking up to her, the groceries still in her arms.
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 8:35 pm
Another stone made a low dunk into the water after Adalwolfa had kicked it off in frustration. Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, switching between her current distaste to forlorn feelings of uneasiness. Never before had she had so much pent up anger and sorrow regarding her current status. The life of a noble was imbued in her -- down her to very marrow. Giving up the luxuries she obviously took for granted was becoming a very bitter pill to swallow.
Adalwolfa jumped with a small start at the inquiry aimed her way; the voice certainly unwarranted. Turning her head with a sharp jerk, her wide, silver eyes landed on a pair of blue, and then her frightened features slowly softened. The face obviously wasn't familiar and, at once, she became slightly miffed. The girl had taken notice of the bags in the other character's hand and she thought the confrontation was something out of pity; as if Rin was going to impart some kind of karmic virtue or pay-it-forward advice by giving food to a homely looking girl like herself. The smell of fish that made her reek like the great unwashed didn't help either.
"I'm fine," she insisted, but the emphasized statement fell to the wayside. She was far from fine; her voice cracked like a brick thrown to a pane of glass. "Something I can help you with, lady? Are you lost?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 8:52 pm
Rin was momentarily taken aback by the girl's cracked voice. "Uhm... My apologies if I seem a bit forward, but are you really okay? I heard you swear, just a bit ago, and, uh..." She averted her gaze to the side. "I just figured that, maybe you could use someone to talk to. I'm sorry if I was wrong." She shifted the bags of groceries in her arms as they began to slip slightly.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:08 am
Adalwolfa's lips parted a fraction before pursing shut. She looked opposite of Rin, contemplating the verity of the situation. No one -- not even her parents -- dared be so open of her opinion. The likeliness of a stranger even being a percentage of her parents' concern seemed null and void. But, whatever this woman's reason, the once noble was willing to entertain her interests. Something about telling lies to cover even more lies seemed thrilling in its own pursuit.
Shrugging a shoulder, her lips became a horizontal line on her face as she replied, "Sure? I mean, it's not like I have much people to talk to anyway." The first bit of truth out of her mouth. "So conversing with someone I don't know may take some of this weight off my shoulders."
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 9:18 am
Turning back to face her, Rin smiled kindly at Adalwolfa's statement. "I'm glad. I'm Rin, by the way. Would you be willing to tell me your name?" She set the bags on the ground.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 10:21 am
Adalwolfa wrinkled her nose. "Franziska," she lied, but the name may as well have been truth. She had been using it so frequently she felt like she was molding herself into the role of a lowly peasant. "Nice to meet you, Rin."
Considering the circumstances, anyway.
Watching the other woman lower her bags to the ground, the silver-haired noble gave a wayward glance inside them. While being given handouts would've soured her mood, her sneaking a finger toward any foodstuff and running off with it was a possibility. She'd have to consider it later when she was done with this.
Scratching the back of her short locks, Adalwolfa thinned her lips and remarked, "Not sure where I should start, y'know? Um, I guess I could say I've been going through a lot of jobs lately; getting fired from one after the other, aha..."
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 11:39 am
Rin smiled. "It's nice to meet you, too, Franziska. You have a really pretty name." At the mention of getting fired, Rin frowned. "That's terrible! Why are you getting fired so often? I- I- I mean, if you don't mind me asking, of course!" She stammered, mentally berating herself for being so insensitive. She scratched absentmindedly at her neck through the fabric of her sweater.
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 7:54 pm
Adalwolfa forced a smile. Compliments, compliments... How the heck am I supposed to appreciate such a compliment? She was crocheting a story even as Rin pressed her for more details of her abundant firings that, obviously, were her fault, but she wasn't going to paint in such a way.
Adawlolfa -- or rather, Franziska -- cocked her head about like a bird curiously looking at a morsel of bread. "Aha, I don't mind! Don't worry about asking -- I'm sure anyone would ask. I don't know, to be honest. I do what they tell me to do! But you know how this society treats a woman that's not a mother or a soldier." She shooed a hand in the air with a dismissive look to the truth of any female not either. "Just got to keep a stiff upper lip, yea?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 27, 2014 8:41 pm
In truth, Rin didn't know how society would treat a woman who wasn't a soldier or mother. She had been lucky enough to find a job with the caring Mr. Sergel, who likely gave it to her out of pity for her circumstances. And even then she had been just a child - would circumstances have been different if she were an adult? "Uhm... If it's a problem, why don't you join the military? I think they would take you! I mean, they took me, so surely they would take you. I don't mean that to be insulting! I'm sorry if it seemed like it.I'll just be quiet now." Rin looked down at her shoes as she scratched at her neck.
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