|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 1:58 am
Philemon was one of the people that others might frown upon. In this case it wasn't his unmistakably remarkable ability to get caught in all sorts of accidents and mishaps but rather his sleeping schedule. Most people might never notice if they didn't live with him or happen to crash at his house for the night but Phil slept no more nor less than five full hours, from midnight until five in the morning. The reason he stayed up so late was usually either studying, brewing concoctions in his attic or tending to some of his plants that simply needed their care in the night. His reason for waking up as early was usually only his need to go herb picking or harvest the plants that had to be cut before sunrise and this was one such occasion.
He was running out of sweet sagewort and lemon grass and thought it was a good idea were he to venture in the woods and find some growing in the wild to take home with him. -The possibility of asking Theo about it was nerve-wrecking considering he always had second thoughts about asking him to do things for him not to mention he had already sent him on enough errants while he was there. Better use some things when you have them he thought absentmindedly to himself while he walked through the few first trees that would soon tower around him from all directions.
The sun had yet to rise, everything was quiet and he found the light tingling noise of the vases he was carrying in his backpack to create a pleasant, light, pleasing to the ears melody as he walked. With some luck he wouldn't trip over random roots and break them, but he was always extra careful when he was carrying things like that.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 2:33 am
It was early morning and, like clockwork, she awoke and began her daily ritual. Plants were tended to, the morning breeze was let in, and she ate in peace and quiet, absently finger coming her hair. Very few birds were awake at this hour, but some were just beginning to sing as the sun crept over the horizon. Once she had cleaned and put away her dishes, Kiarei grabbed her collection basket and a few tools and set out towards the forest nearby.
Kia wasn't looking to pick any herbs that day. In fact she was actually looking to collect bulbs and seeds from some herbs that she was running low on to grow more. It was very rare that she actually took any herbs from the forest herself as she preferred to be self-sufficient and to allow the wild plants to grow as they pleased. Humming softly she crouched next to a small bunch of herbs, gently combing through the tiny leaves with her fingers.
Suddenly she froze, eyes widening a little and ears perking, completely alert. Slowly her head turned, staring down the path where a young man was walking... In her direction. Kiarei bit her lip, brows knitting in nervousness, hand hovering over the plant she had been looking at as if frozen in place. Should she stay, should she leave? In situations like these she always felt so lost.
"H-hello..." She finally settled on a greeting, her ears drooping and flattening a little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:10 am
Phil, being used in taking such walks in the forest was certainly not as used in seeing other people around at such a time. Sure enough his brother would sometimes join him and disrupt the usual quiet but other than that it was a miracle if he were to meet even a few animals that had crawled out early from their homes to roam around in search for their breakfast most likely. Therefore, he was obviously surprised to see a person, moreover a girl up ahead greeting him all of a sudden. Of course, had he been more perceptive and less lost in his thoughts he might have seen her ahead of time and avoided tripping over his own two feet. Thankfully, his jars had somehow been spared from breaking -otherwise it would have been a disastrous situation.
"Ah! Ehhh... uhm..." he stammered as he tried to pull himself back together and sit up, both hands that tried to break his fall as well as knees thoroughly scraped for one more time, but being used to pain as he was this wasn't about to become an obstruction. "H-Hello?" he laughed awkwardly hoping the girl wouldn't think him way too strange. Then he took in her appearance and blinked. White hair, red eyes, animal ears and a tail. Fairly handsome and fairly normal save for the tail and ears... he had never seen a girl with such features so long but he'd have to admit to himself that she looked rather cute, and scared.
"Uhhm... did I scare you?" he asked, painfully direct as he had always been. "'C-Cause I didn't mean to... I mean, I didn't expect for someone else to be out here so early. I just never met anyone here before and-" he paused to catch his breath and sighed realizing that talking to much might end up frightening the poor girl even more, make her think that he was some sort of freak or the like. "S-Sorry." he apologized pushing up to bring himself on his feet. He was being terribly rude, he thought, but he wasn't able to help himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 1:05 pm
Kia suddenly straightened eyes widening and ears perking in alarm as her hands flew up to cover her mouth. Tears welling up in her eyes she quickly moved over to the stranger who had fallen at her greeting; she hadn't meant to startle him with greeting, she just hadn't known what to do. She stopped near him, not certain what to do in her upset and fretful state.
"Oh! A-a-are you alright...?" She gasped out, tears still swimming in her eyes as she watched the stranger get to his feet. "N-no you didn't scare me... I...."
Then the tears began to fall, her lips pressing together as she lifted her hands to wipe at them. She sniffed a little, her ears completely dropped and her tail hanging lip, barely twitching in her guilty distress. She took a small, shuddering breath as she took another step towards the strange boy, knowing that her behavior and attire were most likely odd to him.
"I-I'm very sorry. I startled you..." Kiarei looked him over and bit her lip. "I-I'm a healer... A-are you hurt...? Oh I'm so sorry."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 12:01 am
Phil smiled brightly up at the girl who looked -heaven forbid- almost ready to cry if she weren't already... and he had been about to frown at the sight of her tears and her attempts to wipe them away but he forced himself to flash her a bright smile anyway; to reassure her that he was okay and that he didn't mind a little fall as well as that she really shouldn't worry, that it hadn't been her fault. To cause such a cute, unusual girl to cry, he really was incredibly clumsy, wasn't he? And that was not only when it came down to himself...
"I'm alright, don't worry." he made haste to let her know as he dusted himself off a little, smile never fading from his face as long as he spoke. "I'm sorry to have worried you as much... I'm usually so clumsy, you see." he shrugged fixing his glasses that had been hanging in a rather unusual way from his nose ever since he fell and nodded his head to underline. "I'm rather used to it, I don't hurt for long." his pain tolerance was a blessing considering just how often he managed to get himself into all sorts of random accidents.
"You did startle me, although that was mostly my fault, I suppose." he spoke thoughtfully tapping his lip with an outstretched index. "I was not paying attention, but it's alright, as I said. I should have known there might be more people around" he trailed off "Even though I never happened upon any..." he paused upon hearing of the girl's profession and felt his face light up as he smiled, more if that was even possible. He always had held infinite admiration for healers seeing how he was aspiring to be one himself all along. "A healer!" he laughed "It's so great meeting you! I'm Philemon, see I want to become a healer too sometime... of course I'm more proficient in potion making rather than healing so to speak, but-" he forced himself to a halt realising that for -once again- he was talking way too much to possibly make the girl comfortable that he could end with opposing results. "A-Ah... I'm sorry." he mumbled bowing his head in apology "I get so excited sometimes..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:26 pm
Despite the stranger's reassuring words Kia still found herself sniffling a little, even as she wiped at her eyes. How rude of her, causing such alarm and concern on her behalf when she had been the one to startle him into tripping and falling in the first place. At his comment she bit her lip, ears drooping once more and tears once more welling up in her eyes. It was so awful that someone was used to being hurt... Was he bullied as well? She hoped that that wasn't the case...
"I-I only said something... Because I didn't want to startle you..." Kiarei murmured, bowing her head, looking ashamed. "It didn't work very well... I'm sorry..."
Kia blinked at the boy's exclamation before smiling hesitantly, ears perking up a little as he spoke. An aspiring healer was very rare since most preferred combat to the more peaceful arts. It was a little refreshing to meet someone that was interested in the same branch of magic that she specialized in. Thus she found herself shaking her head, waving her hand a little and offering a shy smile.
"No, no... It's alright... I rarely meet anyone with the same passion as me..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:44 pm
Phil was about to apologize all over again, not knowing what he had said to make the poor girl tear up again but he stopped himself in fear he might cause her even more concern and worry and he really couldn't do it, he wouldn't know what to do, how to comfort her. Damn him, him and his tactlessness when it came to words.
"Ah, really, don't be sorry." Phil beamed holding his hand out to her "Let's make peace and forget about it, ne?" he shrugged, his eyes smiling twice as much as his lips did. If there was one thing he knew how to do well that was making friends and he'd never, not once, readily turn someone away from him just because. And well, this particular girl might be a little more meek, a little more scared than what he was used in dealing with but all he had to do was figure out the way she was more comfortable with.
"To tell you the truth, I usually have the same problem in finding people that would rather heal than maim but I suppose there are always those that are like us too." he placed both hands on his waist to support the weight of his backpack and sighed softly, almost in relief as the weight was brought back to its place where he could support it better. "And it's the first time I've seen anyone out here so early which falls under the same principle also."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:08 am
Kiarei looked down at the stranger's hand, then back up to his face, blinking slowly before smiling a little at the offer. Hesitantly she reached out, gently shaking hands with the boy, seeming to barely grip his hand at all, she was so careful. She had an odd tendency to never use excessive force in anything and it translated in the brief handshake.
"A-alright." With a nod she offered him another, less watery smile before her ears perked again at the mention of Healers once more. "There seems to be fewer and fewer of us..."
It was a quiet musing, one followed by her trailing off and slowly turning her head to gaze out into the forest for a long moment. However she eventually returned her gaze to the blonde-haired boy before her, smiling brightly and moving to clasp her hands behind her back. It had been quite some time since she had last been caught unawares by anything in Clarus Arbor, so, she supposed, that this would be a nice experience, one that would brighten the monotony of her normal day.
"Oh... I'm not normally here... I have a garden... I'm just here looking for some extra bulbs."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:41 am
Phil squeezed the hand he held in his only a little, as if to reassure the girl that it was all going to be alright. After all they say that one can tell a lot of things about somebody's character just by their first handshake and Phil didn't want to come off seeming weird or anything like that. Something like that could simply prove disastrous in the long run. Then again he was getting the vibe that this girl wasn't about to look down on him or judge him just by first impressions. Otherwise she'd already have ran away when he made her cry, even though he had never wished for something like this.
"It just means we need to try extra-hard and make everyone happy and healthy." Phil nodded his head. It was hard to make some people happy by healing them, however. For one, he knew that his brother hated his more special herbal teas and avoided them like the plague if he could even though they were good for his health. On the contrary he preferred to eat the cakes he often served them with.
"So you grow your our plants as well?" Phil chuckled. "Where have you been for all these years?" he joked. "I grow some herbs myself but I don't really have that much space in Makai, not to mention there are herbs that have medicinal qualities that increase or decrease depending on if they're wild or not." he sighed, thinking about it. If he wanted to run the Pharmacy he had to find a way to expand eventually. It was becoming hard and harder to have to take trips in order to gather materials. "What kind of bulbs are you looking for?" he questioned, fixing his glasses up his nose.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:40 pm
Kiarei smiled a little at the gentle pressure on her hand, eyes hooding and head bowing slightly, recognizing the gesture. She felt herself calming a little despite herself, glad that the boy didn't seem to be hurt at all. She would have felt absolutely terrible if he had hurt himself because she scared him... Not that she was very scary, but she was small for a girl and all crouched down she was most likely difficult to see.
"Yes." she smiled brightly then, nodding quickly and emphatically. "A healer must always strive to go to great lengths to help those in need."
She shifted a little, adjusted the basket in her hands. She found much of what she'd wanted so she supposed that she could take a small break to speak with the young man she had startled so badly. At the question she nodded, smiling brightly at him once more; Kiarei seemed to be a veritable fountain of bright smiles that morning.
"I've only been growing my own for a short while. I graduated from the Academy not long ago so I've been slowly building up my garden and my stock."
She listened intently smiling a little to herself, her ears twitching and swiveling a little to better hear everything he was saying and to show she was listening. She offered a small nod in response to his comment about the way that herbs tended to grow. Some simply dealt better outside while others seemed to favor being hand-tended.
"Plants are like people... All require different care in order to thrive." Kia breathed before blinking at the question and smiling again. "Oh, mostly whatever I can find. I'm a little short on Wolfsbane."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 8:07 am
Phil was entirely glad that he seemed to have somehow leveled up the ground with the girl who didn't seem scared anymore, at least. Phil counted it as his own small, personal victory over personalities. It made him all the more happy, after all.
"That's the spirit!" he cheered at Kiarei's statement, amused by the eagerness and sincerity that he greatly admired the words held in them. Sure enough he might be the younger of the two there but he found himself deteriorating to his more childish behaviour anyway; that very same behaviour that had caused him so many troubles before, including random quarrels and a very serious case of cheating boyfriends and drama that seemed taken directly out of some detective mystery novel. "We should form a league and march into battle to help the wounded!" he exclaimed "Then they'll write books for us and we will be heroes." he smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck with his free hand. "I guess not, hmm?" he said a little bit more quietly.
For some reason meeting someone new like that had created an overabundance of energy that was looking for something to get itself into. "That's so great, you know." he smiled. "To be able to pursue exactly what you want in life, to be able to tend to your garden... like people?" the sentence he had started ended up in a questioning manner. He wasn't sure if he was understanding correctly but it would seem that the girl treated plants as if they were people. While he found it a very interesting concept he had never once thought of his own plants as anything more but ingredients that had to be brought up properly to be used in medicine. "You think plants are like people?" he questioned just to make sure he didn't mishear anything.
He tapped his bottom lip with an outstretched index thoughtfully and shrugged a little. Wolfsbane was a pretty potent medicine, however it could also be toxic if used in a greater usage than what was required. "Are you making medicine for infections or just growing the plant in case you need it?" he asked, curious as he was. When it came down to it there was little he could do to help himself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 12:35 am
Kiarei blinked at the exclamation before lifting a hand to conceal the laughter that wanted to bubble forth from her lips at the statement. This young man seemed to be so energetic and full of potential but still had quite a bit to learn, at least in her opinion. Battles had a tendency to make her rather sad and upset, especially the moans and cries of the injured and sick. It was a terrifying reality amongst the romance of it all but she would let him have his dreams.
"Maybe they will." she answered softly, averting her eyes to gaze down the path.
She smiled at his words, turning her head towards him and nodding, her gaze sliding to the trees and foliage around them. Perhaps that was what really separated her from most other witches: her love of nature. Typically she tended to blame it on her more Mononoke traits but it could just as easily have been due to how odd she behaved as well. It would most likely be good for her to have more interactions with other Witches as opposed to talking to her plants and writing in her diary.
"Well... They share a lot of similarities, don't they?" Kiarei asked, tilting her head a little in question. "Some like darkness, some like light... Some help and others hurt..."
Trailing off she lowered her gaze, staring at the ground for a long moment before mentally shaking herself. She was trying so hard to be stronger, to let go of all the horrible things that had ever been said to her, but it was difficult after so long. Taking deep breath she exhaled slowly, lifting her head and smiling at the young man before her; he most likely thought she was crazy at this point.
"I grow herbs for others... And the school now. Since I'm so close I can deliver very fresh herbs for the students."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 7:36 am
Phil smiled awkwardly and sighed before shrugging a little. "Nah, probably not. There's nothing to write about medicine specialists or healers when it comes to battles." he admitted and even though his mood was significantly dimmer now, judging by his tone of voice and uncertain scratching of the back of his neck his face retained its smile even though his blue eyes didn't. "Although, I won't hide, I sometimes wish they just wouldn't fight and all I'd have to deal with is the flu and other regular illnesses." he had never understood why most people refused to see the Majin as just other people and instead would wage endless war against them than trying to invent a solution.
Then he thought about the plants and how she linked them to people and thought that maybe it was possible even if it was nothing he had ever considered before. "H-Hey~ I think you're right." he laughed. "I never thought they could relate to people!" maybe he'd start treating them more like people himself if he kept that up... which would be at least strange because if you compared them to actual human beings then cutting them in order to use them would be grotesque and even the thought of apologizing to a stalk before cutting it down was rather ridiculous in his head.
"Y-You mean you'd go as far as to grow on demand?" Phil jumped at the opportunity. It seemed a little too good to let it slide, plus he wouldn't have to worry about getting a stock of a few things and it wasn't as if it was something his budget couldn't handle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:34 am
"Some healers are just as renowned." she answered softly, smiling warmly at the boy before her before the smile faded a little, her expression sobering. "War is a terrible thing. We dream of peace, yes, but not all of us share our dreams."
This time the smile she offered was a sad smile, one filled with broken dreams and jaded by the truths of the world. Yes, many did consider her naive or innocent, but it was more that she simply had never developed that emotional callous to guard herself against the pain and suffering in the world. Thus instead of reacting to it normally she tended to get upset or burst completely into tears when something terrible happened to anyone. However she had noticed that, usually, she didn't get quite as upset with things happened to her...
"I-it's a little silly... But... My parents raised me like that... Talking to plants and treating them like people... Just like animals as well." Kiarei's gaze grew distant as she stared off for a long moment before looking back to the boy, smiling brightly. "I just realized I don't know your name. Mine is Kiarei. May I ask yours?"
How rude of her to forget to introduce herself to a stranger that she had startled so badly! Of course it had been completely unintentional but, in her mind, it did not excuse what she had done nor did it excuse her not giving him her name or asking his. Though, in a way, it was nice to get so distracted and caught-up in conversation with someone. It was interesting how the world seem to draw people together in the most unlikely of situations.
"Oh... I suppose I could. I do get custom orders from time to time." Kia mused, lifting a red-nailed finger to tap her bottom lip before smiling brightly once more. "Would you like to come back to my home to discuss it more? I at least owe you some tea or coffee for scaring your so badly."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:57 pm
Phil smiled even though it was a sad smile that his eyes didn't quite reflect. He knew that the girl was telling the truth and yet some times, times like that one, he was simply having trouble believing in it or finding solace in that there were people that wanted to help that had been looked up upon by many. Because if people that promoted that peace where, in fact, respected like that, why did nobody do anything to help make it a reality? "Sometimes I begin to fear I'm the only one who ever hopes for peace..." it was a sad reality and he lived with it but he couldn't even count the times he had been shunned for openly claiming he wanted to help the Majin as much as he did the humans.
She smiled and Phil found out that looking at that girl was almost as intimidating it would be for him to be looking into a mirror. There was a part of him he could see in her and it made him quickly pull himself together once again. "And then there are those times I meet people like you that give me hope." his smile returned to settle in the bright blue of his eyes and he was smiling as a whole for another time, erasing the dissonance from before.
"You must have had wonderful parents." he nodded his head. "Do excuse me if I'm being nosy but where you an only child?" it was one of the most common questions he made. Whenever he would bring up his own family people had a tendency to be intimidated but he always loved listening to people talk about their family. You could tell a lot of things about a person just from the way they would talk about their family. But then he was asked about his name and he had to shove that question and any further inquiries to the side for a little. "My name's Philemon." he chuckled softly "It's very nice to meet you, miss Kiarei." he bowed deeply in a rather dramatic manner and hastily returned to his previous position not to risk falling on his face for another time.
He was eager to comply when he was invited also. Not only would he spend a little more time with this peculiar but sweet girl but he'd also get to talk about business which was another pressing matter seeing how he hadn't managed to find a good place to turn into a greenhouse just yet. "It's okay, it's okay." he tried to reassure the girl for another time that he was okay and the scare wasn't nearly as bad as she was probably imagining. "I'd love to discuss it over a cup of tea, in any case." he agreed, fixing his glasses and shifting his weight around a little.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
