|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:13 pm
xxxxx『 〄 The Small, Secret Fire 』
xxxxxxxxx〆 ┊ the floating city of Aimes, various places
xxxxxxxxx〆 ┊ Mid-afternoon, and one should note: smoke-emitting Kieran has been left at home D8<
xxxxxxxxx〆 ┊ beautiful as a summer day, all light and color; cold as an icebox
Wrestling briefly with the latch on his leather case, Eli finally snapped it open and slid the bakery's new accounting inside. Honestly, he had never seen such sloppy accounting before! He straightened, a wide, practiced smile on his face despite the odd pang in his chest. Bakeries made him melancholy, somehow. Annoying. The one was cozy and colorful and everything designed to make customers feel at ease, but Eli couldn't wait to leave. Tipping his head towards the shopkeeper, he turned to leave. "I will be back next week for another batch. Good day." Sweeping past the delectable pastries and out of the shop, he turned left. There was the most delicious cafe nearby. Last week, Eli had wandered in there quite on accident and he had vowed to return.
Eli frowned. There was a niggling sensation at the back of his mind. Had he forgotten something? He paused and leaned against the cold brick wall of an antique bookstore. Irritably, he flipped his satchel open and dug about. Bakery, inn, tavern: all of the accounting documents were present, but something was gone. "s**t." Eli's leather-bound notebook was missing. A gift from his sister, Angharad, the notebook had a tooled leather cover etched with all manner of fanciful nonsense. It was ugly. It was gaudy. But recently, he'd taken to writing probabilities and chances in it. Nothing fancy, it was just filled with his mathematical musings: there was a 1 in 588 chance of dying whilst on the road, 1 in 122 chance that suicide would be the route. Numbers scribbled across the pages, calculations of how many people per town, per province, what the chances of such-and-such were. All of the calculation were heavily generalized, of course, but Eli loved them just the same. The notebook wouldn't mean much to a passerby, but to him, it was important.
Disgruntled, Eli began retracing his steps. The notebook wasn't with him when he was inside the bakery, so it had to have fallen out before. The leather bound journal had likely sprung free at one of his previous accounting stops. Eyes firmly on the road, Eli didn't even noticed as people swerved and careened out of his determined way. His ale-brown eyes darted from side to side, searching each inch for even a hint of his silly notebook. Nearing his previous stop, he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. This was just not his week, he thought uncharitably,tugging his grey coat higher around his face. First that bit of glassware acted up, and now this; as a result, his muscles were tense to the point of breaking. As if the mere thought of the bottle had conjured it, Eli's keen nose picked up the scent of smoke. He'd left the blasted bottle firmly at home, though....
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:11 am
"Ashes. Asheees. We all burn down."
The voice pierced through the air like something sinister. Willow had escaped from the inn, again. And was out causing trouble, again. Faust did not know what else he could do, short of locking her in a cage there was no way of keeping her inside. If he locked her in the attic, she climbed out the window. If he kept her with him, she caused the guests discomfort and upright misery. He had all but given up, and Willow knew this. Her perseverance to partake in trouble was unrelenting, and telling her she could not do something multiplied this fortitude tenfold. In other words, there was nothing to stop her from doing what she wanted. She was not a child, she was a demon in a small, and somewhat adorable body. Or at least, that was her papa's thesis.
Today she was starting fires, her most beloved hobby. Anything orange was amazing in her books, flames included. She was a small, pint-sized pyromaniac who had not had her fix for the day. Now, starting it was the easy part. Fire was everywhere, in the forms of candles, lanterns, fire-places. She usually pick-pocketed men walking around with pipes, because you were certain that they had some matches on them somewhere... and usually they had some pretty coins too which she would then add to her stash back home. So that was her source, next you needed to feed it. Like you would so a kitten. Fire was alive you see, or that was what she had been told. There was something romantic in it's power, at least to her twisted little mind.
The pumpkin dust looked at her little pile, made up of an old newspaper, some leaves and a couple of pathetic looking sticks. It was small enough for people to still walk past her unnoticed. Infact, nobody ever paid her much attention, maybe because of her human appearance. She was not special looking like Kon and Venice, a fact that made her noise twitch with envy. So in truth, people never usually gave her a second look. In her hat and brown coat, she looked very average, not just human, but a boring looking human none the less. She rubbed her gloved hands together, before looking to her side to see a scabby looking book. An eyebrow raised, was that there before?
She tilted her head to the side before skipping over to pick it up. She flicked through the pages quite uninterested. Boring. Illegible. Gibberish. Who would want such a thing? It was useless. Unless. She smirked as the light-bulb lit it above her head, looking back over her shoulder quite devilishly towards her small pile of objects and she slight smoke coming from them. She skipped back over. Striking another match, before letting the pages catch alight. She bounced the flaming book in her hands like a hot potato, before it landed in the pile. That was better, it was burning much more intensely now. Now her pile was big enough for people to look over and stare, quite speechless. What was that little girl doing? They wondered. Where were her parents?
A little more work, and the demon god Ifrit himself would surly jump from the flames. She let out quite a creepy chuckle, like a witch who was mixing her brew. Destruction. Beautiful Destruction. The passers by shook their heads. Clearly, she was a special one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 8:07 am
Absentmindedly, Eli patted each pocket. This smoke didn't smell like his odd little bottle, but the damn thing kept popping up in weird and unexpected places. These small whiffs of smoke smelled off, not at all similar to the clean and deep wood smoke his girl put out. Slightly acrid, it was a weird smell, unpleasant, like burning metal or animal fur. Abruptly, Eli remembered his quest: the beloved notebook. He sighed worriedly and jerked his tartan scarf closer about his neck. Might as well follow his nose and just find the source of smoke since he couldn't find anything else, he though grumpily.
His nose crinkled distastefully. The smoke was coming from around the inn. At least that had been his original goal anyway: small favors. Perhaps he could kill two birds with one stone: assuage his curiosity and find his blasted notebook. Eli's brown eyes flickered about distractedly. Once, twice his gaze slid over a young girl. There was no reason to notice her, really: brown hair, hat, clothing; she was nondescript. As plain as pancakes or dry toast. However, in her painful average ness, she stood out. Or was Eli just noticing the the orange glow of her fire that illuminated her features and the odd smile fixed there? The child looked like some sort of hedonistic druid, gleefully fueling a fire for a long-lost god. Eli frowned.
Townsfolk walked past her, staring, muttering into their hands: "Such a child!" "Where is her mother?" "Dangerous girl!" If they all had time to grouse and gossip, why did no one try to stop her? She obviously needed chastising: fire was no game. Purposefully, Eli strode over to the girl, his long legs eating up the distance. Standing behind her, he spoke, a disapproving twist to his mobile lips. "Hello, young miss. Should you really be starting fires? They're quite dangerous." He kept his tone light, non-accusatory. As he spoke, he stared at her little bonfire. Something was off, horribly familiar. "Where is your guardi- What the hell?!"
Dismayed, Eli kicked viciously a the fire. In the heart of the flames, burning merrily, was his leather notebook! Burning debris scattered from his boots in all directions. A nearby woman, the one who termed the girl dangerous, yelped as a chunk of flaming paper landed neatly on her hem. Eli stamped at the flames engulfing highs notebook. Looking up at the girl, a dangerous glint manifested in his hawkish eyes. He stooped down and gathered up his ruined notebook; the fading ash burned one thumb evil and he swore, not caring that a child could hear.
Eli advanced on the girl menacingly. She seemed to think this was all an amusing game, that destroying things was the winning move. But Eli was angry now, he was livid. It was a dangerous kind of angry, that lived in the calm tone and measured steps he took. "Alright. You and I are going to find your guardian and have a long talk." He brandished his notebook: evidence of the girl's crime. "This," he scowled, his dark bushy brows furrowed over his eyes. "is mine." As the last word left his mouth, Eli stretched out long fingers to grab at the girl's arm. She was out of control.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 11:53 am
Willows orange eyes continued to eat up the glowing flames, two perfect mirrors bouncing back and forth. She thought about Halloween, that magical time of year that she seemed to love more than life itself. Of all the pretty jack'o'lanturns with hungry flames in their bellies, maybe she had her own fire, burning bright inside. It would explain a thing or two, that was for sure. She knelled down, proceeding to prod the creature she had birthed with a long stick. The smoke rose, the embers danced. She was quietly playing alone, for once, rather calm. Then he just had to ruin it. What was it with damn adults? always ruining her fun!
She heard someone stop behind her, at first she thought it was Faust, but soon decided against it. Faust would have just grabbed her collar, dragged her off, not given her a chance to respond at all. This person started off somewhat polite, until his voice cracked out of anger. Willow jumped back, looking on with a frown as he stamped out what she had tried so hard to create. She folded her arms and cocked her head to the side, unamused, like he was the child and she was the scorning parent. Though admittedly, when she heard him curse she could not help but let out a small chuckle, using her gloved hand to muffle the sounds. It was so funny, hearing grown-up's swear. She had only gotten her Papa to do it once, but she had been in hysterics for hours after.
She looked on as he came over to her, not stepping back, but instead leaning forward. Almost like he was a bear, she heard that you had to make yourself big when bears were on the attack, you could not show them weakness. "Are we now? Good luck with that." She was not taking him anywhere, he could not make her. She knew that Faust never came looking for her until nightfall, because that was when the inn closed and he could not escape his duties before that. She would sit here all day if it meant avoiding trouble, escaping this buffoon would not be that hard. Who did he think she was? Did he really think he was the first person to attempt to drag her home? He had no idea who he was dealing with! He was underestimating her, and that put a cocky smile on her face.
She was not a normal human child, she was a Dust! He would pay for his arrogance with humiliation!
She was Willow! The Destroyer of worlds!
She raised an eyebrow as he claimed the notebook as his own, the girl let out a sharp laugh. "No, that was yours. Now it is ruined." She stated, quite matter of fact. Then he lunged for her, the girl jumped back, evading his arm. She then threw her head forward, aiming for the sensitive bits between his legs, but in truth she did not know what she hit. As soon as she made contact she ran in the opposite direction, as quick as her little legs could carry her. He wanted to take her on, so be it, but she was not going to let this play out on her doorstep. She needed to get away from home. That was mission one.
When she was a few meters infront she turned around. "Hey, don't touch me! What kind of sicko tries to grab children!" She stated, stamping her foot down and sticking out her tongue to add insult to injury. "Don't come after me, or I will carve you like a pumpkin on halloween!" And with that threat she began to run like the wind itself, almost pushing an old woman flat on her backside as she pushed past her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2013 8:03 am
Well, Eli thought, she was a cocky brat for sure, flaming eyes and flaming temper. He wasn't much of an advocate for spanking children, but she needed some sort of discipline, if only to teach her that fire-starting is incredibly dangerous. Every word, the plain girl said was calculated for maximum effect, he thought dispassionately. Once he realized this, his anger turned to cold ashes in his mouth. Emotionless, he stood silent, arching one brow. Though she may be young, she was already a manipulator. Her audacity was astounding and he almost admired it.
She was pure arrogance through and through and Eli smiled a bit as she evaded his arm neatly. The next bit was unexpected however, she headbutted forward, barely missing his... sensitive spots. He squeaked in alarm. Enough was enough. Eli wasn't going to play her game, especially out in the street. Besides, the little girl was fast and he didn't feel like stretching his long legs out in pursuit. What would he do if he caught up to her? Nothing. Eli doubted the brat would willingly give any info about her parents.
Eli sighed and rubbed his chin, watching her fly down the street. Nimble and quick, she didn't run like the guilty; there was no looking back. He turned and studied the charred pile of tinder. Luckily, it no longer glowed even weakly, just a sad dry pile of sticks and paper. What a headache. Children like her made him feel older than he was. Giving the pile one more cursory kick, he turned towards the inn. They should be warned about the little pyromaniac nearby, he supposed. A sudden gust, and one of those burning papers could have flown into the dry wood along the side of the inn.
The bell on the door jangled cheerily as Eli pushed the heavy door open. He picked his way up to the front desk and leaned lankily across the counter. If he wasn't so terrible with names, Eli would have called the young man at the counter by his. He recognized him by sight, though, after all, he had been in here twice to pick up accounting.
The inn's accounting was generally fairly light; they knew what they were doing and Eli only ever ironed out minor kinks in their mathematics. He smiled winningly, he ale-colored eyes crinkling at the corners. "Hello again! Just wanted to give you a bit of a heads-up. There's a fire starter of rather short stature running about nearby. Unfortunately, she got my notebook."
Hoisting the notebook aloft, he frowned in dismay as black scraps of pages dropped onto the counter. Chuckling sadly, he swept them up with the flat of his large hand and dropped them into a side pocket on his bag. "Small girl, brown hair, oddly-colored eyes. I'd like to find her parents, to be honest. She's playing a dangerous game." He sighed. To be entirely fair, Eli wasn't sure what he would say if he did have a chance to speak to her parents. 'Control your child?' It's not like he would have any useful advice, being a bachelor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 4:32 am
Faust was, as always, worked off his feet.
This Inn had been in his family for generations, and he would be damned if he did not keep with that tradition. Still, he was just one man, and was yet to hire any help. Even though an establishment of this size really required two or three others to run smoothly. Times were tough, and he just did not feel like he could provide a stable wage to maintain his workforce. He wanted help, but the thought of bankruptcy kept putting him off the idea. Admittedly, things had been a little harder as of late, especially because of the unexpected arrival of his... daughter. She required two hands and two eyes at all times, and in truth, he was not in a fit state to provide them. Not yet, and she knew this, which made it all the worse. She was a cleaver one.
Faust was serving customers at the bar, trying to catch his breath with some light work before he went back to cleaning. He ruffled his moppy brown head, his hair was a shade or two lighter than Willows, but luckily enough the two resembled each other just enough for him to claim that they were genetically related. He did not know how people would react to a Dust, so he had decided to keep that one to himself, at least for now. His blue eyes then turned into the direction of Eli, who was approaching him. Crap, had he forgotten a meeting? where his books due? he had not even started to look at them yet! He sighed inwardly, leaning his elbows against the desk in defeat. He needed a vacation, or at the very least a very long and undisturbed sleep. Before he could return the other's greeting, his real motives for visiting him at the inn became clear.
Oh dear God Willow. No. Maybe it was another child. Brown hair? Oddly coloured eyes? Who was he kidding? The innkeep prodded at the remains of the notebook and then felt his forehead hit the counter, again and again. He had lost it, this was it, he had actually resorted to banging his head off of a wall because it was more productive than trying to control that girl. This was the second time this week alone that someone had come in to complain about her behavior.
A large man with rosy cheeks and a big brown beard let out a full bellied laugh. He looked over at the two and held up the pint that he was happily sipping away at, clearly it was not his first of the day. "Faust my boy. It seems that little girl of yours is still out terrorizing the neighborhood." He winked over at the young man, before taking another glug of his ale. Faust leaned up, running his hand down his face, wrinkles he was getting wrinkles. "Do not call her a little girl, that would suggest that she did not know what she was doing and innocent despite her actions... I prefer to think of her as a master manipulator and cunning criminal with a cute exterior. We are not dealing with a normal little girl here. More likely a little devil." For all he knew she could be, who knew what Dust's were really? They could sprout from hell itself. No, maybe he was just exaggeration. Willow was badly behaved but she was not evil.
"Come on. The girl's mother has just passed, and you are still very much a stranger to her. Think of it as growing pains, this is her getting you back for all the sleepless nights you missed out on whilst she was growing up. Things will calm down.... Tell you what though, she is a pretty little thing. Maybe this is the calm before the storm, when she hits her teens you are in for hell my friend." He let out another full hearted laugh before taking his drink and heading back over to a nearby table to join his friends. Faust closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of what Willow would be like as a teen, a cold shiver ran up his spine before he threw the thoughts out the window. He had a long while before he had to worry about that. He hoped. The innkeep then stood up straight, and looked back over at Eli.
"I am sorry about that. Willow is, rather new, we are still working out... ground rules and boundaries. I will be sure to have words with her, but I am guessing since she is not here then she ran off, and is in hiding to avoid a scolding. We won't be able to find her, she has hide-out's in the forest... we will just have to wait until she gets hungry." He bowed his head apologetically. Trying to think up the best way to handle this situation. "Please, let me get you and meal and a drink on the house, it is the least I can do."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:22 am
Eli startled when the young man banged his head on the counter. Was he surrounded by crazy people?! Clearly, the young man was overworked and overwrought. "Now, er, Faust..." he trailed off. The girl was a devil? A brat maybe, but was she really that bad? Eli pursed his lips. "Faust, it must be difficult. You look like a man under a burden. Is there any possibility of hiring someone to look after her? I am no expert and forgive my presumption, but perhaps Willow is misbehaving for attention?"
A girl, missing her mother... Eli felt the first stirrings of sympathy within his chest. His little sister, Angharad, had been a handful, but at least she had never set things on fire. Eli should have stopped right there; he had already pried too much into their lives. To be fair, he had no idea that the girl would've turned out to be Faust's daughter. The man didn't look old enough to even have a child, much less be a widower. Faust was young, but already wilted, his blue eyes were too tired. But still...
"Are you sure not looking for her is a good idea? Will she not set more fires in the woods?" Eli waved away the offer of free food. Surely that little girl wouldn't be safe in the woods even if she was a brat!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:13 am
"I am not an expert either. I only learned of her existence a month or so ago." Faust let out a small laugh. He had told people that she was the result of a one night stand which he indulged in as a very young man. That he had not seen her mother since, and only came to know about his daughter when the woman had passed. Even though there was whispering, and opinions of him had been tainted, at least Willow was safe. He could assure the accountant, her actions were not derived from a lack of love, a lack of time maybe, but not of love.
He shook his head as he suggested a carer. Not only could he not afford one, but there were other reasons that just financial struggle. "I am afraid that is not really possible. I can just about control her, however she does not like strangers, and I fear if I bring one in she will be setting clothes on fire instead of notebooks." It might seem hard to believe, but Willow had assaulted people before, her temper was fiery and she did not trust or respect strangers. Faust could just about control her, anyone else did not even stand a chance. Which at least meant that she did view him in a higher regard than most. If only a little.
"No. She is mine, and I will not let someone else take over my role just because she is difficult. What would she think of me if I did? Times are hard, but I am strong believer in things sorting themselves out eventually. Whatever wildness she processes, it will calm down in time." She was a Dust, a girl with magical powers that was only nearly a month old. This was a new world, a scary world, and she did not understand it. She was confused, trying to find her footing when everyone else seemed to have a head start. She was scared, people might not see it like Fuast did, but could you imagine not knowing who you were? Not having a family or the memories of growing up or being raised?
He felt sorry for her, and could understand why she might need more attention than most children. He was just sorry he could not provide it. Maybe he would have to call his sister, he did not want to burden her, but maybe if she could help with the inn... Damn it he had not even told his family about the girl, could you imagine them hearing it second hand? He would have to sort this out. Sooner rather than later, solutions, he needed them.
He nodded his head as the other mentioned more fires. "Probably. But there really is no finding her, I have tried before, several times. She seems to have befriended some kind of hunter, who has shown her the secrets of the land... More than I am aware off I am afraid." He knew she was not going to burn the forest down, Willow was smart and not just another random fire starter. Her actions might seem dangerous, but she was a calculated little girl, one that knew exactly what she was doing. Never underestimate her, that was what he said!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2013 11:56 am
Oh, so it was like that. Even if he had been a judging man, Eli couldn't bring himself to judge the poor, harried man. He listened silently as he spoke. "It must be difficult for you. I hope you can find an appropriate balance." before Willow burned down the entire town. The forest was dangerous for a little girl, regardless of any training she might have. Dark was coming on quickly and the cold was violently chilling. What if she caught hypothermia or became frostbitten? She would probably just light a fire, he thought uncharitably.
Eli hesitated, twisting his lips in consideration. " If you'd like, Faust, I could try to cajole her home?" He leaned on his palm, remembering long ago when his sister Angharad had run off. His parents had just announced that she was to go to school in the northern isles. Eli had been the first to find her and bring her home. Perhaps he could try. What harm could be in it?
"If you could be so kind as to point me in a general direction, I can try. I haven't anything pressing to do tonight and I'd like to see her home if possible." Eli smiled, displaying worlds more confidence than he felt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
