[FIN-PRP - Oba] Restless Wandering (Eresin x Talisia)

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

Another hot day. Of course that was to be expected in Oba. The thought made Talisia sigh as she tightened the scarf that was protecting her head from the desert sun. It almost made her miss Zena. While others may have found the frozen lands intolerable, the hybrid actually miss them at times. A faint smile crossed her features as memories of snow and ice flashed through her thoughts.

Perhaps one day, when she was stronger, she would return. For now enjoying her freedom meant staying far away from the frozen mountains of home. Jauhar hadn't been so bad either. Honestly, the rainforest called to her father's blood and in its own way had felt like home. That was until the truth of her father's past had been revealed...

"Perhaps I should get some souvenirs." Anything to distract herself from the chaos of thoughts that made up her mind lately. What to do about her heritage, her mother, her missing twin....all of it was a mess. The marketplace then had become her distraction and even if she didn't shop, she could at least lose herself in the crowd of people that passed through.  

[Mr Glacial]

It's way too hot for this fur lining. Eresin thought to himself as he stood behind his Parent's stall. The Kalb marketplace had been particularly busy as of late. The crowds of people created a buzz of voices all clashing against each other, like the waves in the ocean. The ocean. Boy, I'd love to go swimming right about now.

"Eresin? Eresin!" His parent's shouts snapped him from his daydream. He looked at his mother. "Sorry to give you such an important task, but your father and I have run out of kinfa feed to sell. We need you to run the stall while we’re gone.”

Lovely, I get to deal with people… He nodded reluctantly, and opened Peco’s cage. At least he’ll be good company. He smiled and ribbed Peco’s belly with his finger, then put him on his shoulder. Let’s get this over with he thought as he watched his parent’s leave.  

[Sabra Knight]

Talisia wandered through the stalls. She wasn't much interested in what the merchants had to offer, but rather found herself watching the people. In Kalv she had found that a variety of people existed. Still there had been no sign of any Zena merchants and the girl had to hold back a small sigh. Probably is too hot for their tastes here.

She had almost given up when the sight of a boy, slightly younger than her, caught her attention. His heritage was obvious in his appearance and she found herself wandering closer towards his stall. Was he a merchant? He seemed a bit young so perhaps it was a family trade. Still she smiled lightly as she approached him, "You have a lovely kinfa there." Her voice was soft, but warm as she lowered her hood to peer towards the pair.

She just hoped her bi-colored gaze and her obvious hybrid heritage wouldn't cause a bad reaction from him. That tended to be a theme in her life after all.  

[Mr Glacial]

"You have a lovely kinfa there." A hooded figure approached him. As she removed her hood, he saw she was from Zena. You're a bit far from home, He thought to himself. Wait... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before. Peco jumped from his shoulder and made a cooing noise as he approached the stranger.

"Peco..." He gurgled. The words almost didn't make it out of his mouth. He cleared his throat, "Erm... His name is Peco. Uh, how can I help you?"

I can't help this feeling that we've met somewhere before... Peco seems to like her though. Do we have some kind of previous connection...?  

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

Talisia raised an eyebrow at the boy's reaction. Did her appearance really startle him so much? Still she had to suppress the urge to laugh at his antics. I suppose that's better than a reaction of disgust. A faint smile flickered across her features before she glanced towards the kinfa, "Peco? That's an unique name." She wiggled a finger in front of the bird teasingly before lowering her hand slowly, "They're really beautiful creatures."

"Ah." Talisia smiled sheepishly as she glanced around the stall, "I actually don't know...I actually was just wandering out of boredom." She tapped her fingers against the inside of her palms thoughtfully, "Not that I can't buy anything. You are from Zena, correct?" She glanced around, "Do you have any furs or materials from there?" As much as she enjoyed the new items she was discovering the girl was finding a bit of herself missing home. Perhaps something unique from Zena would do the trick. At the very least she could perhaps pick up some souvenirs for the twins here.
 

[Mr Glacial]

I can't pinpoint her familiarity... He noticed he was staring at the mysterious girl, and looked away when he realized she was expecting an answer. "Oh, uh... Yeah my parents own this stall. They are travelling merchants from Zena..."

Is it the hair...? No no, that can't be it. Wait, it's gotta be... "The eyes!" He exclaimed aloud. After realizing that he had said that aloud he cleared his throat. "Erm. Oh, uh, yeah I think we have some in the back. I'll be right back."

As he turned around, Peco fluttered to his shoulder and squawked. He went to the back and rummaged around through some of the shelves, though he wasn't looking for Zena furs. He became more and more frantic as he went down each shelf, but then he found what he was looking for; a doodle from when he was little. the simplistic figures depicted on the image were labelled as himself, Peco and Ciaran. Ciaran's eyes on the drawing were the same. "Oh yeah, he helped you when you were sick... I remember now. But who is she...?" Peco squawked in protest. "Right, the furs... "

He grabbed What Zena furs he saw on the shelves and rushed back to the front. He put three kinds out, beige, light brown and dark brown furs. "This is all we have, um... Miss...?"  

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

"I would expect that." Talisia grinned faintly, "Considering you don't look like any Oban I've ever seen." She could recognize a fellow Zenan easily. Not many races had their skin tone and elegant features. Honestly the only species reminiscent was her father's people and even then they were far from being the same.

At his exclamation the girl had to blink. Her eyes? He was staring at her for so long to try and figure out why she appeared strange? "You know most people notice it instantly." She murmured under her breath. He didn't seem disgusted by it however and so she was mostly confused. That evasion... Talisia found herself shaking her head as the boy disappeared from view. He truly was a strange one. She truly had to worry about what was going through his mind at her appearance.

"He's taking a while." Talisia commented to no one in particular as she began to tap her finger along the booth. It seemed that his family was fond of selling many goods. A general trader then with lots of travel under their belt. At least that much she could guess from the variety of items displayed. She had actually began to look at the items which were hidden behind a display when the boy reappeared.

Sheepishly the hybrid took a step back, "Oh. Sorry, I got a bit carried away looking at things." She glanced towards the furs, "Those would be great." In her hand though dangled a few necklaces from the stand, each a glowing gemstone and unique in design, "If these are for sale, I would like them as well." Surely the girls would like these and she could even craft one of the crystals onto a longer cord for Silva. It made her feel a bit more confident in his safety to give him something that distinguished him from typical wildlife. As her thoughts came to a halt though the girl noticed the awkward pause that was hanging in the air, "Talisia. My name is Talisia not miss, I suppose I should have said so sooner." The name came out swiftly and she almost wished she could take it back. I suppose since he's from Zena, I can be a bit more friendly. So far all the Oban merchants had just sneered at a halfbreed like her, but this Zena boy was nice. So for once the girl would give out her name when normally she would just breeze on past as a nameless stranger instead.

"You are?"  

[Mr Glacial]

Talisia... "Ah... Me? I'm Eresin... It's... Nice to meet you." He gestured towards the necklaces. "Everything on display is for sale. If you buy two of those, the third is on the house."

Her name... I know her name from somewhere... He shook his head to keep himself from daydreaming and staring at Talisia some more. She was much different than the usual customers, and also much different than anyone else from Zena that he had seen before, besides Ciaran, of whom she reminded him. The fact that he was a hybrid never bothered Eresin much. As long as they were nice to him, he really didn't care about race. In fact, he rather liked her differences from other races. They were somewhat... Attractive.

Attractive? Where is my mind?

"Uhm, do you need anything else?" He asked as he gave Peco a seed.  

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

"Nice to meet you as well, Eresin." Talisia just smiled in faint amusement at the boy's nervousness, "So I'm hoping this will do then." Reaching into a pouch the hybrid placed several coins on the table, "For the furs as well of course." She was beginning to feel a bit wary about the way he was staring towards her. Perhaps he had connections back home in Zena that knew of her? I doubt it. She was a prized secret when compared to her brother.

Still she was on edge. Perhaps she should question him? Her gaze swept around the market and Talisia pushed the idea aside. Any commotion here would be problematic. She would just have to keep her guard high. If anyone tried coming for her they would find themselves in a bit of trouble. I'm not the same pushover I was before. Too much had happened during her travels for that.

"Not that I can...." Talisia frowned as she watched him feed his kinfa, "Actually, do you have any more of that? My own kinfa could probably use a bit more feed." She shrugged lightly, "If not don't worry yourself. I can acquire it elsewhere."  

[Mr Glacial]

Eresin frowned. "No, unfortunately. That's what my parents wen to go get. They should be back soon."

Well, I really shouldn't keep her here... Eresin shook his head and chuckled. She seems nice enough though... He grabbed a cup and filled it with some of Peco's seed, then carefully poured it into a small pouch. Then he gently handed Talisia the pouch.

"Well, here. You can have some of Peco's seed, free of charge. It's not much, but you should be able to last another day until you can find more..." He gave her a half smile, trying not to be awkward. Oh man... I'm making a total fool of myself. I shouldn't have said anyhting...  

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

"Oh, shame." Talisia tucked the necklaces and furs into the satchel that was hanging at her side. Strange how even though she once wanted nothing more than to leave Zena that now her heart was missing home. Not her old prison of course, but the frozen lands themselves. I left in such a hurry that I lost a lot of what I had.

Her thoughts stumbled to a halt as she realized the boy was doing something else. If there wasn't any seed then what was he planning? Automatically her hand reached out towards the pouch and she found herself accepting it, "You sure?" The hybrid frowned in confusion at Eresin's act of kindness, "It's rare for a trader to trade so freely you know." She protested with a hint of humor flickering across her expression. He must have truly lived a different life. She had never thought of merchants before in such a light. Perhaps though this boy had a family of true traveler's whose loose roots had kept him from gaining so much of that typical racism raised amongst the different peoples.

"Thank you, Eresin." Talisia found herself honestly smiling towards him, "It's really nice to see someone kind from Zena in this strange place. Then again you must have seen a lot from the looks of it." She glanced once more towards the variety of items, " Are you staying in Oba long? I mean..." She actually felt a hint of flush cross her cheeks, "That is so I can come back and purchase more kinfa feed or other things if I need."
 

[Mr Glacial]

Eresin put the coins away in a secret pouch underneath the stall counter. "My uncle told me that trade can be the heart of greed and corruption... My parent's also believe this. It's why we don't stay in one place for too long." He was reminded of his home in Zena. How he missed spending time with his uncle to learn all about magic and all kinds of mysteries of the world.

"Come to think of it... I really am not fond of the travelling merchant life." He looked down and drew circles on the stall counter. "I don't mind the travelling much, but..." He cut off and looked at Talisia. "Anyways, We'll only be here for another week. Then we will be making our way further east, towards Matori."

Too much? She could be my opportunity to leave this merchant's life... Eresin frowned. What about my parents...? I'm sure they'd understand... But who's to say she'd actually take me along? He looked back at Talisia. "If you're ever in the area, please come visit again." Eresin genuinely smiled at her.

I must really look like a fool  

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

Talisia smiled, "You have a wise family then." It seemed that they traveled to enjoy the world then and not the gold. Though by the looks of the stall and the boy's clothing, it seemed that they still received the best of both worlds. Still for Eresin to be so open and kind, it still touched her heart. Seems there is some good after all. All of those years locked up in her mother's home had kept her away from this side of Zena. It must have been nice to be raised in such a different way.

"Oh?" Talisia raised a brow, "I was going to say surely travel doesn't bore you." That much she hoped. For her traveling had opened up her world and changed her in so many ways. Her gaze gleamed in humor at his actions. Drawing circles on the stall counter? Did she still make him so nervous? "Matori sounds nice from what I've heard." She paused thoughtfully, "Perhaps one day I'll be able to visit there as well." This whole new open world with the countries finally opening up to one another was strange indeed. Still she couldn't miss the chance to visit as many places as possible. After all what was the point in worrying about how others received her? As a hybrid even in both of her home lands she would be treated as a stranger by many...

"You said a week, correct?" Talisia hesitated. Was she becoming too comfortable? Surely this innocent boy wasn't connected to her mother...she forced a small smile, "Sorry for all of the questions. Have you always traveled or did you live in Zena for a while?" Perhaps hearing more about that would ease her doubt.  

[Mr Glacial]

She wants to know about me...? Eresin was caught off guard at her question. Well I can counter her question and find out more about her. Just to see if she travels a lot... Eresin hid the tiniest smirk by making it seem like the corner of his mouth twitched. "Ah, hm... Well my parents traveled often. I've lived in Zena for the majority of my life. When they were out trading goods, my uncle would take care of me, and teach me about anything I was curious about."

He paused to look around the market. It seemed like the crowd died down a bit, and he lowered his voice a bit. "I was usually alone until I was about seven. Then my parents got me Peco from an egg to keep me company..." He pet Peco's head and poked his belly and chuckled. "He was really the only friend I ever had... Besides that boy who had eyes exactly like yours." He lowered his voice further when he mentioned Ciaran.

Just then his parents returned with a large bag of Kinfa feed. "Ah, my parents returned with the feed. Did you still wish to purchase some?" He gestured towards his parents to bring the bag to him.  

[Sabra Knight]

Sin of Qurupeco

Oh, so he had been raised in Zena. Talisia felt a small shiver running up her spine, but surely if he had been spying on her then he wouldn't have openly admitted such a thing, "So then you're only a more recent traveler." She forced a small smile, "I suppose you're close to your uncle then." Talisia had never thought about family in such a way before. Even now after finding out she had a half-sister, the girl had forgotten things like aunts and uncles existed. Did she have any from Kaleo's side or even...relatives in Zena? Surely her mother would have at least invited any siblings over, so that she doubted. Cousins, however, may have been a different story.

"Aww, how adorable." Talisia flushed as she slipped up at the mentioning of the kinfa, "My own kinfa is a baby herself. I bought her while I was in Jauhar from a merchant who had nearly given up on her since she was so frail." As his voice lowered she found herself leaning closer with interest. A boy...with eyes just like her's? Talisia felt her heart knot up, "What...part of Zena are you from exactly?" She knew other hybrids existed, but for someone else to have her eyes? Ciaran....how many people did you know? The thought created a knot in her chest. Was her brother even still alive?

Of course his family had to return, "Umm...yes." Talisia quickly erased the concern from her expression to flash the merchants a smile, "I'll take another small bag of feed. Yukiyo will love that." Her mind sped through all the questions and things she could do next, "Actually..." She glanced towards Eresin with a faint smile, "Since your family has returned would you mind walking back with me a bit? This market tends to confuse me and it is becoming late." Not that she was wary of dark streets, rather others should be wary of her. Still it was the best excuse possible to give the boy a bit more of a chance to speak with her.