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 Posted: Sun May 08, 2016 12:18 pm
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Dulban was probably the biggest settlement Aldren had ever been to. One of the few, in all honesty. Even if it was only a few hours away, a trip made easier with a mammu companion, the young Ice male didn't see fit to travel often and rarely had a deep need to. The weather was unpredictable, the snows shrouded ever-present dangers like lakes and cliff-faces, and he couldn't be bothered to leave his little sister for so long. Sepharine certainly couldn't make the journey. She could hardly walk at all, and keeping her out in the elements without purpose just seemed unusually cruel.
However, exceptions could be made. On a night some span of weeks ago, Uncle had informed the two youngsters of a great festival and tournament to be held in Oba. Aldren didn't know what precisely that had to do with him, and mentioning it around Seph would just get her hopes up. So he didn't think much about it, and told his little sister to do the same.
Except it continued to be mentioned, more than once. And Uncle would say things like, 'It'll be fun.' 'It's an experience.' 'All the people you could meet.' 'All the things you would see.' 'So much trading to be had.' Yadda yadda yadda. Aldren didn't go for any of it. But Sepharine did, and she begged and begged and pleaded for Uncle to take them. He was taking his wife and children. Two more tag-a-longs wouldn't hurt. Despite Aldren's insistence that it would be too much trouble for her, the group of six found themselves underway and headed to Dulban.
Dulban was on the way out of Zena, not especially far at all. It was also the settlement to which the young man had escorted a certain wily female only a handful of moons ago. Aldren hadn't seen Zumei since, despite telling her he would check up on her.
And to be fair, he did wonder about her from time to time. Maybe, if he was especially lucky, the fates would see fit to throw her into his path again. |
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:47 pm
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Zumei had been doing pretty well for herself in Dulban all things considered. The weather was a bit more agreeable to her than it had been around Aldren's place, and she'd been doing odd jobs around the settlement to help feed her and keep a nice warm roof over her head. She'd heard of the tournaments happening in Oba, she was sure everyone had by this point, but as far as actually going to them was a different story. It was a bit of a long shot of course and quite a ways to travel, but oh how she loved to fight. Any chance to brawl was a good day for her, but traveling alone all the way there didn't seem like a particularly good plan. Especially with her habit of getting into bad situations. On top of that there was the chance she would bump into her favorite ice boy again. He'd promised to check in, but whether he actually would or not was a different story. She wasn't sure how much she should hold him to his word, especially with Seph not particularly liking her, but she figured she would hold out a bit longer and see.
She'd been working as a temporary waitress at the inn for the moment, taking orders and trying to keep guests entertained. It was work she'd done before, though the crowd in Sauti was a bit different than it was here in Zena. She enjoyed the change of pace despite it all, and was in a chipper mood when she moved over to take the order of the newest patrons in the bar.
"Hey there, what can I get for ya all? Need some drinks? Maybe some food? We've got it all," Zumei rambled off, doing her same old routine without paying too much mind to who she was speaking to.
Fluffesu My brain finally decided to work yaaaay. Hope this works also.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 11:46 am
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Despite not traveling especially far from home that day at all, Uncle deemed it appropriate to call it a quits for the night, with commentary explaining that they weren't in a rush and they should enjoy the journey of it. This suited Aldren just fine. Though he did have a curious anxiety concerning the rest of Tendaji (as he'd never been outside of Zena, himself), he also felt a comfortable contentment in the snowy familiarity of his home country. Leaving Zena had never been in the plan, so the thought of not seeing foreign countries didn't exactly bother him.
But Sepharine had a great and unquenchable want to see the world, and Aldren couldn't let her go without him.
So the small group found themselves in one of Dulban's few pubs. It wasn't exactly anyplace of note, except it had a bar downstairs and spare rooms upstairs that the family happened to be able to rent for the night. After helping unload the mammu and depositing all the family's things in their two rooms, Aldren headed toward the bar.
He didn't usually drink (or certainly not intentionally), but one or two to help calm him for the journey ahead didn't seem like such a bad plan. He hardly had time to so much as look at his helpful barmaid before a shock of golden-yellow hair caught his immediate notice and a grin split his face.
"Zumei! It's you! Oh!" He was back on his feet as quickly as his stationary momentum would allow and tugging the woman toward him. "You look well! And you're working in a pub, hm? Does it provide all the excitement you're after?" Aldren questioned around his too-broad smile. |
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:23 pm
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Oh, good. Zumei didn't look too terribly offended by the sudden assault on her person. And really, Aldren wasn't usually that impulsively excited to see any single earthling. But in his defense, he didn't really know that many people to be excited over to begin with. Zumei was special, and he expected she was excitable enough to not mind if hee was a little too happy to see her. He grinned as she returned the embrace, then managed to collect himself enough to give her a few inches worth of space.
"I can't imagine you're not keeping yourself entertained," he admitted. "No bar brawls to break up? No unruly room guests or especially complaintive patrons?" Golden eyes flicked around the rather quiet Zenan pub, and Aldren could not have said with a straight face that he expected much of interest to happen here.
Nevertheless, Zumei was here, so it couldn't be all bad.
"Me?" The Iceling blinked. "Oh, I, uh... Mmm... I'm here with my family. Seph is here too. Up in the room. We're thinking about heading way down south for those festivals that are happening. It, uh, well, it sounds real nice, but I'm not so sure we should be making the trip, myself. It's a long way off..." |
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 12:27 pm
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"Oh but the adventure sounds like so much fun, doesn't it? Better than being stuck inside during this time, or even worse, working at a boring bar," she chuckled, blue eyes seeming to light up at the thought of exploring. It was all she ever wanted to do, but having little money to do so had always been her problem. She envied the fact that Aldren and his family were all together on this adventure, even if it was a small one. At least they supported the decision unlike her father, wherever the man was.
She leaned forward, glancing around a bit conspiratorially before grinning and whispering to the ice lad in a hushed voice.
"You know I hear there'll be people from all nations going. Maybe you'll be able to see something crazy happen. Maybe even get to interact with some of them Yaeli folk if they show up. That would be interesting."
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 7:54 am
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'Adventure' didn't sound that bad, no, and it wasn't the adventure aspect of travel that worried him. Aldren tipped his gaze up, toward the ceiling and the second story, where his sister made her room. He was more concerned of what adventure would do to Seph: likely get her all excited for the world that she would probably never be able to fully explore. He shrugged and shot Zumei a small smile. "Being inside isn't so bad. At least it's warm. Nice and cozy. Familiar and easy. I'm at peace with inside."
The Wind woman sure did look excited, though. Why wasn't Zumei going to the festival? If she enjoyed the travel and adventure so much, surely she-
Aldren blinked as she tipped closer, and he found himself dipping forward as well to hear her hushed words, like she was sharing a secret that no one else could hear. It wasn't, of course, and Aldren found himself chuckling at the silliness of it. "Nah," he retorted with a wave of his hand. "Those fancy desert people and the faraway islanders aren't gonna wanna talk to me. And crazy to me probably isn't so crazy to them. So I hope it's interesting."
He leaned back and crossed his arms behind his head. "Hey, so, why aren't you going, anyway? It sounds like you're pretty excited for something to happen. It'd be even more interesting if you were there." |
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Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:09 pm
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"Well, it's a bit of a far distance to go alone. Especially when one is so short on funds. That's why I started working here after all. Need to have money to eat and travel. Not like there's anyone around to help me out with things," she laughed, plopping down beside him. If the tavern owner wanted to get onto her about it she would just ignore them or say she was taking care of Aldren. Either way she didn't care all that much. She could find another job if she needed to. Join a band of fighters or something if it came down to it. Anything was better then what she was doing now, but the money. The money was really needed. She'd only been eating well thanks to working at the tavern. She knew the second she left it would be back to lots of bread and not much else. She couldn't do that again. It was incredibly unpleasant.
"Looks like I'll be stuck here for a while longer. At least until I can raise some more to go out on my own again, maybe next time with a coat," she joked, knowing good and well she probably wouldn't. Coats costed money and she was unwilling to put the money toward paying for it. She hadn't really even bought herself normal clothing in a while. Hence everything being a bit too small on her. Specifically her top.
"You'll just have to enjoy all the things I can't have. Eat a lot, fight a lot, those sorts of things."
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Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 7:44 am
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Aldren blinked and tipped his head inquisitively. He'd never really pegged Zumei as the type to concern herself with money. Not that she shouldn't, as it was an incredibly valid thing to concern herself over. But somehow, he'd (clearly mistakenly) considered her a little more... thoughtless? No, that wasn't right. Maybe just ill-prepared. A sort of 'do what you want, when you want' woman. And coin never really fit with that type too well.
"I didn't know you were so hard-pressed for..." He edged over as she plopped at his side and completely free of his own accord, his golden eyes landed on the bounce of her chest. Had it always been that noticeable? Pretty Wind girls really should have clothing that at least tried to keep such things contained, and-
A flare of pink-purple rose through his cheeks and out the tip of his ears.
His words came out before he had the chance to think them over. "Those things wold be more exciting with you around. You could come with us, if, er..." He swallowed and scratched at the back of his head. "I mean, if you don't want to go alone and the rest of my group doesn't seem to mind, and it sounds like you want to go, so you might as well come with me, right?" |
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 7:55 am
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He didn't know if he actually expected her to agree or not. It was kind of an impromptu suggestion, and since they were currently on the move, it didn't really lend much time for Zumei to plan anything. Not that she struck Aldren as much the type to, anyway. Still, despite what he wanted and half-expected, it would've been reasonable to decline. They were friends, but not especially close. She didn't know the rest of his traveling companions, outside of Seph. And the situation really should've been an unfavorable one to ask her to be in.
She agreed. Sort of.
It didn't sound like an especially convincing agreement, but Aldren decided to take it at face value. The faint purple tinge of blush on his cheeks darkened, though he smiled at the Wind woman all the same. "Ahh, I don't... mean to make it sound like you need to, but it'd be fun, and I want you to go, if that means anything. I don't know how long we'll stay gone, but hopefully not so long that it's inconvenient for you, and maybe if you get tired of us we can just-"
"Your home is in Sauti, anyway, yes? So if... if it becomes too troublesome in that time, maybe we could drop you off back there? Not that I think it will be troublesome!" He added hastily, flinging his hands up defensively. "Just if you tire of us, or the trip isn't what you expected... something liek that?" |
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Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:01 am
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Well, he didn't know about 'awesome,' and Aldren severely doubted he was quite on par with 'interesting,' either, but he beamed, anyway, because it sounded positive, and anything positive coming from Zumei's pretty lips surely counted as praise enough. He leaned in close to her, slinging a skinny arm over her shoulders and tugging her into him, grinning all the while.
"I've not traveled before, no," Aldren admitted. "But my uncle will be with us, and I'm sure he's been everywhere there is to be. We'll be alright with him. He's... pretty good at that planning and preparing deal." But it would've been an interesting trip for just the two of them, he was sure, if Aldren was only a little more familiar with the lay of the land and general practice of how to survive anywhere that wasn't Zena. But it wasn't exactly a short trip. There'd be time to be alone, he was sure. "So, if you're looking to be my first-" He smiled, and taped his head to hers.
"Anyway, we ought to get all your things together, and-" His stomach rumbled and reminded him why precisely he was here. "Or, er, well, maybe a bite first, but then- You'll love it, I hope. We'll have a good time. Promise." |
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Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 2:48 pm
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'Handsome,' too, was he? Well, wasn't Zumei just feeling exceptionally complimentary today. Not that Aldren was about to complain, he just wasn't accustomed to a girl (or anyone, really) having such nice things to say about him. And while carrying an armload of foodstuffs for him to enjoy too. He hadn't expected her to just go grab some things so they could high tail it out of there now, but, well, who was he to argue?
He nabbed a few snacks from her arms to make things easier on her, then quickly moved t follow. "You're really not going to tell anyone you're leaving?" He grunted as they headed for the door.
And here he thought she's 'settled' and was having a well enough time working here.
But if this was how she parted ways with anyone, he couldn't imagine she'd be welcomed back. He didn't even know for sure if this stuff was paid for, but Aldren decided not to question that bit. She was working here and surely knew everyone well enough, and he didn't imagine Zumei was much of a thief. Not that he'd stop her if she was, but... "We probably don't need to be in too much of a rush," he teased. "The journey will still be there in the morning. Buuuut, if you were looking for something to entertain yourself with..." He grinned, the most hopeless and dopey type that any boy could muster. |
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