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 Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 2:07 pm
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Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 2:28 pm
Another beautiful day had passed on Alternia and Amonee had spent it hiking the taller peaks of Busthind in search of the perfect view to sketch from. But night was starting to settle in and he decided he ought to make his way back towards civilization. It might be a good night to check in on Nucleo, the other greenblood had been so quiet and withdrawn lately. His thoughts wandered as his feet did until he noticed something on one of the trails.
A young child?
"Excuse me, are you headed towards town?" He called out towards the magician, "Would you like a little company on the way?" Amonee was always friendly to new trolls that he met, perhaps a little overly so. He made his way towards her without waiting for an answer.
"I'm Amonee Brycer. What's your name?"Gl!tch~ Finally got this made! I left it kinda open since I wasn't sure what Wander would be doing but I'm excited to spoil her. ; W;
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 10:41 am
Leaving the swamp generally left two options: Four Fronds or Busthind. Four Fronds was usually a conventional way to go, and definitely led to civilization. But highbloods lived there, and it was always more bustling than Wander would like. Even with Abby on her shoulders, the orangeblood kind of hated it.
Meanwhile, Busthind just seemed scary. A mostly-remote mountain. It was easy to die up there. Being caught and thrown into the punishment pits from Four Fronds was one thing, but in the mountains no one would even know what happened to you. Options like that made Wander want to stay home.
However.
She had heard about a cafe up in Busthind that sounded very nice. It might be worth looking into, maybe, though she didn't have the nerve to ask anyone to go with her. At least the adventure would be quiet...
After a lot of internal debate, and Abby's dwindling patience, Wander forced herself out of her hive, out of the swamp, and up to where she heard some amount of life would be in Busthind. Most of the travel, she was snapping her fingers, causing sparks, to help stave off some of the anxiety.
She knew enough that the area wasn't a completely abandoned wastelend, but being alone with the wind and landscape so long made her jump when someone called out after her. A good bit taller than her, and dressed very nicely despite the terrain (like Vremea or Odette...). She swallowed. Wander could see Abby's ears perk up out of the corner of her eye, but Wander's immediate instinct was to take a step back as the other troll continued to come closer.
There went any sense of comfort zone she might have had in this unfamiliar territory. She could just run away, maybe. Maybe?
Her eyes darted to Abby, who just laughed at her.
It's not that big a deal, I promise. Just say hi.
She swallowed. Balled her fists at her sides. "H-hello." Oh, she was prompted for her name. "I-I'm Wander." Wait, was she supposed to use an alias while she was here? The orangeblood couldn't remember. For all she knew she was messing it all up already!
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2016 4:48 pm
The orangeblood tensed and balled her fists up as she spoke. Was she upset or nervous? She introduced herself quietly but politely and Amonee smiled. How adorable! She reminded him a little of Xavier in that aspect. And seeing as Xavier was basically his favorite person on the planet, he liked those kinds of trolls a lot.
"Wander? What a romantic name! I love to wander the mountains and the woods, don't you? You must be an explorer?" He mused out loud, seeming to have no delay between his thinkpan and his mouth. Amonee rambled on, filling the silences with his words. She looked incredibly anxious still and he decided to try and soothe her nerves.
"You can find some beautiful things out here. I travel looking for places to paint but also to bring home souvenirs. Would you like one?" His eyes twinkled at the chance to give the girl a present. The only question was...
"What kind of things do you like? Rocks? Herbs? Charms?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 8:03 pm
"R-romantic? Um..." Wander immediately thought along the lines of quadrants, not understanding the connection at all. Then, oh, the word. Ah-ha....yes. "W-well Abby named me...and she doesn't know Trollian, I think, so..." It was hard to tell someone they were completely off the mark. She'd really ruin the moment if she stated that truth; maybe even look pathetic for not living up to this unexpected assumption. So many of the other swamp trolls were closer to that description...too bad she couldn't be like that. Wander started to fidget a little, even snapping sparks with her fingers that appeared like she was trying to find words, but was actually just an inattentive way to soothe herself.
But even despite her awkwardness, Amonee was being...nice? Very pleasant, for a higherblood from The Outside. And now he wanted to give her something? Wander was confused. Strangers could be nice, in the swamp anyway, but she wasn't used to gifts out of the blue. Especially being put on the spot like that. Her mind reeled.
"Um...I-I don't know. I don't want to impose," she muttered after a moment, looking down and kicking her foot at the ground.
She could let the conversation die, and disappoint this nice troll. But at the same time she couldn't get herself to open up. Anything she had to talk about would be silly, anyway. Still, though...
"I...um...I'm looking for a c-coffee shop. M-maybe you could help me find it...maybe we could find something nice on the way...I don't know..." Her voice faltered more and more with her effort to complete the bold idea in her head until it was just about a whisper.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 1:34 pm
It was hard for her to talk, he could see the discomfort in her body language. But Amonee was not the type of troll to give up so easily and he continued to walk side by side without showing sign of disappointment or frustration. Some trolls were social, some weren't. He couldn't fault her based on that.
"A coffee shop! I know just the one." The jadeblood clapped his hands together excitedly. "If it's Busthind, it's got to be the Nightly Grind. My... friend runs it!" This Wander was sure to like it, everyone he knew loved the cafe. A warm drink might make her feel a little better from whatever was troubling her too.
"I'm headed that way too. I'll escort you there, Wander!" They had some ways to go but it would be a much more pleasant walk now that they had each other for company. The chilly mountains were beautiful but lonely. Thankfully they were so high up and isolated that he ran into fewer daywalkers up here, it felt like.
"We'll find you a charm. What kind of protection might you need?" He pondered out loud, trying to decide if she'd need 'safe travels' or 'calmed nerves'. It was hard to give a proper gift to someone you'd just met but Amonee was not a quitter!
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Posted: Sat Dec 10, 2016 1:22 pm
"O-oh. N-nightly Grind sounds right..." Yes, that was the place others had been to. She hadn't really directly engaged anyone about it, but she had overheard enough to get her bearings. Or at least she had thought. But if this person knew of it and knew who ran the place, maybe things would be hunky-dory?
"Okay! Th-that's great." Wander dared to smile a fraction at the pleasant coincidence tumbling into her lap. Awkwardness -5. Maybe the night would go okay after all. She had a few questions, though they were quickly sidelined by Amonee trying to turn conversation towards her again. Not her favorite subject, by and large.
"Oh, uh. U-um. P-p-protection?" Wander blinked. Narrowing down what she needed protection for? Impossible.
"From everything," she whispered without thinking.
The rabbit-lemur on her shoulders laughed at that, heartily, forcing Wander to duck down with embarrassment.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 3:03 pm
From everything. This girl needed protection from the entire world. Amonee teared up at the words and his pump biscuit broke a little inside. Wander was so nervous and scared of everything around her and he couldn't blame her after seeing some of the things he had seen.
Maybe he hadn't been able to protect the people of Civisect. Maybe he had let down Panili and the rest of them. But maybe... he could make up for some of it by helping trolls like Wander reclaim their world as a safe space.
"Well then, I know just the thing." The jadeblood reached to put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, not really sure if physical contact would soothe Wander or frighten her. They came around a bend in the trail and the view over the Four Fronds was beautiful. Partways down the side of the mountain, orange wildflowers bloomed, struggling to survive the harsh environment.
Scaling down the side of Busthind was never completely safe but after so many trips with Nucleo and Xavier, Amonee was able to do it well enough to get by without significant injuries. Grabbing a fistful of flowers, he tucked them into his dress before making the short climb back up.
"Here. It's a charm against anything that should wish you harm." Tucking one through her bowtie, he hoped it would fill her with even the slightest bit of confidence. Sometimes it helped just knowing someone was in your corner.
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Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 2:35 pm
When Abby laughed, Wander expected that the troll might, too. But after her words settled, Amonee...didn't? No laughing, no tsk-ing. Even when he touched her, it was gentle. When he spoke, he was soothing. Amonee went along with her concerns completely, not even questioning them. Wander might have frozen up in confusion if the jadeblood wasn't physically guiding her further.
She stared, confused beyond belief, watching Amonee collect some flowers then bring them back. Her thinkpan belatedly worked again in time to start panicking a little when he was starting to climb back up. What if he got hurt on her behalf, and the like, but he had made it down okay and returned fine as well. Still, the little orangeblood wasn't sure what to say or do.
Once Amonee gave her a flower, and blessed her to boot, Wander blinked down at it. "I...um..." Suffice to say, she was speechless. Such kindness, she didn't know what to do with it. It took a lot just to stutter out a quick "Th-thank you..." She swallowed. Wander tugged at the hem of her shirt a little. "I-I guess they must work if y-you didn't get hurt on the climb up, huh...?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:20 pm
"That's right. And they'll work for you too." Amonee finished adjusting the bowtie for her, trying to make sure it was perfectly straight as she'd had it earlier. It was a cute detail on a very nervous troll. Hopefully she would gain some confidence the more she explored Alternia. It wasn't all bad, he wanted to reassure her. But only Wander would be able to convince herself of that.
"They even keep the daywalkers away." He laughed, not really explaining why he would think this. "If it stops working, come see me again, I'll find you a fresh one, okay?" The jadeblood was pretty active around the mountain and it would be easy to run into him somewhere on or around it.
"I work part time at the cafe so you can always ask for me there. Where did you hear about it from, by the way?" He was constantly trying to help Nucleo spread the word. Had their efforts paid off? Or was it a word of mouth promotion going on? Either way was encouraging really!
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 5:32 pm
"O-oh. That's good! I mean...I can't go out in the daytime anyway, but m-maybe it will keep them away from my hive..." Though the swamp was pretty well protected against that, but there was no such thing as too careful, right? "I l-like magic like that. The nice kind." Or the positive energy to it, anyway. Part of her knew it was fake, but she wanted to will it to be as real as she wanted her performances to look.
Then Amonee mentioned that he worked at the cafe, creating a mix of emotions in Wander. Surprise, relief, but she also felt slightly embarrassed for some reason? Or, a little more than she generally did. What a major coincidence, and if she had only realized maybe she could have been less awkward! Oh dear.
"A-ah. Um. I've just heard trolls talk about it a-around where I am, I guess. I think they...need a r-reason to g-go to Busthind, and this is a-as good as any?" Or: it was easier to listen to trolls socialize than join in herself.
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 6:13 pm
"Magic is pretty wonderful! Another friend of mine makes this beautiful stone jewelry that I think has magical charms." He tapped the pink jeweled choker around his neck to indicate Xavier's work. The path was starting to even out as they got closer to town. They were past halfway to the Nightly Grind now.
"It's a wonderful reason to go to Busthind. The cafe's gotten bigger now so people can spend time catching up with dear friends." The jadeblood beamed, thinking on his own experiences relaxing in the shop with the heavy scent of coffee comfortably wafting around the room. Nucleo had collected a decent amount of trinkets from his travels around Alternia that there was plenty to look at if you were by yourself.
"You should bring your friends by too! I'll give you a discount on your drinks, what do you say?" Amonee winked, figuring any troll that hiked all the way up the mountains just to visit the local indie coffeeshop deserved a little appreciation from the business they were visiting. She must have heard great things to have come up this far!
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 8:20 pm
Wander nodded in near-as-she-could enthusiastic agreement about magic. But Amonee seemed interested in passive, good luck stuff, so she chose to keep her mouth shut in case her kind was considered boring in comparison...
The orangeblood was left with her thoughts as Amonee talked about friends over and over. Most trolls had a lot of those, didn't they? She had...maybe some? Maybe? Odette and Vremea were friends... And maybe Poe and Ninfia too... But she wasn't sure if they liked her as much as she them, or if they would even want to come out here... Her ideas felt like garbage compared to how cool everyone else tended to be.
"Y-yeah," she said, just to say something. "That would be nice. B-both things, I mean. Th-thank you."
If a cafe was a place for people to catch up together, Wander would really stand out. Her pumpbiscuit sunk once more. "W-what do you do there if you're not bringing any friends with, though? W-would it be...be bad to be by yourself...?"Yamashii I'm just gonna let you control all the action cuz Wander's too busy constantly being a mess ouo/
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Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:22 pm
"Well there's plenty of people who come on there own too. They tend to bring a book and relax on their own. I've seen some do a crossword puzzle even." She looked uncomfortable at his suggestion, like she felt her friends possibly might not want to come. Or maybe she simply didn't have that many? Well, that was alright. Not everyone enjoyed socializing although he couldn't understand why not.
"If you're not bringing friends, I guess you'd at least have me there to visit with." He gave the girl an affectionate hair ruffle as they continued on the rocky path. He was impressed she was keeping up without complaint. Some trolls found Busthind's scenery too dull to enjoy or too difficult to hike. Wander was such a sweet mannered troll.
"But it wouldn't be bad to be by yourself. Sometimes, it's easier to be on your own to unwind." He'd seen several customers come by both with friends and alone. It seemed like Busthind had a colorful blend of extroverts and introverts. Caiden probably helped the most in keeping things vibrant, he thought to himself with a chuckle.
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 3:02 pm
"Ahhh...." Wander's soft response came out barely more than a breath of air. However, she did look a little calmer than before. Amonee kept soothing her worries instead of adding to them: people didn't have to have friends here. Even so, Amonee would be with her. Even even so, it was okay to be by yourself.
And Amonee looked like he knew what he was talking about. "R-reading would be nice sometime, I think. I-I like to read." Fortunately this time, without her books, she had someone to talk to. Otherwise that would be embarrassing. "T-talking to people is nice t-too...I mean... well. It s-seems nice. It can be hard, though... I d-don't always k-know what to talk about... L-listening to people is easier..."
Mm, that was too personal, wasn't it? No one needed to hear about her problems. Talking was probably easy and she was just beefing it because...who even knew! "S-so what d-do they have at the cafe? C-coffee? I've never had that... U-uh. A-anyway. A-are we close?"
Well there went that moment of not feeling awkward for a whole minute. And the terrain wasn't super great on her shoes. Definitely something to note for next time. Wander knew better than to wear honest to glob dress shoes, but even these good look-alikes were nowhere near hiking material. Amonee looked like he wasn't breaking a sweat in sandals, though. She felt a pang of envy. Amonee was so cool...
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