|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 4:21 pm
Who: Laurel, Shoshana
When: Late July
Where: Durem; A used/antique bookstore
Weather: Humid, but bearable It wasn't often that Laurel took a trip out of Barton with his father, but when they did, it was always because they needed something. Be it a special book or a pick up for someone else, there hadn't been a trip yet where they weren't making some kind of errand, not that it was too much of bother. It just got kind of boring and predictable after a while. They'd get in the car, travel an hour or two, and end up driving right back home as soon as they were done. No exploring, not really anything to get excited about... And if he could be honest, it really left him wanting more.
This trip didn't seem any different from the last, until Oliver proposed that they split up. Laurel tried to deny wanting to explore at first, out of worry that Oliver would be sad not to have him around, but once a time and a place were set up for meeting again later, the cheetah was off like a shot. They'd passed by so many stores today that he'd wanted to go into, but there was one in particular at the end of this sidewalk that he just HAD to check out.
It was a quaint little bookstore, not unlike the one he knew back in Barton town, but it had several unique attributes that attracted him. First, the door had a long, copper wind-chime that rang whenever the door opened or closed. Secondly, there were several interesting leather journals and feather tipped pens for sale under the window that not only looked like they smelled good, but fun to play with too. Then, of course, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of books for him to read. It was the perfect place to spend the afternoon while his father shopped.
He purred, softly, as he hovered in and offered a smile to the clerk. They were much younger than Arthur, the store owner at the shop back at home, but then again, so was the store. Only it's contents looked truly antique, not that he could complain. He moved slowly, wondering where to start first, and reached for a book set out for display.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 4:54 pm
Exploring the city on her own was a new privilege of Shoshana's. As overprotective as Phoenix was of her, the Frei had been becoming more independent in her activities, in particular the way she helped out at the restaurant. Phoenix had been watching her, noting how she was getting along with people and handling things surprisingly maturely, and so he'd been allowing her to wander some on her own near the restaurant. Of course, this was provided that she didn't stray too far and was back by a certain time. She was still young, and it worried Phoenix, the idea of her being out and about on her own.
But she'd had several successful trips around Durem by now, and kept her promise to stay close to the restaurant, and she was always back in time. She'd been amused the first time that she'd gone out "on her own" when she noticed Phoenix had sent someone from the restaurant to keep an eye on her. Shoshana said nothing about it, and after that first time she never caught anyone following her again. She didn't blame her father. She understood.
Today she had decided to take a walk (or float, really) down to a book store she knew of near Ambrosia. She'd been inside a couple of times, and had already purchased a few interesting books using her wages from the restaurant (even if she only helped out a little, Phoenix was fair enough to pay her for her assistance). She didn't have any real intention of buying anything, but it had been a slow day and she wanted something more interesting to do than sit around waiting for things to pick up.
"Good afternoon," she greeted the shopkeeper politely, checking to make sure the water bottle in the sling over her shoulder was closed tightly so that it wouldn't leak on anything in the store. The first time she'd visited the shop she'd been eyed carefully while she drank and browsed, but she was always careful not to drip on any of the books.
Without any real goal in mind, Shoshana wandered down a random aisle, running one finger along the spines of the books on a shelf, seeing if anything popped out at her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 5:11 pm
Laurel, having opened the book and started reading, glanced up for a second as another person entered the store and looked back down, before taking a double-take. A Raevan, one he hadn't met yet, here in the same store he was? This trip just got ten-thousand percent better! He clapped the book shut, and hovered, curiously, after Shoshana.
Peering out from the end of the isle, he took a moment to watch her. She didn't look too busy, probably only looking just like he was, so it was probably okay to introduce himself, right? He nodded to himself and brought out his best smile.
"Hi there, I'm Laurel!" He greeted, offering her an excited little wave. "I didn't think I'd see another Raevan today! What's your name?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:12 pm
The introduction startled Shoshana, causing her to give a little start. She turned to face the speaker, and immediately her fins started beating rapidly with excitement. The last thing the Frei had expected was to run into another Raevan on her little adventure. She had met others before, but she had always been with her family. Oh, she was going to have to tell the others right away!
Looking the other Raevan up and down with widening eyes, Shoshana was quiet at first. She was noting Laurel's wings, his markings, his ears. Finally, when she had stared for what was probably at least a mildly uncomfortable amount of time, she blurted out, "You are a cheetah!" in place of a proper greeting.
After realizing her rudeness, Shoshana smiled sheepishly and offered a hand in greeting. "I am sorry," she apologized softly, her thick accent dripping off every syllable. "I am Shoshana. It is nice to meet you, Laurel!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 6:35 pm
Shoshana's exclamation made Laurel's ears perk straight up and threw a brimming grin onto his face. Yes, yes, he was a cheetah! She was very observant, he liked that! However, he wasn't exactly sure what she was. Maybe some kind of fish? He refrained from reaching out and poking her ears.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Shoshana!" He cheered, firmly grasping her hand as it was offered. "No need to apologize, I was the one who startled you! I can't help myself sometimes when I see others like us, you know? It's hard to know where everyone is!"
He chuckled, warmly, and leaned to the side, still keen on figuring out what she was.
"So, uh, how old are you? Where are you from? Are you a fish?" He asked, a faint purr following every word.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:24 pm
Shoshana laughed softly with a hand over her lips, eyes sparkling at all the questions. This new Raevan was as curious as she was! Usually she was the first to bombard with questions, but he beat her to it.
"I am almost a year old!" She said with a flutter of her wings, looking quite excited by the idea. "My sister is already planning a party. But it is still two months away!" She laughed again. "I live with my family here in Durem. In a tall building, near the top!"
Tilting her head a bit, she paused. "I like your voice. Your purr," she commented, before continuing to answer the slew of questions. "I am a hippocampus. So I am half a fish, half a horse!" She grinned as she explained.
Hovering closer to the cheetah Frei, Shoshana looked him over again. "Why do you have feathers? And how old are you? It is interesting, how we do not look our ages, yes? I know two Raevans who are very small, but they are older than me! That is funny, yes?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 7:43 pm
Laurel's eyes shone with intrigue. A hippocampus, half fish, half horse. What an amazing combination! He had so many follow up questions, like did they live on land? Could they trot underwater? Did people ride them across the ocean? He entertained these ideas a moment before quickly becoming distracted.
"Really? I'm almost a year old, too!" He exclaimed, counting the months quickly on his fingers. "Uhhh, November, November... In four months! We're both born in autumn then, that's so cool!"
"Oooh, I'm from Barton, my dad's just doing errands here today." He said, nodding along with himself and moving to cover his mouth with a laugh. "You heard that? It's hard to stop doing that when I start sometimes..."
At the question about his feathers, he reached around and tugged at one of them.
"They're from my essence, heavy feather! Do you want to hold one?" He chirped, copying her head tilt at her next comment. "Wait, there are Raevans like that? I've only met ones that look like they're my age! That is really interesting, though! I wonder why they looked so little!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:17 pm
It seemed as if her wings and fins just kept beating faster and faster, if that was even possible, and every so often her wings would beat so hard she'd float the smallest bit higher before returning to her usual height.
"We are so close in age!" The idea excited Shoshana greatly. Most of the others she had met were quite a lot older than she was. In fact, this was the first time she'd met a Raevan that was younger than her.
"I have been to Barton a few times," she commented thoughtfully. "It is very different from here! But my father works a lot, so we spend a lot of time here. I am excited that you had to do errands, because we met!" It was very exciting, especially considering Laurel wasn't from Durem, that they chanced upon each other that way.
At the offer to let her hold a feather she hovered closer yet, completely forgetting about boundaries for the time being. "May I?" She asked without a hint of shyness. "And yes! They look like small children, like my sister! Everyone looks so different. It is very curious, yes?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:41 pm
Part of Laurel was keen on watching Shoshana's wings flap, mostly because of the sheer speed at which they were moving, and tried his best to mimic the same with his wings. They wiggled a little, but it was only noticeable in the movement of his feathers. He decided that the conversation was far more important.
"It is different, espescially with all the trees!" He agreed. "Mhm, I'm glad, too! Usually my dad and I just pick stuff up and go home, he's never let me go off on my own like this before. It's really lucky of us, isn't it?"
Not phased by the growing closeness between them one bit, Laurel quickly plucked a feather off of his wing and offered it to her with a smile.
"Here! You can keep it, too, if you want! My feathers grow back super fast anyway." He said, purring again. "Also, yeah, I think that's what makes us so awesome! We're all different, even though some of us can be similar!"
He paused, tapping his chin as he thought of an example.
"Liiiike, I met another Raevan with bone wings the day after I was born. He was a wolf, though, not a cat like me!" He continued. "Then I met another Raevan with bone wings and feathers, but she was a rabbit! That's the kind of stuff I mean, we're all so neat!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 7:59 pm
Shoshana nodded in response. It really was lucky. Quite a coincidence, all things considered. She was so pleased that it had turned out this way!
The Frei let out a small gasp when Laurel plucked off one of his feathers and passed it to her, and another louder one when she felt how different it was from an ordinary feather. "It really is heavy!" She lifted it up and down in her hand, feeling the weight of it. It wasn't terribly heavy by any stretch, but it was far from an ordinary feather. "Thank you, cheetah bo--" She stopped herself, trying hard to remember his name. "Laurel! Thank you, Laurel." She was improving.
Tucking the feather away behind her ear and securing it in her thick hair, Shoshana's eyes widened at the descriptions of the other Raevans. "How exciting! I think it is very special that way, yes? How we are all unique?" That was what excited her about people, too. Everyone was just so different! She'd been sucking up information about people and asking questions every day since her birth, and continued to be fascinated by it all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:09 pm
Yes, they were heavy! Laurel was very proud of that. However, there were some drawbacks to them, like not being able to swim while they were on his body. He tried not to make a face as he thought of that and grinned broadly.
"You're welcome! It looks really pretty in your hair!" He replied. In fact, her hair was very nice in general. It looked so soft and fluffy... Why was every Raevan he met so darn pretty? He ran a hand over his hair in contemplation.
"Mm! It is special!" He agreed, pausing and looking to the shelves for a moment. "You know what else are unique? Books! There's so many kinds, so many authors, it's kinda like how we are if you think about it!"
He reached a hand out and touched a few of the books before turning to Sho again.
"Do you have a favorite kind of book, Shoshana?" He asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 10:17 pm
Her dark cheeks flushed a bit at the compliment. Shoshana wished she could continue to wear it there, but she knew when she got home she would immediately put it up on her shelf where it couldn't possibly be lost or ruined. She didn't know if Laurel's special feathers would be any different, but she knew how regular feathers could get damaged and she wanted to take care of this special present from her new friend.
At the mention of books the Frei also turned towards the shelf they were standing by, looking at all the unique bindings with heavy appreciation for their beauty. "I like books where you can learn things. Stories are nice, but I like to learn. We go to the library sometimes, and my sister brings home books from school to share with me!" Zoe had immediately taken to pouring over educational books mere days after Shoshana had been born, helping to answer all of her questions and filling her head with knowledge.
"What kind of books do you like?" Even more of a coincidence was that they had met in a place that clearly meant they had a shared interest. This detail did not go unnoticed by the Raevan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:17 pm
Oooh, so she liked school books? Laurel could appreciate that. His cousin often had a ton of homework to do when he came home on break, so it was only a matter of time before Laurel started trying to read them, too. Math and science, so far, were the only things he found difficult to grasp. He liked history and literature the best.
"You have a sister? You're so lucky!" He asked, grinning. "My cousin lives with us when he doesn't go to boarding school. He's pretty much my brother, but not really? It's kinda complicated."
Well, maybe not so complicated. Devin's dad was absent and it was way better for his cousin to be with them anyway. That's what Oliver had said, at least. He pursed his lips and made a popping sound.
"My favorite kind of books are fantasy novels right now!" He chimed, tapping his chin as he thought. "I also like reading about magic, like actual spells and stuff. I can't actually do the spells, but they're still interesting!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:52 pm
Nodding, Shoshana smiled fondly. "Her name is Zoe!" There was no doubt by the look in her eyes that she held her sister in the highest regard. She knew that Zoe was ultimately responsible for her existing in the first place, and the two had connected immediately and been the best of friends ever since. "What is your cousin's name?" She inquired.
She hadn't met them yet, but she knew she had a fair amount of cousins and other extended family members. Shoshana had been slightly disappointed when Phoenix had decided they should wait before making the trip to meet them all. But she wouldn't have to wait long. Meeting her grandparents hadn't gone as well as she would have liked, but the Frei was hopeful that meeting the rest of the family would go a little nicer.
At the mention of magic, Shoshana's attention was grabbed away from her thoughts about her family. "What kind of magic?" While it was no mystery to her that magic existed as a whole on many levels in the world, there was some magic in particular that especially drew her interest. She knew there were entire religions based around magic, as she'd discovered the previous year. Her experience at the Halloween carnival had sparked a fire in her to learn more about these religions and many others,
though she'd been able to learn little else than what she read in books.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 9:12 pm
"Zoe's such a cute name!" Laurel exclaimed, clasping his hands with a smile. "My cousin's name is Devin. He and I look a lot alike actually. It's kinda funny. We both have red hair!"
They also both had darker skin and liked to be warm and comfortable. It was interesting to have someone so similar to him already in the family before he was born. He assumed it was meant to be, honestly, like in all of his favorite stories. Things just happened to work out that way! Fate and destiny always had their reasons.
"Uhhh, usually stuff about protection and potions." He said, after thoughtful consideration of what he'd read. "Like, there are lots of things you can put in jars that'll keep negative energy away from places in your house. Sometimes it can even protect your whole house... I don't know if any of the things I've made actually work, though. I'm not very good at it."
It was hard to figure out exactly how much of something you needed and where to get it, too. He still didn't know how he was supposed to find dragon's blood in a place like Barton town. It didn't seem like the kind of place to find a dragon, and then, really, did he want to hurt a dragon? Could he even fight a dragon? These were serious questions for another time.
"I also came here to look at the journals they had in the window." He added, looking back to where he'd been before. "My dad's a professor at a college and I saw him writing notes in a journal, so I thought maybe I'd try that." He paused, smiling as he thought of another question to ask. "What does your guardian do? Like, for a job?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
