Fog rolled white through the village at dawn, just like the Weatherman had said it would. Technically the fog was only clouds passing through the Island-in-the-Sky, bumping and breaking against the high forests and jutting stones, covering everything in a soft, quiet blanket of mist. Stillness surrounded the village of Heron.
Something huge and dark floated past the sun, swimming peacefully through the dim morning clouds -- a skywhale on its lonely way to the mountains. It made no sound as it dipped its tail, and the clouds swirled and parted in its wake.
The sun rose a little higher, the clouds dissipated, and the Weatherman's green balloon rose up high into the clear summer sky. The gold-trimmed eaves of the king's palace shimmered in the sunlight, and the colors of the marketplace gleamed as the peddlers raised their tents and awnings. The music of a flute rose up out of the village square: the flower peddler played each morning to attract customers to her wild orchids and violet roses.
A red wooden carriage swung overhead, clicking its way along a cable that led high into the cloud-tipped rocks, where farmers and miners waited to trade. A couple of hang-gliders swooped and dipped around the carriage, narrowly missed the Weatherman, scattered a shimmering flock of golden windfish, and disappeared between the high forested rocks.
The market district was abuzz with eager civilians, their pockets overflowing with gold as they rushed past one another like an army of ants. It was all to easy for the local thieves to pluck a coin or two from their hard-working peers, but one mischeivous little scoundrel was a little more direct in his motives.
"I'm so sorry, Tiffany! I'd say it won't happen again, but ah- H-Hey!" Gaius blurted as he felt Forrest's wrist attempt to squirm free of his iron grasp. The armored golem of a man tightened his grip and yanked the plucky little thief, "But I'm sure we both know that it's going to happen again! Ha..Ha.." With a nervous laugh, the head of his royal highness' guard handed a particularly ornate lollipop back to the candy-stall's operator while keeping Forrest as immobile as possible. His metal helmet creaked as he turned to face Forrest, holding his arm taut with perhaps just a little too much force. Despite how much he despised punishing criminals, Gaius had just about had it with Forrest's shenanigans, by now. Without any further delay, he pulled Forrest away from the stall, keeping as quiet as he could manage behind the slits of his helmet.
"To the sky revealed and to eastwards abound. To the land revered with fertile ground. Forever and ever will this song be... bad.
Thema sighed. No matter what she wrote, no matter what she played, it was all the same. Just some pretty sounding words. Nothing important. Nothing original. Whatever she sang about was already sung by people generations before her. It wasn't really her feelings upon this land, either. In all honesty, she didn't care for it. Everything turned out to be so streamline, so to speak. Wake, work, sleep until you die. It was boring; she didn't want to become some sort of farmer or merchant, slaving away just to live. In all honesty, she just wanted to be remembered.
Thema placed her lute around her hips. She was supposed to be working, though, playing songs from tavern to tavern could hardly be called a job. It was infrequent that she would get a job playing at a tavern. It was enough to make ends meet. Barely.
Without much further thought, she left to go to wander the town once more, looking for any sort of muse.
The short brunette struggled to free his arm from the giant's grasp, but the giant's grip was far too strong for Forrest to break free of. How he got into such a predicament, it was simple. He was hungry and his sweet tooth was aching for something nice and sugary and unluckily for him Tiffany was making her overly fancy yet delicious candies again which was singing it's siren's song to his sweet tooth. That on it own wasn't bad actually it would be amazing if he had money, but he didn't as he spent all of it getting more candies from another stall, so to Forrest it was a no brainer what he should do, which was to steal the fancy treat and enjoy its sweet sugaryness. Normally most people wouldn't have even noticed him taking such a thing but as it happens to be, the man in the tin can who is holding him prisoner was by chance was doing his civic duties as a soldier and caught him red handed in the act, quite literally as the case would be as the candy's red sprinkles started to melt in his free hand. Normally running from a man in full armor would be easy but Gaius moves a lot faster then one should, the tight grip was evidence of that. Normally Gaius would've let him go by now and would then give him a lecture about not stealing and how he should be an honest person who doesn't steal, which even if Forrest took to heart wouldn't last more then a few hours before the craving to steal came back. So it was a hopeless endeavor on both ends.
As gaius was talking to Tiffany, Forrest tried again to break free of the Man's grip, it didn't work. Forrest's arm was almost yanked off from it's socket when Gaius retaliated with a strong yank back of his arm, the only sounds Forrest produced was a small yelp which was more out of shock then pain, Forrest almost fell on his face but caught himself before he embarrassed himself even more in front of Tiffany. When Forrest looked up to Gaius helmet covered face he could tell the giant was glaring at him beneath his mask, so Forrest returned the glare with a sheepish smile before the giant, who suddenly started to pull the shorter man away from the sweets stall silently or as silently a man in a tin can can with a shorter man trashing about in his grip. After trashing about for a bit Forrest just decided to give up and just slumped down to the ground and let the Giant drag him down the road. If he's in trouble he might as well make his punisher suffer with him. By annoying him!
It was going to be a busy day, Lee thought to herself as she flipped through the orders she had yet to complete, a stack of finished projects at her right just waiting to be shipped off. Her Father hadn't needed her help today so she remained in her own shop, the brightly painted sign swinging in the breeze, the tinkling of silver bells mixing in with the laughter of children in the streets. Lee looked out of the large shop window, giving herself a minute to take in the good weather before standing and setting the orders down. Turning she headed to the back of the shop, looking for the materials she'd need. This particular customer had requested something quite specific and Lee hoped that she'd be able to capture what it was they wanted. Often times, people did that. Just came to her with an idea and asked her to put it on fabric for them to wear. It was both humbling and flattering to sometimes see people walk around in her work, or have it hung up for the public to see. This particular piece required a large variety of blue thread and Lee realized as she looked through the thousands of spools, that she was running low on one specific shade of blue. Raging waters couldn't possibly be properly illustrated without ever every shade of blue present. It simply wouldn't do, Lee thought as she shook her head. She'd either have to head to the market or call on someone to deliver it to her. But work needed to be started nonetheless. So Lee grabbed the pincushion of needles, an appropriately long strip of dark grey material and headed towards the front of her shop. She always loved working outside under the sun rather than inside where, while it was cool, she felt a bit isolated. Sitting down, Lee threaded the needle with navy thread and began working, rolling the sleeves of her white blouse up to her elbows. The needle slipped in and out easily as she sang an old song her mother used to sing, not caring if people on the street heard her loud and clear. "In a light, silken white tent, on an embroidered rug, I'm alone. I sit and sing here. Singing to the tune of old-times. Ah... Lullaby, sleep tight. Winds won't breathe now, don't you worry. Creatures sleep, and birds are tired. Sleeping warriors and children. Sleep, oh mountains, sleep, oh rivers. Ah...Lullabye, sleep tight."
She filled with pride as she stood over the edge. Her eyes looking at the sky as the orange tinge filled the dark palette. She breathed, sighing in relief as she felt the soft cool wind dancing against her skin. Her eyes glinted as the sun began to rise. She smiled, waving towards the yearning sun. The young girl turned and stretched out her locked bones. Getting into more awkward positions and stopping after they popped. Her thoughts lingered towards her family, she cursed under her breath and hastily returns to the guild.
The hill was steep but not too steep she would be able to jump from tree to tree, her grip tightening each time she'd grip the bark. Her legs pushing off the trunk of each tree she passed to climb faster up the hill. Soon enough the girl would reach the peak of the hill, she eyed the guild hall. Near a small river in which she could jump into. She leaped over the side of the hill and into the other, running down it.
She noticed that the hillside was clear and free of trees, simply grass and some other flowers grew on it. Her arms were wide open, embracing the wind as she ran down the side of the hill. Her steps were long and wide, exerting less energy as she made her way down.
Jumping from a very high ledge was never a good idea but... she never seemed to really care.
Aurora felt as if she was floating, laughing on the way down. Her body spun with excitement as her hair danced with the wind. Not minding that her skirt was lifted all the way up, though she wore leggings. She laughed once again at the thought, she landed in a small river. Only about 11ft. A cold touch filled her senses as she dove into the river. The water was harsh and seemingly solid as she landed but gladly went through it. She opened her eyes a blue color filling her sight. The girl could feel the ground caress her foot, she was deep enough. Her arms waved pushing herself back into the surface.
She climbed out with hefty breaths, a lingering feeling from the cold river stayed with her as she climbed out. Bystanders eyed her weirdly as she did, most scoffing as they continued their day. The girl presumed that she was the most annoying person in town, she loved that title with all her heart. She laughed at the thought though also winced at the lingering pain. The girl sighed as she leaned against the platform citizens walked on, her hair on her shoulder as she rested there.
" Hey Dawn! "
Aurora waved towards the young man who glared daggers at her.
The sound of a scythe cutting through another bushel of wheat sounded as Blank finished his part of the harvest. He stood straight and wiped his brow with the back of his hand, shaking off droplets of sweat as he started making his way back to the farmhouse.
"Leo, Linda!" He called, opening the back door and retrieving his discarded shirt, "I finished up. If you need me for anything else, better speak up before I head off!" He stopped for a minute waiting for a response, and when he didn't receive one he trotted through the house to the front door, tying the sleeves of his shirt around his waist and grabbing a small loaf of bread and his sword belt as he passed.
"I'll see you tonight then!" He called back, already rearranging his shirt and belt to fit comfortably and running out the door.
---
It took some time to reach the village at a jog, so when he arrived he had already cooled down enough that he was wearing his shirt again. As he walked between the buildings, he noticed people he rocognized, and thought on the irony of knowing most of these people by name, and yet having no clue as to his own. Since he had found himself here two years previous, he had spent almost all of his free time in this town, getting to know everyone in the hopes that someone would recognize him, but although he could now be comfortable around anyone in the village, he still had no idea who he was or how he had wound up here.
He shook his head, clearing away his dreary thoughts as he passed Gaius and Forrest having one of their disagreements, and focused on his destination. He was on his way to the Castle training grounds, since he had gotten permission the week before to train with the royal knights.
Location: At the top of Sol ObservatoryTM (really just a large, abandoned observatory seven kilometers away from Heron).
Tivo shifted about in the outdoor hammock, emitting a weary groan now and then, particularly whenever the rays of the glaring morning sun struck the surface of his eyelids. Whatever shade the leaves from the oak tree provided proved to be no longer helpful, as the angle which the sun rose would ensure that his face would receive a hearty dosage of solar blaze regardless of how he positioned himself in the beige hammock. Well, now that the day was clearly started, he decided that he should just go ahead and get up. The chirping birds nested in the branches above him surely wouldn't let him go back to sleep, either. Tivo swung his legs over and off the hammock, setting his feet down onto the long grass. Before he stood, the boy took some time to carefully peruse over the state of his belongings, which had been set near the oak tree's trunk.
"Glider . . . Hoe . . . And pack?"
Tivo pushed himself off the hammock and ambled over to his shoulder-slung bag, swiftly going to kneel down, open the pack, and sift through the contents. Notebook, snacks, clothes, and . . . Yeah, it's good. He let out a sigh of relief and stood back up.
Being careful was a must when resting around these ruins, especially when you actually had belongings. Besides some homeless individuals, all sorts of unsavory characters tended to populate the observatory since it wasn't too closely guarded or looked at by the guard of the town. Well, actually, only when they're absolutely certain there's a wanted criminal hanging around there. Otherwise, it's all pretty quiet for the most part.
Tivo turned around to face the direction where the town of Heron rested. He had to admit that the view was quite nice up here. The sea of clouds beneath and between the observatory and the town was quite attractive. It might take a few runs, but Tivo was somewhat positive that he could eventually manage to build a house up at the top of the observatory and live there. However, he dismissed the thought upon realization that each time he left he would have to take all his belongings to ensure that none of the other impoverished inhabitants conjured up an idea to discreetly steal things away from him. It might be rude, too, considering it wasn't really his property -- it's public. For now he would just settle with his crudely-made forest cottage.
Might as well head over now, he thought. Tivo sauntered over to his belongings and began equipping everything that he could. He strapped the hoe to his back with a few lengths of leather which snaked its way around his waist, tied his pack down onto the main body of the glider, and then unfolded its biplane wings. The teen, before taking off, suddenly realized that he was still wearing his typical pajamas.
With a dull shrug, he came to the conclusion that other people wouldn't really care and that these feel way too comfortable to take off. Today would be a pajama day, it seems. And with that, he heaved the glider upwards, ran towards the edge of the platform, and took off towards his destination of Heron.
Blin's eyes opened, the light outside was just creeping in through the window. He was well rested and so quickly got up to check the time, he slowly opened the door to peek at the small clock at the end of the hall. "A full five minutes early," he went back inside grinning to himself as he went to wash and get dressed. Elspeth, his mother, would already be up and out at the fields today, he had to drop her lunch off to her later. Jerad, his father, would be due at the new house construction in about an hour. All of his family were early starters.
Stepping into the simple kitchen he made himself and his mother lunch and snacked on a spare roll, before leaving the house to check and prepare his monster of a glider. The thing was huge, fully half again as wide as the other swift flying gliders around but not as agile. Heavily reinforced struts and two large metal bars on each wing to hold his leather bags of deliveries. Everything was fine with it, the day looked to be another sunny day. He packed his gear and stood at the edge of the island, watching the skywhale demolish a cloud as the sun finally appeared in all its glory. He took out his note book and made a note to ask Sir Gaius about dragon riding mounts.
Blin put his book away and dived off the island edge, free to soar the skies. He briefly shut his eyes as he imagined riding the skywhale, delivering massive goods or ferrying passengers. Some innate sense made him snap back to reality, and straight into a cold sweat. His glider was unwieldy and he barely missed the cable car with passengers. "Sorreeeeeee" he yelled back at them. Wait till Eli found out about that, he grinned.
Blin landed at Heron island, took his first batch of morning deliveries and flew off. In an hour, he successfully did his first run and counted off twenty boring routines that always happened. Waving at Mrs Kurtis, avoiding Mr Hugles' white furred pet (nobody knew what it was) and all of it was merging into one long day of boredom. He needed something exciting and that only started with his second batch of deliveries.
He flew back to the grocery store, now the milk had arrived it was time to visit his friend Eli and help out the school. The glider was more slower than he used to, Blin paid much more careful attention after his near miss. He eventually made it safely and landed out of sight behind the school. Unpacking the milk he waited for Eli, hoping he wasn't going to be late. "Yo," Eli yelled out once spotting Blin, "Good morning, bro." Apparently Eli cared little not to yell around school grounds. He seemed too cheerful for this time of the day. How was that humanly possible? At least he was on time.
"Hi. Milk for the kiddies Eli, glad you could pick it up for your sister." Blin grinned at him, and then got a reply back that made him slap his forehead.
"You still up for that delivery for my sis? The library prepared everything, you'd just need to bring it to her." Eli asked, unable to hold still for a split second.
"We still meeting up for lunch? If so, I need to convince a certain someone to race me, the day started out a bit slow. Oh- Remind me to tell you about a super duper dream I had yesterday, an epic journey filled with dragons and girls and excitement! You were in it too - it was awesome. I'll bring my mom's dessert to repay you for making this delivery for me. Man, you're a life saver."
"Try dodging the cable-car sometime Eli. I'll meet you at the farm later then, I'll visit the library after." He grinned at his friend, pretty sure he knew who Eli was going to race.
Blin took off from the school and flew to his two remaining contracts of the morning, he always liked to finish with them. They both fueled his imagination for the rest of the day. He landed at the jewelers shop, not finding Lee there he walked to her shop. Blin was a little surprised and very pleased that she was outside and singing. Captivated he stood listening, until she finished. He blinked a few times before coughing shyly "M..morning Miss Lee, I..erm...I'm here to pick up for Kelari." Blin still stood outside the little gate, tightly gripping the wood in case he floated off into the clouds.
When Blin arrived at Kelari's tattoo parlour. It always saddened him a little whenever he visited. Her tales left him in rapture, so much that he wanted a tattoo of his own. Both his parents amd her refused, at least until he was eighteen. Less than two years left, it was just too long to wait. Blin knocked on the door "Hello? I have your paints, Kelari." He knew he was teasing her when he called them paints but, he still hoped for one of her tales of wonder.
Finished for the morning with twenty minutes to spare, Blin was pleased that the deliveries were all finished. He flew to his favorite tree on a small island and waited for his daydream to arrive. He had a good half hour, just enough time to try catch that evil sprite that lived here and stole his lunch. He made it to the count of eleven before his daydream took over. Blin snored quietly.
The clouds burst as the Mighty Kalikorix flew out into the dazzlingly sunlight, its golden scales shone in the bright sunlight and the vibrant multicoloured wings and tail fins positively glowed. Kalikorix's eyes turned from black to light blue as sky became clear, and then suddenly he banked left and downwards as Lord Brytag the Brave steered the powerful beast towards an island.
"So close Kal, my friend. We'll surprise the mercs and rescue the princess." Brytag slapped Kalikrix's nexk scales, his armoured form gleamed in the sunlight and a great two-handed sword sat at his back.
Kalikorix almost seemed to grin at his words, they both dove and flew faster. The mercenaries were all camped, still half asleep from their raid into the kingdom. There in centre, Brytag spotted the white dressed princess, surrounded by the Red Guard. Kalikorix roared, his wings casting rainbow hues that blinded the mercenaries. The great skydragon breathed a golden cloud that dispersed the armoured men around the Red Guard. Brytag took the gap offered and dismounted. "Scatter the rest Kal, I got this."
An imposing sight, Brytag stood at over six feet tall. He was even more heroic when he drew his greatsword and waded into the Red Guard, literally throwing them aside as he made his way to the princess. "Save me Lord Brytag, you're my Hero." the princess cried out. Brytag, spurned on by her cries, quickly dealt with the remaining guards. He scanned the camp and saw that Kalikorix had also made short work off the remaining mercenaries.
He sheaved his sword and untied the princess, "My beautiful Princess Lee, it will always be my duty and privilege to aid you in any way I can." The princess closed her eyes and leaned in close to him, her face turned up slightly.
Blin awoke in a light sheen of sweat, wondering what had just happened.
About to start on another song, Lee opened her mouth, her hand that reached for a new thread stopping short as she heard a familiar voice. "Blin! Always a pleasure to see you so early on in the day," she said as she paused, sticking the needle into the pincushion before standing and brushing down her pants, the burgundy fabric splattered with white and blue flowers that glittered in the sunlight. "Paints...Kelari..ah yes, one moment please," she said, heading to the back of her shop and searching through the organised clutter, humming under her breath as she did so. Eventually she did find the paints. Brilliant shades that she'd worked hours on perfecting. Handing them to Blin the woman smiled. "Thank you. I was wondering though, if perhaps you could find out for me if anyone is carrying light blue thread? I'm in dire need of some. Two to three spools will do," she said, thinking aloud but stopping herself, not wanting to ramble on and on. She had a tendency to do so. Lee eyed Blin with slight curiosity, always having found the boy to be both amusing and interesting. As for the name Kelari, she'd heard it spoken a few times. The woman was responsible for beautiful artwork that graced the body. Lee's eyes fell to her own hands just a moment, leaving and looking back up to the young man almost instantly. Though she could do good work with those hands, they were battered and scarred and if Lee were to ever get a tattoo, it would probably be one that covered her hands. Starting at her fingers and fading out towards her elbow. But that would only bring more attention to the marred flesh and that was something Lee definitely did not want.
When Blin left Lee exhaled, returning to her place in front of her shop, picking up the needle and starting her work again. Later in the day she'd have to work on a hair ornament and a few rings. Rings were the trickiest business, the gems so little and easily lost at the smallest jerk of the hand. When she was taking a break from the embroidery she worked on the rings first, eyes narrowed in concentration and her short hair tucked behind her ears so it wouldn't get in her way. That she did inside the shop, in front of the window though, wringing her left hand and shaking her hair out as she finished the smaller ring. Perhaps it was for a bride. That would be sweet, Lee thought to herself as she admired the gems chosen. They sat and shone brightly, the band gold and the gems a pale green mixed with deep purple. Precious stones Lee had been asked to crack out of a boulder the size of her head earlier that week. The effort and the new cuts on her forearm and fingers were worth it, though Lee should start looking for a solution to that slight clumsiness.
"Try dodging the cable-car? What was that all about?" Eli scratched his head as he watched Blin take off. He seemed to glide a bit slower today and Eli couldn't help but wonder what was that all about. He'd have to remember to ask him about it later. And he didn't even flinch when Eli mentioned his epic dream that had girls and a dragon in it. What a shame. Then it dawned on him, like a bulb lighting up above his head, "Dodging the cable-car? Dodging the cable-car! That. Sound. Awesome!" As he stood there, alone in front of the school, talking to himself - he noticed a faint glimpse of what was probably a skywhale in the distance. There was no way he was going to catch up to it before it reaches the mountains. "One day I'll ride on your back, just you watch," Eli threw his fist in the air, as if swearing a revenge on a mortal enemy. But then a grin came back to his face. He had a race to attend, of course. Actually, he still had to convince her to race him, but that was just a small detail.
Eli hadn't done much at all today, in terms of excitement. He woke up early, went to the school and helped his sister with preparations for this week's classes. For some reason, his sister liked having him around, even if they bickered all the time. She mentioned that he brings good energy to the school and fires up the kids to stay in school and not end up reckless like him. Pfft. She was teasing him, of course.
Probably.
Maybe.
"Enough. Time to make the best out of this day - watch yourself, Heron, Eli's coming through at the speed of light! Besides, he was standing here for far too long, doing nothing but talking to himself. If his assumption was correct, Rahna was probably at the apothecary - helping her mother with the morning shift? He hoped the assumption was right, otherwise he'd have to glide high and low to find her. Not that he'd mind. Hm. Maybe it would be better if his assumption was wrong.
Deciding the time for talking was over, Eli rushed over to his glider, the pointy thing with two tribal wings painted on its actual wings. A wingception - term he coined for the amazing design. As he prepared to dive off the edge, he looked down - wondering how far would he actually fall down should he mess something up. It was a ritual he did. A small sign that he wasn't actually completely out of his mind. But a moment of sanity had passed and he jumped off, immediately feeling the rush of wind in his hair. Now that was the feeling he was looking for. Reminded him of the fact that he was alive. The fastest route towards Rahna would, by his calculations, be through the market district. There was a fine shortcut there, but it meant that he'd have to fly a bit lower than usual. Quickly he calculated the risk in his head of actually hurting someone. It was minimal, at most he'd cause a stronger wind and something would fall of some nearby stall, but even that wasn't as plausible. On the other hand, he'd probably look epic as he soared through the sky - breaking out of a nearby cloud and rushing down to sweep ladies of their feet while all the gentlemen looked on in awe. Yes. That was it. That was the plan.
Of course, Eli would soon get a reminder that the plans never go exactly as planned. Or at all. As he crashed into the cloud, his mind sent him an alarming note - he wasn't wearing any glasses. What would prove to be a minor setback. A temporary blindness. One of those usually equaled in the lack of control of his glider, which wasn't on a high level to begin with. And that usually equaled in a bump. Or a graze.
"Or a crash!" Eli blurted out as he regained his vision just in the nick of time not to crash straight into a man in a can dragging along a shorter man down the road. It was a close call, one that probably shaved off ten years of his life right there. Damn, out of all people he wouldn't want to crash into, a knight was definitely somewhere near the top of the list. Following his sister, Blin and Rahna. It was a while back that Eli made a note never to crash into one of his close friends. An oath, if you will. After today, he might make one for the knights as well. Barely getting a hang of the glider again, he managed to put out a thumb up for the two people to see - the best he could do to say sorry. There was no stopping now - the show must go on.
After a couple more minutes of gliding, he finally reached his destination. He exhaled as he looked around, a huge grin resting on his face. The apothecary was in sight and all he had to do was walk in, put on his charm face and look for Rahna. Easy enough.
At least it would be if he wasn't a bit ashamed about coming to the apothecary all the time, for all those herbs and bandages and whatnot. He might as well be their most frequent customer. Considering how he wasn't always paying on time, it was normal for him to be a bit embarrassed. But, instead of acting like a normal human being, he pushed the door slightly open and poked his head. "Hey Rahna, you here?" He asked without even soaking in the surroundings.
Not again. Not a god-damn chance. Nope. No way! "Get up. Eh, get up!" Gaius alarmed, stopping several yards before reaching the strewn path that lined the edge of Lee Silvertongue's stall, "We're not doing this again, Forrest. I seriously don't have time for this! I'm due for an audience with the king!" Despite his protests, Forrest did not budge and inch from his rag-doll. The stubborn thief had made his capture a chore. How annoying! Gaius had no intention of wasting anymore time on Forrest than he absolutely needed to, though. With his visor angled up towards a neighboring island, he let free an exasperated sigh and loosened his grip to allow Forrest his freedom. "I'm not dragging your sorry ass all the way through Heron today. Not that it would do you much good if I did, anyways. Keep away from Tiffany's stall, lest another one of my men end up running into you," Gaius parroted with his back turned to Forrest, like he had many times in the past. Although it was slightly different every time he hadn't the patience to put up with Forrest's tomfoolery, it always boiled down to the same message. 'you're wasting my valuable time. Don't get caught again. My guards aren't nearly as friendly as I am.' And it was true, to some extent. Although the royal guard wasn't overflowing with miscreants or ruthless savages, there were quite a few men who'd no sooner throw Forrest in prison for a few days despite his crimes being well-known throughout the candy shops, and considered mostly-harmless. Gaius traced the small outlines of a cloud in disarray and turned to face Forrest for a split second, assuming he hadn't already bolted upon release. With a small flick of his wrist, he was off, headed for the king's castle.
Or at least he would've been, if he'd nearly been knocked over by a rogue glider, flying far too close to the ground. Gaius fell to his hands in a desperate panic, barely having any time to duck out of the glider's way. Hell, if it hadn't been for the pilot's swift change in momentum, he might have just lost his top. Or his helmet, at least. "Eh! Watch your altitude, kid!" Gaius bellowed at Eli, cupping the edges of his visor with both hands. Troublemakers everywhere. Why hadn't there been any guards watching for illegal fliers? Bah! He'd have to give his men in the nearby districts a stern talking to about the laws regarding safe gliding in populated areas again. It's not like they ever listened to him. Hell, most of what Gaius tried to relay to his guards and the citizens was brushed off as nothing more than nagging half the time. But regardless of how much impact it left, It was his responsibility to keep pressing into his peers. Obligations were not to be trifled with! That's what Gaius always said. Nobody listened to that either though.
"At least you're not threatening to take somebody's head off, Forrest," Gaius quipped, clashing his metal gauntlets together to wipe off the dust on his hands, "if that day comes, I won't hesitate to throw you in jail myself! Ahaha!" He turned away from Forrest once again with a curt nod and a raise of the hand, heading to see the king, like he'd intended to all morning. He found himself following a few paces behind another man, visibly armed with a sword of foreign quality. It made his own weapon look like an artifact by comparison. Then again, Gaius' Claymore wasn't exactly the newest model, so to speak. Although it was large, larger than most weapons fit for melee combat, his sword was roughly ten years old. He couldn't stand to part with it, despite the many objections that the castle blacksmith howled into his iron carapace. It was a memento! How could he give up the sword that marked his entry into the royal guard all those years ago? He wouldn't give it up, not even for Blank's beautifully crafted weapon from beyond the borders of Heron! Gaius let out a heavy breath, smiling under his helmet as he passed Lee's shop. He turned and offered her a short wave with another flick of his wrist as he passed. "Mornin' Lee" He said softly, keeping on his way through the market at a steady pace.
Just like she did almost every early morning, she helped her mother grind up herbs and create salve mixtures to sell and use at the shop, or rather, it was more like a small clinic. It was by no means a large establishment, but it did the job for the local folk who just needed something simple for their illnesses and injuries. However, unlike the usual mornings, she needed to change the bandages on her arm. She recently got into a glider accident during a small race she was having with Eli. It seemed that she couldn't control the 'upgrade' that her bestie had done on her glider, a little faster than she was used to and harder to turn.
The wound stung as she applied the salve onto it, she winced as her mixture covered finger touched the long, thin cut that ran down her left forearm. She didn't blame Eli for this at all though, it was her own fault for accepting his impromptu race invitation. She almost never said no, she had so much fun when she played with him. Rahna slowly wrapped the clean bandages around her arm, tying it off with the help of her teeth. She didn't want to bother her mom about such things; running a shop was already stressful, not to mention all the small or big problems the patients had when they walked through the door.
Her eyes moved to the sound of the door opening downstairs, she could already tell who it was. Normally people would knock before entering, but there was one person who never did. And that was Eli, who called out for her the moment he popped his head through. She got up from her chair and gathered her belongings, shoving them into her satchel before slinging the strap over her shoulder. She quickly put her shoes on before dashing out of her room, vaulting over the stair handrail and landing almost perfectly on the timber flooring near the door. She looked up to see Eli's face, she smiled cheerfully at him. "Of course I'm here! Where else would I be so early in the morning~?" She responded in an amused tone. Just as she got up to go over to her friend, her mother came through the back door with a basket of what appeared to be more herbs. "Oh! Good morning Eli! Are you well? How's your sister doing?" She greeted jovially. In that moment, something clicked in Rahna's mind. Oh no. At full speed, she raced to the door, "U-Uh! Mom, we got some urgent stuff to do! Right Eli? Yeah! Let's go! We'll be back later!" She said loudly as she swung the door open, before grabbing Eli by the wrist, pulling him away from the door slightly. She shut the door behind her quickly before looking at Eli with a relieved look. "That was close." She said after a brief pause.
They would've been stuck there forever if she had let him respond to her mother. Conversations with Rahna's mother usually involved coming inside for cookies and tea, possibly lunch and then dinner. Stay the night there too, why not.
"So, what's up? Lemme guess, you wanna race again~?" She assumed in an amused tone, cocking an eyebrow him. Of course, she wouldn't be opposed to it, even if she did get injured the last time.
Holding the ring up to the light Lee smiled to herself as she watched the rays of sunshine dance over the band. It was a job well done. Standing, she made her way to the back of the shop again to put the ring away in a safe place. People and their sticky fingers were a danger in her line of work. Thankfully she'd only had one incident of theft last year, the circlet returned safely after the person was apprehended. Lee found rather sad that some people resorted to stealing rather than working on whatever they were good at, perfecting those skills and turning them into good honest work. Or at least work that wasn't stealing. Either way, the incident prompted her to get some more solid security when it came to storing finished products, sharp thorns and little scratchy wires covering the entirety of the containers where finished projects were stored. Lee wore gloves and gently wrapped each object in soft cloth before tucking them tightly under the large bundles. It wasn't the best method but the thief would walk away with scratches on their hands for sure if they didn't wear thick leather gloves. Just as Lee did just that, slipping the covered ring beneath the bundles, she heard voices outside the shop. Near it at least. So she gathered up the gems and tools she'd be using for decorating the hair ornament and made her way back to the front. Midway there she found herself giggling under her breath as she heard parts of something that sounded like a somewhat irked ramble. Lee sat down and spread her instruments out on the large ledge, hands and face bathed in the warmth of the day as she started to work, positioning the gems in certain places then moving them around, trying to see which combination would look best. The woman became so engrossed with her work that when she heard her name she nearly jumped out of her skin, eyes flying up to find it was just Gaius. She raised a hand and smiled brightly. "Morning!" There hasn't been any time to say anything else. The man seemed to be on his way to something important anyway, Lee thought as she watched him go before returning to her work. She had seen Gaius around often enough. The man who he'd been conversing with however, she didn't. Lee was good with faces and names but that didn't mean she knew a lot of people personally.
Nikki shifted her weight, sending her glider into a tight banking turn. She'd done a minor task for someone earlier, and earned a bit of money, and there were probably other things she /could/ do, but she wasn't in the mood. Instead she was soaring over town, looking for something interesting to get involved in. The wind flowing around her was invigorating, and she angled into a dive, picking up enough speed that she was able to execute a loop, or at least the closest to one she'd ever managed so far. It came off more like a stall into a flip, but the sensation of weightlessness at the top was exhilarating and far made up for the awkward appearance of the trick.
A glint of armor caught the girl's eye as she leveled out again. Was that...? It was! Gaius, and it looked like he had his hands full with Forrest. Nikki let out a peal of laughter, and circled lower. Poor Forrest, he actually let the knight catch up with him again? Seemed like he'd been caught in the act, instead of deliberately raising the alarm after successfully obtaining whatever he'd been after. It was no good getting seen if you didn't have enough of a head start to go on a nice chase, after all. Not that she hadn't slipped up enough to be grabbed quickly herself on multiple occasions, but that was far less /fun/.
As she spiralled overhead, watching the scene play out below, Nikki cracked up again as Eli in his glider nearly bowled Gaius over. His might be faster than hers -- not that she'd ever admit it -- but hers was lighter and far more maneuverable. If she wanted pure speed, all she needed to do was dive. Oh, but she'd have to tease him about that near miss later~! Something about knocking over tin cans, perhaps?
She let the thought flit away for later consideration, as Gaius's path met up with someone else she enjoyed giving a hard time. Blank! No sooner did she catch sight of him than she was flipping herself into a roll to change direction and lining up her approach. Then she dove down, down, down, pulling up /just/ in time and flipping the lever that let her glider's wings collapse to the main body. That allowed her to drop to the ground neatly a mere yard or two from the other teen, landing a bit harder than she intended but she was used to that by now and just grunted a bit. Straightening up with a bright smile, she sauntered over to fall in next to Blank. "Where ya heading?" Nikki asked him, completely ignoring Gaius's less-than-pleased reaction to the second low-flying glider in a short span of time.
Forrest couldn't help but grin when the giant guard, Gaius started to berate him, it was so much fun to torment the ol' tin can when ever he gets into trouble it kind of became its own game of causal annoyance. Suddenly the tight grip on his hand loosen and it limply fell to the ground, which caused Forrest to winch and look up at Gaius with a raised eyebrow, he then lectured that he will not carry his sorry ass down to the Prison, luckily for Forrest his ass wasn't sorry and he could just return to Tiffany and take the candy that's problaly in the trash since he got his greasy hands on it. And amusingly enough Gaius tried to intimidate him with the topic of the other guards, who are honestly only half as amusing as Gaius and all of who have sticks up their butts, heck Forrest always assume that if they don't have their swords they just beat people to death with their butt sticks. Heh, butt sticks.
Forrest was interrupted of his important thoughts about the might weapons of Heron when a kid flew far to low and almost knocked off the Giant's head, which Forrest always assumed was his helmet since he never seen him without it, even if he was standing up, Forrest wouldn't be worried about being hit by low flyers, by the time they could land on him they would already be on the ground. What he was saying is, he's short.
Forrest snickered softly as he watches the Giant go onto his hands and knees to dodge the kid's glider, which honestly was a nice stance to see the guard in. Very humorous to see. Forrest finally got up from his Rag-doll routine and dusted off any dirt that accumulated from the dragging and spontious show. Gaius stood up himself, it was always jarring how tall the guard was compared to him, as he was reached slightly below Gaius' shoulders, even though the latter isn't that much older then the former but from height alone the thief would look like a kid compare to the giant. Gaius quibbled saying that at least Forrest isn't dangerous like that kid was, was that kid's again? Elle? Ellie? Eli, that's it. But the subject matter was that if Forrest ever reached that level of inconvenience Gaius would gladly throw him in jail, which caused Forrest to glare and stick out his tongue at him childishly before running off to the opposite direction.
After a few minutes of sneaking past suspicious glares from both patrons and customers in the market place he went past the regular old apothecary he visits whenever he gets hurt with a cut or something, and he quickly walked past a pair of kids talking to each other. Not far past them was a cliff to the side that has a long drop to a lower island that leads towards the Library a place he likes to hang out when not hanging out at home or 'collecting' loose items that people drop at the market place.
Forrest took a deep breath and readied himself then he suddenly started sprinting to the cliff and at the last second he jumped off with full force to cross the distance of the two islands, as Forrest was hurtling across the air he could hear the relaxing sound of the wind running though his ears and his full pockets rattling as gravity did it's job, it was like nirvana to be falling out of the sky without a glider but like all good dreams, they have to end, particularly this dream, due to the fact that the ground was coming at him at break neck speeds quite literally the case if he doesn't land it properly. Luckily for him he has landed this a hundred times and he will do it another hundred more. There is a tree a few dozen meter above the ground on the side of the cliff that is strong enough to hold his weight and not just that it is bendy enough to make him land safely and with only a few splinters and a couple cuts, which is a lot better deal then a few broken limbs and bones. But you must asking. Why? Why does he do this? And why he does it you will know. Its fun. That's all.
And he does just that, he wrapped his arm around the trees thin trunk and the tree bends downwards to the ground to catch his weight and when its practically bending at a 90 degree angle, Forrest let go and after a short drop of five feet he made it safely to the other island without a glider or a cable car. Only with a bunch of bravery and a dash of stupidity. Well maybe more like a cup of stupidity, but now it's time to hang out at the library, which is only a few meters away from his current location of an angry gardener's back yard. How does he know the gardener angry? Well... she's screaming at him to get lost before she gets the guards, which Forrest promptly does. To the Library. Which is not a few hundred feet away. This plan is not well thought out.
Blank let out a silent breath, resigning himself to give up on training today as Nikki litterally fell into step next to him.
"I was planning to train with the royal guards, but I assume I'll have to put that off till tomorrow once you convince me to join whatever hare brained scheme you've just cooked up." His hand darted out, poking her in the ribs before he continued. "It's not like I can stay behind. If I'm not there to get you out of trouble, who knows what would happen?" He smirked slightly.
For all his halfhearted complaining, Blank actually enjoyed Nikki's adventures. Every time they explored a new wild island or cave, something pulled at the edges of his memory, like reliving a familiar experience. He had never actually remembered anything, but he felt like it was close. Besides, of everyone on the island, he was closest to Nikki. She had been the first one to make him open up.
Chewing on her last slice of bread Sera checked her leather bag one more time. Yup, everything in there. This was it, her last straw. If she didn't get enough money from the artifact she was carrying in her bag right now to finance another artifact recovery operation, she was done for. It'd be back to collecting food scraps for her, something she didn't need to have to do since her 12th birthday. It seemed like all the close ruins had been picked dry by somebody else. She knew of Tivo more or less hanging around the ruins all the time, but as far as Sera knew, he wasn't in it for the money. In her time as scavenger, she had run into him from time to time, but mostly ignoring his presence as much as possible. To disturb Sera's work was to disturb her income. Now, though, it seemed dire. With a long, drawn out sigh, Sera stared at the trinket in the bag. It was a golden goblet, engraved with a depiction of some event. Sera was no specialist, but she assumed it described a coronation, so she hoped it was worth at least a little. Maybe even to the royal family. "Well, then... Let's go and meet fate...", she muttered as she shouldered the leather bag. Sera exited her small house, which she bought a few years ago to stay off the street, lying at the border of Heron. She adored the swung roof and the slightly isolated location on top of a little hill with a perfect view to the marketplace.
Slowly Sera strolled down the dirt pathway down the hill until it became cobblestone, she bee-lined for her favourite trader. "Good morning, Sera. Got something for me?", he yelled as soon as he saw her. More or less, he owed Sera most of his fortune, so he was quite thankful to her and always excited to see her. "Yeah. Can you give me a good estimate for this?" Sera took out the trinket and placed it on the trader's table. Said trader aaahhh'd and ooohhh'd at the sight of the trinket. "This is really good. Have you kept that in a hidden stash until now?" Sera shook her head. "I'm out of money, so this is my last one.", she confessed.
A bit later, Sera, now a lot more happy than in the morning sat down on a bench munching a sweet pie she had bought with the money she had just gotten. This seemed to have been the best loot she had ever sold, so she was quite eager to celebrate, but after this, it was back to shopping for food to equip her next scavenging trip. But for now, she chewed happily on the pie.
She giggled, swerving a few steps away at the friendly jab. "Training with the guard?" Any half-formed plans Nikki had fled as she seized upon one that appealed even more. "You mean the knights?" Her grin grew wider, and laughter danced in her golden-brown eyes. "Forget the glider, watching you get your butt handed to you sounds excellent~ You may be good with that sword of yours, but there's no way you're anywhere near a match for them, not yet. I mean, they train /forever/!" The teen switched her collapsed glider, now resembling a thick walking stick, from one hand to the other. "Besides, I'd love an excuse to visit the castle. I wonder if I can sneak in and catch a glimpse of the king...."
She trailed off in a thoughtful tone, something her friends knew was not going to make the end result any less wild. "Landing on the roof somewhere, that's too obvious. I mean, everyone flies, right? Climbing up to a window, though, that they'd /never/ expect~" Nikki turned her attention back to Blank. "So do you wanna try and visit the king before you get yourself all beaten up, or after~?"
Before Eli had a chance to pull it together and realize what was going on, Rahna had already pulled him out the door. "I never understood why you're so driven not to let me talk to your mom," he frowned, "I wouldn't embarrass you, y'know?" He beamed an amused grin when she mentioned the word 'race' and was almost ready to outlay the route he had in mind. He was about to start describing it when he noticed a patch of white on her forearm. In a flash, memories of their last race came back to him. He totally forgot about what had happened. "Oh right," the smile subsided for the moment, "Maybe we should... you know... take it easy for the day?" Eli himself didn't believe those words just came out of his mouth. And he was so hyped for the race, too. But the fact that she got hurt last time, because of him, remained. Of course, she would never openly say that it was his fault, but it was what it was. He felt really bad about it.
Getting himself in trouble, having to handle a couple of grazes, cuts and bruises, was fine. But injuring his friends? That was another story. "I could take a look at your glider, give it a bit more spin and control? We don't want a repeat of the last time. We have time 'till meeting Blin for lunch, so why not glide to the usual spot and..." And...
And...
And what? What do people do when they're not doing crazy stuff? Although they're not constantly doing crazy stuff, per se, Eli still manages to get them into some kind of trouble. So what was it that they could do? As he was thinking about it, he gazed at Rahna, his look absent. It took him a few moments, but he eventually realized that he probably could've ended the sentence at a better spot. This way it was open for interpretation.
And the last thing Eli would want in his life is a repeat of that dreadful situation. Code name: Aurora.
"Talk?" He carefully blurted out, as if he wasn't sure that normal people even do that anymore. As the answer soaked in, Eli finally exhaled - the sentence was politically correct. Phew.
"Yeah, talk - we could talk! I've got a couple of SkyKolas in my backpack, so we can kick back and relax." The smile returned to Eli's face after what was probably the longest time today that his smile was absent.
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