A stroll in Alvadas (Iliana and Miro)

[Almech]

Fall 44th 511

Almech was in a playful mood today as he walked about in the city of Alvadas, taking in the sites, enjoying the different smells of city life. He still wasn't quite used to this, being free concept, but he was warming up to the idea as his days of misery were over. The streets were particularly busy on this day, and alot of people seemed to be in the same direction. He followed them, wondering where they were going, he heard a man speak "I hear the street performance today is really good". Street performance? it sparked Almech's interest quite a bit, and sounded like it could be fun. He heard the same man speak again "We had better hurry though, I also heard the crowd is getting rather big". Almech's ears perked up a bit hearing this, he felt like going for a short run today, and so he did, making his way passed the crowd of people heading the same way.

He accidentally knocked a few people over in his excitement as Almech had never seen a street performance before. He could hear those he bumped cursing at him, he would have apologized if he was in his human form. Indeed there was quite a large crowd of people, he liked the convenience of being a dog. Maneuvering around, he would crouch and walk through the in between of people's legs and such to get a 'front row seat' so to speak. After he'd finagled his way through the crowd he found himself within the circle of spectators. He shook his body as if he was wet, re fluffing his fur before he sat down to watch. The man he heard talking was right, watching this performance was a pretty good idea. Right now there was a group of jugglers, juggling swords between them, Almech was sure someone was going to be injured, but their skill was simply astounding.

Next were the fire eaters, they were cool too, he wondered how they did it, perhaps they used a lot of saliva to put out the flame before it burned? He was fairly curious about it but his thoughts on it caused him to be less impressed than he was before. The next performance came to him as a surprise as he watched Iliana take the 'stage'. He'd seen her in Avain manor, she took the room he would have taken had he actually slept in the building, he preferred to sleep outside in the courtyard, apparently she was a new tenant helping spruce the place up. He watched her dancing performance, she had talent in it, her movements were kind of ridged at times but it was still a sight to see. It was somewhat hypnotic in it'self, as he caught his head moving rhythmically as she danced, imagining the kind of music that could be played. After she was done it seemed the performance was over, the crowd dispersed but Almech stayed where he was.

He approached her feeling it was as good a time as any to introduce himself, he trotted up from behind. He barked a few times at her, and sat down with his mouth open and his tongue hanging out the side. He was making the classic big dumb playful dog face. The sun was shining brightly, causing his eyes to squint a bit as he looked up at her and the shined brilliantly. He didn't take his human form, as he'd recently learned that public nudity was frowned on by most. This was unfortunate as he couldn't speak in dog form but that didn't keep him from trying to make a new friend.

[Iliana]

Iliana smiled at the crowed as she was preparing to begin. With a feeling of dismay she notesed that there were no puddles or even a fountain near by to aid her in her performance... but taking a deep breath she steeled her resolve. A true performer did not depend on the environment to assist her, but shaped the environment for her own use. With a smile she closed her eyes, sending a plea to Makutsi for grace and elegance before she took her starting pose. One foot was straight and braced on the ground, the other was slightly bent and her toe rested lightly on the ground as she lifted her hands over her head. With her eyes closed and her hands stretched upward, Iliana looked like a statue of prayer to the Goddess. Then, with a light giggle she spun, breaking her still prayer and leapt into the first sequence in her dance. Without her reimancy Iliana felt exposed, limited almost as she twisted and spun from one form to another. She knew that she was not one of the greatest dancers of Alvadas, but at least with reimancy she could stand out in a crowd. As she was completing a series of light steps and spin, Iliana felt her foot catch on a loose stone and she stumbled slightly. With a desperate plea to Makutsi she shifted her weight so that the stumble turned into a roll, coming to her feet and adding a slightly wobbly cartwheel at the end to compensate for her increased momentum. Iliana shook her head and continued her dance, feeling a bit put off by her mistake but determined to make up for it. An idea came to her as she was moving from one low bend to another, and as she spun once more she began gathering her res in the soles of her feet. Uncertain if it would work, but still determined to try, Iliana released the res, willing it to spin around her, in the opposite direction of her own spin, and transformed it into air. The sudden spinning air caused dust to be picked up and a gust of wind to sweep out from her in a wave that swept through the crowd. A smile touched her lips as the wind calmed and her own spin came to a stop, her arm stretched over her head once more. Her breathing heavy, Iliana looked around at the crowed, waiting for their reaction. They seemed to have enjoyed themselves, however, to Iliana's dismay, they did not seem overly impressed. As the crowed began to disperse, Iliana sighed and lowered her arms, running her fingers through her blue hair and cursing herself for her failure. Admittedly, it had not been one of her best performances, but even so Iliana thanked Makutsi for her guidance and skipped over to the old hat that was sitting a short distance from her performance area. She was not surprised to see that the days earnings were not overly satisfying... But the not every day could yield vast riches, she reasoned. Then the sound of a dog barking behind her caught Iliana's attention. Turning she looked down and spotted the wagging tail and happy grin (For most dogs seemed to grin in Iliana's oppinion) of Almech. Her smile returning she knelt down and scratched him behind the ears, "Well, you enjoyed my performance at least, didn't you boy?"

[Miro]

Miro ran through the alley as fast possible. Boxes and crates littered the alley, but they would not slow him down. As he came to the first he jumped up, planted his feet and tumbled forward into a roll then resumed his stride. A rather large one was coming up next, obscuring a lot of the walkway. He hopped up to the wall, planting his hands on the crate and his foot on the wall. Then, pulling his djed flux to his arms, he pushed up and allowed his feet to move aside the crate while he soared over it. After a rather harsh landing, causing him to stagger down to the ground, catching himself with his hands, he returned to running.

The rest of the obstacles were easily avoided with quick hops to either side, granting him a route out of the alley. As soon as he was out he moved around the corner, pressing himself against it carefully. "Are they still after me?" He peaked back around the corner quickly before returning back to his hiding position. A bead of sweat ran down his brow. "How can they still be after me?" While wiping the sweat from his brow he glanced over, seeing something interesting.

A crowd of annoyed people seemed to disbanding. Miro fought against the crowd, forcing his way to the once center of the commotion. When there he saw Iliana and a dog. She was kneeling near him and petting him. He overheard her talking to him, and it seemed that her performance didn't go over so well. Miro casually approached her, wondering what he might say, hoping not to upset her. "Hello Iliana. It looks like I just missed your performance. What a shame, you make magic look so majestic. Would you mind doing another one? I think I have a miza or two on me." Miro cast a gentle smile at her, hoping she wouldn't be too upset.

OOCMiro isn't being followed, he is playing pretend.

[Almech]

Almech pushed his head into her hand as she scratched behind his ears and his leg started kicking wildly "Well, you enjoyed my performance at least, didn't you boy?", Almech barked a few times playfully answering her question. He vigorously licked her hand when she stopped scratching, his way of showing his gratitude for her getting rid of that horrid itch that always seemed to haunt the back of his ears. He was glad he could make her feel better about her performance, he blinked a few times and ended it squinting his eyes, breathing heavily from his mouth as his tongue hung lazily to the side.

He then caught a familiar scent, it was miro, Almech turned to him and ran stopping directly in front of him, he got up on his haunches placing his paws on Miro's shoulders and barked. Miro would definately be able to tell what this was about, as Almech's eyes never told a lie looky looky, look who i found were his thoughts as he kept looking from her to miro and back. You could now truly see his size, standing nearly 2 feet taller than Miro, he backed up a bit and let his front paws hit the ground, he then started pacing back and forth between Miro and Iliana excitedly with his tail wagging, his fur fluttering in the breeze it was making.

"Hello Iliana. It looks like I just missed your performance. What a shame, you make magic look so majestic. Would you mind doing another one? I think I have a miza or two on me". Almech turned and looked at her excitedly, if he had any coin on him he would've chipped in as well, so he approached her and barked, sitting down he looked up at her with those begging dog eyes. He let out a whimper, but it was more like a mixture of a whimper and a grunt, most people would have found it odd that this dog was in his own way taking part of a conversation without actually needing to speak.

[Iliana]

Giggling Iliana set her forehead against Almech's, smiling happily at the animal's playful demeanor. In truth Iliana loved animals, but her father was allergic to their fur so she had never been allowed to have a pet. So for the girl, Almech was like the bunny she had never had. Smiling brightly Iliana wrapped her arms around Almech's neck, letting his warmth and soft fur sooth her disappointed heart. Leaning back Iliana planted a kiss on Almech's furry brow, giggling at his pink tongue hanging out of his mouth. Then Iliana heart a familiar voice, and her heart skipped a beat. Turning Iliana saw Miro coming toward them, and her cheeks flamed in equal parts embarrassment and fluster. Brushing back a strand of blue hair the girl turned her gaze to the side, unable to meet the man's cheeful eyes with her own. Shaking her head she remained silent, burying her head in Almech's fur instead. Give another performance? No... Not after that fiasco, and certainly not before this man... She pressed her face in the Kelvic's fur for a moment longer, taking in deep breaths to steady her pounding heart. With a sigh, and a quick prayer, Iliana fixed a smile on her face and stood, turning to look at Miro, "I do not think I shall be performing again just yet, but perhaps another time? And of course I would never take your Mizas." Giggling, Iliana absently twirled a strand of her hair. Secretly she was very pleased at Miro's compliment, and it did help to lift her spirits. Blinking Iliana looked down as Almech began making strange noises. Smiling she knelt down once more, taking the Kelvic in a tight embrace. Though she did not know what he was saying, she knew what he meant and she was grateful. Leaning up Iliana nuzzled her cheek against his fur and whispered soft praises in his ear, scratching him and rubbing his pelt as thanks for his kindness. OOCSorry if this post seems a bit weird sounding. I am still getting used to my new computer

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Almec XP Award: Observation- 2 Lore: Getting a front row seat Notes: Name:Miro XP Award: Acrobatics- 1 Climbing- 1 Flux- 1 Running- 1 Lore: The obstacles of Alvadas Notes: Name:Iliana XP Award: Dancing- 3 Acrobatics- 2 Reimancy- 1 Lore: Preforming- A battle to gain lost ground Notes: Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM