Exchanging Stories For Soup

[Lixue]

Timestamp to be set by Coren The Luminary Commons of Avanthal was a busy place. People were moving constantly, some with food and some without. Wooden tables were evenly spaced out in the well lit room. A counter was set up with a kitchen behind it. Several people were taking orders behind the counter, where a line of people were waiting to place orders. Once the orders were placed, they sidled off to wait. Those who had already received their food were sitting at tables on stools. Conversation in the cafeteria was just as overpowering as the scent of fresh cuisine. Lixue strode in, barely making a dent in the busy room. Sliding her gloves from her hands, she placed them in a coat pocket. The tips hung out, bouncing as Lixue walked towards the line in front of the counter. Polite sorry's popped from between Lixue's pink lips as she bumped from moving person to moving person who had not seen her. Sometimes being short had a negative side. People often did not see her underfoot and stepped on her. A couple Vantha gave Lixue strange looks; she looked like a Vantha but was pale? This originated from her father, who was a normal human instead of from her mother, who was a full-blooded Vantha. Lixue's eyes, because of this mixture, only changed color with passionate feeling. The pair had fallen in love; the result was Lixue and her brother, who had a much darker skin tone than herself. Having joined the line, Lixue soon was near the front. For a moment, she contemplated what to eat. So many delicious items were for sale, including soups of a wide variety. Perhaps a simple sandwich would be easier to eat instead of slurping down soup? The question was what would be quickest to eat? Lixue had other errands to run and this was simply a hasty stop. Had to put fuel in to keep moving, after all. Speaking softly, Lixue was surprised the man taking her order even heard her. Moving out of the way, she only had to wait a few minutes before her meal was waiting. In the meantime, Lixue watched the Vantha waiting. Several were impatient; one was tapping his foot. Another had created idle conversation with the person next to her. She seemed sucked into the chatter, eyes swirling from several shades of blue to red and back again. A red nose on one man seemed the butt end of a joke for a small group of children. Most people in the cafeteria were taller than Lixue herself. Grabbing the tray with her sandwich and drink on it, Lixue began to make her way through the crowd. Where to sit? Not many tables were empty near the counter and door. Lixue would have to move all the way across the busy room to find an empty table. Her cane was difficult to keep from tripping people and Lixue had to switch her attention back and forth between the cane, the tray, and trying to spy an empty table. Perhaps this was the cause of Lixue bumping into someone; her attention had been elsewhere.

[Coren]

Winter 511 av 25th Coren let out a small belch and pulled his mask back into place as he finished his meal, not really wanting to waste any time he began to collect everything he had used on his tray before beginning to make his way through the crowd towards the place you had to dump your waste. He heard the cooks around here would have your hide if your table wasn't tidied up after you left. As he was forcing his way through the crowd he suddenly bumped into somebody and nearly dropping his own tray. Barely able to stabilize the entire thing in time. Unfortunately the smaller person he had bumped into wasn't as lucky, she was lying sprawled on the ground, with her drink splashed all over the hem of coren's robe and her sandwich was lying somewhere on the ground a few feet away. Coren got a guilty look as he balanced his tray on one arm and offered a hand to the fallen woman. “Erh... Sorry about that. Let me give you a hand.”

oocSorry its short, but I hope I gave you enough to start the thread with ^^;

[Lixue]

Lixue never knew she could fly, but it sure did feel like she was when the man bumped into her. One moment she was bracing herself on her cane and the next… Well, the next there was nothing but air under her feet. Had he shoved her or thrown her? Lixue's light weight often had this effect; when someone did something simple, it was magnified. A perfect example was whenever someone bumped into her. She often flew. The cane jolted against the unusual movements, jerking itself from Lixue's grasp on the way down. It tapped away, standing out pointedly on the floor. Far out of reach. Lixue was far more worried about trying to catch herself from the fall than about the walking tool. The tray had been dropped as Lixue tried to catch herself. The wonderfully smelling sandwich launched itself from the surface after the tray had hit the ground. Idly, Lixue was aware of the drink splashing on the cloak of the man who had bumped into her. Lixue had managed to land on her hands and knees, but one hand caught itself on the tray. Without warning, it slid away, taking her arm with it. A wince echoed across Lixue's pale face as her right knee connected harshly with the floor. Scrambling to catch herself, Lixue barely managed to do so. Gingerly, she sat back on her left leg, running a hand through her choppy hair. A sigh of relief was exhaled. The worst was over. She had taken falls before, many times. Having one bad leg tended to knock you off balance. Dejectedly dropping her arm to her side, Lixue glanced up at the man from beneath black bangs. Green eyes caught the guilty look just as he asked to lend her a hand. It obviously wasn't his fault. The Luminary Commons was packed. In fact, people simply stepped over the fallen food as if it wasn't even there. At least they had the courteousness to walk around Lixue. Tilting the corners of her mouth up, Lixue took his hand and was soon on her feet. A throbbing had taken place in her right knee, but she ignored that. Limping towards the cane, Lixue was pleasantly surprised when a young girl, only about five or six, held it out. "Thank you," Lixue murmured, giving him a forgiving smile. Picking up the sandwich was another story altogether. Thankfully, it had been cooked together and stayed together upon impact. Using the cane to help with her balance, Lixue bent her good knee and leaned down. The sandwich was scooped up unceremoniously, along with the tray. Balancing them on the unoccupied hand, Lixue straightened back up. A wince was shot towards the drink spilled over the man's cloak. "I'm so sorry," Lixue apologized. "Forgive my klutziness. There are some napkins over there, by the counter. If you'll wait one moment…" It was easier to slip through the crowd this time. Perhaps the crowd had thinned? Either way, Lixue was back in a few moments; the tray was gone. The sandwich had been thrown away and the tray stacked with others. A wad of napkins was clutched in one hand. "I would help you, but.." Politely, Lixue extended the tissues.

[Coren]

Coren just gave her a nod of his head as he pulled her back on her feet, whatever he was feeling as he saw her crippled leg hidden beneath the black mask that covered his face. “Well don't worry anything about it,” Coren said in a kind tone “It probably was more my fault then anything, I should have been paying more attention to where I was going right now then to where I was wanting to go in a few bells. Besides this cloak is so thick I could be buried up to my neck in snow and I still won't feel any wetness at all.” he quiped. “But sure I'll just drop of my own waste while you go and get those napkins then. Don't wanna walk around and look as if I wet myself.” He said after having looked down at his wet robe, the wet spot suspiciously close to his crotch. As the woman made her way towards the counter to get the napkins coren made his way through the crowd towards the nearest place with a garbage bin and dropped of his tray with a stack of others before he began looking through the crowd for the little woman and not seeing her through the crowd. Guessing that she probably first would go back towards where they bumped into each other. Coren smiled underneath his mask as he saw the short woman making her way through the crowd, seemed his idea had struck true this time and he quickly walked towards her accepting the napkins she offered. “Sure sure, its no problem at all.” Coren said as he began to wipe of most of the fluid of his robe. “Again I'm really sorry about bumping into you and letting you lose your luch. Do I need to pay the cost of it back?” Coren offered with a bit of reluctance in his voice, he always hated to part with his own hard earned money if he could avoid it. But it kinda was his fault that he wasted her food.

[Lixue]

Lixue could hear the lack of enthusiasm in the man's voice. Even though he had a mask on, she could imagine what his face looked like; pinched together in unwillingness. Making a mental note of how the man did not wish to part with money easily, Lixue idly reached up to brush a strand of stray hair behind her ear. How could he repay for the lunch that had taken an unexpected tumble? Lixue shifted her light weight onto her left leg. A barely visible wince flickered over her features before her expression settled back into thoughtful; a wrinkling of the nose and black eyebrows being pulled together. Lixue's eyes didn't change color with the sudden mood shift. "One moment, please," Lixue murmured. Ducking her head, she limped back towards the counter. It only took a few chimes to explain what had happened to the person behind the counter. If she had to pay again, Lixue would. If the food would be replaced, that was wonderful. Knowing the other customers in the line were the first priority, Lixue glided back to where the man had been standing. Blinking up at him with calculating eyes, Lixue began contemplating again how he could repay her. Thinking back, Lixue recalled the man saying he had to be someplace in a couple of bells. She enjoyed eating her meals with someone else just as much as the next person. Perhaps he would be willing to join her until she finished? The real trick was figuring out what the reasoning would be and if he would accept it. After all, the man had mentioned being in a hurry. Losing the thoughtful expression, Lixue smiled at him. "I don't suppose you would be willing to keep me company while I eat, would you? At least until I deem the conversation equal to the price of my meal." Lixue's green eyes sparkled with a hint of challenge. "If you have somewhere else to be, though…" she politely offered him an escape.

[Coren]

Coren gave a small nod as Lixue asked him to wait for a moment and she checked something at the counter. Before she came back and looked at him with a calculating stare. In response coren just looked straight at her, wondering what the hell was going on in his mind and more importantly trying to remember the price of a drink and a sandwich, whenever he saw a look like that on somebody's face they always tried to rip him off or where planning to do something else that he probably wouldn't like very much. When she suddenly lost that thoughtful face and smile and asked if he would like to join her at the table Coren let out a small relieved sigh, it seemed as if she wasn't out ot fleece him out of his money. “Well where I was going wasn't that important anyway, just planning to take a walk to be honest.” Coren said, “so sure I'll keep you company during your mail. Though I'm not really the best person to talk too to be honest. So should I already go and get a table while you try to get another sandwich?”

[Lixue]

Lixue had been amazed at how easily she understood the man. Being able to speak the language Common better than Vani often raised problems while communicating in Avanthal. She had learned how to speak the language Common from her father, who was fluent in it. Lixue adored her father and interacting with him and the few Common speakers of Avanthal had allowed her to understand Common better than Vani. A rare occurrence, for sure. On the other hand, Lixue's brother was a better Vani speaker than herself. The lyrical language her mother spoke was beautiful and entrancing. Lixue loved hearing Vani spoken and was still in the process of learning it. Her mother and many Avanthal citizens, unknowingly, were helping her. She spent several ticks translating what the man had said in her mind. One word was stuck, however. Lixue couldn't figure out if the man had said honest or an expression her mother would have gasped at. 'I am not the best person to talk to, to be...'. The sentence made more sense with the word honest than the other foul term. Smiling, Lixue answered his question with a nod. Yes, if he could go fetch a table, she would be gratified. Even on her tiptoes, Lixue couldn't see if her meal was done or not. Avanthal may have been full of reasonably short people, but Lixue could not see over their heads. How many chimes had passed? Earlier, nearly five had elapsed before her meal was ready. The red nosed man from earlier was gone. He had been near the back of the line when Lixue's food had been spilled unceremoniously. Surely enough time had passed to consider her grub was finished! With this thought in mind, she made her way through the packed room towards the counter. On the way, Lixue's cane accidentally squashed someone's covered toes. The child had begun wailing, attracting the mother's undivided attention. Scooping the crying toddler into her arms, the mother began to admonish Lixue. The woman was speaking so quickly in Vani and Lixue's head spun from trying to keep up. How could such a lyrical, angry voice be so spellbinding? Clumsily, she tried to cut into the woman's berating, "I'm sorry! I did not mean to. I never would do that on," a pause as Lixue searched for the right word, "purpose." Ducking her head, Lixue disappeared into the crowd. The yelling mother and screaming kid were behind her. Sure enough, Lixue's meal was finished and waiting. Giving the man behind the counter a quick, polite, smile, she balanced the tray on one arm, fingers clasped tightly on the other side. Scanning the room, she easily found the man from earlier. He was the only one wearing a mask and cloak. Limping in his general direction, Lixue only had one question floating through her mind: Why would he wear such a thing? The chair screeched across the floor as Lixue pulled it out. The tray had been set on the table and the cane learning against it. Without thinking, she told the man in Common, "My name is Lixue."

[Coren]

As the small woman in front of him gave a nod that yes she would appreciate that he would go and fetch a table. “Well then, see you in a moment then.” Coren responded as he turned around and began pushing through the small crowd, hoping to find a table that was still empty or at the very least had enough space left for two other people if there really was no other option. After some chimes of futilely searching for a completely empty table he finally caved and decided to settle for the lesser option. He made his way towards the first table with at least two spots left. “Excuse me,” Coren said, catching the attention of the group of vantha sitting at the table. “Would you mind if I and somebody else would sat down here?” coren asked in a polite tone. “Almost all other tables are already taken.” One of the vantha, a woman, looked up towards coren with a smile on her face. “Sure, sit down, we don't really mind.” Coren gave her a gratefull nod as he sat down and made himself comfortable as he waited for Lixue to come back with her food. He didn't really need to wait for that long before he managed to spot the short woman trying to make her way through the crowd towards the table. As she suddenly began to talk in common coren gave her a blank look for a few moments before his mind finally switched gears and managed to translate it. “Well, nice to meet you Lixue.” Coren said with a thick vantha accent. “I'm Coren, from the skyglow hold. Nice to meet you.. If you don't mind me asking, why did you suddenly switch over to common?” Coren asked in a polite tone, hoping to get the conversation started.

[Lixue]

The Skyglow Hold specialized in the arts. Sculpting, painting, and drawing were only a few examples of the amazing talents these individuals had. They could also sew, weave, carve, and blow glass. The pictures created hung in all of the holds, along with public places. Lixue's family themselves had a painting from one of the Vanthas within the Skyglow Hold. It depicted Morwen and her infinite love of the Vantha race. Natal had once told Lixue that the Vantha from the visual arts hold controlled the lights of the sky in their fingertips. Captivated by the tale, Lixue had naively asked, "Why do they have brushes then?" To her young brain, the question seemed to make sense. If you could directly put a color onto paper through just skin, why would you bother using a utensil? Lixue's mind had not yet learned paint could not be transferred in such odd ways. Natal had gently laughed, smoothed back her daughter's hair and placed a motherly kiss on Lixue's forehead. The next time Lixue saw a Vantha from the Skyglow Hold, she could not resist asking them to show her their fingertip lights. It took quite a bit of explaining from Natal before they understood. The chair was comfortable, but Coren's question was not. Taking the time to think the matter over, she instead murmured softly, "I forgot to mention. I originate from the Whitevine Hold." Reaching out, long fingers wrapped around the cheese sandwich. The bite Lixue took practically melted in her mouth. How could a chef learn to cook this well? Realizing Coren was still waiting for an answer, Lixue chased the food down with a sip of her drink. She wasn't quite certain Coren would understand the language barriers, but she was willing to let him decide. After all, he had seemed polite so far. "I switched to common because I understand it better than the language of the Vantha people." A pause as Lixue reached out to keep her cane from falling as someone brushed past. It seemed almost to be a habit than conscious movement. "My father, Lonis, was a foreigner. I learned common from him. I can speak the language of the Vantha people, but not as well." A light, airy giggle escaped the petite girl. "Seems strange, does it not?" Smiling, Lixue's cheeks were tinted red. Obviously this was not the first time someone had asked her the very question Coren had. It still embarrassed her a tad bit to say she was born in Avanthal, but did not speak the main language. Telling the reason also proved she was a daddy's girl to the core. Swallowing another bite of sandwich, Lixue tilted her head to one side. "You mentioned being from the Skyglow Hold. Would you happen to know anything about sculpting?" Politely and cautiously, she tiptoed further into the topic. "I'm sure you have other things to do, but I just wanted to ask you, if you did know anything about sculpting, to keep me in mind if you ever have some free time." The impulse had overtaken Lixue and the words had spewed from her mouth without warning. To keep from inserting her foot further in her mouth, Lixue instead filled her stomach with another bite of her delicious sandwich.

[Coren]

Coren folded his hands and patiently waited till Lixue would break the silence that had fallen in between them and answered his question. Though the way she was trying to focus on her food first he was guessing he might have hit a sore spot and she was trying to ignore the question. Just as he was about to retract the question and change the topic to something else that would hopefully be a little bit less offensive to Lixue she answered in common. “Well, while it is a little bit strange, it hardly is something to be really ashamed about.” Coren said in a kind tone. “At least it will be a lot easier for you to interact with people who aren't from avanthal in the first place. Which might come in handy if you want to work with outsiders since I heard that some of the more mentally challenged foreigners never manage to even grasp the basics of our language.” he added the last sentence in a joking manner. “But if you really are a bit embarrassed about your less then fluent vani maybe we should switch back to talking in it. It might help you out with the harder parts of it.” He offered. The question that followed quickly cooled down coren's good mood and for a few scant moments his eyes flashed a threatening yellow before fading back to a neutral light green as coren managed to shove those bad memories of his failures and his families disappointment out of his mind again. “I'm sorry, but I would have too pass on that request. I don't have any skill in any of the arts nor do I have any interest in any kind of art to be completely honest. And I would very much enjoy it if you did not try to inquiry further about this subject, after the first ten years those questions get pretty tiring.” Coren replied to her in a slightly annoyed tone. It was pretty clear that coren didn't wish to talk about art. “Now then, have you ever visited the library we have here in avanthal?” Coren tried to switch the subject to something he was comfortable with.