[Temple of Ionu] A little magic....

[Flute]

18th Summer 512 AV


Enter Flute, a six year old girl orphaned by the death of her parents. She was hesitant to enter the quiet, grim looking place which clearly highlighted the meaning "No-playing-around." It wasn't like she was headed there to play around so why did it matter?

As she entered the silent halls, she thought of why she was there? Perhaps to beg for guidance? Perhaps to feel secure? Hell, even someone to talk to? An orphaned girl could not do so much- talking to gods is one way to shrug off loneliness. She stared at the empty lines of seats and that formal looking place at the centre. When the temple was not expressing service for the people, what was it used for? It only looked like some kind of museum to her, a museum filled with emptiness.

What was she even meant to do here anyway? Entering this cave-like place, looking for someone to talk to or for some guidance, she knew what she wanted but did not know how to gain them. For a cave, it did look refined though. Perhaps people here are more refined then the cavemen who lived in primitive stages... Well of course they would be, how much has the humans evolved in the past few ages? If one looked like a caveman or even bore a tiny resemblance, that would be quite shocking indeed....

The little girl boldly yet shyly entered place; boldly because she knew what she wanted and shyly because she was lost. Contradictions... Funny aren't they? Perhaps a little help would here....

... Would be appropriate.

[Anton]

The gifts of the Great Ionu are three. There are many gifts and many boons, though none represents so greatly the love and the affection that The Lord Trickster has for the city and the people.

The first gift is caprice. Dull routines are the enemy. Stale habits are the enemy. Stagnation is a foe like no other. The people had grown tediously predictable, grown weary and tired yet never knowing it. And so Ionu did intervene to open the eyes of the lost, and her gift was to the city, and it accepted her blessing, shifting and changing as it pleased.

The second gift is illusion. Where-

The door to the temple creaked open, breaking Anton from his reverie of sorts. He was sitting on the front bench, eyes closed and head bowed in prayer. Well, was, anyway. There was, after all, a reason why he preferred to pray alone and came to the less crowded sermons.

He peered over the back of the bench, expecting to see some tourist, or a fellow worshipper walking through those doors. Those were the most common sights, after all.

Instead...

She was so tiny, he thought. So frail, as if a stray gust of wind could have grabbed her by her blonde hair and sent her her off into oblivion. And the look on her face and the awkward, scared edge her body took suggested that she might not have minded such a thing, for she wasn't long for here anyway.

He knew how that felt, once upon a time.

"Hello," he said, trying his very best to sound kindly and polite.

[Flute]

The voice startled her, broke her out of the trance created by her own chain-of-thoughts. Her first reaction was to find the source of the voice and judging by the high pitched voice, it wasn't an old priest, whom she was most afraid to speak to; they had a scary aura about them that cried strict and stern.

She rest her eyes upon a young boy, not much older than her, calm and trying to start a conversation as if he wanted to help her, as if... as if he was familiar with his surrounding; was he a priest-in-training of some sort? The girl almost took a step back when she found that she was unable to form words with her mouth, tempted to run away and try again later. But something told her, now was the best chance to seek guidance.

Instead of a step backwards, she bravely took a few more steps towards the boy. She looked awkward and scared but then, she had every right to feel so. Flute wanted to say something but she hesitated, what was the best possible thing to say? Perhaps the best reply was an awkward greeting right back at him but again, that would not get her anywhere.

"H-help me."

The voice was afraid, lost, sad with many other emotions deeply stirred into it. It was a genuine cry for help, a cry where a wounded animal would make moments before facing its death. Why had she chosen those words out of everything she could have said? Not only was she scared and hesitant but she was also embarrassed. Perfect. Very good. If she wanted to look like some idiot that is.

"I.. I mean..."

The voice trailed off, unable to make amends the problem she had already caused for herself. Why was it so hard for her to say what she needed help with?

Wait.

Why did she come here?

[Anton]

"H-help me."

Anton's face filled with a sudden frantic panic, for when those two words slipped out of the girl's mouth, he got that horrible sinking feeling that she was on the verge of crying.

He just didn't know what to do.

He looked at her again. Looked at the face of a little girl lost in a big, big world. Looked on as she tried to say something else, failed, took a few step forward in a show of assertiveness that was as much for his benefit as it was for her own, and then try again.

Try again...

Yes.

He had to try.

He dropped down from the bench with a plop of his feet, and started slowly towards the girl, for he thought that even the sight of someone walking too quickly at her would be a jarring one. He stopped a few feet from her, keeping his distance, and giving her her own space.

"Hey, uh..." He gestured awkwardly to a bench. "Take a seat." He wondered whether there was a priest around. An adult, even. Someone -anyone- who would know handle this. "What's your name? Are you lost?'

[Flute]

As the boy walked towards her, yet another incredibly super mega hyper strong urge to just turn and run away into the town, disappear and never return. Embarrassment often people to wish things they do not want to do. Instead she stood rigid on the same spot, unable to react to whatever happened around her.

Flute was thankful that the boy had some sense and gave her room to breathe. It felt as if her emotions compressed her and made her feel like a claustrophobic person in a full elevator. It wasn't fear that made her feel this way, it was the sheer stress and embarrassment. She told herself she was not afraid. Lying to one self was one way of avoiding problems.

"F-Flute."

Abrupt and random, the word escaped her lips. It was not a normal name by any means, would the boy understand the point she was trying to get across? The shy voice felt reluctant to give the name but at the same time it felt she forced herself to give one. Minds of even little girls were quite complicated.

She said no words and she looked from the bench to the young boy, as if checking to see if she had his full approval before scurrying quickly and awkwardly sitting down, unable to make eye contact. She sat scrunched, as if the bench was full of people and she tried to fit herself into that tiny little space at the edge.

... This would be a long day for the both of them.

[Anton]

Flute.

Ironic name, really. She wasn't, given her state of mind, going to be playing a songs anytime soon. She was barely even talking, barely even processed his first question and completely missed the second one. What could do this to a little girl, to rattle her so thoroughly?

In Alvadas? Alot of things. From a particularly scary illusion to a sudden switching street to things that did alot more than just frighten you. In fact, forget the peculiarities that Alavada's warped brand of physical culture brought to the table. It could very well be a purely mundane issue that frightened the girl.

He thought about his last trip to the underground, and winced slightly.

He looked at her take a seat on the bench like it was the hardest thing she had ever done.

Perhaps it was her complete lack of, well, anything, but his confidence mounted ever so slightly. He recognized that he needed to take charge here, needed to be the one to ask the questions, needed to convince her to help him help her.

"Flute?" He tried to keep his voice gentle but firm. "Flute? You need to tell me what happened. I promise I'll do my best to help you." He wanted to put her hand in his, but something in his brain said no, no, no. "Please, Flute.I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

[Flute]

She sat silently, staring at her feet. The wooden seat was colder than expected and when placed in it -for some odd reason- there was comfort. True, the seat was uncomfortable as it was made with cheap materials to save the temple money and create much room as possible for the people visiting, yet... it relaxed her.

By sitting on such an antique, it gave her the feeling of belonging somewhere; thousands, maybe tens of thousands or how many more had sat at this place asking for help from the god, each with different problems. In this sense, the seat held a symbolic meaning (though many won't realise it); it connected all the people who had once been here, praying for help.

Knowing that she was like no other and gave her calm; she was not the only one with problems, many others got through with their lives and so could she. Her breathing returned to a natural state from one of anxiety mixed with fear as she slowly looked up at the boy once more with different set of eyes than ones which sat down. The eyes were livelier, more of which would suit a six year old girl.

Perhaps the surge was the work of god, one of many that was forgotten. How could a little girl just change from sitting on a seat? This could be argued, but the result was the same; miracle occurred and Flute could finally give a boy a weak smile of reassurance.

"I... I think I feel a bit better. Thanks, no-named person. You could have at least introduced yourself! How rude. You didn't introduce yourself and you want to know my personal background! That gives you negative points with the ladies you know!"

Her voice sounded a little angry but her face told otherwise; A little smile with her tongue poking her out to suggest it was a joke. How would this boy react to the sudden change? He would be at least taken aback... right?

"But... thanks for trying anyway. You are now on minus six points. You lost eight than gained two."

[Anton]

It was like a slap in the face, not only because of what she said, but also because of the most sudden of changes to her demeanor. Like a nervous child being accused of stealing, Anton reacted before he could think about what it meant, before he could even conceivably consider even attempting a retort.

"A-anton," he said, involuntarily looking away. And with that little stutter, he knew. Knew that his little attempt at taking charge of the situation had ended as quickly as he had begun. That was a chilling thing about little girls with big mouths, some quality about them that made facing down monsters in the underground a more enjoyable prospect in comparison. After all, he had weapons against those things. Could reasonably defend himself against them.

He stole another look at her, his eyes darting in, then out again. What weapons could he use against her? What defense did he have against her?

And what did she mean by negative points with the ladies?

Was this, then, some sort of elaborate prank?

...No. That was real, he thought. Real.

But say he was wrong...

His auristic sight still did not come to him as naturally and as smoothly as he hoped it would, but it was still a great improvement up from the lumbering attempts at perception that were his previous efforts. The world around him changed immediately, as if someone had thrown a blanket of wild color and mad sound over it.

He let it all filter out.

Ignoring her mention of point systems, which he didn't understand anyway, he gathered his courage and turned to face her and tried again.

And he Focused. Focused on her aura, and in the coming moments, try to observe the subtle fluctuations as she talked.

"What happened?"

[Daydream]

Congratulations! Here's your thread awards!

Anton

Skill	XP
Socialization	2 Points
Interrogation	1 Point
Rhetoric	2 Points
Observation	2 Points
Auristics	2 Points

• Flute: A Troubled Child
• Trying To Help
• Is this a prank?
• Any weapons against little girls?

Comments

'Tis a shame this thread didn't continue on longer. :/ Nevertheless, good job!

Flute hasn't been on since September so I just decided to leave her grade off. Flute, if you do come back and would like the awards for the thread, PM me to receive your loot.

Questions, concerns, or if you wish for a change, PM me!