(Flashback) It's gonna be a long Spring...(Ren)

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, Day of Spring 44, 511 AV With a sigh of relief Orion glanced down at the letter he had received from his uncle regarding his request. He hadn't expected a reply at all, much less the offer which stood. The wagon's he had traveled with were finally in Sunberth, so he could finally get off his feet. As he read the letter again, a smile spread across the young man's face. Orion, I was so glad to hear from you! I'd not had word from Syliras since your father's passing. Hope this finds you well. All things considered I'm doing great here in Sunberth, despite it's bad reputation. I must admit, I was a little taken off guard to hear that you wished to come here of all places, but you're family and we've gotta stick together. If you need to get away from Syliras for awhile then please feel free to stay here as long as you'd like. I will only ask that you work and help me around the house. Make your way hear mid season. I'll have someone check the caravans from day 40 to 50, and if you aren't there I'll assume you aren't coming. Please send correspondence if that's the case! Either way, I'm looking forward to seeing you! Hopefully it'll be soon! Uncle Z P.S. Have I got a surprise for you! It was mid spring and he was here, just as his uncle had requested. It was a long slow trek from Syliras to Sunberth, especially because he had to travel with a merchant caravan for his own safety. But he was here now. The question was, who was that someone. He unloaded his bags from a wagon, looking around the area for anyone he may know. All he really saw were heavily armed men and laborers unloading wares. A frown darkened his face as he wondered where to go. "I don't even know his address. Did I really come this unprepared. So there Orion stood, a bag in each hand and a backpack stuffed full with all his worldly possessions. Glancing around nervously, he hoped whoever was there to pick up him noticed him. It was late in the day with the sun starting to set. He didn't want to be out in the open with everything he owned once night fell. Best case he'd be naked and alive. Worst, well he didn't want to think about that. Being dead would put a damper on his vacation. Where are you, Uncle? Orion was sure to be surprised when he found out just who came to retrieve him.

[Renalee]

A blonde girl that looked to be no more than 11 was sitting on the roof of a shed, bare feet dangling off the edge. The building, which was in an obvious state of disrepair, was one of the first houses on the eastern side of the city. This made its roof the perfect vantage point for anyone wanting to catch the first glimpse of any merchant caravans approaching the city from the general direction of Syliras. Ren had claimed it for her own exactly four days ago and would possibly be returning to it for the next six mornings. That is, if the one she was meant to be waiting for didn’t make it earlier than that. Ten days on a rooftop, waiting for someone you weren’t even sure would arrive, probably wasn’t the way most people would choose to spend the limited time Syna presided over the sky. The young Kelvic however, was perfectly happy with the task her father had given her. The cousin whose arrival she was expecting was someone of importance to Zalek and for now that meant he was important to her too. Ren spent her time peoplewatching, lounging on the mostly flat wooden surface of her roof which by the sixth bell of daylight became pleasantly warm. There was plenty of traffic in this part of the city, merchants often using it for a point of entrance to or exit from Sunberth and with the mid-Spring conditions for travel trade was prospering. Caravans would arrive every so often which would send the little girl climbing down from her watch tower and approaching the travelers. Sometimes she would ask after her cousin, others she would quietly observe the men and women unloading belongings and merchandise. Strangers didn’t often come to the city famous for its dangers and any new visitor would be easy to spot. Four days. Three caravans. A number of humans Ren hadn’t bothered accounting for. Two stories worth remembering. No cousin to speak of. The sun would be setting soon and the girl was considering calling it a day a little bit earlier and heading off to the docks. One of the bigger ships would be setting sail today and Ren wouldn’t mind being there to see it depart. Considering most merchants avoided traveling after mid-afternoon, making the chance of anyone arriving at this time slim, she felt justified sneaking off now. Renalee had just gotten up and was preparing to climb down when a small movement on the horizon caught her attention. She remained standing, eyes trained on the dot that was growing bigger with every tick. Soon enough it became apparent that it was a caravan of considerable size. As they approached the girl counted seven wagons in total as well as four riders that must have been hired guides and guards. It was no more than 10 chimes later when the first wagon made it past her shed and stopped a few horse lengths later. Humans jumped off immediately and without even waiting for the ones coming in behind them to stop they started unloading. Soon the open space between the first couple of buildings was filled with men and women moving between wagons and shouting instructions to each other over the noise of crates and containers of varying shapes and sizes being maneuvered around. Ren’s eyes scanned the small crowd that had formed without actually thinking she would find what she was looking for. That was until her gaze fell on a young man, standing in the middle of the commotion, looking quite lost. The girl moved quickly. She sat back down and getting a good hold of the edge of the roof she turned her body around and carefully lowered herself until she was hanging off, arms stretched above her head. She let go then, landing with a certain grace only her small form and decidedly feline movements could allow. Ren was quick to move around the merchants as well, ducking and swerving with practiced ease. Nobody paid attention to the small girl and she was standing by the lost-looking human in just a few tick. Her hand reached out to pull on the sleeve of his shirt a bright grin already on her face. “Would your name be Orion by any chance,” Ren enquired with obvious excitement, peering up at the man from under blonde bangs. “If you are, then I have been waiting for you for four days.” Her fingers still had a hold on him even if she had his full attention by now. “We weren’t sure when you would be arriving exactly. It was only mere moments that saved us from missing each other.” Words having flown out of her mouth at an impressive speed, Ren was now tugging at the man’s hand beckoning him to follow her away from the busy merchants. “What do you say we get out of the way? Whatever meat they were transporting has certainly gone bad.” Her free hand reached up to rub at her nose before she hurried forward, pulling the human behind her.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, Day of Summer 44, 511 AV Orion was nearly ready to just make his way to an inn or tavern to ask about his uncle when a peculiar little person grabbed a hold of the young man's sleeve. A child in her preteens with almost unique green eyes and blonde locks stood beside him, and spoke. He raised an eyebrow as said his name. Was this the 'someone' his uncle's letter had mentioned? Was this his surprise? Orion frowned as he thought over the situation. I didn't take him for one to have a slave. Either way, it wasn't his business. Sunberth allowed such trade, a very different culture than Syliras. "Yes, little one, I'm Orion. Do you work for Uncle Z?" The girl was dragging him now. It was busy, yes, but she sure was in a hurry. Orion went along with her, though. She was waiting for him, after all. "Well I'm glad you didn't leave. My uncle didn't give my any idea where he lived here in Sunberth." He smiled down at the young one. "Please forgive my lateness. I'll make it up to you, I promise. What do you kids like? Sweet things?" The child wasn't wrong about the smell. There were animals on the caravan, and while Orion's sense of smell had dulled to the horrible stench, it was quite obvious to anyone around as the large caravan arrived in the city. It didn't exactly have Orion smelling like sunshine and roses, either, even though he was oblivious to the fact. "So where are you taking me, little miss?" He raised his elbow to wipe his brow as he allowed the blond child to lead him from the caravan to who knows where. Anything was better than standing around and his feet were extremely sore from the long walk from Syliras and Zeltiva. It would feel good to get off his feet.

[Renalee]

The merchants moved in front of them to make way, grumbling in agitation at the pair. Ren stuck her tongue out at a few, but otherwise paid them no mind. Now that she had what she was sent out here to retrieve, the caravan, the humans, the things they brought and the stories they had - the blonde lost interest in all of them. The man - he had confirmed that he was indeed her cousin - was following her without protesting which was generally a thing Ren enjoyed. ”Do I work for Uncle Z?” The young Kelvic giggled as she tugged Orion to follow her into a smaller alley. Just as they rounded the corner she stopped abruptly and turned around to face him. ”Sure. Let’s say that.” The mischievous grin wouldn’t leave her lips as she held her hands behind her back and tilted her head upwards in order to see the man’s face better. ”After all I did have to come and pick you up.” Orion was tall - unfairly so - but then again so were most of the humans Ren met. He had short black hair and a bit of a stubble. His features reminded her a little of her own father, if slightly altered by the mixture of blood in his veins. The girl decided she liked his eyes - sharp and blue like the sky over the docks on a clear day. What she didn’t like however, was his current scent. It was too similar to that of the whole of the caravan with which he had travelled, thus denying the relief she had hoped to give her sensitive nose by putting some distance between her and the wagons. ”Yes, you will have to make it up to me. And I’ll take those sweets, although that won’t be the end of it.” Ren lifted a hand to rub at her nose again, not even bothering to be subtle about it. ”You will also need to take a bath when we get back. That said, we’re not going ho...to your Uncle’s place yet.” The girl wasn’t too sure as to why exactly she wasn’t letting her cousin know who she was, but what she did know for a fact was that it would be terribly funny once he did find out. Ren whirled around again and led him through a maze of small alleyways and streets, making turns with the speed and precision of someone who knew exactly where they were going and had been there many times before. Initially, the girl ignored Orion’s question about their destination in favor of looking over her shoulder at him and huffing in irritation. “Won’t you stop it with that ‘little’ business already? I have a name you know! It’s Renalee. R. E. ... uhm...” The Kelvic halted for a moment, looking disgruntled, and then declared more firmly than was necessary, so as to cover for the momentary trouble spelling seemed to be posing. “Ren!” “As for where we’re going, we’re going to go to the docks first. And you’re not allowed to say that you’re tired or you don’t want to, because you already said you’ll make it up to me for being late.” There was no way of knowing how long that reasoning would keep its strength, but the girl was already clever enough to know to exploit it for as long as it lasted. “It’s on the other side of the city.” Her voice was falsely sweet and innocent as she gave Orion another one of her toothy grins. “Welcome to Sunberth by the way.”

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, Day of Spring 44, 511 AV "How is my uncle doing these days," Orion asked, following her into the alley. He smiled at the way she got straight to the point. Laughing, he replied. "Yes, I suppose he did, didn't he? Well I'm quite thankful. I was totally lost." Orion hadn't expected things to turn out quite like this. A little girl was ordering him around, and he was too tired to resist. He wanted to be skeptical that his uncle would actually send such a child to take him through the dangerous streets of Sunberth, but she seemed to know where she was headed, so he buried those thoughts. Orion nearly laughed at her plain way of how she felt of his stench. It must have been bad, he thought, a small chuckle escaping his lips. It was too bad they weren't heading straight to his Uncles, though. He was sure he had blisters on his feet from the long trek, and he really did feel disgusting. It had been many days since he'd cleaned, though, so what could another hour or two hurt? Right..? Another attempt to stifle a laugh was unable to be contained as she expressed her discontent with his use of name. She was adorable. If she was his uncle's slave, he hoped he treated her well. She was a spunky girl if nothing else, and no doubt a handful. "How about I call you Miss Ren? You can call me whatever you want, as long as you're proper about it," he said, giving the young girl a playful wink. He'd not had much experience with children, but a little playful teasing could work wonders, he had found. He could only hope it was the same with his pint-sized guide. To the other side of the city? To the docks? What was this girl thinking? He shook his head, sighing. If she knew the way to his uncle's, he wouldn't have much choice but to play along with whatever game she felt like playing. He couldn't remember how large Sunberth was, but he knew it was a decent enough distance from the gates to the docks, so this day would only be getting longer. Worst of all, they'd never make it to the house by nightfall. So there he would be, everything he owned ripe for the plucking. "But I got here when your uncle said..." he weakly protested before being disarmed by an innocent smile. "Oh, fine. But we're even after this." He gave her a tired but genuine smile in return. "Thanks, Miss Ren."

[Renalee]

Their pace wasn’t anything impressive, but Ren knew all the shortcuts around this neighborhood. In the end it would probably take them half the time to get to the docks than it would have if they had kept to the bigger, busier streets. She had settled on walking by Orion’s side instead of skipping ahead of him. Her hands were clasped at the back of her neck, face upturned so she could look at the piece of darkening sky that was visible between the buildings. “My...uhm.” Ren managed to catch herself before ‘father’ slipped past her lips. She had to be more careful is she wanted to keep up with her charade. “...Zalek is alright. I mean, considering everything... He’ll be glad to see you that’s for sure.” It was true. The closer they got to the day the young Michaels was expected to arrive the more Zalek spoke of his brother and what he had seen of a much younger Orion during the time he had visited with his family in Syliras many years ago. It had only been a Season since they had lost Ren’s mother, but the visit from his nephew seemed to have raised the man’s spirits considerably. She would have to remember to thank him about it some time... right after she decided if they’d manage to get along or not. “Miss Ren?” The girl made a face. “How about you just call me Ren.” It came out as more of an order than a request, but it was what it was. “And I will stick to Orion. Unless calling you by your given name isn’t considered proper enough in Syliras,” she teased. Renalee had to wonder what the man thought she was to her father. Someone who helped him around the house? Perhaps a friendly neighbor? Although he had asked if she worked for Zalek. Perhaps he really thought she was an employee of some sort. She couldn’t help but laugh softly at the image of her father actually hiring anyone for anything and also at the expression she imagined on Orion’s face when he realized she was actually his cousin. Her hand suddenly shot towards the straps of the bag the man held in his right hand and, having taken him by surprised, she managed to easily steal it from him. It was heavier than it looked when he was the one carrying it, but Ren slung it over her shoulder and gave Orion a bright grin. “How about I carry this for you. I’m already dragging you with me to the Docks. Zalek won’t be too happy if I were to completely drain his favorite nephew on his very first night in Sunberth.” Ren had to admit she was rather excited to have her cousin visiting them. First there was the fact he was her cousin and her only living relative, her father aside. On top of that he was from Syliras - the place which had already gotten a hold over her soul through the most likely embellished stories of travelers. What wonders had Orion seen and how money journey had he made? Ren couldn’t help but be curious. And there was another thing that she wanted to know as well. “Why did you decide to come here of all places. Visiting family aside.” The girl couldn’t know her cousin’s motivation, but she was pretty certain it had very little to do with missing a beloved uncle. “Most try and avoid the City of Crime and only crazy people make it their holiday destination. Are you crazy, Orion Michaels?”

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, Day of Spring 44, 411 AV "The watchtowers have changed many times since the last time I saw my uncle. I hope he's well. The man didn't speak much of his situation in our letters back and forth." He let out a small chuckle at the girl's insistence she be called Ren. Spirited, wasn't she? "Fine. Ren will do great. And Orion is good enough, too." He smiled, thinking to himself. I've certainly been called worse. Renalee's sudden move to take his bag from him caught him off guard, or there's no way the man would have let this young girl take the bag full of his medical supplies. While no longer a practicing doctor, he felt like in a pinch he could do some work here in Sunberth, or at least pawn it off for some mizas if need be. "Ahhh...yeah. Thanks?" He was already drained, but he would allow the child, who was obviously filled with much more energy than he, to take the burden from him. "I'm afraid I'm already quite exhausted from the trip, but take care of me in our adventure here and I'll tell my uncle otherwise," he teased. Then came her question. Why was the doctor here. He couldn't tell such a young child he was here to sleep with any woman he wanted to seduce, could he? Nor should he really explain that he wants to do so in order to forget about a woman who died years before but still tormented him daily. So he went with vague instead. "Let me answer you like this. Syliras is a place of order and law. You know what you have. It's the same thing every day. It can get..boring." He shook his head and sighed. He left out the part about how his reputation for 'prowling' had gotten a little out of hand, leaving him with a need for a quick exit. "Sunberth, on the other hand, is a place completely different. And sometimes that's what someone needs." He looked up at the darkened sky. They were going to get something different for sure. What was so important at the docks? He had this feeling they weren't exactly the safest part of the town, not that anywhere was once the sun set. Oh well. Something completely different, right? He touched his belt where his dagger was for just a moment. It wasn't exactly reassuring. "And oh yeah, I'm totally crazy." He must be to have come here.

[Renalee]

If Renalee wasn’t with her father at the Castle Commons or out in the wilderness hunting and training you would most likely find her perched on a stool at The Drunken Fish, listening to the newest stories of the sailors. She had much love for cities she had yet to see and for people and races she might never meet. The words of the drunken men painted pictures of a world outside Sunberth with too many possibilities and opportunities to count. Ren would imagine herself making trips to this place or that, making stories of her own and seeing with her own eyes the wonders the sailors spoke of. Out of all the places she had heard about she dreamt about Syliras the most. The city of Knights and order where most people lived in a castle and everyone followed the will of a tree which was said to be a God. Ren had seen plenty of trees, if nothing else, and none of them appeared particularly other-worldly so she wasn’t sure about the latter, but everything else was fascinating. She wanted to go there so much that she had already convinced herself that the one who was meant to be her bondmate was from Syliras. To have a cousin from there, one that had grown up and lived all his life there, seemed like a particularly good personal treat and the girl was planning on making the most of it. Even if said cousin didn’t appear half as enthusiastic about his own city as she was. Ren led Orion through the backstreets of Sunberth, occasionally stopping to point out certain landmarks that would be useful in case the man found himself out here alone any time soon. “And this is Ruby’s Scarlet Sanctum. Where humans who can’t get sex on their own pay for it,” the girl elaborated matter-of-factly, in case the name hadn’t made it clear enough. “We’re almost there!” She grinned afterwards and tugged the man again, speeding up a little bit. When they finally did make it to the Docks the whole place was bathed in sunlight, the last rays of the sun skirting over the water surface. It was quite busy at the moment, the sailors from the crew of the departing ship running around and making last arrangements. Various crates and barrels were being carted around and men and women with tanned faces and strong arms were shouting instructions or goodbyes over the considerable amount of noise that was coming from everywhere. Ren all but bounded to a barrel of an impressive size that looked to have been abandoned a while ago, climbing on top of it with Orion’s bag still on her shoulder. She sat down, feet hanging off the edge and looked down at her cousin. “Keep an eye on your things,” she advised with a bright smile, as if getting robbed was something absolutely normal (which in Sunberth it was). “Things get missing when it’s so busy!” Her enthusiasm was due to the ‘busy’ part of her exclamation, but her tone of voice could certainly lead someone to believe otherwise. “Do you see that big boat over there?” The question was asked with her arm extended and finger pointing forward. It would have been impossible to miss the massive ship which could hardly be considered a ‘boat’, despite her fond reference to it as such. “It’s leaving today, you see. Headed for Kalea. The sailors say it would be many days before they see land again. That’s why they got so drunk last night, you see.” She giggled at that and would have continued telling Orion more about the latest Drunken Fish gossip if not for the approach of a man who appeared to be one of the sailors. He was tall with long black hair and an unkempt beard, with piercing grey eyes that seemed to never settle on anything. His stride was confident despite the slight limp on his left leg and he was quick to make his way over when Ren waved to greet him. “Hey Ren,” the man smiled as he reached up to ruffle her hair. “How’s your father kid?” The girl looked absolutely delighted to see him and be treated with such familiarity and offered one of her brighter grins. “He’s good. Working tonight. Says you still owe him a drink, Kemp.” “Persistent old bugger, ain’t he,” the man grumbled good-naturedly. “Aye!” “And who’s that young fella?” Kemp turned towards Orion, sizing him up. “He looks new. Don’t be so worried now, boy. Sunberth grows on you.” He grinned at that, showing a rather unattractive set of yellow teeth and patted his left leg meaningfully. “Is he yours, kid?” “For now. Relative.” “Ah! Good, good. Still some brave ones you haven’t chased away.” Ren stuck out her tongue at his teasing and made a half-hearted attempt to swat at his head which the man avoided with ease. “You keep your eyes open now.” Kemp gave Orion’s shoulders a solid thump. “This place ain’t for the faint hearted. I’ll see you at the Fish, kid.” He nodded to them one last time before turning around and limping away. Ren waved after him before settling more comfortably on her barrel. “That was Kemp,” she explained, in case Orion hadn’t caught his name. “He’s a friend.” The dock was starting to slowly clear out, most of the crew having found their way on board of the departing ship already. They would be setting sail in less than thirty chimes - just enough time for the sun to set as well.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, Day of Spring 44, 511 AV Ruby's Scarlet Sanctum, huh? Noted. A small but wicked grin appeared momentarily on his face. Orion quickly wiped it from his expression though, hoping the young girl hadn't seen it. No need for her to realize the extents of his debauchery. If he were honest, he hadn't found their depths. Oh boy. The young man was thankful for her tour, as much as he'd have preferred a warm bath and a hot meal. He was going to be here for at least the rest of the season, if not more. It was best if he knew his way around, right? He still didn't quite understand why she wished for him to go to the docks. There were boats from Syliras, too. Was there really something so much more special about these? He assumed the were made of wood and floated. Was there something more to see? He was brought back to a more urgent reality as she spoke of the loss of possessions. It was fine and dandy that she could speak so plainly about it. It was probably a part of her life. But if he lost these, he didn't have the money to replace them. Worse yet, he had the strangest feeling that he'd be likely to lose everything he was carrying, while that bag wouldn't ever leave her grasp. Her straight speaking made it so he'd wouldn't be surprised if she had a few of his trinkets by the time the night was over. All he could do was sigh. And sigh he did. It was a boat. She brought him to see a boat. He forced a smile as he looked up at it. "Yeah! It's a big boat alright!" He hoped his voice was more excited about it than he was. Orion tensed up noticeably as the stranger approached. This was it. Cut down in his first day here. I'm coming to you, Lyla. Over dramatics aside, the young man calmed as Ren and the man began to speak back and forth. Kemp. The man with the limp and an enviable beard. As they spoke, he noted this was Ren's first mention of a father. The man spoke to him, but he quickly found himself caught up on one word. He half waved at Kemp as he left and turned to Ren. "He's a friend," she had said. "And I'm a relative?" He tilted his head slightly, his blue eyes inquisitive more than anything.

[Renalee]

"And I'm a relative?"

The girl had been rocking back and forth on her barrel, the small movement the only way to express the pent up excitement. Her eyes had been focused on her big ship, eagerly following as the last few things were being pulled up on board with ropes and as the sailors running up and down the bridge were becoming decidedly more frantic. She had been mostly oblivious to the cousin she had dragged out here against his will and who seamed unable to appreciate neither the beauty nor the importance of the departing ‘boat’.

At his words however, Ren froze immediately, head turning slowly so she could look down at the man. She hadn’t realized at all that she had let the word slip, too excited to see her ‘friend’ to actually be mindful of the little game she had been playing so well before that. Orion appeared curious, if anything, and the girl wondered if perhaps she wouldn’t be able to salvage things. She decided it was worth a try.

Managing a laugh, which unfortunately sounded more nervous than actually amused the girl shook her head in the negative. “I meant Zalek’s relative.” She tried imitating her father when he was trying to explain something that seemed very simple and straightforward to him for the tenth time. “I’m close with your uncle. I suppose you could say that we’re like family. Just a slip of the tongue.” Ren shrugged attempting a certain air of nonchalance while keeping a close eye on Orion’s expression.

For the briefest of moments she wondered why exactly she was trying to salvage whatever was left of the ruse. He would find out sooner or later and, if she kept it up for too long, the man might disagree with her about how funny exactly it was. Still, if Ren had learned anything from gambling, it was that once you were in you were in and no amount of fighting or pleading would get you your money back - at most you could acquire an impressive enough injury. She was going to play at this until she could no longer do so and thus now she needed to figure out if Orion had bought her made-up explanation.

As it turned out she wouldn’t be finding out. Not right now anyway. Somewhere not too far behind them the Pig’s Foot’s door had swung open with a bang to allow a rather drunk-looking man to stagger outside. He appeared to be in his forties. Most of his hair was missing and whatever he had managed to keep hung in long greasy strands down to his shoulders. His cheeks and jaw were covered in uneven patches of beard. The nose that dominated a good part of his face seemed to have been broken an impressive number of times and was currently bright red in color to match the blotches that marred his entire face.

The man’s gut could not be contained by the stained shirt he was wearing (its color was impossible to determine) and spilled over a belt that had had one too many home-made holes. He looked very unstable on his feet which was probably due in small part to his very short legs that couldn’t support the body on top, but a much greater part to the amount of alcohol he must have consumed.
He wobbled surprisingly quickly in the pair’s general direction, probably headed towards Cherry Bay where most smaller ships and boats were stationed. He was muttering profanities under his breath, not really looking where he was going and thus managing to bump rather hard into Orion.

His reaction wasn’t exactly immediate, but the moment his hazy brain registered what had happened he turned around. His red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes managed to focus on the young man as he slurred, unable to keep his balance whilst standing still on his feet. “Watsh wheah you-ah goin’, vagik.” Strangely enough, only the swear word made it past his lips without any modifications made to it by his disobedient tongue. “Or do you’s have a pro-oh-blem?” The man hiccuped loudly, but swayed forward, lifting a threatening hand.

OOCSo, yes. I brought in another bloke. Thought it’d be funny. I also switched templates which you’ve already noticed. But I do have something in mind