Closed Cold Rush [Jasha]

[Inia Skyglow]

4th of Winter, 512 “That's really rather-” Inia wiped her sleeve across her face, removing a lump of half-melted snow from her cheek. “Wet. And quite cold.” She looked up at the tree, glaring, as if it was the tree's fault to have dropped snow on her. The girl ran her hands through her hair, wiping them dry. She trudged on, crossing her arms over her chest, more out of habit than necessity. She walked quickly, wanting to bury herself in her work as soon as possible. Despite her employment and pay, work never seemed like work, which suited Inia plainly. She grimaced, her steps quickening again, irritation leading to recklessness. Inia tripped, groaning as her mouth was flooded with slush. She lifted herself, but only slightly. Like as not, it was a strange sight; a girl on all fours at the end of a snow trench. After the prior night's blizzard, Avanthal was covered by a thick layer of snow. Any trip across Avanthal was likely to be an annoyance. Inia spat a mouthful of dirt and icewater onto the packed snow, standing in annoyance. “No, I was wrong. This is wet. This is what wet means. Face down in slush. That's wet.” Inia blinked, pulling snow from her eyelashes, frowning at her hands. A threadwork accident would smart today. She grit her teeth, her palms stinging in the breeze. She tucked her hands into her armpits, continuing carefully onward. The cold didn't bother Inia, nor did the effort in eking a path through fresh snow. The delay caused by pathmaking, however, drew the girl's ire. On another day, she'd probably be seated in Laria's by this hour, running her hands over leather and playing with a needle. The thought brought an appreciative grin to her face, though both were promptly squelched by her bleak surroundings. Though she loved Avanthal and its beautiful snow-covered buildings and trees, winter was too wet for her taste. Inia sighed and kept walking, her eyes on her feet. Tripping would be wet, she'd decided, and she'd prefer not to soak herself.

[Jasha]

Jasha yawned as he walked along, holding a stack of animal skins on his shoulder with one had and his spear in the other. His dog Vassi followed after him, hopping from one compacted foot print to another, his tongue lolling and tail wagging madly. He was on his way to sell his wares, the result of his first hunt of the season, two Snow Hares and a single, wild Woollie that he had unexpectedly wondered across. Jasha looked around, squinting through the glare thrown off the pristine ice as he tried to remember the directions his sister had given him. Groaning he rubbed his head and looked around, realizing that her directions made absolutely no sense. As he looked around he noticed a small figure walking further ahead of him, a woman from the looks of it. She was talking to herself and seemed to be having a hard time walking through the snow. While he watched the girl tipped forward, falling flat into the snow. Jasha winced in sympathy and made his way towards her in the hopes of lending a hand. "Good morning!" he called out, trudging toward her with Vassi following in his footsteps. "I was going to give you a hand up, but it doesn't look like you really need it." He said, watching her dust herself off and pushing the skins further onto his shoulder he leant his spear against his side and held out his hand. "I'm Jasha Frostfawn by the way." He paused, waiting patiently for her name in return.

[Inia Skyglow]

Inia nearly jumped when she heard a voice joking about help. Her eyes fell upon a tall man, leaning on a spear. He held out his hand, introducing himself as Jasha Frostfawn. Inia frowned a bit before extending her hand to meet his own. “My name's Inia. Wh-” She fumbled with her words when she saw his dog sitting just behind him. She leaned, staring at it curiously. “And who's your little friend?” She smiled, not caring if she seemed brash. Not waiting for an answer to her question, she ploughed on. “My thanks for any help you might have given, but you were correct in assuming that I didn't require it. Of course, had you spoken but a few moments sooner, assistance would have been all too appreciated.” Now it sounds as if you're scolding him, Inia. How about you try being demure or quiet, for once, instead of jumping for an attempt at dry wit? Inia groaned as she chastised herself. Frequently, she put strangers off simply by practising her sharp, caustic humour. Realizing her hand was still extended, she grinned sheepishly before stuffing it into the folds of her cloak. “So, what's a tall guy like yourself doing out on such a wonderfully frigid morning?” Inia chuckled to herself, her eyes turning a slight magenta as she smiled awkwardly.

[Jasha]

At the mention of his dog Jasha stepped to the side, tapping his leg to encourage Vassi to come closer. Nose working furiously the hunting dog approached carefully until he was sitting in front of the young woman, sniffing her hand curiously. Giving a small bark he pushed his nose into her hand, asking to be pet. "I'll be sure to speak up sooner next time." He smiled slightly as she drew her hand back to her side and into what looked like a very warm cloak. "Actually i was looking for somewhere to sell these skins." He gestured to his shoulder. "You wouldn't happen to know anywhere would you?" He asked curiously, studying Inia curiously, not dissimilar to his hound. The girl was quite pretty and Jasha regretted having not shaven earlier that morning.

[Inia Skyglow]

Inia eyed the skins slung over the man's shoulder. Oh, coincidence, thou art wily indeed, she thought, smirking. Visibly forcing herself to concentrate on the conversation rather than fawn over Jasha's dog, Inia locked her purplish eyes on his. “Well, Jasha,” she began, still smiling to herself. “Luck is in your favour today. I work at Laria's. She sells furs. Well, things made of fur and skin and other dead things.” Inia sputtered, blushing. “Sorry, that was rather macabre of me. Anyway, she might take those skins of your hand for a few mizas. You'd have to ask her yourself. I'm just a leatherworker. Still, you could follow me.” Inia beckoned him, resuming her current course and expecting him to follow. After a second or seven of walking, she turned to look back at him. He hadn't moved yet. Unperturbed, she stared for a moment, seemingly incredulous. “You're a hunter, Jasha, correct? By observing you, I can infer you've been a hunter for a while. How can it be you don't know Laria's?” Inia's face reddened again. “Not to sound prideful,” she said hastily. “I mean, I'd imagine you've had to sell furs before. So what have you done before today?”

[Jasha]

"And this isn't macabre?" He grinned lopsidedly, tilting his head toward the skins. Falling into step beside Inia. "Usually i'd sell the whole kill to the one man and he'd skin it and take the meat. After a while though i realized he'd been only paying me half of what the skins were worth. So i decided to skin the animals myself and sell the skins and meat at two different places." He smiled again, running a hand through his already messy hair and dislodging a few flakes of snow. He considered the girl, head tilting once again. "Not to seem too forward, but whats a pretty young woman like yourself doing walking to work on her own?" He asked, blue eyes lightening to the color of snow water and a cheeky smile slipping onto his face. "I would have thought you'd have any number of offers.

[Inia Skyglow]

He fell into step beside her, talking about his standard practices as a hunter. Inia looked at her feet, pretending to pay attention as her mind wandered. Capable, thinks I'm funny, honest, friendly, thinks I'm funny, she listed his traits in her head, her mouth curving in pleasure. Has a cute dog, thinks I'm funny. Smiles a lot, that's important. She shook her head, a bid to dislodge errant thoughts. Come on, Inia! Yea, he's nice, but that doesn't mean- He'd said something, a second ago. Something very interesting, to Inia. Something that, if she wasn't mistaken, would change her life. She shook her head again. Now wasn't a moment for second guessing, awkward pauses, fumbling speech, or odd idioms. She'd have to think on her feet, to improvise smoothly, to actually make something out of a social situation. She took a deep breath, seemingly calm. “Heh, what was that? Did you say what I think I heard?” Inia smiled confidently, though she was panicking, very surprised at herself. Improvisational flirting was not an ability she counted amongst her repertoire. “Well, if I'm right,” she smiled, moving closer and all but whispering in his ear, “and I most often am, then you can have your simple answer. Seeming forward is fine, but...” She turned, blushing even more profusely, and stepped away, head in her hands. She sat, her back turned to him. Seriously, Inia? You had to go and try to be girlish. What were you thinking? You could have played it safe, let him do the talking and just nod, but you didn't. Then you choked, and now look at you. Her concentration broken, she shivered, holding back sobs, any sense of social preservation having evaporated.

[Jasha]

OOCMerry Christmas! A hurried breath caught in Jasha's throat as Inia leant forward, spoke into his ear enticingly. Morwens' Breath man! He scolded himself as his mind all but went blank and his fingers twitched by his side, nearly making him drop his spear. Have some control over yourself! The poor girl'll think your some kind of uncouth vagrant! Be calm and don't seem too desperate! Even Vassi seemed surprised as he sat and watched them curiously. So surprised was he that he hadn't even noticed when she stepped away but stared down to road with cloudy, lost eyes. Realizing that she was no longer speaking he looked around, only to see her seated in the snow, hands covering her face and her shoulders shaking gently. Now even more shocked Jasha stepped forward and touched her shoulder gently. What did you do! His conscience screamed at him as his common sense scrambled for an answer. "Hey now," he murmured, as soothingly as he could manage. "Don't be like that." Unsure where to put his hands without offending her he hesitantly slid an arm around her waist to pull her back onto her feet. "Whats the matter?" He asked, turning her around so he could look into her face, his own showing little but concern and confusion. Vassi whined and crept forward, pressing his cold nose into her hand and licking her palm.

[Inia Skyglow]

Inia let Jasha help her up, still shaking. He looked at her sincerely, she could see that. She smiled slightly, then frowned again, reminding herself of her mistake. “What's the matter?” Jasha asked. Inia tried not to pout. She tried to look coy, clever, anything besides pathetic. In her own opinion, she failed, looking quite pathetic indeed. She mumbled something incoherent. Jasha raised his eyebrows slightly, and she shook her head, cutting him off. She raised a single finger, asking for a moment. Inia breathed, trying to calm herself. Wiping tears from her eyes with one hand, she stood up, still leaning on Jasha, not minding his arm around her waist, though she'd never admit it after what had just occurred. Taking another breath, she prepared to speak. She opened her mouth, promptly choking on her own words for the second time in a few minutes. Growling, she turned away from Jasha, pacing frantically, furious at her loss of verbal momentum and descent into an awkward spiral of social interaction. Nearly immediately, she realised that an outburst of anger was a very poor decision given the circumstances. She likely seemed emotionally unstable, perhaps even insane. Looking straight at Jasha, she took a third deep breath. “Alright, enough fiddly emotions. I don't know what quirky bit of flirtatiousness overtook my tongue a moment ago, but I don't sound like that. I'm not like that, I don't think of men that way, I certainly don't think of you that way. So when I spoke as if my thoughts did lean in that direction, I became very dismayed, and then very angry at myself for concerning you by crying. If that's not too confusing, we can keep walking toward... Where we were going. Or you can leave, if that was just too scary for you, which would be believable."

[Jasha]

Jasha waited patiently, watching as the woman collected herself, wiping at her face with her small hands and taking deep breaths. I have no idea whats going on... And that's saying something! I practically raised my three sisters, you'd think the female race wouldn't have anything left to surprise me with. Sighing he scratched the back of his head before giving Vassi -who had been watching the girl with just as much curious concern as his owner- a reassuring pat. As the girl turned back to face him and began to speak, Jasha tilted his head to the side, becoming more confused as each word left her mouth. She doesn't think of me like that? Damn, that's a bit disappointing. He thought to himself, slightly put out. "I have to say, I am quite confused, but i can handle it. I'd like to keep walking with you. Besides, I have no idea where I'm going, i'd probably get myself lost!" Laughing, Jasha blushed slightly. "You may think i'm a bit crazy, but i have to say, you seem even more interesting now than you did before."