PM to join Peer Pressure

[Una Tanta]

68th Day of Spring, 513 AV, Morning She raised an eyeridge at his interjection, "I would most certainly say you are, every other person has to fight to be noticed by the gods, let alone have their protection. She has built this entire city for you, she only leaves you for a quarter of the year. You are a spoiled people, at least you should feel spoiled. If you don't then you are taking her presence for granted and that is an even greater shame. Just because you are used to the Kelvics that doesn't mean they are not as wonderous as the Eagles. Their duties to their cities are similar but Kelvics are easier to comprehend since they take on a figure much like yours, while the Eagles don't. Just because something looks similar to you that doesn't make it any less miraculous and powerful." She spoke sternly not angrily to the Vantha, he spoke from ignorance and youthful thinking. The more Vantha she met the more disappointed she came. Cy had been intellectual, spending days participating in long debates with her. She had thought since Avanthal was a city of stories they would be equally wise and intellectual but it seemed instead their fascination with storytelling rose from a desire for prolonged childhood. It was adorable and appealing, Una thought, she loved the exuberance of childhood but she also thought it a pity, adulthood could be equally as appealing. "Certainly, accompanying would be no trouble at all, you seem to have trouble going through the snow, if I noticed wrong?" She blushed at the inquiry and nodded slightly as they walked away. Following Veizor and stopping at the stall he did she glanced around her and was disappointed to see Celyn hadn't accompanied them. Running her fingers over the luxurious items she lifted a fur lined scarf to her cheek and rubbed it gently against her closing her eyes and smiling, "gosh..." she murmured. She had never agreed with the bartering technique of acting like the sellers wares weren't worth her money to get a lower price, if she thought something was beautiful she thought the seller should know she loved their wares. Putting down the scarf she ran her fingers over the other items before finding a pair of red leather gloves trimmed in white rabbit fur. The gloves came halfway up her arms, a popular design that kept the snow out. She experimentally slid her fingers into them and picked up a ball of snow from the ground and giggled when she couldn't feel the stabbing cold through the water-proof treated leather. Smirking she threw the snowball at Veizor and ducked behind the stall to avoid his revenge. "Haha!" She squealed and ducked next to the vender. "How much?" She asked watching Veizor carefully. Laughing at her, "30sm!". Gaffawing at him she shook her head, "No way! 20sm!", "Don't make me help this young man. 25sm!" He demanded playfully his wiry beard moving as he laughed. "DEAL!" She squealed as she grabbed the other glove and tossed the mizas at the man before picking up another snowball and chucking it at Veizor before she dashed to the next stall.

[Veizor Coolwater]

The "valid" argument was most definitely invalid regardless whether the Charoda believed it or not, but it was a trivial matter. At the end of the day, the kelvics were appreciated for their service as much as Veizor appreciated the eagles for existing as exceptional song material and scaring the crap out of anyone who made them into an enemy. With much of what she said in retaliation going one ear and out the other, the conversation was very much welcome. The minor bickering was common among the children in Avanthal, so it couldn't be something bad when kept at that level. "Haha! You get to have the final word then, it is not that big deal of a matter anyhow," laughed Veizor, quietly admiring the Charoda's urge to be right or have the last word on things. She wasn't fond of being last in a contest, whether it being verbal or physical, no doubt about that. Opinionated on all matters that interested her and intelligence to back it up, she was more suited for the universities of Zeltiva or the mages back in Syliras if a lively debate was her fancy. Of course, the Vantha have read the most literature for their own show's and stories benefits, but its all under a veil of theatrics and dramatic flair that few appreciate. With this, the Vantha could be considered one of the most misunderstood people in the continent. Looking at the way she caressed the fabric, soft touch against her cheeks, it was funny to see her feminine side. "So she does have feelings!" realized Veizor, laughing once more to himself. Even though she wasn't a human, the females were all the same in some aspects. The particular piece that had been picked up certainly was something to look at. But, it caught him off guard when she placed it on her hand, looking at the vendor himself in caution. Disrespect to touch one's merchandise without purchase! With no time to react, the ball of snow splattered across his face, snowflakes peppered into his eyes, nose and some even in his mouth. Their was next to no reaction to the cold, moreso to the impact. Tongue swirling around his lips to have his teeth chew up the snow, he engrossed himself into the snowball fight. While the man was bartering the prices with Una, the mark of Morwen lit brightly. While she was distracted, he simply used his thought to make the ice around her feet take shape, creeping up her legs in a quick fashion. By the time she looked down to pick up another snowball, she would be surprised. "Did'ya think I'd let you get away that easily missy? Jesters have the best trick of them all, after all," he said, laughing before the snowball still hit him square in the face. Another mouth full of snow, not pleasant indeed.

[Una Tanta]

When she leapt to dart behind the next stall she looked down in surprise. Her legs were frozen to the floor. Wearing only a thin dress and boots the cold instantly slipped through the fabric and slowly began to gnaw its way into her bones. Once it was there, it would take hours to get rid of. Laughing when her snowball interrupted him she toppled herself over. Pulling at her legs she bit her lip and gathered another snow ball in her hand ready to launch should be come around the stall to see where she had gone. The first time she had met him she had been inebriated, this time their meeting had happened in the middle of a fight with a bunch of boys, but with the tension lapsing and her mind clear she found she was enjoying his company. Wiggling herself free of the ice now that she was at a better angle to beat at it she readied herself to leap around the stall at him. Launching herself in the air she was brought up short by the vendors firm voice, he had obviously had enough of their antics now. "You kids go play elsewhere!" he demanded, startling her mid-leap which landed her on her face. Rising up, quickly reserved and ladylike she apologized to the vendor and taking Veizors arm pulled him away from the stall with her. They spent the next couple hours enjoying each others company as they shopped and Una purchased the necessary clothing to be properly attired and warm in Avanthal. Her dress thoroughly soaked from their snowball fight as soon as she was done shopping she stopped in the middle of the street and slipped the gown from her shoulders. Not noticing the odd stares from the passerbys as nudity was completely natural to her in the water she began to fight with the black velvet underclothes. She was used to the ill-fitting cheap garments she bought for her few ventures on land, now that she was there more permanently, and so far north she had bothered to spend time shopping for clothes and had found it delightful. The soft fabrics, and luxurious colours made her giggle and shiver with delight. Only Cy's touch was as soft and luxurious. Fumbling with the black cotton breeches she tried to put both legs in at once so as not to get them wet before realizing she should have done one at a time and ended up once again in the snow, on her butt. Pulling them up her thighs she blushed enormously red, embarrassed by her clumsiness. More slowly and carefully she pulled on the brocade blouse and white knee-high stockings before the outer layers. The gloves, scarf, and matching red jacket with hood all lined in white rabbit fur. Done she turned to look at Veizor and beamed twirling in front of him like a little girl, "What do you think? Do I look like a Vantha?" With her entire body covered except for her eyes, she certainly looked warm and well dressed. Though the Vantha usually wore all black or bright colours her matching red outer layer, which to her looked like the coral of her home, looked more like a bloodstain against the snow in Avanthal.

[Veizor Coolwater]

Slowly creeping closer to catch a glimpse of Una, witnessing her efforts to pry herself free from the ice shackles. The sight was hilarious, bringing warmth to his heart and a rumbling laugh out of his mouth. First with her falling over in a comical fashion, then the remembrance of the look on her face when she saw the snow sprawled over her legs to hold her in place. He kept a close eye on her eyes and the space around her in general, Veizor did not plan for another surprise snowball to hit his face. Another stall was close to him so he was partially covered by the pole, not being much use against anything other than a snowball for protection. With the projectile flying straight his way, a swift ducking motion was his instinct. Majority of the impact was absorbed by the pole, splitting the snowball in a sense. It was an eventful evening no doubt, something totally unexpected even for Veizor. He felt a little bit different. His own whimsical speeches and poetic wording was not much well-received, more than he was used too, so he felt like he had evolved his own psyche. Maybe not as 'mature' to strangers that would be needed for a boy his age, he started to gain a feel for when it was necessary and when it wasn't. But of course, he would not change for anyone. He would just choose his moments more wisely, whilst courting the female gender anyway. Walking towards Una, her sudden jumping maneuver followed by a failure of a landing resulted in a suppressed snicker, before he jumped himself at the scolding by the stall vender. Heart melting at the sensation of having his arm grabbed my a sea maiden of unrivaled beauty to go shopping, the adventure continued. Many joyous moments and bonding was experienced in the couple hours, with a fair share of haggling of prices and harmless bickering between the two. Veizor sensed that she was enjoying herself, because he most certainly was. He usually was one of laughter and jest, but today just seemed to be a good day for him. But, when the Charoda had suddenly decided to change in the middle of the street, he jumped back. Turning the other way, arms crossed and eyes closed, Veizor repeatedly whispered to himself, "Don't look, don't look, don't look..." over and over again, with his face redder than a Myrian battlefield. Obviously, even though one could arguably consider Veizor a womanizer despite having no intentions of the sort, he still has no experience when dealing with a womans' body. His own embarrassment also came from being associated with a fish woman nudist in the middle of the Avanthal marketplace. Hearing a thump noise, he did not care to imagine what it was until the other people around the vicinity made muffle laughs. He took the cues as she fell once more, the image in his head supplementing his own humor. Turning around once the Charoda started inquiring about her appearance, Veizor was fairly impressed and stunned that she blended so well with his own peoples attire. "Well! You make one fine Vantha, I shan't dispute the exquisite fashion sense that you have," he began to ramble, genuinely complimenting on the style. But for payback, he had an idea in his mind. "But, let's make sure that it will protect you from the cold. Test number!," he exclaimed, without a second thought he made the gnosis of Morwen burn and shine brightly. Four spots around Una shifted for a quick second, before the snow surrounding those spots began to clump together. Perfectly round snowballs lifted up from the ground, as with a twitch of the finger, all simultaneously hit Una from all sides. "Haha, how does the fabric feel!" he asked, rhetorical question of course.

[Una Tanta]

She had thought with the prevalence of Kelvics in the city nudity would be more accepted, but Veizors' embarrassment and the odd stares from shoppers told her it was not. Once she was dressed the attention barely relented, they had all seen her for who she was, and they all wanted a glimpse. Her attention turned back to the boy before her, blushing under his flattering words. They peppered her vanity and she preened slightly under them. Though she still found his speech odd, and his obvious infatuation with her made her uneasy she had realized at this point that he was both harmless and genuine and she let the compliments touch her heart this time. She heard his words but the snowballs were already beating against her before she had registered their meaning, hiding behind the red fabric she grinned. The cold stayed firmly outside. Wiggling the snow fell from the fabric leaving only a light dusting directly where the snowball had impacted. "It's wonderful!" She exclaimed, the concept of a rhetorical question in Vani eluding her. "Thank you for shopping with me, it was much more pleasant with a friend. Besides, I would never have gotten such a good deal on the coat if it weren't for you." One of little tact, Una was sincere in what she said. Legs aching from the cold of the first snow fight, Una sought a bench to rest for a moment. Muscles she rarely used for swimming burned from walking through the deep snow and she found herself glancing at the sea her legs tugging her in its direction. "I've never spent so much time on land." She spoke quietly staring in the direction of the sea, "I wish I could be just as welcoming to all the Vantha who have been so kind to me since I've been in Avanthal, but my home is much more formidable to those with..." She tilted her head looking him up and down, "such delicate anatomy. If you like we could walk the docks, it wont be a very intimate introduction to the sea, but I owe you something for your time." Tilting her head she scanned his face, trying to learn the peculiar Vantha expression. To Una all the Vantha women looked different, they came in a variety of personalities and colours but the Vantha men all looked like boys. With black disheveled hair and boyish charm her mind drifted to Cy, he was so different from ever other man here, no wonder he had felt so alone. He was the only man in a city of boys.

[Veizor Coolwater]

The noise of her laughter reminded him of the ballads he had heard by musicians that wandered through Avanthal, weaving musical notes and expert oral story-telling together. They came to observe the Vantha's culture, way that they had done their own performances. It was a sound he loved to hear, and didn't mind one bit. Veizor slithered a smirk onto his face, finding it hard to believe he could influence any type of monetary transactions. All he did was make ice sculptures, nothing more ; along with the witty remarks and jokes. He nodded his head and bowed, right hand on his waist and left hand on his back, to show his knowledge of gentleman gestures. Veizor was internally overjoyed with being called a friend, having few himself. He was more of a type of person who knew many groups, who conversed with different perspectives that helped him form his own, but he did not necessarily have his own group of friends. Those people who you go thick and thin with, claw out of the depths of hell together or simply get together on a regular basis. So maybe, he could understand that word "friend" a little bit more with Una. "Well, first sit down," he motioned her to the nearest bench, it wasn't too hard to notice that she was fatigued. He did not know much about the Charoda biology, but Veizor comprehended that she was a swimmer not much of a land lubber like the rest of the races in the world. His suspicion was confirmed when she noted not used to being on land for long. "Well, you should! The city seems to be fond of your antics no doubt!," he chuckled, not having seen that specific store vendor laugh in years. It was a touching part on his soul. With the mention of delicate anatomy, Veizor laughed. It was one of his loudest laughs yet, calming it down after a few seconds. Delicate looking anatomy was a better way to describe it. Which they lack in mass, they most certainly had strength and a fortitude that rivaled anyone else's. How else would they survive the cold winds? The dangers of the wastes? An occasional fall in the blistering cold lakes wasn't anything to scoff at, but neither were they prone to spontaneous freezing. "You will learn we are more resilient than we look, miss Una. But please, follow me if you don't know the way," waiting for her response. Whether or not she kenw, he would take her by the hand off the bench, then make sure that she was able to walk the rest of the way there.

[Una Tanta]

"You will learn we are more resilient than we look, miss Una. But please, follow me if you don't know the way." She shot him a skeptical look, they may be resilient but they could only live above land, a very limited way of seeing Mizahar, and a very limited way of living. Rather than starting another argument Una rose silent flushing when he took her hand. Pulling it away so hard she almost stumbled back onto the bench Una stared at him silently for a moment. Blinking slowly she spoke slowly holding his gaze, "Keep your hands to yourself. I was married, I'm not interested in boys." It came out more insulting than she intended. "I didn't mean it like that..." Deciding instantly that the conversation was over she smiled and started walking toward the docks. "Do you like the ocean? What about cloud gazing? I like the stars..." She rambled shutting out the previous conversation. As they walked along the dock, the hollow thunking under their feet, crustaceans scuttled along the rock. Sitting on the edge of the dock dangling her toes in the water Una gazed along the ocean watching a couple birds flap through the stony sky.

[Una Tanta]

When she turned to peer over her shoulder Una was shocked to find that in ignoring the gesture he had made she had shut it out so finely she hadn't noticed his disappearance. Guilt and anger made her flush, well if that was all he had wanted she could have saved him the time and energy long ago. Rising she looked over herself and smiled. Despite his rude incivility she was pleased with the day and the garments she had acquired. BOUGHT: -2.25gm - Boots, High (Fur trimmed (x1.5) , dyed (x1.5), leather (x2)) -1gm - Breeches (Cotton (x1.25)) -4sm - Knee-high stockings -4gm - Blouse (Brocade (x5)) -22.5sm - Gloves (Fur trimmed (x1.5), dyed (1.5), leather (x2)) -5sm - Scarf (Brocade (x5)) -16.88sm - Jacket (Fur trimmed (x1.5), dyed (x1.5), leather (x2))

[Lullaby]

Una Tanta :

Experience:

♪ Intimidation: +1
♪ Subterfuge: +1
♪ Weapon: Snowball: +2

Lores:

♫ Reprimanding a Man-Child For Being Dared
♫ Being Remember For Your Voice
♫ Lying to Keep an Argument Private
♫ Shopping With Some Friends
♫ Storytelling from Wisdom or Childhood?
♫ Haggling Through a Snowball Fight
♫ Changing in Public
♫ Cy, the Man Midst Boys

Other:

♪ Ledger: Your calculations are correct, and I'm glad to see you've deducted them already.

Notes

Please note the years on your living expenses within your ledger to make it easier to STs to determine what you have paid for. Additionally, within your skills, please note what was gained through the Starting Package.
Also, to wear a light dress that is even slightly soaked in water would be near impossible in Avanthal's outdoor markets, let along anywhere else as they would keep it only modestly warm to be bearable for outsiders. Not only would the water freeze, Una would probably die from such a prolonged exposure in the cold with wet skin. It is hard for a Charoda to safely reside in Avanthal, and just be careful to be realistic when portraying her around town.
Remember that Charoda have webbing between their fingers, she would probably find gloves uncomfortably as they would most likely press on these webbing, and could possibly hurt them if she forced them on too hard or rammed something between them and the like. Though, if she bought a size smaller, say, though it might be a bit tight around her fingers, the hand would then start farther up and would take into account her webbing - like when you try on a pair of gloves too small and the fingers always end above where your actual ones do, making it look like you have weird webbing between your fingers? That's what I mean.
To address the harbour as well. It would be way too cold for her to casually dip her feet in, keep in mind it would be almost frozen, and where there isn't floating ice, it's close to freezing.
A quick skill breakdown, most of them should be self-explanatory, the subterfuge was for her quick thinking for the lie she told Mr. Coolwater.

Alright, so apart from some discrepancies, this was a cute thread. Just keep watch on the realism of where Una is, as some things that she may have been able to do in Thunder Bay is not possible here, or vice versa. Keep it up, I look forward to more of your writing in the future.

Celyn Frostfawn :

Please update your ledger to deduct the Living Expenses of Spring, 513 AV.

A quiet song to soothe the heart

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.

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