Closed Leaving

[Spirit Frostfawn]

-- Summer 6th, 513AV --

Well, it was the day. The day to leave Avanthal. Her home. Where she’d lived all her life... To head out into the unknown... to the Spires. Well, maybe she was overdoing it a little, but... it was a big change. To go somewhere new, to leave... to travel! To explore! Though it was a sad day, it was... a happy one too! She would finally leave the nest, learn more, find her own path. She might return to her snowy city... or maybe not. Maybe she should travel all over Mizahar... the prospective idea sounded a bit frightening though, so she shook her head. She’d stay in the Spires for at least a season... and then come up with a plan. It would be to go further, stay, or even just... return home. Maybe she could do a switching thing, spend two seasons in the Spires, two in Avanthal. It was a tempting idea, but... plan later. Now... she was leaving. The first leg of the journey to a new place.

She double checked her saddle for everything. She had all her major possessions either tucked into her backpack, or Silver’s saddlebags. She wore her scarf from the maze.. her staff was tied along the side, in a slightly awkward position. If her mare ever got annoyed with it... well, she would always move the stick. She was ready to go, wasn’t she? Wind was here, Silver was here... and the Ice Gates only a few steps away. She could see the two members of the Icewatch watching her curiously, wondering what she was doing.

Their watch made her slightly nervous, as if all the pressure was on her. She could do this... she could head out into the unknown, to a new place. But... she was scared, nervous. Her mind was a mental battle between the prospect of new things, and the fear of the unknown. All she needed... was to hop onto Silver, and ride out those gates. They she’d be good. The Vantha took a deep breath... and didn’t move. She couldn’t. Maybe she could do this... if Alexandra was here. But she wasn’t. She’d prepared for this trip on her own, she could do it herself. She could protect herself... probably. Wind and Silver would always help. Still, her stomach twinged with anxiety as she attempted to decide what to do next...

[Ruby Majalenka]

Avanthal had been kind to Ruby, the colleagues at Whitevine Healing Center were friendly and tolerant to her inexperience, the people she respected for their hardiness, and the weather favorably cool. On the other hand, her strolls had been limited to the Icewall's interior area, which those who hadn't been used to settling down would find it depressingly confining. At a quandary, she then decided that it was too hasty to leave and bribed herself with a trip to the Spires.

Her horse, Liovri, was a female Gildling with a tan body, chestnut mane, and tattooed with various patterns, mostly floral-themed. A quick glance could tell that it had been done by an amateur, though Ruby cared little since she took pride in the said work done in her free time. A roll of tarp was perched on the posterior side of the saddle, followed by a folded tent and a bedroll tied on top of it. On the right side hung a lantern cushioned by a roll of rope to prevent damage from the horse's jutting hind leg joint which would come in contact often on the ride while a fishing tack under her thigh was secured to the saddle. A saddlebag containing tacks and fishing supplies was slung on the backside. The flint, torches, and suvai she stored in her rucksack.

After making sure her waterskin was full, Ruby wrapped a blanket around herself as an extra cloak to ward off the cold wind and brought her horse to a trot towards the city gates with a gentle slap on its nape, one of the riding signals she established with Liovri to further prevent horse theft though on its intelligence Ruby had faith.

A mounted figure was hovering near the gate, under intent surveillance from the two guards. Seeing the long black wavy hair, she recognized the figure, moreso after noticing the purple sheen.

"Spirit ! Going somewhere ?" she called cheerfully, bringing Liovri abreast.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

OOCSorry I took so long! I just gave up waiting... no Miria for us I guess

Spirit turned around in surprise as she heard noises behind her. Was that... Ruby? With a particularly strange horse. It was badly tattooed in a floral pattern... huh. She gave it a strange look, before turning back to her friend, preparing an answer. "Oh hey! And... yea, actually. I'm leaving to head on an epic journey to the Spires!" She gave a massive grin, to show she was exaggerating. However, her attention quickly turned to something else.

"Hey... why are YOU here?" She continued, her tone becoming more confused. Was the woman out on a ride? Certainly the wastes were a lovely place to wander around in, but she looked a little over packed... strange. It looked more like she was out for a long journey. Did that mean.... she was heading to the Spires too? It was the closest place to Avanthal really... and if you went there, you could split off to most other places. That was what it had looked like on the map anyways.

Though she was getting her hopes up, the girl's spirits soared. It would be amazing to ride with someone else! She'd given up hope on company after Alexandra, but... Her eyes were bright blue, and easily showed her excitement. This was a dream come true! Sure, she'd slightly exhausted her joy for going with someone, but after being let down... And especially with a person she knew slightly better.

[Ruby Majalenka]

Ruby did not specifically hate those who prefers the safety of house and roofs, what she did not comprehend was how they could be content living their lives doing their routines without much variety. Woke up in the morning, work throughout the day, hang out with friends the whole evening, went to bed near midnight, then all over again. Thus was the main reason she had a hard time settling down and unconciously, she started viewing herself as different, a dissonance within society. However she still appreciated the company of few close friends, something she had considered Spirit Frostfawn as. Someone she couldn't afford to lose, good enough justification for a white lie to not invoke any gap between them.

"I'd like to learn medicinal knowledge in The Spires, and if chance allows, take as possession some rare lores." She said, smiling all the while after a period of impassive silence. "Of course, the sights are wonderful too !"

Liovri neighed sneeringly, noticing the sweaty palms of her master. Ruby pinched inconspicuously in response. The horse suddenly darted at the gate without preamble, taking Ruby by surprise. She almost fell.

"Well, while the sun's still there, Spirit ?" she challenged as the distance between them grows, to hide her panic and irritation at the horse. Some times she regretted purchasing a Gildling.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit grinned even wider at the comment, though wasn't quite sure what to say. Luckily, she didn't need to, as Ruby's horse darted off quickly, for no particular reason at all. The Vantha burst into laughter at this, but quickly heaved herself up onto Silver's back, and nudged the mare's sides. Another nudge, and they were off at a trot, the Frostfawn moving up and down in the saddle as needed. She would have enjoyed going faster, in order to catch up with her friend, but she didn't want to tire Silver out in the first five chimes... Wind loped calmly beside them, his sled dog instincts kicking in as the journey began.

After a few chimes of silence, Spirit decided it would be best to try and start up a conversation. She thought on a few topics, but finally decided on a question that had settled on her mind. "Um... not to be rude... but what are you? You don't exactly look... human." She glanced at Ruby's hands, which were uncovered, and had... webbing between them. That was not normal. She didn't want to be judgmental or anything, she was simply curious. It was obvious the woman wasn't a Vantha, with her red hair and pale skin and everything, and her eyes didn't change color. And she could pass for human, except for that webbing... and... was that.. scales? She could see a little bit of glinting on the back of the doctor's hands as well. Strange... she stared at them in confusion, wondering what race has scales and webbed fingers. It wasn't anything she'd met, for sure...

[Ruby Majalenka]

(OOC : Ruby's hair is light brown, I messed the coloring up XD)

At the question Ruby raised and eyebrow. Most would've asked at first encounter. She brought her webbed fingers to the light. It was thin enough to glow red. Then her attention shifted to her gleaming hand whose scales change color according to angle. The dancing rainbow that appeared when she shook her hand quickly gave birth to an idea. Why haven't I noticed I had such a plaything on my hand, she thought.

After scolding her mind for not thinking seriously, she was unsure how to reply to the Vantha. Kontis were generally accepted if not welcomed, so the truth could do no harm. But aside from a name, she'd have to provide a short description too. Would informing their origins and racial gifts be enough ? 'Pale seers of Mura isles' sounded a bit arrogant and corny in the present situation. The White Scholar would've answered with vague rethorics, but to Spirit whom Ruby thought to be naive and simple-minded, a different kind of vagueness was needed.

"Oh, you noticed I'm not human ?" She grinned maliciously, then sighed in mock exasperation. "I really should've bought a pair of gloves... And here I was hoping to doo it farther from the city..." The last sentence was accompanied with licking her sharp eyeteeth in the manner of a hungry beast.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

Spirit looked at Ruby as she said this, slightly confused. What she was saying didn't make sense, and sort of scared her. Was the woman alright? She was like... pretending... to be a monster or something. Anyways, it was pretty obvious. But... creepy. Instinctively, she directed Silver slightly away from her friend's horse, just in case. Though she wasn't sure in case of what... "Are you alright?" she asked, the worry obvious in her voice. She tried to watch both the path ahead and Ruby at the same time, but it wasn't working out so well. Finally it dawned on her. "Wait... are you pretending to be... like... scary... and stuff... and eat me?" she guessed, with a slightly hopeless tone. "Because you really don't look like something like that. Actually... I kind of like the scales..." She did worry off hand that her guess had been wrong, and Ruby had actually been telling the truth, but she tried to ignore that... from what she knew of the doctor, she wasn't like that. But people could hide their personalities... she began searching back through their encounter today. Had Ruby been planning something? What if she had been? What if... what if... too many what ifs. The Frostfawn shook her head slightly and turned her attention back on her companion, hoping for the best. "Soo... what really are you?" she asked again, hoping for a proper answer this time.

[Ruby Majalenka]

(OOC : Sorry for the long reply, no computer for weeks, busy. ;v;)

Noticing the extra distance Spirit created between their horses, Ruby gave a giggle when the Vantha tried to assure her that it was well taken as a joke. A pang of guilt struck her when the Vantha complimented her scales, being nice despite her trying to make Spirit look stupid. From an early age Ruby noticed her own aptitude for it, but could never control the skill, or curse, whatever it was. She wondered if she would've done the same as Spirit had their roles been reversed.

Then, without getting into specific details that would only be of interest to history enthusiasts, she attempted to answer, herself very unsure, thinking as she spoke.

"First of all, let me start by saying that we're usually a quiet bunch, unlike me who is rather outgoing and playful." Ruby began in a teaching tone, another thing inherited from the White Scholar. "We're Kontis, hailing from the Konti isles. Interestingly, whoever the father is, the child born would be certainly a female Konti, with the exception of Akalak males, but we'd rather not get into that for now, not unless you want me to bore you with the details."

She paused and wondered that her usage of the subject 'we' instead of 'I', representing multiple entities as a union, had been right. Not wanting to create an awkward pause, she pushed the thought far away and dissed it as barely relevant.

"As you can see, we have a small stature and a white complexion. Perhaps the gods ran out of paint when we were born ?" She laughed, and wondered if she'd been impudent. In her heart she asked forgiveness to the gods, whomever might've been offended. "Another thing is our long age. We could meet up twenty years later and I'd still look the same as now, 17 as I am. Which means," The authoritative teaching tone dropped into a bashful stutter. "we could be friends for a really long, long time, don't you think ?"

Again, she pondered the amount of cheese in her last statement, friendly and heartwarming it may be. But then, she didn't think that expressing fondness at others was an embarassing thing. Well, I could've rephrased it into better words given more time, but that wouldn't change the feelings it carried so it matters little, Ruby thought comfortingly.

[Spirit Frostfawn]

OOCHeh, sorry for MY late reply.... I've been on holiday and stuff, so.... Also, I just noticed something. You're poor in Vani, so, really, Spirit is talking in Common, right? Because otherwise this conversation would a little more awkward... AAAnd sorry for the short post. XD Spirit listened curiously as Ruby explained her race, though was confused a few times. She'd never heard of the word 'complexion' before, though reasoned she might have heard it in Vani. Common however... she didn't exactly have the biggest vocabulary. When the doctor finished talking, the Frostfawn mostly ignored the joke at the end, so prepared was she with her question. "Do you know what 'complexion' is in Vani? Sorry... I'm not the best in Common" She grinned apologetically, before remembering another word that had confused her. "Hailing... what does that mean too?" She watched her friend curiously, though slowly focused on the wastes behind them. Her mind drifted for a bit, concentrating on her seat on Silver, and the way she gripped the reins. The groom checked on Wind for a moment, but he seemed alright, walking alongside his horsey friend. Then she thought on Kontis as a whole. They seemed quite interesting people, very different race from Vantha. And all female... odd. She'd never heard of anything like it, really. They also seemed to have a funny way of reproducing. One thing that caught her mind was that apparently, they were quire long lived. From what Ruby said... very long lived. It must be weird to look the same for years and years on end... though adults were generally like it. "So you're quite young for your race, I guess?" she asked, blurting out the question as soon as it came to her mind. Technically, Spirit herself was still young for any kind of human race, but she wasn't in her opinion. Ten year olds were young, but 16... she'd already been marked by Morwen, and met the goddess... that wasn't really 'young'... was it? ST NOTESo I just figured out that Spirit has been talking in Common to Ruby... silly me... so I'll start her talking like she's ACTUALLY Basic now XD

~CONGRATULATIONS~ Spirit : Skills Socialization +1 Observation +1 Lores Ruby: Shared passion for travel Ruby: Konti Meeting first Konti Konti: Rainbow scales in light Konti: Sharp teeth Konti: Hail from Konti Isles Konti: Webbed Fingers Konti: Quiet Demeanor Konti: Always birth females, Akalaks are exception Konti: Live Long and Prosper Konti Appearance: Short and pale Ruby : Skills Socialization +1 Teaching +1 Lores Spirit: Shared passion for travel Gildling: Unwieldy Creatures Self: Learning to describe Mura and Konti Konti: teaching tone Comments: Konti teeth are not sharp. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade please feel free to send me PM.