Closed A Bump in the Road (Shylia)

[Adeon Tien]

5th of Fall, 513 A.V.



The midday sun had risen, the twelfth bell being struck but a few dozen chimes ago. This was a rare occasion. The sun beat down upon Adeon's raised hood, as he became but another potential customer in a large crowd of Lhavitians. He, earlier that day, had decided to follow the people. Those people led him to this cursed place. He was at so much risk! Was finding a soul worth all this?

He assumed this was the Azure Market. No, no... He knew it was the Azure Market. No other place in Lhavit would be this busy. Except, possibly, the school. But there are no merchants at the school.

His train of thought was interrupted by a bump at his side. This happened often, here. People bumping into one another. He worried for his well-being. It was almost time for a new body, anyway- if an arm or a leg fell off in public, he didn't know what he'd do.

That was a lie. He knew that if that happened, he would leave Lhavit. He wasn't ready to leave. Already, he had met two possibilities. He couldn't leave yet.

As this was passing through his head, his steps slowed, allowing more and more bumps to hit him. He tried to pick up his pace, but, alas, he could not see what was beneath his feet due to his large cloak. His boot landed on a man's heel. He didn't seem to notice, but as his foot kicked back as to continue walking, Adeon fell over.

He watched the people pass by from the ground for but half a moment before realizing that they didn't care. Some of these people had families to feed. A hooded stranger wasn't on their list. Adeon was lost within the accident, rolling onto his stomach and pulling his hood over his head, so no bystanders could see his blackened lips, or his pale skin.

He began trying to blindly lift himself up, leaning on his knee for support. It was fruitless, however, for the citizens of Lhavit still bumped past him. Adeon's light form gave into force easily, and he was not strong. This would complicate rising.

He struggled, but he could not get up by his own power. He was stuck, trying to stay on his knee for as long as possible, before inevitably getting pushed onto his back.

That was what he feared. With all his strength, he pushed up. He was standing, now. But he was facing opposite to the flow of the crowd. As he was trying to compose his sense of direction, a larger man bumped into him.

"Watch it, vagik." The large man said, bitterly. "Next time, I won't be as polite."

As you could imagine, Adeon was not pleased.

"What you mean, fool, is 'pardon me'. Had you been applying your two brain cells, you might've seen me standing upright and avoided me."

That was when Adeon took a fist to the face.

[Shylia]

If Shylia could pick four words to describe himself in his current state, they would be cold, hungry, irritated, and utterly exhausted. It didn't make it any better that these pathetic excuses for living creatures continued to shove past him, creating bruises on his already damaged body. He was growing more and more irked by each passing second, and he had to resist the urge to start a fight with each and every one of these mugblenders.

He nearly tripped over a being that had fallen onto the ground, and a stream of curse words flowed from his lips. He was about to give the person what-for when another man brushed past him.

The man on the ground had now risen and made a comment that Shylia was unable to hear. The man that had bumped into him suddenly seemed enraged, and socked the guy in his hidden profile.

Instantly, Shylia was on the man's back, attempting to pull him back from the hooded figure. His dagger was instantly in his hand and the tip was pressed against his neck.
"We do not need any brawls on these streets." he hissed. "Take it somewhere where it isn't so crowded. Where you wouldn't ruin someone's day."

[Adeon Tien]

As the fist pushed Adeon's skull, he stumbled back a foot or two, trying to manage his composure. As he did so, the flow of the crowd stopped, creating a circle around the scene. As Adeon recovered from the blow, he could observe the crowd a bit closer. They were seemed shocked more than anything else... Which was strange. Were there not fights, here?

A sharp, yet hushed tone broke his train of thought behind him. It wasn't the man who hit him. The voice was smoother than the one that insulted him. A newcomer, then. Someone else to deal with? A friend of the assailant? Stellar. Just stellar.

"We do not need any brawls on these streets." It said. "Take it somewhere where it isn't so crowded. Where you wouldn't ruin someone's day."

'Ah, so it was not another potential foe! A sensible, if not, logical voice for Adeon's side of the argument. Slowly, he turned to the voice, searching for the source.

What. He thought. He has a knife... To the assailant's throat?

This dumbfounded Adeon. He was asking for peace at knifepoint.

He's smart.

The assailant struggled, loosening the arm around his neck. He broke free after a moment, carefully avoiding the knife as he did so. He grunted afterwards, pushing himself back. He stared the knife-wielding newcomer for a moment before storming off into the crowd. The circle lingered for a moment, in which time Adeon approached the newcomer. He had but one thing to say.

"You are the stupidest person I've met in Lhavit." He stated, matter-of-factly "But also the smartest."

[Shylia]

The air was heavy with shock and anticipation as the crowd began to form a ring around the scene. Shylia cursed under his breath at the misfortune of there even being a scene in the first place.

The hooded figure's attacker attempted to escape, and he let him go. He watched him run off into the crowd, once again blending into the city's people.

He glanced over to the hooded man as he spoke. "You are the stupidest person I've met in Lhavit." he said, his tone quite confident, "But also the smartest.

Shylia narrowed his eyes. "A wise man once said: 'True genius is when a man can find the perfect balance between brains and stupidity. True wisdom is when that man acts upon it.'"

He sheathed his dagger and took a step towards the man. "I witnessed the entire scene. That man wouldn't've hit you if you hadn't responded with such a barbed tongue. Surely you've been here long enough to learn that unnecessary violence is not tolerated as long as I am in this city. Did you not see the faces of the crowd when they too witnessed your little escapade? These people have it hard enough without having to see such immature violence."

He turned his back to the man and folded his arms across his chest. "However...you are not completely in the wrong. That man has a history of temper tantrums. This isn't the first time I've had to break up the fights he's gotten into."

[Adeon Tien]

Adeon was wary, but listened to the man's response.

"A wise man once said..."

Stellar. He thought. He quotes people. This was a pet-peeve of Adeon's. To him, it represented one's inability to think of his own words of wisdom, and instead use another man's thoughts as a bandage for the wound.

He tuned out the quote, thankful once the scab had passed. He watched the weapon slide into its fitted sheath.

"I witnessed the entire scene. That man wouldn't've hit you if you hadn't responded with such a barbed tongue. Surely you've been here long enough to learn that unnecessary violence is not tolerated as long as I am in the city. Did you not see the faces of the crowd when they, too, witnessed your little escapade? These people have it hard enough without having to see such immature violence." He said, a superior tone in his voice.

He toke a moment, heaving out a bucket of air and crossing his arms over his bloated chest. "However...you are not completely in the wrong. That man has a history of temper tantrums. This isn't the first time I've had to break up the fights he's gotten into."

Straight away, Adeon disapproved of his lifestyle. He seems invasive. Adeon lifted his head for a moment, letting out a sigh as he thought for a moment, running over what the ginger had said.

"Wait a second." He said, a bit confused. "You call for peace, and yet you follow a stranger in hopes of finding him when he's enraged, and putting a blade to his throat? Unless you're Shinya, I suggest you explain." He paused for a moment, thinking over his recent statement, before adding "It is not that I'm mad, rather curious. Although you have aided me, I'm wondering if I have invoked assistance from the wrong person entirely."

Let's see if his temper prevails over his logic... He thought to himself, assessing the male.

To Adeon, the man seemed to use a strange combination of the two. Reason by blade. Something he had encountered many times before, but never in Lhavit.

[Shylia]

The slightest of smirks crossed Shylia's face as he read the man's expressions. Ah, well; he didn't exactly come into town today in hopes of making new friends, anyway.

"Wait a second." the man said, confusion clear in his tone. "You call for peace, and yet you follow a stranger in hopes of finding him when he's enraged, and putting a blade to his throat? Unless you're Shinya, I suggest you explain." He pondered what he said and then tacked on, "It is not that I'm mad, rather curious. Although you have aided me, I'm wondering if I have invoked assistance from the wrong person entirely."

"The wrong person?" he asked. "My dear friend, help is help no matter who it comes from, and if the help is in your favor, you should likely take it."

He tilted his head to the side. "Are you from around here? I can't say I've ever seen you before."

[Adeon Tien]

"The wrong person?" He inquired, a bit confused. "My dear friend, My dear friend, help is help no matter who it comes from, and if the help is in your favor, you should likely take it."

He was too wrong to argue, and Adeon didn't feel like having a blade to his neck, so he moved on.

"Are you from around here?" The man asked. "I can't say I've ever seen you before."

Adeon tipped his head upwards a bit, pulling his hood down a bit farther down his face, for he felt the man's probing eyes.

"I could say the same." Adeon replied, bumped yet again by a passerby. It was started to provoke him. Perhaps now was not the best of times to try to make friends.

"Would it be rude to ask your name, Stranger?" Adeon asked, flatly. "Or is that a quick way to your blade?" He said, gesturing to the sheath on the ginger's hip. He seemed to have a temperament issue, and Adeon preferred ichor on the inside.

Another bump.

"God damn it!"

[Shylia]

The man made an attempt to cover his face even moreso, which stuck Shylia's curiosity. Why was this man so intent on hiding his identity?

"I could say the same." Hood-Face responded. It was strange that neither of them had seen the other before, yet both had been in Lhavit for quite some time.

"Would it be rude to ask your name, Stranger?" he asked in a rather irritated tone. "Or is that a quick way to your blade?"

Shylia opened his mouth to respond when yet another person knocked his shoulder, which pulled a "God damn it!" from the man.

A sort of smugness filled he expression. "You say that I have a quick temper, but you're the one who gets so angry when he's merely bumped into. I thought you said you were from around here. If you were, you would know good and well that in order to stay here, you'd have to get used to the occasional push and shove from the civilians." A strange light caught his eye, almost like sarcasm. "Didn't your mother ever tell you to introduce yourself before asking for other people's names? I'll overlook your rudeness this time. I am called Shylia."

[Adeon Tien]

He brushed off the hit, turning back to the man. He seemed to carry not only a superior air, now, but a triumphant one. Or, at least, he was trying to.

"You say that I have a quick temper, but you're the one who gets so angry when he's merely bumped into."" He stated.

This had happened quite often, in the past. Something seemingly insignificant to someone who wasn't decomposing by the second. He had explored many possibilities, over the years, of explaining himself, but found that often the simplest answer was the best.

"I bruised my arm a few days back." He bluffed, almost flawlessly. The only catch? His lip twitched under his hood. Thankfully, it was undetectable from under his hood.

"I thought you said you were from around here," He said "If you were, you would know good and well that in order to stay here, you'd get used to the occasional push and shove from the civilians."

He had yet to get used to the man's audacity. It was fairly annoying.

"I did not say anything of the sort. I am in Lhavit, but you couldn't say I live here. I, until this point, had no need to visit the Azure. I don't think I'll be coming back..." He said, panning his head just in time to catch another bump. He stifled a curse.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you to introduce yourself before asking for other people's names?" He replied, a somewhat cocky air about him.

Adeon chuckled at the word 'mother'.

"I'll overlook your rudeness this time." He deadpanned, as if he were Adeon's superior. "I am called Shylia."

Adeon raised his chin, uttering "'Ah." as if it were a mild disappointment. "Indeed, it is..."

Adeon didn't know what else to say. He wasn't used to social situations, quite yet. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Behind him was a crowd waiting to tear him limb from limb. In front of him, however, was an awkward situation, and a wasted opportunity. He didn't know what to do. At all.

[Shylia]

At the man's silence, a small frown crossed Shylia's face.

"What, do you not have a name? Or would you rather not tell me? Because I'll be quick to give you one." In a sort of nonchalant way, as if he didn't particularly care, he moved into the path of the crowd to where it was less of a beating to the man. Shylia didn't mind the hits he took, for he was very used to it.

Since the guy didn't appear to be a threat any longer, Shylia could afford to be a little nicer.

"Well, if you're not from Lhavit, then tell me a little about yourself. I don't particularly have anything better to do right now, so I'll take you out of this crowd and buy you a drink. What do you say?"