Soothing the Soul (Open)

[Nero Czan]

15th of Summer, 510 AV. Location: The Rearing Stallion. The door to the peaceful tavern creaked slowly, before the worn wood swung open, as if a typhoon had hit. Standing in the opening, was a man, with short cropped hair, in a sand-speckled, open-jacket Keikogi, now slowly walking towards the bar. His face held an annoyed scowl, as he took one step at a time. Closer, and Closer. He had misjudged, yet again, the distance of the trip, and had gone for almost two weeks without alcohol. Anyone who saw this man's expression could guess how the last two weeks had been. Granted, on travel and amidst Nature, Nero was never one to hold a foul mood. He took too much joy in the journey itself to be held down by a simple lack of occasional intoxication. However, as he had approached the tavern doors, it had only become exponentially worse. First it was through the gates... Then around this corner... Then off his Horse... Then down the street... Then another turn... By the time he had arrived at the door, his liver was already pleading for mercy, grieving the loss of his recent 'vacation.' He popped himself up atop a stool, placed a few mizas on the counter-top, and gave a heavy sigh as he let himself relax. The bartender, vaguely familiar with this man, (And probably very familiar with the attitude itself), only gave a chuckle as he grabbed a mug and filled it, setting it down with a loud "clunk" of the wood. Nero would not hesitate, and picked it up swiftly, downing half of the luscious nectar inside in one gulp, before setting it down again. In an instant, his almost malicious expression had vanished, and in it's place returned his usual smirk, the aire of his sincerity and pseudo-charisma returning. He gave a gracious smile to the barkeep, and a thumbs up as he downed his drink and passed a couple more of the talking coins towards him. Nero, despite being in the dim tavern for a good few minutes already, turned himself around, balancing his arms on the bar-top, and slowly scanned his surroundings. The place had always been favored over most of the other inns and taverns, for one reason or another. Kevith had a reputation of not allowing any trouble to follow his business, and his history as a Knight did not hurt in the least. Nero shrugged as he returned to the sight of another mug of beer. He took it in his grip as he swung back, surveying the various interactions around the homely room, and captioning them in his head. This was a casual past-time whenever he returned on a trip, and more than once he was shot dirty looks when he was unable to contain his laughter at his imaginary dealings and conversations. I'll give it a couple days to relax... Then it's back to business.

[Ora Sa'vina]

15th of Summer 510AV

The large wooden door before the hooded figure was worn, yet still sturdy. With a significant amount of force, the small creature pushed the door open slowly, it creaked in protest to her movements but gave way to a warm and welcoming room.

The white hooded individual slowly moved across the room, avoiding chairs, people and even loose floorboards on their walk to the bar. The small burlap sack they carried was set on a bar stool as the small hands holding it moved to unclasp the cloak from around the creatures neck. With a small click the clasp came loose and the cloak was shrugged from the shoulders of a young woman. In the candle light she glimmered like a pearl, her vibrant eyes shifted quickly from her cloak to the bartender. "Bread and some fruit if you have any, please." Said a soft voice as her hands worked quickly to fold the cloak and place it under the burlap sack.

The young Konti sat down, removing her tan gloves and placing them on her lap. Around her waist was cinched a cord, white with a blue, twisted strand. From the cord hung three weapons, a pair of horn sai, a common that was given to all young Konti when they trained, and next to it, an odd weapon, a Akalak's Lakan, the leather handle worn from use and the owners sweat.
The bartender returned with a chunk of bread and an apple, a small knife was provided with a small amount of jam. The Konti's eyes lit up at the sight and smell of fresh food.

If I had to eat another dried apple, I'm sure I would have lost my mind... She thought to herself with a smile. Violet eyes moved from her food down the bar to a human man, drinking from a mug. She watched him for a moment, giving him a slight smile before her eyes bounced back to the food before her, her hands making quick work of the jam and bread.

[Nero Czan]

As the doors opened to the quietly occupied tavern a white figure appeared in the opening, a pillar of white in a sea of dull brown and grey. Nero turned his head for just long enough to get a good look at the newcomer, and passed along a gentle smile as, the features defining themselves as beautifully feminine, she tossed off her hood. The elegantly petite woman had found a seat, not too far from Nero's own, and he nonchalantly returned his focus to his drink. Every few moments he would glance down the bar in her direction, the pure white hair and ivory skin an exotic treat, although, after his encounters in the Burning Lands, not much surprised him. Nevertheless, he could not help but raise an eyebrow at the sight of this woman vacuuming her food, into the Void, seemingly. He chuckled as she finished, downing his own drink, and for all purposes, meal. Afterwards, he got up from his stool, taking a moment to test his balance, and decided to swiftly stroll over to introduce himself. As he sat down on the stool next to her, he flashed his usual smirk, and began. "Hello there. The name's Nero, and it would be an honor if you allowed me the pleasure of your company. It's not often that such a beautiful woman stops by here, let alone one so exotic as yourself." Her eyes were some of the most vibrant she'd ever seen, and while pale was not his favorite look, this woman had a perfect ivory complexion, to match her sterling hair. To put it one way, Nero was intrigued, and that could be taken in a few different ways.

[Ora Sa'vina]

Ora had just started cutting the apple into quarters when the man to her side stood up and approached her, sitting down on the stool next to her. This action startled Ora slightly, she was only expecting to have a simple quick dinner before heading back to the quarters she was residing in. She continued to cut the apple as the man who called himself Nero.

A small smile rose on her face as a tinge of pink slowly appeared on her cheekbones. "I do not see why I would not converse with you, Nero." She began to cut the core and seeds out of the apple chunks. "I am called Ora Sa'vina. I suppose not many Konti come here?" Ora asked him, her eyes studying his features for a moment, he was obviously human, and a male at that, two things that Ora still had not gotten used to seeing on a regular basis. "For me, seeing a human, and a male especially is quite exotic." Ora said with a smile, picking up a slice of apple and biting it in half.

[Nero Czan]

Nero couldn't help but chuckle at her response, her manner of speaking itself creating an aire of exoticism. Her rosy cheeks only embellishing the perfection of her ivory skin, she was simply, Adorable. Seeing a Konti wandering around was rare enough, but finding one in a Tavern was rarer still. His original intent had changed slightly, as was his nature. Nero never really set himself in one direction, but rather, only Started in one, allowing the courses of chance and Nature to gently shape his decisions. He found himself increasingly-intrigued by this woman, and could tell this was going to be a fun day, by one extent, or another. His sincere smile spread across his face as he tilted his head ever so slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ora. You don't see Konti too much around here, although it's not unheard of. Syrilas draws in all sorts of crowds, from all over the place. You could say it even drew me in, although perhaps more by chance..." He shook off the train of thought with a smirk, and continued. "Nevertheless, it is an honor to meet one in person. Throughout my little travels I've met quite a few rare sights, but Konti are not exactly people you meet in the wilderness." He chuckled as she continued eating her meal, the small apple already half gone due to systematic division. He could imagine the thoughts streaming across her mind at that moment. For her, he was just as much an oddity, if not a recurring one. Konti rarely come out of their heretical homes, and seeing a Male of any sorts was an intriguing sight. It was interesting to see how much difference was between them however. Her pale skin was perfect, even godly in comparison to his. He retained scars from encounters with wild beasts, gashes from Zith, and a spiraling tattoo of impossible complexity, permanently staining his skin with the memory of his kind. Nero's eyes traced her figure briefly as he resumed his train of thought, but verbally. "You know, it's an interesting contrast..." He lifted off his ragged cloak, setting it against the bar top with a Clank of metal from his sheathed gauntlets, and, the right sleeve of his Keikogi having been ripped off months ago, there sat before her the endlessly spiraling, twirling, spinning, and zipping lines of ingrained ink that served as an immemorial memento of his Heritage. "You see?" He pointed out a few random scars, the light dashes of skin visible against the black accenting lines, and followed one of the paths of his tattoo. "My skin is rough, tanned, and soiled almost beyond recognition. In contrast yours is pure, a sheer white, like a recent snowfall. As far as I can tell..." There was a slightly uncomfortable pause as Nero once again could not help his eye's desire to glance over her perfect skin, following it's gentle curves. Nero quickly drowned it out, and resumed his speech, annoyed at how easily distracted he was. "Nothing dots your skin, and it's as clean as a new slate. It's just, Beautiful." He took a moment, and then chuckled at how stupid this may seem, and, with his usual playful grin, laid his arm on the bar-top. It had been a nice point he believed, especially if she was as curious as she seemed. Smooth...

[Ora Sa'vina]

Her hands moved to rest on her own lap, her skin paler than her white dress. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ora. You don't see Konti too much around here, although it's not unheard of. Syrilas draws in all sorts of crowds, from all over the place. You could say it even drew me in, although perhaps more by chance..." Ora could feel the truth through what he said, a small happy glimmer filled the back of her head, but at the same time an odd feeling lingered there as well, her gift from Avalis was quite a curious thing, even Ora didn't entirely understand it. One thing Ora did know was that there was much more to this man than just a cocky smirk and a slick tongue.

"Nevertheless, it is an honor to meet one in person. Throughout my little travels I've met quite a few rare sights, but Konti are not exactly people you meet in the wilderness." Again, the happy glimmer filled the back of her brain, he had traveled, a significant amount. Ora didn't need to rely on what Alavis gave her to know that Konti in the wilderness were just about as likely as the Banshira waking up to snow outside their tents. "Pardon my rudeness but, what was it that drew you here?" She asked, her eyes searching his face for a moment.

Ora watched him remove his cloak and looked at his arm. Her eyes almost lit up at the detail in the designs on his flesh. The scars, while she could feel the pain from them slightly were not able to hold her attention as well as the black lines and curls that cris-crossed his skin. "It is beautiful." She said in almost awe, her index finger reaching out to trace part of the tattoo. She recoiled, almost suddenly when her finger encountered a scar.

"I have something similar to that." She said, gesturing at the curling tattoo that crossed his arm and hand. With the finger that had just traced his marks she moved her hair from her face, exposing her neck and jaw line. In the glow of the candles a glimmer of opalescent blue scales curled in intricate patterns around three small slits on the side of her neck. The curls went down her neck, gracing her shoulders for a brief moment before moving under the cloth of her dress towards her chest and back.

"At birth, Laviku gifts each of his Konti daughters with part of him." Her fingers lightly touched the three slits on her neck. "Breathing underwater," Her fingers moved across the faint scales. "While our mother Goddess allows us... Gifts, they vary from sister to sister," She said calmly, her fingers moving back to the apple, fiddling with it for a short moment. "But you," Her eyes flicked to Nero. "Your marks are different. How did you get those?" Her eyes moved to match his. "And.... Not to be rude, but what made you come here to Sylira?"

[Ryshaltze]

The doors creaked as another man entered the tavern. He was a tall, well-built Drykas that no one could mistake for being a warrior, bearing the required musculature that combatants tended to similarly possess. On his back was a large black cello case, attached to his body with a sling across the front of his plain, black shirt. The case was a broad contrast against the white cloak that he always wore, for the meager fabric of the shirt was no matched for the chill of the outside air. In the face of a huddled crowd and the roaring fire from the hearth, Ryshaltze felt slightly too warm for comfort, and he proceeded to unsling his cello case, placing his cloak on the coat-hangers for guests. Shrugging the case back on his shoulders, he nonchalantly headed for the bar. He was supposed to meet a new friend that he made today after he was done with his business in the bazaar, though he was not sure whether she was done from all the paperwork required to process an application for Traveler's Row.

The Ethaefal sighed, for things on his end did not go as well as he hoped it would. The shop that he visited, Ethereal Notions, happened to be closed on that day though for what reason he could not fathom. Whisper Addison, owner and occupant of Ethereal Notions tended to be as mysterious as the field of magic that she specialized in. He hoped that Ora was more successful than he, and it was with her in mind that he scanned the room.

Due to his size it would be easy to pick out Ryshaltze from the daily crowd, but Ora's diminutive frame made it difficult for him to find her.

Maybe she's not done yet.

He seated himself at the bar, glanced once more at the doorway, then rested his face on his right palm, his elbow balanced comfortably on the top of the bar. He will wait.

[Nero Czan]

Nero simply chuckled as he asked himself the very same question. Granted, he knew the real answer, but he always liked to pursue things Past the obvious. As a child he had stopped through villages on his escape from his burning past, and as such, many found him to be an oddity, and were considerate enough to help. Eventually he was given the way to a city that accepted all and barred none. It was the best option at the time, but not an easy one... And that is where his true answer came from, and with a slight chuckle in his voice, he responded. "Fate, drew me in. It's a pretty impressive force, but I'm sure a Konti knows about quite a bit about it." Although, Nero was not expecting gills. His face grew into subtle amazement as she showed him the three thin, scaly slits on her neck. The real attraction however, was the remarkably brilliant blue scales, that curved their way around her god-given gift, and seemingly without bounds, swept down her body. He chuckled, as in a matter of seconds he was proven wrong. "Well then. We're not too different after all." He flashed a genuinely sincere smile for a moment, as she started toying with the apple. "Well, mine are not Godly in any shape or form, for starters. These are just... reminders, of where I come from. The Drykas are renowned for their tattoos, and in 'our' culture, they are revered. I was given this one just after my 7th birthday... Usually your tattoo's are elaborated upon after certain stages of your life, but this one never left my right arm." He shirked off the pesky emotions that accompanied these memories, lest he throw a somber mood into the air, and continued with her questions, with a chuckle at her politeness, "Don't worry Ora, you have been the farthest away from Rude that I've seen for a long while. I was driven from my home, and forced to escape from my past. After a bit of information-gathering, I figured if there was anywhere to make a new start, It was this city right here." He smirked as he glanced around the bar, the variety of the denizens only amplifying his point. However, what took his attention was a newcomer down the bar, who was no doubt a fighter of some-sort. What was weird, was that on his back, he had a large instrument case, or even one of some unknown weapon. Nero only registered this man before returning his attention to the petite Konti with whom he was conversing. It's Only Polite, After-all...

[Ora Sa'vina]

Ora smirked and looked over at Nero. "Yes... We do know a fair amount about fate." Konti were close to the goddess of divination and visions, some would call the visions fate, Ora enjoyed feeling the closeness to her goddess, it was the sun that warmed her on cold days. Ora smiled at Nero as he looked over the glimmer that crossed her skin. She wasn't ashamed of her appearence, but she had heard stories of men doing terrible things to have access to the gift of her Goddess, and Konti were not known for blending in well.

The apple slice she had been toying with was carefully bitten and slowly, thoughtfully, chewed while Nero talked. The small woman shook her head slightly. "While they might not be Godly, they tell a story, more than mine do. The marks I have are a birthmark, while they're unique to each individual, there is no more of a story behind it than a freckle would have." She smirked a moment. "Well, that is not entirely true. Yours though, fascinate me, is it true that you could tell a great deal about a person simply by these markings?" Ora could feel that prodding on about his tattoos wasn't the best way to go, somethings were better left alone until the time was right.

"I am glad that it wasn't rude, but I am sorry." Her eyes seemed darker for a moment as she listened to his story. "I am glad you found somewhere where you would be accepted, that is never an easy task for someone to go alone. You have a very strong spirit, Nero."

Ora's eyes moved as the door opened and Ryshaltze walked in, taking off his cloak and hanging it up. The woman watched him look around and sit himself down further on the bar. His face seemed sadden, maybe only slightly, but Ora could feel it. A small frown graced her face for but a moment before she looked back at Nero. "Excuse me, Nero, that there is my friend, I told him to meet me here, I will be a moment." She said to him calmly with a soft smile.

Ora turned on her stool and hopped down, her feet gracing the floor gently as she moved towards Ryshaltze. Once she reached him her fingers grazed his back to alert him of her presence. Her eyes found his and she spoke softly to him, "Your search did not end well, I see." A small frown passed over Ora's face. "Perhaps you will have better luck tomorrow?" She smiled at him and gestured to where she was sitting and eating. "If you would like to join me, I have been eating and a nice fellow has been keeping me company, it would be my pleasure to buy you a drink, or dinner."

[Ryshaltze]

There was a brief sensation behind his back and Ryshaltze turned around instinctively, his bored frown instantly turning into a grin when he saw the petite beauty. Somehow, she managed to deduce the success of his attempt at the bazaar and had comforted him appropriately. He wondered if his expression really was tell-tale of his emotions or if she was just using her gift of foresight. Unfortunately, one can never really be sure about that when one is dealing with the favored children of Avalis. He gestured for her to lead the way, and joined her at the table with her new friend.

From his looks Ryshaltze would put him as the same race as his previous incarnation, and the current form that he was in now when Syna still surveys Mizahar. The man's rugged and serious features portrayed hardship and his no-nonsense haircut suggested pragmatism. He had the signature tattoos every Drykas has, though Ryshaltze himself was absent of any. In his previous incarnation as the Diamond-clanned Drykas, Iruki Shadowslayer he probably had his own mark, but as the tattoo was artificial and acquired rather than born, his current Drykas self was bereft of it. He wondered how a fellow Drykas would perceive him in light of this issue.

Ryshaltze waved at the man, a friendly smile gracing his features. Despite having gone through quite a lot of pain in the earlier days when he arrived on the realm just years after the Divine Split, it had not shown in his appearance - probably due to the effect of being a fallen being - and it tended to make people underestimate him. One of them infuriatingly being his mentor.

"Looks like our friend here is really the sociable type, huh." He winked at the tattoo-ed Drykas, but actually referring to Ora.

"Ryshaltze here. Pleased to be of service." He introduced himself courteously, extending a handshake to the Drykas.