Closed Can this Dream be our Reality? [Meville]

[Lorelle]

Timestamp :: 10th of Winter, 513 AV
Location :: Snowsong Hold, Lorelle’s Arvinta

The place that Lorelle has made her home is not what one would call fancy. It is a simple arvinta, like all the others in the hold. Lorelle’s however, doesn’t have much to it. Just the basics of what she needs. A hearth at one end of the room with a wrapped up Talon sword propped up against the wall next to it. It has been awhile since she has touched the weapon. And a table with a chair next to it. The other rooms the arvinta consists of have their doors shut. Most are completely empty while one is where Lorelle has her bed and the trunk that holds the majority of her things.

There are no decorations around or even anything for comfort really. It isn’t really all that homy and nice, just what she needs to get by. If she wants the mess of clutter she would go to the Arvinta that her parents make their home in. But she doesn’t. The only mess in her home is the red ball of fluff that lives here with her. Eva, the year old dog who thinks she is still a tiny puppy. The dog isn’t what one would call trained, but she listens. Well enough anyway. One may accuse her of selective hearing, only listening when it benefits her, but Lorelle doesn’t care. She loves the dog regardless. And since she listens well enough to not get into too much trouble, Lorelle often doesn’t regret not having worked day in and day out with her when she was younger.

Except for now. At the moment, the Kalean Spicecoat is getting on her nerves. Lorelle is busy trying to keep her busy as she tries to decide how she should get prepared. Earlier today she decided that it was time her and Meville had a chat. A chat about whether or not this leaving thing could become a reality. It has been over a season since she has seen him and she thinks that that has been enough time. If they are going to leave, she wants to know now. So they can start preparing and be ready to leave when the time is right.

After deciding that today was the day to meet with Meville and begin talking of their future and leaving Avanthal behind, the Vantha sent out one of the Snowsong hold who was younger and looked like he had nothing better to do. When presented with the offer, he got the message from the Icemaiden and went. The message was simple. All it explained was that she wanted to meet with the blonde human and discuss the dreams they thought up at the springs. She told him to meet her here at her home now. In this bell.

Lorelle paces, unsure if she is nervous or just regretting her decision about this entire thing. Eva paces along side her, getting in the way multiple times. The Vantha will snap at the dog mildly before continuing on, wishing she had food or something to distract herself with. Sadly she didn’t think of that though. Not till now when it is too late.

She tucks a short strand of hair behind her ear. It was cut since the last time they spoke. It only barely reaches her shoulders now. If it was straight though it would reach well past her shoulders. She wonders if he will notice. If he will care. Probably not. That is something a lover or husband would notice. Not the man who is barely a friend. If even that. Probably not even that. The feeling of distaste still accompanies any and all thoughts of him. Not as powerful as before, but it is still very noticeable to Lorelle. The Vantha groans, not really caring what he thinks of her. She just wants this conversation to go well. She wants to leave and even though the idea should repulse her, she wants Meville to leave with her.

The dream they came up with at the springs has been all that has been on her mind for awhile now. Lorelle wants it to be more than a dream. And she wants this to go well because she thinks that if it does Meville will feel the same way. Then the dream could start coming into action and soon enough after training and preparing. They could leave and probably never look back.

[Meville Brightshade]

Meville's day had started much like the one's before it with his morning exercises, morning walk, and breakfast of biscuits and pickled herring. His mind had been occupied with many a thing, as per usual, but what continually presented itself was the notion of leaving. Avanthal had been a home for so long, but after his outing with Lorelle an entire season before, Meville had found himself constant appraising his day to day interactions with the city and her people. Everywhere he looked, Meville was met with pleasant, but never any sort of indication that he belonged or should have belonged. Aside from Jennai and Geninsi, nothing in the city was particularly that anchoring. Even those eccentricities he'd found and enjoyed time with where in passing, encounters easily recreated in any other instance of a city.

Thus, when the young Snowsong had arrived to deliver his message, Meville had kept him a bit longer to chat with. The boy, Willam, wasn't that much younger than Meville, perhaps three or four years behind. He was of a lithe nature, common among those Vantha that practiced the art of interpretive dances to the songs of their hold. At first, Willam had seemed reluctant to linger, if for no other reason than Meville gave him an uneasy feeling. Refusing to let the Snowsong leave until dialogue had passed at least a chime's worth of time, Willam acquiesced, allowing Meville to berate him with questions about his life, experiences, and opinions of the city.

As the conversation gained momentum, Willam proved to be quite the opinionated young man, laughing and poking fun at Meville's eccentricities when it came to entertainment and appreciation for aesthetics. Of course, certain subjects such as politics and a higher discourse on ethics were out of Meville's comprehension in his second language, but still he managed a fine conversation upon the pros and cons of living in Avanthal. Even Willam agreed life often seemed secluded, though he approached that as a blessing rather than a restraint.

Time passed easily between the two, so much so that time had begun to grow short until Meville was supposed to be arriving at the Snowsong Hold. Continuing their debate, Meville and Willam made their way through the snowy streets, heatedly arguing over the overall attractiveness of the young Vantha women of the Skyglow Hold, Willam for and Meville against. In good spirits, the two arrived some chimes past the eleventh bell. Hurriedly exchanging farewells, Willam hastened off to his music lessons while Meville chewed on his lower lip in apprehension. While not overly late, he assumed Lorelle wouldn't be in the best of moods when he arrived, after all, she was much more of a brooder than he. While he had come to the conclusion that there was very little in Avanthal he could not find elsewhere, Lorelle had an entire family, a world, in the icy city. Leaving it behind, however much she may have wanted, certainly could not be an easy thing.

Bracing himself, Meville pushed open the door after two rapid knocks, tentatively grinning and announcing his presence. Before him stood Lorelle, hair much shorter than he remembered her having, though after a season he couldn't quite be sure about it. Giving her an apologetic half-bow, he uttered his regret at being tardy. Straightening up, his blue eyes flicked around the sparsely populated room. There wasn't much for decoration or frivolities, which Meville found himself unsurprising by. Lorelle was many things, but garish she was not. He did find the young canine that had greeted him with curious, wet nose, to be a interesting part of the room's furnishings. "You have a dog?"

His surprise wasn't masked at all as he glanced back to Lorelle. She didn't really seem the type to keep a pet, let alone something as hairy and
slobbery as a dog.

Common | Vani

[Lorelle]

Lorelle freezes in her tracks when two sharp knocks sound on her door. Her shifting eyes watch as the blonde human pushes past her door and says his greeting. She watches as Eva moves from her side and charges over towards him, tail wagging. The dog presses her nose up against Meville’s body, capturing his scent before letting out a sharp but friendly enough bark. Lorelle continues to just watch, unable to make her mouth move. Why is she so nervous? She doesn’t understand it. It is just Meville. It isn’t like it is the ice queen Morwen herself.

“Y..Yes,” Lorelle stutters. She swallows hard, trying to shake off her nerves as she does so. Clearing her throat with a cough, she shakes her head before giving one sharp nod. “Yes I have a dog,” she clarifies, “That is Eva.” The red ball of fluff lets out a bark at the sound of her name. Her ears perk up before she turns and returns to Lorelle’s side where she sits with her tail wagging rapidly. Lorelle lets a hand drop down and stroke the dog’s head. “Didn’t think me a dog person did you?” she asks, making an attempt to lighten the mood. She doesn’t feel that it is going all to well. “Neither did I. Not till a year ago when she wove her way into my life anyway,” she says, giving a shrug and a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

These attempts at lightening the mood don’t seem to be working. Not for Lorelle anyway. She still feels the the tight knots of nerves in her stomach and the feeling as if a ball is lodged in her throat doesn’t seem to want to go away. Making it hard for her to speak clearly. “So,” the Vantha tries to move on, “Meville. How are you?” Her eyes shift away from him, looking around the room. Not buying something to eat or drink is something she is starting to deeply regret at this moment. “Haven’t seen you for awhile..” she muses, still not looking at him. Her mind jumps back to that night at the springs. A night that holds mixed feelings in the memory of the Vantha.

“Springs. Last season if I recall correctly,” Lorelle finally looks to him, not having anything else to look at. Her eyes shift different colors, never settling on one solid emotion. “Should we just get to the point of this meeting?” she asks, an unsure expression on her face. “I forgot to get anything to eat or drink which might have been smart, give us something to do. But yeah ... I forgot. Sorry about that.”

To her own ears, Lorelle feels as though she is already beginning to ramble along with stumbling over her words. She gnaws on her bottom lip and lets her gaze drift away from him once more. Not two ticks later though, she looks back to him. She takes a few steps forward, Eva getting up and following her lead. The Vantha looks into Meville’s solid blue eyes with her own mixed one. The colors dark blue, lavender and pink are the easiest seen colors in the whirlpool of colors that has become her eyes as her emotions spin and shift. “I guess there is really one question we need to get out of the way before any others are asked and answered,” she says, her voice beginning to steady and even out.

“Will you leave Avanthal with me Meville? Not just as a dream, but really leave with me?” Her voice is clear as she speaks. The clearest it has been since he stepped through those doors. This is what she has been so nervous about. Finding out the answer to this simple question. What he says right now is going to define the upcoming seasons of her life. It isn’t something to be done on a whim and Lorelle knows that. It is no longer a whim for her. She is prepared to begin the training it will take to survive the world outside of Avanthal. She is ready to leave. The question now is a simple one. Is Meville ready?

[Meville Brightshade]

Lorelle was certainly not her usual collected self. He could understand why she might be feeling a bit apprehensive, but her awkward, halting speech and half-hearted grasping for some substance of conversation only served to bring a wide, impish grin to Meville's face. "Things seem to doing that to you lately. Weaving into your life." He chuckled then, though he was alone in his mirth. It seemed the unspoken subject weighed heavy upon her, tightening her mood into a nervous stiffness. While not entirely off-putting, Meville found he felt a bit uncomfortable, if only because Lorelle had yet to make fun of him. She hadn't even commented on the fact he was late, which was unusual. Or was it? He supposed Lorelle was just as much a mystery as she ever was.

Her next question brought fourth a hearty laugh that seemed to goad the dog, Eva, into a cheery barking harmony. She looked so very awkward, politely asking him how'd he been doing as if the two of them were childhood acquaintances that hadn't seen each other for several years and had little else to talk about than a menial statement of well-being. She was trying far too much to make things feel a bit more natural, more comfortable, but everything from her posture to her voice filled the air with a tension that seemed to perpetuate her nervousness. Extending his hands and flexing the fingers, Meville offered her a happy grin. "I have all my fingers! Lost a toe or two, but that will growing back." His attempt at a joke fell flat, which only served to make him chuckle more.

At the suggestion of "getting to the point", Meville nodded his agreement. If he led the conversation, they would probably get nowhere. Lorelle was the driving force behind the majority of their interactions, and he preferred it that way. He was certain once she was able to get a hold of a herself, things would be much more natural. Shrugging at her apology for a lack of food, Meville gave her a contented smile. "I ate two bells ago." His Vani, ever stunted, was improving in its more subtle undertones, allowing him to give the impression he didn't need any more food for a while. Of course, it wasn't quite perfect what with it being a mostly tonal based language that was easy to confuse a positively intoned word with a negative.

When their eyes finally met, Meville's smile shifted into something more genuine, moving more into his eyes than his mouth. "Yes." No jokes, no laughter; only a severe, candid response to the question he knew she'd been worrying over since she'd sent for him, perhaps longer. He knew just as well as she did there would be little chance for either of them to leave alone. Either of them could leave with one of the trading caravans, but it wouldn't be the freedom either envisioned. With two, they would be able to travel alone, with the proper training, and be able to go and see whatever they wanted.

Common | Vani

[Lorelle]

Lorelle’s heart skips a beat when she hears his answer. It is unlike answers she has gotten from him before. Straight forward. For once there is nothing to laugh at. It isn’t the answer of the child the Vantha normally sees when interacting with Meville. His answer is, genuine. Causing the Vantha before him to pause for a moment in time. Slowly, her lips begin to make an upward arc. A smile that reaches her eyes. Her stomach begins to unknot and the ball in her throat leaves her as quickly as it came. “Than we have a lot to talk about,” she says, her voice clear and happy. Her eyes shift golden for a tick before turning to a calm brown. “Shall we get to it?” she asks, raising one eyebrow.

“You are late after all.” Lorelle laughs lightly. Smiling once more before letting the smile fade. She coughs, clearing her throat and becoming serious. “We should ... uh ..” she bites her lip softly as she looks around the room. “Well, I guess we will just have to sit on the floor. I only have one chair and I would rather not stand.” She shrugs before moving over to the nearest wall.

Leaning up against the wall, Lorelle presses her back up against it. She slides down, sitting on the floor. Eva makes her way over and lays down next to her owner’s outstretched legs. They both then look to Meville, awaiting him. Once he has decided to sit, stand or take whatever alternative her pleases, Lorelle decides to begin. “So, it is obvious we will have to train and prepare for this. I don’t have much understanding on many of topics traveling like this will require me and you to learn. I doubt you know much, if anything, more than me. Am I wrong in making this assumption?” She asks, looking to him.

“What I think we should decide today is when we want to leave. Make a goal and stick to it. Decide if we want to travel by land or sea and other such things. Whatever we decide, it is going to take a lot of training and preparation,” she tries to speak at a steady rate, knowing he isn’t fluent on his Vani still. She isn’t all that sure how much he is actually picking up. That brings something to mind as well. “Also, we should work on each other’s languages. Or at least my common. I think knowing a language spoken in much of Mizahar would be helpful. We can’t be expected to be together all the time while traveling,” she points out.

Lorelle sighs happily. The excitement of the dreams they discussed that night at the springs is coming back. Her eyes are full of it. Shinning a golden brown color. “I say we aim to leave by next fall. I really would rather not spend another birthday here,” she muses, her voice probably only loud enough for him to hear. She hasn’t thought much about what leaving will mean. She hasn’t thought about her future birthdays, the little family she has and what it will do to them. No matter how disappointed her mother seems to be in her for becoming an icemaiden. They, her parents, will still miss her. They might understand, but Lorelle knows it will grieve them. Especially her father.

“What do you say?” Lorelle asks, her excitement and energy beginning to drop as the thoughts what she will be leaving behind begin to enter her stream of consciousness. “Before fall sound good to you? Should we aim for that? That would mean a lot of training and fast. Leaving late summer, that would mean only about three seasons for training and preparation. Think it will be enough?” She looks to him, wondering if he is capable of learning the amount they need to learn in the few seasons. She isn’t sure. The thought that he won’t be able to puts her on edge. She bites her lower lip softly as she listens for his reply. Will it even be enough for her? Lorelle isn’t even sure of that. She sighs. One snowbank at a time. This is just the first one in what will probably prove to be a great many that they need to get over.

[Meville Brightshade]

Apparently honesty and maturity were the keys to unlocking the Lorelle Meville had come to enjoy, and while he filed away that knowledge for later use, he doubted he'd be having to tap much into it for the time being. With her mood relaxed, she even managed to point out his tardiness which provided a venue for both to share a smile. As she continued on, gesturing to the floor unimpressively, Meville chuckled, following her over to the wall and letting her choose which prime position of the wooden planks beneath them best suited her. Hesitating several more ticks as the crimson bush of fur nestled itself in the cozy housing of Lorelle's legs, Meville allowed the majority of the creature's movement to halt before easing himself down to join the two of them, legs crossed and hands carrying weight behind him.

Immediately after joining her, Meville was hit with an onslaught of Vani. It wasn't that he didn't understand the gist of what Lorelle was saying, though there were a few nouns that sounded a bit foreign, but Meville's face would wrinkle here and there, signaling Lorelle to slow down a bit, which she tended to oblige. "You are right, I think I am knowing less than you." Which was a half truth. He still had the stories from the many travelers who stopped and chatted in the Warrens, but stories were very different from actual experience. It seemed Lorelle was just as unprepared as he was, but she seemed to have a plan. She spoke with the sort of confidence that often came with those who had a conclusion to make.

The next statement was a bit fuzzy. Travel was an easy enough thing to understand, but Meville wasn't sure if Lorelle meant they were supposed to travel by land and sea, or just one and not the other. He also couldn't quite decide if she was asking a question or not. So, as he did most times something didn't quite make sense, Meville just gave her a nonchalant shrug. He nodded at the restatement that they were going to need training. They were certainly not the two most prime characters to be out and about in the tundra and even a ship would require knowledge he doubted either of them had. When Lorelle moved on to language, Meville grinned, "I will trading Common for Vani, certainly." And she brought up an excellent point in closing: they weren't always going to be together. The training wasn't just so they could survive as a pair. Food for thought.

Lorelle was truly in her element, her eyes danced with daydream and her voice, though paced slower than usual, still carried in it the excitement shared between the two of them. At her suggestion to leave next fall, her eyes took on a more serious sheen. She was dreaming anymore. Meville chewed on his lower lip, letting her finish before saying anything. When she was done, her expectant eyes gauging him for any hint of a response, Meville stared off past the top of her head, his lips moving quickly as he thought out everything they would need to purchase, how much training they could manage, and how many extra shifts he'd have to put in to get the money for their journey. She'd be working too, of course, at the library.

"It will be close." His voice was distant, still thoughtful. With enough training, he was sure they could manage. The biggest problem wasn't so much their abilities as it was their equipment. He possessed very little of anything, and Lorelle didn't seem to have many possessions herself. Assuming they worked enough, they might be able to scrape together enough money to travel with. "I am not good with money matters, but I am thinking we will be needing much more than we are having now." He gave her a shrug, his eyes refocusing on hers and a grin breaking out on his face. "But fall will come and going without us this year."

Common | Vani

[Lorelle]

The words Meville speaks ring music to Lorelle’s ears. Even in the broken Vani that he speaks. With all his mistakes and childlike words. What those words mean, the promises they hold. They bring hope to the Vantha before him. Hope to be happy and find herself. Hope to break away from this icy land she has always lived in. She always thought it would be a miracle to find someone to go with her out of here. Everyone who lives here seems so happy with their home. They enjoy the snow. They worship their most beloved goddess. They are hardy and happy, singing and dancing. Tales are spun hour to hour around here. The Vantha have always been a people who know how to make their own fun and build their own lives. Who don’t rely on the other cultures around them. Which is probably a good thing, considering they didn’t know about the other lands till years ago.

Lorelle sighs softly, happy. She rests her head back against the wall as she thinks. Eva rests her head on her owner’s legs, letting the woman pet her with a gentle touch. Lorelle has never felt as though she belongs here. Only the blood that travels through her does. The blood of her ancestors. Her soul though, longs for a different land. A different people. Or maybe it doesn’t. She has yet to decide. Does she just have a bit of Wanderlust? Does she just need to explore a little only to find this tundra is and will always be the place for her? It is hard for her to know now. She will never admit it. Not to anyone she knows presently, but her heart feels torn. Now that she has thought of her family..

“Good,” she says softly, “I will be glad to be out of here.” Her voice is harsh but hollow. Her words unsure and broken. Anger and longing twist in her eyes. She remembers the end of the past summer. That chat she had with her mother. The family hidden from her. Her mother’s first love. Who was he? What did he leave her with after taking so much and why? Lorelle sighs. She wants to know the answers to her questions but she knows she won’t learn them unless she stays here. The Vantha groans deep within her throat. This is not something she wants. This conflict of interests. She wants a clear head. To know where she is going and what the plan is to get there. For there to be no distractions or conflict of interests. Not her own interests.

“Where do you want to go?” she asks, her voice still soft but not as hollow. It is a question born from curiosity as she stares at the wall. Where does she want to go? She doesn’t even know. She wants so many things. This feeling is strange to her. To not know what she wants yet know every desire her heart holds. “I admit, I haven’t though about it much. Somewhere beautiful. Or strange maybe. A place full of wonder and life. I don’t want to go somewhere dull. Change. Change is what I crave.” Her words are more for herself than Meville, but she wouldn’t be surprised if he replies to them. She is talking loud and slow enough for him to hear. As if she is in a dream. A very strange, confusing dream that she doesn’t know how to wake up from.

[Meville Brightshade]

With the discussion of practical matters now presiding over the conversation, Lorelle's mood had shifted to better suit it. Her smile had faded into a prim line upon her face, her eyes smoldering with a color Meville wasn't entirely familiar with, though her voice carried with it frustration, or something close to it. At her words, Meville's own smile settled into a neutral expression as he gazed down at the furry beast of a creature that she had been patting absentmindedly. Lorelle had already clearly demonstrated in their previous interactions that she would ask him for both his opinion and advice when she wanted it. While some might have considered Meville to be a bit on the socially inept spectrum of proper conduct, he knew better than to poke at a sleeping polar bear. Her groan only served to reinforce Meville's resolve to remain tacit, as it was a sound he'd yet to have associated with his companion. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it carried with it more emotional baggage than he was willing to touch at the moment.

When she did address him, her words were softer, the strangeness diluted some by polite courtesy mixed with curiosity. While not a strange or unexpected question, Meville frowned at it, his upper teeth pushing the skin of his lower lip down onto the lower. He'd thought about where they should go, what they should see and do, but he'd been unable to come to a conclusion. He, like much of the rest of Avanthal, was rather clueless about the outside world. He knew it existed, as even from a young age he'd read about it in his mother's journal, but she'd always shied away from specifics and landmarks, replacing them with adjectives and nonsense. Without any sort of prior knowledge, accessing what wasn't their to come to a conclusion was rather impossible.

"Change, hm?" Change. Simply leaving Avanthal was a change, in and of itself, but Meville felt Lorelle meant something much more than that. She, like he, had never experienced life outside the walls of their snowy city. Avanthal had not only been their home, but their entire world. The laws of nature, of the very life around them, was completely bound to their little northern city on the edge of the world. Now, however, they planned to venture out of their secluded sanctuary in search of the very boarders of existence. Meville's frown set deeper into his features as his mind continued to grind.

Truely, anywhere might suit the two of them. Meville wasn't picky, and he doubted it would take much to awe the two of them in terms of unknown. Still, even the most inexperienced traveler usually had some sort of a destination. Unsure, Meville let his bright, blue eyes rise from the mane of the beast, settling into Lorelle's distant gaze. "Does the library having maps, maybe?" The most logical course of action was to head to whichever city was nearest. Wind's Reach nudged the back of his brain, but without knowing just how far away the city was, or any of the cities for that matter, would have a large sway over their decision. Not wanting to commit to any one place, Meville let his frown fade some as the idea of looking at a map began to rekindle a bit of childish excitement. "We maybe start close and moving on from there, I think." Close, of course, was rather relative. Most of the travelers that stayed at the Warrens either came by boat or had come from very far away over a long course of time.

Still, the outside world was within their grasp. Certainly, they were anything but prepared, however the kindling had caught flame and the logs were soon to follow. It was a strange thing, sitting there on Lorelle's floor, the three of them engaged in conversation over a subject many in the city would never have considered. In a way, it was fulfilling in and of itself, as Meville could only imagine the looks on the Holds's elders faces if they were asked if they wanted to leave.

Common | Vani

[Lorelle]

Lorelle stares at the wall as though it holds much interest. It is like she is in a daze. Here physically but only halfway mentally. Her focus is shifting. Thinking of all the lands she wants to visit. It is only when she tries to think about it that she realizes she hasn’t been anywhere. Wind Reach when she was young and that is it. Even the memories of the wild red heads she found so interesting are beginning to leave her. She remembers the red hair. The big bigs and glass objects that could be found nearly anywhere. Not much to go on but still, so different from the Vantha people she has been born from and lived with for so long.

What other types of places are there in the world? There must be many for surely the world isn’t small. Is it? Lorelle doesn’t even know. She feels like it is small. Like a box. The walls closing slowly in her, suffocating her.

Standing up suddenly, Lorelle scares Eva out of her comfortable spot next to her. Looking to Meville, she motions him up. “I am thinking...” she says in common, trying to both get used to the strange words on her tongue and mock Meville’s interpretation of her own language. “We should go the library.” The Vantha winces, not used to these strange words. She is clumsy with them, having to speak slowly to get them out.

Lorelle looks to Meville before nodding. “Library,” she says simply, moving into the other room of her Arvinta. She grabs her coat out of her chest and slides it on. She grabs her gloves and scarf, making her way back to Meville. She wraps her scarf around her neck, moving her hair out of the way. “Eva, stay,” she tells the red dog, slipping back into her native tongue. She looks back to the human in the room, putting on her gloves as she does so. “Books on .. other land,” her common comes out broken and slow. Clumsy and childlike as she often accuses his Vani of being. “At my work. Let us go find.”

Lorelle winces. She moves past him, embarrassed as she realizes she is no better than him with a language she doesn’t fully know. Not waiting for a reply, she leaves the Arvinta and the hold. Once her feet touch the snow outside the hold, she decides stopping would be the best thing to do. She doesn’t want to loose Meville or leave him behind in her home. That would not be good.

As she waits, Lorelle looks down to the snow beneath her. Sliding off a glove, she crouches down before picking up a handful of the cold white substance. Tapping into the gift given to her by the goddess Morwen herself, Lorelle lets the snow roll off her fingertips in liquid form. The drops fall back to where they first came, leaving small imprints. Lorelle sighs. No matter how many times she tells herself she won’t. No matter how much she wishes it wasn’t true or tries to convince herself it doesn’t matter. Avanthal is her home. It is her history. Where she has grown up. That isn’t something she will be able to leave behind. And while she knows leaving is what she wants to do. What she feels she needs to do. She will never leave this home behind. Not fully. Just like the mark on her upper back will never leave her.

[Meville Brightshade]

Surprised to hear Lorelle speak Common so suddenly, Meville raised a brow at her, his grin growing devlish as she struggled with the syllables. Common, while not a harsh or guttural language, was far more terse and simplified than the flowery Vani. Words ended in short, succinct sounds that were almost entirely foreign to the native tongue of the Vantha, which gave them a strange, longing sort of accent, as if the language of Common just wasn't quite enough for them to express themselves. Nodding his agreement, Meville rose up along side her, chuckling to himself.

With her restatement of "library", Meville moved a hand to cover his ever-growing grin as he nodded, watching her gather up her things and command her pet to remain. Apparently shamed by her lack of fluency in his tongue, Lorelle hurried past him after explaining the sudden shift of venue. Watching her leave, Meville sighed, his grin still strong on his features. "Eva, was it?" He glanced down at the furry face of the animal beside him. She seemed to respond to the name, though Meville couldn't quite be sure, as his only experience with dogs was Mino, who he supposed was more dog than anything else. "It would seem your mistress leaves a novice in the realm of Common, but I assure you she shall, one day, return a master." With that, he gave the beast a wink and followed out after Lorelle, taking care to shut the door behind him in case Eva decided she wasn't so keen on Lorelle's commands.

Once he'd exited the Arvinta, Meville found Lorelle staring into the palm of her hand, quite obviously lost in thought. He waited a few ticks before ambling over to her, letting out a puff of happy air to signal he was beside her. "It would make more sense if you'd said: Meville, light of my world, the charts and maps you were wondering about may very well be contained within the many tomes of knowledge stored within the library. I work there, don't you remember?" He grinned wide, laughing at the ridiculous sentence, slowing the pace of his words so Lorelle wouldn't have a difficult time getting the gist of what he said next. "Don't be ashamed of your inadequacies, of your stumbling speech. Embrace them, understand them, correct them. You won't get any better at a language if you do what I do and just ignore what you don't know."

Giving her a warm, sincere smile, he finished. "And you're not nearly as bad at it as you think." Clapping his hands together, Meville glanced around the snowy area, ascertaining the direction to head towards. "So! The library then?"

Common | Vani