Closed 2 Strangers, 1 Ravosal [Baran]

[Lilith Krauss]

26th of Spring 517 AV Early Morning Third season, this spring is the third season Lilith is spending in Ravok and she couldn’t be happier. Ravok was the city she had been dreaming of since the moment those travelers told her about it back in her hometown of Zeltiva; told her about Rhysol, and how The Voice looks over them all in the city. Coming here was a wild ride and she was utterly unsure if anything would work out, if she would even get here at all, but here she was now, looking out the window of her room, taking in the beautiful morning view of Ravok. The sun’s warm light glazing over the calm waters of the canal, reflecting it back to the buildings and bridges. Mesmerizing, the city was like a work of art, but just like observing any painting, one had to eventually pull their gaze away. Lilith pushed away from the window and taking her backpack, left the room. She locked the door, checking it twice just to make sure and walked off. Stepping down the hall of Tarsin's Boarding House it was easy to eavesdrop on people, as the halls weren’t the most spacious of all places and many of the guests spoke well above a level tone to each other; it wasn’t all that surprising as most of the residents were travelers and just stopping by and nobody really cared much about some travelers...as long as they looked human. One thing Lilith noticed upon arrival here, was how little non-human races were present in the city, there were non-humans around, sure, but they weren’t common enough and stood out like a sore thumb in a crowd. Growing up in Zeltiva she was pretty open minded to other races, for the most part, but couldn’t help and wonder how this city viewed non-humans. She was pretty far in her thought, pondering the possible reactions to different races she had seen in her time in the home city, the thought process making her pacing slow down and not really pay attention to much of what was actually going on in the air around her. Eventually she found herself in the lobby, where she greeted Tarsin’s wife with a nod of her head ”Good morning, are there any ravosalamen here?” curious for the most obvious reasons, she didn’t want to walk all the way to her destination, as walking was simply not the most convenient way of moving around the city. ”’Morning, no, no, no...you just missed as the last one departed with a guest.” Lilith just rolled her eyes at the information ”Just my luck” her tone didn’t identify irritation or anger, just disappointment in her timing and maybe just a slight bit of annoyance. Lilith smiled at the woman and exited the lobby, all she could hope for is that it wouldn’t take long for the ravosala to appear...

[Baran]

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26th Spring, 517 AV
Early morning

Quite by chance, just as the raven-haired woman was leaving the building, Baran was too, instrument strapped to his back as usual. He was on his way to play on one of the multiple boats that scoured the water to and fro each day. The idea had been stewing in his mind ever since he had been accepted a job at Chromatic Strings, and he had spent a few days gazing out of his window at the ravosalas, as he had heard them be called. It seemed like it might be a good way to advertise his skills to the people of Ravok. It was certainly a little difficult to busk properly in the city, simply because of the way it was arranged. So Baran, like usual, would improvise.

He had a few pieces in mind, easy ones that wouldn't require too much concentration or skill. Plus, it would be another experience for the musician in the city. Ravok was turning out to be quite the wonder. Some time ago, the idea of this luxurious city would have been quite alien to him, used to Sunberth and hard travelling as he was. But Ravok seemed like a place he could grow to enjoy...

... Especially with the people. He appraised the woman that stood in the doorway, and with a slight bow to her, he opened the door and gestured her through, before following behind into the outside world. It was not quiet but not loud either, and the air was full of the general hubbub of a city. Baran stretched, clicking his shoulders as he took in a deep breath. Although no words were spoken between the two, it soon became very obvious that they were both waiting for the same thing, and so the man turned to the dark-haired beauty and spoke, his accent a peculiar mix of different places, his voice hard to place.

"What's your destination, beautiful? Maybe we could travel together, if you don't mind a bit of music as we go." He smiled, a large smile with sparkling fire in his eyes. There was a pause, and Baran waited for her answer as he watched the slow approach of a ravosala laden with passengers. The ravosalaman was digging his oar into the water, and the man found himself entranced with the way the water sparkled and dripped from the blade. He hummed a tune, for a few ticks, then the ravosala alighted and the people travelling began to get off.

The man indicated that the woman should go first, and he began to dig into his pocket for some loose change to pay for his journey. As he stepped onto the boat, he placed the money into the ravosalaman's outstretched hand, and settled himself on the bench, with enough space to begin to get out his gamba and play without disrupting someone else's space.

His last words were directed towards the ravosalaman, who was eyeing him warily. He gestured to his instrument, and said, "If you don't mind me playing that is, dear sir?" The slight tinge of sarcasm happened quite by accident, and Baran merely tried to keep his face straight as the man sighed and pocketed his money, giving a curt nod.

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[Lilith Krauss]

Lilith was slightly caught off guard by the man who opened the door for her. Politeness wasn’t an odd thing to witness in the city as it was a civilized place, but it wasn’t really something thrown around without reason either; especially at a place like the boarding house. Not to throw shade on the residence as it was well kept and the owners made sure that the guests staying here would feel good during their time here, but the people coming in and out were normally rushing on their daily lives and thus didn’t even have as much time to keep the door open for one another, let alone add to their pace so they could open it for someone. ”Thank you” no harm in being polite, she nodded to the man just before she walked through the door. Like expected, there were no ravosalamen there, they usually came around pretty often, knowing that people prefer them as a means of transportation rather than walking through the mazes of bridges which would take up many more bells than a short ride. She glanced back to notice that the man was still there, at this point it wouldn’t take a mind reader to know that both of them were clearly waiting for a ravosala. Out of habit, and utter lack of shame, Lilith looked the man up and down like he was nothing more than a decorative object placed by the door, not really bothering to hide her actions. Saying that she didn’t rank people by their appearance would be an utmost lie, but she considered it to be a most natural way of sorting people into categories if you didn’t know them. Her gaze settled onto his lips, but was soon drawn to his eyes as the man addressed her. Beautiful? Lilith allowed a smirk to escape before answering ”Flattering” her tone, per usual, came off sharply, but her generally relaxed pose made it clear that it was her natural form of speech and didn’t carry much weight on its own ”It really boils down to how good you play, dear stranger...if you do it half as good as you look, I don’t really see an issue with it” pulling along to his game. She didn’t actually answer his question though, and it only came to her realization a few ticks later ”the Noble district” she added, not feeling a need to specify the location or her reasons for going there. Shortly a ravosala approached them, Lilith scrambled through her pocket to find her spare coin for the ride. She picked up the faint trace of sound in the air, was the man humming? Curiosity forced her gaze back at him, but it seemed like he had stopped before she could even place if the tune was of his doing, or just one of the passengers that exited the ravosala. In the end, it didn’t matter to Lilith enough to ponder on it more than she had already, and without hesitance she stepped onto the ravosala and placed her coin in the man’s hand. Her initial step was clearly unsteady, her confident and relaxed demeanor shifted away until she finally had sat down. Lilith might have been here for a season or two, but she still hadn’t managed to work on her graceful ravosala skills, though it was greatly improved from when she first entered the city. The stranger joined her, and without much hesitance took out his instrument, he really was determined to play. ”so where to?” ”Noble district, Black Waters” she explained with a smile, waiting to finally hear where the stranger was actually headed; after his answer she finally turned to him ”I’m surprised, when you said that you’d play, I quite honestly thought you were fooling around” ”does the stranger have a name?” Whether he answered or not was not important to her, her attention wasn’t actually fixated on the musician, her eyes were set on the instrument. Lilith was not the one to shy away from music, but she didn’t play anything and her singing voice was awful, so she was always intrigued by people who could produce any forms of pleasant noise from these objects. Furthermore, she was never really exposed to many instruments to begin with, and this one peaked her interest, it slightly reminded her of a fiddle - she would see those being played in Zeltiva quite often, but this one was larger and carried visual characteristics she couldn’t quite place. ”what exactly is it?” she asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

[Baran]

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The boat-man accepted both of the fares in silence, and nodded gruffly at the woman's instruction. With the destination accepted and as Baran waved away his destination as being the same as the raven-haired lady, the ravosalaman set off. The paddle dipped into the water like a pen into ink, silently gliding through the streets as Baran accustomed himself to the strange, rocking motion of the seat he sat on. It would definitely make playing a challenge...

But Baran couldn't help but laugh with frank amusement at the stranger's banter, forgetting his instrument for a moment. She was certainly a refreshing character, and the musician found himself warming to her, gazing at her through new eyes. Not only beautiful, but possessing a sharp tongue to boot. With a wink, he introduced himself, "I am Baran, m'lady."

He laughed again, appreciating her not-so-subtle sweep over his appearance, and ran a hand through his hair to show it off. Baran was a proud man, and a vain one to boot. Although not overly keen on doing too much to his appearance, on fear of over-doing it, he still maintained a certain level of grooming, and was glad that the stranger noticed. Even if it was somewhat unsubtle.

He mock-bowed, sweeping his gamba to the right and flourishing his bow to the left. "And this is a gamba." As she showed a certain amount of interest, and because Baran was intensely proud of his instrument anyway, he shuffled closer to gave her a closer look. "The most noble instrument, with dramatic range..." He plucked the lowest string, making a deep, melodious bass thrum, and then the highest string. "And a lovely sound." He played a few of the open strings with his bow, causing a Ravokian couple to stop suddenly on the bridge to look for the sound coming from the water.

The boat paddled on. Ravok was a truly beautiful place, with elegant buildings and waterfronts. Baran looked up at the bridge as they passed underneath it, and nodded respectfully towards the people standing there, making sure they got a good look of his face. Despite the distractions, he still needed to make sure that this trip would at least do what he hoped it would do. He drew his attention back to the woman again, hoping he didn't appear too distracted.

"I am deadly serious about playing, it is my life's blood." His expression grew solemn, and then he smirked. "Here, I'll play you a piece- if you tell me your name?" He leant forwards and tapped her head with the tip of his bow, and then shuffled back to his original place. The musician was in a mischievous mood, but music required a certain degree of concentration, so he took a few moments to settle into position.

The gamba was held firmly between his knees, and the pegs wiggled to get them into tune. He held the bow in his right hand, and moved his left to hold the neck, fingers ghosting over the strings whilst he thought of a suitable tune to play for the black-haired woman of intrigue.

OOCSeeing as your PC has the mark of Ranuri (cool!) I thought I'd outline what she might see, if they had skin to skin contact.
Baran needs to be popular, even if he wants to appear to be aloof. He desires to be the best at most things, and wishes that people would acknowledge him for being great. He is really self-centred, and also needs to have a good time. He despises boredom. Hope that helps! ^_^

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[Lilith Krauss]

Upon finding out the man’s name, Lilith repeated it in her head a few times out of habit and to get a feel of it. Essentially, the name didn’t ring a bell in her mind, without a family name or any distinctive features to it, Lilith had no use of it, other than the comfort of referring to the man in a polite way, even the usefulness of that was put to questioning as nobody knew if there would ever be a need to see each other again. She chuckled, her eyebrow raised at the clearly confident man ”Most noble? My, my, that’s a loud claim, I hope it's true” she wasn’t trying to mock him, but it was amusing to see someone so confident in their instrument and speaking so highly of it. This was made more unusual to Lilith, who was not well versed in musical instruments, to her many sounded nearly the same and she would always think that it wasn’t the instrument making the noise, it was the musician. Despite her stance on it, she would have to agree, based on the citizens stopping to seek out the source of sound if nothing else, that the instrument had a specific ring to it. Shifting her head a bit, looking the man and his instrument over once more in her less than subtle manner, she evaluated the interest in the instrument and the desire of sharing her name. This man was clearly not from Ravok, people from Ravok don’t go to the boarding house for places to sleep; he didn’t seem dangerous or influential enough to really make a difference and so she gave in. ”Lilith would be my humble name, Darling” a cheeky smile spread across her face, unable to restrain herself from referring to Baren as darling if only for the jest of it. She could only hope that the man didn't take fault in her easy attitude, being serious without reason was not the way she enjoyed spending her time. Lifting her gaze to the buildings around, Lilith realized that the noble district wasn’t far anymore, but she was confident in the man’s skill of making the remaining portion of this ride enjoyable. After all, for all the fooling around, she had to admit that her guess for the man’s skill was high - since he seemed quite eager to play. People who play badly don’t get so caught up on the idea, or carry their instruments along in the first place. ”do you perform for a living?” if asking about it was inappropriate, she was not aware of it, as it seemed to her as a logical question for someone who is so...enchanted by music. oocsorry that this is short, turns out dissertation writing takes up a lot of time

[Baran]

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He smiled, triumphantly, as the wondrous, raven woman spilled her name. Lilith. But as she had fulfilled her end of the bargain, he knew he was obliged to complete his part too, so he gathered in a deep, meditative breath and quickly ran his bow over the strings to check the tuning. He had one final question to answer before he could play her a piece, and so he spoke plainly, "Yes, I perform. I work for Chromatic Strings." Then he smiled, quirked one eyebrow quickly, and formed a serene look across his features. Then- he played.

As he was wont to do, the dark-haired man hadn't fully decided a piece as he put the bow down. What came out was something more mournful than he had expected, something sad and slow and ponderous. In the narrow street they floated down, the sonorous vibrations of the lower strings thrummed in the air and echoed into the stone and timber of the houses. Baran was playing a piece he knew simply as Sorrows, originally a sailor's ballad for a lost love. In his form, it was just a drifting, mellifluous, threnodic melody that lasted until they emerged into a more open space, where the spell was broken. He found himself temporarily lost for words, lost in a mire of his own creation, before he snapped out of it and smiled weakly at the woman.

"Apologies, Lilith, for the mournful tone." Despite his apologies, he made no excuses for the piece, and left it at that. In an attempt to lighten the suddenly sombre mood, he asked brightly as he offered his hand to the woman to help her out of the ravosala, "So, what do you do, Lilith o' Lily-Flower? Let me guess. You are a rich noblewoman of the city, so taken with my playing you'll give me a handsome reward. Or..." He pondered, as a smirk gradually crept onto his lips. "You are a famous assassin, sent here to kill me, but you fancied hearing my music before you released me to my final mistress, Dira? Or you are a simple tavernkeeper, earning your way so you can make a better life for your children. Yet you do not look old enough to be cursed with those. And there isn't an air of death around you, nor the arrogance of the rich. So, what is it to be, Lilith?"

It was a fanciful speech, and he couldn't help but guffaw finally, letting his laughter ring as he slung his gamba case firmly onto his back again. All his guesses were far from the mark, and he knew it. But if he was to take it seriously, the roguish musician would have found it difficult to know where to begin. If he was using his brain (which he wasn't) then he could think of the nearest buildings as a clue. But he was thinking with his heart, as always. And his heart told him to make a jest, make a fool, make a laugh with this charming young lady. He sensed that she wasn't one for silence and boredom. Whether he was right or not, time would tell.

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[Lilith Krauss]

Baran’s words only confirmed her own guess of his profession, but it really was a low hanging fruit, someone who doesn’t earn a living with music wouldn’t be carrying his instrument around, or be this eager to play. Now the place of his employment was a different manner, truly new information, she had no particular use for it, but Lilith always enjoyed learning new things about people, even if it was pointless. Since Lilith wasn’t a musician herself, she couldn’t really comment on Baran’s technique of playing, how clean the sound was or how well the music was composed. She was a simple listener and looked beyond the technical part, she sought out the emotion behind the music. What she found was sadness, she would even say that it sounded regretful, like a song you would play to someone as an apology for hurting them...assuming, that one would accept a song as a form of apology. It didn’t seem like Lilith was the only one who found the melody saddening, as the ravosalaman was clearly sinking into a state of deep thought. When the music stopped, she brought her attention back to Baran ” mourning can be beautiful” was all she said in response, her face still and lacking indication of any emotion. Once she realized that they had arrived at the Black Waters, Lilith was about to get out of the ravosala and bid farewell to the man she might never see again, but she realized that the man was also getting out and offering her his hand. Since Lilith’s own hand was clad in a glove, she accepted the man’s offer to help her out of the ravosala without much hesitation. Only when she had her feet firmly on the ‘ground’ did she remember that the Chromatic Strings were actually close to the Black Waters. Lilith couldn’t help but raise her eyebrow at the man, wondering where he could have gotten those wild assumptions from. She did find some of his guesses quite flattering, mostly the one about being a famous assassin, Lilith would never think that she had what it takes to be one, but gods knew she wanted to be recognized for something. However, once she realized that all of this was a lighthearted jest from the musician, she couldn’t help but let a laugh escape her lips. ”you aren’t the one for details, now are?” she asked before pointing her finger towards the building they were closest ”Black Waters, I’m a masseuse, dear Sir.” working there was no huge accomplishment, but she was proud of it ”There I work a special kind of magic” the fact she enjoyed her work was evident in how she smiled while speaking of it. ”but don’t take my word for it, come into the deep with me, and let me show you” her tone made it sound nearly like a challenge, even if it was intended to only be a friendly tease. ”Alas, if you aren't interested...I guess this would be where we bid farewell?” Quite honestly, she didn’t really want to see the man back away, Lilith had come to enjoy his company. In small, tiny steps she began walking.

[Baran]

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Title 517

Any musician worth his salt would never fail to tell you that the profession was a highly competitive one. Baran was no exception, and it was with gusto that the man accepted the easily acceptable challenge. He was frankly bemused that she thought he wouldn't take her up on the offer, and said as much with a wry expression, "You think I'm the type of person to walk away from such a kind offer? Of course, I expect the service won't be free, but lead away dear woman! You've sampled my trade, now I'm keen to sample yours."

With that, Baran followed the lithe woman through into the building. However, not before taking a long look at the façade of the aqua-painted building. He had noticed it, of course, due to it's close proximity to the shop he was employed by, but although he had been fascinated he hadn't as of yet found time to enter. Now was the perfect opportunity. It seemed a rather high class establishment, frequented by those of high wealth and status. Baran was neither of those things, but wished to fashion himself as such, so it was with an air of belonging that he followed the woman through into her place of work.

Truthfully, he had a little experience of the luxuries of massage and bathing houses. In his late youth, the man had found a love of the Stark Naked & Starstruck bathhouse in Alvadas. Fabled for it's inky waters and it's starlit skied ceiling, the musician had many fond memories of the utter relaxation and cleanliness of that particular establishment. Now he was relishing the same experience here. More so though, he was curious to see what kind of experience Lilith had. He hadn't pegged her as a masseuse, and the answer still surprised him somewhat. Not because he deemed it a demeaning job- those would be the hard, manual-type labours and the dirty jobs of cleaning and building. He just... wasn't expecting it, and found it difficult to picture her in the role.

Yet because of this, his curiosity was piqued even further, and so he stepped up to the desk and the clerk that sat there. "Hello. I'd like to book in a massage with Lilith, if I may." As an aside, he quickly asked to the black-haired lady, "What are your prices, by the by?"

OOCEep, short! Sorry!

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[Lilith Krauss]

Lilith smiled at the musician once he accepted her offer ”Dear Sir, it would have been impolite of me to assume, so I much rather ask” though she would agree with the man, he didn’t look like the type to walk away from a playful challenge or an offer; though even she kept a slim possibility of refusal in her mind, just to save herself from a hit to her pride if nothing else. ”Well then, follow me” her voice had dropped her sarcastic tone by now and for the time being, there was a slight bounce to her step. She enjoyed her work, but it always proved to be more fun if the person on the receiving end was entertaining, she counted on the musician to prove himself as a worthwhile company. Naturally, Lilith was first to enter and her uplifted mood was noted by the clerk who rose a brow at her, knowing well that Lilith was hardly a morning person. Once the clerk noticed Baran, her curiosity was partially set. ”Hello, Lilith, of course” the clerk looked over a few sheets of paper to see if Lilith had any booked appointments, which was merely a jest since Lilith didn’t have the reputation of say Logan or Triwil, who were constantly booked. Lilith was on the side of ‘you just dropped by and wanted to get a massage done’ workers, though she was working her way up to change that. ”Yes, she is available” a comment, that once again, was merely the codex of work here. Upon Baran’s question regarding the price of this service, even Lilith who worked here would have to say that they were unreasonably high, in her opinion at least. Even though the question of prices was addressed towards Lilith, it was the clerk who answered, once again, due to code ”Lilith offers simple and luxury massages, which cost 4gm and 8gm respectively” Lilith was confident that the man wouldn’t be backing away now, it would look horrible if he did, but she did feel a sense of shame, knowing that this would set the man back a few days of food, not being a local, Lilith knew it could be impactful. ”I’ll be upstairs, the lovely lady will bring you up” Lilith smiled and walked up. This she gave as an option for the man to walk off, if he wished, even if she didn’t believe he would. Additionally, this gave her the chance to check up on the room she worked in before the man would come. Upstairs, on the second floor, at the end of the hall, she entered the room where she worked. Lilith quickly scanned the room to make sure everything was in place and neatly organized - the towels folded, the containers of powders, soaps, oils, and creams were clean. She walked around to check if there was no dirt on the pale mint colored marble floor or wall tiles. Lilith took care of this place before she left and she knew employees would check on it after, just to make sure, since shifts between masseuses did happen...but everything was clean and ready to accept the client.