To Make One's Acquaintance (Lirael)

[Amarhyl]

Season of Winter, Day 70, 510 AV To Make One's Acquaintance It had been over a week since she had arrived in Syliras, yet Amarhyl still felt lost. Not in the sense that she didn’t know where she was, it was more that she didn’t know what to do with herself. She knew no-one, having not yet made any acquaintances. It was not something that came naturally to her. She was incredibly shy; growing up as an only child she had nobody at home, and the neighbouring children paid no attention to her. She learnt to entertain herself alone, spending her time reading and teaching herself embroidery. As a result of this, the mere thought of interacting with strangers sent her into a spiral of nervousness. She’d tried her best to familiarise herself with the layout of the city since she’d arrived, rising early each morning to wander through the citadel, free from the crush of midday crowds. Naturally, the first store to catch her eye was An Elegant Weave, selling assortments of clothing and materials. It was to this place that she wandered now. Inside, she ran spools of thread through her fingers, smiling as she felt the familiar textures on her skin. Moving over to the already crafted clothing, she looked along the collections for a new tunic. A white silk item caught her eye, and she picked it up. It was lovely, and she could imagine embroidering a pattern across the neck. At 15gold mizas though, she was unsure. If she wanted to stay here long-term, she didn’t want to spend much. With a sigh, she hung the tunic back in it’s place, and glanced round at the other customers.

[Lirael]

Lirael soon discovered after a short while in Syliras, that the Winter here was much cooler than what she was used to. The air really seemed to have quite a bite to it as she wondered through the grey city. Lirael's white cotton dress provided very little protection against the chill that nipped at her skin. She did however, own a grey cloak, but she felt it to be against her spirit to wear something so dull. Plus, it irritated her skin to no end. Lirael was in need of something that would both warm her, and provide her desired comfort and elegance. This train of thought is what led her to search for a decent clothing shop. An Elegant Weave to be exact.

But where was it? Lirael lept lightly from stone to stone, entertaining herself on her search for the shop. A merchant lady awhile back had told her it was in this direction, so it was this direction that Lirael travelled. Stone to stone she hopped, glancing up every now and then to see if anyone was watching. It really would be quite embarrassing to be seen acting so childish in public. However, all was well whilst she was out of sight of the judging eyes of others, so Lirael did as she pleased. Every now and then she would scan the immediate area for auras that would capture her interest, all the while searching for signs of others. Her searching for auras became less and less frequent as she began to tire. Lirael to almost pass by the entrance without a second glance being so caught up in her childish game that she had forgotten to open up her senses every now and then. Here game was actually going quite well, as she was jumping further with each step. But this was forgotten quite quickly when she entered the shop.

"Wow," Lirael whispered to herself as her eyes swept the shop. There was so much to choose from! Lirael was sure that she would have no trouble finding a something to keep her warm amongst the endless wool and silk, but would it be comfortable? Well then, there was only one way to find out. Lirael smiled to herself, humming a soft tune from nowhere in particular as she brushed against the clothing with her fingertips as she passed by. There was simply everything here. From tunics to lingerie, Lirael took in the sight with wonder. Lirael even spotted an exquisitely decorated ballgown that was on display. The red fabric interwoven with the white silk was beautifully decorated with fine lace along the rim. Lirael could only gaze at it with longing, knowing that it would be far too expensive for a girl like Lirael to buy. And how would she ever carry it with her on her travels? It would be much too fluffy to fit in her travel bag. She sighed, drawing her eyes away from the dress, only to rest them on a girl. Lirael with a newly found determination, decided that this girl would be worth approaching. It seemed so simple to simply waltz up to her and strike up a conversation, but Lirael was not an overconfident person. Or even a confident person. Actually, she found it quite difficult to make a conversation at all. "Come on," she pleaded with herself, "How bad can it be?" Lirael still wasn’t sure, but took a few tentative steps in the general direction of the girl who seemed to be intent on a particular white blouse. No, wait, it wasn’t a blouse at all. Lirael took another quiet step. It was a tunic.
Lirael was edging forward, peering past the girl to get a better view of the tunic. Lirael could imagine the girl’s surprise when she suddenly turned around and she found herself face to face with Lirael. In fact, Lirael was quite surprised herself. Very much so actually. Surprised enough to stumble backwards, only just catching herself on a nearby shelf which wavered slightly with her touch.

”My apologies,” Lirael smiled sheepishly at the girl, ”I don’t seem to have much balance today. My name is Lirael. What shall I call you?”

[Amarhyl]

As she placed the silk tunic back where she’d picked it from, she fought a battle inside her head. She was determined not to buy the tunic, it really was too much for just one item, but she so badly wanted it. She’d always wanted to embroider silk; it was a material she had never worked with, and she knew it would be a challenge. But then of course, she would have to buy some new thread. Not just any thread could be used on something as fine as silk. The sensible side of her finally won, and it was then that the sigh slipped through her lips. Her shoulders sagged slightly and she made to turn round. Her heart almost stopped though, when she found herself face-to-face with another girl. She saw a pair of large purple eyes, before she promptly leapt backwards, almost burying herself in the stand of tunics out of sheer shock. She glanced round wildly, heart hammering, and saw that the purple eyes belonged to a girl who didn’t appear much older than herself. The girl was clinging to a shelf; it seemed they’d both gotten a shock. Amarhyl wracked her brain. Unusually coloured eyes…many races could have exotic eye colours. But she took in the pale hair, and noticed elaborate swirls patterned upon her face; they were shimmering slightly in the artificial lighting of the shop. The Konti were a race that Amarhyl had once read about back in the Outpost, and she’d been intrigued by them. Blue eyes wide, she stared at the stranger for a few moments. She didn't mean to; she just didn't quite know what else to do. It wasn't often one found themselves so close to another, that all they can focus on are eyes. Amarhyl was torn between staying still where she was, or moving away, out of the shop. Insanely shy as she was, this was the last situation she wanted to be in. ”My apologies…” Amarhyl re-focused her attention on the girls face as she spoke. ” I don’t seem to have much balance today. My name is Lirael. What shall I call you?” She was still in a state of shock, clinging to the tunics with both hands to steady herself, so she didn’t answer right away. In fact, it took a moment for the Konti’s words to register in her mind. Amarhyl wasn’t one for interacting with strangers, but she also hated to be rude. She took a breath to calm down. ”Uh…Amarhyl…” She was relieved to hear that her voice remained relatively steady. ”It’s okay…you just startled me…” She eyed the girl – Lirael - warily before glancing round the shop. With both of them springing backwards, it can’t have been a quiet meeting; no doubt someone had noticed.

[Lirael]

It turned out that Lirael wasn't the only one who had gotten a fright from the close encounter. The other girl had also leapt backwards in shock. Lirael peered curiously at her through the tunics that now covered her body. It really was quite a sight seeing the girl hiding amongst the clothing, her wide blue eyes seemingly to peering back at her as Lirael waited for a reply to her statement. By now, Lirael had gathered herself together and had released her grip on the shelf so as she could stand up straight. It sure was lucky that the shelf hadn't fallen, even with a weight as light as Lirael's. Her backpack sure did make up for her lightness, but Lirael always carried it with her as it contained her only possessions. Her life in a bag, really. Not that she didn't have a life before the bag. Of course she had one. But at the moment, that life was in the past and had left a bag in its place. Lirael had once more, become slightly off track and was surprised when the girl eventually replied.

"Uh...Amarhyl...It's okay...you just startled me..."

Amarhyl that was a pretty name. Lirael smiled to herself. Lots of names seemed to be pretty in Syliras. Marline, Niahara and now Amaryl. It reminded her of Amethyst, her favourite precious stone. Lirael could feel something tugging at the corner of her mind as she studied the girl. It was as if she had forgotten something, or remembered that she had to remember something. Confusing, yes, but Lirael had felt it before. When somebody had something special about them, or if there was an object of high magical power nearby, she felt this tug in her mind. Instinctively, Lirael's Auristics kicked in, revealing what was tugging her mind this time. Amarhyl was radiating a light purple aura, yet her left palm was radiating a much brighter aura. A golden aura. Lirael had need patch auras before, but never were they such a beautiful golden shade. Lirael herself had a silvery blue aura patch on her neck where Rak'keli blessed her with her gnosis mark that allowed her to heal minor injuries and illnesses. And if Lirael somehow was blessed with a second gnosis mark, Lirael would have the ability to heal even more advanced injuries such as broken bones or serious illnesses. If she was extremely lucky she would be blessed with a third, allowing her to heal even the most extreme of illnesses and injuries. Suddenly, the connections seemed to click in Lirael’s mind. A patch of aura. A patch of aura that she saw on all Konti, but rarely on others. It must be. It had to be. A gnosis mark. Amarhyl, the blonde haired girl, had a gnosis mark on her left hand. Lirael realised that she was standing there with her mouth slightly open with a strange expression on her face. She instantly shook herself back into reality, the auras disappearing as if they had never appeared. She gazed at the blue eyed girl with new intrigue.

”Hi, Amarahyl,” The Konti almost whispered, taking a timid step forward. ”I hope that I am not intruding, but… may I see your hand? Its aura really is quite beautiful.” Wow. Lirael hoped she had not spoken the wrong words, as she often seemed to do. She realised that it would sound quite strange to somebody who probably did not have experience with the art of auras. Did she even know what an aura was? If she did, was Lirael now stereotyped as a crazy magician who pries into business that is not theirs to pry in? Maybe Lirael shouldn’t have peeked at her aura at all. It would have saved much awkwardness. But no. She was much too curious. Auristics wasn’t all that crazy, was it? Lirael gazed pleadingly at Amarahyl, hoping she would say yes.

[Amarhyl]

Amarhyl slowly extracted herself from amongst the tunics, carefully moving them aside so as not to do them any damage. She absently smoothed them down so that they were back in perfect display position, her eyes still on the Konti girl before her. It was something that she always did. Amarhyl always internally winced at crumpled fabrics and knotted thread, and she often had to resist the urge to smooth out the creases or untangle things. She didn't really know why, but her father had said that her mother was the same, so she figured that it was a habit that people who worked with fabrics had. The Konti had let go of the shelf already and Amarhyl took another look round the shop. A woman near the counter was scrutinising the pair, shaking her head, and the girl fought the blush that was threatning to creep into her cheeks, quickly returning her attention to the Konti. She paused and a little crease appeared on her brow. The Konti girl was staring at her, though not her face, with her mouth slightly agape. She appeared to be intrigued by an area near Amarhyl's left hip, and she froze when she realised that. Her arm was hanging by her side, and on her palm was her Luminance Gnosis. Though her palm was turned away; all that the Konti would be able to see was the back of her hand. "...may I see your hand? Its aura really is quite beautiful." Aura? She dug through her memory till she recalled some vague information about a piece of Arcane named Auristics. As far as she could remember, people skilled in Auristics could read auras. What exactly an aura was, the girl didn't know, but it was obvious that the Konti did. She involantarily clenched her hand into a fist. Only Sam knew exactly what her Gnosis was, and Amarhyl tried her best to keep others from knowing about it. Not an easy feat when your palm emits a constant golden glow, but she'd somehow managed not to draw too much attention to it. If anyone ever noticed, they hadn't said anything. She suddenly realised how that must have looked, and she hoped that the Konti wasn't offended. Slowly, she raised her fist to her chest. "I uh...okay." As much as she didn't really want to, she extended her arm a little and opened her hand. Turning it palm upwards, she gingerly offered it to the Konti.

[Templar]

Amarhyl: Observation: 2 – Rhetorics: 1 Lore: Syliras layout (basic) – Meeting a Konti – Lirael: Auristics: 2 Lore: Additional notes: Sorry for the poor grading, but there wasn’t much for me to go on here. If I missed something, feel free to PM me.