Time to move forward (Nydryn)

[Rysen Londell]

Spring 1 511 AV

So he had arrived in Ravok. Looking out at the city he couldn't help but remember how he came to be here.

After leaving Zeltiva he had met up with a merchant caravan and traveled with them for the better part of the last year. They welcomed him in kindly as long as he was willing to earn his keep. He made sure to give them no reason to expel him from their good graces. Volunteering for any jobs that he could manage he learned a good deal of things. Often he was called upon to use his knowledge of economics to negotiate prices with other merchants. Also as he stayed with the group they looked to him to settle disputes within the group and sometimes with other outsiders. Often he was able to talk down people with his quick and sharp tongue. However after one particular encounter with a very large man who was insulted by Rysen's higher education, Rysen found himself with a broken nose and a few cracked ribs. Therefore one of his companions offered Rysen a few lessons in self defense which he gladly accepted. He spent many nights taking beatings and practicing his form. Soon he found himself a capable hand to hand fighter and able to hold his own. All these lessons were highly valued but a time came where he found himself needing to move on. He parted ways with the caravan and they pointed him to the nearest city, Ravok.

He came back to reality and began observing his surroundings. As he made his way through the crowd of people he came to an important realization, What the hell am I doing here? He buried his face into his palms and began to laugh, his shoulders bobbing up and down. He recovered himself and tilted his head as he scratched his head and let out a heavy sigh. Politically speaking the best course of action in a new environment is to establish a good standing with the public, he thought to himself. Though long having give up his dreams of politics he readily relied on that knowledge in everyday life. He began making a checklist of everything that he would need to do first but his mind began to wander. Standing there his head slightly tilted to the left lost in thought.

[Nydryn]

Nydryn’s head was throbbing. All she wanted to do was forget about the past couple of days and continue with her life. But she couldn’t do that. Her past influenced who she was now and also what she would do in the future. The streets of Ravok were familiar as her small, lithe form paced through them. Unlike a few days ago, Nydryn was fully aware of her surroundings, and a sufficient amount of suspicion was required when someone lived on the streets... someone like her. Suspicion shrouded everything she did, everything past the age of 11 that is. She had been forced to live on the streets as a child, stealing to survive. On her own, it seemed like there was never enough money. And since it required less money to provide for just her, rather than her and a companion, Nydryn traveled alone most of the time. It was now Spring, and the perfect time to travel if she was going to, but where would she go? She had abandoned the search for her mother, but she was unsure whether she wanted to stay in Ravok. There were many amazing things about her beloved city, but many, many painful memories were associated with it as well. The canals of Ravok were beautiful and so comforting that when Nydryn felt on the brink of collapsing, sitting on one of the many bridges woult give her the energy to continue. It was a strange connection- hers with Ravok. It was such a familiar city... maybe one could even consider it too familiar. She loved most of it neverless, that is until a horrible memory claws its way into her mind. One of many memories of her mother, or her family were painful to remember. For her own sake, Nydryn tried as best she could to block out the intruding thoughts, but she could only do so much. Her head was down, and her mind was elsewhere when she bumped into a man standing in the middle of the street. What was he doing? No one stopped on the streets of Ravok without a good reason. “Oh sir, I’m sorry” the mumbled apology came only a few seconds after her form had collided with his, "Please forgive me...". He was taller than her, like many people were, his hair was brown, and his bright green eyes stood out amidst his lightly toned face. Unsure of whether the man was going to become violent because of her mindlessness, her delicate feet took her a few steps back as she watched his reaction.

[Rysen Londell]

Rysen's body hardly moved as the girl collided with him, in fact it didn't seem to phase him much at all. This was the first town he had been in since leaving home, it was very strange to him. He liked that it was surround by water this reminded him of the harbor in Zeltiva. The air was full of moisture but it was different, there was no scent of the sea in it. His head lowered to look at the blond girl next to him although his eyes were out of focus and it almost seemed as if he were looking through her. "Hmm, oh..." Was all he managed to say and again he turned his head back to the horizon. "Oh!" He said almost at a shout. Again he turned back to the girl who had run into him. "No no, its my fault. What kind of lunatic just stops in the middle of a busy street? Hah, really its no problem." He noticed that as he spoke she backed away from him.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the girl's feet but he quickly made eye contact with her blue eyes again. Certainly he didn't want to seem rude but it was curious as to why she backed away so quickly. She must be hiding something he told himself, Don't be so paranoid a voice in his head told him. He reassured himself that he must simply be dealing with a very shy girl. It had been a considerable amount of time since he had dealt with city people again, he just needed to calm his nerves. The last thing he needed is to draw unwanted attention to himself his first day in town. He smiled down at her trying to appear as friendly as possible. He let out a hardy chuckle, Its fine really it is. You don't need to be so timid. Are you okay?

[Nydryn]

At first, Nydryn had been wary of this man, like she was with every stranger that she crossed during her travels, but this man seemed different. Not a bad different, but he seemed genuinely sorry for stopping in the middle of the street and causing her to run into him. She couldn’t believe that he was taking the blame, but not questioning it, Nydryn’s suspicious aura lightened a bit. He was smiling down at her, and it seemed that he was making an effort to seem less intimidating to her. Of course any man would believe that it was him that caused what looked like fear. Truly it was suspicion… wariness of anyone, or anything. Being taken advantage of had made her trust a prize to be won only with time. The more time she spent with a person, no matter who it was, she seemed to trust them more. It was disturbing to her, that fact. What if she was to put her trust in someone and then they betray her as well? However hard she tried, time seemed to mean trust. Nydryn hoped that she would be able to fix that flaw in her suspicious air that surrounded her everywhere she went. Slightly smiling at the man, her blue eyes fixed on his green ones. Timid. Did she really look timid? She guessed that her wariness came off as timidity. “Yeah, I am fine. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She slowly stood up, brushing a few pieces of dirt off of her dress. Trying to remember where she was headed when she accidentally ran into the man, she couldn’t remember. Seeing the Silver Sliver Tavern behind the tall man, she decided that was where she would go after the conversation with the man ended. A drink or two would clear her mind and relax her. OOCOk, so in the thread, I say that we are standing in front of a popular tavern in Ravok. Id love for this exchange to continue maybe in the tavern. What do you think?

[Rysen Londell]

Rysen nodded his head for no reason in particular as he turned his sights back to the crowded streets. He was beginning to feel overwhelmed in this new place. Here he was in a strange city with no place to stay, he didn't know anyone, and he had no real reason for being there. Old feelings came creeping back to him, he suddenly felt very helpless. His bright smile had faded and was over taken by a very stoic attitude. Perhaps he should just turn back and leave, there was no reason to be here he told himself. Again though he forced himself to calm down because after all he had just arrived, who knows what this city has in store for him. Maybe he could find the "feeling" he was searching for here. Give it some time, he reminded himself. There was no reason for him to rush anything.

He became aware that he was drifting off again as he sometimes does but brought himself back from it. He glanced back at the girl who seemed to be looking over his shoulder so naturally he turned to see what had drawn her attention. At first he saw nothing of interest but then he spotted what looked like one of the local taverns. "Well it seems that who ever is at fault here owes the other a drink I would say." He smiled again and looked back at her, "Wouldn't you agree?" He adjusted his pack on his back and turned and began making his way towards the Silver Silver Tavern. He motioned for her to follow him.

[Nydryn]

Her gaze had captured his attention without meaning to. She had been looking at the Silver Sliver, and so naturally, when he noticed, he pointed it out. She was still unsure about this mans intentions, and she didn’t even know his name. To go with him would mean giving him a small amount of trust, but she wanted a break from the streets, and he was offering a break along with some company. He was already headed toward the tavern, and so deciding to go against her gut feeling, she followed him. Her footsteps were light, and her strides small as though she was about to take off in the opposite direction at any second. Even though that was possible, it wasn’t very likely. The man had gone ahead of her and sat down at the bar, turned around and waiting for her. Taking a seat beside him, her bright blue eyes glanced over at his green ones. “I’ll pay…” she said, “After all it was my fault,” a slight blush rising on her cheeks remembering her clumsiness. Life experiences had trained her to keep her guard up at all times, and she didn’t know what had gotten into her when she dropped that guard and ran into the man. “Oh and I am Nydryn,” Now, she decided that she was truly insane. When did she give her name to random strangers on the streets? Apparently she had been removed from the street rat life for too long, and she knew that it was not a good thing. An out of practice street rat could get killed in a heartbeat by the Black Sun or even other street rats. She hadnt always been a street reat though. Her mother's abandonment had forced Nydryn into a life that she didnt want... and wasnt prepared for. For the past few years, Nydryn had been able to travel to take her mind off of recurring memories of her mother, but now they clawed their way in. Against her will. Memories were horrid things, or so Nydryn thought. For the most part, all her memories did was make her suffer. Taking her mind off such vicious monsters of the mind required effort, and at least partly losing control of her own thoughts. That had been the only way that the creatures of the mind dissapeared, at least for a time. Nydryn desperately hoped that she could find some other way of achieving that euphoria.

[Rysen Londell]

Rysen had sat down at the bar and was looking around the tavern taking note of everyone there. He always made a point to not stare but for some reason he had always done this upon entering a room. He would glance at the person and take a quick note of them just to put his mind at ease. No one particularly stood out to him as being odd here which relieved him. Then he watched Nydryn as she approached him; in all honesty he was a bit surprised that she in fact had followed him in. It had seemed to him that she would have probably have gone on about her day but nonetheless he was happy to have the company. His eyes followed her as she settled down next to him.

Once again she had caught him by surprise by offering to pay for his drink, he had been joking about that part. He didn't feel quite right about letting a stranger pay for his drink especially after it was he who may have put the thought in her head."Fine, I'll get the next round then." Yes, he was satisfied with that idea. He still hadn't quite figured this girl out. At first she seemed like a timid girl who had absent mindfully bumped into him while he was standing carelessly in the middle of the street. But now here she was next to him at the tavern. This was certainly not how he had expected his first day in Ravok to play out but he thought that it could have definitely be worse "Good to meet ya Nydryn. I'm Rysen." He extended his hand toward her. This is where he really excelled, in any social situation he prided the fact that he was almost always able to fit in. No matter how uncomfortable he may feel he always tried to hide it. Feigning interest in what people had to say was his specialty. After all he had spent a lot of his time studying to be a politician.

The idea of having some fun with the girl by giving her a fake name had crossed his mind but at the last second he decided to be honest. Now was not the time for such childish jokes; not in a new place like this. After all there was no telling if this girl could be a useful contact here in Ravok. His thoughts turned to the drink and the thought of his home town favorite, Kelp Beer, it had been so long since he had tasted it. Although he was not hopeful that any would be found here since the taste did take some getting used to. Only recently did he actually start to like it, most of the time he just drank it to impress his father and the other sailors in Zeltiva. "So whats you're story huh? You from around here?"

[Nydryn]

Rysen. The name was not unusual, and fit the man before her. She vaguely wondered if it was actually his name, but deciding to accept what he said to be true, she let it go. The truth was forced out in the open quickly with Nydryn around, or so it seemed. He had seemed surprised to see her follow him, and then offer to pay. Smiling slightly to herself, Ny decided that it could be because men liked to take control. She reached out her own hand and shook his, her grip surprisingly firm. “Beer,” she told the bartender, “any you’ve got.” Alcohol. The past few weeks had been a blur, but she did remember drinking more than usual. She had grown increasingly fond of the effect it had on her, and unfortunately she realized that she could be developing a reliance on the substance. Her story… which one? Nydryn’s mind was attacked viciously by the memories that she had tried to block out for so long. “Well, I was born in Ravok,” her gaze traveled up as the words were spoken. That fact was true, and it didn’t reveal too much about her past. There were only a few odds and ends of her story that she could tell him… that she would tell him. Although she had started to trust the man, she didn’t know much about him. “I’ve been traveling a lot recently,” That was also true, but she didn’t share why she had been traveling, who she had been searching for. That was a little too personal. She only shared a small amount of information, and it was intentional. She hoped that he wouldn’t question her further, and that he would leave it up to her to reveal any more information about her story. “How about you?” She was curious about this man. He wanted to know about her, so naturally she wanted to find out some information about him. He didn’t seem accustomed to Ravok’s streets… that much she could tell after meeting him only a few short minutes ago. He didn’t look like a street rat such as herself… but then again right now, she didn’t look like a street rat. She only acted like one. Her suspicion had kept her safe throughout her travels, and so she had held onto it, not letting anyone through its barrier in her mind… well besides one person but that had been a mistake. Her clothes were clean, and her hair as well. It was unusual for her to look as she did, actually acceptable to the general public. Unfortunately, a life on the streets wore on her appearance, just as it did on her previously social personality. The bartender had brought their drinks back, and Nydryn reached into her bag, pulling out one gold miza. She dropped it into the bartender’s hand, and then reached for the mug. Holding it up to her lips, she felt the soothing liquid enter her body. A cheap way to achieve a state of euphoria. Happiness in a mug. Who wouldn’t want the drink? Some thought it immoral to let a drink achieve that state for you, but not Nydryn. She had spent too many years of her life being wary, and being back in Ravok had allowed her at least a partial break from that tense state.

[Rysen Londell]

Her grip was strong especially for a woman. Usually he judged people's character on their handshake and ability to make eye contact but he let those things slide with women. But she was different. Grasping his hand firmly in hers and looking him straight in the eye. Certainly he was caught off guard by it. However he had just learned something about Nydryn, for being so delicate looking she had a certain ruggedness to her. He respected that.


The smell of beer filled his nostrils for the first time in a long while, in fact he couldn't remember the last night he had the chance to relax with the drink. He had a nasty tendency to go on drinking binges back home, something that he had hoped to work on. He was feeling more at home here which he found somewhat humorous being that they were in a tavern. What does that say about me? He chuckled at the thought. It all reminded him of home; those late nights hearing the sailor's stories that were often exaggerated and singing songs until the early morning. Perhaps he should have done more of that when he had the chance but he had always stayed busy with school work. He was glad to have escaped the sailor's life though. That was something he had never wanted to be a part of which is why at such an early age he had decided that he would attend the University, to escape that kind of life. And although he had learned a good deal about that lifestyle he had succeeded. But he couldn't help but feel that it was for nothing. He had been an honor student yet here he was, a poor traveler searching for nothing.

Those thoughts always made him depressed, now wasn't the time for that. Born in Ravok...and she travels,he thought to himself. That wasn't much to go on but then again they had just met. He didn't exactly know what he expected her to say but he was not surprised much by her answer. There was more to her than that and he knew it but he wasn't about to pursue it further, that would be rude and he didn't want that. He often found that if people anted you to know something then they would tell you. He clenched his mug in hand and raised upwards toasting nothing and without saying a word downed his entire drink. He slammed it upside down on the bar. Suddenly he realized this might have been rude; it was custom to make a silent toast before you drank. His father had taught him the rest. Either way rude or not he didn't care it was his own personal tradition and he wasn't going to change that for anyone.

So what would he share with her? In all honesty Rysen did not find himself to be a particularly interesting individual. "Hah, I'm afraid I'm not too interesting. I grew up in Zeltiva and lived there most of my life." He would not go into detail about his scholarly career not yet anyway. It always made him feel like he was flaunting that if he ever brought it up into conversation without being asked about it. Truthfully he found some people even treated him differently once they knew. So for now he would leave that out. "I've been doing my own traveling actually as well. That's how I ended up here." He regretted saying this the second it left his mouth. He begged that she would not ask him why he chose to come here. He had no answer for that. Uhh well, hmm you know what it just seemed like a good idea! How stupid he would sound if he said something so foolish. He shook his head. Honestly would have to work here; he didn't feel like making up some story as to why he was here. If it came up he would be honest. He dropped another two gold mizas on the bar,'Two more my good man.' More alcohol would calm him down.

[Nydryn]

Nydryn’s attention was drifting when Rysen spoke up. He said he was born in Zeltiva, a city that she had traveled to a few years ago. Her travels had taken her many places, but of all the cities, she preferred Ravok. Trying to remember what Zeltiva was like, she gave up, taking another gulp of her beer. Not very ladylike, but she didn’t care. Living on the streets made a person lose most if not all aspects of femininity that a woman grew up with, that is unless the woman’s wage is gathered off her sense of womanliness. The rest of the beer disappeared soon after that. He had also mentioned that he had been traveling. She had intentionally not told Rysen why she had been traveling, and since he didn’t question her further, she didn’t question him. There were certain personal things that one did not share when first meeting someone new. The beer mug was placed back on the bar, as she nodded to the bartender. “Have you been here for long?” she asked, her voice a little rough, and she coughed clearing it. The man didn’t seem to know his way around her city very well. It took visitors a while to get used to the canal system in place in Ravok. Fortunately for Nydryn, she had grown up here. As memories were coming back to her, her sense of the layout of the roads and canals increased dramatically. “What do you plan on doing while you are here?” the question that came out of her small mouth surprised her. She wouldn’t want anyone asking her that question, but she was curious as to Rysen’s plans. He seemed like an interesting fellow, and if he was new, maybe she could give him a tour of the city. She would only do that if he had recently arrived in the city. If his stay in Ravok had started earlier, then he would not need the tour. A small part of her hoped that her idea of a tour would be unnecessary, for she still did not know much about this man. Setting that idea in her mind, the street rat waited for Rysen’s response. Maybe he would ask her the same thing after he had answered. She must come up with some response… whether the response would be true or not was the real question.