"Come on Yune, lets get a drink," Aello whispered to the sparrow on her shoulder as she pushed open the door to the Silver Silver with her shoulder. As soon as the wooden frame had parted enough to allow the girl to catch a sliver of the tavern's contents, her fingers tightened around her father's old bow. Her nails grew a light shade of purple, as her knuckles grew red, and then white with the pressure. When the door had swung back enough to allow the young spiritist access, she walked through quickly with loud sigh. The floorboards beneath her feet creaked as the door swung shut behind her, with a muffled thud. Well here we are again, the Silver Silver, Aello told herself. Now why did we come again? We don't even drink the ale.
A small smile crossed Aello's lips as she glanced around the bar. It was relatively full, as always, and there didn't seem to be any free tables. Except that odd one in the far left corner, which everyone seemed to avoid. Something about corner seats leading to slower service or something. Shrugging, Aello walked over to it, weaving her way in and out of crowded tables, and around the occasional barmaid who was carrying a tray of hot food in one hand, and a mug of silver ale in the other.
Finally, Aello reached the wooden table in the far left corner. She gingerly placed her father's bow on top of the wooden surface, before lacing her bag over her shoulders, and placing it down next to it. When everything had been set down, Aello walked around the wooden table to the nearest chair, and sat down. When she had gotten situated, she glanced around the tavern. Everything seemed as it always did- people crowded into tables, people drinking, drunken men hitting on the barmaids, the barmaids scolding the drunken men for hitting on them, lots of noise, talking, the occasional drunken man staggering across the bar on his way home or for a refill, empty glasses of ale everywhere, half eaten plates of food. The only thing that was even remotely new to Aello was the table of four men playing cards. It was this table of men that her eyes settled on.
Aello began to breath evenly, in through the nose, out through the mouth with a low side as she sat and stared. It would be several moments before a barmaid came along to take her order, so she may as well study the masses to pass the time. After a few moments, the men's auras came into view. Till's was the first that came to her. It was a pale mist, nearly transparent. It swirled around his body in short, smokey wisps, as though the man's clothing had recently been set on fire, but all that remained was its smokey trail. Floating around the edges of his aura were gold-colored coins. Aello could practically hear them clanking together, falling one atop the other in the man's pocket. He doesn't like to play cards, to gamble, does he? Aello wondered. But he likes the idea that it may bring him more gold... if he plays the right cards. There was a slight pause. After all, who in this world doesn't want more money?
The next aura that Aello witnessed was Scar's. It was a simple aura, a deep red. The man was survival-oriented, a fighter. Perhaps he got that scar in a fight, Aello mused. She could just make the white line out from where he sat a few tables away from her, peering over his cards. The aura seemed to pulse rapidly, much like the way a heart would when it pumps blood throughout one's body. If she listened closely enough, Aello could have sworn she could have heard it beating, right alongside the clinking coins of Till's aura. Perhaps this man is nervous... or pretty excited. It is too bad we can't see what sort of hand he holds from where we are.
The third aura to come to light was Bald's. His aura was a deep indigo color. It reminded the girl of the sea. As soon as Aello saw it, her brow furrowed. He didn't seem the sensitive type. But then again, who knew? She could always be interpreting the colors wrong, it wouldn't be the first time she had done so. The last aura Aello saw was Craven's, it was by far the simplest. It was a dark blue, much like the night sky. The same color as her bondmate's was a few days ago, when they went to visit Roman and get her arm patched up. Like Scar's aura, Craven's seemed to undulate. It seemed to have its own pulse, but his reminded Aello more of the waves of the sea, than an actual heartbeat. The oddest part, Aello found was that a small white mouse seemed to be running around the length of the man's aura, his body. Its silver whiskers twitching, and its beady black eyes wide as it ran around and around, tirelessly, as though it were running away from an invisible foe or chasing its own tail. He must be afraid, Aello thought. He must not like to gamble.
As Aello watched all four of the men's auras, Yune began to chirp, breaking her concentration. The auras faded away into the thin air, much like cigarette smoke would after a few moments. Or perhaps, frozen air when one breaths into a cold winter night. "What is it Yune?" Aello asked as she turned to her bird. Her pupils had dilated now, and the edges of her vision were a little blurry. She had probably been studying the auras for a bit longer than she should. Chirp! Chirp! "Are you hungry?" Aello asked. Chirp! Chirp! "But we have nothing to give you. You ate the rest of the grass this morning, and we had to finish the remainder of the sweet bread days ago. Before it got all moldy and gross." Chirp! Chirp! Aello sighed. Sometimes her bird was simply a little too needy.
As Aello listened to her bird, her temples began to twitch. The areas behind her ears began to throb. The pain intensified, and spread outwards as several voices reached her ears. People seemed to be roaring with laughter and screaming to one another so that they may be heard over everyone else. Well that certainly isn't helping your headache, Aello thought as she pressed her feet into the ground and pushed her seat back. A moment later, she was on her feet, and her bag was safe and secure on her right shoulder; the one Yune was not occupying. Her left hand was wrapped around the center of her bow's wooden frame, and she was heading back towards the door. After all, it wasn't about to get any quieter in here, which only meant that her headache was going to get worse and worse.
Yet, as the girl made her way through the bar, she found that her head was spinning as it ached, and before she knew it, Aello had bumped into Till's chair. It took her a moment to take a half step back, and for her vision to focus on him, a little more. She realized that this was one of the men whose auras she had seen, after all, he was holding a hand's worth of cards. "Sorry," she muttered awkwardly. "Are you alright? I didn't mess your game up or anything?" Aello stammered. |
