Stargazing on a Rooftop (Closed)

[Asara Willow]

Asara took the apple Seven had offered her, placing her mizas on the ground. Money did not matter to her when she was hungry, but she didn't understand why he wouldn't take the mizas for the apple. She watched him curiously as she parted her pale lips fully to reveal her extended fangs and slid her fangs into the apple. Her hunger would make the venom in her bite potent enough to fully liquefy the solid flesh under the apple's skin in a few chimes.

She looked down at the apple to turn it so where Seven had eaten was on top. The hole was big enough for the precious material, the only food Asara could really digest, to fall out and be wasted. No matter how hungry the Symenestra was, she would not eat off the ground.

"Viratas..." Asara tried out the new name, wondering why she should know it. The sound was familiar in some way, not just from the title of the book, but she didn't quite know what Viratas and his book had to do with her. Still, to save face, she'd lie. She had no interest in being ridiculed if she should know about this and she couldn't quite remember. "Yeah... I've heard of him." She averted her eyes from him again to judge the apple. Usually, once it was liquid enough, she would begin to eat as a Human would, taking the skin as well. It would go through her with the liquified insides of the apple and be digested in the group, if not fully.

Without looking to see if he was watching or not, Asara turned the apple a bit to where she'd bitten and covered the spot with her lips, focusing all her attention on eating the apple. She released it after a mouthful to look at what he was doing when he pulled out a book and a writing utensil she somewhat recognized.

"Thank you for accepting, Seven," Asara whispered. She watched him write with great interest, having only seen her name written in Symenos before. She continued to eat the pulp and skin of the apple as she watched and listened to him, also sitting down fully. She felt relief at not having to crouch, but awkward. Fleeing in this position would require time for her to get to her feet.

At his prodding for more constellation names, Asara closed her pale gold eyes to think about them. She placed her thoughts on the Archer and worked it into Common, having heard the word in context with a human practising the bow before. "The Archer. Vamidin." She continued to list of the names of constellations, first in the soft, creeping tongue of the Widower race, then in the harsher sounding tongue of the Humans. The Dire Wolf, Couple, Spider and Web, Fox, Serpent, and Scythe. She listed them slowly for Seven, so she wouldn't overwhelm him.

"I'll help you with Symenos too. Would you want to learn how to write it as well?" She had no thought of using his own things to write with. She was certain she could find coal somewhere and bits of paper.

[Seven Xu]

OOCI don’t want to go into too much detail about a language that isn’t developed to the point where we can do that. I think we can work around that, though. We should just keep the direct naming and creation of words to a minimum.

“Illiteracy is not uncommon. You should not be ashamed.” Seven explained curtly as his thin fingers pressed against the wooden pencil.

One by one the constellations were listed down the page neatly, Seven’s hand working quickly along with Asara’s account of her celestial spheres. Each time she’d name a cluster of stars, he would repeat it under his breath in her Symenos tongue to assure her he was keeping her pace. The foreign language stumbled between his lips and over his tongue, requiring an agility that he was not accustomed to. Every fraction of a chime Seven would glance sideways to watch the girl eat, breaking down his apple with potent venom he wished he possessed. The fully extended fangs were a bit unnerving – while he knew that Symenestra had the ability it was the first time he’d ever seen it.

The pencil moved deliberately to leave enough space between the constellations for his next request. “You can write their names in Symenos above their Common names.” Seven passed the notebook on to Asara, wondering if she would recognize and match the Common writing or simply recall the order in which she listed off her stars. When she had finished her apple, Seven also handed her his pencil. For a moment, the halfblood allowed his hand to linger between her lengthy digits allowing Asara to inspect the mismatched nails on his thumb and index fingers before he pulled away, leaving his writing utensils in her possession.

“Heard of Viratas?” Seven probed, then a pause that was accompanied by a knowing smile and a touch of honey in his smooth tone. “Of course you have.

“Viratas is the god of blood,” Seven began, “But he is much more than that, in reality. Blood is the very vessel that represents life. It sustains us, and it connects us as much as it defines and separates us. Viratas represents heritage, connection.” Seven’s lips tightened into an unreadable frown. And I prayed to him for exactly the opposite. “It is common for a Symenestra to follow his teachings – which are outlined in the Viratassa.”

A hand slid back into his canvas satchel, past the groceries to a smooth, leathery surface that sat at the bottom. Gilded text grazed his thoughtful fingers as his lips pursed together. Seven looked as if he wanted to continue, but went quiet, allowing his pale skin to grope at the Viratassa in his bag. The realization that he had not been the ideal follower of Viratas himself seemed to be getting under his skin.

[Asara Willow]

Asara allowed him to watch her, avoiding the insecure feeling that rose whenever he looked at her at off points between chimes. Usually, if a human saw Asara's method of eating, the Symenestra would find herself the subject of many pointed looks. Some people just couldn't understand that solid foods disagreed with a Symenestra's digestive system. The girl had tried to conform to the natural methods of humans, and had suffered greatly because of it.

But Seven did not display disgust, as far as Asara could see. He seemed intrigued, and although she detected, very faintly, that her fangs were unnerving, she had no inclination to try and retract them until his apple was done. Somewhere inside, she felt bad for taking his food without pushing payment on to him, but she had left the money at her side for him to take without repercussion.

As he pressed the book on to her, Asara lifted it to look closely at the writing. She'd seen signs, quite a bit, but not little words written on paper, except for her own whenever she acquired some of the sheets. The Symenestra more or less recalled the order of the constellations, for she'd made them a rhythm in her own native tongue, and when he passed her the pencil, his hand lingering where she could view his curious nails, she placed the book firmly on her lap and began writing.

As she wrote, she spoke out the Symenos word for him, letting him hear the flow of the syllables off her tongue so he could imitate. She spoke slowly, yet without being condescending. She was interested in teaching him Symenos, and gladly would continue this as she learned Common writing.

Asara did this with all the constellations, and then wrote down his name as well, keeping the Dra- out of it. Then she looked up and flashed him a little smile.

"Did you want to learn more words?" Asara asked. She felt almost childish, like she and seven were two kids sharing a secret they weren't supposed to know. "I find this fun."

When he spoke of Viratas, Asara tilted her head to listen. She felt like she knew what Seven spoke of, yet she couldn't catch the odd thoughts that strayed too quickly for her. She pursed her pale lips slightly, trying not to show her confusion as she swallowed this information, and once again lied to save face, this lie also causing her to squirm uncomfortably.

"I've never adequately studied Viratas or the Vitatassa. I learned some to get by, but not very much." The lie literally stung as it slipped past her lips.

[Seven Xu]

“Ah! Very good, Asara!” Seven beamed as he watched her write the names in Symenos – especially excited to see his own without the demeaning symbol that classified his blood as dirty. He recognized the symbols, and as they weaved together above the names in Common they began to make sense in his head – as fragmented as they were. Seven’s voice was laden with confidence, and if it didn’t look as it would break her, he would have clapped Asara on the back to show that he was proud of her. When she suggested they continue their mutual study, Seven offered an enthusiastic nod. “I would like to learn more ... here,”

Seven’s thin white fingers moved for the pencil apprehensively, as if to wordlessly ask for his things back. When Asara allowed him, he would spend a chime scribbling out a few words, large and easy to read. “We can start with the basics. Is there anything in particular you would like to know?” Before Asara could answer, Seven had lowered the notebook again. There, down the side of the page, he had written several things in Common. Names of the various shops and taverns that she may recognize from her time in Syliras, at least he hoped. “Do any of these words look familiar to you?”

Another glance toward the fruit he had given up and he’d notice the dark, crumpled skin that once protected the sweet innards of the apple. Now that the apple had been drained, for the most part, of the mushy white that the girl craved, her potent venom seemed to be eating small holes in the hollow shell. It was curious – his gaze lingered longer than it should have. Her admissions of not adequately studying Viratas brought him back to reality.

“Ah, is that so.” He cocked his head with a typically polite response, and the pencil passed between them again. “I will teach you more of him, someday. I have never been incredibly religious myself, to be perfectly honest. But, I respect what Viratas stands for. He is an honourable God.

“So, about these signs,” Seven’s grin simply grew across his face and he leaned in to press a finger to the first name on the list. There was an aspect of their interaction that had reminded him of tutoring his sisters back in Lhavit. They did not deserve his cold detachment. “This is from a sign in the Gate District. There is a red-painted horse on the sign along with these words. Have you ever heard this name spoken?”

[Asara Willow]

Asara smiled at Seven fully, enjoying the feeling of euphoria that coursed through her at his words. She rarely ever felt happy about herself or what she was, and this was a great moment for her. She readily handed him the book and the pencil when he reached for them and looked at her apple as he wrote, leaning forward to spit the last of her venom in the apple. She didn't feel like wasting it on anything else. She then placed the quickly decomposing apple husk on the ground between her and Seven, for the purpose that he could watch as it broke down into nothing.

"I would like to know the names of fruit, the Moon, the Sun, and anything else we can think of as time continues." Asara smiled again. Her gold eyes were pale again, and reflective in the light of the mentioned silver orb. Her skin was snow white at this hour, contrasting sharply to her pointed black nails that she had taken the time to file down. Truthfully, in her mind, she was a creature of the Moon. Seven was lucky enough to fit in among the Sun and the Moon, where she barely managed to cringe her way under the sun's scorching glare.

Her eyes then flicked to the book and she tilted her head, recognizing some of the letters that made up the signs from around Syliras. She wasn't quite sure about the real names of the places, but for the Golden Dragon and the Soothing Spas place, but she did have a creative streak. Of course, the name she recited was in Symenos, for she both thought and always based herself in that language.

"The Rearing Stallion." The Symenestra whispered, almost nervously, in the graceful tongue of both their people.

[Seven Xu]

“If that meant ‘The Rearing Stallion’, you are correct.” Seven smiled, moving his finger on to the next word. “… And, what about this one, Asara?”

This act would continue for the next few chimes, Seven offering clues regarding especially difficult words as Asara repeated them back to him in Symenos. His pronunciation hadn’t gotten much better, although it was obvious he was trying as he slowly sounded out each syllable across his awkward tongue when he repeated the words she said. It left his porcelain cheeks blushing and if asked, he would never admit that Asara was picking up the Common writing profoundly quicker than he was learning how to speak properly in Symenos. He hated that he sounded like such a child.

“I will teach you names of fruit in time. I don’t want you getting ahead of yourself and jumbling information together.” Seven added, laughing nervously. The truth was, he feared he was more apt to do that than she was. A weary grin flashed over his lips as he closed the notebook before offering it to Asara, along with the pencil. “You take this. Write what you can in it - Symenos and Common both, and meet me here in two days.” A bold offering, as it was the only notebook he owned; Seven brought the tightly wound stack of paper from Lhavit and it certainly looked like it had traveled across a continent. It also contained several notes regarding astral coordinates that were invaluable to him as hadn't the memory to memorize them entirely.

Standing, Seven brushed off his bottom and gathered his satchel back over his shoulder. “Here.” He raised both eyebrows and gestured downward with his index finger as if to emphasize the importance of their meeting. “Two days, after the sun sets. Does that work for you? If not, we can do it another day. Your choice.”

[Asara Willow]

Asara's lips quirked in a smile as she nodded, noting the name in her head before she patiently and excitedly as she coached her newfound friend to say the graceful word, finding that he was extremely diligent and worked harder than she ever would have thought for anyone. It was extremely rewarding, but he just had to learn to be confident. His tongue stumbled across the soft sounds of Symenos only partially because of the strange movements, but he'd be amazing if he learned to be confident with himself in speech as much as he was in bearing.

Asara would softly congratulate Seven when he managed to pronounce the words she was learning to spell in Symenos for him. It was a curious pattern they patricipated in, one Asara was beginning to value greatly. Her congratulations were always in Symenos, giving Seven another word to observe and learn.

"I don't want that at all!" Was Asara's reply to him saying she'd get ahead of herself. She didn't want to mix up the knowledge she was gaining. She also didn't want him to get confused as well. She didn't view Seven as a rival, and she found the fact that he was learning quickly to be extremely gratifying. When he handed her the notebook, a frown crossed her face as she slowly accepted, curling her pale, thin fingers delicately around the bound book and holding it as though it were more fragile than she ever would be. Something about his attitude said the book was important, and she felt strangely happy that he trusted her enough with it. "I will be here. Without a doubt. The next time, I'l bring you something to eat and drink. Do you eat like me? Like, the same kind of foods?"

The female rose to her feet gracefully and turned her gold gaze to the wall. She lifted a hand and scratched a symbol into the wall, marking the place where they'd meet with her strong nails. She then flashed a nervous smile at Seven as she held the book close to her small body.

"I'll see you in two days, Seven. Farewell, friend." Asara smiled slightly again, her gold eyes flashing in the moon's light.

[Asara Willow]

Asara's lips quirked in a smile as she nodded, noting the name in her head before she patiently and excitedly as she coached her newfound friend to say the graceful word, finding that he was extremely diligent and worked harder than she ever would have thought for anyone. It was extremely rewarding, but he just had to learn to be confident. His tongue stumbled across the soft sounds of Symenos only partially because of the strange movements, but he'd be amazing if he learned to be confident with himself in speech as much as he was in bearing.

Asara would softly congratulate Seven when he managed to pronounce the words she was learning to spell in Symenos for him. It was a curious pattern they patricipated in, one Asara was beginning to value greatly. Her congratulations were always in Symenos, giving Seven another word to observe and learn.

"I don't want that at all!" Was Asara's reply to him saying she'd get ahead of herself. She didn't want to mix up the knowledge she was gaining. She also didn't want him to get confused as well. She didn't view Seven as a rival, and she found the fact that he was learning quickly to be extremely gratifying. When he handed her the notebook, a frown crossed her face as she slowly accepted, curling her pale, thin fingers delicately around the bound book and holding it as though it were more fragile than she ever would be. Something about his attitude said the book was important, and she felt strangely happy that he trusted her enough with it. "I will be here. Without a doubt. The next time, I'l bring you something to eat and drink. Do you eat like me? Like, the same kind of foods?"

The female rose to her feet gracefully and turned her gold gaze to the wall. She lifted a hand and scratched a symbol into the wall, marking the place where they'd meet with her strong nails. She then flashed a nervous smile at Seven as she held the book close to her small body.

"I'll see you in two days, Seven. Farewell, friend." Asara smiled slightly again, her gold eyes flashing in the moon's light.

[Archon]

Illumination of Development Asara Willow +4 Teaching +3 Astronomy +3 Rhetoric +2 Interrogation +2 Subterfuge +1 Stealth Lores: Ask before you take, The grass is greener on the other side, Asara's constellations, Half-bloods aren't half bad Other: Common-literacy (Poor), -3 Gold Mizas Care to see more? : Teaching experience for teaching Symenos to Seven, Astronomy experience for the stargazing, Rhetoric experience for the conversation, Interrogation experience for questioning, Subterfuge experience for the lying, and Stealth experience for the attempt to be quiet. Dra-Seven +4 Teaching +3 Rhetoric +2 Persuasion +2 Astronomy +2 Interrogation +1 Intimidation Lores: Dealing with being ogled, Resisting inquisitiveness, Asara's constellations, Symenestra venom Other: Symenos (Basic), +3 Gold Mizas if Seven picks them up Care to see more? : Teaching experience for the lessons in Common literacy, Rhetoric experience for the conversation, Persuasion experience for convincing Asara to open up, Astronomy experience for the stargazing, Interrogation experience for the asking of questions, and Intimidation experience for the sharp response to Asara's grabbing. Notes: An interesting thread to read through. It was fun and simple. Asara, it was a little difficult for me to read your existing Skills and Lore on your CS, and so I hope nothing is duplicated. Also, I couldn't find your languages listed anywhere, and so I had to guess for what to reward you in that regard.