Consume [Open]

[Behn]

Day 9 of Summer, AV 511

"What do you mean she's gone? She can't be gone! I'm supposed to be on that gods-forsaken vessel! I'm one of her crew dammit! She can't be gone!" Behn's hands curled into fists of rage as he thought about it, pummeling the short fat man that broke the news to Behn. His ship left without him, miscommunication was the schemer of this mess. Behn cursed aloud as his hand reached out, grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. "You listen here. When she gets back in Zeltiva, you tell her she has a very unhappy man demanding her audience, you got that? Behn Gaeris. I will not be forgotten about. I did not travel hundreds of miles by foot from Ravok just to be thrown away like an unwanted orphan." Behn snarled, his nose only inches from the man he was verbally assaulting. "S-sir! There's nothing I can do. The Captain comes and goes as she pleases, or as her s-schedule permits. I cannot change that. Please don't hurt me, I'm just a keeper of books, who makes berth here and who leaves." Behn scoffed and released the man. He was angry, but not at him. He had to remember this, it would be dangerous to release your anger on the wrong person. Behn did have a mission after all. Perhaps this missing of the leave was not an accident, but the work of the divine. He had a goal, a personal journey he needed to complete, and it would be difficult to do when confined on a ship of drunkards and foul-voiced imbeciles. As hideous as they were, they were not wicked men deserving death. Behn had to keep his goals in mind. "Right, don't tell her then. I won't be here waiting for her. I'll move on from this place." Behn shrugged, half annoyed at the answer given to him, and entirely ashamed of how he overreacted. It was pitiful to treat the man like that. It was time to work. Behn took to walking up and down the docks, watching the worker's labor and toil, carrying cargo to and from the ships, the men taxing each and every item that was taken to and from Zeltiva. The ships resting gently in their waters. He knew it, everywhere was a wicked man that deserved no better than death, but how was he to pick them out of a crowd without knowing them? He couldn't, he had to witness their crimes to rightfully punish them. It was Priskill's will, else he would not have been driven to be so righteous.

[Sara Harper]

9 Summer 511 AV

Sara was taking her daily stroll along the docks. The smell of salt swelled in her nostrils. The ocean was her first true love. The sound of the waves lapping against the magnificent woodworks was music to her ears. The yelling between men over the moving of cargo left and right. The cries of seagulls. It was a masterpeice of music. And she walked everyday to soak it up as if it were a recharge to her soul.
However, that day was a little different. Though Sara was very much used to the sound of men quarraling here and there Men. And we're to be the civilized race.. "...I will not be forgotten about..."
Whats this? Sara thought. She swayed out of the way of a man practically pushing her along the walkway.
"Beggin' your pardin' miss" Sara simply smiled at the scruffy looking deck hand. Yes...move fool. "Not a word dear sir! Not a word!" She replied with an oozing grin and with the tip of the hat the man was on his way but Sara leaned up against the wall of one of the harbor offices. The breeze blew through her hair and cuased a few tendrels to get caught on her eyelashes. She lifted her hand and gracefully swiped it away and continued to watch the scene casually.
"...I'll move on from this place." Sara watched as the fumed man walked up and down the docks. Then she pushed herself gracefully from the wall and walked his direction until she was beside him. He did not notice her presence for he was staring at various working men..
"Seen better days I assume good sir?" Sara asked with an air of music to her voice. Allowing herself to make eye contact as the man turned around...

[Behn]

Behn was pressing his fingers into the ridge of his nose, roughly massaging as if trying to ward away some aching pain dead center in his skull. When Sara's voice chirped up beside him, he wasn't sure it was meant for him, since the docks were fairly populated at the moment. He could easily just being spoke over rather than to. He cocked his head to the side to look at whoever it was speaking, and sure enough she was speaking with him. Bold. Perhaps she wanted something from him. "Seen better, and seen much worse." Behn sighed. He had seen worse. The worse days stuck with him livelier than most would, the loss of his fiancee, the taking of his newborn daughter. A quick shiver ran itself through his back as he thought about it, that mess he stumbled into years ago. It made him nauseous every time he recalled that horrid memory. Shaking his head to cast out such violent images, he looked back towards Sara, he wasn't smiling, not even a forced grin of courtesy. "Behn Gaeris. What can I do for you?" Behn didn't believe in fake words or dancing around topics. He preferred people being blunt, straight, to the point, honest completely. The games he had experienced before were more than silly, they were aggravating. People trying to find loopholes in phrases when they should just be solid speech that was easy to digest, easier to respond to. "What brings you to the docks this morning? You don't look like a sailor to me."

[Sara Harper]

9 Summer 511 AV

There was a startling sort of vacancy in this Behn Gaeris' eyes. Now there seems to be a story there.. Sara could see her new acquaintance was not one to be easily charmed.
"Sara Harper, pleasure to meet you I'm sure Behn Gaeris. And I suppose one could easily assume that I am no sailor. Appearances. Oh appearances...But look at you! You look like you've seen plenty of the world yourself!" Sara sang out pointing up and down at her new..friend. Her smile was unwaving. The truth was that Sara had seen her fair share of ship and sea. No. I suppose I don't look at all like a sailor indeed..pity.
Sara was quite young yet when her father would first take her by the hand and lead her up a wooden ramp onto one of the mount magnificent ships to ever dock in Zeltiva. Or so she thought at the time. Her father, Red Harper had become one of the most respected captains in all of Sylira. Sara spent a good portion of her youth in the bows of a ship or high up in the crows nest. The ocean, the water, the breeze, the storm, they were her family and she had been withouth them for some time now, ever since...
"So Behn, what are you going to do now that you have been wrongfullly abandoned in this port?" She asked maintaining composure and a pleasant demeanor at that. Her hands rested against eachother against her belly. This is how a proper lady stands and walks afterall.

[Behn]

OOCJust so you know, for being human, you get 15 extra skill points into any skill you want as a racial bonus. You should add that into your CS, assuming I'm not blind and just missed it of course. Behn shook his head slowly as he began walking away from the docks, not particularly caring if this person, his new... acquaintance, Sara Harper, followed him away from that place or not. He had no reason to be there now. He was so close to becoming a sailor, but it just wasn't destined to be. Pleasure." Behn mulled the word over for a moment. He understood what she was doing, being courteous towards him. It was common for Humans to act in such a way towards each other. Be kind and say things you didn't actually mean because you were brethren and such, but Behn hardly felt any pleasure from it. It was just a meeting, like dozens and dozens of others that would probably fade away, never to be seen again. Behn hadn't really grown attached to people in a long time. They seemed too difficult to maintain, especially when they died on you. That sucks. "Appearances can tell tales, but they are deceiving as well. I haven't even stepped foot outside of the region of Sylira, ever. I've seen Sunberth, Ravok, Syliras, and Zeltiva. I've met races of all shapes and sizes, but never have I visited the homelands of the others." Behn had that look in him though, a sort of brutal experience that nobody was proud to have, never really wanted to expose. A past of misery and hardship that never faded or become palatable. Behn may not have seen many lands, but he had seen more than any man in his sane mind could ever be pleased to see. The death of a loved one, that wasn't unusual or uncommon, but the way it happened, the pregnant woman due to give birth any day, murdered and the child carved from her bloated stomach. The stench of blood and semen burning the mind. Behn shook his head, forcing those memories from himself the best he could. He wasn't a drinker, and he certainly hated the Kelp Beer, but he felt a need to drink now, just to ease up a little. "Personal questions already? I think I'll keep to myself of my future endeavors. First off, I need a drink." Behn half hoped his open declaration of drinking would drive her away. After all, who knows what a drunk angry man might do to a beautiful young woman? He didn't want to be questioned, it was all he could do to avoid it without seeming too monstrous.

[Sara Harper]

9 Summer 511 AV

Sara was starting to see the dancing about in pleasantries was beginning to annoy her partner in conversation. Why was she talking to him afterall? Why am I bothering?
Sara dropped her smile quickly and replied with a blunt tone.
"Is that an invitation? Look Mr. Gaeris I can see you're tiring of my presence but lets cut the bull shit, so to speak. You seem like a man with plenty of focus, could you in fact indulge me for a drink or two? You don't have to spill all your dreams and aspirations. Just a drink. I am a woman trying to find some focus myself...perhaps we can help eachother? She didn't expect much from the man. He looked as though he could use some decent alone time but Sara thought it worth the shot.
She had been tired of walking the docks every morning for one year now. The sea..the sea was calling her. She needed adventure. Settling was never something that flowed in her blood stream. And here she had a man with no plans so it seemed since his plans sailed off without him. Could it be and answer to her longing for a bit of unrest?

[Behn]

Behn's eyes were interesting, not in the sense that they had interesting hue or mismatched color, oversized pupils or irises swimming in blood-soaked eyes, but they were excited. His eyes were ever watchful, not so much of Sara, though she did not escape his subtle yet numerous glances. He was cautious to an extent, but not quite suspicious or paranoid. Yet, when she asked him if it was an invitation to drink with him, he looked at her, differently than his subtle glances, actually looked at her. He paused a moment, then nodded. This boldness, blunt, it was what he preferred. "Alright then. Let's have a drink." She was persuasive. Behn smirked, feeling a good deal more relieved to see the true person she was, or at least he assumed. It was an interesting tactic, forcing people to stop playing nice. He tried it on occasion, and it either worked, or more often, drove people away. Behn led the way to the Kelp Bar, mostly keeping to himself as they walk, unless Sara pried for information. And once inside, Behn was quick to order two mugs of Kelp Beer, and interesting beverage that happened to be the only available drink within the Sailor-heavy city. There was water, but water hardly had the strength to change moods. Kelp Beer, it was disgusting, but it was strong as petch. Behn received their two mugs after paying the aged barkeep, and stalked over to an empty table that looked like it might shatter to splinters if he dared to set the drinks upon it. Even the chairs looked unbalanced. Uneven didn't even describe them, still it would hold, he had faith it would. Mugs on the table and his ass less-than-comfortably in a seat, he waited for Sara to take her seat across from him. That small circular table was too small to hold more than several mugs, which was probably all they'd ever known (excluding the occasional bar brawl perhaps). "Alright Sara, call me Behn please. Misters and Sirs are too formal for me. You say we can help each other, but you don't even know me. Why are you so sure that you want my help with anything? I could be a bad man." Behn was still trying to drive her away, although his attempt was much weaker now. He had bought her a drink, accepted her request to drink together. He reached over and took his mug and took a swift, albeit devastatingly painful, drink of the Kelp Beer. Behn did his best to deny the urge to keel over and die, but the best he could do was widen his eyes and stare into his mug as if it was a spider coming at him with death in mind. It was foul, strong, and effective.

[Sara Harper]

9 Summer 511 AV

Sara smiled at Behn. You could be a bad man, but I could be a bad woman... "Well Behn, you've already established a rather thick wall around yourself. You're right, you may be a bad man, but welcome to Zeltiva where men and women alike worry only for themselves and take what they can get. Be it an education or a chance at some money. What is a bad man? What is a good man? I feel I have seen both in one person many a time before."

It was true, she saw it in her beloved father as well. A man who would bend over backwards for the safety of his crew yet struck down innocent victims simply becuase they had something he wanted all within the same day. There was darkness in light in all hearts. That was Sara's belief. The line between good and evil, often blurred. Never distinct.

"I love this city Behn, but I love the sea more. And on occasion I love adventure even more. How can we help eachother? Perhaps simple companionship. You need to survive and I need to survive. And for me to survive I need to MOVE. Like a current if you will." Sara still didn't know what to expect from the man. She took a small swig of her drink and set it down. Kelp beer. It was certainly an acquired taste. She had drank much more crudly concocted ale's before. When drink is low on the water and men are desperate, it is a wonder the creative ideas that will flow.

Sara couldn't deny that when she first saw, well heard, Behn the anger in her voice is what struck her. Its easy to manipulate a man when his emotions are hightened. She lived her life never getting close to anyone. And if she did get close to someone it was merely for her benefit and once she got what she wanted, she would be gone like a silent wind. But this Behn Gaeris. He is a piece of work isn't he? He was attractive, Sara would give him that. And he was intense, Sara would most deffinately give him that. She didn't know why but she found herself being like a moth to the flame with him. and will I get burned?

"So Behn Gaeris, what say you?"

OOCI forgot to say thank you last post for the help regarding skill levels :] Btw, where does one find that information?

[Behn]

OOCIt's not a problem. If you check the Lores on the Individual races, there should be a blue box right under the first picture, it has important info there, the Racial Bonus included. Behn listened to Sara quite carefully as he sipped (since outright drinking was difficult and painful) the Kelp Beer. Despite it's rancid flavor and detestable burning, he found it uncannily welcome. "To me, a bad man will know who he is, just as a good man knows himself. A bad man, to others, would commit crimes not against cities or races or cultures, but against humanity. Rapists, murderers of the innocent, thieves that steal out of greed and desire, rather than need and hunger. Someone should just kill the lot of them." Unbeknown by Sara, he was that someone. Not a hero, but a vigilante slaughtering wicked men in the name of righteousness. Anyone who pleasured himself in the pains of others was a potential target. "But that's just what I think." Behn continued to consume that Kelp Beer, as foul as it was. Behn couldn't deny that a good man had a taint of filth in him. It's what he was, he saw it in himself. He had been wronged, and had no qualms with ending life because of it. He could kill out of self defense, kill out of the defense of the weak and innocent, and kill in vengeance, which made him vile in his own way, but the innocent would never have to fear him. Unless, of course, Behn wasn't convinced of their innocence. "You love this city, that I cannot help with. You are here now, and for no reason would I be needed to keep that true." Of course, Behn couldn't know that for sure. For all he knew, she could be on the run, hiding from somebody that wanted her away from the city, by any means. "You love the sea, but I am not sea-bound, again I have nothing to offer." It had already been established that Behn was left behind, his chances of crawling aboard a ship already sailed away, he had no desire to fight a pirate and befriend a captain just to get another shot. He had another, albeit vague, plan. "And I do not adventure. Such childish games will get a man killed just as easily as it can kill a woman. I have nothing to offer you. You will not move as the currents by my assistance, I assure you. I do not even know my destination, yet." Zeltiva wasn't the end for him, but rather an obstacle. He would leave as he came, venture back into the wilderness and wander until his gut told him he had arrived where he should be. Behn sighed as he polished off the remainder of his potent, possibly lethal beverage and slammed the mug against the table with a hiss, a futile attempt to fight down the burning rough taste. It took a man longer than a season of rare drinking to acquire the taste for this... stuff. "I say no. We've got nothing to offer each other." Behn leaned back in his chair, the legs underneath him wobbling and creaking under his weight as he did so, yet miraculously held strong. "I'll buy you another drink, but don't expect anything else from me." Behn crossed his arms over his chest as if to show he was standing firm in his decision.

[Sara Harper]

9 Summer 511 AV

Sara was almost shocked. Am I sincerely not winning this one over? He's more tainted in mind than I would have thought.
"Well Behn, you're right. It does seem we have nothing to offer eachother. However It was indeed a true pleasure to have met you and share a drink." Even if I literally got nothing but a drink out of it Sara was dissapointed yet she had a sense of respect for Behn. He wasn't as weak minded as most of the lot she had dealt with.
"No need for another drink. Perhaps we shall see eachother around this city again soon. But for now I shall take my leave." Sara smiled small but a sincere smile at that. She did in fact find pleasure out of their meeting. Sara did actually enjoy conversation with strangers no matter how short the conversation was. She didn't have any one to call friend so interaction with faces without names would make do for her.

Sara stood up from the table and stuck out her hand in Behn's direction for a handshake. That is what proper ladies do afterall right?

OOCAwesome thanks! and I don't know if you really want to make this goodbye or not. I'm game for whatever :] Sara mite be too flighty with her morals for Behn but it could make it interesting. But I'll leave that all up to you!