[Flashback] For the First Time - Aren [CLOSED]

[Meera]

When: SUMMER 499, Day 3 - Meera has *just* turned six
Where: Endrykas, Cyphrus
Who: Aren Anazasz

She had gotten loose. Patros was about to take Meera on her first excursion out into the Sea of Grass, and they were finishing up the loose ends in Endrykas before making their move to Riverfall, then down to Kenash to pass along messages and trade what they could kill on the plains. Meera was supposed to be fetching the bow he had given her back at the pavilion, but she was young and distracted. She was in a piece of wrapped linen that tied around her neck and rope tied around her waist to keep the loose garment closed and tight against her rather mobile body. Her feet were bare and dirty. She had shoes, but she hated to wear them. She liked to feet the ground under her sole, and the Ankal provided her with hard sandals. Her long hair reached the middle of her back already, never having been cut in her six years, and hung loose and without adornment, save for the beads she had found and tied into her hair.

What could be seen of her skinny legs and arms were dusty as she bobbed and weaved through the crowd of people. She laughed she ran in front of a woman, causing her to stop midstep. Her mission of finding her short bow was forgotten, and she found herself slowing her pace as she approached a very tall man. He was probably the tallest man she had ever seen! And he was blue!

Quite like others her age, her curiosity got the best of her and she reached way up to tug on his shirt. She gave a big smile that separated her face in a long line and it caused her eyes to crinkle up. Young Meera was missing her front teeth.

"What are you?" She asked in the language of her people, full of gestures. The words she did say were high pitched and very feminine, and Meera kept her hand on what she could of his garment, switching hands as she walked around him. Large doe like eyes roamed over this blue giant.

"Are you a giant? A God?" She probed, never before seeing one of his kind. "What's with the scar?" Walking in front of him now to see his face her eyes were immediately drawn to two pale lines as a band across his arm. Her left hand kept its hold on his clothes, her thumb and forefinger rubbing the fabric in her hand.

[Aren]

Aren thought he felt a rather weak tug on his vest, but when he looked back, there was nobody there. As his gaze returned to the fore, however, he did notice something in the lower periphery of his vision. It was... a girl. Or was it just a boy with really long hair? The giant shrugged, not really caring either way, going back about his business. The girl (ostensibly), however, had other plans. The little thing seemed intent on engaging the akalak in conversation, as she barraged him with volley after volley of what sounded like questions, in her native language. Aren, of course, had never bothered to learn the drykas tongue, and consequently had no idea what she was saying. Doubting she spoke any language he did, the blue skinned giant tried his best to ignore her, hoping she would simply get bored of the azure monolith and go away. Unfortunately, after a few minutes of her sustained verbal assault, Aren simply snapped. "Don't you have parents to go annoy, or something?" he barked, hoping that she would at least get the gist of his sentiment, even if she didn't understand what he was saying. Just to be on the safe side, the akalak stared her down, trying to look mean and unfriendly, hoping she would get the hint and leave him alone.

[Meera]

There was one thing in particular this tall giant would have to learn about Meera, and learn it quickly he would: Meera was absolutely fearless. If he had been a glassbeak, she probably would have wrestled it, or attempted to. So when he stared her down and did his best to look generally unseemly, Meera struggled not to crack into a burst of laughter.

She failed.

"Why are your eyes yellow?" She asked after she had calmed. His eyes were quite striking, and she supposed it was possible she could say she was slightly alarmed at the sight, Meera was fearless. She asked her question slowly, as though he would understand her meaning. To further her point she pointed to her own eyes, much darker than his pale yellow, and then she shifted her body to point to the sun.

After a beat, still tugging on his vest she took his left hand and pulled him down as best she could to point out the band on his arm, but instead she pulled him to her level and put his hand to her chest.

"Meera." She smiled brightly, and repeated. "Meera." The dusty barefoot blonde put his hand to his chest and waited.

[Aren]

At the young girl's rather sudden and uncontrolled burst of laughter, Aren could only grimace in response. Was his "mean face" not actually... mean? Or was the little runt simply too stupid to realize it? Either way, the akalak still had a problem. The girl continued to talk to him in a language he had no way to understand (hand gestures included), and to make matters worse, she was kind of grabby. "I don't-" Aren started, when the sudden placing of his unwilling hand on the girl's chest caused him to panic just a bit. Promptly moving his hand away as fast as his brain could send the command, the akalak looked around nervously, fearing any observer would get the wrong idea. At least he understood the gesture. Her name was Meera. "Aren..." he replied, mimicking the gesture, "...now go away, before somebody thinks this is something it isn't," his hands made a shooing motion as the akalak continued to look around, cautiously.

[Meera]

"Aren," She repeated. To make matters worse with their lack of communication, Meera continued to gesture wildly. First she touched the top of her head.

"Normal." She raised the same hand and touched the top of Aren's blue head. "Giant." Meera launched into another fit of giggles.

She wondered why the man kept his hair short. He had a large scythe on his back, but she didn't see how that would affect his hair. He must have lost a battle recently, that's why he cut his hair. He was giving her grumpy faces and trying to be scary because he was shamed, and that just wouldn't do.

Beads for his hair would cheer him up! The blonde looked to her own messy tangle of hair and beads while sucking on a dirty finger trying to decide which one to part with. She couldn't decide. The young girl liked them all.
With a pained look she selected a red bead and did her best to untangle the accessory from her hair. Handing it over to him she frowned, and shook her head in a negative connotation, then quickly switched to a bright smile and nodding. Be happy.

[Aren]

They had exchanged names... excellent. The girl, however, was not satisfied by this, and continued to make odd gestures that still made no sense to the akalak, giggling to herself here and there. Aren didn't know what to do, short of picking her up and tossing her as far as he could. The child, for her part, seemed intent on befriending him, even going so far as to offer up a bead from that mess she likely called her hair. Honestly, he didn't want the damn thing, but she seemed to cherish it, and it's offering was disgustingly heartwarming. Unfortunately, Aren did not believe he could simply refuse, afraid the girl might burst out into tears if he were to do so, and he wouldn't want any nosy gossips coming to investigate the commotion. Hesitantly taking the proffered bead, the akalak couldn't help but smile at the little girl, as she did the same. After looking around to make sure the coast was clear, Aren patted the little urchin on the head, briefly, to show his appreciation for the wholly unnecessary gift. Swiftly placing the bead in his pack, the giant's hand arose from it's depths with a ripened fruit the color of the sky. "Here," he said, as he let it drop into his new friend's palms. "D-don't, don't tell anybody where you got that..." he added, after a moment, "...wouldn't want anybody to think that- bah, you don't understand a word I'm saying, anyway," the akalak continued, eventually desisting with a sigh, realizing the pointlessness of the endeavor. Hopefully, he would be out of Endrykas before she could tell anybody about her giant blue friend that gave her food. Perhaps he could return in fifty years, when everyone who knew about this event was either dead, or simply too damn old to remember anything.

[Meera]

Meera accepted the fruit with as much enthusiasm as one would expect if Aren had bestowed a mountain of gold at her feet. She wasn't necessarily used to such kindness, and she had gotten him to smile and it was so great! His smile definitely softened the contrast from blue to yellow around his eyes. She hoped he smiled often. People that smiled were very nice to be around. It was why she liked Patros so much and didn't like the First Wife and the Ankal. They never smiled.

Meera took a bite of the large juicy flesh, her lips tinted a light blue and where the rivers of juice trailed down her chin stained her skin. Her thumbs looked blue where the pads of her skin pressed into the soft flesh. It was delicious, tasting like warmth and chilly winds and tasting like what Meera imagined a kiss to taste like - sweet, and its flesh was supple, yet firm in its ripeness.

"Meera you brat, leave the man alone. Go get your bow, child!" Came a laughing, but booming voice that seemed to command the street's attention.
Meera caught sight of a tall man, broad chest and bronze skin, his stomach starting to grow in his age. His hair was dark and curly, and on his chin where Meera had blue rivers, Patros had dark hair. He was dressed in his light brown breeches and loose linen shirt, the sleeves all but cut off. Meera turned to give Aren a bright smile and she dashed off.

"Sorry about her, she's an adventurous one." Patros said, patting his hand to the Akalak's shoulder.
"Sorry, should speak in Common, hey? She means no harm. Just curious and adventurous." Patros chuckled to himself. Had Patros seen the exchange of fruit he would have requested to compensate the Akalak, but he had not. "She didn't give you too much trouble, did she? Name's Patros. Young Meera won't be bothering you much longer if you are visiting long here in Endrykas, I'll promise ya that."

Behind Patros, if Aren happened to cast his gaze past him, he would see a young girl, her beaded hair all tied up in a knot behind her head. Her face would be painted in the blue staining juice, the fruit discarded at her feet. With painted blue hands she held two lemons over her eyes. Her cheeks were pudged out with large bites of the fruit he had given her, and she smiled with her jaw closed and her lips open, baring her teeth, showing the gap.

[Aren]

Aren could see over Patros' shoulder quite clearly, being taller than the man, and he aptly spotted little Meera behind him, making faces which threatened to coax a chuckle or two out of the akalak. Of course, as her guardian was quite busy introducing himself and all that, it wouldn't do to find oneself distracted by a child. "It's alright, she wasn't a bother," Aren admitted, his head turning away so that he couldn't see see Meera's ridiculous face behind Patros. "She was... just keeping me company," he then added, trying to make sure the girl didn't get into too much trouble because of him. The akalak's blue skin almost gleamed in the sunlight, his sun colored eyes absorbing all of Endrykas. This event was a footnote in his long life, one he likely wouldn't remember very well, if at all. These two people were just another drop in a myriad stream of acquaintances he would probably never meet again. Now that he thought about it, Aren had to admit that it was kind of sad. His memory flashed to a thousand different faces, the names of which escaped him. Most were just individuals he'd met over the course of the years, but some were people'd he'd had to kill, for one reason or another. The fact that he could not remember their names, assuming he ever knew them in the first place, did not sit right with him. The akalak understood, however, that there was nothing that could be done about the matter.

[Meera]

"We're heading out into the Sea of Grass soon," Patros explained without prompting. He pat a hand on his soft belly. "It'll be her first time away from home."

Patros smiled proudly at the thought that he would be the one responsible for her. Jon's wife wouldn't care what happened to the brat, and neither did the Ankal. She was just another mouth to feed, and Patros would have himself a young daughter. His two wives bore him only sons, and both were dead from patrolling the Sea and being messengers like him. Perhaps a girl would survive. A girl, he would protect.

As Meera returned, her face still blue and showing her gap teeth in a wide smile, Patros sighed heavily. Meera had her bow as was requested, and showed him proudly by aiming a wooden arrow at Patros' face. Her smile quickly turned to a badly feigned look of anger, her mouth struggling to keep its straight line of concentration and not to break into a smile.
Patros brought out Osri and took a stance as though to fight her, the jade gleaming in the bright sun.

"Meera," He started, his face looking determined and set behind the flash of green. "Why is your face blue?" Meera dropped her bow and pointed to the blue man, and Patros laughed.

"I think she likes you, sir. Come, Meera," He spoke in Common to her. "Wash your face." He pointed to the reserves of water down the street and made gestures to suggest lathering his hands, and then on his face.

"Wa--sh, yer faaase." Meera repeated the gestures with a confused look on her face.

"Yes. Wash your face, until your skin is pink again." He chided gently.

"Un teel yer s'ken is peenk ah-gayn." Patros bent down and pointed to her arm.
"Pink skin is on your arm." He pointed to her face. "Blue skin is on your face." She mouthed the words, nodding slowly.
"Go, wash, be all one colour." Meera nodded now, fully understanding. She waved her hand excitedly at Aren - dropping her bow and arrow - and scampered off two steps before returning for the weapon and its childish ammo. Learning Common was hard.

[Aren]

"Probably because I'm as much of a child as she is," Aren mused, smiling gently at little Meera's antics. It was kind of a forced smile, as he tried to push wayward thoughts from his mind. His father had taught him, long ago, that it was never wise to dwell on on things one couldn't change. It was a waste of time, effort, and generally left you feeling like trampled shit. "So, you're heading out into the grassland? I don't mean to presume, but that seems like an awfully dangerous place to take a child," the akalak noted, speaking from personal experience. Aren honestly could not hope to understand the cultural nuances of the drykas, but bringing a child into the Sea of Grass seemed a bit irresponsible to him. Then again, his own people would send young adolescents not much older than Meera out into the grass with the express purpose for bringing down a glassbeak. Of course, just because it was akalak approved didn't make it a good idea. Perhaps it was a test of survival, to prepare them for a day when they will have to venture out alone. Aren could appreciate the need to give one's children strength for the future, but what was the point if they ended up dying? At least, he thought, she wasn't going to be sent out there on her own, as akalak children are. Though these people were strangers to him, Aren couldn't help but find himself concerned, and he thought about offering to join them. If this was some kind of drykas rite-of-passage, however, he doubted that would be possible.