A belated birthday present (Louie)

by **Alea Davenport** on May 16th, 2012, 1:20 am

68th Spring, 512, dusk

Alea had been spending more and more of her time in the stables. Her friends had all left Avanthal, and so she withdrew from the world, feeling more comfortable with the animals than she would making new friends. It seemed there was little point in making friends anyway, as they inevitably seemed to leave her behind.

She had spent the whole day mucking stables and feeding the animals and doing various other chores. She pretended to believe that she worked hard in the stables so that others would have time to help out with rebuilding and recovery elsewhere in Avanthal, but mostly she just used it as an excuse to not venture out into the crowds.

She spent the most time with the majestic elk which graced the stables. They reminded her of Yuros, her absent bondmate, and ever since he left, she'd been feeling a certain kinship with them. She had gotten so distracted petting their noses and looking into their eyes that she didn't realize immediately when the sun began setting. When she finally noticed the light going away, she cursed silently to herself. She had to light the lanterns before it became too dark to see. With practiced hurry, she fetched flint and tinder, and began lighting the lanterns at a brisk but safe pace.

by **Louie Wein** on May 30th, 2012, 7:36 am

Avanthal was only the first stop of many on the way to the final destination of Zeltiva now that Denval has gone boom. Louie was sure of it based on a guess from what has been suggested during the evacuations and that unmistakable mushroom cloud which grew right into the sky behind them. He felt at a loss without knowing what he wanted to do and maybe like all the others he should just jump off the ship and one of the stops and make a new life for himself. Other than the books though, he knew nothing about the other cities and where he should go. What he could do.

Zeltiva was obviously the best choice for him given his interests but since he was already going to be in Avanthal for a few days he decided to ask around. Even with all the newly displaced Denval people in Avanthal it should not be too hard for him to find one that was already living here. The best question he knew he could ask any vantha was whether there was any locals that do not have one of those special special hold titles. Eventually his questioning paid off to find "a girl? What girl?" She sounded Denval enough but "do you have a name?" A lia at the port. Sounded more like some svefra from the Suvan.

"Are you sure about her?" but she was as good a lead as anyone. Why would she be at the stables though? "The stables?" Another question which was met with confusion like Louie should know already. "Yes I'm asking about the place with the animals and that girl..." he reminded the vanthas and realized that he was not asking the question directly enough. What he should have been asking all along was "where are the stables then?" It was easy to read up about a language in a book but is practical use in a culturally different place was another thing entirely. That was Avanthal crossed off the list of places Louie would think of residing in.

Definitely crossed out because as Louie was nearing the stable, it showed no hint of being affected the storm. It did not even show any hints of civilization being in that field alone all dark in the night! How could Louie stay in such a quiet place as Avanthal? Wait could it be? Squinting his eyes a little Louie could make out a line of lights appearing and the further down to the next a little dark figure.

He made his way forward still keeping an eye of the figure, this time sure that it was probably a small boy of some sort. Definitely not the girl that he was looking for but he could very well be the stablehand and when he got close enough, Louie called out "hello?"

by **Alea Davenport** on June 9th, 2012, 9:10 pm

Alea started when she heard a voice behind her. She paused from her lantern lighting to see who was coming to the stables at this hour. Standing under the glow of the most recently lit lantern, she waited for the newcomer to show himself. She wasn't about to go out into the dark to meet him. What kind of non-suspicious person showed up at night anyway? But she couldn't just ignore him, because he might be a traveler with legitimate business.

She leaned against the wall, crossing her arms, trying to seem casual but secretly readying herself to fight or flee if the man proved to be a threat. Her hair was a tangled mess, since she hadn't bothered brushing it in ages, and her arms and face were covered in dirt. Spending so much time among animals, and avoiding people, she had sort of lost interest in grooming herself.

When the man stepped enough into the light to reveal his face, Alea stood up a little as her suspicion turned into surprise, and a bit of disbelief. Was she dreaming? It seemed like this was a face she recognized from Denval. It had to be just someone who happened to look like a familiar face, surely... but she could swear she recognized him. Her hand unconsciously went to clutch the compass she wore on a chain under her shirt. It had been a gift from the only Denvali she'd ever met outside of Denval, and she held onto it whenever something reminded her of home.

by **Louie Wein** on August 1st, 2012, 10:51 am

No response whatsoever. Louie probably has the wrong person here since anyone from Denval are quite friendly even if their appearance might suggest the opposite. For this person however there was nothing to do with appearances because before Louie could get close enough to get a good look he already saw her taking a position at the wall. He knew it was a girl now even if he was still a distance away. That messy hair only made it easier to identify that its owner had long hair when Louie saw those lines waving and reaching out of the girl's body like some sort of horror monster out of a book.

Another thing that Louie thought to himself was this girl is a slacker which he felt was even more true the closer he got. She should have been coming out to see what he wanted as soon as he called out instead of taking a break at the wall or at least see what she was doing to the end, and her whole body. It was all black with dirt that Louie would have thought he met with some sort of zith and those never appeared in Denval to his knowledge unless it was for food but ziths would never get their food there because anyone in Denval would be capable enough to fight back.

When Louie stepped into the light he expected the girl to say something while he tried to see if he was able to recognize her. From a town of seven hundred it is quite possible to know at least more than half of them by face since he goes out quite a bit because he was not a recluse who only knew how to spend time with animals. In Denval he never knew a feral looking girl who could not even greet him even if her dark-blonde hair and hazel eyes stood out in his attempts of identification but then again anyone else could have those features.

Clearing his throat before trying to attempt any communication with this blackened creature with a loud "Ahem!" Louie tried to give a smile as he asked "Hello there. I heard there was a girl from Denval living around here?" or in case she did not know common, he asked the question again in his pretty bad Vani that Alea already had a chance to experience.

by **Alea Davenport** on August 5th, 2012, 12:25 pm

She walked up to him excitedly. He WAS from Denval! And he was looking for her! He had survived the storm? How many other were there? Had he come to Avanthal alone? Why was he looking for her? It killed her that she no longer had a voice with which to ask these questions. In any case, she nodded vigorously in response to his question about a girl from Denval. But then she became worried. Did he not recognize her? In a sea full of black hair, and he didn't pick her out as the only blonde? If he didn't catch onto who she was soon, she was going to smack him.

She did have one last resort. Bending low to the ground, making sure to be under the light of the lantern, she began tracing letters in the soft dirt.

Y-o-u a-r-e a-n i-d-i-o-t-!-!

by **Alea Davenport** on October 20th, 2012, 5:52 pm

OOC :

Louie eventually realized that Alea was in fact the Denvali girl he was seeking. He revealed that Alea's parents were among those who had survived the Denval explosion, and that they had asked him to look for her.

Louie took Alea to meet her parents, and it was generally a happy reunion, though her parents informed her that Alea's sister had perished in the Djed storm.

Her parents had been planning to live in the refugee camp with the rest of the Denvali, but Alea, being up on current events, had a better idea. Her parents were fisherfolk, and she knew the Coolwater Hold had taken losses in the storm. Despite being mute, she managed to communicate to her parents that they should seek a place there.

by **Valkyrie** on October 21st, 2012, 5:42 pm

Alea Davenport :

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.