Completed The Ties That Bind (Nira)

[Ricky Maze]

The Ties That Bind Summer 32nd, 504 AV The day had started out finishing breakfast for Ricky, he had cooked fish for him and gave had to his new companion Odis. Well he wasn't really "that" new, considering he's been with Ricky for over a week now. He was a real curious one, energetic but very curious. The dog woupd eat fish like it was his favorite treat, to Ricky it was just food, and leave no morsel left. As Ricky was going to place the dirty dishes in the bucket he scraped his leftovers to the dog, the hound eating all of it within minutes. Ricky took a seat on the couch and examined the place, quite a bit of a mess really. It was home to them though and that's what mattered. It's not like they were expecting company anytime soon anyway. As Odis hopped up on the couch with Ricky he tried to lick his master, his manner of saying "Thanks for the food." Ricky kept him slightly back though, his breath stunk of things worse then fish. "Ok ok boy!" He laughed as the dog struggled against him, leaning in for a doggy kiss "Your welcome boy, now down!" He was still laughing but the dog knew it was a command from his alpha, so he listened and backed off. As Ricky got confortable on his couch Odis leaned on his, and Ricky rubbed his head affectionately as he enjoyed the peace and quiet that was felt through the house.

[Nira'lia]

It was a slow day, and Nira’lia hated slow days. Her mother had spent the whole morning teaching her about certain types of herbs, and Nira’lia had barely listened. She had just nodded when necessary and made up answers when questioned. And when they had eaten their mid-day meal, her sisters forced her to run errands and purchase food from the market. The young Konti was now lugging around a basket of vegetables, fish, and bread. However, instead of going straight home, she decided to instead go towards the direction of Ricky’s house. According to her analysis, if she went home, that would just allow her family to make her do more things. ‘No way am I going to let them make me run more errands. No.’ She finally arrived before Ricky’s house, and she wondered if he, or anyone else, was home. It had been weeks since she last saw her friend. Hopefully, he would have some ideas of how to spend the rest of the day. The Konti knocked on his door and waited.

[Ricky Maze]

It was unexpected for Ricky actually have a guest, even more so to Odis who now began barking. The dog immediately got up to be the first to the door, warning that who ever was outside better not be here for trouble. Ricky hadn't the time to go put on a shirt and quiet down Odis, so his first thought was to go ahead and answer the door. "Rrruff. Ruff Ruff Ruff." He barked like any other excited surprised dog really, his meaning really was something unknown was here. Of course to Odis the person was gonna be unknown because he had never met anyone from Ricky's life, Ricky soon arrived at the door to pull the dog back some. "Back Odis, get back!" He ordered for the pup, the dog wasn't paying attention though. He was too curious, too excited, to draw back. When Ricky was finally able to get in front of the dog, he snapped and pointed away from the door. "Odis! Sit. Down." The dog looked to Ricky with curiosity, and finally listened as he obeyed his master's wish. "Good boy." He told the dog with a grin as he turned the old nob, the creaky door opened soon after to reveal a konti he knew from his younger days. "Nira! What in Mizahar are ye doin' here?" He asked rather shocked to see her, she seemed to have gone to the market by the looks of things. Odis began to pant and do his usual tongue wagging, his tail sweeping the floor in excitement. He would've cleaned up if he knew she was going to come around, the house was rather dirty as he'd been doing his usual fish hunt. So the house would probably smell of fish to her, of course she never really complained before she visited. That wad weeks ago though, before the storms had rolled in. Even though it was messy inside he wouldn't ask Nira to come back later, because that would be a rude house host thing to do. So he invited her in, hoping that she wouldn't mind the slight mess and the dog- oh yes the dog. He left the door open for Nira to come in after inviting her, and went back to Odis and kept the dog in check. Telling the boy "behave" as Odis wanted to rush up and greet her, if Ricky was to have this kind of trouble with him around new people then he would need to train him. A better mannered dog is what will keep the house guests around.

[Nira'lia]

The Konti blinked as she heard the sound of a barking dog. As soon as Ricky had opened the door, she looked down at the canine. ‘Well, that’s new…’ While Nira’lia had nothing against dogs, she had never owned any before. She had limited experience when dealing with them, and she was unsure of how to react at the moment. But Ricky told her to come in, so she did. If he thought it would be safe for her to do so, then she would believe in that. His home was messy and smelled slightly of fish, but she didn’t mind. It was Zeltiva, almost all homes had that smell. It was something that she had learned to welcome by now. “You got a dog,” she stated obviously. The Konti looked at Odis, and her every movement was cautious. Would the dog attack her if she made any sudden movements? Dogs didn’t like to be threatened, right? She was nowhere near a threat, but who knew about how the thinking of dogs worked. “Odis… that’s a nice name!” She smiled at Ricky before looking back at Odis. He looked like a common, energetic dog, and she knew that he was a new addition to Ricky’s life for she had never seen him before. “Oh, I just came from the market, and I thought of passing by… for no real particular reason,” she said with an enthusiastic grin. “I hope that’s alright with you? I wouldn’t want to intrude!”

[Ricky Maze]

When she came in Ricky kept Odis in line as the pup was succumbing to the urge, the one where all excited dogs tend to overwhelm their guests. Ricky wasn't going to have that, it was something Odis will have to learn. "Yea it wasn't my choice really, the mutt just followed me home and now I'm stuck with him." He told her as he knelt to pet the dog, which gave Ricky affection licks on his wrists. The canine had imprinted on him so what was Ricky to do? When Nira mentioned that she wasn't meaning to intrude Ricky laughed a bit, it had been a while since Nira would say something that did that. Of course it had been a while since he had seen her at all, his period of antisociality was a time where he was with nobody of course. "Yer fine Nira really, it's a real pleasure to see you again. He made sure one more time that Odis would behave, telling him to do so as he allowed the dog to investigate Nira. He first sniffed her feet and ankles then looked up to Nira, tail wagging as he begged for attention. "Don't worry he's harmless, he'll just want some affection is all." He assured her as he stood back up. "I'll go get my vest on real quick." He said as he went back into his room, picking up the fluffy cotton vest from the floor. He had nearly forgotten that he was shirtless until he looked to see he wasn't wearing his vest, yet it really didn't seem to bother Nira at all; he guessed them being friends it really didn't matter. Still he imagined that she would like for him to show some decency, and that was by all means putting a shirt. As he fastened the vest together he wasn't aware of what Odis would be doing, if he wasn't behaving or not really, and he hoped that the pup was being nice. He went ahead and made his way back down the hall, remembering the mess the house seem to be in as well. "Oh sorry the place looks like a storm brewed in, I've been slightly uh...busy." He said as he made it back to the living room. Ooc : I went ahead and left it open for Nira to interact with Odis, so whatever they were doing last when Ricky walked back in is where I'll pick up.

[Nira'lia]

The Konti looked down at the dog skeptically. She was still wary of making any sudden movements. However, when Ricky assured her that it would be alright, she relaxed a bit. Her shoulders slinked down and a warm smile came upon her face. Ricky was right. The dog appeared to be wagging its tail and looked at her eagerly. That was obviously not how a threatened and possibly violent dog would react. This puppy was looking for attention… Ricky was right! Giggling soft, Nira’lia went down on her knees and held her hands out to the dog, beckoning it. Nira’lia pat it lightly on the head at first. It was so cute! How could such an adorable creature be anything but dangerous? Instantly, she realized how silly she was being before. She played with Odis as Ricky said something about a vest. Absently, she nodded her head and, in the corner of her eye, saw her friend leave the room. “Are you hungry, Odis?” asked Nira’lia with a hearty grin. She started to rummage in the basket she had brought, and she didn’t miss the curious look that Odis was giving her. Finally, she found what she was searching for. The Konti pinched off a piece of the load of bread she had purchased. “Here! Have some bread!” Soon enough, Ricky came back to the room. Nira’lia blinked and looked up at him. She looked around the house and saw that the place was indeed in disarray. A nagging feeling at the back of her mind actually wanted to tidy the place up. “Oh, don’t worry about it,” she replied instantly. “Come to think of it, I have not seen you in a while… What have you been doing?”

[Ricky Maze]

Finally he felt comfortable as he came back around the living room, even more so seeing her and Odis getting along so well. Nira was feeding him some bread as Ricky witnessed, the dog could eat that was one thing for sure. He didn't mind though when she did so, it was a genuine way for the two to meet. Of course she would be slightly occupied with thoughts of the mess, but when she asked what Ricky had been doing he slightly tensed up. The question he wouod feel evasive of. Of course it being four weeks ago he would at least not mind sharing what happened, after all he and Nira had been good friends for a long time. He looked to the couch real quick as he gathered his thoughts, it would be quite the shock to tell her about his father. "Um yeah about that...." He looked back to her as he came near the couch, "How about a seat before ye hear this?" He offered to her before he sat down, if she hadn't noticed by now that his pa was gone then she was in for a real shock. Gathering the right words in his mind he prepared to tell her everything that had been going on. OOC : bleh short post. I'll do better on the next.

[Nira'lia]

The Konti looked at Ricky questioningly. It wasn’t difficult to see that there was a heavy seriousness in the air that couldn’t be ignored. She had asked a simple question but it appeared that there was a serious answer for it. “…Are you alright?” she asked. He looked upset, and she hated seeing that in her friends. There were a few more pieces of bread in her hand, and she tossed them all at the ground for Odis to take. She stood up and brushed the dirt off her skirt before taking a seat on a nearby chair. Normally, she would be grinning from ear to ear and urging him to tell her about what was going on. On a day like any other, she really would have been excited. But Nira’lia’s intuition worked better than most, and she knew while he had been evasive about the question at first, he was willing to share. ‘What could have happened? He’s asking so odd…’ Nira’lia settled herself on the chair and unconsciously leaned forward, urging Ricky to tell her about what was making him act so uneasy. For some reason, she dreaded to really know the answer.

[Ricky Maze]

She took a seat in the chair as he sat on the edge of the couch, looking for the proper words to say this without overwhelming her. Such a simple question she asked and yet he had no simple answer to give, just a troubling story he felt that she deserved to hear. Odis was happily eating away at the rest of his snack she gave, Ricky pat him affectionately as he sighed when he found where to begin. "Well do ya remember the storm that hit near the end of spring? Somethin happened that pretty much...made me not want to see anybody." He hesitated for a chime but didn't stop to leave Nira guessing, he wouldn't look for the gray area in speaking; he would have to give her the full truth. Even if it still troubled him a little. "A few day's before that storm hit Zeltiva my father had a sailin job to do, and the ship that was suppose to report in never did. Not long after that word spread to other sailor's about, that the ship he and the crew were on....was lost out at sea." There it was all at one, the ugly truth that he still woupd deny. He may have begin to accepted it, but the hero he always knew would never die. His heary was heavy with grief still as he held it all in, and he sat there watching Nira's reaction.

[Nira'lia]

The Konti gaped. There was a knot in her throat that she couldn’t swallow. It was as if a dark shadow was looming over theme, and she could feel the heaviness of the situation. How could she have not known? Every time a ship of Zeltiva was lost at sea, the sailors spoke about it. The father of her people, Laviku, was an unpredictable God. Death at sea was always a horrifying thought, and she had no idea that Ricky had been going through this at the moment. “Lost at sea?” she inquired, her voice barely a squeak. “What does that mean? Do they, uh… did it capsize? Did they see it capsize? Perhaps… I don’t know, perhaps they’re stuck someplace else that cannot reach our eyes and ears? I, uhm…” Nira’lia felt as if she was going to burst out crying. She wanted to cheer him up and tell him there could still be hope. Her childish ideals forced her to think this way. “How are you feeling about all this?” she finally asked. “Is there anything you need?”