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[Arlan Young]

Interesting Encounters

13th of Summer, 513 A.V.

Another warm summer's day was coming to an end, a gentle breeze rustled leaves and lifted dust, and the sky was turning a tint of orange as the sun teetered towards the horizon slowly. Merchants and shopkeepers were beginning to gather their supplies and hard earned coin, the bustling streets were emptying and the life of the city was dying.

Shuffling along an empty street, was Arlan, arms locked tightly and insecurely at his sides, paces relatively shorter than most people's and his head dipped forward, peering at the ground in front of himself, he had been wandering the city for hours, he always enjoyed it, the chance he may discover something new or maybe even a scene he might like to draw. Approaching a fork in the path he was following, Arlan diverted his attention from the ground momentarily, making a snap decision then a quick and stiff turn to the left and moved on, passing various stalls, houses and general buildings he'd never come across before.

He didn't get out much.

Finally coming to a halt, Arlan's attention was grabbed and soon became fixated upon an establishment called The Herald's Arms. Furrowing his brow in contemplation, Arlan took a steady step closer to the building, admiring its architecture briefly, before approaching the door and allowing himself inside. Upon entering, Arlan allowed the door to swing closed behind himself as he stood stiff, motionless and awkwardly in the doorway, peering about.

x

[Edreina]

After serving yet another patron, this time a brightly haired man with golden eyes, his drink, Edreina paused long enough to look up and see a man standing stiffly beside the door, as if unsure where to go first. The red-haired woman's first instinct was to signal one of the girls circulating the first floor and have her take him over to one of the love seats. But, after eyeing him curiously for another moment, she decided that a bit of alcohol might be first appreciated. He looked stiff and uncomfortable... nothing better to change that than becoming a bit inebriated. "Fancy standing there? Or does a warm stool and cool drink sound better, dear?" Edreina called over the gently swaying din. With a soft smile, she leaned upon the bar with crossed arms, motioning to the empty stool before her with a gentle nod of the hair. In the days that she had been working at The Herald's Arms, Edreina had gotten better each day at keeping her appearance somewhat in tact through the night. Today, her hair was still slicked back into a high pony tail, save for the few curling locks that framed her face, with a bright yellow bandanna. Her off-white sleeves were not rolled up but tumbled down to her elbows, just as her skirt tumbled evenly to the floor all the way around. And, upon the gentle insistence of some of the other girls working, Edreina had even begun to don her brown leather corset, the one that if she unlaced her top even slightly would give any of the patrons a lovely view of the hills. Abruptly, little Navis began padding across the bar, back to his master. He had become a bit of a staple of Edreina's shift as men and women alike enjoyed playing with the little fox kit and scratching his fluffy little belly. With a high-pitched yip, he stretched out his sandy colored body in front of Edreina, insisting upon receiving attention. With a gentle smirk, Edreina obliged, waiting for the newcomer to make a decision.

[Yuri Forsin]

In the quiet evening streets of Syliras, the shrill haunting sound of someone whistling a sad tune echoed down the streets. Along the empty streets, the source of the whistling was found meandering down the road: what appeared to be a young man in a refined looking tailcoat and white ruffle shirt stained with splotches of blood, his form flickering and translucent, bright almost glowing green eyes on pale skin, nonchalantly whistling as he calmly floated around. The man was a ghost, a reality that Yuri had already come to terms with, or so he thought. It had already been over a week since the ghost had returned to his home city after an year of wandering, searching for Aya... and the man who killed Yuri. The ghost pushed that to the back of his mind; he would rather enjoy the rare silence of Syliras then recall memories. Ah, this is the way this place should be. Nice and quiet... now how did that line go? The ghost was engrossed in creating yet another musical piece in his mind, the music of his mind making up for the lack of instruments in the physical world for Yuri. As Yuri listened in deep contemplation the instruments of his imagination, the ghost whistled the tune as he progressed further. With no longer being able to touch the corporeal freely, Yuri kept himself content with simply whistling or singing his songs. The ghost continued floating until it suddenly stopped in his whistling and turned to face a certain building, The Herald's Arms. I wonder if there is some music tonight... The ghost vaguely remembered coming to the same establishment with his father in his youth, to listen to the musicians that often played there. Maybe he should stop by tonight. Yuri simply glided through the closed door, and once on the other side accidentally also passed through not only the door but a young man standing near it. The ghost hardly gave a glance back at the person, instead Yuri silently floated in, materializing into a more feasible form and taking a seat on an empty stool. The establishment's atmosphere suddenly felt unnaturally chilly and quiet, the musicians suddenly stopping, thanks to the presence of this ethereal being. The many people in the building looked at Yuri with mixed emotions; fear, repulsion, curiosity... the ghost took no heed to all of the eyes on himself as he rested his arms on the bar, his left hand held against his forehead. Yuri was just here for the music...

[Edreina]

Edreina looked up as Navis's hackles raised in response to the sudden change in atmosphere. Her copper brows attempted to join the rest of her hair as she saw that a ghost had taken the stool before her. It was odd, certainly, but no reason for everyone to stop and stare. That's just rude. Glaring about, Edreina's bright blue eyes attempted to restore order, urging the musicians to continue playing. After a beat, they obliged, if somewhat more forcibly happy than before. The music's return bade the return of conversation. Rolling her eyes, Edreina turned to the newcomer with a smile. Sure, he was a ghost, but he could also be a paying customer. He still had a personality and emotions, so she would not treat him any differently compared to any other patron who took a seat at her bar. "Can I get you anything?" She smiled brightly, flicking her ponytail off of her shoulder with a quick nod. As he speaks, she removes her gaze for the instant it takes for her to take stock of the girls available on the main floor. He might find himself in need of company. As usual, Navis's nervousness lasted only for an instant. He quickly scuttled across the bar to sit before the ghost, brown eyes alight with curiosity. He seemed to be thinking, "This two-leg different. But he can still pet?" Edreina rolled her eyes at the kit and glanced at the ghost and then the man still standing by the door.

[Yuri Forsin]

Yuri sat quietly, or at least had his body in a position to look like sitting, eyes closed as he waited for the music to resume. Quickly it did so, perhaps a bit more forced sounding than previously but still fine. The ghost would have simply sat there for the rest of the evening listening; he expected no one to even think of talking to a ghost like himself. Probably spooked everyone out with my entrance... oh well... Yuri was by now very used to the morose derision most people had towards ghosts. So it was a large surprise to Yuri as the woman at the bar asked if he wanted something. Yuri looked up at the woman with an expression of slight alarm, bright green eyes into bright blue eyes. Did she know he was a ghost? Then... why did she so easily talk to him. There was no sign of the usual fright, frown or pity that he was used to on the woman's face. Yuri shyly shook his head at the young woman, returning her bright smile with a nervous one. "Um... er... no thank you miss. Even if I had the money to, I wouldn't be able to eat or drink anything since as you can tell..." Yuri moved his pale hand in and out of the bar to demonstrate, "It would just fall through." Yuri looked away in shyness, not even venturing to introduce himself. Yuri was not expecting this at all; a living person just calmly talking with him. Just like that. Maybe Yuri was simply exaggerating this in his mind, but things happen if you've been wandering alone in the wilderness for almost a year. Loneliness was all he ever had to talk to even since he came back to Syliras. Yuri turned to take a glance at the musicians playing. "Emm... Nice music we have tonight; reminds me of the last time I played a piece here." Yuri quietly spoke, half to himself and half to the woman at the bar. Yuri looked down at the kit looking up at him from the floor with an eager expression. Like the woman, it didn't seem to be running away in fear either. The ghost found himself chuckling softly, "Now, do you want food, or do you want me to pet you? Because I'm afraid I can do neither unfortunately, unless you like the cold."

[Perplexity]

Riddled With Rewards Edreina Experience Skill XP Earned Observation + 1 EXP Persuasion + 1 EXP Lores • Lore Earned • Entertaining A Ghost • Navis, Attention Whore Notes : I gave what I could Ms. Edreina! As for Mr. Arlan and Mr. Yuri you must update your ledgers to reflect seasonal expenses before I will post a grade for you.