Completed Amongst the Stalls and People [The Great Bazaar]

[Crystiin Aithne]

Fall 19th, 513 A.V. As she climbed down the stairs of stone into the Fourth Tier of Syliras, Crystiin's skirts swirled around her calves, creating a water-like tickling sensation. She stayed to one side of the stairs, keeping her balance by running her hand along the wall beside her, to stay out of the way of people who were obviously in a much greater hurry than she was. Stepping down onto the floor, she paused to take in what was going on before her, the sights and smells and sounds of Syliras's Great Bazaar. A massive congregation of people from all over Mizahar commingled here to show off and sell their goods and wares. Bookmongers, metalsmiths, fruitsellers, basketweavers, poets, storytellers, artists in every form and fashion gathered together to tend to the needs and wants of the people of Syliras. Buskers played and merchants fought to shout over each other to attract the attention of passerby. Whispers, shouts, bargains, laughter, it all mingled in the air of the enormous room that housed this majestic market. Crys was here on an inevitable errand. She'd come to buy the small rodents that she used to treat Flannigan with. Rats and mice mostly. Sometimes, if she was feeling generous, she bought him a snake. And all this he ate on top of whatever it was he caught himself when she released him at night. Silly Brother, he's fed too well. The last thing I need is a fat owl! She giggled at this and began to make her way into the Bazaar.

[Kreig Messer]

'Why did I come here again?' Thought the brawling squire as he moved through the crowd, truly he didn't know why he decided to come here....he simply wandered and that was where his feet took him. He stood in front of one the stalls, picking up a simple necklace. Its spherical shape made it look like a pearl necklace, but it was simply white and if one looked closely they could see the the bumps and the paint flaking away. Putting it back down, he sighed as he walked away "Why look at those for goodness sake? I don't have money to buy anyone a gift" He mumbled to himself, maybe he should go train? no...he was too distracted for that. Go fight at the pit? No, surprisingly not in the mood.


He was simply distracted, lost in his own mind, what he needed was something to pull him out of it but he knew not what could do such a thing if fighting, the thing he so loved, didn't seem like a proper prospect 'Maybe I should go visit Claire?' Indeed, his little girl would be a nice distraction... but would he be able to give her the attention she needs? in his scatter brained state? perhaps not... he sighed in frustration as he stood still for perhaps a chime or so, before moving on once more "This is going to be a long day"

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[Crystiin Aithne]

Crys picked her way carefully through the throngs of people. People watching was quickly becoming one of her favorite things to do when she wandered her city alone. She paused and took in a scene before her. A woman with short black hair was attempting to bargain with a vegetable dealer as her two daughters played hide-and-seek in her skirts and a baby crooned from her arms. But the dealer didn't seem to mind. If anything, he smiled and lowered his price for the woman. After the woman departed, Crystiin continued on. Two things caught her eye at the same time. One was the meatmonger from whom she usually purchased Flannigan's little snacks. An older man with a sour face, he wasn't too bad a soul. He liked Crys some, mostly because he'd been a hunter in his youth, using a cat. When the cat passed, the man went about his way selling meat that his sons caught. The other thing that caught Crystiin's eye was her brother, Felix, weaving in and out of the crowd ahead of her. Passing by the meatmonger with a "I'll be right back sir!" Crys picked up her pace in pursuit of her brother. "Felix! Hey, Felix!" She laughed when he didn't acknowledge her. And as she trailed him, her smile faded and she grew concerned. The way he was moving, he was weaving as if lost or confused. What was wrong with him? She hadn't seen her younger brother in, oh, perhaps a week? Whenever it was last that she'd gone to see her father. A group of giggling teenagers got in Crys's path and she almost lost sight of Felix. Cursing lightly, she took a hold of her skirt and raced forward, her slippers pattering on the cobblestones beneath her. Finally she reached her brother. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she turned him around. "Felix, what's the matter with you? Why didn't you answer me?"

[Kreig Messer]

"....hmm...where to go?...." Kreig thought aloud to himself as walked through the busy place...not hearing the voice calling out for her 'brother' then again... why would he need to hear it? As he made his way, he gently pushed aside a young boy, making sure he followed behind his mother instead of accidentally separating him 'Now...where should I go...gah, can't think of any place? did I think of the Rearing stallion? oh...maybe the spinning coin? No no...."

He continued wander, then wondered what Markus and Fallon are doing 'Hmm...Fallon must be training Orvin maybe...Markus...well I don't actually know what Ser Markus does....maybe helping squires? Oh, I wonder what Sera Natasha is doing? perhaps discussing knightly things with Ser Wade and Ser Maximus...unless Ser Maximus is yelling loudly...er...whatever he does"

He then felt a hand on his shoulder and was suddenly turned around to face a rather concerned looking young woman "um...huh?" He tilted his head in confusion, he had to admit she was an attractive lass 'No, there's already Tsukiko ' Yes, the Svefra woman he met a few days ago...his mind almost drifted to her until he shook himself "Um.... excuse me miss, um....I'm afraid you have me confused for some one else....uh..my name is Kreig" He then gave a soft chuckle " I mean, unless he looks like me I'm afraid I'm not him, unless he has my ugly mug" he continued to chuckle as scratched the back of his head "I mean, whats the chance there is someone who looks like me being confused for your umm... Felix? That was his name correct? Uh yes....unless we're related by blood I'm afraid that's impossible"

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[Crystiin Aithne]

"Felix, I..." "Um.... excuse me miss, um....I'm afraid you have me confused for some one else....uh..my name is Kreig." Crystiin released the man's shoulder and took a step back. He had the height, the hair color, the eyes, but this wasn't Felix. When the initial shock wore off, a smile lit up her face and she laughed. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry! You see, I thought you were my brother." The man's laugh was contagious, and Crys found herself giggling. She put her hands on her hips and smiled at Kreig. "I mean, whats the chance there is someone who looks like me being confused for your umm... Felix? That was his name correct? Uh yes....unless we're related by blood I'm afraid that's impossible." Crystiin shook her head. "Oh no, I don't know of any relatives like you. At least, I don't think I do. Not on my father's side anyway, he's an only child..." When she realized what she was doing, Crys rolled her eyes. Spouting family history, real classy girl. "My name is Crystiin, by the way. Crystiin Aithne. Felix is my younger brother, and you look so alike to him. Same eyes, same hair..." She almost reached up to touch it, but pulled away, recognizing the oddity of feeling a stranger's hair. A small laugh again. "Forgive me, friend. I'll let you go about your business." She stuck out her hand, thinking she would shake his.

[Kreig Messer]

Oh no, I don't know of any relatives like you. At least, I don't think I do. Not on my father's side anyway, he's an only child..." "My name is Crystiin, by the way. Crystiin Aithne. Felix is my younger brother, and you look so alike to him. Same eyes, same hair..." Kreig continued to chuckle lightly, finding it hard to believe that there was someone who looked like him, it seem he resembled this Felix so much that the woman nearly mussed his hair. Honestly, he found such a thing quite curious, enough that he wanted to meet such an individual. He reached out to shake her hand gently.

"Its quite alright, I'm afraid you piqued my curiosity" Kreig said as he withdrew his hand and raised his own brow 'Definitely would be an interesting prospect, meeting a doppelganger...' Kreig thought, indeed it might bring him out of this slump "Hah hah, I mean...the only person I know who looked like me is my Father, Schneider. At least that's what my mother says, its interesting to know there is someone whom I share a great resemblance to"

'Would be quite amusing, someone who looks like me living in a city like this....could be fate really' He thought with amusement as he shook his head " Er...My name is Kreig Messer by the way, it's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Aithne" Kreig said as he straightened himself "If you don't mind, would you allow this stranger to meet your brother? I'm afraid my curiosity won't rest till I see for myself"
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[Crystiin Aithne]

Even though they'd only met moments before, Crys was feeling very comfortable with this young man. He was funny and interesting, every chime getting more and more familiar. A sort of a familiar stranger, in a way. In the back of her mind, it was strange, but the rest of her being told her that this was a good man. Something made her stop though, something small and seemingly insignificant. Kreig asked after her brother, but in that small amount of time Crystiin's mind had traveled far away. "I'm afraid my curiosity won't rest till I see for myself." Her mind was running at a million miles a click. Crys put out a hand, a nonverbal request for a pause. "I beg your pardon, but did you say that you're father's name was Schneider? As in Schneider Messer? Because, believe it or not, my mother spoke of a brother of her's with that name. She hadn't heard from him in several years... Well, she's passed on now, but my father says that she spoke of this brother often. I wonder..." She began to make her way through the Bazaar again, all thoughts of retrieving snacks for Flannigan gone but trusting that her new friend would follow her. She wasn't sure exactly where she was going or what she was doing, she just needed to wander as her mind wandered. Could it be that this man was related to her?

[Kreig Messer]

"I beg your pardon, but did you say that you're father's name was Schneider? As in Schneider Messer? Because, believe it or not, my mother spoke of a brother of her's with that name. She hadn't heard from him in several years... Well, she's passed on now, but my father says that she spoke of this brother often. I wonder..."

Kreig's eyes widened in surprise, honestly he didn't quite expect to hear such a thing 'As far as I know, there is only one Messer family and thats mine...' Kreig thought at the back of his mind. Could his father have or had a sister? Or was the world truly so big that the possibility of another Messer family existing could be sheer coincidence "Er...I don't quite know about any of my father's relatives, I think my mother would have told me if she knew, may her soul rest in peace...oh, um sorry about your own mum" Kreig said the last part sympatheticly as he began to follow the Ms.

"Er...judging from the accent I suppose it's safe to assume you're a native of the city?" Kreig asked, his curiosity now increasing ten fold "...Was your mother a native of this city?" He was curious about that, because if she was a native of the city then it meant Kreig had Syliran blood in him, which made it rather amusing in his mind 'A union of Syliran Order and Sunberthian Chaos....wouldn't that be the irony of the day?' Kreig sighed mentally ' Gotta love Lhex's humor'.

'...I have family?' The thought suddenly came, rather redundant really since he had family in certain other people. But one could suppose the possibility of blood family is another interesting thing '...Was I always meant to be here?'


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[Crystiin Aithne]

Despite herself, Crystiin began to get rather excited. She laid a hand eagerly on Kreig's shoulder. "My mother.... She was as I am. Syliran born and raised. She'd never even left the city's perimeters. Her name was Morvyn. Morvyn Messer Aithne, when she married my father." In her journey into her mind, Crys's eyes misted over and she smiled as she thought of her mother. She didn't have that many memories of the woman, being too young when her mother died in the childbirth of her younger brother Felix. But there was once, when Crys's father had taken her and her older brother Chonnar out in the dead of winter to hunt. Crys could remember looking back at the city, over the blanket of white, at the Gates from which they had come. Morvyn had stood there, pregnant at the time, watching her family set off into the outside. In the high-pitched voice of her youth, Crys had let go of her father's hand and cupped her mouth, screaming with all her might "I LOVE YOU MOMMY!" Maybe the wind had been with her. Maybe she had suffered from temporary insanity. Or maybe some god had taken to smiling down on the girl with such devotion to her mother. Squinting her eyes against the glare, Crys could see her mother waving, but as the wind swirled around her, she thought she could hear her mother's voice wishing her well and good luck. Coming back into the present, Crys wiped a tear from her eye. "She died in childbirth, to my younger brother Felix. She's been gone for many years now. Anywho, I don't actually know where Felix is right now. He still lives with my father, and I live alone."

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig's brow raised as her heard the name of Cryst's mother as she explained to him, placing her hand on his shoulder'Well, if this doesn't make us related, I'm sure meeting the nail on the coffin will....' Kreig chuckled silently to himself, the nail obviously being that brother of hers if he ever met the lad this day. He then looked into her face and saw that the woman was lost in a memory apparently, no doubt of her own mother when she was alive 'Heh, how many time's had that happen to me?' Kreig thought as he briefly recalled his own mother, her gentle smile as she sat him in her lap and kept reminding him of his morals.

'I love you mommy' He heard the words whispered as tear formed in her eyes, only for it to be wiped away Crystiin returned to the present and explained her mother's current status " May Dira watch over her soul" Kreig said as he now placed his own hand on her shoulder "My own mother passes when I was but barely an adult, so I can understand the pain"

"I suppose we could meet your father then? I really am quite curious" Kreig said as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly" Kreig then brought a palm under his chin as he contemplated "Or we could simply take the time to know each other? Perhaps we could meet your family at another time?"

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