PM to join [Ino Vations] Reunion

[Vanari]

ooctimestamp should be okay, we can change it later if needed

Day 6, Summer 514AV Ari paced back and forth across the creaking floorboards, absolutely sure she was going to make the visit one tick and then completely unsure the next. It was absurd that she had even come this far to begin with. What had she been thinking? Had she finally lost her mind after spending so many fortnights with no one but the wind and trees to talk to? No, no, that wasn't it, the Vantha reminded herself. She did have legitimate reasons. The first and the most urgent being one of an alarming rumor. One concerning a certain, poisony acquaintance of hers and a blind man searching all over Nyka for him--the irony of which was not lost upon her, despite how nerve wracking the situation had been. She'd been eating a simple breakfast at Safe Haven when the doors burst open and in walked this peculiar looking fellow with cloudy eyes and a snarl in his voice. "Innkeeper, I need room and board. Got any openings?" That was all he said before he was ushered away to avoid scaring off the other customers. Vanari thought that would the last she saw of him, but she had been horribly, horribly wrong. For the next fortnight this eerie man stalked the streets of Nyka and questioned any of the patrons of Safe Haven he could waylay in the halls. At first, the Vantha believed she had nothing to really fear, other than the strange man's pungent breath. She was alone, utterly unconnected with anyone within the city, and leagues upon leagues away from her home. There was nothing for her to hide. But then one night she overhead him questioning one of the other inn dwellers and her heart near froze from terror. The bind was looking for someone specific. A man with dark hair, green eyes, and pale skin who had a particular taking to poison. Now, arguably, there could be any number of people who matched that description. Dozens, even. But the way the man had been describing his target...well, suffice to say he didn't seem to harbor much fondness. Apparently, the criminal was wanted for cold blooded murder, or something of that nature. Ari only heard bits and pieces on her side of the wall before she snuck away from the door, afraid that if she made any noise the blind man would know someone was inside. For an entire fortnight, she dodged this mysterious man as if her very life depended on it. Sneaking about, remaining unbearably quiet, locking herself in her room for days on end, and feeling as though paranoia might eat her alive if it went on any longer. By the time she finally decided to just up and leave she felt she had aged at least twice as fast. What did Nolan do to have this bounty hunter chasing after him like a blood hound on a scent? Or, better question, who did he kill, if the crime he was wanted for was real? Ari shook her head to disrupt the endless loop of question after question. For now, she had more simple issues. Including when would be a good time to visit the shop and how she should approach the man himself. In the end, the vagrant decided it would be best to pick a busier time of the day--when enterprising businessmen were less likely to spot her in the crowd and drag her non-citizen arse off to be sold into slavery--and show up unannounced. That way there would be less risk involved for both parties. She had no idea if the blind man managed to pick up a new trail all the way to Ravok yet. Before Vanari left, she discovered that blindness did little to hinder this professional. He was willingly in the business of bounty hunting, after all, and had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Namely, he appeared to have some skill with magic. The Vantha hand't the faintest idea just what exactly he was capable of, but she made sure to steer clear of him all the same. All in all, best be safe than sorry. Ari would go in like a regular customer and simply hope for the best. There wasn't much else she could do with her limited time, funds, and resources. Donning her simple, threadbare cloak, the Vantha left her room at Tarsin's and locked the door behind her. As she re-familiarized herself with the streets of Ravok once more her heart ka-thumped erratically in her chest. There was, after all, one other reason for her unexpected return. "Vera," Ari whispered under her breath. She quickened her pace and pictures dozens of different scenarios in her mind of how the young apprentice would act. Some included joy, others disbelief, and even one or two involved total lack of recognition or just plain indifference. Vanari sincerely hoped the last ones never made it to reality. In a matter of chimes, the Vantha had arrived. She swallowed hard as she stopped in front of the entrance. Heart racing, palms sweating, Ari opened the door to Ino Vations and stepped inside.

[Verin Rush]

The temperate breeze of Ravok’s warm climate blew through the canals and walkways of the Lake-City. It was not overly warm, which was surprising for this time of the year, but citizens were still taking the time to enjoy the warmer climate. One, however, found himself inside a darkened room, with poisoncrafting implements all around him, with no one to disturb him from his work. Having never owned a lab of his own, the young blond was in his element, surrounded by all the implements he could not afford himself, but which he so desperately craved to use.

After Nolan Parnell had been escorted out of the Nitorozian-Moletta Sanitary Station by Ebonstryfe soldiers, Verin had wasted no time in making his way over to Parnell’s shop, Ino Vations, where he met with Vera, the small apprentice girl, and Burke, the shop assistant. He had never met Burke before, and the two did not start on the best terms, particularly when Verin had refused to say any more than the fact that Master Parnell had left Ravok for a few days, and would hopefully be returning in the not too distant future.

Burke had not been impressed with the lack of information, but Verin had soothed him with promises that Parnell thought his establishment was in the safest of hands. Vera, possibly remembering Verin’s kind words to her when they had first been introduced, returned the gesture that day, which was all the welcome that Verin needed to slip into the daily activities of the poison shop, whether Parnell’s employees wanted him there or not.

Today was the bartender’s first day off from The Malt House, and it had taken little motivation for him to make his way to Ino Vations to be there when Burke opened up the shop. Though he had been there each day, for a bell or two, to check that everything was okay, and maybe to fiddle in the lab, today was his first full day there, and he relished the chance that was just waiting to be taken.

Having spent the morning going through Master Parnell’s stock of poisons in the shop, it was safe to bet that he had ingredients somewhere for some of these poisons to be produced. The young shop assistant grunted at him when he arrived, but Vera was far more pleasant, “Good morning, Vera. Now tell me, have you ever been introduced to a poison called “Blue Whinnis”? It’s what I plan on making today, provided Master Parnell left us what we need."

The girl’s enthusiasm reminded Verin of a younger Venser, and he smiled as the two headed into the back. It didn’t take long for the pair to find what they were looking for, and the bartender began to prepare the three whinnis roots whilst he had Vera scramble through notes in search of guidance for how to make the poison itself. She returned quickly, flourishing notes in his direction, which he read through carefully.

In order to make a concentration of the whinnis root, he needed to boil it, and then mash the steaming root, before straining it, apparently.

Verin began by setting a pot of water to simmer on a burner, then by peeling the root, using a small, thin blade and pushing it away from himself, along the root to remove the outer layer. He was careful as he did this; desperate not to be in any more debt to the NMSS than he already was. The result was that his skin came away unblemished, but the root itself was not carved infallibly, with jagged edges here and there. He used the same knife to then chop up the root into smaller, more manageable pieces – this would help for the boiling and the mashing stages yet to come. When he did the second of the three roots, his handiwork was not much neater, but it looked slightly better.

All neatly chopped, he scooped up all of the chopped root and set them in the flames. He glanced back at the notes as he picked up the final root, “Right! Now, we have to-" he glanced up and frowned as he heard the door to the main shop open in the distance. “Vera, do you want to check and see if Burke is alright with the customer?" The girl nodded and raced out to the main room as Verin turned to chop the third root and add it to the other two.

[Vanari]

For a moment, her heart fell through the floor. No one was even in the shop. Not one, single soul in sight. Gripped by a wave of panic, the Vantha blindly went through all possible options. Had the owner of the store changed? Did Ino move Vera somewhere else to continue her studies? Was he even alive? Did the bounty hunter beat her to the punch after all? But then her qualms were soothed a fraction when a young man's face popped into view behind the clerk's counter. They eyed each other in silence for a good handful of ticks, neither quite sure what to do or say. The assistant wore the telltale signs of sleeping on the job and it took a few slow blinks for him to remember how he ought to be addressing new customers. Right, yes. Duties and lines. Gotta speak to the lady, see what she wants. He had his mouth half open to utter the proper greeting when Vera emerged from the lab and shrieked in shock. "What?" the assistant mumbled, hair still tousled from his impromptu nap, "what is it? Who the petch is th--" "AUNTIE ARI!" The Vantha dropped her pack to the floor as soon as she'd seen that familiar, ear to ear grin and held out her arms. Vera flew with incredible speed across the floor, all decorum and training forgotten in an instant of incredulous joy. She screeched to a sudden halt, however, about two feet from Ari's inviting form. Master Parnell's voice cut through the haze of elation as effectively as if he were standing right beside her. You should know better, Vera. You've been working with poisons. The girl flinched back at the realization that she had been terribly close to putting her auntie at risk. "I--the poisons, we were working..." Vera struggled to string together a coherent sentence; there were just too many questions! "How did you--when did you even--I can't believe you're really here!" Vanari laughed and knelt to eye level with the young protege. "You've grown," she observed tenderly, bumping her forehead against the girl's and heart swelling a hundred times its size. "Look at you, a right and proper apprentice! I couldn't be more proud. I bet Uncle Nolan feels the same, what with you being so smart and all. Speaking of Uncle Nolan..." The vagrant glanced around and made brief eye contact with the muddled looking assistant. "Where is Mister Parnell?"

[Verin Rush]

When the young apprentice girl left for the main shop floor, Verin quickly returned to the poison at hand. He continued to chop up the remainder of the untouched root before scooping them all up and dropping them slowly into a pot with water in it, which he placed over a burner. The water would take time to boil, he knew, and he wondered if first he should have placed the pot on to simmer to speed up the process, but it didn't seem like he was in any particular rush - either Parnell would be gone for a number more days or he would be back in the next few ticks, either one had no negative affect on Verin.

He glanced up briefly when he heard the scream, which could only have come from a young girl, probably Vera. Thinking on it, he wasn't entirely sure if it had been a squeal of delight or so,etching more ominous... he did not have much experience around children and didn't fully understand how they worked, or what noises they made in certain situations. They did not have the same emotional capacity that adults had, that much he knew, but still did not fully understand the half-grown inhabitants of the world.

Maybe a vial of poison had been dropped, though he did not hear anything break. Or maybe there was some sort of bug, a spider perhaps. Children were like women in that respect, weren't they? Having a lesser constitution which left them frightened of such things, perhaps. With reluctance, he decided that he should head out to find out what the noise was about - he had said that he would watch the shop... Picking up a cloth, he wiped his hands dry of any residue juices, given that the pure form was not dangerous to the touch of skin. Then he replaced the cloth on the side and ducked out of the lab and into the main room.

There he saw the apprentice girl wrapped in the arms of another, a woman whom Verin had never had the pleasure of meeting. He certainly didn't recognise her, nor did Burke, for that matter. But the girl certainly did. He wandered in just as the woman asked where the poisoner was. At this point, Verin spoke up, relaying the same information that he had told Burke and Vera a few days previously. “Master Nolan Parnell is not here at the moment, he had unavoidable business to attend to. I am minding Ino Vations whilst he is gone.” Short and sweet, not excessive, as if concealing something... and it was true, what Verin had shared. Even living in a city rife with deception and lies, he was keen to keep his statements as true as possible.

He could not profess that the man was on the Lakeshore, but nor would he ever admit where the poisoncrafter had really gone. Though Vera knew this woman, and the woman apparently knew Parnell well enough to add a familial term to the name when she was addressing the girl, Verin knew nought of her, and would not share something so... private with a stranger whom Parnell might not prefer the information shared with. He stepped forward again as the woman disentangled herself with the girl, “I'm Verin Rush,” he smiled politely, though didn't offer his hand, as he fell silent, offering the woman a chance to introduce herself.

[Vanari]

All eyes turned toward the calm voice that rose in unexpected answer to the Vantha's question. It took a moment for Ari to realize she was the only one staring in confusion; the other two clearly recognized this fair haired stranger. Later on she would recall how for one, brief tick she jumped to the ludicrous conclusion that Nolan had somehow transformed himself into an ash blond young man with blue eyes and far less menace in his steady gaze. But for now, the recently returned traveler looked to assistant and apprentice for answers. "Master Rush, look who came to visit me!" Vera gushed, right about the same time Burke blurted, "I was completely awake!" Vanari tried not to snort in laughter at the two. She was, after all, supposed to make a good first impression. Or something of that sort when one met the temporary caretaker of Parnell's precious poison shop. It's been way too long since I've had to actually be civilized, she grumbled to herself for the hundredth time in the past two seasons. Better get re-acquainted with it now rather than later. It was plain as day that this man knew more than he said. But, then again, the Vantha wasn't exactly buddies with Nolan either. The guy had more secrets than she had years, no doubt, and pretty much chose to live in shrouded half truths as he sarcastically grouched everyone to a manageable distance. That, and her newly acquired information about his bounty only further cemented her convictions. Ah, well. Who didn't have a secret or fifty in Rhysol's shady domain? Her musings came to a halt when the blond man introduced himself. Hmm, not much of a chatter, this one seemed. And still quite reserved, given his lack of offering anything else besides his name. Fine by Ari. She'd all but forgotten (again) what civilized conversation and small talk felt like in her mad rush from Nyka back to Ravok. "Vanari of Skyglow Hold, at your service," the vagrant responded, reverting to her most often used introduction. Last time she had used this greeting...it was for that rich Nitrozian boy. Valerius was his name. Immaculate fellow with a rather admirable penchant for learning. Morwen, had it really been that long since her last visit? So many names, so many more faces. Ari had them more or less all tucked somewhere in the confines of her memory, drawing them out now and then for whim or necessity. She'd never forget Nolan's acidic, green stare--which she learned quickly enough softened just a smidge for the likes of Vera--nor the nightmarish visage of Lord Ravarisk's alien form and the crimson red of his desperate disciples. Long after all the names and dates and trivialities had faded, those images would remain. As visceral and razor sharp as the first moment they had been captured. She studied Verin with a thoroughness second nature to those of her hold before adding his face and demeanor to her vast collection. He seemed neither prickly nor spiteful, only reserved in the presence of a stranger in the shop he was charged of overseeing. And, he appeared to have been in the middle of a poisony task. Ari was familiar enough with Parnell's equipment to know that much. Looked like the man could be trusted. Vera, the assistant, and Verin's apparent diligence in his work were proof enough. "I've returned with some...news for Mister Parnell," Vanari continued, shielding her words so as not to alarm Vera. "Is he well? Do you know when he might return?"

[Verin Rush]

The shop assistant and the apprentice girl spoke at once, and Verin only caught snippets of what they each actually said. He raised a brow, though the smallest of smiles graced his lips. Then, he returned his attention back to the new arrival as she spoke introducing herself formally. As she spoke, he looked at her eyes, which shone most vibrantly and bizarrely. The woman was unique; she certainly looked human, though at the same time didn't. But her own introduction had given Verin the opportunity to pry into her heritage without appearing rude. “The Skyglow Hold?” A number if questions were loaded into those few words, and he was pleased with how amicable his question sounded.

The woman was quite obviously a visitor to the city, Vera's own words and apparent excitement made it clear that woman had not been here for some time, and the way the pair had embraced each other suggested that, had Vanari been in the city, she would not had stayed away from Ino Vations. He wondered where the woman had come from and he saw no harm in making polite conversational inquiries.

When the woman asked about the status of Master Parnell, Verin did his best to school his expression in order to avoid the concern that he had been feeling for his friend since his arrest: he would not give away the truth through word or any other means. Of course... he highly doubted that anyone would travel just to see a young apprentice girl, and he had already fielded a number of questions about the poisoncrafter from customers. Hoping that Vanari would not notice if Verin sidestepped her first question, he said, “He did not give me any specifics, I'm afraid... it wasn't a particularly long conversation, I only just managed to catch him before he left.” He fell silent, counting how many days it had been since he had been in the Nitrozian-Moletta Sanitary Station, “I hope that he will return soon, though.”

He glanced back into the laboratory, where he had left the Blue Whinnis root boiling, which would soon be ready for him. “I imagine that if you have news for him, I cannot be much assistance to you in the interim...” The young blond took a step back, wondering what to say now; he did not own the shop and thus did not have the right to ask her to leave and return another day, yet nor could he overtly offer that she wait for the poisoner's return here. Worse, whilst the pre was no doubt that Vera knew the woman, he would not entrust the girl to her care, as Vera was, again, not his to offer out. Verin would be damned before any of Parnell's possessions were returned damaged.

Briefly, he glanced down at the still grinning Vera, then back up to the woman. “Vera and I had just started creating a poison together, you are welcome to join us, Miss Vanari, if you wish.” He gestured to the room behind him as he spoke, he did not know if the woman felt as uncomfortable as he did at the unorthodox offer, but he smiled as he attempted to alleviate his own tension with a jest, “I do not have Master Parnell's skill, but I'm hoping that, with little Vera's invaluable help, we will not burn the place down.”

[Vanari]

His calm, polite demeanor lulled her into complacency at first, but somewhere between Verin's explanation and analytic silence, awareness tingled at the back of Ari's mind. Not only did the man avoid mentioning Parnell's state altogether, but seemed to suggest the poisoner had left in a rush as well. Her mind whirled with possibilities once more. Did he know the bounty hunters were after him and make for a head start? The Vantha rubbed at her chin and mulled over her initial assumption. It didn't seem to fit, in the end, given Vera was still here and the shop up and running. Nolan didn't seem like the type to run from his troubles and abandon all of his most prized possessions, leaving them at the hands of belligerent enemies. Well, whatever his reasons had been for leaving in such haste, Ari would have to find out another time. At the very least this new fellow seemed trustworthy. He was well spoken and tactful, which was something of a commodity in this dark city. Being rather handsome didn't hurt either, though Mister Verin Rush failed to seem like the type to flaunt such gifts. Rather, he appeared to be far more concerned with the work he had presumably abandoned moments ago, given the way he glanced back and retreated toward the room behind him. Vanari recognized that room...it had been the same one she, Vera, and Nolan had spent an entire night making--of all things--candles. The memory brought a fresh wave of concern for the poisoner and she glanced worriedly at the young protege. "I see, I hope he returns soon as well," the vagrant sighed, trying to keep some of the disappointment from her voice and failing miserably. This was just about the worst time for that surly poisoner to be pulling disappearing acts. She needed to let him know who was after him. For all of their sakes. "And that is understandable. The news can wait," Ari lied. Vera watched the exchange with a shrewd gleam in her dark eyes, not missing a single detail. She could feel something was afoot and her worry for her master deepened. What kind of trouble had he gotten himself into this time? It certainly wasn't a good sign either to see the older woman's eyes deepen to pools of dark, troubled blue. Vera had only seen Auntie Ari's heritage manifest in that particular shade twice. The first, when the girl had taken a harsh scolding by her former master with the Vantha as witness. And the second, at their last goodbye, just for the briefest of ticks. Now the usually playful adult was wearing a rather pensive, somber look. She changed it quickly enough when she caught Vera staring but the child had seen enough. Something was very, very wrong. At Verin's unexpected offer of allowing Ari to join in on their work, the Vantha found herself jarred from darker reveries. "Yes," she laughed, shaking off her worries as best she could. "I should like to see your work and Vera's progress. Though I will try not to touch too many things; I leave the true task to the professionals." "You'll be impressed with some of the things I made!" Vera rushed in, not missing a beat. Whatever got her auntie to stay was fine by her. She was all too paranoid of the woman leaving her a second time. Matching beam for beam, Ari followed the others back toward their work stations. Just before she closed the door behind them, however, she caught the bemused expression of the other shopkeeper present. Goodness, she'd completely forgotten about the fellow. "Nice to meet you, um..." "Burke," the young man answered, his tone neutral mixed with a hint of curiosity. "And likewise." Vanari smiled and nodded, then shut the door. Things were definitely taking a far more interesting turn that she'd originally anticipated.

[Verin Rush]

Polite as ever, Verin smiled and inclined his head, before motioning for Vera and the woman to make their way through to the back, where the laboratory was situated. As the two walked over, Verin looked back to the shop assistant, “You'll be okay to mind the shop again, Burke?” the younger man rolled his eyes and nodded, which Verin ignored, “Thank you, call if you need anything.”

Once in the lab, Verin quickly weaves his way through the two ladies to stand in front of the still simmering water, which was now not far off boiling., he noticed. Glancing up, he addressed Vanari, “Do you have any experience with poison crafting? The Blue Whinnis root is not ready yet, I imagine only a few chimes are left though, before I ned to mash and strain it.”

As he waited, he took the chance to look at the woman properly. She was beautiful, Verin couldn't deny that - a tall woman with a slight frame, her small face was elegantly framed by short, dark brown locks of hair. Most surprising of all, however, was the eye colour, which he could have sworn had changed since he met her. Now they appeared to be a deep blue shade. Fighting to keep a frown of confusion from his face, he tried for some conversation, “So... The Skyglow Hold. Where is that based?”

Ravok was not a city that found people openly sharing details of their past, or even present. It was not a place where information that might be used against you was shared, and questions such as these were not often asked. Yet Verin was curious. “I'm not familiar with many cities outside of Sylira.” it was a relatively safe question, he thought, rather than prying further into the woman's business. It was a long way to travel, just to speak to Nolan Parnell, and Verin was suspicious that the woman turned up days after the poisoncrafter's arrest.

Yet Verin had learnt when not to question where it wasn't wanted. There was a subtlety to the true way of Ravok, and Verin knew how to traverse these paths. Turning back to the boiling water, he picked up a pair of tongs from the side and pulled out the roots, which he placed onto a metallic dish. A chime or so passed where Verin searched for something that would mash up the soaked roots, but he could not find the right implement. Eventually, he settled with a large fork, which he placed flat on the round surface of the root and pressed down hard.

It took some effort, but soon the first root had started to turn into a mash. He glanced up and lifted the fork, “Vera, do you want to give it a go? It might be tough the first few times, but after a while it gets easier.” The apprentice girl grinned and bounced over to stand beside Verin, and took the fork off of him. The blond smiled at the girl's obvious enthusiasm, “Good, we need them to be mashed up as much as possible before we rid them of excess juices.”

[Vanari]

Vera seemed barely able to contain her excitement. Between the Vantha's unexpected return and the opportunity to make both her Auntie and Master proud, it was all the child could do not to explode. But she kept a firm grip on her training, making sure to move with her usual meticulousness about the lab, keeping a cautious eye out for anything that might be out of place. The only visible signs of her enthusiasm were the grin on her face and bounce in her steps. Vanari, on the other hand, could barely contain her anxiety and dread. True, she was beyond joyous to be reunited with the once former slave now budding protege. But the thought of those Nykan bounty hunters on Parnell's trail, likely at this very moment, made her more than a little uneasy, though she tried her best to hide it from Vera. When Verin asked if she had any experience with poison crafting, the Vantha grimaced. "Aside from the one time a poisoned vine had led Mister Parnell and I to meet, no, unfortunately." She thought for a moment, then added, "But I do know at least not to touch anything I can't name. My first visit here taught me that much." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Vera was stifling a giggle. The young apprentice seemed to find her Master's prickly exasperation and her Aunt's deliberate resistance to said exasperation funny. Ari couldn't really blame her. She found it quite entertaining, too. To her surprise, Verin followed up with a second question, this time far more personal than the first. He'd been so formal and polite this entire time she'd almost assumed their time would be spent strictly on work. "Ahh, Skyglow Hold is based in the city of Avanthal, where our goddess Morwen dwells when Winter has passed," Vanari replied, happily obliging. She wouldn't be of any massive help within the lab, so sharing would do. Besides, stories always helped the time pass. "Avanthal itself is in the most northern reaches of Taldera, which shares a border with Sylira." She watched with interest as the blond haired poisoner worked, noting how Vera stood vigilantly at his side whenever she wasn't preoccupied. Ari waited for directions to be passed from man to girl before she continued speaking. "Though they are neighbors, it is a death sentence to try and reach Sylira through Taldera. But thankfully there are other ways. More extended travel, to be sure, but safer and with much better company than endless ice and hungry snow bears." Vera shot her Aunt a glittery gaze of curiosity at the mention of bears, but kept her task if mashing without slowing. As always, Vanari felt a stab of homesickness in speaking of all things icy and nearly uninhabitable. Her eyes shifted with her mood, darkening for just a moment to something close to indigo, before the young woman reminded herself of her surroundings and changed the subject. "What of you, Verin?" she asked, observing the increasingly more mashed state of the roots. "Where is your family from?"

[Verin Rush]

As the woman did, Verin simply watched Vera as she worked. There was no doubt that she was a good learner, or that Master Parnell was a good instructor - her form was efficient and confident, using the least amount of energy to exert the most force and, thus,mashing the root up. Verin was impressed, and silently wondered if the little child was a more competent poison crafter than he. A smile graced the blond's lips as the woman spoke, yes, he couldn't imagine that Parnell kept many safe plants and herbs. Maybe at the Nitrozian Moletta Sanitary Station, but not at Ino Vations.

“No, I can't imagine that knowing one such as Nolan Parnell would ever make you feel secure in what you might be touching... or ingesting.” Snuffing out the fire that had still been dancing on the burner, Verin pushed the device to the side, out of the way of the work surface. The pot of boiled water he too removed, planning on later throwing the water out. “But then... being privy to such knowledge, rather than being ignorant to dangers, is much more conducive to survival, would you not agree?”

Glancing over at Vera, Verin saw that the apprentice girl was still busy mashing. Her breathing had heightened from the exertion and the Rush twin frowned,wondering if he should take over. But her face was one of complete concentration, so he said nothing, instead offering almost all of his attention to the attractive new arrival who was watching the preparation of the root. “You have traveled far then, to see Ravok's poisoncrafter. I am sorry that he cannot be here to greet you personally... I must be a poor substitute for a dear friend that you wished to see.” The prying was subtle; he had not asked a question which would raise her suspicion. Instead, a simple assumption had been voiced, and her reaction might offer Verin more information.

“I think all of Mizahar is riddled with beasts that look upon we bipedals as food or prey. Though the cold might exacerbate the situation in Taldera, I would never advise travelling unaccompanied - or unarmed - in any uncivilised areas of a region. I am glad a lady such as yourself was wise enough to traverse a safer route.” He found it interesting that the region of snowy Taldera could have such a different climate to Sylira, most of which was generally temperate... perhaps one day he would receive the opportunity to travel there.

At Vanari's own probing question, Verin was silent for a moment, giving the impression that he was intent on the girl's progress. Heritage was not something that either of the Rush brothers spoke about, both embarrassed for their own reasons. Yet Verin found little shame in sharing information with an outsider. “With a Ravokian mother and a Syliran father, my brother and I are walking dichotomies. But, even though it was our father who raised us, I have seen Syliras but briefly. I am afraid my travels have been limited... like many born in Ravok, I see such beauty and grace and wonder why I would forfeit a privileged existence in a city I know well for the uncertainties of life beyond our shores.”

It was a limited, judgemental answer, but it would be easier for his new acquaintance to think of him as one of the mindless sheep of the city. In truth, he remained primarily out of hope that he might one day catch his God's eye... but the response he gave was as true as any. “Lovely, Vera, I think we on move onto the next stage now.”

OOCReally, really sorry about the delay life got in the way...