Closed [Solar Winds] Hello Neighbor (Dev'Ania)

[Martini Elwood]

2nd of Winter, 518AV

Martini sat straight up at her desk as her mind jolted to life, capturing anything it could in the hopes of stabilization. Oh, right… She’d been up most of the night before drawing and had once again fallen asleep at her desk instead of in her bed. Looking around the room, she was greeted with emptiness. Yawning, she stretched her arms above her head sluggishly before pushing back her chair to stand. She began her daily routine as she went to find her brush. Running it through her locks to flatten and tame them before she brushed her teeth and fixed herself for the day.

She’d always roam around absently in her apartment until something came to mind, what with work having slowed. She would need a bigger clientele if she hoped to support herself, which meant branching out and talking to new people. Preferably potential clients. She didn’t socialize much, but when she did she tried to find an opportunity to mention her work, even if just to speak of her love of art.

Done with her routine, she began to clean up her desk before deciding to take a walk. She was positive she hadn’t seen all Lhavit had to offer so roaming a bit couldn’t hurt. Decided, she grabbed her back pack, putting her sketchbooks and toolkit inside it along with a vial of ink and a quill. She’d leave her dagger in the chest today, hopefully she wouldn’t need it. She slung a strap over her shoulder, adjusting it so the weight wasn’t singularly on one side. With a bit of coin in her pocket she opened the door to her apartment, closing and locking it behind her.

She looked around, deciding to stroll around the apartments for a bit before heading further out. Oddly enough there was someone going in and out of the rooms. Oh, wasn’t that the lady who cleaned the rooms sometimes? Shay or something? Martini took it upon herself to wave, to which the woman nodded and continued on her route. She seemed nice enough, but sometimes Martini grew curious about her ways.

Just as she turned, a door opened in front of her and walked into it. She had done this before - walking into the things while not paying attention. She was quick to stop, even if it was little late. She hit the door softly, nothing but a light throb on her forehead as she grunted on contact. She rubbed her head as she spoke, an apology lacing her words. “I need to start paying attention… Sorry about that.”

[Dev'Ania]

2nd of Winter 518 AV

Dev’Ania laid snug under her covers, staring up at the ceiling of her Solar Wind apartment as the light of a morning sun shone through her window. She lay there, pondering about what she would do today, the sound of a bustling town down below. Maybe she would continue to enjoy the scenery of the town. Or maybe do some shopping. She rolled over, burying her face in her pillow, giving a soft groan of not really wanting to get up. Having been in bed long enough, she got out of bed and began to get ready to the day.

She walked over to the basin and splashed water onto her face. She lathered her hands with soap and washed down from her face to her toes, making sure she was fully clean and smelling fresh. Done, she departed to her desk where her brush and comb lay. She sat down on the cushioned chair and sung any tune that came to mind as she detangled her long, blonde hair.

Her hair combed thoroughly, she stood up and gathered her clothes. She laid them out on her bed and stood there staring at them. Pants, a shirt, a cloak, and boots; the same clothing since she arrived in the city. She was going to need a new wardrobe. After all, who would be attracted to someone who isn’t dressed presentably?

She put on her clothing, having no other choice. They would have to do for now. Her mind was now made up on what she would be doing today. It was clear to her that she would need to go and shop for some new clothing. Something less drab than what she was currently wearing. Something that might catch the eye of a potential companion. And something to keep her warm now that winter had arrived.

She wrapped her cloak around her and hugged her backpack containing her Kina. maybe something nicer to hold her kina would be nice also. She walked to the door and held the knob as she looked around the room to make sure she had not forgotten anything. Sure she was ready to go, she opened the door and stepped out.

As she opened the door, a thud was heard on the other side, followed by a grunt. Dev’Ania closed the door shut, quickly seeing who it was the door hit. “Oh my, that was my fault! I really hope you are alright! I am so sorry.”

[Martini Elwood]

The person behind the door quickly closed it, apologizing as if she’d been in the wrong. Martini had to wonder if the blond had heard the apology given to her over that of her own. Looking at her the woman was almost her height just a smidgen taller. Martini noticed she had scales running along her forehead and paused. She wasn’t as surprised as she would have been seasons before - she had encountered a small but unique variety of races by now. It was still a shock to see scales yes, but it paled in comparison to say, multiple arms. Oh, but she gestured wildly and reassured the woman that it wasn’t a problem, nor was it her fault.

“No, no, It’s fine. I need to stop zoning out while I’m walking.” She chuckled, a somewhat embarrassed throat clearing following after it. As many times as she’d said it before it never seemed to stick. She’d zoned out plenty of times while walking. Now that she was focused again, something seemed familiar about the woman. “Have we met before? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere…”

Now that she thought about it, where had she seen his woman? It had to be somewhere - oh. Martini looked back and saw that her apartment was the next door down from this one. Great way to introduce yourself to your neighbor, not knowing they even lived there. It seemed to click on her face that the woman was her next door neighbor, so Martini tried to apologize. “Oh gods, we’re neighbors… I’m so sorry, I don’t leave the apartment much and when I do I’m usually in a hurry.”

The brunette mentally slapped herself, was it even possible to embarrass herself further? She certainly didn’t think so. Her morning had started fine, but in her mind it was quickly turning sour. Hoping to redeem the situation, she quickly handed out an introduction. “I’ve probably seen you but never had the chance to speak… I’m Martini. You are..?”

[Dev'Ania]

Dev’Ania had felt really bad for hitting the woman with her door, though, she was reassured when the brunette had taken the blame. Saying 'sorry' so much was somewhat of a habit now. She just said it to everyone. Even when she wasn’t the one to blame. Much to Dev’Ania’s surprise, the woman seemed the opposite of angry or upset. Usually, someone might have gotten upset if they were hit in the face with a door.

Dev giggled at the realization that the two were neighbors. This whole time they lived directly next to each other but had never met, even though Dev had only been in the city for a short time. “Oh, I just moved in, but we do seem to be neighbors! Better late than never, right?” The bag on Dev’Ania’s shoulder began to slide down, prompting her to push it back up. “I am Dev’Ania. It is a pleasure to meet you. Too bad it wasn’t in a more…” Dev paused, searching for the word in her mind, “formal greeting.” She accepted the introduction with a warming smile.

She might have just smacked someone in the face with a door, but at least she met someone new. Perhaps a new friend. Of course, if she was going to be living in the city, she was going to need a few friends to stick by her. Life without friends would be uneventful and boring. Somehow, her day was even better with the silly incident.

It would be nice to get to know Martini more. Dev’Ania felt that she was a nice person to know in the city. A strand of hair fell over Dev’s face. She looked at it and tried blowing it out her face awkwardly. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she spoke. “ I was just heading out to look around the city. Um, I hope I didn’t delay you from going somewhere.”

[Martini Elwood]

"It's nice to meet you, Dev'Ania." Martini's small laugh was alight with amusement - their meeting was not typical introduction. She nodded and shook her head. She usually just wandered the city a bit. Lhavit was a huge place and she had no doubts that there still numerous spots she had yet to discover.

"You didn't delay me a bit. I've been wandering the city recently trying to find some nice places to work. Though it seems more like everywhere I go fits the description," She mused. "Oh, we could always wander around together? I don't have many connections in city so it would be nice to know someone."

Martini wasn't particularly a social butterfly, but she liked interacting as much as the next person. Some of her best pieces came from interactions she'd had with others. Some could vividly describe such beautiful landscapes that she couldn't keep herself from sketching. Even those vague descriptions could breath life into her imagination.

"If you already have somewhere to be I understand," She added quickly, adjusting the strap of her backpack once more. She watched curiously and hoped she wasn't the only one feeling awkward. Martini had realized a bit ago that constantly shutting herself in her apartment for work made it harder to make connections - she was making a conscious effort to be more sociable.

OOCSorry this was so delayed! Holiday rush is dying down finally.

[Dev'Ania]

Dev was delighted to hear Martini’s offer for Dev to join her in wandering the city. If she was honest, Dev was hoping Martini would invite her somewhere. This was a sure step in becoming friends. Maybe they would become close enough for Dev to practice some of her fortune-telling skills on her.

The day was open for Dev to do whatever she wanted, so of course, she was going to accept the brunette’s invitation to roam the streets of the big city. Though, she still planned on shopping for clothing. That was the main objective of the day and she planned on fulfilling it.

The young Konti perked of as she responded, ”I would love to wander around together. In fact, I was actually going to look for a place to purchase clothing.” Dev’Ania grabbed the sides of her cloak and looked down at her shabby clothing, slightly embarrassed. ”I believe I have seen a material shop around the city somewhere, but I can't seem to remember where. Do you happen to know any places? We should look for somewhere during our wandering”

It was, admittingly, weird and quite uncomfortable for Dev to ask a stranger to help her shop for clothes. Her embarrassment showed in the red of her cheeks, but she tried not to show it. Clothing did express much about a person. Dev didn’t want Martini to think anything less of her because of her clothing. Especially after she had just hit Martini with her door.

[Martini Elwood]

Martini perked gleefully when Dev'Ania agreed to wander with her, but she scrunched her face in thought soon after. She swept her gaze over the others form, more precisely her clothes and then down at her own. Martini blushed at the scoffs and dirt that appeared thickly on the bottom of her pants. She chuckled awkwardly to hide her embarrassment. She could use new clothing herself...

That said she didn't recall any clothing stores - though surely Lhavit had some. Else how where others acquiring such pretty garments. She shook her head but smiled nonetheless. "I'm not sure I've seen any - but we can surely keep an eye out on our walk. Oh! I have a map, perhaps it might be of some help..."

It was more to herself as she shrugged her backpack into her arms and rummaged through it carefully. It wasn't a large pack, but the roll of paper that held the map was admittedly hard to find when she had spare papers in her bag. Within a few ticks she pulled the rolled up map from her bag with a victorious smile and opened it. She moved closer to Dev'Ania so that she would be able to read it as well.

She guided her eyes around the different peaks before her eyes caught the word silk. She made a noise of recognition and put her finger to the paper listing it's location. "Here we are. The Silk Palace? Ah, it's not too far form here," she realized. Admittedly she was excited by the prospect of locating a new place - a useful one at that. There were so many places in Lhavit she had yet to wander to, it was somewhat exciting.

"Should we try there first? It sounds like a clothing handle at least." She murmured, eyes still scanning the map for other keys that there might be more. Martini had sat her bag on the ground beside them as she looked over the map.

[Dev'Ania]

Dev waited patiently, rocking on her heels with her hands clasped behind her back, as Martini dug through her bag for the map of the city. “Maybe it would be a smart decision to obtain a map for myself,” she thought to herself. A map, indeed, would be very handy in situations like this, but for now, she would stick to creating her own mental map. After all, she had almost been around the whole city and there is always someone to ask for directions.

She watched as Martini moved many papers around in her bag, in search for the map. The contents of the papers were not seen, but Dev wondered what could be on them. Writings? Drawings? Notes on something? She would have asked, but the other woman had found the map and unrolled it for the two to see.

Dev’Ania moved closer the brunette, studying the map with her. She recognized some of the locations shown on the map. Her eyes scanned the listed locations for any places to buy clothing. Before she could find it, Martini pointed to a location - The Silk Palace. The young Konti thought back to the times she had spent exploring each peak of the city and all of the places she had seen. The name of the location sounded very familiar.

Suddenly, it dawned on her that she had definitely passed by the shop a couple times. “Ah, yes! Why didn’t I think of that earlier? We should definitely go the first.” Dev’Ania giggled, feeling very silly for not making the suggestion earlier.

[Martini Elwood]

Martini nodded eagerly and picked up her bag to rest the straps on her shoulders. She didn't recall seeing the place - she always mindlessly wandered though, so it was entirely possible she's passed it without much thought. Martini was a bit curious of the scales on the woman's face - she glanced at them continuously as she thought of polite way to ask about them.

They didn't seem to bother the other - they were almost invisible and Martini probably wouldn't have noticed them if she had gotten so close. She bit the inside her cheek as she considered how to bring up the topic. After a few ticks of quiet she spoke. "You have pretty scales. Are they... uhm, common?"

Her voice was soft and a tad bit hesitant. She didn't want to point out the abnormality it was too her, but she wasn't any where near quiet when curiosity ailed her. She supposed it wasn't a good thing, but it had yet to get her into sticky situations so she was fine with it.

"I hope that wasn't rude, I was just curious..." She added a tick afterward. Her smile was a bit strained but it stayed as she looked at Dev'Ania hopefully. She couldn't exactly outright ask, 'what are you' but she hoped the other woman go the gist if her question as they moved forward.

[Dev'Ania]

The Konti smiled at the woman’s question. There were often people who would ask about her scales and she didn’t mind it at all. She understood their curiosity because she felt the same curiosity when she met new races too. Especially in living in Lhavit, there were many races Dev’Ania had never seen in Riverfall or Mura. They amazed her with their different characteristics - each one being uniquely different from the other. Even the humans were different.

She moved her hair out her face and held her hands out in front of her, revealing the icy blue scales on her forehead and her webbed fingers. She stayed there a couple of ticks before turning around and beginning to walk down the hallway. “I really don’t mind you asking. I like to educate people. I myself actually like to learn about new races.” Dev looked back at the brunette before turning forward again. “I am a Konti, an all-woman race from Mura. We all possess scales and webbed toes and fingers as I showed you. We use them for when we are under water since we are semi-aquatic.”

The two women walked out of the solar winds into the streets of Lhavit. “Okay. So, where are we heading now?” The young blonde used her hand to block the bright sun from her eyes as she looked up and down the street filled with people.

She watched as Martini's finger followed the path to the shop on the map. The pair walked to the location, often stopping along the way to spot landmarks. The city seemed to be so big, it amazed Dev'Ania. Finally, they made it to The Silk Palace. The shop was filled with materials of different textures. After a couple of bells looking around, neither woman decided to purchase anything. Dev'Ania had begun to feel a bit peckish and sleepy, so they departed back to the Solar Winds, each going to their own apartment.