Crashing (Angelique)

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

“This is what I love about the Isle and the Konti women.” He said as he smiled and looked to her then to the bow. “Everything is beautiful and meticulously crafted, you women can take something harsh almost brazen and turn it into something beautiful. Something purely elegant yet still completely functional if not more functional than what you were given in the first place. You can take a tool of war and death and turn it into an artistic expression of peace and serenity.” That statement struck truer than he could’ve ever hoped. When he came to the isle he was beaten, bloodstained and so close to death he swore he felt the gentle hand of death try and lead him away more than once. But instead he woke from that darkness and found himself here in the light. Here among beauty so vibrant that he didn’t feel deaths grip anymore. Until the past melted away to where it belonged. Here among serenity and the Konti women he had found peace. A peace he thought was merely words. So deep that he was actually beginning to step away from his past. He wore the scars yes, but he had let go of it all. He wore the scars only because he had no other choice in the matter. It was what it was…his past. Here was his future; his today. And now was his time with Angelique. Her question brought him back down to where he was. “Yes to the Pearl Diver. After I take care of something.” He then walked over to the counter and talked some with the Konti who seemed to own the shop. She smiled when he motioned to the bow on the wall. “You may actually be able to use it, I don’t know of many Konti who could actually knock and draw an arrow on that bow. Much less have the height to properly use it. May I ask why such an interest?” Serrif smiled and then spoke again. “Ever since I began training with Mistress Ildin I have taken a greater appreciation to archery and the peace it brings. I believe the bow speaks to that.” When he mentioned Ildin the woman smiled and nodded. “Ah yes the Archery Mistress. Her methods are unusual, may I ask how long you have been under the instruction of Mistress Ildin?” She inquired taking an interest to what the man had to say. “Nearly a season now. Every night or morning she has instruction for me. I follow without question.” “As you should; it is wise not to become cross with a Mistress,” She said as she then added, “Especially Mistress Ildin.” She then inquired. “So what do you wish of the bow?” “I cannot afford it at this time. But I can leave you fifty Mizas toward the purchase of the bow if you will not sell it to anyone else until I come up with the rest of the asking price of that elegant craft.” He said trying to read the Konti storeowners expression as he made his offer. She smiled and seemed to laugh. “Now that is an offer I can accept, it isn’t like any other Konti who could use the bow is going to come in here and ask for it. And under your hand it will get used instead of mounted on a wall to be looked at. The asking price is steep but I will see what I can do for you when you come back.” She said with a smile. “Alright.” Serrif said as he then pulled the appropriate 50 Mizas from his pouch and laid them out on the table in sets of ten so they could easily be counted. “I thank you Mr…” “Chatlyn.” He finished as he nodded. “I thank you as well. I will be back for the bow within a seasons time is that ok?” “Plenty fine by me.”She answered as she stashed the fifty Mizas away in a locked trunk. Serrif then walked over to Angelique and smiled extending his arm and hand for her to take if she wished. “So to the Pearl Diver then?” He announced as he would then head off down the street in the direction of the Pearl Diver Inn.

[Angelique]

She took careful note of how he had gone to the counter and spoke with one of her fellow Konti women. Angelique quickly memorized her face and noted that Serrif had offered the woman a payment on the bow, and that she had accepted it. A smile formed on Angelique’s lips as she suddenly came up with an idea. Before he returned to her, she had quickly looked away from the counter and the woman. When Serrif returned to her she took his arm once again and began to carefully choose her words so that she would not let leak what she was now planning as the continued on their way to The Pearl Divers Inn. “Yes, to the Pearl Divers Inn.” The Konti confirmed while continuing to plan out how she was going to execute her thoughts without him knowing what she was doing. For the remainder of their trip to the Inn she did not say much as she continued to silently ponder on her plan. It suddenly hit her as to how she would be able to put this plan into motion. After reaching the Inn and heading inside, she noticed another one of her fellow Konti. “Can we please get a table for two?” Angelique asked the woman, as she let go of Serrif’s arm and stepped closer to the other Konti woman. Her voice became a soft whisper now as she spoke into the other woman’s ear. “Also, would it be possible for someone to create a diversion when I give a signal. There is something I must tend to quickly with out my friend here, knowing.” Angelique took a step back as the other Konti woman nodded in reply to her request. While Serrif and Angelique were being shown to their table, she started to wonder if what she was planning was visible upon her face. After reaching the table she quickly passed the thought from her mind as she pulled her chair out and away from the edge of the wooden table.Taking her seat she turned her gaze back to Serrif.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Right off the street they entered the Pearl Divers Inn. To Serrif’s understanding a pair of triplets owned and operated the entire establishment. The pair entered first a small simple chamber, right off the street. As Angelique broke off his arm to talk to one of the triplets he rolled his cloak off his shoulders and handed it over to one of the women who was guarding the wardrobe. There his black cloak would hang among all the other brightly colored cloaks. That seemed to how he felt around here. Just different; painfully different than all those around him. Maybe that was why the Konti woman smiled when the pair entered. He did find it curious how everywhere he went he got glances of some kind. Yes he stuck out like a sore thumb here. And well he was getting a little used to it to tell the truth. Acil was in the main room greeting any who entered. Her sugar white hair was longer than her shoulders, but with the color of the clothing she wore it made it difficult to discern just how long her hair was. Her sky blue eyes fixed on the couple as they entered. The man was of more interest to her than the woman, mainly because men were a rare site here. Especially men of his size and stature. He stood above six feet tall, dwarfing nearly every Konti woman he came in contact with. He also looked like he hadn’t had a good meal in some time. Well he had come to the right place. The man moved over to the wardrobe and had his cloak hung up. While the woman approached her. She nodded when she mentioned the table for two. “Of course you can.” She said with a smile as the woman then spoke about a diversion. She nodded and lead them to a table. There were all kinds of things she could plan for a diversion. But the man looked like he had a story. She was sure she could simply sit down with them and well talk for a good amount of time. Maybe he would lose track of time and allow her fellow Konti to do whatever it was she had planned. Serrif was smiling as they were taken to one of the many tales in the establishment. As a man should he quickly pulled Angelique’s chair out for her waiting for her to take her seat. He would then gently push her in some and take his seat. He observed her facial expressions; she seemed to be thinking over something. Now just what he couldn’t be sure of. Mainly because he wasn’t the best at reading emotions in other people. And sometimes people were misleading a little; and she was indeed pouring over something. He couldn’t read minds so he had no way to pinpoint what it was. He already had a general meal lined up in his head for when Acil would come back to take orders. He wasn’t sure if he wanted fish. He had fish every day for the past few months. He would likely eat a vegetable course of some kind. He certainly didn’t get enough of those. As far as amount, well a bowl of some kind would be good he figured. And a drink…well water was fine. He found out that it seemed the water here had magical healing properties of some kind. He found that his wounds healed faster than he could ever have imagined while he was here and his chronic sickness seemed to be lessening by the day.

[Angelique]

Angelique nodded in thanks to Acil for showing them to their table. As she glanced about the room she noticed many things that would in fact help her create her own distraction, allowing her to sneak off for a few moments to handle what she had planned, but just as they had sat down was not the time. She decided to wait until after Acil had returned to take their orders. The Konti was leaning towards ordering some fish and vegetables.She noticed that Serrif was now trying to read her facial features but she did not read too much into it since he was not asking her questions. Acil had returned to take their order after a few moments, but Angelique had decided to let Serrif place his order first. “Go ahead, Serrif.” She stated as she was still pondering on what she wanted to drink. Finally settling on any kind of juice she glanced over her right shoulder and noticed a stack of plates and a tray full of silverware that she could easily knock off of the nearby table, should she extend her right arm. Realizing what an easy way to cause a diversion like she had wanted, a smirk formed upon her lips while she extended both arms to make it appear like she were stretching. In moving her arms back towards her lap, she made it a point to bump the tray which held the silverware off of the table, and even a few plates. “Oh My. My apologies. Here, let me help with cleaning that up.” Angelique said as she went to stand from the table hoping that Serrif would stand also so that she could make her escape. Kneeling down to help Acil pick up the silverware and plates, she noticed Serrif stand and move to the mess. Waiting for him to bend down, she eyed the exit. As her plan began to fall in to place she stood back up and looked around. “Allow me to go find a broom to sweep up any broken pieces.” Angelique quickly noted before slipping off before either Acil or Serrif could argue the point with her.Once getting out of view of the two, she slipped out of the Inn and back to the shop. Making her way over to the counter, Angelique smiled in greeting at the apparent owner.“Hello. Lovely weather we are having today, No?” She figured that would be the best way to open their conversation instead of just blurting out what she was really here for. The Konti behind the counter nodded and smiled.“It is. What can I do for you?” The woman asked Angelique. “A friend of mine came in with a certain interest in a bow, not to long ago. While I was waiting for him to return so that we could continue on with our plans I noticed that he handed you some money. How much does he still owe you?” Angelique asked her. “Ah. Yes, a Mr. Chatlyn.He paid 50 mizas on the cost of the bow. He still owes another 50.” The woman stated as Angelique moved a hand into a pocket of her robes and pulled out a coin bag. “50 Mizas? That’s all? Alright then. I would like to give you what he owes, and if I could, would it be possible for me to come later on, before you close to pick it up? I want to surprise him with it tonight.” Angelique knew that she was full of questions, but she had set her mind to making sure that he got the bow tonight. The Konti glanced towards another group of people who were looking at items which she had for sale before looking back towards Angelique. Even though it would be going against his wishes, the shop owner nodded. "I suppose that I could allow that since you are picking it up for him." Said the shop keeper. As the woman had said this, Angelique pulled enough Mizas out of her coin bag for the 50 that was left on the bow, plus a couple extra to equal to a total of 70 Mizas. Since the shop owner was willing to help her on surprising Serrif, she figured that she would tip the woman generously.“Alright Miss... I will just wrap this up for you and have it ready for your return this evening.” The woman’s voice was soft and kind as she spoke to Angelique. “My name is Angelique, and thank you.” She smiled again at the shop owner before slipping back towards the Inn where she had left Serrif. Moving back inside she had looked around rather quickly and spotted a broom. Angelique picked up the broom with her left hand and moved quickly back to where Serrif was. She seemed a bit happier in knowing that he was going to get the bow which he wanted a little sooner than he had planned.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Serrif decided he would order first once Angelique had persuaded him that was what he should do. He had literally already made up his mind. “I’ll just have a decent plate of vegetables, no fish I have had enough of that for awhile and I am looking for something a little more exciting.” Acil nodded and then just as she was about to move onto Angelique the dishes crashed. Serrif was frightened somewhat because it was unexpected. He moved immediately to help Acil and Angelique clean up the mess. He picked up each plate carefully and placed it where it needed to do. What was a stack of dishes doing so close to a table where they were seated? Little did he know but Acil noticed the stack of almost immediately when she seated them. She did after all help run this Inn. And she hoped this gave an opportunity to Angelique to make her escape somehow. She wasn’t sure how she would do this but she hoped she was opportunistic enough to do so. When the dishes hit the floor she knew the woman had taken the opportunity offered. “Oh come now this shouldn’t take long.” Acil said as she then smiled internally when Angelique said she was going to get a broom in case anything broke. Serrif was too busy helping to clean up the mess. There wasn’t a bunch of mess on the floor but there was a decent amount of plates, cups, and smaller saucers. He moved skillfully trying not to make any plates cascade further possibly breaking any plates. That was another thing he didn’t want to have to worry about. Cleaning up broken plates was indeed a pain. He was careful and after a few minutes he had cleaned up all the plates with Acil’s help. He nodded. The shop owner was surprised that the woman would tip so generously. She had indeed paid well and she figured she would include in the least twenty longbow arrows to include with the bow. Because honestly what good was a bow without in the least a quiver of arrows. She already picked out how she was going to package the bow and arrows. She would package the bow, string and arrows in a large leather pouch. It needed to be long just because the bow itself was just so long even unstrung; which was the only way she would be able to package it at all. The leather was soft, and about 6 feet and 4 inches long. And if he wanted it could be rolled down some and used as a quiver. He could buy a quiver later if he so desired, but for now he had a bow; a one of a kind bow at that. “Job well done.” He said as he then observed that there were no dishes that had been broken. By now he was just beginning to notice that he hadn’t seen Angelique. He looked about and spotted Angelique. A smile crossed his face as he saw her with a broom. “Good news Angelique there are no broken dishes.” He half wondered how long she was gone; he wasn’t sure how long exactly because he was more focused on putting everything up and making sure everything was ok. He looked to her and it was odd. For a woman who had just knocked over dishes she sure looked happy. She was practically beaming. Maybe he was misreading her, that was possible. But he did see a smile on her; was she happy to see him? That again was another possibility.

[Angelique]

The Konti was very happy. As she approached Acil and Serrif again she heard him say that nothing had broken.Angelique was relieved to hear this. Passing the broom to Acil, she nodded and whispered softly to the other Konti woman. “Thank you for understanding.” Angelique then turned her attention and icy hues back to Serrif. “Did you miss me?”Her tone was now that of a teasing one as she spoke. She knew that she had to play it off like she had not left the Inn, however she did not know how long she would be able to contain her secret. While looking at Serrif she could not help but to tell herself that he would love the surprise which she had for him later that evening. Knowing that she could not contain it much longer, she decided that she would say something. “Serrif, I have a surprise for you. I was planning on waiting until much later this evening. However. I cannot contain it much longer.” Angelique finally stated. Now it were going to be left up to him to figure out the surprise, because she was not planning on telling him anything else about it. He would just have to wait it out and see. She realized when she had come back with the broom, that her happiness seemed to raise more when she saw Serrif, why? The Konti was not fully sure, but she would not allow for anything to be rushed with them. Angelique finally glanced at Acil and smiled. “I think I will have some fish. I don’t care what kind, or how. I am not picky.” Her tone was once again kind as she spoke.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He still found her eyes fascinating. Even though he couldn’t understand how or why her eyes shifted colors they did. He remembered that he had seen them a deep green. But now as she looked to him they were a breathtaking ice blue. He would have to find out just why they did such a thing. They were interesting to stare into. It was almost like time stood still when he caught them. When he first locked onto them and lost himself time froze for a few moments. Then eventually like always it had to speed back up again. Because like they said; time does move on. He had missed her; he wasn’t even sure how to put it all into words. Or even begin to explain everything to her. He watched her facial expressions and it was still interesting. She was still way too happy for a woman who knocked over dishes. But as to why. Well he was about to find out here soon. He smiled and spoke. “Yes indeed I did miss you terribly.” She would see that that wasn’t completely a lie. Pulling out her chair for her she would take her seat. He then pushed her back into the table and took his seat across from her. He centered himself now that the dishes were now taken care of. He playfully looked around and spoke again. “Just making sure there were no more dishes that could fall prey to you.” He said with a smile. She spoke or a surprise of some kind. He was curious of this newly planned surprise for him. It couldn’t be anything all too grand. After all she hadn’t had much time to plan anything at all. She had been with him this entire time; that and the fact that she had only met him today. So whatever she had planned for him couldn’t be all that extravagant. But then Konti women were indeed quite crafty when they needed to be. He had seen that from Ildin; she was creative even when he thought there was no possible way she could be. He leaned forward intrigued. “Oh really? Now I have no idea what you could have planned. And I do not by any means wish to ruin it for you; or myself.” He made himself comfortable and then Angelique placed her order. He now knew a little interesting piece of information about her. She liked fish. He would have to learn to prepare it better and possibly even make a meal for her sometime. He pondered for a second who he could learn all this from. He knew that trying to learn all this himself would take a long time. And he was sure there was an expert somewhere he could learn from. But he was already stretched so far. He didn’t think he could stretch himself any further. He was already working for Lym at the temple whenever he could either in the afternoon and night of the morning and afternoon. Then he was using whatever other time he had to train with Ildin. That left maybe six to eight hours for him to sleep maybe.

[Angelique]

The Konti’s smile seemed to widen as she heard him say that he had missed her. “I missed you too.” Angelique thought about what she had just said and suddenly wondered if she should have said that. To her it seemed logical. As Serrif had pushed in her chair, she listened to his slight joke and laughed softly. “Ah, yes. The divers..” She cut herself off as she realized what she was about to say. “I mean, Dishes tend to do that from time to time if I am around.” Just as she were about to answer Serrif again, Acil returned with their food. “Yes, Really.” Angelique said as Acil had set their plates of food on the table in front of them. Now that the food was in front of them, she felt the need to rush through it, but she did not allow herself to do so. Angelique was anxious about giving the surprise to him that she could hardly contain it. After eating some of her fish, she glanced at Serrif again. “After here, there are two stops that I need to make really quick, if that’s alright.” The Konti stated as she turned her attention back to the plate of fish before her, and waited for him to answer her.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Serrif continued to ponder in his mind just what she could have planned. She had been with him the entire time, never having time away from him. He drew a timeline in his mind. And then carefully examined it. She had just met him today…well in his knowledge she had. Since he met her she had been right here with him. From the walk into town from the beach all the way to now sitting here in the Pearl Diver Inn. A closer inspection would reveal what he believed to be the fault in the timeline. It was possible that she had someone else plan things for her. But who? She could pass on tasks he supposed and then have people do things for her on her behalf. That was possible…but again begged the question of just who she had doing her deeds. Again a loop that he couldn’t carefully examine as of now. She did indeed seem anxious, like whatever she had planned in her mind was indeed perfect. Whatever it was actually caused her a degree of anxiety. This spoke to just how much effort she had put in. And indeed she had put in a great deal. He still didn’t know what she was up to. What she was going to do; or even a hint of what she had done in secret. It was laughable really. Acil returned with his order, a wonderful dish of grilled vegetables. They smelt wonderful and whatever cook was in the back could sure make a magical meal out of almost anything. “Feel free to take whatever stops you need. Should I attend with you? Or are these stops you need to make yourself?” He asked as he looked to her.

[Angelique]

Hearing Serrif’s question, Angelique turned her attention from her plate of fish back to the male. The smile which had graced her lips seemed to be glued where it was. Before forming her answer into verbal words she had carefully planned what she wanted to say. “The most important stop I need to make shall be the last one, and I need to do that one alone, otherwise it could ruin the surprise if you come with me.” She stated as her thoughts continued to run through her mind about what she had secretly done, the more she felt the urge to run back there to pick up the bow so that she could give it to him now, but she told herself that it was best to wait and let him suffer from the suspense. The Konti hoped that this had answered his question without revealing too much information as to what she had been upto or even what his surprise could possibly be. As she became more anxious on giving him the bow later on, she began to feel less hungry. Deciding that it would be best to get the rest of her meal to go, she turned her attention back to her juice. Was he trying to get her slip up and tell him what his surprise was? She thought for a moment then pushed the thought from her mind. No, he couldn’t possibly be that devious. Her thoughts finally trailed off to meeting him earlier, as she glanced out a nearby window.