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Post by Tiz on Jul 24, 2015 12:30:44 GMT -6
Tiz chuckled, then threw himself down on his cloak as it was outstretched across the soft, grassy earth. He closed his eyes a moment, listening to her soothing voice as he let the wind kiss gently over his skin, blowing some strands of hair in his face. He took in a deep breath a fresh air and exhaled it slowly, tasting the mint and pure quality therein. For all that Lycia had been for him, there really was nothing quite like this experience, quite like being at home in nature, where the wide open expanses of plains and soft, gentle hills dominated in both sight and sound, and occasionally even taste. He smiled a bit, allowing himself to rest and consider how true the woman's statements were.
Sure, Sacaean nights were either the best or among the best. He had been to Ilia once, and the skies there probably came as close to Sacae as anywhere else, and yet... As he opened his eyes to examine the appearing stars, he was sure in his heart that there truly was nowhere better where he could the beauty of the heavens. Perhaps that was what made Sacae so special... Perhaps it was the closest to being truly in tune with whatever otherworldly forces were out there. Tiz wasn't himself very superstitious, or even very religious, but the ideas were certainly open to him. Things he had never considered until he was alone under the stars with a girl.
How sloppily romantic, he thought, laughing out into the air. His laugh might've seemed rude, though having been lost in his own thoughts, he surely hadn't meant to be. He had heard her words and had listened carefully; if home was a touchy subject-- and at times, it was for him, too-- he could do well enough to leave it alone. After all, past wasn't important. Not to Tiz. What mattered most, he thought, was in the here, the now.
He rolled over on his side to face her, leaning his head onto an open palm. "Then we won't talk about it. You know, Lycia's probably more home for me at this point anyway...." He wasn't sure it was a lie, but he knew that some part of him begging to say that it wasn't true. He did long for home sometimes... It had been far to long since he'd seen it.
"But I do want to know something about you!" His tone was light and airy, happy and free.
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 25, 2015 19:33:54 GMT -6
Chelsea raised an eyebrow at the man's laughter. He didn't seem to be laughing at her, instead it appeared to be something in his own head. Still, it was a strange thing for someone to burst out laughing for seemingly no reason. People were weird. She did appreciate, however, the fact that he was willing to drop his questions about home. There was one problem successfully dodged, only for another to be thrown at her. Tell him something about her? What did that mean? It was a little too vague for her liking. Too much room for her to slip up and reveal something that needed to be kept secret. She really was not built for keeping secrets, that much was clear.
Instead, she decided on a tactic that she had seen others use before to varying degrees of success. It wasn't deny, deny, accuse, or even deflect and avoid, but more side step and tactically strike. Basically, not avoiding the question itself, but rather asking for a more specific version of it, and jumping to answer that. So instead of being asked just anything about herself, it could become a much less threatening what's your favorite color question. She was still uncertain how well it would work, but it was the best option she could think of. Still laying on the ground, she turned her head towards Tiz once again, a small smile playing on her face. "What is it that you want to know? And don't just say anything," she said with a wink. Huh. That actually wasn't too bad.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 25, 2015 20:17:52 GMT -6
"Tch!" Tiz's smile uncontrollably grew wider and he looked away from her with another slight laugh. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, his smile unfading from his lips or cheeks. "You're either full of secrets, a total mystery, or you really hate conversation!" The man joked, pulling his arms behind his head to cradle it against the ground as he felt the wind blow against the undersides of his arms. Sacaeans nights were, he now remembered, so gentle and perfect, both in atmosphere and in temperature. It was a lovely, perfect thing to get to spend a night away from his fake home while sleeping on the ground in what was, technically, his real home. Though he often liked to deny it, he felt more at home here, once he had actually made it. In his mind, Lycia was his home, but in his heart... Things were different.
Tiz puffed air into one of his cheeks, 'hmm'ing softly aloud before deciding where to go. If she was deflective, he didn't mind dropping the questions entirely and just going to sleep. He turned back to her, but as he caught her winking at him, he quickly turned his head back, eyes trained on the stars. If he was blushing, and he thought he might be, he hoped the lack of proper lighting would keep Chelsea from seeing. He was a man embarrassed easily, especially around people he didn't know very well. She fell under that category.
"Weeeellll..." Tiz began slowly, hoping the color would fade from his cheeks quickly, "Let's see. I know your name, I know you're from Sacae... Well, I guess I could ask about your job, but how boring would that be?" He looked back over to her and flashed another happy smile. He turned towards the stars, studying them carefully as he picked the question from his brain. "If you had a week to live, what do you think you would spend your time doing?"
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 26, 2015 12:55:13 GMT -6
Chelsea fought the urge to smile again. Even in the dying light, she had noticed Tiz's face go red despite him quickly turning away. Maybe she was just flashback prone today, but this time she was flashing back to Val. Oh Val, she missed him. Even if he was in love with her at one point. She had wondered several times what might have happened if she had ended up with him instead of Kelvin. She wouldn't of had to go into hiding, for one. Or would she? She hadn't seen him in years, maybe he had gotten himself into just as much trouble as Kelvin. Boys.
Talking about her job wouldn't have been too boring, she thought. She had plenty of ridiculous but true stories that one could only get from working in a tavern. But maybe they were more interesting to her because she had lived them and would indeed be boring to anyone else. Alison always found her stories interesting, but she didn't really count, as she worked in the same place and had similar ones. Oh well.
Hmm. She had to admit that was an interesting question. Only a week? Not much you could really do in that time. One thought did immediately come to her mind though. "I guess... There are some people who are very important to me, but I haven't seen in a long time. I guess I'd spend that time trying to find them so I could see them one more time." Maybe it was unrealistic, but it was what she'd probably end up trying to do. Whether or not there would be time for it was another thing, but not something she was really concerned about.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 26, 2015 14:30:59 GMT -6
Tiz chuckled, looking away from the woman again after she spoke. He wondered what the mystery was-- and then he considered that, despite all his efforts, some people just didn't like to talk. It was rare for him to encounter these types, since he was the opposite, but as he closed his eyes again and thought that perhaps it was silly to be of a mind that all people were just as forward as he was. He wasn't terribly persistent, so he could bear to let things like this go, but it still made him all the more interested in this woman. It was only when he couldn't get answers that he wanted them even more. Maybe it was a character flaw, the man thought. Oh well. Either way, it made it harder to leave an issue alone. And then he thought about her declining to speak about home... What exactly was she hiding?
"Right," he said, a clear tone of understanding in his voice. He too had those people. His parents, Arno, Myscha-- there were plenty of people he would want to spend time with. But more or less, he already knew those people. Tiz wondered what it would be like to spend a week with someone like Chelsea, whom he knew very little to nothing about. He 'hmm'ed aloud again, having no clear direction with which to take the conversation. He was trying, but he didn't want to press for any more than she was willing to give. But damn, Tiz thought, it was tough not to.
He turned back to her, a smile bright upon his face again. "Old friends, huh? I guess you've probably been around the globe." He turned to the stars again, and every time he did, they were just as fascinating as the first time he saw them. "I don't do lots of traveling, actually. As much as I want to, it's like I... never really have time or money, haha." He chuckled, fixing his piercing green gaze on one particularly bright star that seemed to twinkle high above him. "I guess I would probably be with my family. Kind of boring, I guess... And I do love adventure! But I haven't seen 'em in a while as it is, so I probably should go back. Anyways..."
He rolled over to face her, and the sleep was becoming more evident in his eyes, like a pressing concern that needed to be dealt with, but Tiz didn't want to sleep yet. "Your turn. Hit me."
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 28, 2015 13:03:52 GMT -6
"Not fully around," Chelsea answered, staring up at the stars. "I've really only been to Sacae, Lycia, and Bern. So there's still a fair number of places I haven't been to. As for adventures..." She let out a little laugh. "I've been on a few of those. Those were years ago now, though..." She sounded like an old person, but it was true. She hadn't really done anything adventurous in well over a year now. Visiting her father was probably the most adventurous thing she had done in that time. Sometimes she really did miss those days.
As for a question for Tiz, was there anything about him that she wanted to know? Not that he wasn't a nice enough guy, but she wasn't the type of person who had a hundred questions for someone when she just met them. She usually preferred to get to know someone over a period of time, but since Tiz wasn't allowed into Santaruz, that didn't seem likely. Granted, she could ask about that whole situation again, but that wouldn't serve anyone. If there was something he was hiding, prodding more at it wouldn't do any good. But what else would she want to know?
"Hm..." Chelsea mused, using that was a way to buy more time to think of a decent question. Nothing good was coming to mind, so she decided on one that was in the vein of Tiz's. "What's one place in the world that you would want to visit more than any other?"
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Post by Tiz on Jul 28, 2015 14:30:53 GMT -6
Tiz listened intently to Chelsea as she spoke, almost fondly, of her adventures in past years. Perhaps by years ago she meant that it was a time now so far behind her that she had no hope of ever adventuring again. This did, of course, sadden Tiz-- in his heart, he wished that everyone would want to adventure all their lives. There was so much joy to be had in simply traveling the world. In his travels, though they were seldom anymore, he'd had so many wonderful (and so many terrible) things happen to him, most of which had come to be permanently etched into his memory. They were as much a part of him as his personality... And then he wondered if someday he would ever be able to settle down. He wasn't sure. He almost giggled out loud to himself as Chelsea finished speaking, then turned again to face her.
"Hey, I've been there!" He said excitedly, almost like a small, happy child. And in some sense, he was a happy child. In many senses, his youthful optimism and joy was childlike. "Bern is... a little hot, but not that bad. Lycia, of course... Well, Sacae, and... Let's.... let's see... I've been to... Adventures... Friends... A... Place..."
His head rolled back towards the stars, but his eyes weren't open. His mouth drooped open just a bit, enough to see his tongue and teeth, and then his head slumped back over lazily, facing Chelsea, though he was totally unaware of it. Tiz had fallen asleep. Before long, a tiny, soft snore came from his throat, and without realizing it, he rolled over off of his cloak and lie on his stomach, his head still facing the woman. Another slight, gentle snore rolled out of him, as though from a sleeping dog, and he almost hit Chelsea with his arm as he rolled. "Mm.. Muh... Sacae..."
Lost in his dreams, Tiz hadn't even realized how sleepy he was.
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 28, 2015 21:27:08 GMT -6
Chelsea couldn't help raise an eyebrow. Tiz had devolved into a small child very quickly. One minute he was asking philosophical questions, the next he was talking in his sleep. Boys were weird. She moved just in time so that his hand didn't hit her right in the face. She had never seen anyone just fall asleep like that. Maybe he had some sort of medical condition that caused him to suddenly fall asleep? Hopefully not, that wouldn't be very safe if he fell asleep in the middle of a battle or something. She almost wondered at first if it was some kind of trick, but it became clear that he was indeed asleep.
She got to get feet quietly and began to ready a small spot for sleeping. After a few minutes, she had a small sleeping spot ready to go. Before laying down, she went over and gave Spirit a few pats. "Keep an eye on him for me, ok?" To be honest, it was more of an 'keep an eye on him in case he does anything suspicious' thing instead of just his well being, but you could never be too safe. Besides, if he did try anything Spirit would have a nice kick for him. With a yawn, Chelsea laid down on her blanket a far enough distance away from Tiz so that he did flail into her while they slept. Turning her thoughts to the long ride ahead of her in the morning, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 28, 2015 22:26:07 GMT -6
"Rrrrrrrrmmmmmmuuuhhhh......"
His dreams had been long and sweet, full of happy memories and bright memories. As he began the process of waking up, Tiz wasn't exactly sure what he had dreamed about, but he knew that his sleep had been deep enough that the feelings the dreams left him with would probably linger for the morning. That was fine-- he loved dreams. Slowly, his conscious shifted on, and he moved from being totally asleep to about half awake. He opened his eyes laboriously, realizing it took more effort than expected to keep them open for long. The sun was already in his eyes, and he felt warm and wet from the morning dew. Eventually he leaned up, wiping some of the sleep from his eyes.
Tiz shoved a hand through his messy hair and tried to blink some of the sleep out of his eyes, but to no avail. He looked around lazily, unsure of what had even happened. He didn't remember answering the girl's question, but he must have, right? Surely he hadn't fallen asleep on her. That would have been embarrassing. Ah well, Tiz thought. It didn't really matter now that it was morning.
A few feet away from him, he saw Chelsea still asleep on her makeshift bed, her horse beside her, staring right at Tiz. This caused his eyes to shoot open a little more. It sort of made him nervous that the horse had been watching him, and he didn't really know for how long. He smiled at the animal, scratching the back of his neck as he decided what to do. He didn't want to wake Chelsea; when he himself slept in, he hated being woken early.
Instead, he reached for his sack and pulled out an apple. He had a couple on hand to snack on, but they'd make a fine breakfast. He watched Chelsea snooze as he took a bite into the juicy, sour green apple. These were his favorite. Maybe he could make a fire and find a rabbit or something to make breakfast.
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 29, 2015 22:04:29 GMT -6
Chelsea slowly awoke from her sleep. The first thing that she noticed was that the sun was up, which was nice. She hadn't slept on the ground in quite some time, so she wasn't positive that she would have been able to sleep through the night. The fact that the sun was up meant that at least she had slept for an acceptable amount of time. She sat up with a yawn and stretched out her arms. That's when she noticed that Tiz was up. She gave him a little smile and reached over to give Spirit a pat. She noticed the horse was staring down Tiz and had to fight down a laugh. Apparently, the horse had really taken her words to heart.
Getting to her feet, she rolled up her blanket and packed it back up. No use leaving it out when she was just going to have to pack it up later anyway. Once that was done, she gave Spirit a snack to reward her for all her watching. Brushing her hands off, she ran them through her hair a few times trying to make it half way decent. She hadn't thought to bring a brush on her visit, so that was the best she could do. Moving back over towards where Tiz was, she took a seat on the ground. At this point, she couldn't help but smile at Tiz, fighting down the urge to laugh. "I guess you were pretty tired last night, huh?" And that's when she lost it and actually started laughing.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 29, 2015 22:32:52 GMT -6
Tiz watched with a wide, toothy smile as Chelsea awoke and began to prepare her things for the day. In awe, he watched as she fed the horse, gave it some pets, and then moved closer to him, ready to begin her morning. And what wonderful morning it was, Tiz thought-- the weather was nice, suitable for traveling, though part of him wasn't sure he was ready to go. Here he sat with this total enigma, someone that despite all his efforts, he truly felt he didn't know at all. It was strange, though, that he felt some sort of draw to her, either because she was such a mystery or because they shared Sacaean blood. He wasn't sure which it was, but either way, he was interested. Alas, Tiz thought, his attempts had proven themselves to be totally in vain.
Looking around, he realized they would probably have fruit for breakfast. Despite the fact that the trees in this area were scarce, he didn't immediately spot any game small enough to eat, and even then, it's not like he had traps to set to catch anything. Sighing, but still smiling, Tiz took another apple from his bag and tossed it to Chelsea before she began to speak. When she did, Tiz's face went completely red. He was totally embarrassed. There was no way had had fallen asleep on her, was there? Surely that didn't happen. But then why else would she be making this joke?
"H-HEY!" He said, unable to control the laugh that bellowed out from within him, meeting her eyes as he laughed along with her. "It was a long day! I was sleepy!" He couldn't fix his face back into anything but a smile, so he looked down and sheepishly played with his apple before taking another bite. "Sorry I don't have anything else to eat. I don't pack much meat..." His voice trailed off and he looked over to the horse, who was still, despite everything he'd done to seem innocent, staring him down.
Tiz offered the animal a soft smile, but it didn't seem to help. "Looks like your horse knows I'm dangerous in Santaruz," Tiz said playfully, his green eyes shooting back to Chelsea's with hurried excitement. "Maybe she's trying to protect you from my evil deeds."
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 30, 2015 23:15:20 GMT -6
Chelsea caught the apple that Tiz had thrown, thankful for something to eat. It took her a few minutes to stop laughing at Tiz's misfortune. She knew it could be taken as mean, but in truth she just couldn't help herself. She hoped he didn't take it personally. Taking a few deep breaths, she was finally able to compose herself. Unable to keep a smile off her face, she was finally able to respond to him. "Oh, I'm sure it was a very long day. You must have been simply exhausted." Shaking her head slightly, she took a bite out of the apple. She wasn't a huge fan of apples, but she didn't dislike them either. It was food, and for right now, it was enough.
She gave a little shrug at his next statement. "Spirit is a good judge of character. Maybe I'll have to keep a closer eye on you..." Chelsea gave Tiz a glare before breaking into a laugh again. She had no intention that Spirit was doing that on her say so. Instead, might as well keep the man on his toes, just in case the secret she had a feeling he was hiding was a dark one. This would be quite the story to tell her friends back at the tavern. She took another bite from the apple once she composed herself once again. It had been a while since she had laughed this much with a stranger. The last time before this was probably her first day at the tavern. Now THAT was a funny day.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 31, 2015 10:07:32 GMT -6
Tiz laughed and shook his head half-dismissively as Chelsea spoke, realizing that he probably seemed like a total fool. In reality, of course, he had just been training all day and had needed a good night's rest, though it didn't really matter much. He enjoyed the girl's laugh, and if he could hear it, he'd let her think whatever she wanted. It was cheerful and light, and kept him detached from the weight of his current troubles in Laus, Santaruz, and eventually in Ostia. "Y'know," Tiz said, flashing his eyes back towards the girl as he held his apple out in front of his face. The green of the apple was lighter than the color of his eyes, but not by much. "These are my favorite." He took a huge bite out of it, almost more than he could fit in his mouth, and then he laughed so hard he spit apple pieces across the ground, which caused him to laugh harder. Through his giant laughs, he tried to speak, his face growing red again. "I just can't get enough of them!"
Once he finally settled down, he ate the apple normally. He looked back over to the horse, apparently named Spirit, as Chelsea spoke of the animal's ability to judge character. While it was true that animals had a certain intuition about things that tended to stay pretty juvenile, something about what she said seemed true. Perhaps the horse sensed a dangerous aura about Tiz, which he hated, because he normally considered himself light, easy-going, and without trouble. He'd been unlucky in Santaruz, sure, and maybe Myscha had been the cause of that, but nonetheless, he hated to feel so weighed down with doubt.
He blushed a little as Chelsea threatened to watch him closely. She looked like someone not to be trifled with, despite her relatively friendly nature. Her mystery and playful threats were not lost on him. "I guess I can't complain," he joked, half-referring to the idea of her watching him, "if it means that you won't let your horse eat me whole. At least feed me to her in pieces after I've already died so I don't have to live through that embarrassment." He smiled, then he stood up.
"Anyways," Tiz scratched the back of his neck. "Where to? I guess we should be off."
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Post by Chelsea Dagger on Jul 31, 2015 15:11:29 GMT -6
Chelsea joined in with Tiz's laughter as he tried to eat too much of the apple and had to spit it out. He was such a ridiculous person at times that she couldn't help but laugh. What, did he really believe taking a bigger bite out of the apple would prove how much he liked them? Just eat it like a normal person! Boys, seriously. When she finally stopped laughing enough to talk, she responded. "Yeah, apparently you like them some much you're willing to choke on them." Wouldn't that be something, choking to death on your favorite food because you were too eager to eat it. She knew a few people where she wouldn't be surprised if they ended up doing something like that, and Tiz was now a member of that list.
She shook her head at Tiz as he talked about Spirit eating him. Now THAT was a funny picture in her head. "Don't worry, Spirit would never eat you. If anything, she'd just kick you in the head so hard it would knock our head off." She gave a smile after that, as if it was a perfectly normal reaction to expect from a horse. Clearly, that wouldn't actually happen, but she was having a good time teasing Tiz about these things. Getting to her feet as well, she brushed herself off before answering. "Well, I'll be heading back to Santaruz. You're welcome to travel with me as long as you feel comfortable." She patted him on his shoulder, staring face to face. "And don't worry, Spirit's not gonna hurt you. I need you all in one piece if I'm gonna get that bounty, right?" She gave him another wink before she started to walk away, laughing as she went.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 31, 2015 15:27:07 GMT -6
"Hey!" Tiz laughed, "they're good, alright?" His smile was wide and bright, but it was also embarrassing because he had food in his mouth. His face was no doubt red, and he hated himself for being so awkward in front of new people, but then again, Tiz was just a happy guy. If his quirks made people laugh, in his mind, that was even better. All the more righteous a cause to make people happy, even if it meant being embarrassing from time to time. Or all the time. Tiz wasn't sure which sort of type he was... But he was starting to think he was the type to embarrass himself more often than not.
As Chelsea got up to face him, he nodded with a smile. When her hand graced his shoulder and she winked, he had to look down and blush to himself, nodding as he did so. He laughed again, certain that at least, a mystery though she was, Chelsea had a sense of humor. That was important in a person, he thought. "Hah! Yeah, I doubt I'd survive that... Guess I'd better steer clear of your ol' pal, there." He smiled at the horse, who still looked at him like he was a criminal. Tiz truly didn't understand it.
When the girl said she had to return to Santaruz, it made Tiz a little sad. It was still about two weeks before he'd be allowed back there, and he couldn't follow with her. He couldn't bring himself to endanger anyone, and if she was seen with him casually in the streets, it might spell trouble for both of them. Her reputation would be tarnished, and he would probably be jailed.
Tiz laughed as she joked about collecting the bounty. "Hey, the price on my head had better be good. I didn't go to all that trouble for a tiny pricetag. When you bring me in, I expect them to make you the richest Sacaean in all of Santaruz." He smiled at her, and then he let her walk away. He liked her laugh. He had made a new friend, and for that, Tiz was thankful. She was still a strange mystery, and he wasn't sure he would ever see her again, but it was a nice night, and a nice morning. "So long," he said under his breath, watching the back of her orange hair as she walked away. He began to pack his things, and he would soon head back to Laus.
[end thread]
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