Abysmal Souls: Chapter 2

[Shin]

Aurelio

Seeing Amera first thing in the morning was certainly a surprise. Either she hadn't seen him or had no sense of personal space. He'd forgive her for this one, she was too childlike to have done any harm. Although it would have been funny to see Ormis' reaction. He'd let her have a lie-in, she seemed pretty tired - despite all her energy.

Going downstairs, passing by Grant and Ormis. He decided to mention;

"Hey Ormis, keep a better eye on your girlfriend, she made her way into my room last night." Comedy gold was sure to follow. He then went to have breakfast, again just eating what was ready the quickest. In this case, some sort of meat.

------------------------------

Ken

Oversleeping (I've got to get ready for work :P)

[Sakusa]

Lucinda was irked. Not only did this...beast of a woman refuse her divine help, she also rudely snubbed her! This did not sit well with her, so she made a mad dash to her room, grabbed her sword and followed after the woman. She flung the door open and grabbed her wounded arm brusquely, murmuring a quick prayer, and letting her mana flow from her body, through the gems of the rapier, causing them to glow with a faint blue hue, and into the woman's wound. "Well, now, that was quite rude of you, madam! Good day, and I hope it left no scar! May the Goddess smile upon you!" she huffed, closed the door behind her, and stomped back to her room.

[Nanami Touko]

Amera awoke the the sound of someone leaving her room, or Aurelio's room, but she didn't notice who it was. "Morning already...?" She sat on the edge of the bed, stretching, before getting ready to take a shower of some sort. The inn had a working one installed, though, if she wasn't quick the water would get cold quickly. Mr. Weebly didn't have the furnace working this early in the morning. Upon leaving the room, she spotted two women in some sort of altercation, one huffing off to her room. Too tired to say anything, she stumbled over to the bathroom, knocking on the door. "Heeeeellllllooooo~? I need to make use of the showers, please~" Her voice was groggy and squiggly, as she swayed in place, trying to stay awake.

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

'...Uh…'

A brief pause and the woman turn her head, to try and shout, to growl to back off. Yet…

She feels a soothing relief. The energy within healing her wound, she stands, slightly stunned. It is… very odd and very frustrating, you see, to hold onto honour. And with hers, with the angry woman healing her like this, she cannot help feel a sense of sadness fill her, to see someone actually help and be angry at her own reaction to them. She stands still for a moment and opens her mouth, she realises she hasn't been acting all too well, her fear of some women acting up when she'd woken, in such proximity to a female. But she follows a quiet pause at one point. She leans over, absently petting the head of the Anri, a small smile at seeing a person of the Anri free, before moving ahead now, to that door she had slammed and hesitant, her gauntlet knocks calmly at the door..

'....Whoever you are Ms, I wanted to… apologise. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just.., it's been hurting a while now.'

[Nanami Touko]

"Wee~ Shower~" Amera absently purred to the petting of whoever it was that had taken up the washroom, before heading in herself, almost forgetting to close the door. There wasn't much for her to remove to have her shower, quickly stripping and standing underneath the showerhead. A small tug on a string nearby sent lukewarm water rushing down her body, almost instantly waking her up. "Aaaaahhhh~! That feels so nice..." A quick rinse was all she wanted, stepping out, wrapping a towel around herself, and quickly scampeeing back to the room she had came from, clothes in hand.

[Sakusa]

'....Whoever you are Ms, I wanted to… apologise. I didn't mean to hurt you, I just.., it's been hurting a while now.'

She opened the door, grinning ear to ear. "Your apology is accepted! I beg you to dismiss my unseemly behavior moments ago! Come in, have a seat." She bustled about, pulling up a chair for her and tidying up the room. "Would you like breakfast? Tea? A talk? Oh! Please excuse my poor manners. I am Lady Lucinda of House Urith of Lushira. Who might you be, madam?"

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

'....'

Is it too early to regret actions? Yet she is bound by honour to at least listen to her. She walks lightly inside and nods quietly, seating herself within a chair and quietly shaking her head at her offers. The talk seems tempting yet she simply decides to answer her and to acknowledge her role in helping her, however much her stomach still churns enough to well make butter.

'I am Obelia. You are a Lady..? But I gathered that, you clearly have breasts, so you must be a woman...'

[Sakusa]

Lucinda laughed lightly. "Lady is just a title, my dear. Many other noblewomen carry this title, as well. Are you sure you do not require food? From the sound of it, your stomach seems to be protesting quite violently. It's as if it's screaming, 'Please, feed me! I can't take it anymore!' Please, allow me to treat you to breakfast. It is the least I could do for intruding."

Edited June 10, 2011 by Sakusa

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

'Very... well. Breakfast I will stay for.'

Lady? What is a Lady? It is odd yes, but in all her travels, she hasn't paid much attention to noblemen and women, to the intricacies of class and rank. She simply wants to achieve her goal and at that goal, she blinks… waiting a moment before thinking on asking the woman if she's seen him or heard of him. She will wait, she will at least eat breakfast with this woman first. She does, however, feel nervous. She always does, in such a social context, with other women, yet has not been able to quite figure why.

[Sakusa]

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave first, Miss Obelia. It would be improper of me to dine dressed as such." She made a gesture, emphasizing that she was still in her sleepwear. "Perhaps you should ready yourself, as well? The general populace might believe you to be a serial murderer or similar as there is still blood on your attire."

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

'...Uhm... pardon?'

She gathers the clothes part... yet she doesn't gather why other people would be curious as to why they looked like they were when they are in a inn. With a slow confused tilt of her head, she turns and looks at her gesture, confused why she is trying to sign something to her with her hands when she can just speak. Yet with her words, she hesitates... because something that has not been said comes to light.

'I have no other clothes.'

[Sakusa]

Lucinda waited patiently through Obelia's silence and sign language, confused.

'I have no other clothes.'

She clicked her tongue. "A lady should have more than one set of clothes! Not because one must have another set for any occasion, but for sanitary reasons. How do you rid your clothing of filth if you have but one set? We must journey to a tailor after breakfast, I insist! I'll see to it that you are outfitted well."

[Shin]

Aurelio

After his meal, he decided he'd wash. By wash, he meant he'd pour water over himself until he felt clean. He went up to the showers, only taking a few minutes. He decided he'd get changed in his room. Walking back to his room, only a towel protecting his modesty, he opened the door. Amera was just out of sight. He closed the door, and prepared to drop his towel. Thankfully, he then saw Amera's head pop up, she was sporting a similar towel. He decided he'd rather keep his towel on for now. She must really have thought it was her room. Only Amera could create such an awkward situation so comically.

"Eh, what's up, kid? I think you've got the wrong room, I've got the key here." he laughed, dangling the key. They both had towels on, only a child would get embarrassed at something this stupid. "I noticed you stayed the night, I wonder how Ormis'll take this. I'd almost want to see his face."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Ken

Ken awoke, it was mid-morning. It was the first time he'd woken up after dawn in years. He made his way to the breakfast area, he needed his bread. He was disappointed to see that they had stopped serving. However, the innkeeper insisted that he'd get Ken a special breakfast. He accepted, he didn't want to seem ungrateful. However, to his surprise, the meal was literally a small banquet. Various meats and baked goods dominated the table.

"Oh, this is far too much for me. Perhaps we can share it out to the less fortunate? We must love all of the Goddess' children. Do not worry about the cost. I shall pay for my brothers and sisters." he announced serenely. He place a large bag of coins in the keeper's hands, giving him his blessings. He took a single bread roll and walked through the door. In awe, the innkeeper said nothing. Whether he carried out Ken's words is unknown, but it is said that the poor of Ensaria ate well that morning.

Ken climbed onto his wagon setting off once again, hoping to find more good people.

[Nanami Touko]

Amera opened the door to the room she thought was hers, though Aurelio was standing in the doorway, also only wearing a towel. She shrieked and hid behind the door, poking her head around to talk to him. Before she could get a word in, though, he held up the room key, and she turned red. "S-Sorry... Oh, I slept here too, didn't I?" She was more embarrassed than the had been in probably her entire life, freaking out a bit too much to think of any other time. Though, she was confused at something he'd said "Uhm, why would Ormis matter? This isn't his room too, is it?" His statement didn't make much sense to her, but in any case, she was standing in the hall wearing only a towel, and said towel wasn't the longest thing to be wearing. "Please, can I change in here? I promise I'll be quick, I will!" She didn't want to be in the hall much longer, hoping no one would walk by.

[ReformBlade]

Her stomach gurgled quite fiercely, actually hurting kind of. "Urgh... I could use some food, badly... So we should grab something, anything to eat, and then be on our way. Just so you know, it'll be MUCH warmer down in Shuthra, like, crazy warm for this season. Just trying to get you more prepared for it. I hate it when people complain it's too warm down there, the place is fucking GREAT, stop bitching about it!"Her stomach gurgled quite loudly again. "OK, OK, I get it, just be quieeeeet, I'm going, alright?" She smiled at Adrian, "Alright, let's make this quick, 'kay?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Crazy warm, eh? I'll try my best not to complain, then. Sorta used to the cold, though." His stomach made a noise, indicating he was hungry as well. "Well, shit... I don't think we could enter Reinaldt to get some food, since everyone there probably knows about you. Think you can wait until we're in Shuthra? We can't be more than an hour away from the border." I could kill for some food right now. I haven't eaten for an entire day... Urgh. "I guess I could try and sneak into Reinaldt, but, if Grant or any of them are there..." He knew the chance of getting caught wasn't worth it, so he wasn't really prepared to try.

[Shin]

Aurelio

"OK, Amera. Give me a sec the you can come in." he said, hurrying to put on his underwear and trousers - he was caught without them, even he'd be embarrassed Pulling the up, he opened the door, pulling Amera in to save her from further humiliation. He turned to the wall, facing away from Amera. He may be a village boy, but he knew when and when not to stare.

"Go for it. Don't worry, I'm not peeping anytime soon." he said boldly, he just hoped she didn't take too long. He took this opportunity to get the rest of his clothes on.

----------------------------------

Ken

The journey was becoming increasingly monotonous. For the last half hour, Ken had been half-reading one of his prayer books and half-controlling the wagon's horse. Still, he had read that particular book dozens of times during his childhood, but the others were no better. He wondered why people made books so long if so many people had trouble paying attention.

[Nanami Touko]

"Ahh!" She gasped as she was pulled into the room, hoping the boy hadn't seen anything. She peered back at him, seeing him face away from her. "A-Alright." She kept the towel on whilst getting her leggings and skirt on, letting it go for her shirt. She sighed, collapsing a little while still standing. "Sorry about that, Aurelio... I really didn't know this was your room, but thanks for letting me change here." She gave him a running hug from behind, not enough to knock him over, and nuzzled her face into his back, like a good cat. "Thanks~!"

Edited June 10, 2011 by seph1212

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

She balks as Obelia's eyes wary and a slight fear showing. She acts like this simply because that side of her, a side open to be gentle and dressing in elaborate clothing, even if it exists... was locked away a long time ago when she picked up her sword. She legitimately begins to panic and slowly, she turns her head. She suddenly bows her head downward and ignoring her quick breathing, turns, stands and exists quickly out the door and back to her room… she runs, running fast so she can get there before any hassle, closing the door tight...

She is scared because she has never felt much like a ‘conventional’ woman.

[Shin]

Aurelio

Aurelio smiled, she didn't look much younger than him but at heart she truly was still a child. He barely remembered the days when he was that carefree. Heck, he wasn't sure if he had ever been that carefree. It was amazing how she could keep it up, even after being a slave and orphaned.

"No problem, Amera." he said gently, turning around and patting her on the head. "Besides, I can't let'ya go around parading yourself can I? Don't worry about earlier, heh, it's not like you climbed into my bed. No harm done."

Although he was pretty sure she wouldn't have done much even if she had.

--------------------------------------

Ken - Passing through the mountains

The fields of Lushira were slowly being replaced by Shuthra's mountains. Ken was pretty close to crossing the border. It was a good thing too, he was getting pretty bored - and low on his beloved bread. He had only been traveling for a day and he had almost ran out. The problem was that he snacked frequently, meaning that a week's worth could be consumed in a day. Most of his other foodstuffs remained untouched.

"Oh dear, I've got to pace myself better. Who knows if there are bakers in Shuthra? I'll eat the other stuff, cheese is good right?"

He really had no idea what was coming.

[ReformBlade]

"Well, warm comparatively. I mean, if you're used to the cold here, it'll be a big change of course, but it shouldn't be unbearable." She addressed that quickly, hoping he wouldn't go on to complain about what she thought was a paradise on land. "Now as for grabbing some food... I don't know, I think we should just make a run for the Shuthran border, maybe hit up a village down there. If not we could actually just go foraging in one of the jungles there, it should be easy if we're careful, plus fresh fruit is just..." She sighed contentedly, salivating a little. "OK, if you're good to go, we should just gun it now. We don't have a means for transportation I don't think, but we should be OK with walking. Seriously, Adrian, I'll make it up to you for getting me out of there yesterday" and then she realized just how much running he had to do with a person on his back "...and I'll bet your feet must be aching... I'm sorry."

Edited June 10, 2011 by SlaveBlade

[Nanami Touko]

"I, can't let myself go parading around, thank you" she said with a coy, smile, enjoying the little pat on the head. "Still, thanks, breakfast time!" She bounded out of the room, down the stairs, and into the common room, where Grant and Ormis were already talking. She padded over to Ormis's chair, leaning on his head from behind him. "G'morning you two~ How'd you sleep?" She looked down at the map, tilting her head a little bit. "Where are we going?" She liked the idea of taking a vacation. Better than sitting around at her home all day, doing nothing, in Shuthra.

-----

He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, not sure how she would react, but doing so anyway. "Stop apologizing, please. If I wanted to make this easier on myself, I would've left you on the mountain and ran away myself, alright? I chose to help you, so stop acting like I forced you to do it." He smiled, making for the door. "So let's get going before anyone wises up and starts checking these villages, alright? I can carry you again, if you want me to." He joked, though, if she really wanted him to, he could.

Edited June 10, 2011 by seph1212

[Sakusa]

Lucinda blinked, unsure of what to make of Obelia's escape. Eventually, she laughed. The dear must've been so excited to go shopping, she darted back to her room to prepare herself! What an interesting woman! She decided to take a quick shower. Only the Goddess knows when she'll have the chance for another. The girl rummaged around for a towel, a change of clothes, and toiletries, gathered them up in a satchel, and made a beeline for the washroom. Luckily, it was empty, so she quickly stripped, got clean, toweled off, and got dressed. She then pranced to her room, packed her things, pranced back over to Obelia's room, and knocked on the door.

[Shin]

Aurelio

"She's a strange girl." he said to himself, with his hands behind his head. He decided to have a wander around town, he could talk tactics later. As he walked out he noticed two women squabbling, they could settle their own problems. Stepping into the town square, he saw a blacksmith. He looked at his wallet, it was pretty much empty. There was no chance that he'd be able to afford an axe of any kind. His sword would have to do for now. He never did see its owner again, he was probably still probably back up north.

-----------------------------------

Ken

(Still traveling)

[NagafenOfIlivikitty]

'...'

She keeps silent, head hidden beneath a pillow as the armoured form of Obelia stays amongst the sheets. She is hesitant and scared, fearful of any strength she has, any fear she strikes into another’s heart, dwindling away if she wears a dress, or becomes an object for another’s visual gaze. She clutches at her pillow, quiet memories of when she was little, in simple dresses and playing lightly with little ones. But that is a distant time and a person that is forgotten, a self that is locked up tight and with the key thrown far away. Her breathing becomes very, very quiet and she hopes, almost silently, that the breaths don't carry, that the 'Lady' just thinks the room is empty and locked. To move on.