Shiny Things Make the World Brighter

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A large forest in Central Anaxas, the once-thriving mostly human town of Dorhaven is recovering from a bombing in 2719 at its edge.

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Nikolina Fabricio
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Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 6:02 pm
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Race: Wick
: The obligatory street kid and orphan of Thorns.
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Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:17 am

Vienda: The Dives
36th of Achtus, 2718 Night


Lee was really bloody cold. She wore all her layers, but 3 threadbare outfits, a sweater, and a poor-quality winter jacket didn't do much to fend off the bitter Achtus cold. She had stolen some winter weather wear, but it was too cold for the discarded clothing to do much good.

Normally, she'd be curled up inside her bedroll at this time of night, especially since the good squats went quickly in weather like this. But she had decided to leave in the next couple days, which meant she needed to try to find a few more marks. So, instead of being curled up and at least partially comfortable, she stood in an alley by the Toy Lantern, blowing on her fingers and stomping her feet to keep them from going numb as she waited for someone drunk enough to be a good mark.

Once again, she kicked herself for not leaving town sooner, when she wouldn't have had to worry about traveling in the bitter cold. But she didn't want to leave the only town she knew and the town where her father was buried. But she knew the Seventen were cracking down hard on wicks. She had thought she would be safe until spring, but when Seventen paddy wagons started making frequent rounds in "her" part of the Dives, she knew it was time to leave.

Better she leave on her terms rather than be kicked out or thrown back into a factory.

She thought about reaching out to Abélard for a writ, but she was afraid to do that. She knew that Abélard wasn't fond of wicks and she wasn't sure how dedicated the man would be to the city-wide ban that the High Judge had placed on them. He knew she was a wick, and Lee didn't want to end up being thrown back into a factory "for her own safety". And if she was honest with herself, she felt like she had let Abélard down by not leaving Vienda. He had told her to leave. But she didn't listen.

"Alioe, please. Give me a little bit more time. Please," Lee muttered as she stomped and paced, her eyes intently watching the door to the Toy Lantern. "I just need a few more forts and then I'll leave, I promise."

Lee wasn't a devout Circleist, though she was known to slip into the bigger temples when they opened their doors for the homeless on the coldest nights. The temples had been opened more often this winter than in any other winter she remembered. But, even though she appreciated the warmth she got there, she didn't go there often. She never felt that she could sleep peacefully in the temples, knowing that the other homeless would be eyeing her bedroll and backpack. She was unwilling to risk her things, knowing that not having a bedroll or the extra layers of clothing would kill her in this weather.

Onna's head appeared over Lee's shoulder and she chirruped in her ear. That was the other reason she didn't leave the bedroll behind. Lee reached up and scratched the ferret's head. "Back in the bedroll, Onna. You'll freeze out here," Lee ordered the ferret, who nipped her ear playfully before backing back into the bedroll.

Lee thought about her upcoming travels, her stomach roiling at the thought. She wasn't sure she'd survive to Old Rose Harbor, so her plans had changed. She was heading for Brunnhold, instead. She'd stay there at least until spring. She wasn't sure how far the trip would be – Abélard hadn't instructed her in figuring out the distances on the map and her math skills stopped at simple addition and subtraction. She could figure out money, but that was about it. But the distance on the map between Vienda and Brunnhold was shorter than it was to Old Rose Harbor.

But she still had to find a few more marks.

Lee was brought of her thoughts as the door to the tavern opened once more and the most beautiful person Lee had ever seen came out, stumbling slightly. Lee followed after him… her… them on cat's paws, eyes wide as she silently took them in. Lee got lost in watching the creature who, while obviously drunk, still had a grace about them. By the time Lee was brought back to reality, the person was getting ready to enter another building.

"Tocks," Lee swore. She abandoned all semblance of sneaking, rushing up and sticking her hand in one of person's pockets, hoping beyond hope that it was one that had the money in it. "Sorry!" she whispered before turning and running away.

Then she slipped on the ice, her feet flying behind her as she did a full-on faceplant. Her head bounced off the cobblestones and she felt something crack in her face as she saw stars. She groaned and tried to stand up, her feet and hands scrabbling at the ice like a turtle whose feet were too short to fully gain traction.

"Well, tocks," she swore.
Last edited by Nikolina Fabricio on Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Xavier Zhirune
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: Not all that glitters be ging. Some 'f it's me.
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Sun Feb 03, 2019 3:05 pm

the dives
Late at night on the 36th of Achtus, 2718

Image

If you absolutely had to go home alone, it was at least occasionally a small consolation to go home clockin' guttered. Vision blurred, head swimming, warm and fuzzy with a ruddy glow that couldn't be hidden by near-translucent, pigmentless skin, the pale creature was comfortably drunk. A few nights of playing some tunes and rifling lithe fingers through the pockets of unwitting strangers had proven itself profitable, finding themselves with enough ging for a room at the Book and the Bell that even came with a hot bath. Not bad for a bit of work. Not clocking bad at all.

Still, the albino wick was convinced they could do better: Ent anyone makin' it famous-like when their bed was still empty, no matter how full their belly was, after all.

Far from sober, the willowy creature had strummed a few melodies on the stage and spent half their tips at the bar, enjoying the atmosphere and the clientele who frequented the Toy Lantern far more than they'd enjoyed much of anything lately other than travel. Vienda was a racist spitchhole, but it wasn't all bad. When no one seemed quite interested enough to grant the flushed Gioran the kind of attention they were craving, Xav was at least in possession of enough of their intoxicated wits to take the hint and know when it was time to stagger to bed instead of ply their luck too far and end up in the wrong sort of situation entirely. Not everyone who wanted to take a pretty thing home at closing time was quite the someone who'd turn out to be the right kind of fun.

They took their time in the coat room, perhaps acting far more wasted than they actually were, the quick-fingered albino feeling up other coats that weren't even their own and laughing stupidly about it, finding a couple of coins and a nice pocket watch and a few other baubles to investigate later tucked away in the woolen outerwear of strangers before making a show of rediscovering their own coat as if it had been a long lost friend,

"Oh, thank Gods. There y'are!" Breathed the guttered thing, grinning lopsidedly before tugging it on, adjusting their oud back over their shoulder afterward so that it was slung comfortably against their back, and leaning heavily against the door before slipping out into the lantern-lit streets of the Dives.

Viendans considered this cold. Ginger Anaxi and their thin skins were balanced apparently just barely by their thick egos, given their ugly biases. Then again, not all of 'em were that ugly—at least wicks were free here in the Kingdom, just not free to roam in the capital.

"Ah, yaldyet!shit!" Slurred the Gioran, patting themselves down for a moment just to make sure they hadn't lost their false writ in the inner pocket of their long, well-tailored coat. Feeling the crinkle of paper, Xavier chuckled and sighed with relief, squinting blearily at the street lights to reorient their guttered sense of direction. Navigating in the city was all about landmarks, and while the albino's vision was more near sighted than far, their eyesight was still better in the dark than it was in broad daylight. Huffing a cloud of breath, the willowy sliver of moondust turned on the heel of their knee-high boot and began to saunter off toward the Book and Bell.

Xavier had only made it a few hundred feet, humming a snippet of a bawdy sailor song that brought back nostalgia for the skies with the lyrics, when the hint of movement caught the corner of their unfocused gaze. Sure, it was late, but other folks were allowed out on the street. The Gioran saw nothing, and would have sped up their steps if it wasn't for the very obvious sensation of a clumsy little hand groping in their pocket,

"Junta—what th'—" Muttered the pale wick in a voice that was deep and husky but ambiguous in range, further slurred by far too much alcohol. Their violet gaze swept downward to see a dark-haired street wretch slip their new found watch with its nice silver chain shamelessly from the pocket of their coat, "—'eeeyyy now. Jus' a clockin' minnnnute—"

Raising their arms and shifting with a bit of a wobble in an attempt to snatch the wee thief, the grubby thing had the nerve to apologize just before they attempted to bolt. Xav was too drunk and too slow, missing their grasp for the small thing's clothes, only for the girl to slip on ice a few steps later and smack themselves flat on the cobblestones.

The willowy albino chortled. Chuckled. Giggled. Laughed. It was breathless at first as if the musician knew they shouldn't laugh at a child, shouldn't laugh at stolen goods, but they were so guttered and it was so clocking funny that after a second or two, Xavier was laughing. Loud.

"—by Benea's glow, boch, are y'alright? There there now, keep th' bauble, eh?" The tall albino was still giggling, wiping the corner of one kohl-smeared eye, violet gaze coming into reluctant focus on the miniature thief's chagrined face, "Lemme help y' up. Next time, though, y' gotta be a bit sneakier with them pina fingers."

Grinning, they waggled their ring-laden fingers for emphasis, nails painted black, before offering the child their hand, refraining from offering a budding pickpocket professional tips while their pockets were still somewhat full of pilfered goodies themselves.

⟡ ☾° ⟡
Last edited by Xavier Zhirune on Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Nikolina Fabricio
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: The obligatory street kid and orphan of Thorns.
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Mon Feb 04, 2019 9:24 am

Vienda: The Dives
36th of Achtus, 2718 Late Evening


Lee tried to be indignant when Xav started laughing. She really did. But she couldn't. Xav's laughter was contagious and, by the time they came over to help her up, Lee was giggling too. She had never botched a pickpocket attempt so badly and, really, the fact that Xav hadn't tried to attack her made it easy to laugh at her ridiculously failed attempt.

The fact that Xav had also told her to keep the watch she had grabbed instead of trying to stab her in retaliation made Lee more inclined to like them. She couldn't see the details in the dark, but hopefully, between what she could pawn the watch for, her charm, and her willingness to work hard, it would be enough to buy passage on a caravan to Brunnhold. "Thank the Circle, Lee thought.

Then she remembered that Vienda had banned wicks. Would she even be able to find a caravan to Brunnhold?

But when the wick asked if she was okay, the pain broke through the giggles. Lee reached up and touched her nose, wincing. "I think I broke it," she whimpered, her voice as thick and sludgy. She felt blood on her upper lip and carefully wiped her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. The world felt fuzzy, too, as if someone had wrapped her brain in a blanket. But, even as her brain felt fuzzy, her head throbbed something terrible.

As she took Xav's hand and started standing up, dizziness overwhelmed her and the world got darker. She didn't flat out faint, but it was a close thing. She sniffed back tears and then let out another whimper. "Tocks. Definitely broken," she muttered. Even though she tried to keep from sobbing, she couldn't help a few tears escaping.

She did give a tiny smile at Xav's advice, though. "Got distracted. You're pretty," she slurred as the symptoms of her concussion settled in. She kept talking, her words making less sense as she went on. "You're a moon person, aren't you? Shiny and glowing and waaaarm," she sing-songed. She started singing a childhood lullaby she remembered her father singing to her when she was a wee thing, her voice still pretty and almost bell-like even though her words were slurred. "Jewels in the sky, watch while us we sleep. Silver in the sky, glowing in the night so deep. Quiet child, tucked in bed. Beloved dear, rest your head. May the moons keep you warm. Sleep tight, my child, wrapped in my arms."


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Xavier Zhirune
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: Not all that glitters be ging. Some 'f it's me.
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Tue Feb 05, 2019 10:48 am

the dives
Late at night on the 36th of Achtus, 2718

The albino musician had very little experience with children. Well, recently at least. Having grown up amid humanity nestled in the valleys of Gior, their childhood had been full of playmates and small, eager co-conspirators for all of the antics the wick tended to find themselves the center of. Within the rumbling bellies of airships, ever-hungry, Xavier had been an exception to be crew at such a delicate age, sold from the arms their failed priestess of a mother instead of murdered as an anathema in the stone halls of Qrieth like some pale, worthy sacrifice to the Eternal Child. Still, they didn't dislike children so much they knew they'd never bothered to foster any of the parental instincts some of their peers may have desired to put on display in this moment.

The pale wick had no interest in making more of their kind just yet in life, if ever at all.

Still, their laughter was inescapable, and Xav felt a little less guilty for the giggles when the child giggled in return, the faint brush of a field so immature and new barely a tingle to the senses indicating the poor pickpocket of an urchin was no different from the possessor of pockets they attempted to burgle.

When the young thing turned and looked up, the boch was bleeding. With all the disgusting willfulness of an ignorant child, the girl smeared red all over their dirty sleeve and back of her hand before reaching for the outstretched limb of the albino, a motion that turned Xavier's stomach just a little but didn't change their mind. Helping the boch up, she began to snivel.

Then she began to cry.

"Dze, no need for waterworks. Ent anythin' fatal." Oh, gods! What a pathetic, heart-wrenching scene this was! Xavier was far too intoxicated to take this entirely seriously, to be horrified so much as amused. Everything was comfortably fuzzy around the edges, sharp points of staring injury in the cute little face dulled by plenty of alcohol.

All over a few pilfered bits of silver.

"Pretty? Aw. Mujo ma, nanobo. At least someone noticed tonight—finally." Xav winked. Compliments smoothed over ruffled feathers and the moonlit creature smiled again, hoping there was distraction in the expression, the flush of color on pigmentless cheeks one of drunkenness and chagrin. Oh, but the child didn't sound any more sober either, slurring her words and singing in a warbled voice that indicated she'd done herself a bit of harm on the cobblestones and ice, "Ah, don't touch that."

"Moon person? Oh—Benea an' Osa be my cousins, an' Alioe an' I write letters t' each other all the time in song. Oes." Xav chuckled, telling stories as they bent closer, lithe fingers reaching to rest on the boch's boney shoulder and long thumb tilting the girl's chin just so to mitigate the flow of fresh blood that dribbled over her little lips, "I think y' went an' knocked your brainbox a bit too hard, boch. All over a pina watch. Lemme see what a bit o' vroo can fix, hmm? Stand still."

Ignoring the fact that they wavered a bit on their own feet, the albino wick still considered themselves in enough presence of mind to make a little magic and fix a few bumps so they could send the dingy urchin on her way back into the dark streets of the Dives and head their way back to the Book and the Bell for a soak and a sleep.

ABBC3_OFFTOPIC

SidekickBOT | Today at 10:18 AM
Muse: 2d6 = (3+2) = 5

Xav manages to heal Lee's broken nose and at least mitigate her concussion. Nothing spectacular, but certainly better than nothing.


The willowy creature's husky tone sang not lyrics to a song but simple Monite, offering to the mona the same kind of care they would any audience, as comfortable on the stage as they were directing the sentient particles to join with their intentions of goodwill. They weren't all that much of a healer, but they'd been bumped and bruised before, the request for a painless knitting of bone and tissue mostly granted. A warmth tingled through the girl's face, dancing in her sinuses like a tickle, stopping the bleeding while it lightly caressed bruised grey matter.

A bit of dizziness lingered, sank deeper, felt heavier. The young wick was suddenly tired, ready to be wrapped tight in a comfy blanket far from the dirty streets just like her song.

"There now. Better, eh, nanobo?" Xavier sighed, not letting go of the pickpocket's shoulders just yet, swimming in the runoff from such an intoxicated incantation. A bit dizzy themselves, a bit more pleasantly dragged away from sobriety, the albino musician smiled lopsidedly, "Now with a bit o' shiny in your pocket an' all them boo boos made right, off on your way. Which way t' home, boch? I'll point y' there for a step 'r two."

⟡ ☾° ⟡
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Nikolina Fabricio
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: The obligatory street kid and orphan of Thorns.
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Sat Feb 09, 2019 4:55 pm

The Dives
36th of Month, 2718 Late Night


Lee gave a happy, dreamy smile as the warmth of Xav's magic on her swept through her. The last time she had felt that was before her father had died. She had fallen on one of his tools, carving a deep slash in her calf. Her da hadn't been a Living Conversationalist, but he knew enough to heal her, though she still had a scar. The warmth felt like safety, even though she knew that it could be anything but safe in the wrong person's hands.

Alioe above, she missed her da.

She quickly put on a smile, but she couldn't hide the bone-deep sadness in her eyes before she looked away. When she spoke, her voice was full of shock and horror. "Nobody noticed how pretty you, a child of the moon, were today? That's blasphemy! A total scandal!" she said, her voice a perfect intimidation of an old golly lady cheerfully gathering the daily gossip. "I knew Viendans are oblivious sometimes, but I never knew they were blind! I really must be a kenser's erse of a pickpocket if I'm not wealthier than the Queen at this point!" she giggled before twirling in a circle, her arms out. She was clearly having fun, even if the show she was putting on was only for one person. But Xav had given her the watch, so Lee figured she should at least give something of a show. She always could use the practice anyways.

She stopped and gave a full-throated laugh at Xav's offer to point her towards her home. "Macha jinga chip, do I look like I have a home?" she grinned crookedly. The Tek was spoken as if she was still learning the language, her tongue a bit thick as she tried to form the words properly. "Luckily, I know a squat or two that at least has half a ceiling that I can sleep under tonight. Thank you for the healing and thank you very much for the watch," she finished, bowing melodramatically, flourishing an imaginary cape. As she stood up, Onna squirmed out of Lee's bedroll and perched on her shoulder, bouncing and making soft "dook" sounds, as if the ferret was thanking the audience too.

Lee suddenly turned serious for a moment. "Theatrics aside, mujo mujo ma for the watch. Hopefully, it will get me enough at the pawn shop so I can start for Brunnhold."

She turned and started heading away, then turned on her heel after a few steps. "I know where I've seen you! You were playing in the square the other day! You sounded amazing, but I was busy making a shill while you played. I wouldn't have noticed you at all if you didn't stand out so much," she said, digging in her pocket to pull out 2 tallies. "Here! It's all I have left – I was stupid and splurged on a bowl of noodles and some jerky to share with Onna – but I feel bad for stealing your tips now. I didn't realize you were another street performer when I saw you tonight," she said sheepishly. "Or I can give you the watch back. It's up to you."

It was clear her offer was truly sincere. She may steal from marks, but she never stole from other street people. Some – hell, maybe most – people would say her stance was ridiculous, but she felt that they all had it bad enough without victimizing each other.





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Xavier Zhirune
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: Not all that glitters be ging. Some 'f it's me.
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Wed Feb 13, 2019 11:41 pm

the dives
Late at night on the 36th of Achtus, 2718

Xavier Zhirune had been a street rat once, well, a sky rat, a pirate, an orphan of sorts. They'd been a stolen child instead of an abandoned one, taken from their mother and father who they were quite sure loved them and sold to whoever wanted their pale, half-bred, lanky self on board their airship. They'd not been uncared for, however, for the crew that took them on wasn't heartless—on the contrary, they seemed keen to have a lithe sliver of moonlight wriggling in tight spaces, cleaning up messes, and making cute faces to sweeten the deal with both clients and other merchants. They'd found their place among a group of folks who were hardly honest traders, learning to pilfer pockets and read a crowd, picking up a few instruments and discovering they were a natural at all kinds of performances.

Xavier had, apparently, been born to put on a show of things. Anything.

"Well, a'right, maybe a few folks noticed." The albino wick winked with a conspiratory sort of tone to their soft voice, resisting the urge to use one of their sleeves to wipe the blood that was now staining the boch's little face. Her mention of not having anywhere to live and hardly a place to stay soured their expression a little, no matter the cheerful voice the girl chose to deliver things in. Violet gaze flitting to the small furry creature that peeked out of her belongings before returning to the child's face, "No home? Not even one with a decent roof, eh? Dze, I don't have one, either. I jus' borrow everyone else's."

The willowy Gioran grinned, though they'd toned themselves down a bit in the company of a child, refraining from admitting they'd borrow a bed, a body, or an entire home when they could or pay for a room when they couldn't. Tonight, like last night, they'd rented themselves a room—which was waiting for them—but the mention of Brunnhold brought an unmistakable hint of color to their pigmentless cheeks and deepened their grin into an expression that delicately balanced nostalgia and mischief,

"You gonna go t' that fancy school, chip?" Hummed the musician, vaguely sure the young, eager pickpocket was tekaa like themselves, "Oh—saw me? Oes, Crosstown Court's a nice score for a pina boch like y'self. Ent anyone pay y' much mind, did they? Ne—I don't—I ent takin' ging from th' likes 'f you. Didn't steal anythin' that weren't yers anyway—fair 'n square if y' got 'em first."

Waggling lithe, bejeweled fingers in exaggerated dismissal, Xav shook their head, refusing the coins and the watch, "Ne, boch. Travel's expensive, at least when yer no' th' one flyin' on th' ship, ye chen. I jus' came from that way, an' once th' Arova frosts up, it ent gonna be a fun trip. Keep th' watch an' th' coin—you'll need it."

They paused, violet gaze wandering over the dirty, bloodied thing that probably needed a few extra meals and a really long bath. With soap. With a lot of soap. Soap with bubbles.

The albino wick wasn't really someone to ever admit they liked children. Or were good with them. But they'd been a child once and they'd certainly been an orphaned child for what felt like ever, even if it was just barely half of their existence. They'd scraped by on their own or with a hand up from some stranger. Even if the lil' thing had tried to pilfer their pockets, they had this moment to be the hand up for someone else.

It was ... well, it was alright. They could do this sort of thing, this altruism thing, without too many strings attached. They were just intoxicated enough that the world was softer around the edges and everything seemed like a plumb good idea, that being fair generous with some bloodied boch on the street with a pet furry sausage wouldn’t get their pretty, pale self cott in the dark and their silver jewels stolen while they stained sheets with the last of their life. Surely, this wee thing was decent enough, what with their big, nanobo eyes and their sweet offers of stolen goods returned.

What harm could there be?

"Listen, I ent th' best o' vroomancers when 't comes t' bodies. I like sparkles an' songs, but y' got a bit 'f a bump there on th' ice an' I did what I could. Maybe I fixed 't, but maybe I didn't." Xavier cleared their throat, a motion that to the not so casual observer would have given some of them away when they swallowed but to the far more casual observer revealed very little since they weren't really looking for the reality of what the pale musician really was. Not that they were anything but themselves anyway,

"If I say y' can stay with me so I can keep an eye on yer brainbox, y' gotta promise not t' rob me blind, ye chen? A bit more change in yer pocket ent gonna hurt me any, ne, but there's some 'f m' things y' can't have. Oh, an' y' gotta wash. Maybe twice."

That last bit was said with the most serious of sideyes, the willowy creature of moonlight smirking with a bit of challenge to their tone, hooking a long thumb in the woven strap of the oud slung over their shoulder, "Boemo?"

⟡ ☾° ⟡
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Nikolina Fabricio
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: The obligatory street kid and orphan of Thorns.
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Sat Feb 16, 2019 11:19 am

The Dives
36th of Achtus, 2718 Late Night


Lee grinned. "Good to know that some people here got enough sense to notice pretty people," she said cheerfully as she winked back.

She gave a half-shrug when Xavier commented on her mention of not having a home. "It was just me and my Da and Da died when I was 7. Din't have anywhere else to go, outside of the orphanages and they ain't much better than the streets, really. Yeah, you got a roof over your head and things that pass for clothes and a bed. But there are so many rules," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I don't like rules. They make me feel like I'm being choked. I mean, Da raised me with rules, since he wanted to pass me off as a golly, but that's different. He gave me rules 'cause he loved me, not because he wanted to control me."

"Worse, the matrons usually wanted me to give up Onnastick," she said, her voice catching as she reached into her bedroll to scratch the ferret's head. It was clear that Onna was her prized possession. "Da gave me to her for my last birthday with him and I'll be damned if I'm going to give her up, y'know? She's all I got left of him."

"It ain't too bad out here, really. Onna's good at helping me steal things and I had a friend of my Da's helping me out. He even wanted to adopt me after Da died, but his wife said she wouldn't house anything that didn't 'come from her womb', whatever that means. Abélard's a good kov. He told me to leave after the riots, that things were gonna get bad for wicks, but I was stupid and wanted to stay here. This is where Da died, y'know? But now the Seventen are patrolling more in the parts of the Dives I hang out in and I gotta get before the Seventen finds me and throws me back in the factories."

"Nyah, I ain't gonna go to school in Brunnhold. I mean, I'd love to go to school, but Da's gone and I don't think I could pass for a golly anymore. 4 years on the street ain't gonna keep you refined and proper. Da said that if I went to Brunnhold, I had to act like a perfect golly. Now I'm just gonna go to Brunnhold 'cause it's closer than Old Rose."

Lee's eyes widened in shock. "You've been on an airship?" she whispered, her voice awe-filled. "That's amazing!"

Lee's jaw dropped open when Xav offered to let her stay with them and she sputtered. "You'd do that?" she finally managed to squeak out. She nodded quick and fast. "Okay! I'll take 15 baths if it will make you happy," she giggled. "I promise on my Da's grave that I won't touch anything of yours unless you say it's okay. You won't have to worry about feeding me, either, 'cause tomorrow's bread day at the temple over on Langston Street and I always wake up early enough to get at least a loaf of bread and some cheese."



Last edited by Nikolina Fabricio on Sat Apr 20, 2019 9:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Xavier Zhirune
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: Not all that glitters be ging. Some 'f it's me.
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Tue Feb 19, 2019 2:43 pm

the dives
Late at night on the 36th of Achtus, 2718

"Ent a golly neither? My eohmother—er—my real ma were a passive an' my eohdafather—my da—were a human. In Gior, they say that ent ever happens—wicks, that is—but, here I am." A sweep of both hands in a theatrical motion with the jingle of bracelets and the sparkle of rings for emphasis was made, Xav grinning mischievously, intoxicated and full of a few giggles that would have bordered on the self-deprecating had they been in a sour mood. Far more bubbly instead, the albino musician rolled their violet eyes and shrugged, "I was 'bout yer age when it were obvious I was magical an' no one knew what t' do with me. Oh well. I turned out more 'n alright, an' I ent good at rules. I get that."

There was a wink in there somewhere, the willowy creature wavering on their feet for a moment while they focused on the ferret and then took in the girl's words. Orphaned for being something no one wanted was a sentiment Xavier understood in their own way, although their mother had wanted them only for her to be denied his return. It had felt like death, that much the pale wick would never forget, but somewhere in Gior, there was a good chance their mother was still alive.

"Oes, heard 'bout th' riots. Ent safe for tekaa now. Gotta get yerself onna these—" Xavier fished their forged writ out of their clothing, lacquered nails and ring-laden fingers fumbling with the folded papers, showing them off, and then tucking them back in again, "—well, maybe yer a bit young. Factories? Yaldyet!Shit! That's no place for a kid. Well. Maybe it's a bit safer than an airship? Maybe not." There was more laughter, guttered albino shrugging in their ignorance of Brunnhold and education, having learned in every unconventional way possible or attempted to teach themselves all they knew,

"Y' think th' jents would figure y' out? Hmm. I wonder. Ent a good way t' go, gettin' caught in Brunnhold, I'd venture. It's better on th' outside, bein' free, in m' opinion." They mused out loud before smiling warmly at the girl's excitement over their invitation. Sure? Why not? It wasn't like they were bringing anyone else home. The poor creature was dirty, bloody, and probably didn't need to be on the streets looking the way she did if she was trying to stay out of the way of the brikgt, after all,

"Fifteen? Well, I ent sure there's that much water, but benny. Bread day? Eyhada.Meh. We'll see what's on th' menu tomorrow. I'm sure there's plenty o' breakfast for th' both 'f us. This way." Xav leaned in the direction they were headed, toward the Book and the Bell, sort of pouring their lithe, moonlit self into walking. Pleasantly inebriated, tired from a bit of magic, and far from in their entirely right mind, everything seemed like a good idea. Inviting a child for a rest and a bath, for a bit of warmth, was a generosity the albino wick wasn't a stranger to, if only because they possessed a lingering soft spot for what they'd once been. They'd just been pilfered from and had their trust taken advantage of more often than not.

This would probably be no different—street orphans could be a shifty lot, after all—but they were willing to lose a handful of tallies over the risk considering Viendans had deep enough pockets and nice enough houses that they'd already tucked away a bit more coin than expected.

Indicating the girl should follow, they led the way through the streets, aware that they appeared a bit random, a bit unsure, but they weren't so guttered that they didn't know where they were going. Attempting to keep to the side streets and keep them both out of view lest they get noticed by a patrol past curfew, Xavier was careful despite their alcohol-induced lack of proper judgment. It wasn't really until they'd mad their way to the street the tavern and inn sat on that the willowy musician realized they'd never even given their name,

"I'm Xavier by th' way. Jus' pretend ye know me—that we're fami—on th' way in. I don't expect trouble—I've paid—an' ye look like ye've had a rough time o' things anyways. But, eh, jus' in case. Vienda's a strange place, after all."

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Nikolina Fabricio
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Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 6:02 pm
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Race: Wick
: The obligatory street kid and orphan of Thorns.
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Thu Feb 28, 2019 12:46 pm

The Dives
36th of Achtus, 2718 Late Night


"Well, clearly Benea and Osa decided that we needed one of their children, regardless of silly golly rules," Lee giggled.

"I think some rules are good, like people wearing clothes," she said, wrinkling her nose at the thought of everyone walking around naked. "But other rules are silly. Take that stupid ban on people like us. Do you know how many businesses had to close because of that? I heard about the writs. Don't have anywhere to get one. I mean, Abélard might be able to get me one, but he's Seventen and people would ask why he's helping a wick. So I can't ask him, and most businesses don't want to hire wicks on because of the extra paperwork."

Lee reached into her bedroll and scratched Onna's head, needing the comfort as the memories of her time in the factory came back to her. "The factories aren't good at all. That's why I wouldn't stay there. Practically every week, someone got hurt. They broke something or lost their hand or got hit in the head. It was always something."

Lee leaned forward, whispering to Xav, like she was afraid to say what she was going to say too loudly. "I saw this girl die. She was my friend. She didn't put her hair all the way up like we were supposed to. Her braid got stuck and her hair got pulled off," she said with tear-filled eyes, unaware of what the revelation might do to Xav's stomach. "The fucking golly supervisor refused to get help for her, saying that stupid girls deserved to die. We ain't nothing to them but trash to use and throw away."

Lee stopped for a moment to wipe at her eyes, her lips curving into a trembling smile as Onna crawled out of her bedroll and licked at her falling tears. She pulled the ferret out all the way and hugged her close, letting the ferret kiss away her tears.

She gave Xav a smile as she tried to push her dark memories away. "Yeah, I think they'd figure me out, 'specially since I don't know any of Da's family. And look at me! Would you think I'm a golly by looking at me if I showed up at your door looking like this?" she laughed as she waved a hand at her clothes. "Even I ain't good enough to steal a whole wardrobe of golly clothes. But that's okay. Like you said, it's better on the outside, being free."

She followed after Xav, a bounce in her step. "Yeah, you have a point. That's a lot of water! And if I took 15 baths, I'd be a prune forever," she giggled. "I'd look like Mrs. Penny over on Rose Street. Well, you don't know her, but trust me! She's more pruny than a million prunes!"

Xav didn't know it, but Lee was one of the rare street kids who was steadfastly and wholeheartedly loyal to people who helped her out. Some would say it was a fault of hers. She had found out that not everyone stays loyal to people. A lot of people would stop trusting strangers after a few times of having supposed "friends" turn on them, but Lee was a perpetual optimist and her Da had told her that honesty and loyalty were critically important in life. She took that lesson to heart. Every bit of ging and every valuable Xav had would be untouched unless they personally gave it to her. Onna liked shiny things and might try to run off with some of Xav's stuff, but Lee would make sure everything got back to Xav.

Lee's palm hit her face and she laughed when Xav gave her their name. "My brain must have really taken a hit. Da would be appalled at my lack of manners. Here you are, helping me out, and I didn't even tell you my name!" she giggled. "I'm Lee! That's not what Da named me, but I like it better than Nikolina. Nikolina wears crinoline and dresses and has her hair in curls," she whispered, her voice making it clear that having her hair in curls was the worst thing in the world.

She nodded vigorously at Xav's directions, resisting the urge to skip on the icy ground. "Okay. You're my long-lost cousin if anyone asks."


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Xavier Zhirune
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: Not all that glitters be ging. Some 'f it's me.
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Wed Mar 06, 2019 9:01 pm

the dives
Late at night on the 36th of Achtus, 2718

"I do like clothes, but—" Xavier stopped themselves with a guttered giggle, suddenly blushing and rolling bleary, violet eyes. They weren't sober enough to take themselves seriously, and this child didn't need to hear that being without clothes could be pretty fun sometimes. Too soon. Just barely in enough control of their tongue to leave that comment unfinished, they chewed their bottom lip instead, "Fake writs 're expensive, mind. Bought mine 'n th' Harbor. I ent any more s'posed t' be here than y' are, but there's money t' be made here, so ... dze."

They shrugged, the sound that left their lips a dismissive, blaise noise of displeasure and dismissal. Leading the way through the streets, attempting to be at least a little careful to not get caught out past the law-imposed curfew for tekaa, Xavier listened to Lee talk about her own life as an orphan, as a street urchin here in Anaxas' capital. While they could imagine what factory life was like—a building full of complicated machines must have been like being in an airship's engine room—they weren't even entirely surprised to hear of the dangers. They'd lived aboard airships, high above everything, since childhood, crawling in tight places, living a life that could at any time be cut short by a terribly long fall.

"Ye whatnow? Clock th' damn Circle, that's awful. Th' world ent a nice place, ye chen. Cant say I ent seen m' share o' bad, too. 'Specially as a pina thing not much older 'n y'are." That sounded horrible, and, well, perhaps a bit more detailed than Xav was immediately prepared for. Not a stranger to violence, not ignorant about the dangers of life nor the sight of their own blood, let alone the blood of others, it was never less disturbing to hear about the suffering of others, "Glad ye made it outta there with all yer bits an' bobs then, boch. I ent ever lived a safe life, neither, but not like that."

The pale musician emphasized those words with a flourish of their bejeweled hands, waggling fingers into the chilled night air and laughing, the heated cloud of their breath fading into the glow of phosphor lanterns on the street,

"Brunnhold's prob'ly borin', full o' stuck up erseholes. If ye want m'opinion, oes, ye could pass as a golly jus' as well as I could." The intoxicated wick grinned and made an exaggerated flip of their bone white hair, "Jus' that glamour makes a wee bit o' difference, but only 'cause they say 't does."

They sighed, not in the mood to drag things down, to dwell on their mixed feelings on social justice, on how the races treated each other across the Six Kingdoms,

"Fifteen's m'haps one or two times too many. Jus' a lil'. We'll see what we can do 'bout yer clothes, too, ye chen." The shift in subject was welcome and the willowy Gioran offered a warmer smile, laughing about curls once the girl introduced herself, "Junta. Lee 't is, then."

Leading them both into the Book and the Bell, the albino wick made their way toward the stairs that led to the room they'd rented, digging for their key and waving a hand at Stu who was busy wiping down the bar while a few late customers lingered. The older man paused, eyes drifting to the girl with the musician, noting the blood and the clothes, concern flooding his rugged features. Aware that the albino wasn't much trouble, the concern wasn't accusation so much as honest care—he had Ginny to look after, obviously.

Xavier sighed, passing Lee their key, "Room Eight. I'll be right there. Lemme make our arrangements, oes?" Not particularly wanting to be accused of kidnapping, of exploitation, aware that all of those things weren't out of the realm of possibility here in the Dives, they moved toward the bar to speak in hushed tones with the proprietor, whether the younger wick chose to follow them or follow their request. Explaining they'd found the child injured and wanted to offer them somewhere warm to sleep, totally leaving out pickpocketing from the conversation in their sense of pirate's honor and personal kindness, aware of their own drunkenness, they slid a few extra coins on the bar for the girl's breakfast and some fresh towels.

With that off their chest, some understanding reached between Xavier and Solid Stu, they made their way upstairs, relying on the railing and aware that they were just a bit more tired than they would have been had they not been drunk and used a bit of magic. It wasn't their habit to take in pina strangers, but at the same time, the pale musician didn't really run into too many in taverns and bars. These days not even really on airships, either, but it didn't matter now, the albino wick was aware they had a habit of making friends wherever they went.

Up the stairs and through the door of the small room that was more bed than anything else. The Book and the Bell wasn't a large establishment and each pair of rooms shared a tiny bathroom that was mostly a tub. Closing the door behind them and leaning on it with a yawn, the delicate creature slid their oud from over their shoulder and tucked it in a corner,

"Well, yer fami for now s'far 's anyone's concerned, ye chen. Let's getcha cleaned up. I ent got any boch-sized clothes, mind, but we'll jus' wash whatcha have an' figure 't out when I'm not guttered, hmm? Make yerself 't home a bit an' I'll get things started."

They slipped out of tall boots, wavering on their feet with intoxicated balance, chuckling at themselves before shrugging off their coat and making their way toward the little room with a tub, not knocking at this house of the night but making sure to lock the other door, not even confident if they had a neighbor renting the other bed or not. Turning the taps and letting the water run before putting in the plug, the willowy Gioran washed their hands and used the still chilly water to wash their face with a bit of soap, hissing and sputtering at the cold while they wiped away kohl and lip stain, glitter and blush from skin that had no color of its own beneath the layers of decor.

Once the water began to get warm, Xavier reached for the plug to let the tub fill and then for a towel to dry their face, speaking in muffled tones while they wandered back out into the room. Performance for the evening over, the albino wick relaxed, the richer tones of their voice far more obvious once comfortable and tired,

"Mmmgive th' bath a few minutes an' then it's all yers. Let's see if I've got a shirt 'r somethin' t' sleep in since it ent all that warm. An' I'll poke at th' stove." They had very little in terms of personal belongings as a musical vagrant, but their bag was more full of clothes than anything else anyway.

All kinds of clothes, really, and Xav began to lay things out on the dresser, fussing and unsure. Not a conservative creature, their fashion was perhaps not conducive to tucking young people in for bed at night, but a couple of shirts at least were long enough and buttoned high enough to provide some sort of coverage, the lithe Gioran tall and long.

"One 'f these 'll do, eh?" Holding a couple of choices in Lee's direction, they laid the shirts on the bed before turning back to remove rings and baubles, slipping necklaces and dangling earrings from their person and piling them all nicely onto the top of their clothes on the dresser, pausing to rub their hands together and curl hands into their long hair, tying it back away from their moonkissed features,

"Wash for ye. Fire fixin' for me."

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