A Visit

Orin Takekuro · 01-09-2011, 01:43 AM

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OOC Sounds good, last post it is! ^_^ WC 1,035

For a moment Orin was silent as she thought about Cercatori's resident trader, the coy-wolf named Bangle. The man was constructing an intriguing house within the thick branches of the tree that loomed just across the way from her own bookstore. He was an interesting man, always smiling and laughing at something – half the time Orin didn't know what it was he was snickering at. “As far as I know, he'll trade for just about anything. Well, as long as he benefits from it anyway, not that I think he's stingy. But we've got a good deal going on, so far I've been able to trade with reading and writing lessons.” She thought about it for a moment, then realized, “Come to think of it, I think he plays the lute. Or maybe it's a guitar.” She trailed off in thought.

She remained quiet for a moment more as he questioned her about her life in Florida. Being asked about that horrible place had not offended her like her silence might have suggested, rather she delved into careful thought for a moment as she tried to decide how to answer. She wanted to compare it to something but she did not know anything else that bad. It was what it was, and that was a nightmare. It had been the only life she had known until she and Niro made the journey to Nova Scotia, and it was thanks to her childhood there that she had fallen so deeply in love with books. They were a way to escape, and escape she did nearly every day. Luckily for her, she had a brother who cared for her and watched out for her, and understood her need to be taken to another realm even if only in the imagination, and he would salvage every last book that still had ink on the pages for his sister to read.

“Florida is just bad,” she said, her voice steady. For a moment she wanted to say nothing more, as though talking about it would call up a demon that would come spirit her away to the dreadful place. Yet after a moment she steeled herself and went on. “I grew up there. Our parents disappeared some time when we were young, we think a gang overtook them while they were scavenging for food. They just left one day and never came back. Life in Florida is life on the run, unless you break down and join one of the gangs in the slums. But even then you don't get a very long life expectancy. It's all old cities that have been used up and destroyed by riots and decades of street wars. There's hardly any food and I think the stuff that does come in filters in from distant mafia organizations who steal from farmers, or maybe they have slaves, I don't really know. It's just, there's not enough food for anybody there, so you're pretty much living on pigeon and rat-burgers. Sometimes I think that's why I'm so little.” She looked down at herself, and then up to Mars with a grin. “We didn't have a home. We pretty much just ran all the time. If we stayed in one place too long some thug would eventually find us. Usually they tried to recruit Niro and buy me, and when they were turned down they'd want to kill Niro and keep me. Luckily there was a tentative truce between the sailors and the mobs, and ships that came to dock were relatively left alone. That's how we got out of there – we bartered passage on a ship.” There was little else to tell unless Mars had specific questions, but that pretty much covered it.

“I guess... yeah! I guess you're right. It would have everything. Maybe we could make it a series, even? Have a couple good leading characters and a big bad that gets his due in the end,” she punched her fist into her palm, accentuating her point. “I'll jot down some memories and ideas over the next few days, see if we can't pull something together. Maybe we can have a brainstorming pow-wow?”

She waited outside with the stallion as the Russo man disappeared into his house. Her eyes scanned the night, moving from the snow laden city to the clear sky above, grinning at the twinkling stars. After a moment she moved closer to the horse and lay a hand on his neck, petting him gently and being cautious of his reaction to her touch. If the steed did not like it, she would stop. After a moment the parti colored man returned from the house, carrying a load of possessions with him now. She surveyed him, taking in what items she could see, and grinned when she noticed the guitar, then stared at the instrument dumbly for a second when Mars held it out to her. What was he doing? Entrusting her with his prized instrument! The smile began to creep across her face again soon enough, though, and that was the only hesitation she made. She accepted the guitar and slung it over her shoulder. “I'll be very careful with it.” She reassured him with a nod.

Her eyes darted to the stallions when she realized the next thing Mars said. “Ride? I've never ridden a horse before.” She was a little excited and a little afraid. She had no skill on horseback and thought for a moment about declining the offer and suggesting that she run alongside Vox in her Lupus form. But Mars moved quickly and before she had made up her mind to protest the man was mounted and holding his hand out to her.

Her eyes brightened and she reached up, grasping Mars's arm wrist-to-wrist for best grip. A soft giggle filled the air as Orin was hoisted up onto Vox's back. She shifted awkwardly for a moment and once she felt somewhat settled, did as her friend instructed and wrapped her arms around him. Her grip was a little tight, but probably nothing the Russo man couldn't handle. She giggled again as they trotted off.

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