((Sorry if it's a bit long-winded. I may have gone a bit crazy in the writing of it. ^^ It's been a long, long, long, long, long, long, LONG time since I have RPed like this.))
It was a warm day when Alice set foot in Heartstone for the first time in her life. It had been a long walk from Julep to the big city but she was more than pleased at her choice. It was not as busy as she had hoped but she knew it was rather early. The sun had barely risen an hour or two ago, unusually early for Alice to be out and about considering she had been walking for twice as long as that. But she had promised herself she would forget having left so early from her aunts house and why it had been necessary. As she walked, she caught a flash of light out of the corner of her eye and stopped dead in her tracks, turning to find a reflection of herself in a store mirror.
Moving closer to it, knowing she must look a mess, her amber eyes scrutinized the image from head to toe. Long white hair, pulled away from her face to be fastened in a simple twist by a leather barrett with star-shaped brands that left her curls spilling out dramatically over her neck and shoulders. A hairstyle clearly chosen with haste and therefore executed quite poorly, many loose strands left hanging messily around her pixie-like features. Her torso was decorated by a sorry excuse of a sleeveless jacket, covering less than any vest worth the name, that was held together by a poorly abused belted buckle above cleavage that no doubt owed many thanks to the corset top, made of matching deep brown and gold material to the jacket. Attached to the jacket, hung a plain black cape. The outfit was completed by a black belt, complete with three fist-sized pouches, and a long brown cloth skirt, bustled on one side in the front with a belt, giving it added mobility and a fetching view of thigh as well as her plain black leather boots
Her stomach growled, pulling her attention from the image and onto the carts. She knew she had candy in the pouches on her belt but real food was in order. After taking count of her pathetic few coins, Alice grudgingly came to terms with her lack of choices. She was just taking a big bite of her first official meal in Heartstone, not that a single apple constituted as a meal, when it happened. Her first real excited crowd experience in a big town. She was so excited that she forgot all about the food in her mouth and stared, mouth agape. It seemed like there was a messenger of some sort in the middle of the hubbub, slowly making his way through the sudden sea of people surrounding his horse in the middle of the busy market.
Not one to miss out on a good excited crowd, Alice pushed herself off of the table she had been sitting on, hopping onto the ground with an unnecessary flourish, her long black cape billowing behind her with the slight jump in a way that pleased her. She all but bounced her way over to the crowd, confused only for a moment when her mostly empty stomach growled with the movement. Suddenly remembering the apple again, she chowed down as she walked.
When she finally pushed through the crowd, which took quite a bit of time and effort -- and a quick duck into the crowd as she accidentally bumped her apple hand into the face of a stranger, she stood face to face with a bulletin board. She blinked at it for a moment, confused, until the word Summons caught her eye. Adventure. Probably a fair bit of cash, too. She eyed the apple core in her hands, putting two and two together. As she made her way back out of the crowd, Alice had her mind made up.
It wasn’t much later that Alice found herself walking with two strangers, heading out in search of gems. The only thought passing through their head as she walked was thanks to the powers that be that she was not the only female. Even as she thought it, the other woman spoke to her of her village. Alice beamed at Urkwia, more than happy to have someone to talk to.
“It’s pretty close but I don’t think a visit is a good idea. I’m not quite ready to head back to--” She quickly cut herself off and changed the subject, “didn’t I catch that you live in Heartstone? Today was my very first day here. Got lucky coming in the same day as the summons, I guess. I am almost sorry I didn’t get to spend more time in the city…” She kept on as she walked, absently reaching into one of the pouches on her belt ,coming out with a candy just to quickly pop it in her mouth and continue talking.
By the time they made it to camp, Alice’s stomach it rolling with hunger. The candy had fantastic flavor but it did little to fill her stomach. She was more than happy to detach her cape and spread it down on the ground while someone else took care of dinner for the evening, even if there suddenly were more people to share food with. It didn't bother her any if more people wanted to join their little group. She liked people. Her happiness with the situation doubled when Sir Rofield came over with a bowl of soup for her and settled himself beside her. Food she didn't have to move for and company!
A friendly smile curved her lips as she picked up the bowl he had brought for her. “Ah. My hero!” She cradled the bowl in her hands a moment before setting it down in her lap, making a small nest around it before looking back at him, “Alice it is, Sir…” She trailed off, thinking for a moment, “oh, bugger. I am horrible with names. So sorry. But, wait, don’t tell me…” She paused, taking the time as an opportunity to spoon up some soup, blow to cool it, and eat it. “I want to say… Marshall? No. That can’t be right.” She narrows her eyes at his face, “I feel like I should know this.” She let out a huff of breath, temporarily annoyed, quickly shrugging her shoulders. “I don’t… I guess I don’t know.” She chuckled and took a quick bite of her soup, scalding her tongue. “Oh, fer the love of-”
Without further ado, she set the soup aside to cool, choosing to leave the rest of her taste buds living over filling her empty stomach immediately. “So do you go on little… adventures like this very often? It’s my first time.” She stretched out her legs, crossing them at the ankles, and leaned back, very careful not to spill her soup. “Not much of a call for hero’s in Julep.” As she talked, she scanned her eyes through the others in the group, for the first time actually giving herself time to wonder about them. “You know, it’s kind of odd, all of us being in the same spot of woods at the same time,” Alice muttered, thinking out loud.