LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin paused for a moment when Ajoran did and turned, slightly pulling Ridahne with her to watch. She couldn’t hear what the Taja said to the Eija, but she did catch the words Red Hand. The Seed-Bearer narrowed her eyes as she looked back towards the market. It wouldn’t surprise her if the Red Hand was here. If they were here, they had a description of her now. She wouldn’t even be surprised if they had a picture of her as well. If they did decide to cause trouble, they wouldn’t risk everyone. How long would it be before every member of the Red Hand knew they were looking for a human girl that looked ordinary except for the eyes which were greener than green and the fact that she wore pants rather than skirts. There was no longer a point to traveling in secret. They would now have to travel with discretion instead. If that was the case Darin had things to do to make things right.

Darin turned back to walking towards the building, “I would like to come with you to see this archivist. We need to record the marks for Seed-Honored and Seed-Friend at the same time. So, let’s check on Talbot and Tsura, grab something quick to eat, and then go see them.” She sighed as she continued to make plans, “Tomorrow I will need to write a letter to Ravi at The Farm. I plan to include a letter for my mother with the one to Ravi and I would like her to know has my face has changed. Is there someone that can do a small colored portrait of me?” She was directing her questions to both Ridahne and Ajoran, “I will also need someone to carry my letters to The Farm, will I be able to arrange that?” She sighed again, “Also, I rather suspect that I will bawl while writing my letters I will need somewhere a little more secluded than my room where I will not be disturbed. Do either of you have any suggestions.”

Once upon a time Darin had told a boy that just wanted to grieve that she wouldn’t let him. She had kept him from traveling to her home to preserve her anonymity. He had not been happy with that answer, yet he had accepted it. Now that she was shifting from secretiveness to discretion, he had a right to the same option. She had no idea if he would take it, but she had to give him the chance. Then, if she was allowing people from The Farm to her home one of them might as well take a message to her mother and to Thomas and to Milla and to others for her. She had no idea how long it would take for the letters to get to her home. Darin was just anxious for one small connection to home. The sooner she sent the letters off the sooner they would get to where they needed to be. She just hoped that the Sols helped make it happen, discretely of course.

A New Light Amongst The Stars (CitrusArms and LadyAnnaLee)

I'm working on a map for Trazie as well as a better history. Just FYI

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin could see how Ridahne and Ajoran worked as a unit as they walked though the market. It was little eerie to have more than one set of eyes on the look out for danger. Well, Darin knew the obvious signs, but she rarely devoted herself to being on the lookout for it. Ridahne was more than willing to do that which left her time to learn and to grow. Absently she wondered if just once she could return the favor to let Ridahne learn while she kept lookout. It wouldn’t be in Azurei. There would be no point, but maybe once they got to land Darin was familiar with, like Lively and home. It was funny as she kept thinking about home now that she had been further from home then she had ever been. Could she get further from home? She didn’t think so.

Darin looked up from the red clay jar she had been looking at as Ridahne directed her comments to the human, “What? Oh! Leaving.” She looked up at the sun, “It is getting late. Perhaps we should head back.” She placed the jar back down, “I am getting tired.”

As she said it she realized it was true. She was exhausted. She supposed that it was to be expected. She had done two major things with Astra’s help today. While she no longer collapsed from holding the rain talking with Astra still taxed her energy. While the creation of a pillar and the discussion with The Sea weren’t too exhausting, she had been talking to Astra all day as The Sky sent winds to dance playfully around her ankles and hair. The Stone had been vibrating against her feet and though her bones in a way Darin could only describe as similar to a way a cat purred. She could hear The Sea beat against the shore with gentle waves. The Seed-Bearer laughed back with stunning ease, but she could still use a nap.

Darin was starving as well. She hadn’t expected that. Ridahne had been pushing treats into her hands all day and food vendors seemed more than eager to provide The Seed-Bearer with samples all day. Most of it had been good, but more than one child laughed as her face screwed up at certain things she just didn’t like. Still, Darin felt like she could eat an actual meal. She wanted to eat, clean up, and rest. It was about time for that anyways. The sun was kissing the horizon. The human had been awake as the sun peeked above the horizon. From dawn to dusk was how most of her days went if they didn’t go longer. Still, the market would be here tomorrow. She might as well try to get some rest.

She linked arms with Ridahne, “Come along. I can here the seductive call of my bed calling my name, and I need to check on Talbot before too much longer. He’s probably upset I ignored him for so long.” She reached out to Ajoran, “So let’s return to our lodgings. Perhaps I can wash the salt off my arms and face.”

Grayscale : A World in Black & White

@Dr Lovecraft

Good to know. Thank you.

Grayscale : A World in Black & White

I did not have Fritz tell a secret but I can change that if I need to.

Grayscale : A World in Black & White

Fritz

Each of the individuals took a seat. It was crowded at the table, or maybe it just felt crowded to Fritz who never dealt well with crowds of strangers. He looked around at the group. There was a woman that looked like a scientist, a woman that looked like a bedraggled queen, a see-through boy with an umbrella, and a boy dyed hair and headphones. Then there was him, some sort of doll. This had to be a dream or hell or something. None of this made any sort of sense. Maybe it was some sort of drug induced hallucination. That could be it.

He didn't have much time to think about it before the laws of physics flew out the window. The possessed table barely whispered a request, or maybe it was a demand, for a secret when the ceiling fan moved or changed or something. Fritz wasn't sure. Suddenly they weren't on the floor and he found himself looking down from his chair at the floor beneath the table now on the ceiling. He gripped the table's edge so tightly his knuckles turned white, well, whiter. He didn't want to fall but they didn't appear to be falling. How could they be on the ceiling looking down at the floor without falling? Fritz was seconds away from a full blown panic attack; if he wasn’t in the middle of one now.

Fritz no longer wanted to be here. Well, he had never wanted to be here, but now he really didn't want to be here. From the corner of his eyes he saw a pair of doors. The white one was on the ceiling with them. The black one was on the floor. Would Fritz fall if he let go of the table and got out of his seat? That would let him know what door he should aim for. Then again, he wasn't sure he wanted to try. Maybe this was a hallucination happening while ... what was happening was happening and if he started falling again it would finish. Did he want it to finish? He wasn't sure. He might not have a choice. It might have to finish. Did he regret it? Fritz still wasn't sure about that.

He spoke, "A secret? A secret from all of us or just one secret. There is a difference."

Frtiz wasn't even sure that he had a secret to tell. Did the possessed table, the ghost, want a secret he had never told anyone? Or did it want a secret that these people didn't know? The first might be okay. Fritz could tell these people that he liked this dress. He could tell them that he wanted to be a model or designer. If it got them out of this mess, he could even tell them that he struggled with anorexia. The first one might be a problem. At the very least Marta knew most everything about him. Fritz wasn’t sure what he could tell that she didn't know. Then again, he could wait for an answer to his question. Though he had to wonder. Something strange had happened when they all followed the first request to sit down. Who knew what would happen if they kept giving into demands? He wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

Grayscale : A World in Black & White

Are we keeping to the rotation and/or pattern and/or posting order?

RPG Pet Pageant - Voting Thread - Final Round!

3 points- McKenzy
2 points- Onyx
1 points- Peep

RPG Pet Pageant - Voting Thread!

Category: Dog

1st Pick: Gizmo
2nd Pick: Mckenzy
3rd Pick: Elin

Category: Cat

1st Pick: Phat Boi
2nd Pick: Munju
3rd Pick: Boris

Category: MISC

1st Pick: Danica
2nd Pick: Enigma
3rd Pick: Peep

I can't believe I can't vote for them all. Narrowing it down was hard.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin’s smile fell from her face she hurried after the warrior, “Ridahne! I can’t hold my alcohol! You know this!” She urgently told Ajoran, “Every so often we both forget that and I drink why too much, which for me is like half a serving, and the next thing I know I wake up with a headache and no memory of the last night.” She exclaimed again, “Ridahne!”

In the end it didn’t matter. Ridahne took to showing Darin Tasen with vigor and enthusiasm. It wasn’t long before Darin forgot about the upcoming alcohol as her pervious good mood returned. She tried ever snack Ridahne pushed into her hands. The fruit was yummy. The sweetened almond was amazing. The smells were incredible. Darin looked over pottery and fish and scarves. Children came up at random times to give her trinkets that Darin couldn’t help but love. In the end she had to have Ridahne and Ajoran pick out a box to carry the sheer number of them. She didn’t know what she was going to do with them all. She couldn’t take them with her, but she couldn’t just tell the kids no. She tried the drink Ridahne pushed into her hands and sputtered at the bubbles and tangy sweetness but drank the whole thing, which was probably a mistake, but she didn’t care. She was in far too good a mood.

Though when Ridahne asked her opinion on the market Darin had to pause for a moment to look around. In all honesty it was just another market. Darin had been in so many over the past year. People should things to make a living. The only real difference was the amount of attention she had been getting. She had acted the same why otherwise. She ate all the delicious food and even some that didn’t look quite as yummy. She looked, but didn’t buy unless it strictly necessary, like the box for the children’s gifts. She had considered a scarf the color of a dawning’s purple or to realize she didn’t need it. It was the same for a uri that almost matched the one Ridahne wore most days. She did find a visiting Eluri cobbler to leave her boots to be resoled only to discover that she needed a new pair. It was easy enough find a new pair that reached her knees with thick soles that fit. She sat still just long enough to have a willing Azurei woman cut the dead ends of her hair and let the woman’s children braid flowers into her hair. She had clapped along with the crowd as she watched a group of street performers dance and sing. In short, for her, Tasen was just another market. One of her favorites yes, but there were few markets she disliked. She got both Ridahne and Ajoran to teach her more about Azurei dancing.

Darin didn’t want to ruin Ridahne’s good mood by implying that her home was just the same as everywhere else. So, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like when they finally got to Lively. She would take Ridahne to the bakery with the amazing scones. She would insist and showing her sister the festival pole. She would show Ridahne the home where you could always find a dog or cat to adopt to take to your own home. If the merchants were in town she would take her to the tents to show her the jeweler that everyone knew was cheating them but his stones were so pretty and the pieces so well made and the stories that came with them were so fantastical that no one really cared. Darin would show her the place that sold fine silks for weddings and fleece so soft Darin saved and saved and saved her coins for just one scarf of it only to be set on this adventure. They would visit the candy shop with caramel so smooth that it practically melted on a person’s tongue. Darin would be so excited to show Ridahne this hub that wasn’t home but was close enough that it might as well be. She had to imagine that was how the Azurei felt right now, and she had to imagine that how the human felt now would be how Ridahne would feel when they finally made it to Lively. She didn’t want to say anything that downplayed Ridahne’s excitement.

Darin finally opened her eyes, “It’s beautiful. I can see how living here helped shape you into the woman you are today. I can’t wait to see Atakhara, to see the place that gave birth to my amazing Guardian.”