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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 22, 2007 11:58:33 GMT -5
"A dress like those would cost more than a few coins." She told him with a light sigh. Was he really for real? It was hard to believe that someone could actually be that kind, especially when you compared him to every other man in the world; is was hard to think that he wasn't wanting something in return for his kindness "And it wouldn't really be practical...I would have nowhere to wear it...so it would really be a waste of money. Your money would be better spent on things other than me." She concluded with a nod, turning her gaze to sweep over the street as they stepped outside.
"Can we go somewhere where everyone can't see? I need to let my wings back out...but...I don't like people staring." She told him, rubbing the side of her head with her free hand, rolling her shoulders a little at the discomfort her wings were causing her. |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 22, 2007 16:12:18 GMT -5
"Yes, of course," Charlie responded. "Let's go to the docks, the ones that were destroyed in a pirate attack about a month ago. Nobody goes there since no ships can harbor until they are repaired." He began leading her. "And, if you stick around long enough, you'll have plenty of places to wear it. I am a bard, after all; festivities are like home to me." He led her down the main road, past the buildings, and, though men looked at Angel, none of them said a word with Charlie's arm wrapped around hers. They went down some stone steps and the wooden docks were there. Charlie always enjoyed seeing the large ships, the small ships, the sails, and the sea, but he led her down a cobbled pathway toward the debris of a pirate attack, anyway and behind a dilapidated shed. He released her arm and sat on a long wooden table there. "Here we are, Hagakarin's finest area," he joked.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 22, 2007 16:25:29 GMT -5
Her gaze flickered around as she walked along with him, taking the opportunity to take in the sights of this place without having to worry about who was watching her and who was following her. Charlie really was a breath of fresh air, with him around she could relax.
Her grip on his arm loosened as she picked her way through the debris from the attack, glancing around to make sure that they were alone before she released his arm all together and wandered away from him a little; she needed the room to let her wings out.
Her eyes fell closed as her back began to glow that soft gold colour again, the glittering glow spreading out behind her, unfurling into the shape of her wings before that became steadily more solid, fleshed out with fluffy white feathers until her magnificent wings were free once more.
"There, much better." |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Dec 23, 2007 15:27:40 GMT -5
Charlie nodded.
"I can only imagine how uncomfortable it must be," he commented, watching her beautiful wings spread into tangibility. It was only then that he realized he had no idea why she had wings. He had known very few races with this, and most of them were shifters or anthros, people with animal traits. But there was nothing animal about her, and nothing bird-like about her wings. She truly appeared to be an angel and he would have assumed that was what she was if he wasn't purely against religion. If only he had known... He seemed to get the hint, the one stating she did not like speaking about herself. That only made him more curious, but he respected her privacy. He turned his eyes to the sky, already planning the song he'd write about her. A wonderful woman with a kind soul and wings named Angel. He smiled at the thought and looked at her again.
No mere ballad, m'lady, he thought. For you, an epic. He stretched, again pulling his eyes away and forcing them to look at something else.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Dec 23, 2007 15:52:35 GMT -5
"Very uncomfortable." She confirmed with a nod of her head, flexing out her wings to their full span to stretch the muscles, a few loose feathers swirling to the ground, drifting about on the breeze before her wings were folded neatly behind her again. Religion had nothing to do with what she was, and though even she found it hard to believe, some sort of angelic race was the only one that she had ever been able to fit herself into.
But thinking on such things upset her greatly. The useless attempts at delving into her murky mind left her feeling ever more confused and lost. Our little Angel didn't belong in this time, and was older than most conscious memory, but the reason that she hated conversation turning to her was simply that she didn't know anything about herself, and what she did know was frustratingly patchy. One year, was it possible to create a sense of self in one year? She didn't think so, she felt lost in her own skin most of the time.
"When were the pirates here?" She asked as she turned to look at him, tilting her head a little, finding that it was time to make conversation and not dwell on her thoughts; hoping that no hint of misery lingered in her gaze as she looked to him. She trusted Charlie, of course she did, but she didn't trust him that much, not yet anyway. |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 3, 2008 12:03:00 GMT -5
Charlie shrugged.
"Pirates are not uncommon here," he commented. "The fights are usually kept at sea, but pirates don't like to lose... and if a target makes it as far as the harbor, they'll follow." Charlie's grandfather had been a navy guard, so he knew enough in this subject to feel comfortable discussing it. "This is the merchanting epicenter of Hagakarin. A lot of rich people and expensive items come through here daily. Pirates flock like the thick mass of parasites they are to the goods and money." He tried not to let too much hate slip into his words, that was a side of him that he didn't show often because it scared him, but when talking about scum such as pirates, it was hard not to.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 7, 2008 7:04:35 GMT -5
Angel gave a small 'oh' in response to his explanation, a slight scowl ghosting over her features as she thought on what he had just told her. She hadn't spent much time in coastal towns such as this, so her knowledge of pirates stretched as far as stories which were told about them. "They sound dreadful, I can't understand why people would go to such lengths just for revenge." She murmured, letting her fingers dance through her hair.
She could her the emotion in his voice, of course she could, it tainted his words and flashed through his eyes, and even though he reacted in such a way to the subject, she couldn't help but find herself unable to think so badly of them. They were people, and people had to do what they thought they had to in order to survive, who were they to judge when they didn't know these pirates? Plus, she was becoming more and more inclined to believe that a pirate ship would be the only one daring enough, or stupid enough, to carry her to the Shattered Lands, though she had no idea what sort of payment she could offer.
She cast her gaze around again, seeming to wince inwardly at the destruction and the stains of brownish red on the ground, moving her eyes back up to Charlie, as if to save herself from such horrors, moving over to him to touch his hand. "Can we go now? I don't like it here..." She looked up at him, some sort of genuine suffering in her eyes; she could almost smell the death on the air and it disturbed her. |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 8, 2008 3:42:16 GMT -5
Charlie would have asked her why she wished to leave, especially since she had just finished telling him about how she hated being stared at for her wings a moment ago, but he looked into her eyes. They told him all he needed to know; they betrayed something of pain. It was this that caused him to nod, take her hand, and begin leading her away from the battered harbor.
"I apologize for the rash way in which I spoke a moment ago," Charlie said as he led her away from the reckage. "My grandfather was in the navy back at home, so I suppose hatred for pirates is in my blood." He decided not to mention that his father had been killed by them; he hated when others felt like they had to tiptoe around him just because one of his family members had been murdered. He also hated when others felt sympathy for him. Thinking of his father caused him to look at his scarred arm for a slight second before forcing himself to look forward and take his thoughts off of his dead family members.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 8, 2008 4:16:24 GMT -5
"It's alright." She told him, moving to walk along next to him as he took her hand and began to lead her away from here, relieved to be leaving such a place. "You don't have to apologize, you did nothing wrong." She added, not really understanding why he felt the needed to apologize to her. "They don't sound to be the nicest group of people you could hope to meet."
"Are you alright?" She questioned as she caught him glancing to his arm, and that look that balanced between hatred and sorrow which dashed through his eyes. Her gaze lingered on the scar for a moment, wondering what had happened but she didn't voice her question, realizing that this must be a painful topic for him. |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 8, 2008 13:02:57 GMT -5
Charlie raised his eyebrows and looked at her, not realizing before that he had revealed any emotion. He smiled.
"Yes," he said, nodding. He hadn't apologized a moment ago because of the words he had used against the pirates; he just hated letting his anger slip through in his words. He disliked feeling anger more than any of his other feelings. He led Angel past the main road, deciding to take a smaller, residential street so that she wouldn't have as many people to stare at her. He looked over his shoulder at the harbor they had left. The sea was so calming -- it was a love that he and his grandfather had shared up until the day the old man had passed on. "What I wouldn't give to be sailing on that to a new country right now," he said, turning his head away as they stepped onto a narrow cobbled street. He then realized that his words could have been taken offensively. "I mean, I'm glad I'm here with you, Angel. I didn't mean to..." He sighed. "There I go, tripping over my own words again."
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 8, 2008 15:50:10 GMT -5
Angel visibly started to calm as they left the destruction behind, tension that she hadn't noticed building up ebbing out of her muscles, the nagging sense of death fading from the back of her mind. Leave the dead to rest, it was much easier said than done when you could feel the lingering traces of extinguished life on the air.
The sound of his voice tugged her from her thoughts, glancing up at him for a moment to smile lightly, amusement dancing behind her gaze. "You're doing it again." She pointed out with a light laugh, shaking her head at him slightly. "Don't worry, if you offend me I'll let you know...and then you can apologize."
She turned her gaze to the sea before nodding in agreement. "I've never sailed before...this is the first time I've seen the sea really." She informed him, tilting her head a little. "But I think that I share your view, I would love to be out there on my way to a new country." |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 8, 2008 16:40:45 GMT -5
Charlie felt a little more at ease after Angel notified him that she had not been offended. He realized that he was still holding her hand and, though he was sure he sent the brain signals required to make the action, he didn't let go. He had to concentrate a little more than normal to release her hand and shove his in his pockets.
"Yes, a new country would be a welcome change of pace," Charlie agreed. "I tire so quickly of places. I doubt I'll ever stop traveling. I'll die an old man on the road staggering to the next town." He laughed. "Such is the life of the bard," he said with mock drama.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 8, 2008 16:55:18 GMT -5
Angel's reaction to him releasing her hand was rather comical really, hardly having realised that she was still holding onto him. Her hand sort of...swung a little as he let go of her hand, as if in an attempt to find the warm hand that she had been holding onto, blinking as if confused as she looked down at her now empty hand, turning her palm over for a moment as she studied it, as if trying to work out what had just happened.
He had let go? When had he even taken her hand? And more to the point, why had he let go? Maybe he didn't wish to be seen walking around holding hands with someone like her? She didn't know, all she knew was that she didn't mind him holding her hand, not even a little bit. In truth, she rather liked it.
She couldn't help but laugh at his overly dramatic statement, rolling her eyes a little, though she could actually imagine that scene with odd clarity. "All I have ever done is traveled, I don't ever remember staying in one place for very long..." She admitted to him, diverting her gaze. "I don't remember very much really, but what I know is that I never stayed in one place for long. And yet...I get the feeling that I've hardly even started my journey..." |
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Post by Chani {♥} on Jan 8, 2008 17:15:51 GMT -5
"I know what you mean," Charlie sighed, running his hand through his hair to rest on the back of his neck. Of course, he didn't know exactly what she meant, not to the same degree, but he knew nothing of his past, and thus thought that he understood exactly what she meant. He let his hand drop to his side. As they walked, a man, surely only a couple years older than Charlie, was staring at Angel. Charlie glared at him, but the man paid him no mind.
"Hey gorgeous," the man said as they walked past. Charlie, as if by reflex, threw his arm about her shoulders and pulled himself closer to Angel. His face turned stern, into a glare, an intimidating one, and he looked over his shoulder just before placing his hand on the hilt of his blade threateningly. He forced a smile.
"Don't even think about it," he said. He hated using scare tactics to escape bad situations, but he had done it all without thinking. The man stared at Charlie with dislike, but said nothing more. "C'mon, muffin, turn here," he said, forcing softness into his voice and turning onto a different street.
After they were out of sight due to a building, he removed his arm, a little slower than he should have, but he couldn't help himself.
"Eh, sorry," he muttered, turning red in the cheeks and averting his gaze.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Jan 8, 2008 17:28:43 GMT -5
The feathers on her wings ruffled up defensively in reaction to the man's statement, feeling uncomfortable all of a sudden as she turned her gaze to the ground, unconsciously walking closer to Charlie.
Her wings flicked out a little as Charlie's arm moved around her shoulders, surprised by the movement but grateful all the same. Her wing folded back into place again, letting herself move into his protective embrace. It was comforting to have someone around to protect her, someone that didn't choose to leer at her just because she was pretty and she was young and she was a woman. He really was a breath of fresh air.
She was tense again by the time he had turned her into the alley, a scowl creasing her brow, seeming unwilling to move away from him. "You have nothing to be sorry for, you're not like them." She huffed a little, "I don't see why they are always like that...why can't they just leave me alone?" |
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