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Post by Tristan Eirian on Jun 18, 2009 14:14:33 GMT -5
 x  x  lost and insecure
you found me
A cool breeze was blowing, tossing fallen leaves about, skimming the surface of the water and blowing Tristan’s dark hair out of his dark blue eyes. The sound of falling water filled the small clear on the banks of the river. It was like a sheltered part of the delta, where small creatures flittered about the woods, intent on their own business as the warlock was upon his.
He bent his face to the surface of the water, cupping his hands and clumsily slurped up what liquid he had managed to catch in his palms. Then he repeated the action several times, until he had apparently drank his full. That being done, he took to splashing himself over the head with water, making his untidy black hair even more of a mess, but no matter, it wasn’t like his appearance had ever mattered much.
He had been kneeling by the water’s edge, but now he rose with dark mud stains on the knees of his trousers, but it didn’t bother him: he was much too interested in surveying the forest behind him for spies and intruders. His sharp blue eyes searched every dark space carefully, silently and unblinkingly. His ears were listening with all their might and his mind was on alert, waiting for someone to jump out. Then, after a minute of intense watching and listening, he slowly turned back to the water, then spun around again unexpectedly. He caught no one and so he turned again, this time for real. He could do this, but it would have to be quick.
Placing his hand so that it was only just above the glassy surface, he concentrated on sending energy through the water, calling out to the creatures that lived in the river bed. For a moment, nothing terribly interesting happened, but then fish from various corners of the river began to cluster under his hand, each looking at it, quizzically. The warlock waited until five of them where there and then he grabbed wildly, his hand descending at a rate he had not anticipated. The fish scattered, fleeing desperately back into safe waters…all except one.
With a look of triumph, Tristan pulled the unlucky fish out by the tail. He could eat today. Then, without a second thought, he slammed it against a rock with surprising strength. He didn’t like killing, but either the fish died or he more or less starved.
lying on the floor
you found me
_______________________________
word count: 410
listening to: you found me by the fray
lyrics credit: you found me by the fray
mood: pretty good
notes: none
tagged: open
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Post by Arianna Douglas on Jun 18, 2009 22:18:08 GMT -5
Arianna pulled apart a piece of the loaf of bread away from the rest of it with much more venom than was strictly required, before stuffing the rest in her satchel with the rest of the morning's purchases. She had perhaps gone just a hint overboard that morning while surveying the market, and seemed to her that she had deciding to bring most of it home with her. A scowl pulled down the corners of her lips. Not that she had even the slightest inclination of going 'home' right than. Whether home may be Cair Paravel, the Telmarine court, or somewhere else entirely. It the most revolting, pathetic thing-but Arianna felt like she no longer fitted in anywhere.
But self pity was hardly something she prided herself in, and with a hard yank, the girl pulled herself onto her horse, riding astride as she raced away from the city center. The hard ride was enough to distract her, as the girl had all her attention on neither running over anyone or having the exact same being done to her. Most undoubtedly wondered what was going on in the girl's head, face set in a terrifying scowl as she tried to outrun the wind itself. In all honesty, nothing. Her head thankfully had but an irritating buzz in the background, the hurtful thoughts that had been stinging her mind ever since she woke kept in muted tones in the background through sheer will.
She was soon away from the center of the city's activities, however, finding herself with fewer and fewer obstacles, and thus fewer and fewer distractions. Arianna couldn't ignore the guilt for much longer, nor her uneasiness and confusion. The girl riding into the market at the crack of dawn for breakfast supplies no longer surprised people, no matter how that with the fact that she lived as an adviser of sorts at Cair Paravel, making food somewhat unlimited for her. But amongst all the luxuries the Narnia court gave her, it somehow seemed that getting breakfast the moment she awoke was just too much.
A result of which was how Arianna would right off to the market every morning, than return to enjoy her breakfast somewhere in the castle grounds. Just another oddity about her. But returning to the castle hardly appealed to her, made obvious by her riding off in the exact opposite location. The girl that had just arrived the day before was at Cair Paravel at that exact moment, and Arianna had know idea what would happen if they were to meet alone. She couldn't imagine that murder was beyond her, or perhaps tears. Arianna was terrified.
She blinked, and somehow, she was already at the river. It was far too quick a ride for her own liking, and Arianna rode by the bank of the river with a frown, looking for her favorite spot. She halted her horse, tugging gently at the reins, at the sight of a young man at the river's edge, holding a fish. She would have thought nothing of it and moved on, but he was looking at the dead creature as if it was his savior, bringing a small, amused smile to her lips.
Arianna gave her horse a small kick to pull it into action, and Persephone trotted towards him. "Hail, young sir,"she greeted him with a perfunctory blank smile that didn't entirely hide the curiosity in her eyes. What she needed was a distraction, and by the looks of it, she was about to get it.
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Post by Tristan Eirian on Jun 20, 2009 23:08:33 GMT -5
x x lost and insecure
you found me
Tristan whipped around, hearing the sounds of a horse’s hooves against the soft earth and he straightened up, holding the limp body of the fish in his hands. Moments later, a rather pretty girl entered on horseback. Her hair was a medium brown color as she seemed to be somewhere in her mid- to late teens. Still, Tristan regarded her warily and involuntarily found himself backing up, coming closer to the very edge of the river. Then, her voice stopped him by surprise.
“Hail, young sir.”
For a moment, he didn’t even know what to make of her fine speak. No one had ever addressed him as “sir”, before: usually the names that passerbys had given to him were much more degrading. He raised his eyebrows, but slowly, took the few steps away from the water and onto firmer ground. No need to get wet unless he absolutely had to.
But what was he supposed to say in response. He had never addressed anyone with such fancy speech, as he had been a simple forest dweller most of his life and a lowly wanderer for the rest. When royalty, female or not, passed him on the road, he either ran for cover or bowed low, in the hope that they wouldn’t catch a glimpse of his face. Yet there was no way he was going to get away with either here. Right now he was already facing her and she had spoken to him, which as another thing that had never happened to him before. But then, he doubted that she was of high nobility. What sort of reigning noble lord would let his daughter into the woods alone?
“Yes, er, hello, I mean, hail…m’lady.” He said, with halting uncertainly, a blush rising in his cheeks as he fumbled through the words. The woods were yet open and he could always run if necessary and as soon as she showed her true colors, he would.
She smiled at him and he grinned back, uneasily. Judging by the lines in her face, she didn’t look too thrilled to see him and he could understand why—sort of. Back home people were always aware that heavy objects might come zooming out of nowhere to whack them in the chest, thanks to Tristan. But there was no way this girl could be from home, or more accurately, the place that had been his home until about a year ago. Most others kept away from him because of the simple reason that he was a penniless stranger.
And what to say now? He couldn’t just stand there like an idiot, holding the fish like it was his only life line. Still keeping his eyes on the invader, he bent his knees, so that he could pick up his pack from where it lay on the ground. Then, slowly, as if the girl was a flighty animal, he cautiously shifted his pack onto his shoulders, still gripping the fish. Throughout all of this, his eyes never left her. If she was going to make a move, he needed to be ready to run—he knew this from bitter experience.
“Nice horse.” He finally, complimented, at a complete loss for anything else to say.
lying on the floor
you found me
_______________________________
word count: 545
listening to: i'm in love with a girl by gavin degraw
lyrics credit: you found me by the fray
mood: pretty good
notes: none
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Post by Arianna Douglas on Jun 21, 2009 6:20:49 GMT -5
Someone was... edgy. Arianna could only raise her arched eyebrows in surprise as she made her way slowly and carefully to the figure by the waters. Some hidden instinct within her told to approach that way, her subconscious noting how skittish he looked. The young man, somewhere in his late teens as he appeared, looked like he might just bolt at the first sign of trouble. After staying up most of last night rigid in her bed, terrified, it amused Arianna to no end to have someone even marginally intimated by her.
And what a someone, too. The young man looked like he woke and slept in the same clothes, living in and off the outdoors-the latter he proved with the dead fish in his hands, the sight of which made Arianna feel more than slightly squeamish. But the point of, from his clothes, he seemed a true adventurer, which was what Arianna had always wished to be, have she ever had the chance. From his face, or what she could see of it from underneath all the grime, he just looked like a frightened child.
For a long moment, he seemed frozen into silence at the sound of her voice. Arianna raised her tongue to the roof of her mouth to hide the fact that she was trying not to frown, knowing she ought to at least try to keep her temper. Persephone, apparently tired from the ride, cut across her, however. "Have you not a tongue on you, child?" She snapped, as sharp as the horse's motherly tone ever got, and Arianna smirked. If he reacted in such a way to her own polite words, she truly wondered what he might do now.
But the lad apparently had some brains to him as well, and hesitantly made his way further away from the water, although no closer to her. His eyes, cautious and intelligent which she saw as she was but a yard from him, appraised her, and Arianna sat still on her horse. Confusion was painted all too obviously over her features, for it seemed that she was in some sort of staring competition with him.
He was the first to break the silence, and Arianna slipped off her saddle non too gracefully, sore, and nearly falling face-first in the movement. She desperately wanted to have a good stretch, but courtesy demanded that she not do so, in any kind of company. "You will pardon my horse," she rolled her eyes at him, still awkward, and felt Persephone give her back a non too gentle nudge. He was so...socially inept, that she felt the need to make up for it, to lighten the atmosphere up somewhat. Or perhaps it would just be merciful to them both for her to leave-judging by the red rising above his complexion, he certainly thought so. She wondered at that blush. She saw it so rarely, as the ladies of Telmar always had their faces colored artificially, and knew not the cause behind it. She had seen it recently but once. On Edmund as he looked at the girl. Oh Aslan, no. Unbelievably, traitorously, Arianna's own cheeks reddened.
And what to say now? He couldn’t just stand there like an idiot, holding the fish like it was his only life line. Still keeping his eyes on the invader, he bent his knees, so that he could pick up his pack from where it lay on the ground. Then, slowly, as if the girl was a flighty animal, he cautiously shifted his pack onto his shoulders, still gripping the fish. Throughout all of this, his eyes never left her. If she was going to make a move, he needed to be ready to run—he knew this from bitter experience.
A line creased her eyebrow as she watched him pick his pack with the safe care he had earlier, eyes unmoving from her, making her shift uncomfortably. He settled the pack behind his shoulders, and she wondered if he was to depart so quickly. How rude. For him. For her, if she was to relate the tale to anyone, it would just be mortifying. Was she so terrible a person that none would dare to grace her with their presence for too long?
"I'm sure she is glad you think so," Arianna answered, after a blink of surprise. Persephone snorted once more, but kept her mouth showed as she lowered her head slightly in a mocking bow. "The horse, and you seem to insist on calling her, is Persephone, and I am Lady Arianna. Or just Arina, really." Save her-she was babbling. Arianna looked away, her toes tapping inside her right shoe. "And who may you be, if you don't mind my asking?" There. She had done it. Arianna had attempted to be polite, and if he couldn't just return the favor, by Aslan it wasn't her fault.
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Post by Tristan Eirian on Jun 21, 2009 18:24:21 GMT -5
x x lost and insecure
you found me
It took Tristan a minute or two to fully grasp what was going on. Someone else had spoken into the silence, a woman’s voice, but it wasn’t the voice of the girl, he was certain of it. His sharp ears could catch the slightest of differences and he was positive that the girl and the other voice were not one and the same.
“Have you not a tongue on you, child?”
His dark blue eyes alighted on her horse, which he had so hopelessly complimented and then he realized—the horse wasn’t a which, she was a “who”. She was a talking horse. That in itself did not surprise him, for he had grown up with talking animals and had treated them as equals, but he never dreamed that someone would harness the power of a talking horse and ride them like a common beast. Well, apparently royalty had something going on. It would have been so nice to have been of noble blood, with everything so comfortable and provided by servants, but that was not Tristan’s luck.
Jumping into a stiffer position, Tristan gave a cautious bow to the horse this time.
“My apologies, my lady. I did not realize…” His voice trailed away, but there was no need to elaborate. Surely she knew what he was trying to say. Surely, being a talking animal, she withstood the constant discrimination of humanoids, just like the badger and the rather hyper squirrel whom Tristan had spend his childhood playing with and sending stationary objects through the air to chase them.
Arina? Well, that would have to do, for he wasn’t about to give away his entire name. That didn’t say much about her, except that she had to be somewhere in the upper class range, to have that title on the front, “Lady”. It made sense, but then, what was she doing in the woods alone?
“I am called Tristan.” The boy replied. What was he supposed to say now? He had given the girl his name, but weren’t people supposed to say something else when they introduced themselves? He didn’t really know, although he had read about such things. Back home there really hadn’t been any need for anyone to introduce anyone else, because he had known everyone from before he could remember. He dimly remembered something about nice weather and asking where one came from, but that was never a good move: spilling one’s birthplace so carelessly. And Arina and Persephone weren’t the only problem; the trees could be listening in to whatever he said.
“It’s a nice day.” He muttered, rather pathetically. “I’m eating fish.” He added, holding up the limb body of his prey. There, that should helpfully seal the deal and send them both in their separate directions with no weapons drawn and no magic revealed. Low stress was always good, but Tristan would have been doing more than stressing out if he knew how dismaily he was failing in this unexpected meeting.
lying on the floor
you found me
_______________________________
word count: 511
listening to: somebody told me by the killers
lyrics credit: you found me by the fray
mood: annoyed
notes: none
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