Alone in the quiet [OPEN]

[Kokoro Yukikage]

Kokoro was at the lake, taking a break from her usual selling. It wouldn't be long until she was on her way again. Her horse was still tied to her wagon of things that was parked beside a tree. She a lunch she had tied up in a sack for her to eat. She just wanted a nice, quiet place to clear her mind and think. She stuck her feet in the cool water and unwrapped her lunch on her lap. It was a small lunch; a piece of bread, jerky, a cookie, and two slices of apple. Plus her half-full canister of water. Maybe she should refill it.

As she took a bite out of her piece of bread, she sighed. The wind blew softly through her hair. She was thinking how nice it would be to have some friends along with her. Being a lone traveling merchant is a bit depressing at times, as she constantly moves from place to place to sell various items to make a living, and not being able to make a single friend due to her short amount of time. "Maybe I should stay longer," she said. "I still have alot of stuff to sell. Maybe I should sell all of it before I go."

[Xannon]

A barrage of sparkles smacked Xannon in the eyes.

Her eyes puckered shut.

Oh my god, she thought, none too mildly. How god damn sunny can it get in the middle of winter?

Oh, wait. It was almost spring. That's right. There just happened to be glimmering drifts of snow dotting the ground and covering the lake with a wreath of ice. It was like some sadistic maniac went and split glitter all over the poor, innocuous scenery just to antagonize the traveling paupers--rich folk, of course, had hats and veils and other fancy stuff that Xannon would probably never get to experience for herself, which really sucked.

She slowly opened her eyes as she walked toward the skating rink, pupils quickly contracting. Her small fingers clutched a dusty old brown book to her flat chest as her blackish eyes roamed.

"Yo, lady!"

Wait, wait... Was that a lady? The hair was kind of short. It could be a dude, right? Then again, a person could find anything in Avaren, and Xannon bet her instincts were right. Perhaps she perceived things better since she looked like a twelve-year-old kid.

Then again, her fro was only a smidge thick.

She darted over, slowing down as she neared. She was careful about muddying her new light orange pants--for some reason, she kept ending up in the mud or being harassed by random bimbo thieves or being knocked down by freakishly handsome men or bowing to corpses... No, no, don't go there. Anyway, she liked these pants and didn't want to ruin them as well.

She caught up, leaning with a hand on her knee as she caught her breath.

"Yo... Ma'am. Sir." She glanced up. "Ma'am. Do you know the way back to Avaren from here? I, um, got lost. A tad."

She stood tall (or as tall as her 4'8" body cold manage) and rubbed her nippy ears as she gazed at the food. Bread, fruit, some meat, and a biscuit. Fruit in winter. How did one even find something like that? Was it from the Academy? Man, that looked good.

Hey, maybe this chick was rich like Tiy and would conveniently offer a meal or two, eh?

[Kokoro Yukikage]

"Huh?" Kokoro turned around, a bit startled at the sudden yelling of "Yo, lady!"
The person ran up to her, panting, asking if she knew the way back to Avaren. "Well, I sort of do." she replied. "I'm still selling things there, so I'll be going back to it soon. I'm a traveling merchant, so....it takes me a little while to get used to knowing how to return to my current encampment."
She noticed that the....was she 12? She looked awful short and young. Not that Kokoro herself wasn't young, I mean, being 16 and already on your own. Well, it wasn't her choice. She wasn't sure of this girl's story, or if she was even 12. But she appeared to be eyeing her food. "Oh, are you hungry?"

[Xannon]

That was definitely a girl. See? Xannon knew she was right.

"Oh? What?" she asked, blushing a tad under her dark skin. Busted.

"Haha... Yeah, I'm pretty hungry, Miss." Was this an invite? Did this mean FREE FOOD? Xannon sure hoped it did, so she meagerly plopped down, careful to not get too muddy. (Dude, how did people around here ever manage to stay clean?) Whether it was cold or sunny or raining or snowy, food was food, and she'd be mighty happy to get some.

"W-What--Do you mind if I ask?" she stuttered a bit before stopping herself. She pinched her lips into her mouth and then spoke once more. "What do you do for a living?"

[Kokoro Yukikage]

Kokoro looked down at her food and wondered how in the world she would split it. So....she got a little cloth napkin and put one of her apple slices, the cookie, and all her jerky and gave it to the stranger. "I know it isn't much, but I don't have very much to share in the first place."
She then heard the girl ask what she did for a living. Kokoro blinked. Didn't she just say that? Oh well, perhaps this girl was so hungry she didn't hear her. Well, she was willing to repeat it again.

"I am a traveling merchant," answering the girl's question. "Like my parents. I never stay in one place for too long. I go from town to town, city to city, camp to camp, selling whatever I have. I also hunt for items that I could possibly sell, so I often find myself in caves, ruins, dark forests, and the like trying to see if I can find anything of value".

[Xannon]

Man, all that food. It was amazing!

"Thank you!" replied Xannon jubilantly. "Thank you very much!"

She quickly set down her book and dug into the apple slices since they'd turn gross first. Had Xannon eaten breakfast this morning? She couldn't remember. She had been really excited to, uh, read--never mind that she was illiterate. She was, after all, a scholar and had her ways.

A small dark fist reached for the jerky.

"So, you're a treasure hunter of sorts?" Merchant. Treasure hunter. Whatever. It all made money, but that last bit sounded a tad dangerous.

It was odd. This kid didn't seem to be the greedy sort--after all, she was sharing food.

Also, Xannon figured this chick was officially her best friend for the remainder of the day. After all, food! Why hadn't she realized how hungry she was? She ripped into the jerky, gnawing at it with her teeth.

"Aren't those places, uh," she continued swallowing the very satisfying meat, "dangerous?"

[Kokoro Yukikage]

She turned and looked away, her head down. "Yes, very dangerous. I should know....I've seen it."
She sighed and tried to push those thoughts from her head, no need to be bothering this girls with her memories. "Yeah, I guess you could say treasure hunter. I just sell stuff to get by, though."

[Xannon]

Suddenly the conversation became rather dark in nature, but Xannon ignored it and continued chowing down. Man, that jerky was good. Perhaps she could become a merchant.... when she grew up, which was apparently going to be never.

For now, however, she was doing quite a dandy job of leeching off people--she got to board in Tiy's mansion, she got free food here, and Alex (really hot!) even gave her a tour of the academy.

And all of this for free.

"That sounds like a really odd sort of job. Do you work with anyone else? A husband, perhaps?"

[Kokoro Yukikage]

"Huh?!" her eyes widened and she sort of blushed at the word "husband". She's never even had a boyfriend yet (although she hopes she does soon). She then shook her head, "No, I work all by myself. It gets kinda lonely at times, but I've been OK. Plus I have my horse to keep me company."

She noticed the girl enjoyed eating the food. "So, what do you do for a living? And what is your name? I'm Kokoro Yukikage."

[Xannon]

What? Had Xannon asked something weird? Apparently, it wasn't the destiny of every maiden to hit puberty and be married off right away; with such a childish body that probably couldn't bear a single babe, Xannon wasn't exactly... eligible for marriage. Women even strode around wearing pants without the slightest scolding.

Of course, she never supposed the culture shock here was exactly a bad thing, per say.

"I'm Xannon," she answered, swallowing one of the last strips of jerky and licking the tips of her fingers. "I, uh, am studying in the Academy in Avaren. You don't have to worry about the cold or snow there," she continued, adding a grin.

"For a living, I, uh"-- leeched off of people--"do whatever I can to get by."

A teensy bit nervous, she quickly chowed down on the last strip of jerky. Man, that stuff was good. And, of course, charity was always better than thievery when it came to getting one's eats.

[Kokoro Yukikage]

Kokoro slightly smiled as Xannon was chowing down. She must have been really hungry. "Well, it's nice to meet you Xannon! So what are you studying at the Academy of Avaren?"

[Xannon]

"Hm." Xannon pondered, her dark round eyes gazing up into the gray and blue winter sky quietly. What exactly was she studying?

"Uh, just various things for now. I only arrived at Avaren a few weeks back, so I'm just tryin' to get the hang of magic for now. I might get better someday... Some of the people at the Academy," she continued, her eyes lighting up, "are really cool, though." She had one particular very hot sorcerer in mind. A grin stretched out her mouth as she looked back at her friend.

"I really hope to be that good someday. I'm interested in illusions--mind tricks and stuff. Fighting scares me.

"So how about you? Do you have any dreams?"

[Kokoro Yukikage]

"Magic, huh? Sounds pretty complicated. I hope you'll master it when you have alot of practice!" she told Xannon. She then asked about her dreams. "Well..." she looked into the distance. "Not really. I became a traveling merchant, like my parents. But it's pretty lonely since I'm all by myself. And my horse, of course!" she pointed at her horse, then looked back into the distance. The wind started to blow gently. "But I hope to find out what happened to my mother. She's most likely dead, but there's still that chance....I just want some closure." she then looked at Xannon. "Other than than, nothing really."

[Xannon]

"Hell yeah, I'll master it!" replied Xannon, suddenly a braggart as she pumped a tiny fist.

Kokoro provided a sob story, instantly sobering the mood.

"I see." Quiet. At least, one of them knew she even had a mother. A gentle smile stretched across Xannon's lips. "I hope you can find her one day."

Ice nibbled at her fingers and toes. The little black girl strengthened the warm magic that shielded her skin.

She glanced back at the forgotten food. Her remembering fingers quickly raced to the final cookie, quickly snatching it up and delivering it to the large (apparently bottomless) hole above her chin.

"So which way did ya say was Avaren again?" asked Xannon, standing her wee body up as she brushed the crumbs off of her hands.