[Event ORP] Aimes' Spring Fish Festival.

[bpyan]

YourDirtyLaundry

The woman stood there at the edge of the dock, throwing food in the water for the fish that were there. She looked back and forth to see other people just having fun or loving their time there. She was alone, but she didn't really care. She was just angry with so many things. Trying to get her mind off of work and life was difficult, almost impossible. She didn't know what she would do.

She then sat on a nearby bench, a tear ran down her cheek. Her thoughts were racing and there wasn't much she could do to stop them. She just closed her eyes tightly, listening to the waves crash upon the beach, the birds flying in the air gave off their little caws and she felt the sea breeze fill her lungs before reopening her eyes once again.

She looked around once more, her red locks swaying behind. She noticed someone...different. She shook her head quickly and looked straight ahead, remembering the image that stared at her from afar. Was his skin...blue? She was nervous to do anything with a stranger, especially one that was different. But he was staring at her, or so she thought. He was also alone.

She smiled before turning her glimpse back to the man who was watching her. 'Well, maybe I should say something...I don't want him staring forever.' she thought to herself. With that, she took a deep breath, grinned once again, and got up, walking over towards him, as she did so, she wiped the tear quickly from her face.

"H-hello. I-I couldn't help but notice that you were looking at me. Umm...can I help you? I'm Rose--well, Rosalie Black." she said, quietly, yet quickly. Placing a small, tender hand out for the blue-skinned man to shake. She was intrigued by him. She would have known if she had seen him before, but she knew she hadn't. This was an encounter like any other. She just didn't know it yet...

The conversations of the people mixed in with the loud caws of the birds and the gentle crashing of the waves. It was like music to his ears. He lost himself in this harmony for a moment but then returned to reality as he noticed the lone person come closer to him. Aren stood in his place, not really sure why he wasn't running away from the human. Her red hair danced in the wind, the red a beautiful contrast with the sky, but he was mesmerized by the sad look in her eyes though she had a small smile on her face.

He looked at her for a moment and let his eyes rest on her hand, "Forgive my intrusion, I was just.. admiring the sea." he paused as he gave her his hand which was covered in a black glove. The dust took her hand and let it go, dropping his hand to his side.

"Rosarie Black is a beautiful name. I am Aren," he smiled into the cloth that was wrapped around his face but then realized that he was too close to the girl and so he turned his head slightly away. He wasn't sure talking to a human was the best thing right now.  

[YourDirtyLaundry]

Rosalie began to blush a tad when the man had said that he was admiring the sea. So he wasn't looking at her. She turned her face to the ground and pushed her hand through the deep red hair that was flowing into her face every now and again. "I'm sorry for assuming...b-but it's nice to meet you Aren." she said in a quiet tone, still looking at the ground.

She then shook her head slightly and turned back to the man. "I-I've never seen anyone like you. I'm sorry if this is rather...strange, but if I may ask, where did you come from? You're no ordinary human, are you? You're too beautiful for that." she said, her face flushing a need red once more to complement the long red hair.

She just let out an awkward smile. One that she only let out when she was nervous. She wasn't sure what to say, for she was alone, and today hadn't been the best day, but meeting him...he seemed to be kind, caring, but a little nervous himself from what she had gathered. She hoped he would stay around, but of course, it was his choice whether or not to leave her. If he had, she would return to the edge of the dock, watching the fish until the sunset went away, then possibly turn to her dreary house which was just filled with the memories of long ago. She wasn't ready to return home just yet, for she wanted to marvel at the sights of the celebration...and talk more with this strange man.  

[bpyan]

"A pleasure to meet you too." the dust smiled back at the young woman. She had this beautiful red hair that covered her face as the wind blew, also this gentle gaze that made Aren feel a bit nervous. Was it alright to speak to a human like this? Was it normal for him to do this?

She spoke, her voice soft and nervous, Aren couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. After she spoke it was the dust's turn to flush a light red on his pale skin. Beautiful? He was far from that, his skin was unnatural, his hair and appendages unusual. He was taken aback by this compliment. But then he realized this human had seen his blue skin, his secret out. "Ahh---My appearance.. This is just my way of paying homage to the festival" he gulped, the lie wasn't very convincing even to himself. His gray orbs met hers in curiosity, this human was rather interesting.

"I'm not beautiful at all. You are the one very beautiful. If I may say so myself." His eyes lingered on her for a second, he realized the gravity of what he had just said, "I'm sorry if that was too forward. But may I ask why do you not have any companions on this fine day?"  

[YourDirtyLaundry]

Rosalie was surprised, her face giving a genuine smile. "Oh, I see, than it's just makeup. You have it blended so well, it looked as though your skin was literally that pale color. And the items of clothing you have on, they seem so real. I'm sorry, my mistake." she said in response to his talk of festivities. She wasn't one to go all out for festivals or anything like that. She would never do such a thing. The only reason for her being here was her need to get away from the world. This place seemed like it was a nice place to go after what had happened. Her mind often slipped back into the past where she had visions of her family going to festivals back where she had lived.

It seemed almost impossible that her face could get any redder than it had been, but of course, it did go deeper. She was beautiful to this man? No, that was just his way of saying something nice in return for her own comment. She brushed it off as if it were nothing huge, though she did find this man to be different, much more kind than the other men she had in her life. "Oh, no worries. It wasn't forward at all, thank you very much. I don't find myself beautiful, but then again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, no? So, I wish to thank you for yours." whether it were true or not, completely ignoring it like it hadn't been said was rude, even she knew that.

When he asked her about why she was alone, she gave that same nervous smile. "Umm...well...you see...I don't really have anyone in my life to care for me, or that I truly care for myself. I've been so boggled down by work and such, that I haven't had time to make friends, ever since I moved to this land. I guess I'm not one to go out to the social events, but this one just seemed more soothing than anything else I've ever been invited to. I just needed to take a step back from my life and breathe in some salty-sea air." she said nervously. Now he would probably leave her, she wasn't popular, nor was she really all too talkative. Soon enough the two would definitely run out of things to say. She already did find this man to be intriguing and she didn't want the conversation to end so abruptly. If the conversation were to die down, she would definitely need to strike up some new topic. She hoped that didn't happen.  

[Syusaki]

Rown

"I'M WEARING A BLINDFOLD TO PROTECT YOU. AT LEAST, THAT'S WHAT JARETT SAYS."

The correct phrase Jarett had used was "this blindfold will protect you" but Rindou didn't quite grasp the fact how a blindfold would really protect him now. At first he'd believed it since he was somewhat unused to being in the dark but now that he was older, a bit more used to it. . . he figured the protection must have been meant for someone else. He certainly didn't need protecting anyway, he was more than capable of caring for himself. His time with Aren and with the other Dustlings, not to mention his running around all on his own, had made him strong. Not really smarter, but certainly stronger - and in more control.

"AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN YOU SAY LIKE ANIMALS. I'M TALKING NORMALLY, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SOUNDS WEIRD. I'VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THIS AND IT'S JUST HOW I TALK. NO ONE ELSE SEEMS TO HAVE A PROBLEM, SO WHY ARE YOU ASKING?"

Rindou crossed his arms and swayed a bit on his feet, moving back and forth like he was rocking on an invisible boat. It was nothing overly drastic, his motions didn't look exaggerated...but it was clear he was swaying. The bottom of his feet where itching after all against this stuff people called the ground and it made it easier on him to not be standing directly on it. How could people stand to have this pressure all the time? It was beyond Rindou.

Wince. Cringe. After spending numerous days in the peaceful silence near Whi Forest, the echoing voices of the festival were finally beginning to painfully drill into her head. Ugh.

She massaged her temple, rubbing away the stressed wrinkles. Ah, but wasn’t showing her annoyance a bit rude? Reluctantly prying her hand away from her face, Arietta began her apology. “Pardon, I’m—“ The doctor paused, staring at the boy’s grey blindfold. That was right; this boy couldn’t see what she was doing at all. It would be easier on the both of them if she avoided any statements relating to anything he couldn’t see. It would all be pointless. “Please ignore what I was about to finish, it was a trivial matter anyways.”

Arietta frowned. Weird? Her speech was odd? She supposed that was it a bit more formal than what most people were familiar with, but in her opinion, it was nowhere near weird. “My apologies. I didn’t realize you found my style of speaking to be unusual. I’ll . . . try to speak more casually so that you may understand more clearly.” It was incredibly unusual (degrading?) to adjust herself to his whims, and perhaps it was better to walk away, but the mystery of his blindfold had her reined in. What was the blindfold for? What about his dark complexion? His behavior? What was the cause behind it all?

Watching him rock from side to side made her wonder if he was perhaps feeling uncomfortable standing in the middle of the crowd? Arietta was certainly feeling a bit out of place herself, frozen in place as everyone else around her happily bustled along without a care. “Why don’t we find a place to chat instead of this busy street?” she suggested.  

[Kanove]

Ruriska

Anise listened to the hubbub outside, trying to figure out what was going on. Her eyes narrowed in irritation as Cadaver greeted somebody with a loud cry and she wished she could be out there to see what this person looked like. How was she supposed to bring anybody under her control when she couldn’t control her own fears? Cada’s head soon peeked in the entrance of the cart and she frowned at him before giving a curt nod.

“Very well. Bring him around so I can see him.” She sat up straighter and smoothed out her skirts. When the Hymn fellow spoke, she refused to answer, instead addressing Cada. “Do tell your friend that unless I can see him I don’t want to talk to him.” She could see parts of him but she wanted a face.

Alexander stood by awkwardly. He nodded politely at Hymn and hovered beside the cart, as if afraid somebody would suddenly run off with it.

Hymn hadn't been too concerned with formalities up till this point. He hadn't found it necessary when around friends, but he knew he was meeting a new person so things should be in respective order like normal. Nodding at a push from Cadaver he closed in on the cart and offered a smile to the dust crouched inside of it. She seemed like a unique dust, but he couldn't point out what exactly she was because of all the shadows in the cart.

"My name is Hymn, it's an honor..."he paused,"Anise, was it?"

Hymn had never heard mention of the dust when Sojo was around so he didn't figure there had been many. His old guardian hadn't mentioned many dusts for a while, and there was nothing Hymn could do to even get him too talk about them. He was silent, till the day he left.

Pushing the memories on to the back burner he looked back at Cada and smiled, before apologizing to Anise, "I'm sorry if I caused any scare earlier."  

[bpyan]

Aren visibly relaxed when the woman seemed to believe in his excuse but he still had his guard up for his own caution. But then he looked at Rosalie, she did not seem like a person who deceives others, she seemed rather pleasant and gentle. He nodded his head, a nervous chuckle coming from him.

The dust saw the young woman turn a bright shade of red as she spoke. He wondered if she had a fever that maybe resulted from the crowds of people that were excitedly roaming around the large city of Aimes. He wondered if she was alright, he knit his eyebrows slightly.

"It's the truth" he said rather simply. She was physically pleasant to look at after all. He smiled, not realizing his words affected the other so much.

A frown swept over Aren's face once again. "I see.." so this human was alone in this city, much like him. Sure he had the pleasure of meeting the dust children every once in a while but this was overshadowed by his duties to the goddess. He was not allowed to get too close to anybody.

"I do know that feeling..." he gave her a reassuring smile as his eyes swept towards the sea, eying the gentle waving of the water and watching the birds fly high up into the endless sea of blue. "I'm sure in time.. You will make many friends in Aimes." His gray eyes rested once again on hers. "You should try and see the festival in the main part of town. The festivities are contagious really." He laughed gently, remembering the rambunctious children running in the streets, the cheerful street vendors and the friendly humans who had greeted him.

"You shouldn't be out here all alone."  

[YourDirtyLaundry]

The woman pulled close to the side of the dock, gazing down into the water as if she was looking down to the bottom depths. She was looking at her own reflection. As he spoke, she glanced at him, she smiled. "Well, I never doubted you. And thank you again." she stated, bowing her head slightly as if to thank in a more physical manner.

She then watched as he looked saddened by this news of her loneliness. It was as if he knew what she was talking about. She didn't want to delve deeper into this man's life, for she knew it would only drive him farther away. Being overly sensitive to a subject was not the way to go. Instead, she continued off of what he had said, keeping the conversation on herself rather than allowing herself to ask too many questions that might bother this man.

"It is a really sad feeling to have, loneliness. But thank you for the vote of confidence, Aren." she said with a smile, the feverish red skin turning back to its once subtle pale, peach-like skin. "But...that is much easier said than done. I've never been one to make friends. I don't doubt you when you say that the festival is contagious, because I bet it is. I know it is actually. I've already experienced a tad bit of happiness just seeing some of the happy children and their parents scurrying around the grounds, trying to find new and exciting things to do. But, even though you are probably right to say that I shouldn't be out here alone, I'm not...well...not anymore. I have you, right?" she said with a sweet, yet nervous smile. That may have been a bit forward of her to say, but it was true nevertheless. For the moment, she did have him here to keep her company. She would never forget this man's kindness.

It was strange to her that he was so kind...after all, she hadn't met too many kind men in her time. They were always stubborn, lazy, arrogant or utterly stupid. This man was actually treating her like a human being, which was quite a turn around from her view of the 'typical man'.  

[bpyan]

Loneliness was a feeling he would never wish on anyone. He knew this feeling all too well. Loneliness hung over Aren's heart for as long as he was made in this world. The feeling that he had to depend on himself and fulfill his duties on his own. He'd never admit that to anyone though. A sad expression washed over his face but then was replaced by a smile as the human spoke.

"Yes. You do have me." he tilted his head slightly to the left, his lips still curved into a smile.

"I am not one to join in with the festivities as well but I find myself elated at the excitement of the people here" he paused, sensing that she felt quite... uneasy? Nervous? As she looked at him.

"Something wrong, Rosalie?" his voice genuinely concerned.  

[YourDirtyLaundry]

Rosalie placed her hand over her forehead for a moment, her eyes widening underneath and her face flushing once again. What was wrong with her? She said that she had him, and he agreed, but the way she thought of it before...

"Oh, it's nothing." she said, wiping her face as she allowed her hand to drop down to her side. A genuine smile crept upon her face. She wasn't really uneasy as much as she was just nervous that this man would leave her as well. She just wasn't used to the overt kindness he had been showing. He genuinely cared, already, after just meeting her.

All Rose felt was confusion, for she didn't know what to think. Her past was filled with bitter friendships with the males of her time and angry male enemies whom filled her life with woe each time she even thought of their names. Those past experiences didn't seem to ever prove wrong in her sight when looking at any man...except now.

She then paused a moment, turning to gaze out upon the sea. Had she brought all those men down on her own? Every friendship seemed to start out this way with any man, but something was different about this one. He seemed to genuinely care about her feelings already. No other man had said anything as sweet as what he had said in the few moments they had been talking.

Did she drive them to the point of craziness? Did she cause them to do the things to her that they did? All men are the same...they are kind until they get what they want, then it goes downhill. But this man, Aren...he seemed...different in her mind. He spoke kindly to her, not as if to brag about the muscles or not, or to seem high and mighty for having great smarts. He seemed like an ordinary man, besides the way he was dressed, but due to the fact that she thought it was for the festival, she didn't even think about his looks. His personality was addicting to her, she was quite intrigued by this man, as stated before. It was as if she wanted more...she wanted to view more of this man's personality, and she wanted to soon.

"Hey, Aren...I have a request. Would...would you please accompany me in the festivities for today? You said you knew loneliness as well, so I figured we could spend the day together. That is, if you don't mind...or aren't too busy. Because if you are...you can always leave. I would hate to take up more of your time than I already have. But if you do decide to leave, I want you to know something. You really are beautiful." she said, smiling, then turning her gaze back to the ocean, awaiting a response. Her eyes swelled minimally with tears and her cheeks grew flushed. She was just happy to know that there was someone out there that thought she was beautiful...truly beautiful...  

[Rown]

Syusaki

Wince. Cringe. After spending numerous days in the peaceful silence near Whi Forest, the echoing voices of the festival were finally beginning to painfully drill into her head. Ugh.

She massaged her temple, rubbing away the stressed wrinkles. Ah, but wasn’t showing her annoyance a bit rude? Reluctantly prying her hand away from her face, Arietta began her apology. “Pardon, I’m—“ The doctor paused, staring at the boy’s grey blindfold. That was right; this boy couldn’t see what she was doing at all. It would be easier on the both of them if she avoided any statements relating to anything he couldn’t see. It would all be pointless. “Please ignore what I was about to finish, it was a trivial matter anyways.”

Arietta frowned. Weird? Her speech was odd? She supposed that was it a bit more formal than what most people were familiar with, but in her opinion, it was nowhere near weird. “My apologies. I didn’t realize you found my style of speaking to be unusual. I’ll . . . try to speak more casually so that you may understand more clearly.” It was incredibly unusual (degrading?) to adjust herself to his whims, and perhaps it was better to walk away, but the mystery of his blindfold had her reined in. What was the blindfold for? What about his dark complexion? His behavior? What was the cause behind it all?

Watching him rock from side to side made her wonder if he was perhaps feeling uncomfortable standing in the middle of the crowd? Arietta was certainly feeling a bit out of place herself, frozen in place as everyone else around her happily bustled along without a care. “Why don’t we find a place to chat instead of this busy street?” she suggested.

"YOU REALLY DO TALK WEIRD, YOU'RE USING A BUNCH OF WORDS I DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHAT DOES 'TRIVIAL' MEAN? OR 'CASUAL'? CAN'T YOU JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE 'POINTLESS' OR 'NOT SO WEIRD' INSTEAD?"

It was funny that Rindou was able to use lesser words to say the same thing, indicating that he either really knew what they meant or just got really lucky figuring things out in context. The Gravity Dustling wasn't bright by any stretch of the imagination but he certainly wasn't as stupid as he appeared to be letting on. It was complicated at just what level of intelligence he really was and it seemed like it would be something that only he and Jarett really knew the answer to. A stranger like this woman, one who made it difficult for him, would never know.

"AND IF YOU'RE WANTING ME TO GO WITH YOU, I WON'T. I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW STRANGERS AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN A STRANGER LIKE ME TO MAKE IT OKAY. YOU DON'T FEEL OR SMELL LIKE THE REST OF US SO YOU'RE NOT OKAY TO BE WITH."

He didn't sound upset while he was speaking though his words were certainly defensive, and as if to show he really didn't care he merely shrugged. The motion looked odd, like he didn't know what a shrug was to begin with, but at least he stopped swaying and kept his feet on the ground. He'd made a promise not to float and by whatever power there was in this world he wasn't going to!

. . .that didn't mean he didn't have to not make himself heavy though, right? Like he could make cracks in the ground like he enjoyed doing, right? That sounded pretty fun and this person (?) in front (?) of him certainly would be surprised to see whatever it was he could do. Rindou's memory about Aren telling him they needed to be safer around humans was limited as it was, and the boy grinned widely as he felt the wooden boards beneath his feet start to grown at the sudden introduction of his weight. It wasn't a gradual groan either, rather one that was advancing to almost a splintering wail, and Rindou nearly giggled with delight as he felt one of the bored properly shatter under his left foot and he dropped about two inches in height.  

[bpyan]

YourDirtyLaundry

Rosalie placed her hand over her forehead for a moment, her eyes widening underneath and her face flushing once again. What was wrong with her? She said that she had him, and he agreed, but the way she thought of it before...

"Oh, it's nothing." she said, wiping her face as she allowed her hand to drop down to her side. A genuine smile crept upon her face. She wasn't really uneasy as much as she was just nervous that this man would leave her as well. She just wasn't used to the overt kindness he had been showing. He genuinely cared, already, after just meeting her.

All Rose felt was confusion, for she didn't know what to think. Her past was filled with bitter friendships with the males of her time and angry male enemies whom filled her life with woe each time she even thought of their names. Those past experiences didn't seem to ever prove wrong in her sight when looking at any man...except now.

She then paused a moment, turning to gaze out upon the sea. Had she brought all those men down on her own? Every friendship seemed to start out this way with any man, but something was different about this one. He seemed to genuinely care about her feelings already. No other man had said anything as sweet as what he had said in the few moments they had been talking.

Did she drive them to the point of craziness? Did she cause them to do the things to her that they did? All men are the same...they are kind until they get what they want, then it goes downhill. But this man, Aren...he seemed...different in her mind. He spoke kindly to her, not as if to brag about the muscles or not, or to seem high and mighty for having great smarts. He seemed like an ordinary man, besides the way he was dressed, but due to the fact that she thought it was for the festival, she didn't even think about his looks. His personality was addicting to her, she was quite intrigued by this man, as stated before. It was as if she wanted more...she wanted to view more of this man's personality, and she wanted to soon.

"Hey, Aren...I have a request. Would...would you please accompany me in the festivities for today? You said you knew loneliness as well, so I figured we could spend the day together. That is, if you don't mind...or aren't too busy. Because if you are...you can always leave. I would hate to take up more of your time than I already have. But if you do decide to leave, I want you to know something. You really are beautiful." she said, smiling, then turning her gaze back to the ocean, awaiting a response. Her eyes swelled minimally with tears and her cheeks grew flushed. She was just happy to know that there was someone out there that thought she was beautiful...truly beautiful...

The dust was startled by this invitation, and it was offered by a human woman no less. He momentarily froze in his place, his gray eyes searching for an answer in the distance, his heart beating faster in nervousness. Being a true gentleman, Aren would hate to refuse this request but then it was a bit inconvenient for him at the moment. But then, just accompanying her for a while would not to harm, would it?

He cleared his throat, his eyes searching her face. "I would love to accompany you" as he said this he heard the crowds from the heart of the town cry in festivities, obviously the main event was starting and everyone wanted to partake in that. Momentarily distracted he looked at the human once again and continued, "I'm afraid I may have to go in a while but then I do not mind escorting one such as you to the festival", he smiled, offering his arm to her.

Just a moment to enjoy the festival was fine. And he may even see more children dusts there as well.  

[Olivia Solace]

haliekins

The chattering of the children had given away their presence, and Ciellas held the ice cream up just in time as two small boys pushed by on their way to the cart. She laughed and backed away to allow them a little more room to gawk, reminded of her brothers back home and how excited she had been when the festival season came. A quick glance at Anouk from the corner of her eyes assured her that she was having a good time in contentedly licking the treat she was given; a quick glance that was deceiving though, as the dustling watched the two boys critically (how rude, pushing to the front like that!). But another duo approached and distracted the two girls from their ice creams, and by the looks on their faces they were related to the two smaller ones.

"Now, now, nothin' tae worry about." Ciellas laughed loudly and took a small lick of her rapidly-melting cone. "Boys will be boys. I grew up with brothers just like 'em. Is this their first festival?"

Anouk examined them warily, still feeling very muggy and uncomfortable. But while Ciellas was engaged with the older stranger, she turned her attention to the one closer at hand. A quiet lick on her ice cream cone provided a reason not to speak as he offered her a napkin, and her eyes darted to his face, before examining the rest of him with a wary but critical eye. He seemed polite enough, nicely dressed (oh, she was always keen on how a person presented themselves, even though she tried not to judge them on it - the key word being "tried"), all good qualities. There was also something - she couldn't quite put her finger on it - but something was familiar about him. Her eyes fell to the offered napkin as the strange feeling fluttered inside. What does it mean when you meet someone who already feels familiar.. ?

".. Thank you. What is your name?" The words were quiet and she extended her free hand to gently grasp the napkin. "My name is Anouk." But when her fingers gently touched the back of his hand, she nearly pulled her hand back with a soft intake of breath.

Had she just imagined it, or had his skin felt.. ? No, no, what a silly notion. The girl shoved the thought aside. Of course he wasn't really that hot, it was just her nerves and the heat of the day. The persistent tingling in her hand protested otherwise, but she waved it off. However, the heat of this area was going to be a problem. A couple of quick licks to the melting ice cream finished it off (which did nothing for her parched throat, strangely) and she tossed the paper cup into the garbage can and started cleaning her hands with the moist napkin. The sweat continued to collect on her skin, and she gave her guardian an anxious glance. The woman was still preoccupied, of course, but perhaps..

She returned her gaze to the boy. It was worth a chance. And even though he was a stranger in the fact that they had only just met, at least if she were to go somewhere, it would be with one who felt familiar. Names had been shared, so that was good enough, wasn't it?

"By chance, do you know of a place that might be cooler than here? I am.. simply melting in this heat." Anouk's eyes widened a little as she spoke, as though to relay the sense of urgency that her polite tone couldn't imply. This was something that couldn't wait on her socializing mother, she had to find somewhere not in the midst of the crowd.

Hayden laughed a little and smiled, nodding his head to Ciellas's comment and question, "It is their first time at the festival. Long overdue, but trying to keep track of those two on my own was far too difficult to bring them to a celebration so large."

Cante and Benjamin gave the ice cream vendor their orders as Hayden made small talk with Ciellas. It was nice for Hayden to talk to someone new. Most of his conversations in the last several weeks comprised of his students, their parents, and those normally about the marketplaces or the neighborhood in which he lived. He was positively amazed at how many people had shown up to the festival, and had forgotten how many would show up. He hadn't been to this festival since before his wife, Beth-Anne had passed.

"I had forgotten how many people came to this event," He commented to Ciellas with a smile, "Is this your daughter's first time here?"

Allegro's smile fell sightly as Anouk pulled by from from him so quickly. Had he done something wrong? Maybe he accidentally burned her... He had never burned anyone previously. Yes, they felt warmer when around him, but his touch never physically caused someone harm before.

"It's nice to meet you, Anouk. I'm Allegro, and the boys who passed you are my brother's, Benjamin and Cante. I'm sorry they pushed past you and your mother," He said, listening as Anouk asked him if he knew any place to col herself off. Truth was he didn't.

He shook his head to her apologetically, feeling bad he was unable to help her feel better. He was sure there had to be some sort of shaded shelter near by in which Anouk could stand under or sit in so she wouldn't feel so uncomfortable, they just had to locate it. He was completely unfamiliar with this area, having only been here once before, and when he was here he was quite a bit tired.

"I can ask my father if he knows any spots. Would you like me to ask him?" Allegro questioned, concernedly. He didn't want her to possibly faint, and while he found the beating sun to feel good on his skin, he knew that to others it could be a bit much.  

[Syusaki]

Rown

"YOU REALLY DO TALK WEIRD, YOU'RE USING A BUNCH OF WORDS I DON'T UNDERSTAND. WHAT DOES 'TRIVIAL' MEAN? OR 'CASUAL'? CAN'T YOU JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE 'POINTLESS' OR 'NOT SO WEIRD' INSTEAD?"

It was funny that Rindou was able to use lesser words to say the same thing, indicating that he either really knew what they meant or just got really lucky figuring things out in context. The Gravity Dustling wasn't bright by any stretch of the imagination but he certainly wasn't as stupid as he appeared to be letting on. It was complicated at just what level of intelligence he really was and it seemed like it would be something that only he and Jarett really knew the answer to. A stranger like this woman, one who made it difficult for him, would never know.

"AND IF YOU'RE WANTING ME TO GO WITH YOU, I WON'T. I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW STRANGERS AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN A STRANGER LIKE ME TO MAKE IT OKAY. YOU DON'T FEEL OR SMELL LIKE THE REST OF US SO YOU'RE NOT OKAY TO BE WITH."

He didn't sound upset while he was speaking though his words were certainly defensive, and as if to show he really didn't care he merely shrugged. The motion looked odd, like he didn't know what a shrug was to begin with, but at least he stopped swaying and kept his feet on the ground. He'd made a promise not to float and by whatever power there was in this world he wasn't going to!

. . .that didn't mean he didn't have to not make himself heavy though, right? Like he could make cracks in the ground like he enjoyed doing, right? That sounded pretty fun and this person (?) in front (?) of him certainly would be surprised to see whatever it was he could do. Rindou's memory about Aren telling him they needed to be safer around humans was limited as it was, and the boy grinned widely as he felt the wooden boards beneath his feet start to grown at the sudden introduction of his weight. It wasn't a gradual groan either, rather one that was advancing to almost a splintering wail, and Rindou nearly giggled with delight as he felt one of the bored properly shatter under his left foot and he dropped about two inches in height.

“Er . . . !” Conversing with the boy was proving to be more difficult with each passing second—more unusual, Arietta should say, actually. She hoped that not all children behaved so eccentrically. The doctor was unsure if she could handle interacting with little kids very effectively if that was the case. Her brows deeply furrowed and eyes tightly closed as she used the few moments of silence to collect herself. This lad, whoever he may be, was making Arietta far too frazzled for her liking.

“Well, you did get the correct definition of trivial. It means unimportant, although I wouldn’t quite say casual would mean ‘not so weird’. Not serious would be a better meaning, I believe,” she answered, her lips pulled into a tight frown. Why was Arietta explaining vocabulary to him? He didn’t seem to be the type that would particularly care about proper word usage, but she always preferred having too much information rather than too little.

His refusal to follow her was somewhat startling. Wow. So this child knew the dangers of running off with strangers. It was always both disappointing and refreshing to see a child put complete trust in someone they barely knew. Adorable, yet irresponsible. She silently applauded him as well as his guardian, whoever they may be.

However, his mysterious use of ‘like me’ and ‘us’ threw her off. “Par—Excuse me?” Simple words. Simple words, she reminded herself. “I’m not sure what you mean by ‘like me’ and ‘us’. Are you refer—talking about your family?” Arietta questioned. It was the only sensible answer in her mind. Yet, as she continued to stare at the odd coloring of his skin she began to concoct another idea that she promptly swatted away. That couldn’t be right at all!

A sudden snap of wood caused her body to tense up and her gaze to wildly dart around before finally realize that the sound was coming from underneath the child. “Wh-What is this?!” she asked in a hushed voice. Worried that the boards below her would begin to crack as well, Arietta took a step back, but found no danger coming to her. After looking around, she discovered that it was just him. She eyed him warily. “Was that you?”  

[YourDirtyLaundry]

Rosalie blushed as the man answered her question. She took his arm in hers and began to walk towards the main sector for the festival. It had been so long since she had had an actual fun time doing anything with a man.

She held on tightly as she walked, almost as though it were a date of sorts. "So...where are you from? You haven't told me a whole lot about yourself. I've been doing most of the talking, heheh." she started as the two were walking towards the main festivities.

She hoped that this would never end. She knew he said he was busy, but at least he warned her, instead of taking off into the dark like those of her past. She would never forgive them, not ever.